[Game Thread] Unfortunate Implications

[Fragmaster01]

The skyport town of Erlast, Population 24,000. Late summer.
It's a wonderful day outside today. The birds are fluttering about(hoping to steal your food), the sky is partly cloudy, and it's not too hot out at the moment. Not that you'd know this, as you're busy wandering about the undertown. When the people making Erlast ran out of room, they decided that structural concerns were for pikers, and simply built down into the floating island. No sense letting all that solid rock go to waste, you see. Some may claim that this was far more expensive than it needed to be, but they're dead now, so we don't have to listen to them.

Our story begins in the Estward plaza, a lovely little underground dome about 100 feet across. It's a meeting place for all sorts of wandering roads, as well as a stopping point for people who are horribly, horribly lost. The brown-green stone dome is lit up by various green crystal sigils carved into the ground and walls. These supposedly tell some sort of historical event or some such, but most people around here can't read Draconic(that's what you get for enlisting a half-dragon to do the artwork).

There's roughly 50 or so people of all breeds and walks wiggling about in the dome. Four of them happen to be you! That's terrible, and we should find out who you are immediately, so we know who to avoid.

OOC There's 5 exits to the Estward Plaza. North: Leads to the airship docks. NorthEast: Leads to the cargo areas. East: Staircases and lifts back up to the town proper. South: Estward merchant complex, for buying all sorts of knick-knacks. West: A Swifthall leading to the other side of town. Tell us about your characters, and what they're doing this time of day(roughly morning, a bit before lunch). Also finish your character sheets.

[Cash]

"Everybody is in such a rush today" thought Marros as he munched on a piece of bread he just swiped of of someone. He liked coming here. The underground had so many people he could watch and not to mention the artwork. Of course he couldn't understand any of it but it looked pretty. Every once and awhile someone would catch Marros attention as he sat on the eastern stair cases, "Hehe that one's lost for sure" he thought before trying to make new pictures in his head out of the crystals on the floor.

[dbaque]

Matthias feels as out of place in the hustle of the plaza as he looks out of place in his brown monkish robes. While he's glad to have finally seen Erlast for the first time, he certainly won't be sad to go back home to Valrubria Abbey after his errand. After some more jostling in the crowd, he sighs to himself, thinking that getting out of another meditation session with Brother Nicodemus was just barely worth this hassle.

Brother Eckhard had taken ill, & the lad practically leaped at the chance to finally visit the skyport town in his stead. After no little insistence that he was old enough to handle it, that he wouldn't get lost, etc., he set out to pick up an order of new farming tools from the Erlast smith. The lad was told to memorize carefully the directions to the smith, & now he can see why. After losing his way a half dozen times in the crowd (to the amusement of a few onlookers, including this one kid by the eastern stairs), Matthias found his way to the southern plaza exit.

[Elucidus]

The twelve year old girl walks almost aimlessly it seems, but looking over her shoulder. this way? No, over here maybe? I don't know, maybe I should get out of here.

She wears a white and blue dress that drops down to her knees, blue ribbons adorn her wavy blond hair. She had come down here in hopes of losing the boys who were following her after a scuffle with them; at it again, playing kick the puppy or some such thing. They didn't take kindly to her interrupting their little game and the biggest one chased her. I got the puppy out of there! She thought as a grin grew on her face looking down at the puppy in her arms. But now she lost track of them and wasn't sure where to go.

Just then she nearly got bowled over by a gruffly looking dwarf, "'scuse me sir." She said in a low voice barely audible, her eyes dropping to the floor as he runs past.

The stores! she thought her feet moving in that direction almost before she finished the thought. She approaches the southern entrance.

[Moridain]

Another girl, in a flowing white dress and delicate sandals comes into the area from the south, looking a little teary eyed.

Her father had taken her shopping and she had seen a gorgeous dress in another window. She went over to look at it, and when she turned around to point it out to her father he was gone. She wandered after him, trying to find him again, but failed.

Now her feet were sore, and she was lost, and she had no idea where she was. She should probably ask one of the older people to help her, but she is too scared to admit she got lost. Is she a toddler lost in a supermarket? No. She is a magistrates daughter! She is too smart to... to...

A tear trickles down her cheek.

"Shkee" comes a small cry in her pocket, and she realised she had squeezed her friend too tightly. She loosed it a little so the little rat head could stick out a little. Taking the opportunity the furry companion runs out of her pocket, over her hand and up on to her shoulder, hugging close to her neck. She giggles at this, her tears falling a little slower as her friend tries to comfort her.

[Cash]

” wondered what happened” seeing a girl come out of the market district crying. ” wonder if I should go help” he thought while already down the stairs. It took awhile to make it down to the south exit but Marros easily weaved through people. Everything ok, girly Marros said with smile.

[Moridain]

A boy approached her and she sniffles a bit more, a little uncertain. Her instinct to find her parents fighting her instinct not to be a little girl and leaving her silent for a moment. "I-I'm lost." She admits finally, using her sleeve to wipe away the tears from her face.

[Cash]

No worries, I'm sure we can find anyone your looking for or at least get you back to your home

[Fragmaster01]

You are mildly distracted by an odd sound, moving about throughout the plaza. Sounds like laughter. Hideously deranged, ever growing laughter. After a few odd glances around, you can link it to an odd half-elf standing a little ways from the middle of the plaza. Wiry, unkempt grey hair, dressed in a very tattered cloak and pants, and currently finding something very, very hysterical.
"It's here... it's finally time... finally time!"
The surrounding folk look at him with mild concern, before swapping to alarm as blue arcane lines start to shine through his clothing, and all over his head. A few start backing away, before a horrible flash of light shoots out from him, rapidly filling th-
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Your mind is filled with horribly twisting visions. Flashes of the islands around your country, with the Chaos floating about the shores like an ocean of sorts. Guards walking about. Diplomats yelling. Images of a jovial looking man in red-purple furred robes occsaionally punctuate it, eventually becoming far more common, until it settles as the only thing you can see. A thin, raspy voice echoes throughout your brain.
"If your people are to live, the king must die."
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Welcome back. You feel a little woozy, but that's nothing compared to the odd sensations fluttering about you. You feel keenly aware of everything near you, and are perfectly ready to run several miles while mocking the slower people around you. Arcane knowledge flutters through Sadie's head, as Threnody starts to feel an odd connection to some power greater than herself. Cash and Matthias seem very perky and ready to go, for whatever reason.

...the same can not be said about the other inhabitants of the plaza. They all seem to be encased in shells of ice, frozen in whatever pose they had when the strange man exploded(?). It's a bit chilly in here, and a light coat of snow covers the ground.

The strange man is nowhere to be seen. You four are the only ones free to move about.

[Moridain]

She shrugs as if it wasn't important, but also takes hold of the side of your shirt. "Um, my Dad is Quincy Tarenai, the magistrate? I live there."

ooc Where would I actually live? I have no idea the layout of the town.

BOOM

Sadie is on her butt when the flash ends, her hand on the shirt loosened when it hit. Suddenly she... knows stuff. Picture an image of a backward flying crow while chanting this rhyme and it slows people down. That rhyme and it weakens their aura.

Raising a hand she speaks a word "Sparkle." and her hand is surrounded in flame, bright and heatless green.

Her rat, also able to move somehow, prances down her hand and stares at it curiously before looking back at her. "Now that is weird." he says to her conversationally. "I know. And it was so easy..." She replies without thinking.

Pause.

"You can" "Understand me?!" they say in unison.

[Cash]

Oi, Oi that felt weird. You alright gir.....what happened? Looking up seeing everyone frozen shocks him causing his normally happy voice to crack alittle and become shaky. Wha...what is this? as he touches the closest frozen person to him.

[dbaque]

Matthias was just noting three other kids nearing the south exit when there was a mad cackle & then everything went black. The black was punctuated with flashes of things even more cryptic than Brother Nicodemus' lessons (& that was saying something) but far more unsettling.

The robed lad comes to to the horrid sight of frozen townsfolk. "What happened? How long have we been out?" he thinks groggily to himself seeing the snow. With no little relief, Matthias notes those three other kids were spared the grown-ups' icy fate. He gets up his balance & limbs steadier than he remembered, even with his head still reeling, & wraps his robes around himself more tightly. "Hello," he calls to the others, "Are you guys okay?"

His head is still fuzzy, so he blinks trying to focus. Suddenly, everything his master ever tried to teach him about meditating came to him in a rush. As Matthias opens his eyes, his mind feels Psionic focuspoised, like a lion ready to pounce, an odd sensation certainly, but not unsettling. All Brother Nicodemus' lessons seemed finally to make sense. "Though I'd never hear the end of it if ever I told him that."

He leaves consideration of his new mental insights for later. Matthias sees that the boy is up & about and one of the girls is ... conjuring green fire? Well, that's close enough to fine for the time being. He hurries over to the other girl, surprising himself at how Speed of Thoughtfast he moved. Surprise & thoughts of "Cool!" for now yield to concern for the girl & firmly ingrained manners. "Here," he says offering his hand to the blond girl in white & blue, "let me help you up."

[Elucidus]

Thenody drops to the ground with a thud. When she opens her eyes and looks around, she sees a boy standing in front of her, his hand outstretched to her. He must have gotten there in a flash, or perhaps she was out longer than she thought. She managed a smile and gave him her hand. His grip was strong and firm, her touch was soft and a little tingly as a bit of glitter flowed off her hand and onto Matthias' hand like it were following the path up a river. After he helped her to her feet, she smiled with a "Thank you." She looked around and is mortified by what she sees; everyone in front of her is frozen...even the dwarf she just bumped into...

"I...what happened? She asked pulling her hands from the sides of her head, obviously trying to fight off some strange sensation.

[Moridain]

The rat shakes his head "I never thought humans were smart enough to talk to before... I mean, it took me so long to train you to give me food regularly and clean up my waste I just assumed you were retarded or something..."

She blushes "Hey! I was always good about taking care of you! ... Okay I forgot to clean up your cage a couple of times but..."

"A couple of times? I had to bite your finger paw times!" holding up its paw for emphasis "Before you learned that lesson! And pee on your shoulder a couple of times..."

"You did that on purpose? I was in my favorate dress! Oh, Fluffy, why..."

"... Fluffy?"

"Thats... your name."

"No it isn't."

"... it isn't?"

"No. I'm Simmon."

She pauses for a moment, wondering at the strangeness of having your pet correct its name. She was pretty sure that owners got to name their pets. But at the same time it seemed rude to correct him.

"Simmon?"

"Yes. But maybe we could talk a bit later? I think we should really pay more attention to those frozen people. They aren't normally like that are they..?"

Standing up she looks around at the frozen people in horror. What had happened to them?

ooc Note, Green text is spoken in Rat, so from your perspectives she is talking common and a rat is standing on her arm chittering back at her and gesturing with its tiny hands for emphesis, even crossing its arms at one point as if in a huff.

[Cash]

Marros head turns back and forth unsure which to give his attention to. The girl conversing with her rat and the rat's motions making it seem like is talking back or the frozen people? The frozen people, the rat thing is cool but this is mote impotant, but note toself ask about rat later