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

Rezo hasn’t had trouble noticing or finding this void storm. The singing of the void, the roar of the wind, the pounding of rain and hail, all those were easy for him to observe. He’d even braved his way into it, in spite of the way it made his skin crawl and his head throb. The monsters and the maladies were straightforward enough, really.

The real problem was finding the void tear.

The tears, apparently, would be distinguishable from the rest of the storm by the bright whirl of color that they shone upon the ground. Simple enough.

If you weren’t Rezo.

He’d spent a little while in the storm now, roaming about and refusing to admit that there was something that he was supposed to do, but couldn’t. When he’d finally retreated to look for shelter, he still couldn’t entirely frame it as giving up.

He just needed to dry himself off. And deal with the headache. And take a moment to strategize.

It is thus a very frazzled Rezo who, when he finds a shepherd’s hut tucked away at the edge of the storm, does not stop to consider that his great-grandson may be in it, and may be less than pleased to see his estranged great-grandfather burst in, resembling something like a six foot tall red-and-purple drowned rat.

Zelgadis had been trying to make the place at least pleasant to wait. Hopefully, the more mundane parts of the storm would let him keep a fire going and vent the smoke, and he had a bit of food stored for travel, and his SCA if he needed to call for help. He was tempted to wrap some extra clothing around his head to keep out the noise of the storm, and he knew he was going to have a headache by the end of this, but what could you do?

When he first saw Rezo, he almost thought the storm had gotten to him and he was seeing things. The void could do that. But he suspects a hallucination wouldn't look so bedraggled. Or use the door. Or clearly not realize who was sitting here, though Rezo had to be picking up that someone was around. "Of course, this had to happen when you were in the area."

“Zelgadis.”

Zelgadis and Rezo had been doing a perfectly marvelous job of not speaking to one another or otherwise acknowledging the other’s existence for the past week. And perhaps Zelgadis had seen Rezo about but if so he’d refrained from saying anything, so it was almost as if Zelgadis hadn’t been there at all.

But Zelgadis had been there, and Zelgadis was here now, and Zelgadis was, of course, not happy.

“Forgive me, I had not realized you would be here.”

Rezo is still standing in the open doorway, and he’s hesitating between shutting it so that the storm doesn’t get in or sparing the both of them and leaving immediately. But after a moment he mentally shrugs and shuts the door behind him. Zelgadis might not be happy, but when is Zelgadis ever happy nowadays?

Zelgadis had been just about to tell Rezo that if he was coming inside, he should do so. He sighed. "Dry off. I have no interest in carrying you back to the base camp because you got sick from looking like a drowned rat."

It was really tempting to spend the time until the storm passed just ignoring Rezo, but that was actually hard to do. Not the least because he hadn't brought anything else on the mission to occupy his time. He really needed a hobby.

“Worry not,” Rezo says mildly. “I share your lack of interest.” He had enough of being hauled around when he was in a jar, thank you. Although he doesn’t actually expect Zelgadis would drag him off if Rezo collapsed from his own stupidity.

He moves over to the stove; if Zelgadis hasn’t lit it yet, he’ll take a moment to open the door, check that it’s stocked, and cold cast a small fire spell to light it. Otherwise, he’ll lean his staff up against the wall and work on fiddling his wet hoodie off.

(Zippers are still weird and Rezo handles the one on his hoodie very carefully, like he’s expecting it to break if he does something wrong.)

Zelgadis had already been working on a fire, so he'll let Rezo inspect his work. Of course, now he is staying near the edge of the room, both to avoid getting wet and to stay out of Rezo's way.

Honestly, he's not sure what he makes of Rezo actually leaving him alone. He doesn't think it will last. Zelgadis intellectually accepts that Rezo has no reason to do anything to him, and that at this point, Rezo would be Suspect Number One if anything more consequential than a paper cut or mis-sorted laundry happened to him on the train. But not knowing what the other man was planning was worse, because he can't help believe that Rezo would get Zelgadis involved out of some sort of sense of ownership of him.

(Never mind that Zelgadis actually does consider 'acertain if Shabranigdu is also present with Rezo, and take steps to make sure he can be killed if revived yet again' his problem. Even ignoring that it is Rezo, Zelgadis is the only other person from their world, and one fo the few people who had survived seeing a piece of Shabranigdu be unsealed.)

Rezo can't tell that Zelgadis is watching him, but he might well hear that Zel is shifting nervously as he does so. Maybe not over the weird sounds of a void storm.

[OOC: I can try to have Zel attempt conversation in the next post if Rezo doesn't start anything.]

[[ooc: go ahead~ as u can see i poked the muse to see if he had anything to say and instead he went "no i'd rather hang about like a silent creep"]]

Outwardly, Rezo doesn’t appear to be paying Zelgadis any attention; he seems solely preoccupied with the problem of his wet hoodie. He holds it up, listening to it drip on the floor. Folds it into a rough rectangle, and begins hunting about the side of the room where Zelgadis isn’t until he stumbles upon a metal bucket, which he starts wringing water out into.

Still leaving Zelgadis entirely alone. Again, outwardly.

Inside… Well, even with the sounds of water splashing around inside the bucket and the storm howling outside the hut, Rezo is acutely aware of the sounds of Zelgadis shifting around on the other end of the room.

Rezo may have a myriad of magical talents, but mindreading isn’t among them. Still, he can guess that Zelgadis is either imagining Rezo throwing a curse upon him, or Shabranigdu clawing his way out of Rezo’s eyes for a third time. Maybe both?

Well. He wouldn’t be alone in that. Rezo has been waiting for the other shoe to drop himself, and being around Zelgadis is simply pushing that thought closer to the forefront.

At least for Zelgadis, this is the other shoe. "Found anything yet?" he asked. "People who can duplicate what Lina did?"

It was a safe conversation topic, as whatever Rezo's agenda was, 'not destroy the train and everyone on it' was probably on the list.

Rezo freezes in surprise and confusion when Zelgadis speaks, then relaxes again once he registers the question. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a positive answer to it.

"No," he says, "Not as far as I am aware."

Admittedly, he hasn't exactly been going around directly asking people "Hey, can you cast a Giga Slave? It's the one known spell that can destroy the Dark Lord sealed inside me."

He'd ask Zelgadis if he's had any success except it's fairly obvious he hasn't, otherwise he would have said something.

"How is the void interference affecting you?" Zelgadis asked. Really, he was more concerned about Rezo's possible passenger.

"The storm?" Rezo considers, briefly. It is affecting him, but only in unimportant ways. Having a headache and being cold and wet and grumpy is still a far cry from the red pressure of Shabranigdu gnawing away at anything and anyone he can reach.

"It does not seem to have stirred anything. But I'm afraid Shabranigdu's presence is... difficult to quantify."

"We'll add that to the list, then. People who can tell if things are getting out of hand. Certainly, there's enough weird magic on the train that I wouldn't be surprised if someone could tell that."

"Oh?" Rezo says. "That almost sounds like an optimistic statement, Zelgadis."

He stands up, hoodie as about wrung out as he can make it, and shakes the hoodie out. Starts incanting what Zelgadis will likely recognize as a harmless air shamanistic spell, even before the spell takes effect. A small whirlwind surrounds Rezo; his hair and clothes flutter in the wind, and the fire nearby quivers, the light flickering.

It's very dramatic looking for what is essentially just a blow drying spell. He's been getting a lot of practice with it lately. Red Team's on laundry duty this month.

"It turns out interdimensional travel is good for me," Zelgadis said. "Or was."

He does note the spell, and tense until it is clear what spell. As soon as the weather clears, he's gone. It is perhaps telling that conditions are bad enough that he is staying put.

'Because you found your cure?' Rezo thinks.

"Hm," Rezo says. Dry now, or at least dry enough, he'll be pulling the hoodie back on. He continues, summing up the situation: "So we want someone who has enough power to destroy Shabranigdu, and someone who has enough sensitivity to pick up on his dormant presence. Did you have any other ideas?"

As he speaks, he unzips his rucksack and begins digging about in it.

"Besides wait for one of the rare times the train does a Q&A session?" Zelgadis asked. "No. What are you doing?"

Assuming that Zelgadis means 'What are you doing about the Shabranigdu situation?' instead of 'What are you doing right now?' Rezo answers:

"Primarily, reading everything I can find about voidspace, with my main focus being on the tethers. I'm hoping to figure out more about how the train's revivals work."

And, well, truthfully he's been doing a lot of reading about medicine as well. The train has access to theories and technology that is either underdeveloped or entirely unknown to Rezo's world, and he wishes he could somehow send that information back to his world someday.

Rezo finally pulls out what he's been digging around for, and unfolds a large, bright red raincoat. He should have put the thing on earlier, but by the time he'd realized the rain was going to be heavy enough to need it he'd already gotten soaked.

"I actually meant what you were getting out in that pack, but fine." He can see the raincoat. He's got the cloak he has from home, and whatever the train has himself.

"I thought I was the one with the eye problem," Rezo says, before it occurs to him that he should maybe make sure Zelgadis isn't carrying around anything he can use as a projectile weapon before he tries making smartass remarks.

Ah well. He pulls the raincoat on, buttons it up, and picks up his rucksack.

"I will contact you if there's anything you can do about our situation."

"Don't be an idiot and go out there," Zelgadis said. "You've never been in a void storm before." And Zelgadis had. Once. On the train. "Do you hear what sounds like voices singing? People hallucinate from void exposure, and being out in the open is worse." Granted, the last time the train passed through the storm, the hallucinations were mostly visual.

Zelgadis is going to tell himself it's entirely about keeping Rezo stable enough that he's not a hazard. That and he doesn't want to owe Rezo anything. if Rezo decides to leave anyway, well, Zelgadis tried.

Rezo has indeed been hearing choral singing, and even if Zelgadis hadn’t decided to warn him, he has been doing void research. Still…

“The storms are where the tears are,” Rezo points out, shrugging his rucksack on. “And we’re supposed to be looking for those. I'm perfectly capable of ignoring a few hallucinations in the mean time.”

And besides that is the unspoken question: does Zelgadis really want Rezo to hang around in the same tiny shepherd’s hut as him? They both know that the answer is a firm no.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He doesn't want Rezo to stay in the same tiny room as him, but while Zelgadis is furious with Rezo, and more than a bit afraid of him, he also still considers him family. Look, Zelgadis is a complicated man with complicated feelings. If Rezo wants to take stupid risks, he's an adult and now he knows the risks. "I think we're far enough from a tear that I can wait this out." Because he has enough space to not work on the same tasks as Rezo.

Rezo nods, grabbing his staff from where he’d leaned it up against the wall earlier. The rings clatter and chime, the sound seeming jarring and loud within that small space.

“...I believe that is wise of you,” he says.

Normal humans, after all, are far more easily damaged than chimeras.

Rezo turns to the door, grabs the handle, and unless Zelgadis has anything else he’d like to say, Rezo will be venturing out once more.

That damn staff was going to drive him nuts. But Zelgadis isn't going to stop him from leaving.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Swirling Consequences Start

Voidstorm w/ the grandson

Re: Voidstorm w/ the grandson

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