usir | May Event Log #2

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May Event Log #2

🜙 Seyra's Serenade

	Across most of Idan spring is in full bloom. With spring has come a swathe of new growth overtaking the land and painting it a rainbow of colors. The farmlands are alive with life and the wild and open lands are full of young baby creatures frolicking in and out of bushes, tall grasslands, and trees. Centaurs have come out from their hidden villages to watch over the open lands and the young folk of the various races are celebrating their vacation from academies or apprenticeships by holding sporting competitions, races through the city streets, or sneaking into taverns and other areas of the cities or off into the wildlands and generally getting up to mischief. During the peak blooming season of spring comes Seyra's Serenade, a day used by the people of Idan to celebrate the speckled doe goddess. As the goddess of growth and healing, she is seen across Idan as one of the benevolent deities and affectionately referred to as the mother of the stars. During Seyra's Serenade the three cities and the lands between them are surrounded and filled with floral growth that is used in the Festival of Flowers. Largely seen as a children's festival, the young ones gather the flowers and decorated their homes and the city streets, rivers, bay, and ledges with flower chains, floral graffiti, and petals. Hunting is severely limited for the month in honor of Seyra and to respect the growth of all young creatures just entering the world. Diets are adjusted to a focus of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and the taverns help the older population celebrate 'healing' by offering floral wines, vodkas, and gins, as well as amaretto-based drinks. Powerful wild guardian creatures wake from their winter slumber and can be glimpsed moving slowly through the forests or out in the plains. Most of them look like creatures found in their respective homes, but much larger and with elements of the wild land about them. They are slow and docile but very powerful. They can be killed and their pelts or bones sell for very high value in the black market, but they are protected creatures and killing them will have consequences. Hunting during the month of May is not explicitly forbidden but is strongly discouraged by the three cities. Injuring young creatures or killing the parents of young creatures is a sure way to draw Seyra's ire during May and find oneself cursed by the Mother of Stars. Those who hunt creatures under Seyra's protection are afflicted by a curse known as Hunter's Remorse, a curse that usually only affects those who kill unicorns and is designed to cripple poachers, hunters, and predators. The curse forces the afflicted to feel a crippling and powerful empathy, especially towards the suffering of the world and the animals living in it. Hunter's Remorse is not widely believed to be a real affliction and most of Idan's population write it off as a cautionary tale and a fictional curse.

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🜙 The Huntress

	A new creature has been sighted in the swamps, patrolling the paths and stealing hunters' injured prey from them. It's said to be fast and silent, able to blend into the swamp despite its unusual coloration. A group of hunters from Didymos have put a hefty bounty on the creature. They say it is large and covered in a mix of scales and fur. It is quick, moves soundlessly through the swamp and by their description looks like a lion, a zebra, and a monitor lizard all rolled into one. They never see it coming but its hide is too thick for arrows to penetrate and they haven't been able to get close enough to hit it with other weapons. If you bring back its hide they'll pay in gold, but you'll have to find it for yourself. That means risking the other dangers of the swamp: sinking pits, venomous snakes, carnivorous plants, predators of the land and water, and ornery elementals. They think its nest is somewhere in the Swamp of Lost Souls. Attempting to track down the creature can either lead to the creature itself, or its nest. Astute trackers will find there are more than one of these strange-looking creatures in the swamp, but only one of them matches the full description given by the hunters and she is much larger and leaner than the smaller members of her pack. The hunters will likely be unable to tell the difference. They appear to be amphibious and capable of camouflage. They are quick and silent in both the water and on land. Their furry manes are actually whiskers that help them sense vibrations and shifts in water or air currents. The creatures are not aggressive toward people unless cornered or attacked but they are territorial of the shoreline and the larger one will grab any wounded animals attacked in the swamplands and disappear with them. Their hides are dense and thick, reflecting or shielding them from most attacks other than those that would pierce metal armor and they do seem to possess earth magic focused around the mud that is prevalent throughout the swamp. They will cause the ground to constrict and pull down around the feet of any threats and coat weaponry in mud that quickly hardens to dull weapons and increase their weight.

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🜙 Friend or Foe

	Along the shore and out further into the bay the spectators that were formerly just observing the city and its people have had a shift of demeanor. Now every boat that tries to leave the docks and every person who approaches the docks or the shore with a boat is met with a very different interaction. From the 14th to the 17th the merfolk observers suddenly grow aggressive, sinking ships that attempt to exit the gate, harassing city citizens at the dock, and using wind or water magic to force vessels back to the docks. Their sudden turn from largely harmless observers to an attacking force demands action from Queen Adira and she prepares her knights for the prospect of a battle on waters where they will not have the upper hand. Retaliation from the Didymos knights trying to protect the ships and the docks from the merfolk causes a matched rise in aggression from the sea dwellers. The knights work to load their ships with weapons and the mages enchant the vessels to protect them, fighting back the merfolk attackers to prepare two of the armed fleet ships for battle. During the preparation on the 17th, the merfolk suddenly and unexpectedly retreat from the bay and the waters go still. Determined to get to the bottom of the strange attacks, Queen Adira puts out a call for those who have been in contact with the merfolk or anyone who might better be able to try and understand the confusing actions of the sea people. She makes plans to send a small fleet through the guarded Sunset Gate to investigate where the rest of the merfolk went and why they launched such a sudden and brief attack on the bay. On the 18th fish briefly begin schooling up on the shorelines and small, aquatic animals begin beaching themselves or becoming trapped upstream in the estuaries and rivers. The actions of the sea-life in the bay becomes erratic, aggressive, and frenzied as diluted red water begins draining into the estuaries and the bay before dissipating, the ocean water diluting and eventually eradicating any sign of the polluted fresh water. The bay calms down once more and the naval vessel Perspective begins its voyage out the sunset gate. Armed with a collection of Didymos knights, a group of scholars and mages, and a small group of volunteers, the vessel travels out to Logistykon's reef, heading for the shelf that drops off into the deeper, dark waters of the Glass Sea. Once they pass the gate they are followed by a blue-skinned, spiny merwoman with a spotted porpoise-like tail. She circles the vessel a few times, passing closer and closer near the hull and pushing back on the sails with wind magic before they finally anchor just past Logistykon's reef, only a nautical mile from the shelf. Several other merfolk can be glimpsed watching from just below or with their heads just above the water's surface, surrounding the vessel at a distance that keeps them out of range from most weapons. The blue merwoman approaches the ship, keeping a shorter distance between herself and the vessel, and seems to wait for them to come to her aboard one of the ship's smaller lifeboats. From where they are anchored, one of the scholars idly comments that the reef looks different and anyone who has observed the reef before will see the skeleton has suffered heavy damage. Cracks now cover the surface of the bones and Logistykon's skull has split down the center.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hmm." She's watching you, Mister. But she concedes to that with a brief dip of her head.

"Yes, tonight. Should I make you something to eat? Goodness knows you probably forget to eat most of the day."

"You can if you want. I'll probably pick something up from the market, but I won't say no to food."

He does forget to eat most of the day. If Strange is being honest, Alistair eats better than he does, only because the little dragon is fairly vocal when he's hungry.

"Then let me know when you're leaving the city and it will be ready when you arrive." Plus she has to take down the illusion around her house once he's close so he can actually find the place.

"I'll give you a message on the courier," Strange says, with a little nod. "I'll see you then."

And then, with a little nod, Strange heads out. Near the end of the day, Strange sends Christine the message and heads off towards her house. Unsurprisingly, he gets there a bit later than expected as he's distracted by a few plants and an interesting bug. When he arrives at the tree, he's not even bothering to hide his impressed tone.

"You know, I can't wait to see what it's like inside."

"And here I thought your interest lay with my garden," she jokes before waving him in. The tree is large, but from the outside definitely doesn't seem large enough to hold more than a bed and table. However, when he steps inside he'll see a mud room where he can hang up any outerwear he may have worn. There's a small bench with a pair of winter boots stored underneath, where Christine no longer needs them. At the end of the room is a staircase, which she gestures to.

"I'll give you a tour. I'm still working on decorating. It will probably be years until I have it the way I want."

Spring is here so Strange doesn't have much in the way of outerwear. However, he does have a light cloak he was wearing to help protect from any rain or storms that might spring up. That gets hung up in the mudroom.

"My interest can lie in both things. I've bought a place of my own, though it's closer to the city itself. Maybe I'll steal some design inspiration from your home."

He's joking, and gives Christine a big smile that tells her that much. Of course, it doesn't change the fact that Strange's design inspiration is 'bookshelves' and 'even more bookshelves.'

"Oh, by all means," she jokes back before leading him up the stairs. She gestures to a door on the right. "Bathroom with a water closet. Nothing special." So she doesn't open the door. But it's there if he needs it.

"Study on the left. This room needs the most work." Christine steps inside and clasps her hands together. On the far end is a large window that's not visible from the outside. It's part of the enchantment on the house. Underneath the window is a desk and chair, surface neat and tidy. On the right wall are bookcases up to the ceiling, but the previous owner took their collection with them, and Christine has had little time to fill out its shelves. There's a comfortable sofa for lounging, and a long table with boxes. All in all, an unfinished room.

"I'm undecided if I want to set up my alchemy station here or in the kitchen. There's more room here, but the kitchen is more convenient for bringing in ingredients from outside."

Strange can't help but nod approvingly as Christine shows him what he's guessing is a living area. As he looks over the bookcases, he can't help but smile. His house is the same in that regard.

"Normally, I'd suggest the kitchen as that would have more natural light and some windows you could open should the experiment go wrong, but I honestly don't know how much natural light a house inside a tree could have to begin with."

It's an honest question. If the window was open, would that dispel the illusion? Could sunlight penetrate illusions? Strange is full of questions about the theory of Christine's illusion magic, but he's keeping his mouth shut for the moment. He can lob questions at her after she chimes in.

He brings up a good point, and it's something she can't illuminate him on.

"I'm afraid I bought the tree already enchanted this way, so I'm unsure how it gets light in either." As she speaks, she leads him out into the hall to another staircase going up.

"Up there is my bedroom and a little balcony. It's perfect to sit out on during the evening. But let's head back down and I'll show you the kitchen. It leads out to the garden where you can see my orbs in action."

Since she assumes he's more inclined to care about the magic behind them and not her decorating.

Strange makes a little hurm, a noise that pretty plainly implies 'well that's a pity.' While he's normally a fan of dismantling an enchantment to see how it works, he can understand any reluctance Christine might have to dismantling an enchantment around her house.

But yes, the garden. Strange nods, then follows her as she walks.

"Where did you find those orbs to begin with? It seems that all manner of interesting objects are turning up in bizarre places."

She leads him back downstairs and through a door in the entryway that leads down a short hall to a bright kitchen. There's plenty of orange evening light coming in through those magical windows, and a sizable kitchen space which explains why she thinks an alchemy setup might work down here too. At the far side of the room is a door leading out to the back garden.

"Both were found at different times, but they were inside crates in the bay when it was drained of water." As she speaks, she moves to the door and opens it, gesturing him to head out first down the several wooden steps. Outside he'll find her new seedlings in neat rows and hovering in the air a few feet above them are the two orbs. The sun orb glows with a bright, golden light and the moon orb orbits it, shining with a paler, white light.

"There they are. I found they could do that by spinning them on a surface. They haven't fallen down yet, so I assume it's permanent until I store them somewhere."

[ ooc: more info here if you need it! ]

Strange follows Christine as she leads him through the house. However, he keeps looking at everything as they walk. He's nosy and interested and wants to take in as much of Christine's odd magic tree house as possible. Despite all his nosiness, however, the orbs hovering in the air take him by surprise. Strange blinks a little, before walking over to the orbs.

Gently, Strange pokes one. It continues glowing and orbiting.

"Do you think the orb mimics the position of the actual moon?" Strange asks, as he bends down slightly to get a better look at the orbs. "I'll admit that astronomy isn't my strongest suit. But then again, the moon doesn't orbit around the sun...maybe the sunlight orb stands in for the earth?"

Or this is all him just spitting theories. "By the way, I'm not surprised to hear they were inside those crates. I've found something interesting there as well."

"I can't be sure. It's possible whoever crafted these wasn't looking for one hundred percent accuracy in their design." Christine comes to stand beside him as she speak, but bends down to sweep fingertips across a sapling of an herb plant. Being in tune with nature comes naturally to her, though she long denied it because she assumed it was the elven side of her that held that trait. Yet here in her little piece of wilderness, she's finding a tranquility she's quite sure is a new feeling for her.

"Oh? The last time you said you'd found something, I had a rather hard time with it." Meaning the mirror shard, of course. She straightens to face him. "Hopefully it's something much nicer than that."

As he talks, Strange continues to examine the orbs. He moves around them, eyes lingering on the shadows then back to the orbs then the shadows again. Everything he's doing blatantly suggests that he'd love to run magical tests on these things but is restraining himself tremendously.

"It is. It's a compass and a necklace. The compass always points towards the necklace. I've been trying to find a way to temporarily shorten the chain so that Bell can wear the necklace without it dragging on the ground, but I've been having a hard time doing that in a way that wouldn't break the chain or be too tight around her neck."

So yes, it is something much nicer than the mirror shard of making people worry and potential dragon crackpot theories.

"Hmm, I suppose you've already tried making a loop in the chain and making a slipknot?" If he doesn't understand, she shows him by taking her vial out from under her shirt and making a loop in the chain. Then she winds it around and almost through, but stops before she puts a knot in her own chain.

Strange frowns a little, watching intently as Christine ties the slipknot. Because no, he hasn't tried that. "I've just been doing a square knot. It's useful, but there's a bit of an excess of chain. That knot looks like it might fit better."

It's crapshoot whether Strange has any skill that could possibly relate to something other than dragons, books, academics, or magic. Unfortunately, knots aren't one of the skills he possesses.

Oh, Strange, where would you be without her? Are you not also from Thalassa, city of sailors and their knots?

"I suppose you could also tie a leather cord around the spot in the chain you want it tightened to after making a slipknot loop, in case you want to easily let the chain out again." She's had knots in necklace chains before and they're terribly hard to get back out unless you can pry a needle in there.

Yes, he is from Thalassa, but he is also a big huge nerd with dubious survival skills.

"That's probably for the best," Strange muses. "I've already gotten the chain tangled up a few times and it's a damn nuisance to untangle." But he at least knows how to do that: he was married, after all, he's handled a few necklaces in his time.

"On a different note, I've got to give you a round of applause: you've done an amazing job setting all of this up for yourself. Putting down roots, literally and metaphorically...this place is practically a home."

The compliment pleases her, as she's a woman who basks in praise for a job well done.

"Thank you. With a little determination, you can accomplish a great deal, I've found. And what about you? Is Didymos where you plan to permanently set down roots of your own?"

"It is. I've purchased a house, I'm starting to take students, and I've started up some studying at the Academy. I still plan to do some traveling, of course, but it's nice to have a home base of sorts."

Which is...odd. Strange never thought that he would become this domestic again. But here he is, taking care of a dragon, buying himself a house and setting it up for others to live in. It's strange. But he kind of likes it.

"Really? What are you focusing on with your students?" It sounds impressive, and though she thinks Strange is crazy as a loon at times, he's still a very intelligent man and she can see others learning much from him.

"It's mostly basic magic lessons," Strange explains, with a little shrug. "A few of them are interested in weather magic, though, so I suspect I'll focus on that. Really, it's mostly to help pay the bills."

Being a traveling mage and a magical tutor is nice, but it obviously isn't Strange's main focus. It's more of something to pay the bills.

"Indeed. I'm hoping to return to selling my alchemical potions, but by renting a market stall instead of opening a new shop and clinic. And I plan on travelling, of course. These farmers and people out in the country are always in need of a healer."

"Well, I'll make certain to send any interested customers your way." Strange gives Christine a wide grin before continuing. "Likewise, if any of my students find a way to set themselves on fire, I'll also send them your way."

Says the man who undoubtedly visited Christine when he was alive because he accidentally set himself on fire.

"I would hope after you put them out first?" She arches an eyebrow at him, because yes, Strange is the sort of man to give a student his recommendation of a healer while said student was still burning.

May Event Log #2

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