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]

Oh! Hi, Jay. Is this paper yours?

[Geir looks inquiringly at the map and then up to the purple hut, making the connection; this must be where Jay is staying!]

...I didn't realize everyone was living here...

[rebells]

[He nods.]

I haven't asked, but I think it's likely Qri had Brie and Genette prepare this area before we arrived. Were you looking at the map, then? I made it with help from Dirk and a few others.

[rootandbranch]

I was looking at it, but it doesn't show me much. Pretty good for someone who wasn't flying, though.

What do each of the little map marks represent?

[Geir rests the tip of a claw briefly over the "base camp" notation. he can see that it's marked off with the large square, but the reason why he didn't expect Jay to show up is easily apparent: he can't read the key of the map.]

[rebells]

[Well, that makes sense. He wouldn't necessarily expect a dragon to be able to read, and his handwriting is small besides.]

They're places of interest. Would you like me to read them to you?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir perks up; the simple understanding of the issue and motion to address the problem is one of the better reactions he's gotten to not being able to read something. appreciatively:]

Yes, please! I might recognize them. I've already spent some time flying around.

[rebells]

[A more informed population benefits everyone!! He motions to the base camp notation, moving his hand as he speaks.]

This is the general area we're in right now. It has the mansion Genette and Brie are staying in [pointing up towards the mansion], the clearing with the fire, and then this beach with the huts most of us are staying in.

Out east, along the 'coast,' [and he moves his hand to the '1'--] is a craggy area with snakes. They might be poisonous--I'm not sure--so I also gave a warning to anyone who might venture down there.

[rootandbranch]

The big rocks! I saw those.

[he narrows his eyes, putting the information into his mental context and his understanding of the map, and gestures with a claw towards the "2" -- rather awkwardly, but recognizably.]

And this is the beach, then? I saw the ocean. Why is there so much floating water? Between here and Aimintas, there's been a huge amount. It's very weird.

[rebells]

[He smiles.]

Yes, that's the beach area with the attached ocean. I can't say why all the floating water, myself; we didn't have it in my world. Although there was an underground ocean.

[rootandbranch]

An underground ocean!

[Geir's fancy is immediately caught by the idea; he's been underground and undersea, but not both at once.]

What was that like? Why were you there?

[rebells]

[He's still smiling a little as he thinks about the Quiet Lands, nostalgic.]

It was--I've never been quite sure how it worked, actually--we lived on an island that was actually a giant, ancient ship. One day, a structure we'd all thought was a lighthouse opened up, and we ventured in and below it to . . . [He trails off, trying to think how to describe the elevator and the entrance to the lands.] to find that there was a great deal of land underground. The "Quiet Lands," it's called in Oresoren legend. And there was a beach with--I'm not sure it's actually an ocean; logically speaking, it's probably a large lake, but there are tides. And . . .

[He glances out towards where the 'coastline' of this island would be, thoughtful.]

. . . the ocean, or whatever it was, was a god. One ocean above, one below, both divine. It would make sense. If it was physically possible.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir's eyes are wide, drinking the explanation in. there's something poetic about what Jay is describing, the way he's talking about it, and like the wisdom of any storyteller, that strikes a chord with him. the ocean-as-a-god idea isn't one Geir is familiar with, but the Tree is divine, certainly, as are the waters at its roots; they're not gods per se, but it's not an impossible leap for him to make.

a second world underground, with its own lands and waters and possibilities... that's so different than the place where he was trapped for so long that the idea tugs at him.]

...could I see it? The place you found...

[rebells]

I think you'd fit through the entrance. Although it would be a close thing.

[But--he calls up a telepathic image of the Quiet Lands: rolling green lands leading out towards a sandy white beach, and beyond that, a calm sea, waves lapping gently at the shore. The sky is closed, a pattern like stars inscribed above, but there are clouds. There is apparently weather, in this underground land.

Afterwards, he's quiet, thinking about everything that led them up to the discovery of the Quiet Nerifes, and the acceptance of its task.]

It's possible that the people who originally piloted the Legacy managed to bring some of their original world to Melfes with them. Perhaps that's what the Quiet Lands are.

[rootandbranch]

[the telepathic image is what Geir wanted, and he goes just as quiet for a moment, eyes lidding as he absorbs it. something about the star-inscribed dome above the sea makes him understand why these are called the Quiet Lands -- the image calls up the air of something hushed and protected under the earth for him. it's strange to think of something trapped underground for what feels like peace and protection and growth rather than for binding.]

...like a stronghold? Or-- a memory...

[something close-held, to keep safe.]

[rebells]

A . . . reminder of home, perhaps. To keep with them, since they were going far from that home.

[That reminds him that he's very far from home, though, in more than one sense. Will he ever see the Legacy again? He doesn't know how long it'll be until he might escape Qri--if he even wants to escape Qri--and Solon . . .

Well, he had better hope Solon has no further business on the Legacy. He would likely find it funny to force Jay to keep destroying the things he'd worked so hard to build up.]

. . . did you want me to continue reading?

[rootandbranch]

A reminder of home...

[Geir's face is unusually still, eyes inward-looking; he wonders if he'll ever have a home that registers as one, aside from Vern. he wonders if he'll ever want one. Vern seems to, others seem to, his family has a bunch of them; it's a universal concept that's never really touched him.

he's yanked back to reality by Jay's question.]

--yeah, sure.

[but there's something important to say first...]

Thanks for showing me. Maybe I'll see it myself someday.

[rebells]

You're welcome. Maybe you will.

[He tries to smile, but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes; the idea of Geir coming to the Legacy when he can't himself is kind of a kick in the teeth. But--right, the map.

He lays his finger over the '3.']

There's a stream around here ending in a lagoon. Frogs live there, and there are thick reeds growing along the edges of the water--they could be woven or shaped into tools, maybe.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir watches his expression, noting the discrepancies. with his eye for detail, he's gotten very observant about faces, but what exactly is going on behind them is more of a mystery to him. Jay can feel the level pressure of his eyes, steady and a little questioning... but Geir says nothing for now. his glance flicks down to the map again when Jay touches it.]

Woven...? Is there anything we need to weave?

[rebells]

Baskets, bowls, mats. Filters, perhaps . . . nets, but something more flexible would be better for a net. Some sort of covering, if people want shaded areas for something.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir nods, absorbing that.]

If we wanted to make a tent for to cover crops or harvested food, it wouldn't have to keep all the rain out -- just most of it. Julius and I were talking about that when the Palai's farmland kept having salt rain on it.

[wait, that's assuming that there's rain in this weird place... he gives Jay a narrow-eyed look, more inspired by exasperation at the circumstances than by any feeling towards him personally.]

There is rain here, right?

[rebells]

[Yeah, that's a good question. He looks somewhat exasperated himself, melancholy over the Legacy somewhat forgotten for now.]

Haru's garden is growing, so I presume there's rain. I've never seen it personally, though. Perhaps the plants obtain water some other way.

[rootandbranch]

[said facetiously, with a glint of a smile in his eyes:]

I wonder if Qri will give anyone the power to change the weather next?

[he stretches and flops out on the sandy ground with a sigh, every inch of him conveying an "oh, well" attitude. I guess life is just like this now!!!!!]

[rebells]

[And with an answering smile:]

That would actually be useful. More likely they'll have the power to change people's hair colors or something.

[He tucks the smile away and moves his hand over the '4'.]

There's an abandoned campsite here. Not much was left; there was what looked like an old stove, but we moved it away. It's out on the beach now. Hopefully, someone will be able to fix it.

[rootandbranch]

Who was camping there? What was this place?

[it's said in a sort of faux exasperated tone, but Geir really wants to know the answer. he puts his chin on his front claws neatly to ponder the problem.]

I don't suppose Genette or Brie knew, either?

[rebells]

I haven't talked to them much. But I think not.

People clearly lived here. At some point, they . . . left.

[rootandbranch]

[his voice is quiet and thoughtful...]

Like the humans left the island and the Uvi behind.

...I wonder if we'll find the same sort of thing on the third world we visit...