middleofsomewhere | Swirling Consequences Start

Swirling Consequences Start

On day Seven of the Month of Quicksand as passengers are beginning their day there is an announcement over the ICP system. “Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the Voidtrecker Express. Please give your attention to the following message from the void ministry.”

A blurring of the screen and it fades into a video of an elderly woman, skin a swirl of purple and blue sat behind a dark wooden desk hands folded neatly in front of her.

“Greetings crew of the Voidtrecker Express. I am commander Orlaith of the void ministry. As you will be very aware, you were recently involved in a dangerous and somewhat foolish experiment of the tethering system which we assume was initiated by your voidcraft. We received your call for emergency assistance, and were able to stabilise your craft enough to allow it to focus on ensuring crew safety. We are under the understanding that it was a crew member who used the emergency signal given by the Inspection Arm of the ministry, and that member should be commended. So too should you all, for we have reports that the crew of the Voidtrecker Express took part in a risky and difficult anchoring task to ensure the safety of all. As ever, the crew of the Voidtrecker Express exceed expectations for a crew with no formal training.

However, in less positive news, the actions of your Voidcraft have had a ripple effect throughout the void. Worlds that are non void active have reports of seeing void activity in their skies, with residents reporting dreams and uneasy feelings. In void active worlds there are more serious incidents. We have voidcrews in thousands of systems working towards stabilising the void access points.

We understand that after such an ordeal, your crew may be exhausted however we do need your help. System #5739 is a hub world that is extremely void active. It is used to weathering void storms and the barrier between the world and the void is thin. However, it is currently experiencing an unprecedented amount of void activity and world bleeding effects. We need a team to go in and help the citizens there, clearing out any issues and helping stabilise things from within.

The people there know about the void, and are used to void travellers. However, try not to stir up any extra trouble.” The last sounds almost exhausted. Their reputation may precede them.

The video ends.

I assume no one has any objections as voidtreckers have chosen to work with the Void Ministry. Please see your mission briefs. This is not a catastrophe mission."

They have a couple of hours before landing, a few hours to study their briefs and prepare for what is to come. Teams might chat, people might give out equipment gathered over the months, some of the passengers who have been on the train since the very early days of the month of Apple may have advice to give.

Either way a couple of hours later there is another announcement. “Shortly arriving at System #5739. Exiting the void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...”

SWIRLING CONSEQUENCES: START

WEARY WANDERER ~ FOREST ~ SCRUBLANDS ~ FARMLANDS ~ COMMS

QUICKSAND 7-10 ~ TEAM OBJECTIVES ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ OTHER DETAILS
ASK QUESTIONS ~ SHENANIGANS ~ TEAM PLOTTING ~ MISSION TASKS/REWARDS

ARRIVAL

The train shakes as the view of the void leaves its windows, giving way to a cloudy and wet sky in its descent. There's a small bump, and they land on a set of tracks that lead them uphill. Grassy mounds can be spotted on either side, occupied by sheep, goats, and the occasional six legged antelope grazing. In the farther distance are secluded farm houses, or small clusters of buildings.

Things don’t seem so bad, until the clouds spark with colour that sends animals running, far skittish for anything they're used to.

The sparse hills give way to more trees as the train weaves through them, until finally comes to a stop at a small station, no more than a raised platform in the woods. With a sigh, the train doors open, and passengers can walk out into the clearing. Once everyone who wishes to leave disembarks, the train sets off once again, flying up into the air and out of sight.

"Oh good. You’re here!"

Looking over, voidtreckers will spot a young girl at the edge of the clearing.

"Ma said we should expect some void heroes any day now. She’s put some stew on."

And she’s off. For any who wish to follow her, she leads them to an inn, The Weary Wanderer written on a sign. It’s a large inn, larger than might be expected in such a remote place, and the innkeeper Albany quickly organises rooms and food for any who wish it.

“Well, there’s a whole lot more of you than there was.” She takes in the group after Maia explains that they are from the Voidtrecker Express. “Storms are getting worse, we’re getting reports of stampedes, landslides and monsters coming through the colours.” She explains. She has some maps of the area and happily allows her main common room to be turned into a planning station. She’s clearly used to void travellers.

THE WEARY WANDERER

The inn has a large and open floor, the entrance close to where a fire crackles, chairs and a table beside it. To the right are places for eating, and kitchen doors that lead in and out, while to the left is where a counter separates another route to the kitchen, and to the family's own private quarters. By here too are the stairs leading up into the bedrooms, with some also available on the ground floor.

There's enough room for the voidtreckers to squeeze into the front at once, and the tables can be joined to create a more team atmosphere.

The problems are everywhere it seems. Farms need help, dralite chicks need rescuing, and their parents reassured before they go on a murderous revenge spree. Voidtreckers can stay or plan or jump right into things - the forest and scrublands are the closest to reach with both behind the inn, while the farmlands will take half a day to reach. Alabany will mark on the maps where to go for the farmsteads, or ones she knows about, and allow her inn to be used as an intiial base.

For those whose skills lie more in cooking and maintaining camp, she will happily take their help in the kitchens, or suggest They go down to the nearest farmsteads and lend a hand there. It'll take about half a day on foot to reach the nearest few, but many hands are needed. They will have better tools for moving debris and making repairs; she has a few, but not enough for everyone, and she'd rather they be used around the forest if anywhere. She needs those!

Albany will warn about the dralites, and to plug your ears if you're going through the forest. Their screeching can stun and slow people even at a distance, and with everyone worked up, it makes it hard to get through. They happen to like bugs, and a fruit called matts - similar to dates, fruits that grow off certain small trees in the forest.

YELLING HEIGHTS: FOREST

Location of: Dralites, young and old, their nests; monkeys, voidblobs (uncommon), fruit cups and purple stars. Displaced people.

The Yelling Height's forest reach spreads far, wrapping around the lower third of the great Ciyesia mountain and its budding fellow heights, with trees as tall as redwoods making up most of its wood. This gives plenty of space for travellers to move through, but the treetops create thick canopies that shroud the world below, the dots of penetrating light visible in contrast. Against some trees can be found what look like bushes, and there's plenty of them around, along with moss; but looking closer, these have hollow middles, made up of pin needles, twigs, feathers and all sorts. Some have been ruined, some have eggs inside.

High-pitched cries can be heard echoing, but it can be hard to tell how far, or what distance they come from - there's too many, making what should sound distressing, sound like a racket. While there's paths that can be followed, some of the wood has fallen, with ways disturbed by rubble that's tumbled all this way down from the mountain. There are signs to aid - those that haven't been knocked over - to give some sense of direction. Still this wood is hard to navigate, and Voidtreckers will want to be careful about rushing in without a plan. Trouble lurks in all manners...

Dralites can be found scattered around this forest, big and small - Albany will tell them as much. The youngest are easy to locate, unable to fly, and make a lot of noise. Slow-moving and dragging their heavy wings, they need help moving with any speed. They can be found alone, or attracting the attention of the great chinchillas or monkeys (who see them less as prey, and more as something to bully and take out their frustrations on).

Some will accept help from the first person that approaches them, jumping on them and wrapping their wings around their neck or head, clinging on and accepting them as their ride. They will need to be returned to their nests, and will reject any nests that aren’t theirs. It'll be very similar to escorting a toddler, often throwing screeching fits if they don’t think their helper is trying hard enough, which can make it difficult for people to move around.

They are hard creatures to please, even so more the adults who are furious that their nests have been disturbed. As large as a sheep with larger wings and powerful talons they might just swoop down and grab smaller unsuspecting voidtreckers and carry them to their nests as workers to help fix them. Some of these adults may be near their nests, or will be seen swooping around above-head at startling speeds, searching for their young.

There are eggs that have gone missing too. A place they can hatch safely is essentia, since they can easily become pray or be snatched by the monkeys who live in the forest and steal from the inattentive.

As well as helping the dralites, there are herbs that can be collected here. Purple Stars are leaves that grow at the top of tall trees. These can be found deeper into the forest, and are different from the other trees by their branches only growing at the very top, their bark stripy. They will need to be climbed, or flown up to - not getting startled by adult dralites is essential, or becoming target practice to the monkeys. They have rocks.

Deep in the most dampest sections of the fores, Fruit Cups grow in a tangle around spider plants, that will ensnare the unwary into it’s sticky grip. For every few flowers, there's a wide trapping of the spider plants, vines impossible not to get stuck to. But as difficult as they are to collect, they are useful, and the potions they make will be handy to the communities that require help. Some voidblobs have gotten trapped here too, and they'll become active once people get close.

YELLING HEIGHTS: SCRUBLANDS

Location Of: Farm animals, some voidblobs, great chinchillas, farmers in need; ruined paths, craggle leaf. Some dralites, mostly adult. Displaced people.

The trees eventually give way to a mix of rock and dirt, stone jagging up from the ground underfoot that travellers will need to watch out for. Vegetation is littered around, patches of shrubs as often easy to catch the eye as grazed grass poking out around mossy-coated stone. There are paths, or were, but only the remains of them can be found, the area reshaped by landslides.

Animals can be found isolated or in some groups, spooked by any newcomers around, and the odd shepherd trying their best to get their herds under control. But there's further trouble than blocked paths to deal with - because these jobs can never be simple.

The farmers' plans are to bring the grazing animals back down to the lower ground and to their farms, but they'll need help clearing up paths and guiding them off the mountain and back to their farmsteads. Not only will it mean moving debris and locating animals, it will also mean protecting them from the predators in the area - and other trouble.

The horned goats, often a worry on these slopes, have grown even more aggressive. They ram into herds and farmers alike, even attempting to send them rolling. They need driven off, away from the herds. The chinchillas are also more aggressive, running rampage through the hills and attempting to down the livestock and to take them back to their nests.

There will also be sightings of the voidblobs for the more unfortunate, dubbed such by the locals. Gelatinous and luminescent, they are a mess of what were likely multiple creatures that have been fused together, patches of fur and teeth and claws held together with thick veins of colour. They attack indiscriminately and without reason, and are difficult to take down, never responding to blows of any type. You only know when they're taken out by when they stop moving - otherwise, they will continue.

During the first night there is a disturbance on Ciyesia. Trees are felled, the mountain seems to rumble and more animals flee, spilling panicked down the mountain to the farm lands below. For whatever aid is giving to the area on the first day, this event causes more damage to the surrounding areas.

LOWER LANDS: FARMLANDS

Location of: Voidblobs (common), great chinchillas, a few horned goats; ruined pathways, farms in need; people to craft balms and potions, access to tools.

While not as high as the Ciyesia mountain, nor as shrouding as the blanketing forest, the rolling countryside shows its sloping and uneven distance, varying fields split by tones and sandy paths - or what should be sandy paths. But the damage to the earth is noticeable, chunks of the various mounds ruined, broken at parts. You can see trouble, ensuing or approaching, just by looking around long enough.

And the biggest trouble will be reaching it.

Buildings squeeze against fields and fencing, separated far from anyone that could be called a neighbour. But there's a few of what can be called villages, where trades are conducted and visitors are sure to stop. There's usually a singular inn, but people looking to call on the help of a void traveller to help with this mess. They can promise hot meals and some goods in exchange, but first needs to come the help.

Though moving the herds closer to the farms is a sensible idea that doesn’t mean the farmlands themselves are safe. Landslides have cut communities off, some of the chinchillas and horned goats have made their way down the mountain and angry dralites stalk the plains looking for their young.

The shaking of the earth and the landslides have caused damage and debris. Trees have been felled bolders moved, barns and houses have been damaged. There’s a big clean up operation required. Farmers have wheelbarrows and shovels and Albany has some more that can be borrowed. It will require a team effort to clear the roads and make sure essential supplies get where they are needed.

Most of the farms and villages have protections in place, but they are overstretched and exhausted. Villagers take turns patrolling, protecting the herds and the people from creatures should they be goats, chinchillas or the new and terrifying void blobs.

Extra people to set up perimeters are very welcome, as are those who can drive the creatures back into the forests. It’s not just the homes themselves that need protecting but also the paths between them, so voidtreckers and others can deliver supplies to the further afield communities.

Making the herbal remedies will mean finding the right people for it, but locating the villages is a good bet. Tinctures and teas are the best method, boiling the plants and breaking them down over hours. Even if you're not experienced, people being around to help monitor the pots and bottle them will be helpful. The craggle leaf are good as they are to feed upset livestock, but also as medicine, for helping against the voidstorm's headache-inducing effects.

FROM THE VOID...

DISPLACED PEOPLE: Once or twice a year, people can be found in the Yelling Heights, wandering around dazed and confused, hailing from a whole other world. Since these storms have begun there have been at least two a day, perhaps more that have yet to be found. They have no memory of arriving, some might not even have memories of who they are, or where they come from.

For now they need found, gathered in once place and care given to them.

VOIDBLOBS: The voidblobs, as they have been dubbed by those who have seen them, are truly monstrous creatures. Perhaps once multiple creatures they have been fused together, a mess of fur and teeth and claws held together with thick veins of colour these creatures have one instinct and that is to kill.

They are rampaging, strong in their urge to destroy. Fighting them is difficult as nothing seems to slow them down until they die, it’s hard to know how hurt they are and injury doesn’t seem to stop their brute strength or will to kill. They rarely will stop and fight either, requiring a team just to keep up with them as they will lash out and fight but keep rampaging on, drawn towards groups of people or creatures. They can be found anywhere.

VOIDTEARS: For now, it's Red Team's task to find these tears and secure a perimeter on them - a difficult enough job that will take the first few days of the mission. They aren’t visible except in the storms, and so finding them requires braving them, where the wind sings with void music, rain pouring with hail, and a strong sense of unease growing until it too unbearable to endure. But the exact point of the tears must be found: a spot where the kaleidoscope of colours shines down onto any under it, only visible in that area.

STORMS: These are scattered around the lands, never moving despite the clouds that do. In the storms, the voidtears pulse with colour. Being near them is uncomfortable, and there is always the risk of a voidblob coming through. Being near the voidtears for too long even outside of voidstorms will lead to headaches, and so it is wise to rotate who is guarding them.

THE FIRST NIGHT: Late into the first night, there will be loud noises, the earth rumbling and a worrisome show of lights as the full moon hangs in the sky above. There may be word from fellow voidtreckers what's going on, but either way, this disturbance will bring out trouble into the night, breaking fencing and some buildings that were on their last legs.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions ~ Shenanigans ~ Tasks Check-In & Mission Rewards
This log lasts for 7-10 Quicksand, with the next log going up on the 21st March (11 Quicksand). Please remember that we will be determining the progress of the mission by task objectives being fulfilled, so PLEASE visit the task objectives toplevel and let us know what your character has been working towards! We accept handwaves (especially if your character is around but you're on hiatus), but actual thread links will count more towards success!

An extra list of prompts for ideas, arranged by team (click):

RED TEAM

You've either wandered into a group of voidblobs or see some approaching. They're annoying on their own, but as a group, they can cause serious damage.

The voidstorms are easy to find by the literal storms they bring, but the tears themselves? They're a pain to, only visible once you're right under them. How will your character persevere in the search? Flying, if you can, might seem the quickest option, but a closer level to the sky seems to make the headaches and disorientation worse.

You've somehow been convinced into fixing up a fence during watching the perimeter. Yes yes, that's important, but the area is clear for now, and what if an animal gets loose? More hands will get this done quick.

BLUE TEAM

What kind of people will you find out there in the wild? Someone desperate for an offer of aid, or someone suspicious, distrusting? Are they even human, or some other race - or sentient object?

The dralites aren't good at in any way but wailing. But their eggs are unique, obsidian in appearance. So if you see a monkey carrying any such thing, or see one being carried by a great chinchilla - that's no lucky lump of goal. That's your way of calming down the ticking time bombs of angry parents.

PURPLE TEAM

Farm work isn't your chore, but the farmers need all their herds before they go anywhere, so you're getting involved whether you want to or not.

Make a good impression on the farmers, and they're likely to help you out. Need to borrow tools? Or can you convince the farmers to let you and your friends borrow some, passing them onto the people who need them?

ORANGE TEAM

Herb collection is hard enough with tall trees and spider plants but watch out for the monkeys who want to steal the prize.

Once herbs are collected they can be made into potions. They aren't too difficult to make and Albany has recipes if asked.

Herbs aren't the only things monkeys want, there's a group converging on a dralite nest, those eggs look very shiny.

ALL TEAMS

Distance is a real concern. Who will go where, where are places and people in need? Scouting is a good idea, and so is organising who will be best, where. ... or, you can just go and do your own thing.

Image Sources: Top header - Tavern - Farmlands - Void coours

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“I am familiar with the sheep. One of them tried to make a meal out of my coat earlier today.”

His hoodie, Rezo means his hoodie. He’s an old man who doesn’t know all the slang terms you kids use these days.

Despite the complaint about the sheep, and the fact his hoodie definitely no longer looks new and freshly laundered, Rezo looks quite cheerful. The smile fades a little when the craggle leaves are brought up, however.

“The craggle leaves are… providing me with some difficulty,” Rezo admits. “I’m afraid I cannot see the markings that distinguish them from their cousins.”

If he had time to study the two he might figure out a trick to it, but he doesn’t have that time what with the goats and sheep that keep trying to eat him.

Markings? Cousins? --ohh. It takes Tidus a second to figure out what Rezo means, but he thinks he's heard about that, humming an acknowledgement. Alright, he'll ask someone about that later. But, for right now-

"Someone else is probably on the job," Tidus says with a wave of a hand. "But it sounds like you're making friends! You still looking for more? I'm already here - I'll give you a hand. Maybe save you from losing your clothes entirely."

There's a fun sprinkling in that, a rise to his friendly smile.

There certainly are people working on plant collection, and properly, not just out of idle curiosity. So if Rezo can’t find any of his own, perhaps he can ask Lioriley if she’ll spare some. She’s easygoing enough that it wouldn’t be too difficult to ask her.

So the matter is easily set aside in favor of lost livestock.

“I do only have two of these,” Rezo admits, “And I am not sure when I could get another. By all means, I would be grateful for your assistance.”

Both as alternate bait for sweater-hungry sheep, and as someone who can help with spotting them.

“I was speaking with a farmer earlier who could not find two members of his flock. He went downwards, while I agreed to search upwards.”

"Alright, sounds like a plan!" Tidus puts his arms behind his head, one held upward as he gives them a squeeze, a stretch. "Sounds like a good change of view - I'd be doing the same thing around the farms, or chasing off those chinchillas down there anyway."

He won't linger either, or seems ready to move by the steps that he starts to take, a "This way?" to confirm their direction, if there's a particular way they're following. "How about I go ahead? Don't sheep move slow?"

Better one of them walk their speed - and that someone not being Tidus, who isn't exactly a go slow guy.

There’s something about Tidus’s energy that strikes a quiet chord with Rezo, like it’s reminding him of something that he can’t quite place. Maybe it’s just the various younger people he’s worked with before. He’s known mercenaries and sorcerers in their adolescences and their twenties with similar temperaments.

At any rate, that’s not important. The two of them have a mission to discuss the logistics of.

“...I believe sheep can move at a variety of speeds,” Rezo says, uncertainly. He’s not unfamiliar with animals per se, but they’ve never been his primary responsibility. “They’re fast sprinters.”

If they need someone to go slow, Rezo at least is inclined that way. Rezo’s natural walking pace is fairly sedate, albeit tempered by the fact he’s a tall enough person that his steps are slightly longer than average.

"Oh yeah? Then let's see how they do!" Which means: "I'll take the lead!"

A.K.A, he's on the move. There's a light breeze being carried easily over the ascending hillside, the forest at lower grounds below them, and a nice view of the countryside offered to them. Tidus is sneaking looks, but he's not losing focus on what they're supposed to be keeping an eye out for.

And Rezo knows better about animal-caring than him, right? Totally. So while he checks on the guy with a few looks back, he's leaving it to them to be their favourite guy.

But it looks like Rezo had picked a good direction to take, or Tidus finds when he finally comes over the peak of their hill. He does a circle around the risen top, stopping when the sight below needs him to pause to check what he's seeing.

"Rezo!" He says the name with some urgency, then starts down the slope, as far as he can get. There's a portion where an aged tree that must've stood has come out with the surrounding dirt and some loose rock, causing mess to culminate in the land between. A lamb finally bleats, barely visible under the tangle of the tree branches, but what Tidus can just make out is a bundle of white wool trapped even lower under.

And it's hard to see yet if it's alright, or not.

There’s a flicker of surprise on Rezo’s face, followed by an amused smile as Tidus bolts forward. Ah, young people.

Rezo obviously can’t enjoy the scenery but, much like Tidus, he can’t help but enjoy the day; the breeze, the sun, the scents of the soil and foliage. He keeps an ear out for sheep, but it’s Tidus’s alert that he catches first.

Shifting into work mode, Rezo hurries up the hill after Tidus, coming to a stop when he reaches the point where the ground slopes downwards again. He can hear the sound of a distressed sheep somewhere down below- it sounds as though it’s partly covered by something.

He steps down, noticing how the ground grows rough even before he finds the tree. Laying his hand against a branch, Rezo pauses.

“This could be tricky,” he says.

He discreetly sniffs the air for the scent of blood.

Tidus is too busy trying to find a good way down the slope to notice any sniffing, a struggle between figuring a decent place to put his feet, and not go stumbling down. There is an odour of blood however for those with noses who can tell, though not the smell of decay. Something is surely wounded down there, badly, and if it'll make it is up in the air.

He's yet to get close. This is looking tricky, with Tidus wondering what they would even do once they get down there. But he looks back to Rezo, remembering suddenly, calling-

"Can you get one of your golems here to help move all this?!"

“Yes, although I’d have to make it a short distance away first. If I disrupt the terrain nearby I’m afraid I might risk injuring the animals further.”

And the longer they wait before healing, the more likely it is that it will be too late to save it, since it smells like something down there is losing blood.

“If I can reach the animals first I can stabilize them, even if we can’t get them out from under the rubble. But if I can’t reach them through the rubble then we’ll have wasted valuable time.”

So there’s the dilemma: Remove the rubble first, and risk it taking long enough to lose some sheep, or see if Rezo can stabilize the sheep right away- with the chance that they’ll only find out he can’t get close enough to do so.

That was a dilemma. He's looking at the way down, the pain it'll be, but not impossible. But, maybe-

"If we can make a bridge - you okay walking on water? It'll be solid." In case he needs to clarify. "Then you can get closer to see. I'll stay back and give you room."

Something is telling him it'll be better to get Rezo closer than himself, if he's the more experienced one. And hey, he's the guy talking about stabilising the animals. He'd rather leave that to Rezo than his dinky healing magic!

A bridge… Of water? But solid. Something Tidus would be using magic to create, obviously. How easily it would be to navigate depends, of course, on how Tidus structures-

Wait.

Rezo turns towards Tidus.

“...Do you mean ice, by any chance?”

"Water," Tidus repeats; and while he might not be getting a look, he is getting a note in that ice, isn't he.

"I promise, it's totally walkable! I just need to cast a small water spell, and my pal - he's like a water genius! He can make bridges, flying disks - whole streams of water! Even with just a little water!"

It's magic, Rezo! But also because, probably: "He's made out of water - and he's really good with bridges!"

The most important part, right.

Rezo would love to ask questions about how exactly whatever the hell Tidus is talking about works, but there’s at least one injured patient waiting on them.

“If you believe you can make a reliable way down, then I’ll try it,” he agrees. Confusion and curiosity can come later; right now they should focus on what they can do.

“Summon your friend. I’ll follow your lead.”

He had been thinking about staying back, just in case. But it'll probably be better for him to go along first, take a lead, and so-

"Alright! Gibbs? ...Gibbs?"

There's a fuss happening, that even if Rezo had vision, he wouldn't be able to see the extent of. Tidus has his hands close to his chest, his palms a surface for his friend to make his appearance on. But where Gibbs is usually rearing to go, there's an apprehension, an uncertainty bundled in his chest, and it confuses Tidus to sense. It leads to a wordless back and forth - easy to have, with a little guy in your heart - until Tidus's encouragement over the situation leads to the higgledy conceding. They appear, in a small glow of blue light, coming together as a shape: an embodiment of the concept of water and hope, all in one tiny body.

And two squiggly eyes staring up at Tidus in an anxious manner hard for most to read. Tidus looks at Rezo, the way down - no, they can't get distracted.

"Uh - sorry!" He's taken a minute, hasn't he, so he calls that out, tries hurrying along. "One bridge, coming up!"

Tidus finds a good spot to lower Gibbs, turning and placing him on the ground beside him than in front, considering the sloping hill. The spell is an easy one, thankfully, set to his arms band and needing just some of his water magic for Gibbs to control, and expand. It's nothing more than a ball of water when he casts it, his target being around the higgledy itself; and the higgledy merges with it, stretching out in the directions, giving the path made a curve so as to make the way down to the sheep and lamb smoother.

There's an easy part for Tidus to step onto and walk, as solid as if it were concrete under his foot, with the tiniest patter of water underfoot as he makes his approach back in Rezo's direction.

"See? What do you think!"

Gibbs must be the name of Tidus’s friend; Rezo listens for Gibbs’ arrival and…

…And nothing? There’s a long, silent pause in which, as far as Rezo can tell, Tidus is simply just standing around. Rezo’s patience starts to thin out.

“...Is there some sort of problem?” he asks.

But evidently it’s resolved. Tidus calls out an apology, Rezo’s eyebrows raise, but then he can hear the sound of water sloshing about and feel a prickle in the air, the sense of something magical afoot.

When all is said and done, Rezo moves his way cautiously onto the bridge. It’s exceedingly odd- he can smell and even hear the water underfoot, but all he feels is solid ground. Still, he nods.

“I think this will do. Can you guide me down?” Rezo holds out his hand, hoping that Tidus will understand that he needs to offer a hand or an elbow, something for Rezo to hold onto; if he goes on his own he’ll have trouble hurrying, since he can’t see where the edges of the bridge are.

Ah-? Ah. Tidus figures where the request comes from, but it's surprising, too. He'd been expecting the guy to be using some kind of magic to help with his vision, or lack thereof.

"Sure, alright-" But either way, he'll help the guy if he asks for it, coming in closer so that he can take Rezo's hand, take a lead that lets him look back between them.

"You should be fine, following me. I'll tell you when the turn comes - lemme know if I'm being too obvious? You did a good job coming up here!"

Don't want to fuss a guy about where to put his feet who doesn't need it.

Despite the fact poor Tidus is trying not to be oversolicitous, it does not stop Rezo from taking that comment about ‘you did a good job’ as being patronizing. Not that it outwardly shows asides from a brief tightening of his expression that has as much to do with there being a patient waiting as it does with his pricked pride.

“I just need you to make sure I don’t fall off the edge. Now, let’s hurry.”

Gripping Tidus’s hand firmly, Rezo will follow him down the bridge as hastily as Tidus’s own pace will allow.

We're doing good here!!

Tidus leads Rezo, giving glances back when he feels it's a good idea, worrying some about the time they're taking; but it goes about as fast as they can hope, without allowing gravity to pull them down a risky mountainside. He says, "We need to move a lil' left," "Okay, it's going down now" - when it's appropriate. Slowing once or twice for as much himself as Rezo, but finally--

"Okay, I'm gonna step aside, and the sheep - I think it's a sheep. There's a lamb there. How should we do this?"

Does Rezo need him to take him right in front of the creature? Can he manage himself? He'll wait on Rezo's direction, unaware of how guiding he needs to be here.

Honestly, despite Rezo’s inward chafing, Tidus is very helpful and by the time they reach the bottom of the bridge Rezo has shifted to simple appreciation and relief that he hadn’t had to make a potentially hazardous trek alone.

When Tidus steps aside Rezo lets go of the young man’s hand and listens carefully. “Yes, I can sense them,” Rezo says absently. The sound of the sheep bleating and shifting about, the smell of the blood. “I’ll try and get closer.”

Tidus will see Rezo’s staff disappear in a twinkle of light, before Rezo climbs off and half-crawls over the debris towards the sheep. The lamb makes alarmed noises at the approach of the strange human; Rezo does his best to make soothing noises and sticks his hand through the tangle of branches.

Give thee a rest…

“Sleeping,” he incants; and the lamb and its ewe companion both settle down into a deep slumber. That should simplify matters, to start.

This guy is magic. He can't see too much of what's going on, at least not closely as he keeps some distance so as to not crowd an already crowded situation; but he hears that call for sleep, the bleating of the lamb dying down.

He watches, with some glances given to their surroundings just in case, but it seems their worry is still with the animals, and if they're going to get back okay.

Another spell is cast, light shining out of Rezo’s hand and through the tangle of branches.

Holy healing hand…

“Detoxify,” to disinfect the injuries. Just in case. The light fades, momentarily, before Rezo starts in with another one.

“Blessed humble hand of God. Breath of Mother Earth, I pray thee come before me, show your great compassion to this person and deliver them Recovery.”

…Well, it’s a sheep he’s delivering recovery to, but the idea gets across, as Tidus can probably tell from the warm light that accompanies this third and final white magic spell.

Rezo listens. The sheep and lamb are breathing nice and slow and even. There’s still a scent of blood in the air, but it’s maybe not quite as fresh as it was. He withdraws his arm and straightens up, still kneeling in the debris.

“I think they’re safe. Our next problem will be freeing them without reinjuring either of them.”

The wounds may be closed, but that sheep still lost blood, so it likely doesn’t have a lot to spare.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Swirling Consequences Start

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sorry for the delay!

np~!

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