[Game Thread] Book 2 Chapter 1: A New Dusk

[ricktur63]

The feline woman looked around for a moment. "I was hoping for a couple more yet. They may arrive shortly. While we wait... any way we can get a look at those two bodies?"

She pointed toward the quarantine area where the bodies were laid out.

[Caveman]

Slouching into view just as Joya makes her request, Tam nods to those he's met and grumbles "Figured I'd stick with you lot - seems the only decent barmaid in town is going off somewhere, reckon I should be coming too. I'll try not to slow you down, and scar'll look after us if we see trouble."

Scar looks up at the group and growls softly before yipping disdainfully and trotting past into the quarantine area.

[jj_wolven]

Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

The front guard waves off another guard, who had leveled a crossbow at the fox, then turns back.
"You can go in, they are in House 4." he says, "Who else are you expecting? I can let them in when they arrive."

Inside the Quarantine area, the normal guards with regular tabards are still visible on their rounds, though two more purple tabard guards were in front of the house containing the outsiders.

[Makenshi]

Alsei was content to let Joya do the talking with the guards given who her father was. This was also the first she had heard about any 'bodies', but then she had been away from Kalbee for a little while, so she was usually behind on the latest news.

She shifted her pack to sit more comfortably between her shoulders before addressing the barmaid as they walked through the quarantine area. "So, what exactly is this all about? All I've heard from Sprinkles is that you're planning on going east." While Alsei wasn't really 'close' with anyone in Kalbee, she was at least familiar with Joya, since bars were a good place to talk trade, or even just find out about gossip and Alsei had been spending more and more time there the past few months.

~MTWC

[Jeffkevlar]

"Howdy, ma’am, " Chester said, tipping his hat to Alsei. "Friend of Sprinkles, are ya? Nice to meetcha. I’m Chester. I’ll be headed east as well. Just a hired gun, is all. "

[Unforgiven]

John John hops off his cart, and pats the head of the oxen and speaks to it as though it were able to understand, "Good beast of burden, be calm while I inspect the foreign bodies." With that he quickly begins walking towards the tent, a large awkward smile on his face with his excitement to finally get to inspect, and hopefully dissect, the bodies. When he sees the elf, he briefly stops to greet her, "Greetings Elf - Customer, I am John, I will be your resident merchant - mechanic - engineer - biologist on the journey. My fees are non-negotiable when in the field." Then he continues to the guards, waving to them as he heads into the tent.

[ricktur63]

With the late arrivals Joya was pleased to see everyone show up. She smiled politely at the guard and spoke up. "I think this is all of us now."

Joya over heard the comment from John about fees and she made a mental note to have a talk with him before they set out on the road. We'll all be contributing to this expedition or none of us are likely to return. We won't be charging others for our individual services.

She entered the quarantine area and approached the purple clad guards in front of the building holding the two cocooned outsiders. "May we finally examine these folks before our journey on council business? I think it only prudent."

[Makenshi]

Alsei gave Chester a polite nod in return. "Alsei." She took a moment to look the man over, noting his clothing and any visible weapons, while also trying to determine if she'd Alsei has lived nearby (outskirts of the forest) how whole life and been travelling to Kalbee semi-regularly for the past decade or so in order to trademet him before. "So, do you know what's going on yet, or have they only just hired you?"

Alsei is much more familiar with John, since she OOC - I'm assuming he'd sell these, if not that let me know and I'll change ittended to procure bolts from him whenever she needed new ones. Granted, Alsei was more the type to keep a low profile than to get into needless conflicts, so she didn't always visit him specifically when she came to Kalbee. "You've been dragged into this too, John?" She chuckles lightly before teasing him in return. "Well, I guess I'll be the resident healer then, although if you plan on itemising every little service you provide then I might have to do the same to you for my healing."

~MTWC

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Sprinkles bobs up and down in his version of a nod, "Alsei. Good healer, she come."
Most of those in the group vaguly recognize Alsei, which is odd since most people are recognizable in a town this size. She appears to be more comfortable than most entering the quarantine area, which triggers the memory that Alsei 'odd' girl that lives just outside the boundries of the barrier. She comes in regularly for trade and safety when needed, but as is the rule spends frequent though short times in quarantine when she is out longer.

More in line with the familiarity of the town, the guard responds to Joya casually before catching himself, "Hey Jo...uh, Miss Dewclaw. Councilman Louis and several others are inside."

The quarantine houses are relatively large to allow for the sizes of the caravans that return, but six more people coming in make it crowded with those already in.
The front entrance is clear, but a living room is connected by an open archway. In that room are several older people sitting and discussing. One guard stands in the arch between the entry and living room, but three stand at the other entrance to the living room.
A dark haired gnomish woman looks over as the group walks in, reaching over pull on Louis' sleeve and cause him to glance up.

"Ah, Joya...and company. Come in, sit." he glances around and two of the other people move from their chairs to the same side as Louis. This leave five seats available opposite Louis and the others that a few of you recognize as other council members.

[Caveman]

Cringing in the confines of an enclosed room, as well as the direct sightlines of authority figures, Tam, slinks along to lean against a wall, then crouches and strokes Scar gently as the fox twines around his ankles, feeling his master's nervousness. Tam makes as little eye contact as he can, and the slight tremor in his hands is more pronounced than usual as he first removes and then replaces a willow roll-up from his pouch and waits to see what he's gotten himself into here.

[ricktur63]

Joya made her way into the room ands took a seat across from the council members. She smiled at her papa Louise and then looked over at John and gave him an expectant look. He wanted to speak with the council and here was his chance. Just don't make a fool out of this group whatever you do. Looking back at the council members she smiled again and spoke briefly. "Firstly, I'd like to thank you for choosing me and giving me a chance to go on this outing. I've been hounding my papa to give me an opportunity like this for quite some time. I believe we..." She waved a hand indicating all of her companions with the gesture. "shall not fail you. I have proposed an equal share of any This is a broad term to indicate any valuables.shiny things found along the way."

Looking at the group one more time she spoke again. "Now is the time for any question you might have for our esteemed council members."

[Caveman]

Clearing his throat, Tam glances up and growls low "I gotta ask - what exactly is it all you high-ups reckon is going down here? Something must've gotten you mighty convinced to risk sending such a good barmaid out into the wilds. Care to share?

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Councilman Louis waves a hand at his daughter, then looks at Tam, "Being a barmaid is hardly what qualifies her," he snorts and mutters almost under his breath, "Nor her reason for being there."
He shakes head head slightly and continues, "She's been in the Wild several times, and looking at the faces most of you have. Her abilities are why she is going, her connection to me is merely the reason she got the note instead of one of you." he glances to the side and waves a man forward "But enough of that."

As he leans back into the chair, the man he waved to leans forward, "In case you don't know me, I am Councilman Etheran Lestolias."
Etheran is a light skinned elf, though not with the typical features of an elf. Even while seated and in the councilman robes, you can tell is particularly tall. Excessively long and pointed hears stick out of his black hair nearly horizontally.
"We are meeting like this as it is an unusual situation," he continues, "I am the only one here who remembers a similar situation. The men we have in this quarantine appear to be from the west beyond the Spider's Forest."

He pauses for a moment to let that sink in, as there has never been anyone that came from the west beyond the forest in memory. The idea of cities past forest had been relegated to myth and imagined potential with the lack of contact. There had been several times that explorers from Kalbee, or even Kansas City passing through, had gone past the forest to the west, though less than half had returned. Those who had returned reported no habitation outside of the hordes of monsters, though none had gone beyond mountains that were reported several hundred miles past the forest. Reports told that the encounters became worse and the survivability more spares as they approached the mountains, with none of the survivors having going too deeply into the foot hills.

"Several hundred years ago, when this village was only a few hundred strong and the creatures were battering at the pylon barrier daily," he continued, his eyes unfocused as he dug into his memory, "A man came through with reports of a city far west that was also growing. He said it was beyond the mountains near a coast, built with high walls upon an area that blocked any sort of teleportation. This allowed them but build, but with no contact since that man I had assumed they were overtaken and destroyed. But with this," he holds a small battered leather bound book, "We know that they have. At least until these men left the city they named San Francisco.

He taps the book with one finger, "This something of a journal that includes some travel notes. We have gathered that they were traveling for nearly two months to get here. Sadly, the details of the journey are almost non-existent."

The unusual elf pauses to take a drink, looking around to see if everyone has kept up.

[Caveman]

Tam's surly expression gives way to frank shock at the Councilman's revelations. "Pah, fairytales and over-interpretation of the evidence I reckon - who was this "man" who came through? What happened to 'im, eh? Nah, my thinkin' is that mebbe yer memory over a couple hundered years has gotten a mite frayed at the edges. So - we going chasing this mad story out West then? That book got a treasure map in it that'll lead us past the beasties in the hills? I'm all ears!"

Tam glowers around and then realises his interruption has garnered him the attention of the entire council and his mouth shuts with a sharp snap before he hunkers back down by the little fox at his feet.

[Makenshi]

Alsei was familiar enough with some of the guards, even friendly with some of them, but with the council around she wasn't really in her element. She'd never had any dealings with them or their ilk - unless you counted chatting a little with Joya at the bar. Like Tam, she opted to stand rather than sit, albeit without leaning against a wall and sticking close to the door.

With so many new and unknown faces, the wild healer was a lot quieter than she'd have been otherwise, but something Tam said seemed to startle her. "West? I was told we were going east. If this is about going west then you can count me out, and I'm still yet to hear any explanation as to what it is exactly we're supposed to be doing."

~MTWC