Event #3 A Tale of Three Cities

[usirmods]

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🜙 Mini-Event #2: The North Winds, January 11th
	The Long Night has ended and the sun once more rises and sets with the short winter cycle. Although the cold remains, it has lessened considerably following the harsh freeze of the darkness. Krimnos, no longer having to put all their resources into defending the city from the terrors to come, has been able to clear the heavy snowpack on the cliffs above the city enough to safely begin running two of their three remaining airships. The Skywhale has been making its regular routes since its repairs the previous month, but the two airships from Krimnos to Didymos and the City of the Free Peoples have been grounded in the cliff city for safety since the start of winter. Now two of Krimnos' airships join their sister ship in the skies over Idan. The following routes are traveled once a day by each airship: The Skywhale travels from the City of the Free Peoples to Didymos and then back once a day, docking nightly in the City of the Free Peoples. The Horizon travels from Didymos to Krimnos and then back once a day, docking nightly in Didymos. The Valiant travels from Krimnos to the City of the Free Peoples and then back once a day, docking nightly in Krimnos. The Zenith normally travels from Krimnos to the mountain outpost of Preciposte and then on to Einjar. Unfortunately, it is still grounded due to inclement weather and winter threats in the northern mountains beyond Krimnos. The Zenith will not be able to travel until the thaw has begun. A one-way trip takes 4-6 hours depending on weather and wind to go from/to Didymos to either city and 6-9 hours to travel between Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples. Anyone can take a trip on an airship for a purse of silver coins, or try their luck and stow away. Mounts can get a lift as well, but they require an additional fare. Not bad for a chance to see Idan from a bird's eye view for the first time for most people.
🜙 Thlipa's Tribute, January 11th
	As January progresses, pods of fin whales spend their nights in the safety of Fisher's Bay during their migration. At this time Thlipa is believed to be watching over Idan and many of Idan's people show their respect for the deity. Unlike the Day of Lefkokó, Thlipa's Tribute is a far more somber affair. Though she is the goddess of the seas, storms, and power, she is also the goddess of mourning and it is this realm she is believed to preside over most during the cold winter months. People from all across Idan who are able to travel will make a journey to Didymos to be closer to the ocean, while others observe the fin whale goddess' day in their own homes and cities. Ancestors, lost relatives, and friends are remembered with offerings of handmade gifts and small collections of nuts and sweet-dried fish. Small, enchanted candles are set out on boats down the river and shore to be carried out to the ocean. It is believed by some of the more power-hungry supporters of Thlipa that by calling on and revering the spirits of the departed Thlipa might gift her followers with the magic of the fallen. Gatherings of Thlipa's most devout followers can be seen on the shores or on small skimmer boats in the bay, and vandalism of fishing boats and nets that might endanger the fin whales runs rampant during this time.
🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - Krimnos: An Army Adrift, January 12-20th
	It appears that a large company of former Atrómitos knights has awoken in an isolated and forgotten battlefield below Krimnos' twin mountains. The army has journeyed together through the blinding blizzard to complete their original objective: a full-scale attack on Krimnos. There's something off about the tattered army decked in the green and gold of Atrómitos that shows up at Krimnos' gates. They don't seem to feel the cold, and their eyes, if anyone is unfortunate enough to get that close, are a colorless and glossy grey. They continue fighting through weather and injury, undeterred as they focus their attacks on Krimnos' main gate, setting magical fire to the gate, the wall, and their perceived enemies. The army can be seen using weapons, battering rams, and elemental magic to attack the city's gates. Though their eyes are a blank and glossy grey and they do not seem to be speaking or reacting with pain to counter-attack elements, it is clear there is a hierarchy and the commanding officers seem to still be silently directing their forces. They do not speak, and if captured it quickly becomes clear why. Though they appear whole externally, the soldiers of this army lack functional internal organs. No blood runs through their frozen veins and no oxygen is being pulled into their lungs. There also appear to be no thoughts in their minds, only the howling sound of the wind through the mountains around Krimnos. At this time of year, Krimnos can not afford to loose their main line of defense, nor can they risk the very real dangers of battle sounds and blood drawing out the hungry mountain hunters or causing an avalanche that could bury the city in snow. No one knows why this army is here, but with the familiar colors adorning the fighters, there are whispers in the air of an attempt to start a war. Already tense relations between Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples could stand to suffer from this and the citizens of Krimnos seem horrified by the prospect. King Sitka's first concern is the safety of his people, and as such he is driving his army hard into the attacking forces and even beyond its gates if necessary, anything to push the battle farther from his people and the dangerous cliffs stacked with snow that tower over Krimnos.
🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - City of the Free Peoples: The Disappearance of Captain Lykos, January 14-22nd
	No one has seen Captain Lykos since the Long Night but rumors and knowledge of his disappearance have been kept quiet by the city's Defenders, fearful the city would spiral into a panic at the loss of its de facto leader. As word comes from traveling Krimnos merchants that the city is under siege from an army dressed in green and gold, the city turns to its Defenders for answers and finds more than they bargained for. The Defenders attempt to calm the rising panic in the city by deflecting, stating that the Captain is out on a peace mission on his way to Krimnos but this backfires as the city erupts into conspiracy theories that he is actually leading the attack and trying to start a war, with reasons such as anger over a lack of support from Krimnos during the city's time of need being used to feed the growing fear. As outrage and panic spread across the city, the Defenders declare martial law and put the city back on lockdown until answers can be found. The stability of the city quickly begins to fray. Chaos, disorder, and dissent spread and talk of overthrowing the Defenders and putting someone else in charge begins to spread. The city needs answers for themselves and for Krimnos and the Defenders begin an even more desperate search for their missing leader. Meanwhile, the citizens of the city begin preparing for a revolt, with whispers of an organized attack on the warcamp of the Defenders quickly gaining traction. The more time passes the less reasonably either side appears to be thinking, and the longer anyone lingers in the city the more infectious this frantic and paranoid energy becomes. Amidst it all, a Siamese with a familiar glowing adornment can be seen surveying the chaos from the safety of rooftops or tree branches, its eyes occasionally glowing blue while its tail flicks in what seems to be either irritation or frustration.
🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - Didymos: Tidal Troubles, January 14-25th
	Starting the morning of the 14th, trouble comes to Didymos on the tides or the lack thereof. The tide goes out during the night and, to the dismay and concern of Didymos' citizens, it never comes back. In fact, it seems as if the ocean waters are only continuing to recede, leaving Didymos' fleet and her fishing ships awash in the shallows or fully grounded. Each day the waters recede further, leaving sealife beached or trapped in tide pools and larger dips in the seafloor. A pod of fin whales finds themselves stranded in the deepest section of the bay just within the Sunset Gate. As the waters continue to recede, shipwrecks, sunken cargo, and unusual skeletons dot the rock and shell covered shores, turning the edges of the bay into an unending expanse of tide pools and dotting the horizon with pieces of warped and barnacle-covered ships usually only visible beneath the clear waters. Within days it's possible for a fully grown human to wade out to the Sunset Gate without ever getting their neck wet. The confusion and complications caused by this unexplainable dearth of water starts a panic in Didymos that the dual rulers have to fight to control. The widespread fear is joined by whispers of a war brought along from people traveling to Didymos from the other cities, and Didymos finds itself caught in a tense place with the prospect of having to outline allegiances if war breaks out. Everyone knows Queen Adira would put her forces behind Krimnos in an instant, but King Ardis seems reluctant, questioning the legitimacy of Krimnos' claims to a possible war and seeking information.

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NPC Quotes & Questions

[usirmods]

Respond to this comment with questions for NPCs, to get NPC quotes/responses for your threads, or to roll for plot-relevant information/encounters.

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>General Location:</b> <b>Info:</b> Question/Quote/Information/Encounter/Other

For information regarding Captain Lykos' disappearance, players may claim Oh Captain, My Captain rewards before activity is submitted. This reward may be claimed more than once with different threads.

[aceso]

Character Name: Christine Delacroix
General Location: Didymos
Info: For the tidal troubles event: if Christine was to head out past the shore where the shipwrecks, cargo, and unusual skeletons are, could she explore these things? Could she do some looting of the ships or cargo? And would she be able to identify the skeletons as whatever they used to be?

[forswore]

Character Name: Daud
General Location: Didymos
Info: With the water level overall retreating, what is the effect (if any) on Logistykon's skeleton/its relative accessibility? Are there still creatures out there that threaten anyone approaching?

Alucard| Krimnos

[cryptsleeper]

Airships

[Alucard had hustled everything he could in order to afford passage back to Krimnos and then some. He has plans now, important ones, ones that mean once he returns to Krimnos he must find a horse and supplies, move himself further into the mountains. This is homecoming. This is examining his family's legacy a century onwards. This is seeing to home, to a grave, to everything that his father and mother built. Everything he built.

For now though, for now he stands on the deck as Krimnos comes into view for the first time. Alucard's gloved hands grip the railings tightly. He leans over, the wind sending his hair back. The bitterness of it stinging his eyes.

What sprawls before him is strange and familiar. What he sees brings no true cry of home, for his home was not the city itself, but there is such a deep ache inside. It works it's way out. It becomes a breathless sigh, impressed and swept away for the changes. He doesn't know what he expected. But here it is all the same.

Things begin anew.]

I wonder how many of the old streets remain.

[He recognizes some layouts. Paths he used to take. And others are new.]

Nothing beside remains (CLOSED)

[Alucard had planned to make this trip alone. There were only two people he would ever want at his side for this, and at the time he decided to return home, neither of them stood. Now, now he has Trevor. The anger about resurrection left aside, Alucard is glad for it. Grateful, even if he's yet to say it out loud.

The Tepes home was out of the city. Had been put there on purpose, for there were fewer prying eyes who would judge a vampir his love of blood magic. So it takes two more days to get there, horse and all. (Alucard is not Trevor, he does not have such great steps.) A surreal two days, for the route has not changed. Oh, there are more houses now, a hamlet has become a proper village in one or two places, but everything else is unchanged. There are trees Alucard recognizes, and oh, they have grown.

They're close now. It'll be around the next bend, and already Alucard's heart is in his throat. He can't see any spires towering above the trees. He accounted for that fact. Spires are weak against winds and snows and a century without anyone to put the right protection spells in place.

Against the cold, Alucard shrinks into the fur lining of his coat. Nearly buries himself in it, because to do so is to hide the look of terrified anticipation on his face. (Gloved hands mean that Trevor cannot see how white knuckled he is.)

He hasn't said anything in two hours.]

A Tale of Three Cities: Krimnos

[The castle’s not capable of hosting either of them for more than one night. It hasn’t been prepared for the winter, there’s not enough wood to keep a fire roaring, and food isn’t abundant either. So back to Krimnos it is.

Back and arriving to attacking soldiers. Soldiers in the color of a city that has long been dead, just as so many others that Alucard has encountered have been. It is the eyes that unnerve him most. Terrible dead things.

He’s not a distance fighter. Alucard’s skill lies in the closest possible range, all longsword and fury and feral magic, mixed together to announce that he stands for himself and will not tolerate anyone encroaching upon his person. It was what kept him safe when traveling the world in life.

In death and reanimation, the sentiment remains the same. At least for now.

So he descends the city’s walls powered by his own feral magic, the kind that lets him float and land with perfection, and he lays in.]

Wildcard

Nothing.

[miraclewhip]

[ He has an eyepatch again. He didn't, the last time he walked this road. It had been taken from him before Alucard and their companion had saved him from, if not the gallows themselves, the consequences of being too large for the gallows. For the best, really. Where they were going nobody would care about old crimes and two eyes were needed (even with two, Alucard's father had been too fast for his eyes to follow).

Now, the opposite is true. There are more people here, now. An inn or two by the roadside that wasn't there before. And there cannot be anything at the castle so terrible as Dracula was. Secrecy is more important than depth perception. ]

Going to guess that you don't want me to ask if you're ready.

[ Last time he asked that, the answer had been 'no'. He doubts it's changed. ]

It's just stone. Whatever's become of it, it can be undone.

{ krimnos; wildcardish }

[aceso]

[ Christine has no wish to involve herself in the fighting outside the city's walls, but she stays stationed close to the gates for the return of the city's defenders, waving injured over to a place they can sit or lie down. ]

Let me look you over. I'm a healer.

[ She sends each patient on their way, as healed as she can accomplish without surgery. When Alucard returns, she approaches him. ]

Are you in need of healing?

airships

[fuga]

[ Returning from the dead had not been an entirely novel experience; her first awakening was similar enough to the second that Lauralae barely considers noting it, more concerned with discovering what she can about people before she does anything else. There are few friends - if she even dares to call them that - for her to check in on and she knows already the strange, awkward taste of Alucard's disappointment, as if her death had been a path entirely of her choosing.

(It does not matter that she had chosen to go outside. She had not entirely chosen to die).

She knows where to find him, where to track him down, at least, and seeks out the airships, travelling away from where she had died again to find him. Rav'ahm is a gift - he flies high and seeks the familiar bolt of hair, until he can guide Lauralae to the place where she might find him once more.

Slowly, she moves to stand at his side. ]

People do not change. I do not imagine towns would.

airships

[dorzalta]

[ Krimnos looms, and with it, a sense of familiarity for all its changes. She steps to the rail, fingers curling around cool metal, and marvels over the view from so high up--something only conceivable if she'd ridden a dragon, really. But dragons are dead--save herself. Blood of the dragon she may be, but that would hold little sway over these people.

Not her people. Her people are dead. ]

I can't imagine they would find reason to change much.

[ Her answer comes when his voice carries over the wind. A quick glance confirms no others are nearby, which means he's either talking to himself, or making conversation. ]

Only those out of necessity.

christine delacroix | ota; will match prose or brackets

[aceso]

{ january 11th: didymos (thlipa's tribute) }
Christine has been exploring what was once her home city, and finds herself here on the day of Thlipa's Tribute. She buys two small candles and takes them down to the shore, where she sets them in the sand and conjures a small flame on her fingertips to light them. Then she sits upon the sand and watches the flames flicker in the breeze. The tide has yet to come in to carry her offerings away, and she's left with time to contemplate things.

{ january 14th: didymos (tidal troubles) }
Word spreads fast, and from her perch at The Roost as she rents a room, she can see far below that the tide has indeed gone too far out, revealing sands that have not been seen before. She heads down to the shore to take a closer look with her satchel at her side housing a journal in which to take notes. She sends Azoth out ahead to scout, and the falcon returns, making noise to alert Christine to something further along.

She examines wreckage and cargo with a curious eye, but it's the revealed skeletons that really capture her attention. Soon she's making detailed notes and little drawings in her journal of the more unusual ones.

{ january 18th: krimnos (an army adrift)
Leaving Didymos as panic rises, Christine decides to see this risen army for herself. Arriving by airship means she doesn't have to fight through the army to enter the city and she witnesses firsthand how the attacks are affecting the population. Returning soldiers are offered treatment and Christine is able to make some coin from healing, which will help with travel via airship. Once rumor spreads of the strange army's soldiers having no blood or organs, Christine is left contemplating how she was brought back so whole. Maybe these people weren't awoken by whomever awoke herself and the others with an animas. Still, it raises plenty of questions and she can be found near the front gate healing or at The Steamkettle Inn for the next few days, joining in conversations concerning these undead soldiers. Have an opinion? Go ahead and join her for a chat about it.

14th Didymos

[rocketraccoon]

The changing atmosphere in the City of the Free Peoples soon has Rocket moving on to Didymos in search of somewhere less prone to potential outbreak of directionless violence. He liked chaos well enough when he started it and it was a smaller affair, but the city was just becoming dangerous and fresh from the grave a second time, Rocket had no interest in revisiting the shadow realm or the specter there anytime soon.

Talk of treasure out in the washed out bay drew his attention quickly, and it's by chance Rocket happens upon Christine out on the shore, his usually bare feet covered with the tiniest fisherman's waders that roll up past even his knees and restrict his movements somewhat.

Lylla is unperturbed by the cold, playing cheerfully in the water and hunting for edible snacks of crustaceans and shellfish in the tidepools a decent distance from him when Rocket catches sight of a familiar bird in the sky. He follows Azoth, letting the animas lead him in Christine's direction eventually. He has a swathe of fisherman's netting over his shoulder when he approaches, and a box tucked under one arm.

"There's treasure all over the shore and you're writing?" It's a softer tease, Rocket studying her from far closer to the ground, making no attempt to sneak a peak at what's on the paper. He glances away from her toward the direction of her gaze, eyes catching on the exposed bones. "This is weird, right? I don't remember it ever doing this when I was here. Or anyone ever talking about it."

11th

[fuga]

Lauralae is ever curious and when she sees someone doing something she does not entirely recognise - magical or with medicine - she is quick to trace, to see what she can do. Rav'ahm is her eyes, flying above to track the image of Christine as they make their way to the water, her eyes narrowed as she watches. Curious. An offering, surely, the kind she might have seen at the temples once, but different. Unique.

Frowning, she moves forward, quiet and draped in black despite the tunic she wears underneath.

"What are you doing?"

Trevor Belmont | Krimnos

[miraclewhip]

(Fight Scene! - Krimnos)

[ Dealing with the undead is usually something of a specialty for Trevor. Channel arcane magic into whatever weapon-ish thing is convenient to hand, hit things with it, break whatever curse is keeping them alive, job done.

The fact that it doesn't seem to be working is concerning. They're not extremely strong, not enough that they should have any particular resistance to his order's techniques. Traditional necromancy shouldn't hold up this well.

But it isn't working, and so he has to fall back on his strategy for dealing with things what are not undead. This strategy is being ten feet tall and well-accustomed to beating the shit out of things, as well as a strong hatred for that fucking tunic that they all seem to be wearing. By the time the current wave of the army approaches, he's found himself both a little better equipped than he started - he's taken a sword from a fallen soldier - and a little more injured. A few arrows, thankfully none hitting anywhere too dangerous on someone his size, some slightly more nasty-looking burns. No matter. Fresh blood at least means that if any of the local wildlife finds itself drawn to the battle, he can lead it away.

His animas is hiding under a few dead bodies, because of course it is. Flames gather in another of the undead soldier's hands, aiming at the city's gates once again, and Trevor grabs its arms, crushing both of them in one hand. ]

None of that shit.

(Oh, shit. - Krimnos)

[ It's when he runs into a fellow goliath that Trevor starts to encounter difficulties. He's largely been relying on brute strength so far, and it's served him well, but the goliath he's facing is large and heavy even for one of his kind and does not weary or feel pain. It doesn't take long for the fight to turn bad, both in terms of not looking good for Trevor and in terms of potentially being likely to start an avalanche.

And so he tries breaking the curse once more. He focuses all the arcane magic he can into the now-broken sword and shoves the jagged end of it into the side of the goliath above him. The effect is immediate. There's the sound of glass shattering, and a flash of blue light from the soldier's chest. And then it falls. On top of Trevor. ]

Shit, ow, shit. [ He complains, reaching his arms out. They fall on broken glass, and his hand closes around something. A vial, leaking the last of its clear liquid contents. And there's only one possible response that one can have to that. ]

Fuck.

Oh, shit.

[rocketraccoon]

[Rocket didn't intend to go to Krimnos initially until people started whispering that the soldiers were back from the dead. Having died and come back twice he feels begrudgingly obligated to at least see if he can learn more about how or why from these soldiers. That and the whisperings of war are the last thing he wants and the last thing he thinks anyone needs to live through again, inevitable or not.

The ax he carries looks too large for such a small beastfolk, the handle making it almost taller than he is, but Rocket wields it with ferocity and skill, making it seem like the obviously heavy and unwieldy weapon was made for him.

He narrowly manages to avoid being crushed by the goliath duo, but when your best friend is a towering arboreon you learn to look out for taller creatures toppling. He curses, and the words are ones normally only heard from goblins, but he hefts his ax onto his shoulder, crouching down to make himself less visible among the fighting. The trapped goliath speaks and that's enough of a difference from the rest of the soldiers for Rocket to guess he's not one of them.]

Need a hand? [Sizing up the mass of dead weight he shifts his grip on the weapon and offers a sharp, tooth-filled grin and a wink.] Removed?

[It and the swing of his ax might seem like a threat, but Rocket severs part of an arm, to his surprise bloodlessly, from the deceased soldier's body. There's no way even with his strength he could remove the soldier from the stranger's body, but he could reduce the dead weight one limb at a time if necessary until they could get him untrapped.

Provided none of the other soldiers interfere.]

Ohhhhhhhh shit

[cryptsleeper]

[Returning from the castle to...all of this...had been a surprise. A very exhausting one, as Alucard intended to spend a day more in Krimnos, try and get Trevor better damn boots, buy a few supplies, then prepare to deal with the damn necromancer for the sake of doing a little bit of archaology. But no, they had gotten back, the city was under attack and what else could be done?

Probably for the best anyway. The past three days had been a constant shifting sea of emotions, and this was opportunity to purge all of them while being horrified that these things were harder to kill.

Alucard's never worried about Trevor in the middle of a fight. He's big, he stands out so tracking Trevor's whereabouts is never a problem, and there are few things that cause a problem. The wolf is content to help where she can, tearing throats out when there's a fallen soldier.

Last Alucard looked up, Trevor was fighting someone taller than himself. Rare. Now he's...

...shit. Not in line of sight.

He waits until the soldier in front of him falls. Lets Ellis tear him to bits, then runs over to find Trevor trapped under a fresh corpse More than that, he's holding onto something. Maybe? It's impossible to tell.]

Where's the weight pinning you worst?

fight scene!

[fuga]

[ Lauralae knows death.

She had worshipped the God enough to know its nature, had lived alone in forests and wilderness to see it first hand, had lived it twice; she had died twice and knew the burdens of it like her own heartbeat. This is different - the people are different, and there's an edge of something feral and panicked about her as she rushes forward, trying to find a means of dealing with them without losing herself again. As much as she had relished the chance to learn during the Long Night she is not sure how strong her body is; she is not sure if she can survive another death.

That and, in her heart, she is not sure how her allies might react to hear of it happening again.

While her knowledge lies in blood and wld magic, she knows very little of what might have brought these things to life. She does not know enough of them to try and make a demand - but she knows how to fight well enough, her hand wrapped around a dagger, teeth bared. Fighting wolves is not the same as orcs or the undead, but she does not care - she is small and vicious, moving forward and doing what she can to sink her blade into whatever she can find, fuelling her strength with a thrum of wild magic, the earth shaking around her.

Her eyes widen when she sees Trevor, blazing and practically twice her height, and she rushes forward. She would attack were it not for the sign of his power and his animas - Rav'ahm makes a loud caw from above her, raven wings flapping as she breathes out sharply, eyes narrowed. ]

Their eyes. [ Quick, sharp. ] Blind soldiers cannot aim.

fight

[exaomori]

[Fighting an undead army sure is a pain, but breaking curses and kicking ass are things Shura knows how to do. More importantly, there's something entirely too familiar about an army suddenly rising from the graves under a dead city's colors. Breaking the spell that's binding the undead knights might mean learning more about the spell that brought her back to life.

So when she sees some capable-looking goliath, though maybe a little more injured than she would prefer, she'll take her chance, approaching from the side, her sword drawn, but lowered.]

Not bad~ Think you can keep him alive for a bit while I try somethin' out?

[Keep the knight alive and hopefully keep her alive at the same time. It's called teamwork.]

Rocket | OTA all three cities, will match prose/brackets

[rocketraccoon]

Thlipa's Tribute - City of the Free Peoples:

Rocket purposefully avoids Didymos during the whale's tribute day. He never bought into the idea of deities much to begin with but it wasn't the worship that kept him from going anywhere near the city most prevalent in the day's activities. It was the pain in his chest that he rarely acknowledged, let alone was willing to let anyone else see.

He sits on the banks of the river just outside of the outskirts, bare feet in the freezing waters despite the risk with his animas hunting in the shallow reeds not far from him, climbing in and out among icy patches as they float along down the river, pushed by the current. A small boat made of wood rests between his hands, balances between his knees. It is nothing more than a child's toy he had taken from the market, but he smoothes his fingers over the polished wood and draws in a cold breath in the form of a rough sniff, using one forearm to rub melted snowflakes off his face.

After a few moments of silence, he gets up and turns his back on the river, dropping the toy carelessly into the shallows on the edge without looking. He starts trudging through the snow back to the city as his animas' head pops up from the water, tilting as she watches him go. The otter considers the boat and picks it up between her front paws, waddling awkwardly after him.

When he notices Rocket groans and takes the boat from her, retracing his steps to actually place it properly in the water this time. Lylla starts to head for it and he scoops her up before she can, staring distantly after the boat carried along down the river.

Where in the world is Captain Missinginaction - City of the Free Peoples:

Missing people has always been a profitable business for Rocket. He was pretty good at tracking people down and even better at haggling with those same people for better pay. You could put a price on love or revenge very easily, no matter what other people said.

This wasn't his typical bounty or loved one run off, though. Finding a leader seemed a lot more dangerous, like the wrong step could end up in him dead, but it would be worth it. After all, the Defenders had to have plenty of gold if they were running things in this misfit excuse for a rebuilt city.

He spends a while asking around, looking for answers as nonchalantly as possible to not give others the same ideas, but it seems like everyone has a different theory and the only common agreement seems to be he was last seen during the Long Night.

He'll just have to demand payment for a corpse if he finds it, and that's what Rocket assumes he's looking for. He finds the seediest taverns and quietest back alley gatherings when he starts begrudgingly looking for help.

"Got a horse?" He asks an unusually familiar merchant, without making direct eye contact, and when the guy just offers him a bunch of likely scam items he moves on, looking for anyone who might be of use. "Look all I'm saying is we get a dog and we circle the city a few times. All that snow out there, we find some bones, give em to the Defenders, collect our gold and relocate to sunny Didymos. In, out, done, and a little bit richer for a lot less work than this wild goose chase."

Tidal Troubles, Didymos, let's go grab some treasure

[Sure, the receding tideline is concerning even for Rocket. He can feel down to his very bones how unnatural it is, seeing Didymos stranded and so far removed from the glass sea like this. It's uncomfortable, it's wrong but what the hell can he do about it?

There's a chance there might be answers somewhere out in the shallows but even if there aren't he has a semi-aquatic animas and a never ending hunger for treasure. It's a win-win situation to get out there and claim what the sea is so kindly offering up before someone else does or it all gets swallowed back up.

He normally avoids shoes, unsettled by being unable to feel and grip the cround beneath his claws, but he puts on some fisherman's waders that go up past his kneeds and tucks his tail up under his leather coat before combing the docks and nearby taverns. He'll need to enlist some help, in case he finds something more than he can carry, or a sea serpent. He's scrappy but he's small and not made for aquatic movement. What might only go up to the waist on some races would have him tilting his head back just to breathe and he's not the best swimmer.]

I hear all the lost cargo from centuries of ships is out there.
[He whispers to the nearest person who seems worth sharing such info with, largely predicated by whether or not he knows them or they have an animal, a 20-sided courier, or a vial on them.] It'd be a shame not to at least have a look.

tidal trouble

[exaomori]

I'm sure there are plenty of crates full of rotten fish.

[Shura likes the beach, but Shura is much more into beaches that don't carry that ripe smell of decaying sea life. But here she is, trying to dodge the chaos in Krimnos by running back to Didymos and finding more trouble. How odd, all three of the cities are facing crises at the same time!

Seeing as Shura isn't that great at pursuing conspiracy theories, she'll stick to checking out the easy stuff, walking the exposed sands and sticking to familiar faces when she sees them.]

But it probably ain't a bad idea to poke around a little. You got a spot picked out already?

missing in action

[forswore]

“That’s assuming there are bones to find,” a rough-looking tiefling speaks up, drily, although Rocket hasn’t directly addressed him. “You’d be better off using magic for that kind of tracking, if you can afford it. Though I’d be surprised if the Defenders haven’t already tried.”

Unless they’re not actually trying to find him, which is an interesting possibility, but with no successors immediately stepping up to the plate, there’s nobody who seems to immediately benefit from the captain’s disappearance except the city’s enemies. Daud’s idly playing with something in his hands— his courier, fully assembled — though he puts it away in a pocket and straightens easily enough.

“Have you spoken to them yet?”

Thilpa's Tribute

[iamgroot]

Groot does not, by in large, understand the idea of crafting boats, or of setting them out on the water, or of sailing in general. It is not his wheelhouse, sailing, and as such the whole process lingers a bit beyond him. The concept of toy boats, therefore, is equally mystifying.

He watches, from a rather respectful distance, as Rocket sets his little boat on the water once, then again after Lylla has scooped it up and returned it. The way he walks is dejected and the mood that hangs over him is somber if not overtly sad and Groot, for all that he doesn't understand, at least recognizes that it has something to do with the boat.

The arboreon is not a craftsman and he hasn't quite got a hold of why boats float beyond being made of wood, but it doesn't take him too long to make an approximation of the little boat from his vines. It is an ugly thing but similar in shape to the one Rocket set off into the water.

When the two finally come nearer, he holds it out and, as if to draw attention to the offer, the little mouse on his shoulder squeaks loudly and swiftly in a chittering invitation.

tidal

[dorzalta]

She's not been to Didymos often; out of the three cities, there was little reason to venture to it, save for ser Jorah, and he had no desire to return there. By the time anything developed between she and Jon, the wars had begun and there'd been no time.

Not so, now. It took some cajoling, but after another exhilarating ride on an airship, she's here. From all the stories she's heard of the city, however, never... would she have imagined it possible for the tides to recede as far as they have. It seems wrong. The chattering around her is lined with stress and worry, something she's not heard since the Long Night, and long before that, war.

Standing upon the docks, staring out ahead, a voice interrupts her thoughts. She's half a mind to ignore whoever speaks, but the offer of adventure has her tearing her gaze from the waterline and to... the beastfolk beside her. He's a familiar face, one she'd seen at Epithymetikon's ruins.

"Mn, so long as you don't intend to blow up all the ships we might encounter." Yes, she'd heard you talking about exploding the dragon's remains, you little stinker. "Shall we go?"

shura | will match prose/brackets

[exaomori]

thlipa's tribute

Somber affairs don't suit Shura. Her nature is irreverent, borderline profane. But she isn't without empathy and knows well enough to respect the mourning around her. There's something niggling inside of her, a despair of her own, fed by the weeping and quiet prayers from those offering their tribute to the goddess. It's been eating at her since she woke on the battlefield, and she knows just how to quiet that gnawing feeling in her stomach. Booze and snacks, just something to distract her until she finds something easier to focus on.

She claims a spot up off of the ground, up on a rooftop of a business that overlooks the bay. There's a nice view, and the candles bobbing in the current have a certain aesthetic. Or at least they would if this whole day didn't involve remembering the dead. A ghost was the last thing Shura wanted to deal with when she was in a bad enough mood as it was.

"Huh, what are you lookin' at?"

Maybe it's the bit where there's a lion curled up behind her that's caught some attention, maybe it's just an accidental glance up. Whatever the reason, Shura's itching for something less than serene. But maybe she shouldn't be calling out so loudly on the street like this?

an army adrift

She only went to Krimnos because she picked up a job guarding some merchant's wares as he did his business in Krimnos. While the job itself had gone off without a hitch, it was impossible to miss the frightened whispers and rumors flying in the market. A strange army wearing the colors of Atrómitos rushing the gates and doing their damnedest to break through.

She wanted to leave the cliff city as soon as the job was over, but instead, Shura finds herself on the front lines, trying to haul a bound-up knight off to the side. She isn't built for heavy lifting, so she'll need help. Help from whatever pour soul that doesn't seem to be a stupified Atrómitos knight that happens to be closest.

"Hey, you! Help me with this."

tidal troubles

The undead soldiers at the gates of Krimnos might be a compelling reason for a few to stick around in Krimnos, but there are too many ghosts of memories in the city, and so Shura bails on the trouble as soon as she's able to get a ticket out. Unfortunately for her lazy butt, she can't seem to get away from the trouble entirely. Having grown up in Krimnos, Shura doesn't understand much about the tides, but she knows enough to know that this is a bad sign.

She'll venture out near the shadows with a companion, really just anyone who looks like they're bored. Who knows what kind of angry fish creatures might be lurking about? Considering everything she's seen recently, Shura can't really deny the fact that it's possible that some fish zombies might start coming out.

"Jeez, this place stinks," she says mildly, setting a hand on hip as she comes to a slow stop. Of course it smells, the place is filled with rotting fish. Even the lion keeping close to her won't mess with the fish.

wildcard!!

thilpa

[kingsroads]

"You," Strange responds, as if it's absolutely obvious. A little bit of creepy scrying and location magic told him where Shura was and some more downright stalking led him to her area. Strange has a bottle of something obviously alcoholic in his hand that he holds up, showing off to Shura.

"I said I'd buy you a drink after that whole Long Night business. Well, I'll do one better. Come down there and I'll give this to you."

Or he'll come up to visit her. Either/or. But it would certainly be easier for the more athletic Shura to come down than it would be for the absolutely not athletic Strange to come up.

Jon Snow ✥ OTA ✥ will match format!

[northerndragon]

[Itinerary:
- City of the Free Peoples 11-14 January (incl. Thilpa's Day on 1/11, and the trip to Epithymetikon's skeleton on 1/13 on the appropriate log)
- Krimnos 15-20 January (approx.)
- CotFP 21-?
- Possible trip to Didymos after 22 January - TBD!

Top levels coming as I write them.]

Thlipa's Day - X Marks the Spot/City of the Free Peoples

[northerndragon]

Where should he — they — go on a day like today? Didymos would be the place, but in some ways it’s like a raw wound to him, especially when it comes to a day of remembrance and mourning. His family is not far from his mind most days, but this day, a day that meant something in Thalassa and the surrounding lands, they are overwhelmingly present. It’s one of the first days since Daenerys joined him that he’s gone back to wondering: Why me? Why am I alive, and not them?

If nothing else, Ned Stark had been a better man than Jon is, surely of more use to the world then or now. Is it a matter of how and when he was killed? But then there are his brothers, his sisters. Did any of them live? He was well-traveled in those days, and he still couldn't learn much.

It would be sweet to see them again, before he forgets the lines and curves of their faces.

X Marks the Spot isn’t his home, but it serves as one for the time being, and a river runs close to it. It's as good a place as any to offer fruit, fish, both things his family would have liked, and to launch a little candle-boat later in the day.

“Bran. He loved to climb — trees and and other tall things. Arya was friends with anyone.”

He murmurs the words low. If someone approaches, he may be too distracted to notice them. Or he may offer them a small smile, the best he can muster, and a nod of acknowledgement, and a look of mild interest. Or he may answer questions that come.

When you’ve been brought back after so long, your dead are everywhere.

[apilot]

Thlipa:
[ It's strange to be back in Thalassa. Didymos is still that same city, many of the streets unchanged by time even with the growth the city has experienced.

Poe finds his way to the house that was once his home. A different family lives there now and the former knight doesn't linger for long, staring with a distant look in his eyes at the walls that have weathered a century of life since he last laid eyes on them. Predictably his father isn't there. Poe didn't expect him to be but it's strange to think about now that he is face to face with the evidence.

He moves on, slipping his hands into his pockets and heading for the market. He'll light a candle for his parents, his fellow knights, his mentors, and all the lives that had touched his and were now ended. One candle for a hundred lost souls feels lacking, but there is only so much Poe can do. Thlipa will understand, he thinks, as he passes over a few silver for a beautiful little candle of colorfully swirled wax and heads for the docks. ]

An Army adrift:
[ This city had been his to defend when he was still one of their knights. The oath he had taken then still held fast to him as the city came under attack again, and Poe did not hesitate to join the fray. The soldiers attacking the city now were not like those he had fought in the dragons' war. Then the fight had felt sour, wrong in its essence and unnecessary. This fight was one for the city's survival and the certainty it gave Poe brought him undistracted peace of mind as he fought to cut down the attacking army.

There was something unnatural in the feel of those he took on. They fought unrelenting and unhampered by cold or injury. It didn't take long to piece together why. These soldiers didn't speak or shout. They didn't cry out when they were struck and they didn't stop pushing forward even after taking an arrow through an eye.

Undead. He was almost sure of it and Poe grit his teeth as he notched another arrow into his bow from the wall, moving closer to a nearby fighter. He couldn't risk shouting to be heard. They're not going down. ] We need a new strategy. I'm going down there.

army adrift

[exaomori]

[This isn't someone Shura expected to see, but seeing a familiar face for the first time since waking up is almost pleasant. Only almost, considering their situation and the fact that there was an undead army at the gates.]

Goin' down all by yourself? I guess some things don't change~

[She teases, though her tone changes to something more serious as she leans in.]

But before you go in and do something reckless, help a girl out, okay? There should be something around that guy's neck. I want it, but we got to keep him alive to get it. Think you can distract him for me while I get him restrained?

[thatsrough]

The Disappearance of Captain Lykos
Teddy isn't comfortable in this city. He hasn't been since the Long Night. The time away in Didymos had helped to calm his nerves some, but it seems as though his return to the city is ill-timed. Everywhere the feeling of unrest surrounds him and the strangers walking the city streets. There's an uneasiness in the air, a building tension that makes the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

On several occasions he has felt eyes on him, and looked to see the same cat staring at him when his eyes locked with it. There's something off about the animal. It feels weird to be so far from his animas, the small primate left in the safety of his room in Didymos while Teddy returned to the city for a day. He can feel the distance between them but being able to feel the connection is still reassuring in its own way.

He draws the hood down over his head and listens to the chatter of the city, avoiding his canine form for now despite the compulsion to return to it. Catching the tail end of a conversation about seeking out the missing captain he speaks up, his voice quiet and rarely used.

"Tracking won't work if he's been gone this long. Any foot or scent trails are long gone. If he is alive, we'll need some other way to find him." He's fidgety, rubbing one scarred hand with the other, but his eyes are intense, locked only on the person he is speaking to. "Magic. Luck, maybe. If there was some idea of where to start, I could find him."

Tidal Troubles
Teddy doesn't trust the water. Even with the tide out, especially with the tide out, he finds the ocean threatening. The smell that comes from the bay is nauseating, a mix of drying kelp and rotting fish that has replaced the more pleasant sea breeze air.

The sensation is odd. With mouse hiding in his hair he finds himself stepping onto the shore against his better judgement. His gut twists and his instincts tell him to turn back but he keeps going forward even as mouse tightens her tiny hands in his hair. Amid all the discomfort and distrust of his canine instincts that he has so heavily come to rely on is that flicker of human curiosity, the desire and need to understand the unknown. It pushes him forward until his shoes are filling with water from the weak waves attempting to take back losing ground.

He crouches down, lifting up a hopelessly flopping fish stranded in a too-shallow tide pool and releases it back into the deeper water where it darts off with a splash.

He stays close to the ground, one hand in the wet sand to balance as he looks out at the shallow bay.

"This is awful."

[rocketraccoon]

"It ain't that bad." Rocket watches Lylla looking disappointed to see such a big, tasy fish darting away but the otter is quickly distracted by the nearest tidepool, digging around with her paws and an empty shell in search of clams or oysters she could eat. She was enjoying the water much more than Rocket, whose nose burned already from the smell.

"Chance to reunite people with their long lost items washing up or exposed by the waves and tide." For a small finders fee. And whatever he couldn't find someone to sell to, he could just keep until some sucker that could be coerced into buying soggy forgotten treasures off of him could be found.

"You don't look like you're down here to go for a swim. Treasure hunting or just felt like glooming it up with that sunny face of yours?"