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

[Unforgiven]

John John continues to beam at the prospect of going somewhere and finding shinys; "So we will be going to establish contact with other customer - cities? Will certain unnamed traders going on this mission get exclusive trade rights for such a dangerous and profitable mission?" John absent mindedly pets his fantastical clockwork familiar as he thinks about the possible growth of his business due to the above exclusive rights.

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Etheran sets his cup down and clears his throat, eying Tam momentarily before continuing, "A few hundred years is nothing to an elf and it was quite an incident, so memory is not an issue. The man's name was James and he continued after a few months of helping us."

His eyes flicker to Alsei, "Patience child, I am just going though the background of the 'why'. We don't propose sending you off with nothing but a demand. And trade," he finally looks to the merchant, "Is not our business until is interferes. Any deals you will need to make yourself in other cities."

"Alright," he says after a deep breath, turning the journal back several pages, "As mentioned, they came from this 'San Francisco', but with a mission. It seems their leaders had uncovered news of a city far away that was prosperous and had sent these men as representatives to make contact. It seems this city is even further east of Kansas City and is called York.

There is a letter of introduction that took us a bit to disenchant before opening. It is very basic, but mentions a 'token' for them to allow them to visit. I believe that we found this 'token', but it is not the transportation device we believed nor is it described in the letter. It is likely that these men were notified but it was not written down, so we will continue to study it here."

He spreads a large map on the table covered in various colored lines and symbols that made no sense, but with a thicker line going through the middle of the landmass.
"We believe this thick line to be their patch of travel, though this map must be old as the landmarks are wrong." he places his finger on a spot in the middle, "I believe that this spot represents Kansas City, as the writing here matches some of that on the signs that have been found near the city. The path to York seems to be around 1200 miles, less than two months if there were no disruptions but we will assume there will be."

Etheran looks between each of you with his light colored eyes, his swept back ears lending to the seriousness of his look, "Basically, we would like you to travel to York, make contact, take a teleportation image with this," he holds up a clear crystal, "And report back to us."

[ricktur63]

As the elven man held the small crystal out Joya stepped forward and offered her hand. "So it would seem that if everything went smoothly we could be back here in as little as five months but on the safe side it could be as long as a year before we return." She turned to the small gathering of souls and had a questioning look in her clearly feline eyes. "Are we all prepared to invest up to a year of our lives on this little expedition?" She looked from one face to the next meeting the eyes of each person in succession.

[Caveman]

Tam's initial low chuckle bubbled up and broke before becoming a full-throated laugh and leaving him wiping tears from his eyes.
"Invest a year? Lassie they're asking us to donate the lot! Aye, it may be two months of casual wanderin' in bucolic glades, but twelve hundred miles across the wilds, beasts on our tail the while - that ain't a no "investment" that's a gamble. Now, luckily I likes a gamble, and this is the best type - all-in. Anyway, I'm sure gonna come, I'm gettin' stale enough here anyway, and me and Scar have seen a few scrapes out in the forests before. York, eh? Sounds nice - old-fashioned if you get my meaning.
I got a coupla little questions first though. The crystal - what's it do? The map - how wrong is it, we talking whole mountains gone missin' or just a bit squint in places? Lastly an introductory letter sounds good to me. If we all rocked up at Kansas with no sayin' who we are I know a few numbskulls who'd assume the worst - be a shame to make it to the place and then get turned back at the gate, right?"

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Etheran drops the crystal into her hand, "This crystal will take images that will allow us to teleport there. If we use the stored image we can teleport as if we had scryed it, but if we have the crystal with us when we teleport it is as easy as teleporting home."

He shifts, his hand moving toward the map as he speaks, "You shouldn't need a letter of introduction for Kansas City, they are pretty open. But if you would like I can send one along to a friend I have there. The map," his finger points to where he said Kansas City was, "may be all but useless as this does not even show (See Earthen History/Information thread)The Cut nor the size of the city, but you can take it if you would like. The distances between places should be close, but there is far too much that we know is changed." he drags his finger across some marks on the western side of the mountains, "Our researchers believe that these are the mountains to the west of us, but the range definitely doesn't go far enough south.".

The slender finger moves to an area a few hundred miles west of Kansas City, "I presume this is where our little town should be, but there is no indication of the Spider's Forest. The rest," he says as he sits back, "We can only assume is as different or moreso. Even those who have gone out the farthest haven't been nearly as far as this map shows; leaving the area between here and Kansas City as our only reference."

[ricktur63]

The feline woman took the stone and secreted it away into one of the pockets of one of her many scarves. She was quite the eccentric in her race as well as her dress and even her manner. She was the take charge kind of person, not that she lauded it over anyone but she was used to being in 'control' or so it would seem. Even in this impromptu meeting she almost seemed as if she were the one running the show. It was not even a conscious thing for her, it was just her way.

"So we have an estimate of distance but do we have the general direction other than east of Kansas City? South of east? North of east? Or due east? Should we just follow the morning sun?"

[Caveman]

Tam looks at the ground and rubs the back of his neck absent mindedly. "I didn't make meself clear, it ain't Kansas as worries me - though a note for the high-ups there would be mighty fine - it's the York letter I meant. If these dead folk needed one, surely we do too, but we ain't them so how are we gonna know what's important to have in a note for 'em? Could be as we need a code, or a token to prove we ain't be beasts - they maybe don't have stones as we do, get me?"

[Unforgiven]

John John chuckles at the mention of time investment, "Fear not customer-councilman, years mean little to me anymore, and I would gladly give up a hundred for a good trade route! Plus, if we are going through Kansas city, I will visit our enclave and my family before heading farther out. We can visit the rat warrens too for information. May be those with news of the road ahead. "

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

"East and a bit north is all that is indicated. They didn't know where it is either, so it seems that this was as much as discovery mission as a contact missing." the elf says, pondering, "Perhaps east to the coast then north until you find it. From what we have gathered, the entire city should be made of Most buildings are two stories, with very tall ones being 2 + attic or three stories. Kansas City has some remnant buildings a few hundred feet tall, but only a few dozen in the 100 mi radius zone. Most are maintained by magical being, with only a few around 200' standing while non-magical...and none of those safe.buildings hundreds or thousands of feet tall. You should be able to see the city several days before you reach it."

The long-eared elf tilts his head to the side in thought, nodding to John in confirmation before continuing, "A letter may help, and we can have one ready if you wish, but it will merely be a greeting. The one from San Francisco was something more than that." he pauses, "It implies something more, referencing the token we found and something to be discussed with the people they sent. I imagine this token is dangerous in some sense, otherwise it would have been more detailed in the letter. We will continue to study the token and let you know when we get more information."

[Caveman]

Tam nodded and stretched his neck to the side. "Done, then. Is there any gear the council have saved up for this type of thing? Also, when we get back all triumphant and proud - are y'all offering a reward or something? I reckon as all that risk must have some motivation besides the thrill and the satisfaction of a job well done!"

[Jeffkevlar]

"Hundreds of thousands...i c’aint believe that!" Cheater said incredulously.

"Still. Wouldn’t that be a sight to see..."

[Unforgiven]

John stays suspiciously silent at the mention of large buildings, obviously knowing nothing of giant buildings and the like...... he goes about tinkering with his clockwork bird instead.

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Etheran leans back as Louis begins to speak, "There is nothing in particular that has been saved, a journey beyond Kansas City were not really considered. We can provide some basic gear for you, as well as a stipend of non-perishible trade goods. You can use those to trade in Kansas City and beyond to make your way."
He pauses for a moment as if listening.

It the brief quiet, everyone can barely hear the whispering as Sprinkles pulls on Chester's sleeve, "...about the...find glow..."

Louis speaks up again, the old human chuckling lightly, "Not to worry, you keep anything you find. We would appreciate the option to buy things first when you return though." he glances around to all gathered, "Are there any other question?"

[ricktur63]

Joya The feline woman waited for the others to speak of any concerns before she stood. She'd been to Kansas City before and she knew the map would likely be of little use once they were past the borders of the city. It was going to be a very long journey and she would need to do some last minute trading to find a horse and saddle for the journey. She had an extra spellbook that she could trade but bit was worth far more than a horse with bit and saddle. Perhaps she could trade it for a light horse that was combat trained with bit saddle and fodder for the journey. She would need to speak with her father after the meeting was over. He might possibly be able to point her toward the right person. "I for one have some last minute preparations to take care of before the journey. Shall we meet at the easternmost warding stones in the morning, say an hour after sunrise?"

[jj_wolven]

Quarantine, Kalbee, Central US - Wednesday afternoon

Louis glances at one of the other councilmen, who nods, "We can provide horses, a wagon, food and water, and camping basics. Just tell us what you need and we can likely get it if we have it here."

He glances to each party member in turn, "Do you want to see the men? They are still alive and guarded, so physical contact with them is...risky. But we also have their belongings there."