In the many years Das has lived, he has only crossed the ocean twice: once to travel from King's Valley to Sol City, and again to leave Sol City to come to the Crescent Isles. He has few plans in being here in all honesty. Getting away from the life he led before comes with its own challenges, but the point of it all is to experience new things, new people, and new places. For a guy used to sporadic trees and tall grass, it's an entirely different world to be where trees and mountains linger above, surrounded by the vast expanse of the ocean.

When he heard about a riverboat tour, Das scrambled together as much coin as he could to afford it and eagerly got in line. As a seven-foot-tall Fellblood with twisting black horns that add another foot to his height and an eyepatch, his image does not exactly fit the way he feels: giddy like a child. Once the line moves, he sits himself heavily on a bench in the boat, feeling it rock under his weight as he does.

With his nose stuck into a brochure and struggling to read the kitschy font imitating the local writing style but in common, Das pours over the information about the Isles. "This place is incredible," he murmurs wonderously to himself, not expecting anyone to be paying him any attention.

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Quest Details:

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: River Tour
Participants: Two or more
Location: Crescent Isles
Post Requirements: 5 posts per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: The Crescent Isles are a beautiful, serene place to visit this time of the year, and one of the biggest attractions that draw tourist are its beautiful, twisting rivers that snake throughout the region and connect many of its bodies of water. It has become a favorite pastime of nobles and the rich to hire guides to take them down the river on a boat. Be a part of one of these river raft rides, either by acting as a guide for a visitor, or maybe going on a tour yourself! However, the trip is not going to be as calm and peaceful as expected. Rough rapids, rocky outcroppings, and unpredictable sea life look to bring disaster to your ride.

Moria feels extremely out of place. Of their many years, few of them have spent outside the woods of the Moonglade. And while also a forest, the Bamboo Forest does not feel like home. Moria stands out here, more than they normally do, without trees to blend in to. To further their troubles, Moria has never been to the Crescent Isles. They have met people from the Isles–it was a resident of the Crescent that told them about and suggested taking the river tour in the first place–but now it is Moria’s turn to be the outsider in an unknown land.

Perhaps it is because they stick out as much as they do that they choose to approach Das–the only one in the vicinity who sticks out more than Moria does: also towering over most of the other travelers, with horns, scars, and a red complexion. The tree imitates a cough, “clearing their throat” as they have seen humans do to get another’s attention.

“Excuse me,” Moria begins in their usual slow cadence, tapping a twiggy finger on Das’ shoulder, making a quiet thud as wood meets metal. “My name is Moria. The boatman told me I need to pay a fare, but I’m not very familiar with money...” They reach into their mossy beard and pluck out a couple acorns, a bird’s feather, and a few dull, grimy coins. “Do you think this will be enough?”

As much as people have steered clear of him, Das doesn’t expect someone to tap on his shoulder. Much to his greater surprise, this person appears to be… a tree? At first, he thinks he stepped too close and that the wind just rustled the branches. Then the tree person speaks. Das’ singular eye lights up with surprise and delight, his eyebrows arched high upon his forehead.

“Oh! Hello there, Moria!” he says, turning to face them while watching with great interest as they pluck a peculiar array of objects from their mossy beard. “Yeah, a fare…” Tapping his chin, he carefully picks through the things in Moria’s hand until he realizes that there are a few coins. He plucks them from their hand and rubs them between his fingers until enough grime has been wiped away to reveal a somewhat shiny surface beneath. “These are coins for paying for things! The fare is ten Solars and you have… uh…” Das dusts them off a little more. “Seven. I think. No worries! I can cover the rest for you!”

While he continues, Das fishes into his pocket for his own coin purse which is light in its own right. His metal-covered sausage fingers dig inside for a few more small coins to add to Moria’s. “Oh, right. My name is Kar'Das'Dun, but you can call me Kardas or just Das. I don't mind. Is this your first time doing something like this too?”

“Mmm.. Kar’Das’Dun….”, Moria muses, their normal slow speaking cadence resulting in a slight but noticeable pause between each syllable, and gives their beard a few strokes as they commit the name to memory. “Thank you for your assistance, and for covering the rest of my fair. It would be a shame to have come all this way only to miss the tour.” Moria takes in the foreign landscape once more, staring up at the towering bamboo shoots. “Though I suppose all these new sites are a worthwhile experience in their own right.”

Moria’s concentration is broken by a loud “Ahem” from behind them, and they move to catch up with the line, after a quick apology. “And yes, I’ve not done anything like this before. In fact…” Moria’s whole upper body tilts to the right, as if imitating how someone with a neck might cock their head in thought, “in my many years, I’ve rarely, if ever, left my forest; and I’ve certainly never been on a boat before. It seems the world is as vast and fascinating as the travelers through my woods say it is.”

As they reach the front of the line, Moria proudly places the ten coins Zarius helped them count and compile in the hand of the ticket seller. “One tree for the ferry, please” the tree says. It is unclear if they’re poking fun at their differentness, or if they are completely serious. Regardless, the bored ticket seller simply blinks in acknowledgement, counts up the coins and verifies their legitimacy before handing Moria their ticket. The tree nods to Das and steps aside, waiting for their new acquaintance to pay his fare.

Looking back at the line, and how far the two came, Moria comments “That didn’t take so long.” They look back over at Das and smile, slowly waving their ticket in the air. “We’re practically on the river already.”

It doesn’t exactly occur to Das that his new companion is a walking, talking tree. He sees face, he thinks, “Person.” Which probably does him some good in a way. “Left your forest?” he asks. “I understand what you mean. The world is quite the vast place. I spent much of my times in the plains of King’s Valley, and it’s high time I see something new and meet new people.”

Standing back to offer any assistance to Moria if they need it, Das waits his turn to pay his fare, thinking that the mention of being a tree is a joke. Once Moria passes without issue, he coughs up enough Solars to board the boat then follows along. He’s just happy he could help someone. Giving a glance to the dock and how far they came in a short time, Das nods in agreement. “It seems they know how to quickly manage tourists!”

Taking a deep breath of the fresh, moist air of the river and bamboo forest, Das grips the rail of the boat. “It’s probably best if we stay on deck. Seems we’re a bit too tall for the interior seats. Besides, we can see in all directions up here!”

Once the remaining tourists are aboard the ferry, the crew work to pull the boat away from the dock, and the merry journey down the river begins. “Be sure to take a seat or hold onto a rail, folks. Some of the rainfall recently has made the waters pretty rough. You don’t want to take a dip,” the ferryman calls as they get on their way.