catch-all open log!

[rebells]

Who: Anyone and everyone!
Where: On the beach, and various other places throughout the hub island
When: Day 80, and the next couple days after
Open/Closed: open log for hub shenanigans!

[This evening, someone has placed an old, rusted-over camp stove on the beach near the coven's row of huts--anyone examining it in detail will see that it's not operational at the moment, but that could potentially be changed, couldn't it? If someone was handy with mechanical things . . . .

Next to it is a crate (which, from the weight of it is empty) and pinned to that crate is a sheet of paper with a map on it, something like a much cruder, black-and-white version of this:



with the following key:

1 - crags. Contain snakes which may be poisonous. Watch out.
2 - ocean, going about one mile out from the coast.
3 - lagoon. Contains thick reeds (could be woven or shaped into tools) and frogs (edibility uncertain).
4 - abandoned campsite.
5 - orchard. Currently, trees are diseased and bare. Plant healer needed.
6 - abandoned house. A family used to live here, from the looks of it. Still contains some useful supplies.

And there should be a 7 north of base camp with the notation "graveyard. Graves unused." but the player forgot and is too lazy to go back and fix it right now. Observant individuals will note that the map looks like a more detailed version of one hanging on the door to a certain coven member's cabin, one that has a note on the bottom: "Have information? Ask for Jay."

Other than that, it's a quiet night on the hub island. We've been here for a couple days; maybe you're getting restless? Want to check out that ocean, or lagoon, or even those crags? Maybe just go door-to-door in the beach huts? Maybe you're sick of shrimp and looking for other things to eat . . . hopefully someone's got a fire going tonight, and thought to kill a boar . . . .

What are you doing tonight?]


((here or here for place descriptions))

Comments

[rootandbranch]

3. lagoon

[Geir's been checking out the places noted on Jay's map, and now that he's finishing his quick survey, he's fetched up at the location furthest from the base camp-- the lagoon. this is a very new kind of water body to him, and he submerged himself as far as possible into the shallow freshwater pool that the stream is feeding to watch the frogs hop (and even snap at them once in a while). notably, the reeds are growing taller and taller around him as he lays there... these look like useful materials, and Geir bets that he can use his power to help make more of them for the coven. he'd be easy to interrupt while he's concentrating!

on the other hand, if anyone came by by a little later, they'd find him curiously trying to weave some of the longer reeds into a lattice. he's hampered by his claws but helped by the fact that his materials are now so much larger than they were.]


8. wild card

[build-your-own-prompt goes here!]

lagoon

[rootbound]

[Vern came out with Geir, an while the frogs make him nervous in a way the Palai didn't (they're so little, and damp, and they hop so suddenly), he's been able to cover that up well enough by hanging out on Geir's back in the meantime instead of going in the water. while they're waiting for the reeds to grow, he's making a game of walking up the length of Geir's back with his arms spread to keep his balance -- he's not trying to walk on the spinal ridges, but on the smoother stretch to the left of them, at a bit of an angle.

this seems fine, as long as Geir, like, doesn't move at all]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir rolls an eye back at him fondly, watching Vern's movements with his excellent peripheral vision; he's not sure exactly what Vern's doing, but it's kind of adorable to see him doing something almost childlike. he's never wondered what Vern was like as a child before, but he abruptly thinks of it now. was he one of those chattering kids, like some of the bolder young Palai? or was he shy and retiring, like the ones who used to hide behind Geir's tail?

Geir's never had much experience with kids before the Palai -- he's always been the baby among most of his relatives, and his sister was so young in his memory that he missed a lot of her growth past toddlerhood. this is a new train of thought.]

What are you doing back there...?

[rootbound]

Trying to see if I can stay on...!

[he's actually doing a pretty good job right now, considering the rounded slope of Geir's back; he's not all that athletic, and he has to squint at anything more than a small room's length away, but he's at least coordinated enough.]

[rootandbranch]

[maybe if you took care of yourself you'd be more athletic, Vern!

--is what Geir would say, if he wasn't just appreciating the sight of Vern... having fun. when has he even seen Vern goofing off unprompted before, without Geir cajoling or teasing him into it? certainly not often.]

Bet you can't do it if you hop on one foot!

[rootbound]

[sniffs at him meaningfully and BALANCES ON ONE FOOT, taking a hop forward

wobbles...]

[rootandbranch]

Uh-oh! Be careful!

[this is amazing]

[rootbound]

Dammit--

[TUMBLES OFF]

[rootandbranch]

[WOW??????

Geir just completely loses his composure laughing, oh my goodness.]

[rootbound]

[sits up in the water with an indignant (and slightly muddy) squawk]

Hey! Hey.

[rootandbranch]

Sorry-- [gasps] I--

[...NOPE, STILL LAUGHING]

[rootbound]

[gathers in air to be indignant, only to lose it in a squeak when a frog hops near him, crowding back against Geir's side]

[rootandbranch]

V-Vern? Wha--

[oh no. Geir is, while still trying to stop laughing, turning to look at what Vern is cowering away from.

which means that his sides rustle the reeds as he shifts.

SUDDENLY: FROGOCALYPSE]

3

[adjustable]

[Souda got lost...

Souda glares down at the map that he made for himself off of the one he saw, turning it around... damn it. He's a mechanic and not a map-reader! Oh well. Guess he went the complete opposite way, because this sure as heck is a lagoon. Sighing tiredly, he plods forward, avoiding trees until he can look at the lagoon proper.

...What's that big thing in it...

wait he vaguely recognises it]

What're you doin'? Havin' a bath?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir jerks his head up, startled that someone managed to get so close without him noticing-- he's a creature of magic, used to feeling the weight of his presence in the energy of the world around him, and with the removal of most of his abilities he's not at all used to how his senses are dulled in this low-frequency location yet.

after the initial shock wears off, though, his second take is delight. oh, it's that guy! the fun one! he grins at Souda, pleased to see him, and relaxes.]

Oh, it's you! No way, this place isn't deep enough for a real bath. I'll just fly to the ocean later.

[adjustable]

[Talking normally to a dragon is still kind of weird but there's far less screeching this time around as Souda moves to sink to a seat underneath one of the nearby trees, groaning as he stretches out his sore legs.]

Then what are you doin'?

[still looks like splashing around to him]

[rootandbranch]

I'm looking at all these reeds!

[a moment later, a thick, heavy bundle of reeds thunks onto the ground a few feet from Souda's legs. Geir's gathered up a small (for him) armful of them, wider around than Souda is; he's apparently preparing to take some with him.]

Jay told me that they might be good for building something, and... I guess they could be? I'm not really good at that kind of thing. I thought I'd at least put some together...

[he DOES still have the lattice that he started trying to make, but he's not exactly showing it off right now. it's pretty bad. Geir's very dubious about his ability to create things in general, and his inexperience and clumsiness with weaving objects in and out of each other is certainly bearing that out.]

[adjustable]

Whoa--

[THAT'S A LOT OF REEDS. Souda pulls back his legs a little, squinting at Geir before back at them.]

I don't know anythin' about building with these, either... [He reaches, plucking at them with his fingers dubiously.] I guess we're talkin', like, super basic stuff. Like shipwrecked people make when they got nothin' else.

[If it was mechanical... BUT REEDS AREN'T MECHANICAL.]

[rootandbranch]

We're... sort of shipwrecked people with nothing else. Kind of. There's a bunch of trash lying around that people are using, I guess.

[Geir sighs deeply. it's hard for him to parse the setup here... he's used to untamed wilderness, and he's used to cities now that he's had his visit to Aimintas, but this strange, half-abandoned setting is just weird. it doesn't help that he can't do much with anything that's been left behind, since it's all too small or too human for him to mess with much.]

I'd give a lot to know who was here before us...

[adjustable]

Nobody knows anythin' about that yet?

[Souda picks off one of the reeds and just starts absently twirling it around in his hands, for something to do with them as he listens. His nose scrunches, eyebrows furrowed.]

Hey, how long are we here before we get brought somewhere else anyway?

[rootandbranch]

If anybody knows that, I sure don't! I know that the others were here before they went to Aimintas, but I don't know how long they stayed. I showed up in Aimintas just like you did.

[he nods to the reed in Souda's hand.]

Do you know anything about making baskets?

[adjustable]

Baskets? No way, my specialty is technology... If it ain't got nuts and bolts and wires, I dunno what to do with it.

[He ties the reed at each end... And then holds up the reed bracelet. Ta da. Is it not beautiful, Geir. Isn't he talented.] This's about all I can do with this.

[rootandbranch]

What a heap of shit... I'm much better at destroying the fields than making things out of them.

[Geir groans and flops down in the water, splashing Souda's feet with a wave. he does give the bracelet a second look after he does so, though. huh. it isn't bad.]

Humans have such tiny hands! No wonder you can make things. But what in the world can you make with squirrel food and lightning?

[adjustable]

... With what and what?

[Wait a second. He thinks back over what he just said. Oh my god, Geir. Souda's mouth gapes open for a long moment as though he can't believe this is his life, that he has to explain nuts and bolts.]

No! Not those kinds! Just-- [He digs in the pocket of his boiler suit and of course he has things on hand.] These! [He holds up a screw.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir opens an eye and tilts his head to sniff at them. they look thoroughly useless to him, tiny and dull. he's not much for smithcraft to begin with, but at least swords convey a sort of elegant authority. could you really make anything interesting with these bits and pieces?]

Okay. So what can you make with little metal thingies?

[not a better question. sorry, Souda.]