journey to the land of barriers

[rebells]

Who: Participants in BARRIER QUEST 2.0
Where: The outskirts of Aimintas, and the island above it
When: Day 50
Open/Closed: Semi-closed! Signups went here. Feel free to mingle in the first subheader, however!



[There's a small crowd gathering at the edge of the city today. You may have been asked here by Jay or someone else, or gotten a telepathic message--or maybe you just came out to see what all the fuss was about. Either way, if you listen in it soon becomes obvious that members of the coven are heading up to the island above to check it out, and maybe do something about that pesky barrier in the way, too.

There are a couple dragons among the crowd--although you may or may not be able to see one of them--and what looks like a small submarine. Jay is wandering among these, seemingly checking that everything is in order and everyone who's supposed to be there is.]

Comments

MINGLE / PREPARATIONS / HITCH A RIDE

[rebells]

[Mingle among the barrier questers, or--if you're one of the people who's going to be helping carry people up--finalize your preparations.]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir is holding onto one of the makeshift submarine equivalents, convincing the Palai that are traveling along with them to stay inside of this instead of trying to ride directly on his back -- there are handles in there and not many handles on him, he explains, and it's not an easy trip. after they decide they believe him and get in, he makes an aside to the black-haired young man already hanging onto the ridges behind his neck:]

D'you think you can tell what they're feeling for us when we're up there, Vern? I dunno if I trust them. The zappy thing on the island looks just like what we saw yesterday.

[he's speaking to Vern, but he's not making any effort to hide the interaction, if eavesdroppers want to chime in.

if he sees anyone else standing around, he'll grin slightly, just showing the tips of his fangs, and gesture to the submarine's door.]

Hey, you! You want to get inside too? I promise it's a better ride than hanging onto me would be.

[soulcomet]

[there's a tiny pink human staring up at Geir — and then she smiles lightly.]

I can! To be honest, I was a little nervous about getting through the water ... This will be much easier for me.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir grins back at her; he's never seen a human as small and fragile-looking as her up close, before. there's something subtly off about what he can sense from her, too, but since he can't pin it down and he doesn't know what that's all about, he dismisses it from thought.]

Climb in! It's not waterproof, but I guess we have some people who are good at making bubbles around here. You're tiny, so there's plenty of room for you.

[lunala]

[Moon is here with Nebby, which may be familiar if you took a trip up to do recon before.] I can take two or three people with me! Nebby's got some practice carrying more than one person by now, it shouldn't be too rough a ride!

mingle ota, 1-2 people to ride with

[p_mortem]

[ Theoretically, Minato's Persona should be able to carry more than a handful of people, but he's not used to looking after more than three other people at a time, and a lot of space is already being wasted on... a blanket, some wrapped up food, it looks more like Minato's going on a camping trip rather than a serious mission, but hey. ]

All that's left is to wait for air...

[ However that happens. That part of the plan, he hasn't seen first hand, so he hopes it goes well, the tapping of his feet betraying his agitation as he waits alongside the dragon for everyone to arrive before they all set off. ]

[probablynoteren]

[There are so many dragons for some reason?? And also what look like strange and engineless versions of submarines -- not that Lenka's ever seen one in person. Back home, they have enough to deal with aboveground without buying trouble underwater (or on it), too.

So he finds himself at a loss in deciding between... some sort of dragon (they can swim??) and a machine he only theoretically understands. And which probably only theoretically works on an alien planet like this one. He knows the outline of the plan -- none of the options are more or less certain than the others -- but in the end he ends up drifting towards a familiar face.]

Hey. [actually, he's not sure what the guy's name is, but more importantly] You... have a dragon.

[Is it just him or do they have way too many dragons in this coven.]

[p_mortem]

Yeah.

[ Because dragons are the best; what cooler aesthetic is there than riding up into the sky on the back of a dragon? It comes only second to being magicked up by refrigerator. ]

Others too, but a dragon is easier to ride on.

ARRIVAL ON THE ISLAND

[rebells]

[After a lengthy submarine and/or dragonback journey, characters emerge onto the unbarriered portion of the island.

"Along the shore, and extending a quarter of a mile inward, is sand and grassy territory that is littered with debris like the Palai were gifted with. A lot of it is weathered and broken beyond repair (and the spread of items is vast and varied), but any items kept in tact would be very appreciated by the Palai people if you happened to bring it back to them. The island looks to be very jungle-covered, though it's almost impossible to tell other than what you can see with your naked eye.

The center and most of the island is surrounded by a very large, buzzing magical barrier that is a very bright white from the outside. The magical barrier is essentially like a large, fortified bug zapper -- it's ever so slight movement and buzzing sound lures most people in unawares before they approach it and are shocked by it upon touching the surface. This shock will be enough to slightly daze and incapacitate a person, but not enough to cause any lasting damage. Getting stuck on top of this contraption, however, may prove troublesome. If you go alone, you may find that you find yourself lured in, then get stuck on top without a way to get down, essentially shocking yourself in a loop or fainting on top of the contraption before being electrocuted to death.

One other thing to note is that there are boats located on the island, though they are all shored. These are mostly hobby boats, only suitable for a few people, though there are a few larger fishing boats that are stuck on the sandy shore. Searching these boats will net the same sort of weathered items, though the fishing boats are stocked with saltwater fishing equipment."]

[rootandbranch]

[once they arrive at the island and are fully disembarked, Geir starts on his own fruitless pet idea: digging under the barrier. feel free to come redirect him, or just be impressed at the size of the mounting pile of sand.]

[p_mortem]

[ Before he starts recklessly throwing balls of fire or a galestorm at the barrier, examining the barrier seems like a smarter thing to do. Minato approaches cautiously, hands in his pockets and nose mere inches away from the barrier that buzzes incessantly in front of him. He doesn't move to touch it just yet, but just from the sound, the way it makes the hair on the back of his neck stand on end and eyes cast to the ground in order to not be blinded by the light, it looks to be electricity.

...He wants to touch it. But he also promise Dirk to "stay safe," so ]

Can you heal? Just in case.

[rootbound]

I can put bandages and soothing balm on your wounds, if it comes to that, but I don't promise to be gentle. Careful with that, will you? It gave Geir a nasty shock when he tried.

[p_mortem]

[ "Shock" means electricity, and Minato looks to be more confident instead of dissuaded. Bandages and soothing balm are good enough: instead of poking at the barrier, Minato gives Vern a serious nod, and

walks straight into the barrier, with full intention of passing through it. ]

[rootbound]

[Vern -- who definitely just, like, climbed straight out of Geir's mouth once they landed, what the balls was he doing in there instead of the submarine -- is not helping with the barrier, but he is moving through the debris nearish it without trying to touch it, picking up and mentally cataloging more of what's there. also putting some of the items in his pockets, if they're interesting enough.

what? the junk doesn't seem to belong to anyone.]

[shadowsthedawn]

[Before dealing with the barrier, Riku scouts out the area around it. Along with his sword, he brought a cloth bag with him that he wears slung over his shoulder. He'll start first with the debris, searching for anything in decent repair to return to the Palai. Anything he finds he places in his bag.

After that he'll move onto the boats. Growing up on an island, Riku knows the basics of sailing (he had been planning to travel the world via raft at age fifteen after all). The fishing boats in particular are familiar and he searches them first.]

[rootandbranch]

Do you know anything about boats?

[the voice is coming from a weird direction-- off to one side just behind Riku, and about twenty feet in the air. either someone climbed up a mast, or someone very tall is peering over his shoulder to see what he's doing.

Geir is interested in boats. he always liked watchingthe ones he saw, either as a child on dry land or when he was watching them from the ocean: strange winged things scudding over the water, bright and swift. but he never needed to ride on one, between his swimming and his wings, and he never met anyone willing to explain them to him, anyway.]

We poked around them some, but the only thing we knew anything about was the stuff for fishing... do they still work?

THE BARRIER PROBLEM

[rebells]

[And here's what they came here to do: attack the barrier by any means open to them. Unfortunately, they'll find that the problem isn't solved so easily.

"Characters attacking the barrier would find that their energy would either be reflected by the barrier or that it would simply be absorbed -- this depends on their individual preferences and the type of magic they used (like an elemental magic being absorbed whereas throwing a sword, it would bounce off, etc.)

If the electrical component of the barrier happens to be shorted out (which can be done through those with the power to resist electricity), instead there will be a white sort of spacey mirage in its place. This is to symbolize the absence of electricity, but the barrier is still present and it will be physically impossible to push through it. The electricity will be gone but there will still be a sort of magical surge present that is physically limiting and impervious to magic and physical maneuvering."]

[splinten]

[Well. Nothing has worked. They are all sitting here throwing their best efforts at it and getting nothing.]

This is stupid.

[Thanks, Dirk, for that brilliant insight. His tone doesn't indicate that he thinks their efforts are stupid; he thinks the barrier is stupid. This is a stupid barrier. He dislikes it.

Fuck this barrier.]

[rebells]

[Jay sighs. He's gone a couple rounds with the barrier himself in addition to what was probably a unison attack, only to see exploding daggers vanish and be absorbed.]

I don't suppose you've had a sudden revelation that allows you to understand this thing.

[rootandbranch]

[Geir sticks his head out from the enormous hole he's dug under the barrier.]

Did someone say, "this is stupid?"

[probablynoteren]

[It's a troublesome barrier, indeed, and Lenka probably got shocked at least once or twice before he got the message because he's the type to learn from firsthand experience. And also has a tendency to get in over his head when a problem arises. Anyway, his hair is standing up a little more than usual, but at present he's moved to a judicious distance from the barrier and those pummeling directly at it.

It doesn't really look like he's doing anything, crouched as he is and staring intently in direction of the pesky magic they're trying to bypass. Occasionally, he'll make a small gesture or move a little further away; whatever he's doing, he's doing it without any visible effect and in total silence.

Should anyone approach him, they'll get a quick headshake and an attempt to communicate keep-your-distance-please-or-you'll-regret-it in pantomime. Should they persist, or catch Lenka at exactly the wrong moment, one of the following may occur:

1. A refrigerator materializes overhead, probably too close for comfort. Please dodge! It's bad for your health otherwise!!

2. A refrigerator materializes nearby, half-buried in the ground. The top half of the freezer is missing, and now there's frozen food rolling on the ground. Maybe it's time for a break?

3. Choose your own fridge adventure.]

[rootandbranch]

[there's a YELP from the giant hole in the ground that Geir has been trying to dig under the barrier, as a fridge suddenly materializes above him and falls on his head. why! why this!

luckily, due to his own size, the fridge didn't materialize very high above his head and his skull is tough enough to take the blow. but this is not what he wanted.]

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo, who has probably wound up with a role carting their trio of Palai friends up, is turning away from a conversation with the Elto among them, sighing]

It looks like that's a no-go either, but...

[shadowsthedawn]

[Okay so Riku is new to barriers. Creating barriers in particular. Since arriving he hasn't had much use for his magic barrier creating ability, far too used to being on the offensive in battle rather then the defensive.

But if not this, the only thing he can offer is attempting to slice the barrier open with his sword and...that is definitely not going to work. There's not point in trying. Which is why he's standing in front of the barrier, close, but with enough space that he doesn't get shocked by the enemy barrier.

Okay so...can disable this barrier by hitting it with a stronger barrier? It's all about will power right?

...Right?

So he concentrates on forming his barrier, wrapping it around his body. He tries to make it as thick and powerful as he can...and steps forward.

Only to be shocked so badly it shatters his concentration, his barrier, and sends him stumbling back.]

[rebells]

[Jay is over there immediately, despite not being much (read: any) of a healer, cursing. Although it's not entirely clear whether it's in sympathy for Riku or because their plan didn't work.]

Are you all right?