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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 20, 2024 13:59:11 GMT -5
Admittedly, Fish wasn't too interested in checking out weird plants. Well, part of them was, but part of them wasn't. Scientifically speaking a new alchemical ingredient was interesting, but economically speaking it didn't seem like a good investment of their time. Still, Del and Cyran had been pushing them to try helping people more and not always doing things because Fish can turn it into a transaction.
So, Fish does decide to settle on their curiosity to motivate them for this trip out to the desert. It sounded like it created some sort of auditory hallucination. The bird peered at their notes as they sat on the shoulder of an impossibly tall woman. They look out over the expanse of sand towards the horizon where they were supposed to be heading.
"Fish believes this will be a waste of time, but Fish has been told that Fish should try being more helpful."
They sign over to Izzy as they travel having also been encouraged to share their thoughts more openly. Though at points, they were told to maybe not be so open with their thoughts. Social etiquette was very confusing to Fish and all the rules about playing nice seemed stupid. Fish should say what Fish thinks, but Fish also has to worry about if what they say will be seen as rude? Preposterous.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 31, 2024 19:04:49 GMT -5
Similar to Fish, Izzy was not precisely the most inclined to assist people without a substantial payment involved... but, she could be swayed, convinced, if there was enough incentive in the form of novelty. While the events at Mount Drakholt a few months on had been... innnteresting. Catastrophic, some may say... it had produced some fascinating results in the world around them. Izzy herself was presently ignoring a persistent burning sensation within the centre of her chest that seemed to come and go, ascribing it to some heart burn, perhaps. That seemed the more logical approach. And speaking of logic... Izzy arches a brow at Fish, immediately bemused. "Now who went and told you that? In any case, at least shit like this is interesting. I bet we could glean a few good things from this that might make for good potions or information."She whistles tunelessly as they walk towards the oasis, her tail carefully swaying above the scorching hot sands, before pausing again to speak. "I heard there's somethin' funky about the flowers. That they give people a wicked sense of deja vu, or something." She had no idea what that was all about, but at the very least, they could definitively identify if it was just some people who were loopy from wandering in the sand for too long, or, if something was actually going on here.
Quest Name: Ring of Flowers Participants: Exactly Two Location: One of the listed locations below Post Requirements: 6 posts per person, 200 words per post Reward: +2 Renown, 1 Mystical Archive Ticket Description: Strange things are occurring around these newly formed flower circles and help is needed in understanding why. Unfortunately, as one of the first groups of people to explore these phenomena, we are unaware of any specific strange or weird side effects interacting with these rings may bring, so be careful. Study the flowers, record what you see, hear, or even feel. Special Requirements: Your investigations will reveal that these circles are not native to Charon and are coming from some other realm. They are Fae in nature and give off similar magical traces as the Fae creatures that currently live on Charon, although much stronger and more potent. Upon arriving at the location, you will find that strange things have begun to happen, not only to the environment but to you as well, with prolonged exposure to the circle increasing the effects. Before you begin the quest, you must choose one of the locations listed below to explore, with a specific obstacle attached based on the region. These added effects cannot be ignored and must be applied to your characters during the quest. Zeinav Desert | The Oasis | Baby blue flowers have created a ring around the oasis in Zeinav. The sounds of crashing waves can be heard in the distance despite being in the middle of the desert. The temperature increases and decreases randomly as well. | While investigating the flowers, both members find that every few minutes, time seems to rewind, going back a few seconds. There is no pattern or rhythm to the rewinds, some instances going back a few seconds and others a few minutes. Lasts the entire topic. |
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 31, 2024 20:36:01 GMT -5
"Mom and Dad....they think it is better for Fish's emotional growth and will make Fish a better person." Of course Del and Cyran wouldn't have put it in such clinical terms, but Fish would.
Fish continues to look through their notes as Izzy walks. So far all they had to go on was eyewitness testimony and the Law Offices of Moonweaver and Moonweaver were very keen on reminding people that eyewitness testimony is unreliable. It was extra unreliable out here in the desert when any number of things could cause the symptoms.
Dehydration...poisonous plants, bugs, snakes....sand madness. Sand madness may have just been a fake disease Morrigan made up so they could sell a cure for it. Fish had never seen any documented cases of it, but there is a first for everything. Including Morrigan being right.
"It could be any number of things causing it. Hard to know if it is the flowers until Fish is able to see it for themselves."
Finally, the pair does come across the oasis. Blue flowers dot through the grass near the water supply, a few stragglers even cling to life where the grass meets the sand. Fish hops down from Izzy's shoulder and floats down to the ground. The little bird hops towards the flowers without caution to start looking at them.
Where did these come from? These definitely weren't desert flowers, a tulip wouldn't be able to grow out here. Did someone cultivate this? Was a florist attacked and these seeds just fell out? Either way they shouldn't be growing.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Mar 3, 2024 15:20:36 GMT -5
Izzy's brows shoot up. Mom and Dad!? She blinks owlishly, both surprised and amused. And perhaps a little jealous. Whomst the fuck. "You got a mom and dad?! Since when! When do I get to meet them? They owe me back-pay for keeping your feathered behind out of trouble. I need an address so I can invoice 'em." Izzy snickers, clearly teasing. Fish rarely needed to be bailed out for any reason, unless the danger of the situation was part of the plan.
Izzy was also, perhaps, being a tad protective of the little Kenku and she was already thinking of how she could investigate these two and make sure they had Fish's best interests in mind. And if they didn't... well, Fish had been fine without parents thus far. So had Izzy, and look how she had turned out!
Once they arrive at the Oasis, Izzy strides after Fish, looking around with an appraising eye. The flowers were... strange. Unsettling. They were a very vibrant shade of blue that she would not typically associate with something in Zeinav, and they might even be out of place in somewhere like Moonglade, where the flowers were quite wild in hue.
"These are weird." Izzy hums, taking a knee to examine the flowers. She plucks one, lifting it up to her nose to sniff. Not an overwhelming scent, but a faint one that she cannot place. It didn't smell like anything in particular, but it felt like magic. "I didn't think there was a heavy magical connection here, like a leyline convergence or whatever. Maybe things shifted a bunch when the volcano erupted?"
That damn thing. Everything had gone absolutely sideways since the giant dragon thing had been evicted from the mantle of the continent. It would make sense, though. The earthquakes had shown that things were moving... if the leylines were fixed, then any tectonic shifting should have an effect.
No sooner does she think this, though, Izzy finds herself once again lowering herself to kneel, plucking the same flower she had already plucked to sniff. "These are... weird..." she says again, her brows drawing together. ...hadn't she just done that? She pinches herself on the cheek, hard, and winces. No, she was awake. "The hells was that."
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Mar 4, 2024 12:10:24 GMT -5
"It was not by Fish's choice, but it was more efficient for Fish to not fight it. Also Fish was the one to bail Izzy out most times." They turn their attention back to the flowers at hand. Fish hadn't really put a whole lot of stock into their family situation yet.
"Del and Cyran have taken a vested interest in the emotional development of Fish....Apparently Fish did not have a good childhood." They shrug. When you have been denied your childhood whole cloth it becomes hard to know if it really is good or bad.
The bird was like a little black hole that absorbed parental supervision to it. Fish did not seek out guardians, but people felt drawn to protect the bird and offer them more guidance than they had apparently been getting so far.
Fish is busy sketching the flowers and comparing them to their other notes. They look up a moment, then back to the book and start drawing another sketch. Fish stops and looks at it. They just drew that one.....Pages are furiously flipped through. Fish knew they drew it and Fish doesn't forget things.
They go stock still for a moment. Was there something specific that happened to trigger deja vu? Did they trigger some sort of odd magical trap? Were the flowers illusions? They narrow their eyes at the oasis.
Fish hops forward a few steps and stops and blinks. When their eyes open, they are back where they started and no footprints dot the sand ahead of them. Fish was not happy with this development.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Mar 30, 2024 14:39:54 GMT -5
Izzy hums thoughtfully at the idea of Fish having... parents. It was a good thing, on the surface at least. She mirrors their shrug over the 'good childhood' distinction, or rather, the lack thereof. What did that even MEAN anyway? Fish was alive, they were primarily self-sufficient, they got the proper nutrients (courtesy of Izzy)... it seemed odd to her that any well adjusted adult would take an interest in a street urchin appropos of nothing, unless they were a little maladjusted themselves. And if that was the case, what sort of interesting and suspicious ways were they broken?
But that was conjecture. She had names, now, that should be enough to go on. Perhaps she should get in touch with Zarius, and see what he and his contacts knew. Presently, there were larger things of concern to be aware of.
"Happened to you too?" Izzy clicks her tongue, grimacing, as she watches Fish whip through the pages of their book, looking for something that was no longer there. Annoying, to say the least. This time, she keeps her eyes focused on the little bird, watching them seem to... skip. They were planting their foot one moment, and the next, they were back a few paces where they had started. Catching the displeased look on Fish's beaked face (a subtle thing to catch in a bird; a ruffle of the feathers on the crown, a pinning of the pupils) she flashes them a not-quite smile. "Right. So. This is wack. Maybe if we stay perfectly still we won't experience whatever... time thing is happening here." Ember-eyes flick around their surroundings carefully, gauging a trajectory. "Finding out what's going on is one thing, but how do we get the hell out of here if we keep winding up where we started again."
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Apr 1, 2024 11:22:49 GMT -5
Fish glares at the sand around them. Were they actually being sent back in time or did they just feel like it? Their eyes search the area to see if their might be a spellcaster or some sort of arcane ruin around that is triggering this.
It happened to Fish and Izzy separately which meant it likely wouldn't come from a caster. Was it maybe a proximity based ward? It wouldn't hold in the sand and Fish couldn't see any markings anywhere.
Fish tries walking backwards, but after backing up a few meters they suddenly find themselves back as if they had never moved. The eyes dart around again looking for what may have triggered the recall.
They slip googles around their eyes and flip the lenses until they settle on a amber colored set.[1] Rather than finding a source of magic, there is a gentle haze that seems to hang in the air like dust particles dancing in the first sunlight of the day.
"Some magical accident must have happened here....Fish can see traces of it, but there is no spell or source....Izzy can investigate, Fish will mark the time and watch to see if there is a pattern."
Fish was confident if they could work out the pattern, then they could easily handle this task. Little did the bird know trying to science the fae or anything they do was nigh impossible. Though that knowledge would only make Fish spitefully double down because how dare someone tell them science can't do something.
1. Arcane Glasses
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