Phantom Limbs: Ikarida, the City of Leaves (Inactive)

Game Master TheLogicOfCrocodiles

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Amy's actions were not unnoticed, though Bora had chosen to spend the time being mostly quiet.

Bora hmms as she notices the interactions, but says nothing. She also notices how what Kerrig says on the time scale almost seems to contradict itself in the same sentence. She purses her lips.

Note to self... Ker... Um... Kar... um... Ms. Pantsfire and the Masked Merchant don't seem to like each other. Methinks the jolly mercantile is going to be a good friend.

She then smiles to Dorrigan.

"Can you tell me more about the history of this festival later? I need to rest, though. Long road, full of peril."

Yay! I can interact like a normal person instead of like a rabid badger wearing a pink dress!

Naneko felt uneasy at the moment, unfortunately. She scowled.

"A MATTER OF RAGE! DO NOT TEASE ME WITH MENTIONS OF HEALERS THAT WE CANNOT USE! I DEMAND REST, AND I DEMAND IT NOW!"

She then coughed a bit. "-yuck...I want to go to sleep now..."

She really looked like she needed it.

Dorrigan leads you away from the mask shop and your fuming-but-silent contact, but not before the owner enthusiastically offers you your pick of the selection - a reward, he says, for bringing down some of the Family before you'd even entered the city. You can choose and describe your own mask - it's polite to wear it whilst enjoying the festivities, although not mandatory. And yes, Amy, this means you can choose another.

When the crowd sees you being led back in through the city gates by the hound-faced enforcer, and not in cuffs, a great cheer goes up. The rest of the guards melt back into the crowd, holstering and sheathing their weapons, and the laughter and dancing start up again almost immediately.

Walking through the streets of the city you realise that your first impressions were pretty much on the mark. The streets are wide and pleasant, it looks like this area at least is well-maintained and relatively clean, and there are a large amount of trees, bushes and clumps of tall flowers left to grow seemingly at random from the ground. You get the impression that even though the people of Ikarida are city-dwellers, they haven't forgotten the importance of nature.

The jakthundhus turns out to be a long, low building, aping the style of a military barracks. There's a large courtyard at the front of it ringed with ancient trees and training equipment, and several more of the hound-faced ones standing at ease either side of the main entrance. They snap to attention when Dorrigan appears, and are well-drilled enough not to look askance at you as you enter behind him.

Once inside he ushers you into a back room - it's a small hospital room, with several beds. Two nurses and a doctor (none of them masked) are drinking tea in the corner of the room, but upon seeing Naneko they abandon their cups and move with a practiced familiarity.

Take this serious application of medical attention as a full heal-up - they have a few magical charms as well the more traditional implements and methods of treatment, and you can see from the way they treat eachother that they've been working as a team for a long time. They also offer you some simple foodstuffs and a bed for the night - although you can go out and explore the city, it might be better to do so as a group tomorrow, when everybody is healed - Dorrigan also promises to tell you more about the festival in the morning, Bora. Your choice, though.

Abandoning a cup of tea before finishing it... hmph. Still, it was probably for the best that the others got some medical attention. On the way, she'd picked up a second mask, once again going for something shiny. There was certainly a level of craftsmanship to anything that was carved, but... the cool, clean lines and colors of metal were much more pleasing to her eyes. More importantly, she didn't have to worry about splinters. The pale mask seemed evocative of the spirits of nature, a little on the whimsical side, and the girl had put it on in such a way as to cover half of her face. The bulk of her artificial jaw made wearing it normally just a bit uncomfortable, after all, so she managed as best she could.

She did look around the rest of the area as the group moved, though. She hadn't been hurt, and would have actually felt a little guilty about staying in a hospital bed that someone else might end up needing at some point. Such places were for the injured, not the well.

At the mask-vendor's offer of selecting a mask, Roland searches out a representation of a jackal - one of the fox's natural predators - and finds one nearly perfect for his tastes in a matter of moments. A matte black base gives stark contrast to the metallic sheen drawing your eye to the golden ears and patterns around the eyes.

Naneko offered no resistance to any caretaking offered by the nurses, too tired to think of anything aside from sleep.

And so, once settled into bed, she fell asleep relatively quickly.

Okay, so Amy is heading out and Roland + Naneko are staying in the hospital room - Gavin and Bora, what are your plans?

Alcohol! Joyous, soul-reinforcing alcohol!

Oh, wait, my character's plans...

Bora looked through the masks and paused a moment. There was a badger mask. It was somewhat stylized, and the lines were somewhat crude, but it was unmistakably the face of a badger. She picked it up and looked at it, then flipped it over and held it up to her own face. Perfect fit.

I was just thinking about badgers... Okay, this is weirder than half the stuff that comes out of my mouth.

She looked around a bit, then mentally imagined a couple of the uglier men from her home town dancing around a pole in women's underwear just to give bad mental images to any telepaths that might be eavesdropping on her thoughts, and then shrugged and walked off to follow Roland while holding the mask.

I probably shouldn't be out in public much... Besides, I need to see if they have space so I can set up the portable alchemy lab.

Gavin nods in thanks to Dorrigan and returns to the masks to pick his. After another quick look over, he finds one that resembles a wolf with harsh, angular features. The steel mask seemed to be a perfect fit, almost like it was made for him. Without reading too much into it, though, he donned the mask and followed after the others.

Once they safely made it to the hospital, though, Gavin removes the mask and sits on a bed out of the way of all the doctors and nurses as they tend to Naneko. He wasn't going anywhere tonight. He'd stay and make sure that Naneko was okay in the morning.

Alright then, only Amy is heading out for the night (Amy, I'll PM you with anyhing important that you see later this evening). And Bora, they do - in fact, some of them are quite interested to see it.

The majority of your group stays in the guard house, sleeping well despite the celebrations outside continuing without cessation. In the morning you feel well-rested and, after a fine breakfast cooked by Dorrigan himself (who out of the public eye is actually rather open and friendly with you, though you never see his blade far from his hip) well fed.

Roland checked on Naneko nearly as soon as he was woken by the smell of the home-cooked meal and found her healing well which allowed him to relax and savor the food in front of him. He kept to himself while eating - aside from comments on the food itself and complimenting Dorrigan on his culinary skills - but found an opportunity to speak about the night's events as soon as both he and Dorrigan were finished with their meal. "So where did our would-be hostess get off to? I'm assuming she's nursing a headache considering how drunk she appeared to be last night, but I'd like to get to the bottom of all of our confusion sooner rather than later."

'Whether she'll be able to help you with that or not I don't know, but you'll find her at the Hawcroft Logging Outreach building. I'll show you where it is when your lady is up and ready, if you'd like.'

Bora made it a special point to set up the alchemy lab in a room they had where it had space as soon as she got up the next morning. Meals were skipped for now; she could finally get back to working again! She was glad to finally get it out of her backpack! Sadly, she still needed supplies...

She wandered out, no longer as burdened as she was, and looked to the pair here.

"I happen to need supplies for alchemy purposes. Is there a place I can get some?"

She looks to Roland.

"How's Ragey doing?"

Huh. It seems I've nicknamed her after all.

Amy yawned a bit as she woke up in one of the quieter places in town. Feasts and revels were a bit much for her - it was a little vexing to even eat around others, much less celebrate, and she was glad to have finally found an area with enough peace and quiet. Eventually, though, she did wander back to the area where the others had been shown, a mask still covering part of her face. Her gaze turned to the crowd a moment later, and she watched the ebb and flow of the celebrations. Oh, the mischief she could cause were she so inclined, but she didn't need to hear even more screaming at the moment. She'd been in that hospital for so long that she'd forgotten how very loud a city could be.

Bora, Dorrigan hears your question but his response isn't the one you hoped for. 'Sorry miss, but most of the stores are closed throughout the festival - especially the non-essentials. If you wait the rest of the week things'll be back to normal though - only four days before the final celebration, and then the shops will open up again the next day.'

Naneko was slow and late to wake, reaching semi-blindly for her glasses.

Fortunately for Bora, Naneko did NOT hear the nickname usage, but Bora might find it neat if she avoided such things in the future.

Regardless, Naneko slipped her glasses on and observed her condition. Oversized shirt that was all too reminiscent of a hosptial gown aside, she felt marvelously better.

With help, she managed to don most of her armor, albeit the large crack in it remained quite visible, and the hole in the side remained wide open, if small as a bullet. After situating her helmet, she figured the menpō that was part of her kabuto would be a suitable mask of sorts, given that it was designed to emulate a monster, despite covering only the lower half of her face.

Placing her blade and Tetsubo into their respective slots on her back, she would leave the room she was in, if only to meet with the others.

"A matter of rage! That was a revitalizing siesta of most superior restoration! Let anyone try to take me down right now! I'll return their attempts a hundredfold! Ahahahahahaha!"

Naneko managed to not entirely outright yell, but she was rather loud nonetheless, and the laugh was as maniacal as ever.

Yep. She was back to normal.

Naneko, you find the others discussing plans and people in the kitchen and rest area.

Gavin woke slowly into a panic. Waking up in a hospital bed made him feel as if the past few days had all been a terrible dream his mind fabricated in combination of a real want to be whole again and childhood stories. Once he saw his new arm and that the hospital he was in wasn't his old one, the panic subsided. Just not enough to stop him from rolling a cigarette and taking a swig from his whiskey bottle. At least whoever dumped him in the middle of nowhere with the crazies had enough decency to leave him his personal effects.

After shaking off the panic and getting dressed, he moved through the halls to find the kitchen with Bora, Roland, Derrigan, and Naneko already there. He came in just in time to hear the tail end of Naneko's rant. He grinned as he pulled out a seat at the table to eat and said, "I believe in this city it may be a bottle that drops you, not "Mother", Naneko."

He turned to Dorrigan and continued with, "Speaking of which, is there any special events for the festival planned today? I know we need to report to Hawcroft, but we may be able to enjoy the city after our meeting with our hostess."

Bora's face fell at finding out the shops are closed. And then she sighed and nodded.

"So, for four days, we just have to avoid getting into any fights..."

Bora then tilted her head as she considered the last two days.

"Do your healers offer a discount for frequent customers? Just in case."

She waved hello to Naneko, smiled as the woman laughed, and then waved hello to Gavin.

I think we're missing one...

"Has anyone seen Wise Woman?"

Oh, wait, they don't know the nicknames I use...

"Our silent party member. The one who doesn't talk, but always seems to be drinking tea or the like... A lot more powerful than she seems."

'Special events?' Dorrigan laughs pleasantly. 'Lad, it would be easier to tell you what special events won't be happening today. With the family pounding at the door every so often and the fisheries running dry, the city needs time to let its hair down! There'll be badger-racing, drinking contests, a hell of a lot of gambling - both licensed and unlicensed, I suspect - live music, free ale tasting sessions from local brewers, and even some example performances from a few troupes of actors and thespians and the like. I've heard tell there's even a mage around, this year.'

'As for a discount, I sincerely hope you won't be needing one, miss. OH! And how are you feeling today? Our lads fixed you up a treat, yes? You certainly look a lot better.' The last part of that sentence directed to Naneko as she arrives.

Amy had nodded slightly towards the others, then made her way through the building from the day before, stopping once she'd found her companions within the kitchen area. It was... quite possible that she wasn't much of a morning person while in the city, judging from the expression on her face, but she calmly took a seat at the table. Better to be surrounded by the crazies you know than the crazies you didn't...

Roland grinned slightly at the list of available activities as he responded, "Sounds like a lot of fun. Are there prizes to be won outside of the gambling tables, or is it all just for the joy of the thing?" Roland's smile widened as Amy walked into the room and sat down, "Speaking of 'the joy of the thing,' it looks like you had a fun night."

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Bora nodded to what the man said, then gave a wave hello to Amy.

"You look like you had a lot of fun." She grinned. "Hear any stories of moving objects?"

She winked to Amy, to let the silent woman know she's joking, then looked back to Dorrigan.

"I hope not as well, but given the past couple of days, please pardon me if I'm a wee bit paranoid about things like this. For all I know, I'm about to be attacked by a flying squirrel made of flames or dancing bar stools. Maybe even feline minstrels who want a song battle during an actual battle."

She shrugs.

"It's been a weird couple of days."

Then she considers.

"Would the mage happen to like some explosions to go along with his show? As long as they're a safe distance from him and are not hitting anything flammable, I can do it easily. Wait, perhaps I should ask the mage..."

Amy just made a sour expression before looking around, searching for something to eat. She still had to be careful with her meals, and avoid anything too hard, but that probably wasn't going to be a problem at a time like this. Part of the point of festivities was to get through things fairly easily, and food that was harder to eat would be counter-productive. Unless everyone here was completely out of their minds, anyway, which was a possibility she hadn't ruled out just yet...

Dorrigan shrugs in your direction, Bora. 'He may do - you could certainly ask him. Don't know anything about squirrels though... or most of what you say, miss, if I'm honest. No offence, of course.'

Amy, there is soup on the stove if you wish to partake. Naneko is looking far better, and the group as a whole looks rested and relaxed.

And Roland, there are prizes to win if you're interested in them, but most of the events are indeed just for the joy of it.

So, what are your plans, team? You have a festival to attend or rep to meet. Your choice!

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I think I'll try and speak with Kerrig before she gets caught up in the festivities today. I'd appreciate at least one of you as a second, but I'm more than willing to go on my own if y'all would rather partake. I'll be joining in the fun this afternoon, see how well I fare against the locals."

Okay, would anybody like to accompany Roland?

Naneko nodded.

"Seeing the woman might not be a bad idea...she might be able to help us given her treatment of us entering the city..."

Naneko then fixed her glasses.

"So I will go with you. Festivities are not my strong point anyways...I usually lose, then get scary."

Amy quietly shuffled over and sat down next to Roland after having gotten herself a surprisingly large bowl of soup. She didn't seem to be paying any particular attention to him, but... well, another pair of ears could be useful, and if nothing else he could count on her to not interrupt with silly questions. Or any questions at all, really.

Bora sighed.

"I had hoped we would delay dealing with her. We must watch her for contradictions. And she may not be who she says she is."

She shrugged, then looked to Dorrigan. "I will have to speak to the mage later. I hope I can in time. I need to head with the group to meet our 'employer.'"

A guard appears at the door, mask in hand, his face red and flustered.

'Sorry to interrupt, sir. Fight, in Korovan's Vale. Think it might need a few of us, looks a bit ugly.'

'Got it.' Dorrigan replies, grabbing at his own mask from a hook by the door and pulling it over his face. With that houndish visage obscuring his features he seems suddenly more dangerous, less approachable. 'Apologies, but duty seems to call. If you would like to be escorted to somewhere within the city you can ask one of the younger officers, although I would avoid the Vale today if I were you. I'll see you again later, most probably - stop by for an evening meal if it takes your fancy.' With a curt bow he is gone, and several of his companions leave the room with him.

Silence descends on you. Somewhere in another part of the jakthundus a clock ticks quietly.

Amy was suddenly struck with a desire to go to Korovan's Vale, and she poked Roland's shoulder a few times before nodding towards the door. Still, the party and celebration in this place probably wasn't as wonderful as everyone else had tried to claim - the people holding back from joining in had already suggested that, and if there were actual fights going on, the people here were probably rougher and a bit less happy than they cared to admit.

Well, at least she could take satisfaction in knowing that the people here were just like everyone else...

Roland nodded at Amy's prodding, "Agreed, I think we can put off meeting with Kerrig for a short while still, probably going to be less exciting than this. Anybody who's more interested in the Vale right now, I'd say we get a move on and try to keep up with Dorrigan and his men." He stood up and moved to gather his gear and head out of the building, "Anybody that's coming along for the ride, I'll meet you outside. I'm going to see if I can find out where this place is at before they get too far ahead of us."

Roland stopped the first person he came into contact with and asked very straightforwardly, "Excuse me, where's the Vale at?'

Bora grinned at the mention of a fight, and grinned wider as Roland mentioned heading to where it is.

"Breaking up a drunken fight? Now this is going to be fun! Bwahahahaha!"

She moves to follow Roland out the door, intent on finding the place and helping deal with the fight.

"So, have you got a plan? Because I think I might..."

Just need to draw as much attention to myself as quickly as possible in the most shocking way possible... and then declare mysef a sorceress or something and declare peaceful celebrations stop bad magic. Along with alcohol. Might work...

Naneko sighed, tiredly, before she registered Bora laughing and the mention of a fight.

Bora will steal all my unique features by the time we're through here.

"A MATTER OF RAGE! MANIACAL LAUGHTER IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN PARTAKE IN, MADWOMAN! IT IS MY JOB AND QUALITY, NOT YOURS! NOW TAKE ME INTO FRAY! CLOSER! I WANT TO HIT THEM WITH MY BIG HITTING STICK!"

Naneko cared not about a scene made. Bora was cramping on her style, and she also wanted to hit something.

Bora paused, twitching just a bit.

Did she just call me mad?

Bora then turned, staring Naneko in the face, wide unblinking artificial eyes glowing with the pure power of insanity.

"'Madwoman?' You call me mad? You dare call me mad? They called me mad for daring to do my research! They called me mad for daring to do it alone! They called me mad for my successes! They called me mad because I was unwilling to give up even after having sight stolen from me! And you dare call me mad! YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY! YOU WILL RUE IT HARD! Because I'm about to show you what madness truly is! YOU WANT ME TO BE A MADWOMAN, SO I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU MADNESS! I WILL GLUT MYSELF WITH THE PURE ESSENCE OF INSANITY AND DANCE IN THE ELDRITCH SHADOWS OF STRANGENESS INCARNATE! And I will do it tonight, while breaking up that crowd, just so you can watch and know the terror of what you have unleashed! And then you will rue calling me mad! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

And, assuming she has not been punched yet, she turns to the person Roland had encountered, assuming he had not fled in terror. If he had, she grabs the nearest passerby. Either way, her smile has the full force of her madness in display and is as wide as it can be.

"Show me to this Korovan's Vale! And then watch in awe as a lunatic calms the fray! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

So, did someone order a large ham? With extra ham? :P

Bora, the man you grab hold of is a young guardsman, bereft of both mask and beard. He has absolutely no idea what to do about the intense woman holding him, or the younger girl who seems to be matching in anger his assailant's madness.

Roland, Gavin, Amy, he looks over at you as if you can help in some way, confusion on his face.

Amy simply blinked. What, were they expecting her to do something? True, she was traveling with the crazy people, but unless they were about to do something obviously horrible or personally bothering her, she had no intention of interfering with their actions. Also, she wanted nothing to do with anything that might result in the arrest of her companions...

Gavin sat quietly smoking his cigarette as the others him-hawed back and forth about what they were going to do. He didn't really care what the others chose to do, he was going to meet with their representative first. They had been sent there for a reason, and he was almost completely sure that partying with the locals wasn't it. As much as he'd love to spend time with himself and a bottle of whiskey, he knew that he owed the Marshal Wellness center a lot for what they gave to him and he was more than willing to repay them however they needed to.

His attention was piqued when Dorrigan was interrupted by a younger officer saying that they needed help. What situation is so bad that they need the head of watch to oversee it? Don't they have other officers for that? Not to mention the mass of other guards that approached them yesterday... He feigned ignorance to the situation, though, and went back to focusing on his cigarette.

He was able to hold that facade for a moment longer before both Naneko and Bora exploded, almost quite literally in Bora's case, in a fit of yelling. He glared at both of them, but his gaze held over Bora the longest. Rising to his feet, he put out his cigarette and straightened his hat on his head. He walked past Bora and the young man, stopping to lean in to whisper to the young man, "I'd do what she says," He widened his eyes and tapped the side of his head with his index and middle fingers, "She's not right in the head."

He stepped out the door and approached Roland. "I don't like walking into this as blind as we are. We're in an all new land that we know nothing about, involving ourselves in disputes we have no stakes in, and ignoring why we're actually here." He kicked some dirt up and continued, "I'll go, if only because if the guardsmen needed help, then you all may need help. But I'm just letting it be known that I don't like this."

"I understand your concerns, but I don't know why we're here. Unless you know something I dont? We didn't get any answers last night; the one who supposedly knows why we were brought here was obviously drunk and in no position to give us our answers. The guardsmen provided us with room and board at least for the one night, and in all honesty, if we can get in good with them, that's another however many potential allies for us if things go south. Dorrigan and Kerrig obviously know each other, so we can assume that she's not going anywhere, and we can find her after we figure out what is such a big issue that it takes the guard's commander to sort it out."

Roland turned away from Gavin for a moment only to bark out at the bickering women, "BORA! NANEKO! ENOUGH! The man can do nothing if you're screaming at him." He shifted his gaze to focus on the bystander caught in Bora's grasp, "Son, point the way to the Vale and we'll be on our way."

"EEP!"

Roland's sudden proclamation made Naneko jump, and immediately broke her out of whatever mood she was in.

"R-Roland...was yelling..."

As she took in the sheer idea of being yelled at and surprised in such a manner, she almost looked liked she'd shed tears, albeit most of any emotion was hidden behind her menpō, and not readily noticeable.

"...you jerk, scaring a poor and not entirely defenseless girl by yelling at her..."

Naneko seemed to recover somewhat quickly.

"Fine. Have him lead the way. We shall offer our aid."

Bora got a sheepish look on her face at Roland's scolding of her and let go of the poor man she had accosted.

"Sorry about that. I sometimes get a little caught up in the moment."

She coughed and then took a step back, an embarrassed look upon her face.

"So, um, please accept accept my apology."

I hope he doesn't flee. I wouldn't blame him if he did.

Released by Roland's shout the man looks as though he is about to bolt, but instead jams his wolfish mask onto his face to hide his shock and embarrassment.

'The... Vale. Yes sir. This way...'

He almost sprints out of the room, and you guess he's probably hoping to lose you before you can follow and blame it on an accident.

Sadly for him, he doesn't.

You walk through the thronging streets, performers and revelers all around you. Although it's not even midday the smell of alcohol and spiced cooking is strong on the breeze, and there are occasional explosions of colour in the sky from some unknown source - nothing you've seen before, but Bora would recognise them as some kind of base alchemical effect. The people you pass hail you heartily, offering free mugs of ale and bottles of half-finished liquor in greeting, hoping that you'll join them.

The walk takes you across the city, away from the gates and the guardhouse and over to the eastern side. Although it is obviously still a place of celebration the festivities are a little more muted here, with more people sitting and talking rather than dancing or singing.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Amy looked up at the sky, a little bored, as she followed at an idle pace behind the others. She did not, however, even attempt to take any of the alcohol that people were passing around so freely. For one thing, she was a delicate young maiden, and who knew what these people might do in their drunken stupors if she was totally smashed? For two things, well, she'd been drunk before, and they were still telling stories about what had happened to that group of children... fortunately, everyone had lived, but still.

Besides, she had a fight to watch. Admittedly, she was all too ready to blast senseless anyone who got close enough to bother you, but for the most part, she was content to stay out of it. The guards here were almost certainly capable of handling things on their own.

You are now almost at the wooded area, and can see the fringes of an angry crowd. They are drunk but certainly not celebrating - facing away from you as you approach with your guide, they're chanting and shouting vigorously.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Roland followed along, his eyes scanning the crowd and his hands flicking the cocking lever on his musket back and forth between the half-cocked and safety positions, a nervous habit creeping back after so long. Roland tapped their temporary guide on the shoulder and gestured ahead to the crowd, "I take it that's where we're going? Anything we should know about this particular area? Why would a fight start here, of all places, instead of elsewhere in or around the town?"