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Post by Kristofor on Sept 24, 2020 23:21:55 GMT -6
The Quest Board is buzzing this month, it seems. A large group of people are standing around while someone gives a small speech. Oh, not this again, right? This time, it is a more toned-down scientist, with a brightly-colored starry-printed bow on her head and coke-bottle glasses. She smiles at the group shyly after the speech is over. It was a good speech, something about... Comets? It was a little hard to hear over the rabble. People are taking flyers from her, however, so you might as well see what the hubbub is about. The Flyer has a beautiful embossed diagram of a comet on it, and asks for anyone who has a useful skill of some kind to help the Astronomer's Association be safe and secure studying the comet that is scheduled to pass over tonight. Apparently it only passes over once every two-hundred years, and they don't want to waste time getting set up, being harassed, or anything else while they get this once in several lifetimes chance to study it up close. Provided you have a skill or can find something to help them out (they're okay with any help they can get!) it might be worthwhile to help these Astronomers study the comet. At the very least, it will probably be beautiful to get the best hill in town to watch it from!
On the Board
In Order to Succeed: Select a task for you to do in order to help the Astronomers have a safe and successful view of the rare comet. You can bring a pet if you want, but you do not have to. If you need ideas for rolls your character can play if it makes sense for your story, here is a list of ideas that you can disregard if you want to do something different: Guard, Fellow Researcher, Set up the Equipment, Write down information that they tell you, etc.
Prize: The Astronomers seem to have an obsession with space- maybe they'll give you a cool space-themed souvenir for your help?
20 posts made; 4 creature level gained; 1 character levels gained
OOC Notes: Creatures gain levels 5p-1L here, I gain levels half as quickly. 20p-1L
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 24, 2020 23:27:06 GMT -6
This city is expansive to the point of disappearing beyond my line of sight. I'm thankful to the Raven for the map of the city; its a lot easier for me to find my way around. The laiyan scribbles of which places were where, and our destination to get ourselves registered and established would be the City Hall. Giving my knapsack a shift up on my shoulders, I'm ready to go. Magpie had found a clean human shirt for me to wear, since my own was... not in any condition of wearing. Lying in your own barf and such can do that to fabrics. It fits me rather well, not too tight, but not so loose it'll slip off me if I drop my shoulder. Since I wasn't told of any sort of day or night hours of the Hall, time wouldn't be a huge thing to keep track of. I didn't even have a watch. Uncle had a watch on. So I was free to tour the area, and keep an eye out for those Triad folk. Because I did not want to interact with them again. 1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 25, 2020 10:08:45 GMT -6
With my map in hand, my finger traces from 'Mountain Mine', in the top right corner, down the path into the city. The path pointed out to me is well used, tamped down by feet and other items; If given a picture of a wheel tread, it wouldn't immediately stick out to me. I've seen car wheels, and motorcycle wheels, bus wheels, but only briefly. If I choose to turn around, looking back up the path shows the increase of elevation towards the mountain. What sort of place actually 'owns' a mountain, I wonder. Is it the kind of 'own' with the lawyers' dam on the holding pond in the valley where the grandfathers and forth built it from nothing, or the kind of 'own' that is owning a tree with a piece of paper. I'm assuming the latter, own a mountain through a piece of paper. But the mountain isn't my goal of where to go, its down into the city. 2
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 25, 2020 10:28:02 GMT -6
Let's go Mira, our first adventure into the city. Taking the first step into a new area completely unfamiliar to me, that made me hesitate days ago, and I learned an important lesson. Don't take unnecessary risks, but don't hesitate either once making that decision. The path's texture feels gritty and a bit loose beneath my paws as I take that crucial first step, my breath catching inside my chest. Looking back and forth for any sign of movement, my ears behaving as radar. Nothing? Good. I can relax then, exhaling slowly. The tightness of my muscles and my body altogether eases with that released breath; one first step and nothing happened. They say I'm overly cautious for a fox, but at least I haven't been caught more then once as a result. Who is they? General opinion, that's who. Another step, just as cautious and almost deer-like in stance, checking my surroundings and listening for a sound. 3
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 25, 2020 11:03:05 GMT -6
My strongest sense would be a mix of a sense of balance and quick thinking. Its not foresight, the ability to briefly predict actions in the future, but reading the room, if I had to give it a purpose. My hearing and smell are good enough too. But since silver foxes, or at least just me, sleep during the night, our night vision isn't so good. Imagine that, a diurnal fox. The whole area around me is deserted, of people-creatures anyway. So a fox walking down a path wouldn't be too unusual. The cool eastern city air fills my lungs with a deep inhale, and exhale. For such a city, the air tastes relatively normal. Smells it too, as I walk at a southwestern point towards the city. The path becomes more...human as I walk closer to the city, each step still cautious and listening. Instead of dirt, now its rocks embedded into the ground. 4
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 25, 2020 11:07:51 GMT -6
Someone must live here, to put rocks into the ground for walking on. I've only seen stones made up for hearths; Uncle's foxhole had a skipping stone hearth, at least thats what I remember being told once. Smooth rounder and flatter stones that skipped nicely across the surface of the river water. Beside me, the rocks gather up into a small wall, tipped with sharp metal. Humanmade, probably. I think someone called it a fence, but arent' fences made of wood? Beyond the fence of sharp shininess, I can see an impressively large human house. With a just as impressively large yard surrounding it. The fence kept going around the property, surrounding it. Did the humans want to keep animals like us foxes out? Or was it just to mark their territory. Humans don't mark territory like animals do, they make lines in the ground and such, from what I remember. Or fences. 5 +1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 5:05:08 GMT -6
This fence occasionally does sport the smell of being marked by animals, but 'animals' animals, not a fox like me. The 'walk along the street with your human' kind of pet. Granted, I do own a pet now, don't I...? Mira hasn't moved from inside the knapsack, so thats good, she feels secure enough with the 'den' of what little I have to be calm and quiet. The wind kicks up from the south, pulling in all sorts of smells from the direction we head; animals, people, dust, and several, no, MANY other smells I don't recognize; the scents of civilization? Bringing along with it, a piece of paper caught on the wind. Rising and falling as the wind catches beneath it, the singular sheet lifts off the ground minutely as it blows towards me, but doesn't catch much air. Must be a heavy newspaper. May it be ironic, it blew right into my paw as I'm walking down the path. 6
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 5:11:09 GMT -6
I've seen my uncle and my father with enough newspaper in my life to know what newsprint is right off the bat; but this paper is much too... shimmery for being plain old newsprint. Carefully, we stoop down to pick up the paper, and it doesn't blow right out of my hand. If anything, the wind catches it just enough to blow it right into my paw-hand. What is this? The paper's heavier then your average piece, of writing down homework and such. On one side, the paper is slightly rough to the touch as my finger paw-pad brushes over it, slightly catching here and there. On the other side, its... an advertisement of sort. Glossily embossed, almost like a duck's feathers in the rain, with an enormous picture of a comet on the flyer. Don't be so surprised, my cousin's new hobby is stargazing with his telescope at the canopy of the tree; we've seen a comet once before. 7
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 5:21:14 GMT -6
A nostalgic feeling of glimpsing something so far away with the naked eye, or with a telescope, fills me as I look at the flyer. Of course its written in Common, so the words make no sense. Except for at the bottom. Lets see... Picturing Dr. Locus' Laiyan translation of the date... it would be the first quarter moon of autumn. Heading towards the first harvest moon of the season. A harvest moon occurs closest to the equinox, the time when the seasons change. Humans have it nailed to a day, but animals like us can sense a change on the wind, if you're good enough at reading the smell of the wind. Its a skill. So a comet was approaching for today? A picture of a hill, of many squiggles of ...are those people? around the hill, and it seems to be asking me to join up with the group? 8
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 5:30:28 GMT -6
It never did hurt to take a look, did the Raven's map hold map elevations as well? There's a rock along the path, that appears to be just large enough to sit upon. Its a moderate sized boulder of choice, enough for even a human child to sit on and maybe let their legs touch the ground. I've got long legs so its more of a sitting then a sit and kick your legs sort of deal for sitting on boulders. With the boulder beneath me, the map stretched out on my knees, and the comet covered piece of paper in one paw, my free paw's fingers trace the map around for anyplace that could have 'hills'. There's some hills here around where the mountain is... but the hill appears to have few trees around it; the treeline is pretty thick going bac up the path, from what I'd really seen. 9
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 5:37:44 GMT -6
The map the Raven gave me only shows basic elevations, it seems. There is a mildly detailed area of the city, with the Laiyan translations, but it doesn't resemble a hill anyplace. Howver, not far from here seems to be a hill, heading down towards the city. How crowded is this city anyhow. How much land does it take to call it a 'city'. The ideas chase themselves as fox against ...uh... no, not that. Rabbit. yes. fox agaisnt rabit inside my mind. So there was a comet party today? On this hill? Now I'm wishing to have asked for more information, of how to translate special bits of script. Like help, or hello, or where's the nearest bathroom. Part of traveling across the river when I was a cub was to learn to dialect, the region change of our language. Folks on the other side of the river speak to each other more politely. 10 +1
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 10:32:11 GMT -6
"heeeeeyyyyy!" a voice carries on the wind, as someone comes jogging up out of the city. "heeeeYYYYY!!!" Looking about briefly for the source for whom the hey was shouting for, it finally catches up to me, gratingly loud for my hearing. "HEEEEY, I SAID, jeez..." The figure screeches to a stop before me, and doesn't look right up, doing the thing I've seen some racers do just after a sprint. Wait a minute... I know that hair. Magpie?! "Forgot you can't talk... Hi... Just a second... whoo..." it takes a second for her to catch her breath. Had she run all the way over here?! "Here... Gramps forgot... to give you this..." She hands me a little pamphlet. "He said... it was lying... on the ground... near you when... I found you... he picked... the area... over after you were... stable.... Damn, I hate sprinting...." She finally stops trying to talk and breathe at the same time, and I havne't moved from my rock. 11
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 10:40:06 GMT -6
"Its... a translation guide... for common terms...in Common." Magpie points at the folded up paper in my paws. Lets see... Its a different variant of Laiyan then I have read, but it is legible. Welcome! Translations to Common help for Laiyan travelers By: The Trinity Triad Foundation, a nonprofit organization here to help you acclimatize to your stay. Looking up from the front panel, I wave my paw in front of Magpie, jabbing at the Triad's name ON THE COVER of all places. The exaggerated jabbing jostles the bag and I can hear muffled barking of Mira complaining. "What'd you think the Triad did... sell papers door to door?" Magpie asked me with a groan. She sits back down on the ground with a sigh. "I hate running like that." Carefully, I slide off my knapsack to get at the outside pocket for my chalkboard and chalk. Thankfully I got new chalk from the Raven. 12
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 10:45:34 GMT -6
"Its like a public secret K. There are some folks who know the Triad is shady, but because their publicity is so good, nobody believes they can touch them." Magpie responds to my stare of surprise. So they get away with anything because they are 'good' to the public?, I write, just shocked at that. "They aren't untouchable; plenty of the grunts and lower end get arrested because the 'good publicity protection' goes to their heads and they decide to get into trouble. However if you screw up, the organization cuts you out." Drawing her clawed finger across her throat. Gulp. It burns a bit to swallow still, but I open up the pamphlet. Someone must speak Laiyan in their group, because its clearly written Laiyan words with PICTURES between the word and on the other side being the Common translation. Three panels worth of triple columned amounts of words. This... is a well done piece of work. 13
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Post by Kristofor on Sept 26, 2020 10:58:51 GMT -6
"Gramps found the pamphlet when he was clearing the bed up, and it was supposed to be with your papers. So he said "Magpie, you catch up with the fox and go deliver this." Courier, maybe, but not a delivery-coon. You got it?" her pointed glower up at me... uh yes, I totally understand. Putting my paws up to show surrender. Not a delivery-coon. "Good." She does the most twisted form of turning up and over herself to get to her feet. Something that would take a lot of flexibility in her back and arms to pull off and good core strength. When Magpie finally stands up, she readjusts her shirt, which dropped over her face as she did her twistover. She has a lot less fur then a regular raccoon. "Ooh, is that the comet flyer I've seen tossed around everywhere?" She picks the paper right out of my hand and looks at it eagerly. 14
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