middleofsomewhere | Adventure On!

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Adventure On!

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day six of the month of Horseshoe." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preparation

The dressing room is indeed open as promised. The dressers and wardrobes are full of many different clothes. Shirts, tunics, skirts, dresses, robes, cloaks, leggings and even an array of fancy hats.

The cloaks are notable in that they look like standard fantasy cloaks but are completely waterproof, much like a modern jacket and they will keep them warm and dry. There are also a good selection of furs for those travelling into the tundra as well as some leather armour, both for protection against monsters and fire.

There are an array of tents- in more neutral colours, a lot simpler than the tents they have used before as well as some basic pots and pans for cooking. There are a range of bags and pouches for carrying any essentials!
They are a few hours before arrival and so there is plenty of time to prepare before the announcement. "Shortly arriving on world 5382110341. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world 5382110341. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

Arrival: Royal Lake Hill

The train jolts and shudders as it leaves the void. It descends quickly and lands with a small bump. The doors open, it is a bit of a jump from the train to the ground but they land on soft grass. Anyone looking back at the train will find it almost not there… Unless they focus very hard it will seem just like a shimmer in the air, passengers jumping from nowhere.

They are a short walk from what seems like a small town, surrounded by walls. The gates are manned but the large group of people only get a quick glance before they are nodded in.

They get a few curious glances as they enter the town proper. It is not exceptionally busy, indeed everyone out and about are older or small children, who dart around unafraid of the strangers, staring openly at times.

A market place spans the square, predominately selling food, stalls are actually small huts, the front part open to the street for custom and a back room that is presumably used for sleeping. Some, like the blacksmiths are more solid with multiple rooms.

Each voidtrecker will have a dot on the map on their SCA showing them to the inn that their team should head towards. If they ask around they will learn that there is indeed a call to for adventurers at three of the town’s inns and they are to report there in early evening. As it is still early morning they have almost the whole day to explore, enjoy being in a town full of people and, for those who are keen, earn some spending money.

Whatever they end up doing with their day it is obvious when evening is approaching by the stalls beginning to be packed up, the streets quieting as people went home for their dinners. The inns are easy enough to find, even for those that didn’t find them earlier in the day.

Orange

Recruitment

Ducks in a Bucket is at the western gate. It is quiet, usually a tavern used by adventurers, the custom has dried up with all the adventurers protecting the kingdom. It is filled with large wooden tables and sturdy stools, not a fine dining establishment in any way but it has a friendly air to it.

Not long after they arrive a woman in a long cloak arrives. "I am here to hire adventurers. You will be aware, I am sure, of the blight storm that hit the kingdom. Many people across the land have been effected. Many areas are out of the crystals needed to restore those who have been blighted and there are rumours the army is in short supply as well. We require you to travel to the Singing Woodlands to harvest the crystals from the calla lilies that grow there. I have an image if it is needed."

Here she takes out a small scroll and passes it around, it is a painting of a simple, dark purple calla lilie.

"The huma have agreed to transport the collected crystals to the areas that need it. Unfortunately the land itself has been blighted and has become unstable, floating into the air. We can provide you each with two flight potions to help you travel up into the woodlands."

She holds out a bag to pass around, there are exactly enough potions for each person to take two despite the face she couldn’t possibly have known who was going to turn up to head the call.

"Please be warned that transportation magics have not been working in blighted areas and so you will be taken to the ground below. If you accept this quest please get ready to gate."

A moment later there is a flash of light and any who want to will vanish from the tavern.

Arrival

They will arrive on a grassy verge, in front of them is a canyon of dirt. If they look up they will see the land that should be filling it. In chunks the forest is floating on a series of islands stretching high up into the clouds.

Many of the islands feel too high to reach in ten minutes but there are a couple of lower ones that might be good places to aim for.

The potion works swiftly, making those who drink it feel lighter, all they need to do is jump and they are floating, moving in the air is easy, they can walk up as if on a ramp or swim through the air currents if they are feeling a bit more adventurous.

The islands themselves are teeming with life, plants of all kinds grow there and as they reach the lower islands they will see the huma birds and hopefully spot some of those calla lilies.

Purple

Recruitment

The Lion's Mane is the largest tavern in town. It has some customers, sitting in groups and drinking. There is a musician in the corner playing a lively tune and sat on a central table is an official looking man with a scroll case and a worried expression.

"Anyone." He cleared his throat, "Anyone who has come to be hired… As an adventurer please gather around. Now. Now. Can everybody hear me? Yes? Right. Well I am sure as you know the blight… Yes? Yes! Well there are some clusters of villages up near the dusty rivers, I can show you on this map..."

He unfurls a scroll, which shows a large expansive land mass. He points to an area in the far west. "They have a golem problem, their own golems that is. Turned on them." He shook his head, "Crystal magic, very susceptible to blight. They need some help, clear the area, purify the crystals. That sort of thing. You’ll probably be there a few days."

He rolled up the scroll. "I can’t gate you into the villages, earths all blighted. But I can get you close."

He did a quick head count. "If you don’t accept the mission please step back. Ready?"

He opens a gate, a few gates, and everyone who accepts vanishes from the tavern.

Arrival

They arrive in a small clearing in a wood. It is quiet, with not even the sound of birdsong. Trees are all around them though anyone checking their SCA will see that the village is indeed close.

A moment later there are footsteps, a young boy, no older than ten bursts into the clearing. He reels backwards at the figures, surprised to see them but then seems to realise that they are, for the most part, human.

"Quick! Come quick! The village!"

He turned on his heal and heading no call ran back the way he came. For those that follow the route leads them through thick overgrowth, there is clearly an easier way, to a small village.

A small village with a large golem and a large troll stomping through it. People are cowering in houses or behind walls as the troll swings its club back and forth, smashing things in its wake.

Red and Blue

Recruitment

The final tavern is The Thrice Struck Tree. It is small, dark and has a heavy air to it. There are a couple of customers, sat silently with mugs of ale in front of them. They give the voidtreckers suspicious glances.

They may wonder if they are in the wrong place but after a few moments a young woman in a smart looking uniform, dark blue tunic, shiny boots, enters. "Adventurers? I am captain Sienna of Irivar’s third guard. We have reports coming from the southern lands. The blight has depowered the crystals separating the frozen tundra from the fire lands. A disaster could occur if the are not recharged. They must be taken into the central fire mountains heart. It is a fair journey and the crystals must be carried. Please, for those that known the secrets of it do not attempt to place the crystals into the spaces between for easier transportation, it would be disastrous." She gave them a serious look before continuing.

"Furthermore the creatures of the area are reporting that the Glacial Sovereign has not been seen since the blight hit." She shook her head, looking worried. "You must find their guardians, the crystal wolves and attempt to regain contact with the sovereign." She paused again.

"Both the sprites of ice and fire have been corrupted by the blight and the area is very dangerous. I can gate you to the border and from there you must split, please decide amongst yourselves who is best to journey into fire and who is suited to the cold. I will give you a moment to be ready."

It is indeed only a moment before she opens the gate. Any who choose to travel will vanish from the tavern.

Arrival

They arrive in a strange place indeed. To the east there is black rock, lava streams and mountains billowing with smoke. To the west is white, icy bridges connecting land and glaciers. Far in the distance there is what seems to be a swirling mass of snow.

And right where they are is… a mess. Melted ice and frozen ash mixed together into a slippery sludge that sticks to their shoes and makes movement interesting.

But movement may be necessary as it seems their gate has taken them to a place surrounded by two packs of fire dogs and a few regular wolves. All look surprised at the sudden influx of people but it doesn’t take them long before the blighted creatures move in to attack.

Splitting

Once they are safe from wolves and dogs the teams can split. The crystals red need to collect are obvious, set out at even distances from each other. Red team are to head east, into the volcano range, Blue are to head west into the tundra.

Good luck void warriors!

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"I have to do something." Senku huffed a bit with a little smile. "Even if it's just something for fun, I can't sit idle all the time, it's so boring."

"I can agree with that." He definitely finds the train to be boring. But he knows that soon enough a mission will come again and the boredom will be broken.

He finishes with that roof and starts to toss supplies to the next one.

Senku finished what he was doing and watched Xue Yang for a moment. "That seems efficient."

He didn't think he could throw things very far, so he let him do it.

"I'm not used to sitting around doing nothing. I've never really done that."

He finishes transferring the supplies and then jumps over easily as well. He looks back at Senku with a smirk. He isn't sure if the man really wants to make that move but he is welcome to give it a try.

"You can take the long route if you want. I'm going to get started on this roof."

He watched him and then snickered to himself.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that." He was quite amused. "I'm not some crazy athlete like you are." He waved his hand a bit back and forth and headed for the ladder.

Jumping from roofs and across roofs and flying on swords is all things that Cultivators can do and have trained to do effortlessly. So it is like child's play to jump across these roofs even if they are damaged.

He starts to repair this roof, "You just need a little bit of training to master that kind of leap."

He was coming up with the ladder, like a regular, non-athletic person would.

Senku chuckled at that. "I'm thinking that's just going to be impossible for me."

He went over to help with the repairs. "I have no real stamina or physical skills much at all."

"You're repairing roofs. That takes at least a little physical skill."

Xue Yang checks a few spots that appeared to be weak even though they still had roof covering and starts to work on strengthening those, moving his way around the roof slowly since this one appears to be worse off then the last.

He looked a bit amused at that. "Yeah. Takes good balance, and a little force to swing a hammer, but that's the kind of thing I can handle."

Senku hummed. "Even if I wanted to do something I couldn't handle, I would still do it. I'm not really the kind of guy to back down. I just force it." People did let him get away with that, even if he wound up exhausted afterwards.

"I can understand that. I'm not one to back down either. Kind of the reason I died on my world." He took on people he couldn't possibly have beaten. He doesn't have any regrets about it but if he had just backed down then perhaps he would have had a longer life.

"Ah, yeah, I did that once. Didn't really like it though, not really inclined to repeat it." Senku commented.

"It was an experiment." He said, unnecessarily. "And a ruse, actually, because I needed the man who wanted to kill me to believe I was dead."

"Trying to lose someone who is after you? It's a smart tactic. Let's both try to avoid dying again."

He doesn't really have any interest in doing that again.

"How does the roof look where you are?" His area is starting to come together and he is working his way towards Senku.

"He's not after me anymore, we've settled our score." Senku said with a wave of his hand and crouched down to take a look, pressing with his hand to test the sturdiness.

"Needs a bit more reinforcement here." He started to look after that.

"I got him to break my spine, which is a rather instant and painless way to go, but I still had some of the petrification there, and so when it was activated, it healed the injury, bringing me back to life. It's a fascinating phenomenon." He found it endlessly fascinating.

"And thats the system that kept you alive all those years? So you no longer can use that to heal any more?"

It doesn't sound like anything that was around on his world. People could come back from the dead but they were still..technically dead. They just regained their consciousness and could continue living in that way.

"That's right, it is, but when you reanimate, if you will, there's always one piece that doesn't fall off. For me, it was the back of my head, just above where he broke my spine."

Senku looked thoughtful. "Well, what if I was petrified again, I could use it to heal. I think I have an idea how it works, but I'm not sure, I would need to be able to run tests that I can't. But I can tell you if you're petrified dying from a mortal wound, or if say, you die but your corpse is preserved, the petrification will heal the injury. It even regenerated the brain in a girl who's brain was dead prior to the event and had been living on life support."

"The trick is petrifying people, that's kind of where we would be stuck in this equation. We have found one of the devices, but it's out of juice."

This is all a bit too complicated but also fascinating. There is some dark magic in that process that Xue Yang would love to sink his teeth into.

"Maybe you can earn some points from the train and purchase what you need from your world for the experiment."

He has heard about purchasing things from the train but has yet to try it himself. But he has heard of people getting things that way.

"I'd have to order a whole bunch of equipment first, and then the device, preferably a working one...it would take a whole lot of points that I don't yet have. It's a thought anyway. I know it works, and I have theories but..." He shook his head.

"It's not the most practical way to heal someone, but it's good in a pinch, I guess."

"You could buy things slowly as you need them. Or perhaps there is a way to request an entire room or experimentation...the train seems to enjoy adding cars." Libraries for example..as well as a few other cars that have been added since he started riding on it.

"In theory, there is a lab on the train, somewhere." Senku hummed. "But I don't have access to it, so that's kind of useless to me. I don't know what's in it or anything."

He finished reinforcing his area and tested it a little bit with his hand before moving and standing on it.

"Much better." He commented.

He finished his area and stood up as well, dusting off his hands. "Should we find the ones in charge and see if this meets their expectations enough to get paid?"

Because he certainly thinks they have done a more then adequate job of repairing the roofs but it all comes down to the opinion of the one holding the money pouch.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Senku collected the some of the remaining tools and equipment before taking the ladder back down onto solid ground. He was pretty confident in his abilities.

He collects the rest of the supplies and jumps down from the roof, landing lightly. "If all the tasks are this easy we should both be able to get what we desire quickly."

Senku chuckled as Xue Yang jumped off a roof, and grabbed the frankly, light weight ladder which was something of a godsend considering his ability to carry weight. "Show off." He commented, but it was far more amused than annoyed.

"Yeah, that was pretty simple. I'm sure they won't all be, but..."

"It's good to start off simple and work up to the harder ones. But even doing a bunch of small ones will eventually get the gold necessary."

He heads towards where they had gotten the supplies to return them and see about the payment.

"That's true." Senku said agreeably. This task had definitely been a good choice for him, there were likely to be others.

He set the equipment down where they'd taken it from and he got his share of the payment.

"Good luck getting the gold you need." He told Xue Yang with a grin.

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