Jay (the Unseen) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rebells) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
spellbinders2017-08-26 04:44 pm
rebells) wrote in spellbinders2017-08-26 04:44 pm
journey to the land of barriers
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.]
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.]
no subject
[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?
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I know some. It's been awhile since I've put any of that knowledge to use though. [He's spent the better part of the last two years away from his home island. And not every new world he encountered had boats.
But when Geir brings up the fishing equipment, he moves towards it and inspects the nets and fishing poles.]
They all seem to be in decent repair. One of the fishing poles is bent, and some of the nets are broken, but the rest seems okay to use.
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[that's not very surprising; at his current size, not many small boats could fit Geir.]
How do you tell which thing is for what? It all looks like a mess of bits and pieces to me.
[Geir leans down to put his head down at the same level as Riku, big eye looking at the goods curiously. he does identify the bent pole and carefully grabs it between his teeth to pull it out and take a closer look.]
It can't be straightened out, huh...
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Well, these long slender poles are for baiting and catching fish individually. They've got hooks on the end to catch the fish. See? [He holds up one of the good fishing poles and raises the hook for the dragon to see.]
The nets are for catching multiple fish at once. But you can only do that while out in deep water areas, where more fish collect.
[He eyes the broken pole for a moment before shaking his head.]
The break is too severe. Even if we patched it up, it would only be a temporary fix.
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[Geir spends a few minutes just going through Riku's piles, turning the broken and whole materials over and over with surprisingly delicate claws, examining what makes them different or the same. finally he sits back on his haunches, satisfied that he understands it fairly well. he thinks it may be slightly different equipment than he's used to seeing on the boats at home-- but that just makes it even more interesting.]
It's not very useful down below in the city, is it? I don't know why the ocean is up here instead of on the ground. It looks like it was down there once, on top of the sand like it is at home. Don't you think so?
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[And now that he's sorted the supplies he doesn't know what to do next. He had been vaguely thinking about taking the supplies that's in good repair back down to the city, but Geir makes a good point. What could the Palai do with fishing equipment when the ocean is above them?]
No, it's not. Attempting to throw the nets or pole hooks into the sky wouldn't be a good idea. [Someone could get hurt.
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[Geir stares out at the ocean. in the business of life in Aimintas and the world where the city resides, he hasn't had a lot of time to reflect thoughtfully on how strange this key part of it is. it's beautiful up here, a very normal looking beach -- aside from all the junk and discarded detritus...]
As much weird stuff as there is around here, I think this part is the weirdest. What happened to the sea?
[the shoreline doesn't answer him.]
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[He stares down at the fishing equipment. It would be such a shame to just leave it here where no one is likely to find it again.]
I wonder if maybe the Palai can re-purpose these. At least the nets should be useful if not the poles.
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[he extends a claw to Riku, offering to hold some of their spoils.]
I can carry it down for you, if you show me what to take.
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[He motions towards the pile of equipment that's in good shape.]
Take whatever you can from this pile. I'll put the rest in my bag.
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[he glances thoughtfully at the barrier.]
If they were the ones who made that thing, then maybe there's a hint about why they did it inside. Or maybe they're still in there, and they're not looking for company. We might get more of a surprise than we're looking for.
[still, he carefully gathers up the materials that Riku left behind to carry down to Aimintas again. waste not, want not. even if the owners are recluses who don't want company, the things they made and abandoned here can venture to the wider world again.]
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Or they were wiped out by the Uvi the same way they tried to wipe out the Palai.
[Not exactly a cheery idea, but a possible one. Many of the coven members had struggled against the Uvi, including Riku, and among them are humans who know how to fight. If the human population here had been as peaceful as the Palai...they wouldn't have stood a chance.
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I guess we won't know at all unless we find something else. Or get through the barrier already... and nothing we've done so far has helped at all. You've had no luck either, right?
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So far trying to get through the barrier with another barrier isn't working out. Even if that was the answer, I don't think I'm strong enough with my ability yet to form a barrier powerful enough to cut through. But the other barrier users seem to be having the same problem.
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[Geir perks up to look at him attentively. the question of what powers are accessible to all of them is important.]
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[He throws up a quick and weak invisible barrier around himself. Geir might not notice it at first, until Riku attempts reaching out and has his hand bounce off the edges of the barrier.
After a moment he lets the barrier fade. Demonstration over.]
I'm still getting the hang of it.
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That's really useful. Have you figured out anything you could use it for besides fighting? If it can hold air in, you could use it to swim back down to Aimintas...
[though now that he thinks about it, maybe Riku wouldn't want to trust his breath to an untested shield around his face, through the mile of ocean between them and the city. humans are so fragile...]
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[And Geir's idea is a nice one, but he's not even sure he would trust his barrier to hold for long on solid ground, must less in water.]
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[Geir glances ruefully at the barrier -- they don't seem to be getting through there any time soon.]
Do you want to help me load this stuff into the containers to take back down to Aimintas?
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[His efforts against the barrier had proven fruitless, so maybe it would be best if he focused on improving his own ability first.]
Sure. [He gathers what remains of the pile and places it all in his bag before climbing to his feet from his kneeling position.] Where are they at?
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[Geir scoops up the other pile, too; they can meander back down the beach towards the submarine-like structures that the dragons carried up. Geir is relaxed but pretty jaded about the whole enterprise, keeping a jaundiced eye on the others who are still working on the barrier, but not expecting them to start having success any time soon. at least it's a nice day at the beach, and he got to meet this new person...
oops. he should probably do a social thing here.]
Oh, right. What's your name? I forgot to ask.
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Oh, yeah. Exchange names is something people do.]
I'm Riku. And you?
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[it is. he means it. that's a pleasant feeling, and he lets it linger as they continue putting things away and getting ready to head back down -- defeated for today at least.]