middleofsomewhere | Adventure On: Finale and Conclusion

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Adventure On: Finale and Conclusion

Blue

The Mountain

Once they get close enough everything is storm, ice swirls around them, stabbing them like knives. Winds seem to be actively pushing them away, no matter what direction they approach from. Still the crystal wolves walk on, heads down, paws silent, climbing upwards.

The higher they climb the colder it becomes. So cold that ice forms on eyelashes, that air seems to freeze as it leaves their mouths. So cold their chests hurt. They would not be wrong to assume that the only reason they can withstand this at all is because of the SCA around their wrist.

Ice tumbles down around them often, shaking the ground. The crystal wolves know the way and they keep going, steady on the path. They have spaced themselves out, to be in sight of all those who follow.

The Summit

As they finally reach the top of the mountain they reach a calm space, outside of the swirling storm. Domed across the summit is a fire cage, larger by far than any they have seen before. In the middle of the giant fire cage sits a dragon. White and blue, scales that look as if they were made of ice themselves. Their head was bowed, eyes closed but they are breathing, breath escaping in clouds of freezing mist that evaporated in the heat of the cage.

Around the cage itself are ice elementals, outside the storm these can be seen by the snow they whirl around inside them, each is about three feet tall but fly in a whirlwind as they attack. Like those in the storm they try and push people around and attack with shards of ice. These corrupted spirits seem to have no reason to their attacks, they are just as likely to push a combatant closer to the cage then they are towards the raging storm.

They can be fought, fire works well against them just as ice and cold magic works well against the fire cage itself.

A Sovereign Freed

Eventually the cage stops fighting, fading away into the snow before them. The crystal wolves spring forth, nuzzling at the dragon until they raise their head. Piercing blue eyes look over the group and the dragon bows their head once. They take a deep breath and breathe out over those assembled, cold fire washes over them, healing any hurts that they have, easing their fatigue som

The crystal wolves bow their heads too, a thank you. Aerlie flaps their wings, rising high into the air. Another breath of cold fire flies out around the area, clashing with the storm for a moment before overtaking it. Around the mountain the storm calms, the ice elementals stop and seem to sink into the snow or fade into the air. The mountain descends into a calmness.

The crystal wolves will approach all those who helped free them, nuzzling into their hands, a personal thank you before a shimmering gate opens for the adventurers to step through.

Red

Final Siege

It’s been a tiring three days of protecting the crystals from the creatures that sought their power. But now, as their power is fully recharged it is time to return them to the border. That is going to be a tougher job than getting them to the volcano’s heart in the first place!

They thrum with power and that power is a siren call to the creatures of the area, fire dogs, lizards, fire sprites. Just as the mountain attacked inside the heart, here the spirtes join with the rivers of lava to flood pathways, block routes, making it harder to cross already treacherous territory, or even driving them into traps of waiting fire dogs.

The heat is oppressive, heat from around them, heat from the crystals seems to sap the energy from those carrying them and so the duty is best shared.

Eventually though they arrive at the border, a mess of melted ice and frozen lava. Each of the crystals need to be replaced.

Restoring the Border

Replacing the crystals is a little more complicated than taking them was. Each one needs to fuse with the holder it sits in. It doesn’t take any skill, just someone to hold it in place for a moment whilst the two fuse together and the magic is channelled into the ground.

Holding a crystal in place is a little more difficult when being attacked by the creatures. The fire creatures keep up the attack until all of the crystals have been replaced.

The Land Repaired

When the last crystal is in place there is a ripple across the land. An invisible line, an ancient magic, connects the crystals, seperating the two lands. Ice recedes from lava and the melted snow refreezes. The borderlands of slush undergo transformation as the two elements separate from each other once more. A land of fire and a land of ice, with a pulsing magic separating the two.

The firedogs and lizards retreat, fire elementals calm and join with the lava streams once more. A shimmering gate opens.

Orange

An Important Message

The Huma birds have been carrying crystals and helping the harvesters, protecting them from the blighted birds and encouraging them to work hard.

But those returning to the floating islands on the afternoon of the eleventh day of Horseshoe come bearing black cloth bags in their talons, each has a scroll attached. The Huma birds will make it very clear they are to read the scroll first.

DO NOT OPEN THE BAG UNTIL NIGHT FALLS

Inside this bag are rare crystals. When they are exposed to the light of the sun they will cause the islands to sink back to the ground. After the sun has set tonight please distribute these evenly around the islands and then depart back down to the land below before sunrise. The lands natural magic will do the rest but we do not recommend being on the islands when they fall.

Thank you for your hard work.

The Adventurers Guild

With a long night ahead they may wish to rest for the remainder of the day.

Distributing the Crystals

If they do as they are asked then it will be a long night, there are many chunks of islands and a lot of crystals to distribute. The darkness makes it harder and the blighted birds seem even grumpier in the cover of darkness.

The wind sprites also are not resting and indeed seem delighted that playtime has been extended into the hours of night. Placing crystals is difficult when the Voidtreckers find themselves swept up into the air to dance around the trees.

Getting down by sunrise may be a little trickier than placing the crystals, especially if they have used up their flight potions, but hopefully there are enough people to help everyone get to safety.

Islands Fall

The sun rises, as the first rays of light hit the island they begin to vibrate, shudder. Then one by one they begin to fall, rapidly and chaotically. It is perhaps wise to not be anywhere near the crater as they do so.

They land in a crash of dust, which obscures the area. When the dust clears however they will see a perfect undamaged land. The pieces have fit back together, exactly where they should be, despite the chaos. The land is repaired and whole once more. Huma birds call excitedly as they dart through the air, their land restored.

A gate opens, for them to step through if they wish.

Purple

A Cure

It is day ten of Horseshoe when the first Huma birds fly into the village, they carry crystals either in bags in their talons or in their beaks.

The villagers clearly know what is going on for they welcome the birds and take the crystals thankfully. Anyone not currently fighting or purifying crystals is brought in to help distribute cures.

Actually curing someone is easy, it just requires the crystal to be touch an affected person or creature. The crystals are only good for one cure so those curing the blighted will be required to carry a few and run them to the villages.

Others can take crystals out into the woodland, looking for blighted animals to help.

A Final Fight

All but one of the golems have been found, defeated and restored. The final one has been elusive, not approaching the village or even the nearby woodlands.

The restored golems are back to standing vigil in each village, ready to deal with any attack that may occur.

But when an attack comes, it is not on a village, but on the shrine in the centre. A golem, three trolls and a host of animals, some blighted, some just angry. They attack in the early morning, the villages awoken by shouts and sounds of battle.

Luckily the blighted creatures can be healed, angry animals can perhaps be soothed. The trolls cannot be soothed though and will indeed try to rile up the animals again, to cause as much chaos as they can.

Peace Once More

Once the final golem is taken down, the crystal restored and the trolls defeated there is a quiet comes across the villages. Those who were blighted are cured, the golems are back in their place as guardians of the village and thanks to the adventurers the villages have gotten through this time with minimal damage.

The villagers thank the adventurers, tell them to come and visit whenever they are in the area. A gate opens, for any voidtreckers who wish to return to Royal Lake Hill.

Royal Lake Hill: All Teams!

They return to the tavern, each to the inn that they set off from. The town is a little busier now, more areas have recovered from the blight and it has brought more trade into the town. Everyone is still relatively elderly or young, non fighters. But the market is bustling, there is even a puppet show going on in the square.

Around midday a beeping of their SCA will show a dot on their map where the Voidtrecker Express has landed, not far out of town, and a message. You may remain here until sunset.

It is up to them whether they wish to return to the train or spend the rest of the day in the town. For those staying in town they will find word of their deeds have preceded them and they will find no end of young, wide eyed, budding adventurers ready to buy them a drink or two in exchange for stories.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Reno scowled the second the man plopped down into the stool next to him. The worse part was that it wasn't a local but one of the train passengers. A local he would never have to see again if he told off, got into a fight, and beat the shit out of; a passenger he would have to see again because avoiding people on a stuffy train was as hard as it sounded.

He shuffled his arms for a new resting point on the countertop and stared into his drink in an attempt to ignore the fucker.

"...Wha'do you care?"

Attempt failed.

"A million reasons, but how about that we all have to deal with each other while we're cooped up on the train, so if there's something we can handle..." Edge shrugged, feeling the point made itself.

Reno got the point of what Edge was saying but it didn't seem to make him any happier to talk. Instead it got another scowl from the redhead and he turned back to his drink to take another large sip.

"...And that's the problem, ain't it?" he muttered without adding the context Edge was, essentially, asking for.

"Not looking forward to going back to being crowded in with a bunch of people and going crazy from proximity and boredom?" Edge shook his head. "I can't imagine why. It's almost like we didn't ask for this!"

Reno huffed out what might have been a laugh or it might have been a scoff. His facial expression didn't help sort it out either, half grin, half teeth-bearing sneer. Guess it was vaguely humorous but in the worst sort of way, as these things were.

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Well, you know, a lot of us feel that way. Sure, we might smile and act like everything's good, but that's just because we can't do much else, you know? So you're not alone in feeling that way." Feeling that sort of underlying irritation offered a perverse sense of kinship, or so Edge felt, anyway.

"Obviously." Reno glanced over at Edge from the corner of his eyes. He wasn't really interested in the conversation but at least he'd avoided the meat of the subject. It wasn't technically a lie if he just skipped over parts of the truth. He really didn't feel like going back and dealing with people--particularly if people made it harder for him.

Only time would tell if that would happen or not though. Either way, he was still pissed and part of him was ready to finish the fight that was started in the forest. He didn't so much care what others thought of him as didn't need to extra trouble if everyone got in his way.

Oh, fuck it. He didn't even want to be thinking about it right now. That was what the alcohol was for. Not thinking. This conversation wasn't helping. "You got anymore bright observations you wanna share or are you done pointing out the obvious for now?"

"Not done sympathizing, for what that's worth." One elbow cocked to lean on the bar, Edge turned to look out over the crowd. "And if people are really starting to get pushed to the edge..."

It could lead to some pretty bad things in the future.

Reno let out a loud sigh as he rolled his eyes straight up along with his head, and then back down. He practically hit his head on the countertop on the way back down. For theatrics, it was well over done.

He lifted back up just enough to talk. "Why do people do that like it means something? Do people really sympathize with others? Or is it, more likely, just some big lie to make them feel better when talking to someone who feels like shit and they can't help but stick their noses in the shit and sniff around? 'Oh, you're feeling bad? Sorry, I just wanted to talk. Here, have some sympathy so I can feel better about bothering you.' Like that makes anyone feel better to have someone say the words I sympathize with you. Nobody sympathizes! You don't feel what someone else feels, and why would you want to!"

"Oh, come off it," Edge said, a little sharply but not with any acrimony. "Like it or not, connections to other people are what make us us. I wouldn't be a ninja king without a ninja clan and a people to rule. And emotions are the greatest strengths people have, so of COURSE we have the ability to share and understand them. If you don't see that, no wonder you're so upset about it all!"

"Whatever," the fire was already dying out, all his energy spent on the one tirade. He didn't really care to argue about it though he had his own line of thought on the subject. Not a very light-hearted one. He also didn't need another physical fight with anyone else right now no matter how tempting it was to lash out.

He just turned his face away from the other man and kept low against the counter, practically laying on it. The epitome of a sad and pathetic loser. He hated that thought but didn't have the energy to fix it. He just wanted another drink.

"So you'd rather make things worse than better?" Edge didn't look his way, sharpening his words instead of his gaze. "Doesn't make any sense to me."

"Well, I've been told I don't make a whole lotta sense before," he muttered without shifting position. "Heh." He would sound a little more amused if it were any other day. It really did align with his demeanor to be called different, crazy, or not right in the head. That didn't bother him. Once upon a time he would have just laughed... and finished his job, no matter how bloody.

"If you're not achieving what you want, why not change what you're doing so you do?" Of course, he might WANT to be a bitter sullen sulkster, but Edge wasn't sure that was really true of anyone.

"Wouldn't have to if I were back home," he said. He hated to use the sentimental word but it'd slipped out before he could think better of it. Usually he just said things like 'my world' or 'back where I'm from' to avoid such stupid sentimental connotations.

"But you're not." Come on, man, that wasn't even trying. "So what, are you just gonna let this situation beat you?"

Reno gritted his teeth and made an annoyed sound that was suspiciously like a deflated growl. That phrasing definitely got to him. He hated the idea of losing.

"...there are a lot more of them than there are of us. Better just to lay low for a while," he countered instead. At least it was a reasonable response as far as he was thinking. Only two Turks, a whole lotta everyone else.

It made sense to him. If he laid low once they got back on the train he could see what went down, how much his reputation spread, how people reacted to it. He didn't even know what Roland or Inigo would do about this whole situation yet anyway. He could see how it went, and then make a plan to move forward. Right, seemed reasonable to him.

So he's just going to sit here and order another drink and enjoy being a little buzzed before he has to go deal with it, thanks.

"Why is it an 'us vs. them' situation anyway?" That part he didn't get, and he had a hunch it was key to understanding this whole mess. "The only 'them' I'm sure about is the train, and then there's all of us trying to get through it."

Reno's lips pursed as he thought about the question and, more accurately, how he wanted to answer it. Whether it was worth the effort to say anything at all.

He took a drink from his glass and set it back down. "Well, there's that. Easier to think on those terms. It's not that hard to see everyone working together to get past the train ordeal. ...And then sometimes there's other shit going down."

"Even if the train splits us up." Edge scowled, his distaste for the team system coming to the fore again. "Everyone still works together for the same goals, and in the end, we ARE helping people. I despise not being asked permission, but I don't mind helping where we're needed."

It was funny, Reno thought, how simply phrasing sentences a particular way could get him off the hook. How it got a person to think of something else when he was carefully avoiding what was asked of him. He was content with the outcome.

"Yeah, well. That's how the cookie crumbles. I don't care."

He really didn't. What he wanted to say was that he hated the train and he preferred to get paid for his efforts. That he didn't care about helping others and that wasn't his goal while here. That everyone on the train could just go to hell for all he cared. He didn't care who lived or died.

But that would have just spurred the conversation back to where he didn't want to go. No sense in that.

That sort of sociopathy never occurred to Edge. Villainy, yes, but not of purely mercantile disinterest. Getting him off the track of that was not hard by any means.

"If you didn't care about it in some way, you wouldn't be in your current state," he pointed out.

"What? A guy can't have a drink in solitude?" Reno said with a mild scoff. Stop poking holes in his defense. He didn't see the company psychiatrist back in the day, why would he want to talk to this guy about his ~feelings~? Things like that just got in the way.

"Yours is involving a lot more sulking and sprawling than is good for anyone, especially you." Considering his vantage point, maybe that's even an understatement.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Adventure On: Finale and Conclusion

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