usir | Mini Event: Aftermath and The Oxen Gods

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Mini Event: Aftermath and The Oxen Gods

🜙 The Aftermath

	The re-animated fighters attacking both Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples burst into flames as the waters of the glass ocean flooded back into the bay. Now nothing but ashes remains of the bodies and the bay has gradually returned to its crystal clear calm waters. Not a trace of the cloaked figures or the fog that had accompanied remains, and the phoenix marks on the survivors of the pit have faded away. The cities have been quietly dealing with their individual recoveries. Didymos' people pulled together to help clean up the shores of the bay, repair damages and recover boats that had been damaged or knocked loose into the bay. In Krimnos, efforts to clear away and repair damages from both the avalanche and the siege continue. With no one certain what has become of Captain Lykos in the general population of the City of the Free Peoples even the end to their second war with Tsekour's Stormers has not brought calm to the civil unrest as the Defenders attempt to force the city to fall into military control and the people of the city continue to resist with violent countermeasures. In this state of recovery, conflict, fear, and uneasy confusion the day of the Oxen Gods comes with few people truly in the spirit of what would normally be seen as a warm and cheerful holiday. An uneasy lull of peace settles on all three cities as people attempt to be faithful to honoring the spirit of the paired gods. Vodi and Voda's day of celebration is meant to be a time of community, love, and reflection. The day of the paired oxen gods of marriage and fertility marks the true start of the thaw, when the snow and ice begin to melt and temperatures begin to rise. Spring is still months away but the first true thaw comes mid-February, right on schedule. The snow in the foothills, plains, and open lands has begun to melt, small patches of greenery appear near the edges of thawed rivers and lakes, the outer edges of tree branches sprout new growth and small, fresh leaves. Animals that have been hibernating or hiding through the winter freeze begin emerging from their homes and can be seen exploring the land for more abundant food sources. Whispered rumors from Didymos about a dragon rising from the bay reach other cities but are never discussed outside of hushed conversations in the shadows or in huddled gatherings that quickly break apart. Speculation is widespread and varied over the origin of the fog and the masked figures that stole away over a hundred people in the night, the strange attacks, and the ultimate fate of those kidnapped. Many citizens who had lost daughters, brothers, sisters, sons, mothers, fathers, friends, or other relatives and acquaintances to the pit continue to desperately seek out the missing, their bodies never recovered and the truth behind their disappearance and eventual death unknown to any but those awakened who had come back from the pit and those they chose to share their stories with, if they chose to believe such horrifying tales.
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🜙 The Oxen Gods.

	Outside of these concerns, rumors, and the general unease across all three cities, attempts are made to forget for just a little while and focus on the celebration. Vodi and Voda are honored by a show of community and compassion. Gifts of fruits and flowers, usually those grown in greenhouses or by magic, are given to loved ones. Ceremonies take place at both dawn and dusk, offering food, gifts, and music to lift spirits and symbolize a union of peace. In Didymos a pod of fin whales can be seen returning to the bay, unusual for this time of year. They linger near the center of the bay, singing mournful whale songs to one another. Celebrations in the city have a heavy focus on Vodi, the moon god. Vodi's impact on the tides makes him a highly respected god, especially among the fishermen and sailors. As the moon rises and reflects on the bay's reflective surface the city comes together as one unified community. In the open squares people from both quarters gather over music, a fresh bounty of fish dishes from the repaired ships, sea shanties sung loudly over various types of liquor and beautiful displays by wild magic entertainers, pairing water, wind, and fire magic to create visual plays, displays of talent, and melting ice sculptures. Didymos' specialty of sweet and salty ice creams are offered by various inventive food fanatics who offer up new and exciting flavors and naming competitions. A pair of young ox calves are paraded through the town, dressed up with ribbons and colorful paints. People pet them as they go by, and the oxen are eventually taken to the temple of the oxen gods near the outskirts of the city where they will live out the rest of their years free from expectations and protected by the temple caretakers as symbolic creatures of honor. In Krimnos as most of the snow is finally cleared away from both sides of the wall, the great sundial is cleared off and the light of the sun's rays reflect off its many-faceted surface, creating dozens of rainbows in the light fog of the warming sky above the city as a colorful artificial aurora borealis. Voda is honored most strongly in the cliff city, the warmth of the sun praised for the thaw that pulls the city out of dangerous freezing temperatures. People throughout the city provide her with offerings in the hopes of ensuring a slow and even thaw that won't bury the city in snow or mudslides. Celebrations across the city happen near midday and are most often celebrated by couples in love and close friends or families, celebrating passion, family, and love with sweets, plants, and crafted goods made of rare metals or glass. Normally celebrations in the City of the Free Peoples revolve around a parade of oxen from local farms, banquets, music, and a celebration of the vastly diverse community of varied cultures with a heavy focus on the rebirth of a new year, the start of a new planting season, and a celebration of the farmers that help keep the city fed and prosperous. This year the city is divided by the conflict between the resistance and the defenders. The city is actively pushing back against the militant hold of force the defenders are attempting to keep over them with the preface of keeping the citizens under control and it is widely assumed Captain Lykos is dead, with the prevailing theory being that the current leaders of the Defenders have killed him. Several members of the resistance broadcast across the city a video of them in possession of Lykos' hooded cloak, claiming they recovered it from the Defenders' warcamp and insisting that the Defenders are the city's enemy. A pair of large orc captains, the duo currently in charge of the city's defensive army, return fire, claiming that the members of the Resistance have kidnapped or killed Captain Lykos and are attempting to destabilize the city so they can take it over for themselves. A hefty reward is placed on the heads of the Resistance and people who speak out against the Defenders are routinely taken into custody and locked up. Before the celebration in Krimnos, during the celebration in Didymos, and following the celebration in the City of the Free Peoples, a strange feline can be seen pacing about the trade district, meowing insistently at anyone with a vial like hers who passes her by. Did you see her? After the full moon on the 19th, several farmers report sightings of werewolves around the city outskirts or report close encounters with the dangerous creatures.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thankfully, a huge fuckoff lion is easy to spot even when it's night. Strange looks over at Shishi...looks down at his crate...and then instantly wonders and worries where Shura is. If her lion is here, then she should be nearby, right? He wouldn't let Bell go anywhere by herself, obviously Shura's line of thought would follow his! And considering how she might want to give payback after he messed with her a little while he was invisible...Strange is a bit more alert now than he was before.

Granted, he's still not good at things like 'searching for others' and 'looking for things in general', so a more alert Strange doesn't necessarily mean much. But it is what it is.

"If you're going to stand there, help me dig. There's a small crate underneath here and I've a feeling it's valuable." He has absolutely no idea what the hell's in that crate.

Fortunately(?) for Strange, Shura doesn't (usually) hold grudges for petty things. Her vengeance came in the form of twisting his wrist, and that was enough for her. Probably. Either way, there's still no sign of her. Shishi is on his own, and he doesn't look too worried.

Whether or not Strange really expects Shishi to understand, the lion will move in, taking his sweet time sniffing the sand that Strange has overturned, even going so far as to paw in the spot Strange is working on, as if he is trying to dig. He looks to Strange, staring at him with an expression that might be expectant, but he's also a cat and that just might be his usual expression.

Does this dumb animal not know how to dig? Strange gives Shishi a look like he's a total idiot before he starts explaining, in a tone of voice that assholes use to explain something that really, you should know already.

"You take your paw and you use it to push away the dirt, like this." Strange takes his hand, moves it down into the sand, and pushes some sand away from the crate he's trying to dig up. "That's called digging."

He knew the lion was big and ate everything under the sun, but was he stupid as well? It's digging, everybody knows how to dig, it's instinctual or some nonsense like that.

Hm, yes. Digging. Like the thing Shishi does to hide his shit. Shishi is so incredibly impressed by Strange's lecture and demonstration, Shishi will take the moment to lay down, right over Strange's precious buried crate. Good luck trying to move him.

Strange just pauses before giving Shishi a look that's pure 'really? really dude.' What an amazingly unhelpful lion.

"That's not what I wanted you to do and you knew it," Strange scoffs. "Now please, move."

He does not have nearly enough physical strength to move the lion himself. So, Strange has to settle for pointing in the other direction and giving Shishi what he hopes is an impressive stare.

WOW WHAT A STARE. Shishi is very impressed. One might think Strange was going to do something about this. The lion rolls onto his back, reaching a paw out to bat at Strange's hand. Look! He means no harm! This isn't a trap at all!!

Meanwhile, at some food stall not far from the shore, Shura realizes that her animas is taking an awfully long time to do his business. It isn't that she's afraid that someone will try to capture or hurt him, but Shura remembers how Shishi lost a fight with a hermit crab not all too long ago. Better go and investigate, following the lion's footprints on the sand.

What a dumb lion.

Strange pauses, looks over at Shishi...then sighs before he goes to rub the lion's belly. This might be a very obvious trap but maybe if he rubs the lion's belly and tries to push him aside then Shishi will get off of the box? Maybe? He can only hope.

"Move."

Heck yeah, tummy rubs!! While Shishi wasn't aiming for that, he'll happily take it. That is, he'll take it until Strange shoves him, and that's just an invitation to play. Shishi wraps his paws around Strange's arm, and he's opening his mouth wide, about to gently bite down, but he stops suddenly. In the distance, the shrill sound of someone whistling can be heard, and Shishis's ears turn towards the sound. For a moment he's very still, then he's releasing Strange and moving to his feet in a quick motion. Strange gets access to his precious treasure back. Shishi is too busy making a weird barking sort of noise to care about Strange, the tip of his tail flicking excitedly. If Strange looks in the direction Shishi's looking towards, he'll eventually see Shura coming towards them.

"So noisy! You're going to get in trouble like that, hairball." A pause, then, "Strange?"

"Shura!" Man, Strange is happy to see her. Not just because now that she's here, she can deal with her ridiculous lion but also because he just likes being around her in general. He gives Shura a wide smile, which is almost instantly undercut by the fact that he's a little dirty.

"The tide's washed up a few crates thanks to that whole business with the pit. I want to see what's inside." And possibly sell what's inside, but that's neither here nor there. "Care to help me dig this one out? There's two small ones over here and you can have first pick."

That stupid grin is almost charming, even if he is a dumb, dirty elf. It’s possible that Shura’s spent too much time around teenage boys. Shishi waits until Shura’s closer before he trots on over to her, rubbing against her legs and making a contented growly sort of sound.

“This is what you’ve been doin’?” Shura asks the lion, tugging on his ear. Shishi seems happy to get any sort of attention and rumbles louder. Shura turns her attention to Strange, looking over his pile of sand.

“You’d think they all would have been looted by now,” she replies. Did she want to get down in the sand and get as dirty as Strange was? Not really. But she remembers the flute, and it might be worth it. She moves to crouch down beside Strange, and Shishi follows, very determined to keep in contact with her.

"You'd think. However, when the waters returned, it brought things back with it." Things including crates. Strange returns to digging, using his hands to help move smaller amounts of dirt but using magic to help remove anything larger that he can't carry with two hands.

And, in pure Strange form, he's talking all the while.

"I can't help but wonder if these were originally owned by whoever captured some of our number or if they're washed up due to shipwrecks or something of the sort. I've found bits of whalebone and plenty of spoiled fish but not much of use yet."

Of course he’s talking. Shura expects nothing less from him at this point. She’ll let him go on, occasionally making a noncommittal hum as she half-listens to him.

“Who knows,” she’ll finally say in reply, reaching over to brush some of the sand off the corner of a crate. Shishi leans in to try a sniff, but Shura catches him in a headlock before he can get in the way. “When the water was first receding, it looked like just cargo, maybe a few lost items along the way. But I doubt the guys who caused it would be carrying too much on a boat. That would have been a risk for them.”

She isn’t much help with just one hand brushing at the dirt, but she can move in after Strange to help clear out the little bits.

"You're right," Strange admits. "And from what I've heard, there wasn't much in the pit those people would need in the first place." Torture pit doesn't require many supplies, just torture things.

By now, one of the crates is unearthed enough that the top is visible. The first crate they manage to unearth is small and about the size of a necklace. Strange is panting as he moves and lifts the crate a bit more out of the sand: physical labor is not his strongest suit, especially when dealing with something in shifting sands.

"You can have this one, if you want. I know there's another buried nearby, but I don't know what size the damn thing is."

Shura could tease him for his exhaustion. But that might discourage him from working, and she doesn't need that.

"Woulda been nice if they were that stupid." Leave a nice trail behind them like Koroc, that would be great. But they weren't going to be that lucky, and even if the identity of the kidnappers was obvious it wouldn't mean that they were any better off.

At Strange's prompting, Shura bends over, loosening her grip on the lion to bend over and wedge her fingers under the small crate and giving it a good pull. With Strange having done most of the work, it'll dislodge itself with a few insistent tugs from Shura.

"Shouldn't you look at it before givin' it away?" She turns the crate over in her hands, giving it a little shake. "Bigger isn't always better, y'know~"

He shakes his head, before giving Shura another wry, dirty smile. "Not knowing what you'll get is part of the excitement. It's like receiving a present: anticipation matters just as much as the actual gift."

When you don't have any expectations, it's okay if they're missed or they don't happen. So, he just watches Shura. Strange is going to take an opportunity to not work at the moment. Instead, he just relaxes, leaning into a calm stance as his attention focuses on Shura.

It's a very weird feeling, being watched while opening something. Clearly, Shura hasn't had that many birthday presents before since she doesn't quite understand just how not knowing what you're getting makes it better.

"Quit staring," she grumbles, but she'll pry the box open with her fingers, an awkward task with Shishi under her arm. Inside of the box is... a string of teeth? What the heck?? Shura holds up the necklace, staring at it blankly.

He does not quit staring and instead proceeds to continue staring. That being said, the string of teeth is...awkward. And Strange can't help but frown a little as he looks at it.

The hell is that thing?

"Well, that's...unique." Weird. "You can keep that one if you wish." Seriously, what can someone do with a string of teeth?

There's magic on the thing, though Shura can't tell exactly what it's for. Strange is staring like a moron, and it's distracting.

"It'll sell for something," she mutters, loosening her hold on Shishi just enough for him to take a sniff at it before she slips it into her pouch. "C'mon, where was the other one you were wantin' to look at?"

"It's over there," Strange says, as he gestures to a larger looking crate, halfway buried in the sand. Strange brushes some dirt from his hands on his trousers leg as he walks over to that crate.

"Honestly, I'm not going to bother trying to unearth that one entirely. I was thinking of just prying off some of the boards and seeing what spills out."

Mr. No Upper Arm Strength isn't going to bother with things like heavy lifting.

"You got somethin' to pry it open with?" Shura asks, following him as he moves to the larger crate. Shishi seems content enough to stick by Shura's side instead of trying to get in Strange's way again.

Shura is, of course, not going to volunteer to try and do any heavy lifting herself.

He does not. Hmm. Strange frowns a moment, looking at the crate, then the ground, then the crate again.

"Give me a moment." He bends down, placing a hand on the ground as he starts to mutter. The sand starts to pull together, rising from the beach in a small, tight pillar. Strange isn't paying attention to Shura as he continues muttering, focusing his magic on that pillar of sand. The sand tightens, moves back...then slams into the side of the crate.

Thankfully, the pillar is tight enough to punch a hole in the side of the crate. Bronze coins spill out of the crate as well as a small wooden scaled box. Strange looks immensely pleased with himself as he reaches over to grab the smaller box.

Well. That wasn't quite what Shura had in mind, but that little spell did the trick. Shura hums in approval.

"That works~" Too bad the bronze coins wouldn't get them much. But maybe whatever in the box would be useful? "Maybe you'll have better luck with whatever's in there."

Or maybe it would be more teeth. Shura expects their luck to be that crappy at this point. She'll watch him open the box, but unlike Stange, she has better sense than to just stare like a creeper.

Strange looks super proud of himself for solving a problem with brute force. He pockets a few of the bronze coins before opening the box...and then his expression almost instantly drops. Because huh, he's got a necklace also. Strange pulls out a small golden locket and a golden compass. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't that.

"Maybe we can trade necklaces?" Strange jokes, looking from Shura's super teethy necklace to his super basic looking one. There's a wry smile on his face: the fact that they both got necklaces is slightly hilarious to him.

Shura sees to reason to try and pop his little bubble or pride. The man was proud of most of the things he did, so it wouldn't have really done too much.

But it's another necklace? How absolutely droll.

"Nya~ I think this one suits me better, don't you?" Keep your little locket, Strange. Shura wants to look badass.

"I think it does too," he'll admit. He looks over at the locket, giving it a once-over. Pity that he doesn't have any pictures to put in it. He didn't wake up with any on his person and he highly doubts any pictures of Arabella exist this far in the future.

"The problem with the locket is that I don't have anyone to put inside." He drops the necklace in his pocket, with a little shrug. "Still, it might sell for a little bit."

Of course, once he sits down with the thing and realizes just how magical it is, those dreams of selling the locket will quickly vanish.

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