[Ben's Group] Fish You Were Here?

[Pegasus]

85th Ashan, 718

Getting this lot organised was going to be akin to teaching a bunch of feral cats to swim in a synchronised fashion, Tom thought as he beamed in delight at them. "Righteo, then! Let's work this out." They didn't seem chatty, had to be said, and there might even be some bad feeling going on with them. Still, he looked at his colleagues, Ben and Jim and decided that he'd just do what he needed to do and make the decisions based on.. well, based on what was what and who seemed to express a preference.

It didn't take him long. He had a quick mind and was able to work it all out fairly easily. So, he glanced around and then nodded, his brain ticking over and then he spoke again. "Alright then.Three groups, as I said. In this group here with me, we are going to the Western side and I'm taking Amaris, Devin, Hookor, Mercedes and Kura." He nodded to them and motioned for them to go and stand together.

"Then, the central group, that's with Ben here, and is Ela, Rynata, Tio and Max." Again, he gestured, this time for Ben and his group to go over.. there. "Which just leaves Jim, off to the East and he's got Rowan, Genuvah, Sephira and Lavana." He nodded then and smiled. "Tally ho, on we go and let's sort this out. Thank you."

And so, they were put into groups. "What I heard," said, Ben. "Is that it's all to do with the fish. They're the source of it. The fish are infected because of some alchemical something, the animals eat the fish, other animals eat the ones that ate the fish." Shrugging he added, "My old mother used to say, Immortals rest her soul, that all the weirdness here is all in the water. Turns out that she was right." He made a sign, a sort of "ward off evil" kind of sign. "Rules. Don't touch anything unless you have to. If it's funny lookin' kill it." Everything about him told the truth of it. He was entirely serious. "Right. Weapons at the ready, we're going in two boats." This group were travelling by boat. There were five of them so, two in one boat and three in the other. They made their way, fairly easily at first although it was slow going because of the shallow nature of the river and the lack of experience in using a boat any of them, except Ben, had. Still, it wasn't tricky and Ben suggested that those without experience take turns to build up their skills.

They had been travelling for maybe a break when they were navigating around some very rocky areas. Up until this point, things had been perfectly normal and they would be forgiven for thinking that there was nothing at all different about the place. However, as they looked down they saw something very strange indeed. Fish. Lots of fish. Literally, thousands of them.

Now, that in and of itself was unusual in and of itself. What was really odd, however, was the fact that they were all sorts, sizes and colours of fish. If anyone knew such, there were fish that shouldn't be in this river, tiny fish that should be being eaten by the bigger ones. They were all wrong, too. Not one example that they saw of the teeming mass was the correct colour or size, yet their shape was fine. Weird.

As they watched, one of the fish hit against another one, as is the way of large numbers of fish swimming in different, apparently random directions - and the smaller one just... popped, black ooze spewing out from it.

Consequences this round:

Achievement: Not like when I were a wee thing! Unlocked: All pcs shared a story of their childhood and this will award them extra loot at the end!
Achievement: The moment it started, I knew it was trouble! Unlocked: All pcs explained how they got here and this will award them extra loot at the end! Consequences:Negative Max did not choose Good, Better or Best (Must-Do Objective 4). She has earned the wrath of the Evil Clown Fish of Doom and will infer a negative consequence at the end of the thread. Consequences: Positive:

• Ela, Rynata and Tio were all 30% in agreement with the I Fish I Was Popular Fish in Must-Do Objective 4. They have earned the pleasure of the Good Fishes and will reap a positive consequence at the end of the thread.
• Ela, Rynata and Tio completed all objectives, they will earn two positive consequences from the Good Fishes
• Max completed both can-do objectives and will earn a positive consequence from the Good Fishes

Map

Map of Sweetwine Woods

► Show Spoiler

NPC

Ben

Race: Human
Most obvious attribute: Strength
Cautious
Good with boats
Prefers an axe
Superstitious

OOC Info

!	Message from: Pegasus
	This thread is now CLOSED

!

Message from: The Rules

The rules for this thread are as follows: I will post once a week, on Sunday. If you all post sooner, I might do the same, and then you'll have another week. I will post again on the 22nd April 2018 There is no posting order throughout this thread. This thread has objectives (both stated and hidden) and Achievements. These will impact the thread itself and the consequences at the end. One post each between mod posts. Do not control the NPCs (that includes the Mysterious Fishes) If you've got any questions, PM me. We're going on the old "three strikes and you're out" school of thought. [/list]

!

Message from: Points to Note

This is a potentially high risk thread. Your pc might be maimed, scarred, psychologically damaged, forced into strange and weird situations, killed or even forced to stop and take a long, hard look at their lives. This thread will have an impact on all of Scalvoris. No animals, trees or imaginary friends were harmed in the creation of this thread. These groups are now set. No moving, changing, slipping around, etc. This thread structure and objectives, achievements etc are following a way of modding which was done by a very good friend, Straylor. All credit to him for the ideas.

Objectives

!	Message from: Must Do Objectives This Round!
	1. Your next post must be no more than 600 words (word count at the end please?) 2.Include a single item you see which seems out of place. Reward for the best one / most integrated in (not just "Oh, look, a hairbrush"). This item must be YELLOW 3.Suggest a use another group member may have for your item in Objective 2.

!	Message from: Can Do Objectives This Round!
	1. Start every sentence in your post with a vowel to unlock an achievement! 2. Ask a PC or NPC a painfully personal question and then share your character's own answer to that question IC. Please note: these are optional objectives. You can do one, both or none of the above.

[Rynata]

As her name was called out among a list of others, Rynata good-naturedly strolled over to the man who had been introduced as Ben. It seemed she would get her wish and would be tasked with the central route. In a moment, other group members joined the gathering. One of those that approached was a rather fierce looking woman. A closer look drew Rynata’s gaze to her striking blue eyes, and although they were reminiscent of Biqaj eyes, their color was in stasis and the hue was a tad colder. Another was a guarded dark haired beauty that Rynata recalled had introduced herself as Max. A face she recognized was also present, accompanied by an adorable but spiky looking forest critter. After enviously eyeing the animal, she greeted those who would be her companions for the trip.

“I’m Rynata,” she said nodding to the women and Ben. “I suppose we should get to work right away!”

Along the riverbank, Rynata spotted a flash of pale yellowamong the mundane river rocks. Approaching it revealed a conspicuously shaped piece of stone that must have served as a spearhead before it had been lost in some hunt. As she was no hunter, Rynata picked up the find and held it out to Ela, who, out of those gathered, seemed most accustomed to the woods. It would do more good in her possession than among Rynata's collection of odds and ends.

"If you'd like it," she offered the weapon part. "It could be useful if you hunt or fish."

As Ben laid out his rules, Rynata couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. It was just that the rules didn’t seem all too pertinent in figuring out what was going on. Especially, the bit about "kill on sight". Academics back in Scalvoris would surely appreciate samples if the problem truly was some alchemical imbalance. Even so, she took the man's advice to heart. After all, it would be foolish to simply dismiss local superstition.

"I'd like to ask, Ben," she started. "Uh, your late mother, what was she like? And what made her so suspicious of the waters? I wondered, because my mother never put much stock in, well, whatever strangeness Immortals and the like get up to. All over Idalos, I bet you couldn't find a more pragmatic woman," Rynata chuckled.

Understanding that they would be traveling by boat, Rynata happily climbed aboard one of the vessels, situating herself toward the rear. It was tricky at first to grasp how to manage the boat, especially because there were shallows that they had to maneuver around. On top of that, a boat was quite different from handling the sloop that she was used to. It was much lighter and without any sails but that also meant that the craft was more unstable and finicky. Even so, Rynata had a sense for the flow of water and gradually, she was able to help steer without directing them toward any obstacles.

A little more used to the boat, Rynata could divert her attention to what was happening in the water. Apparently, they had wandered amidst a giant school of fish, each of varying color and size. If her fishing clan family were about, surely, they'd have a field day. As she watched however, one of fish suddenly burst, leaking an eerie black substance into the water around it.

"Erm. I don't think fish are supposed to do that, yes? I suggest we get closer and see if other fish react in the same way."

588 words

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

"Oh my... you mean...it's the fish?" Ela muttered, looking to the man with a look of confusion.

Admittedly, the fish weren't what Ela originally thought could have caused this. It suddenly made sense. If she was a small, flying, rabid bunny - what would she eat? Usually, for bunnies, predators and prey were too big, but fish were perfect. A demon rabbit could feast on them and nothing would fight back, fish weren't very good at hunting flying rabbits, after all. Interrupting her thoughts was a young woman offering her a small stone, shaped like a spearhead.
Ela glanced to the spearhead that Rynata offered, taking it in her hand and raising a confused eyebrow. As she went to speak and mention that she had claws, meaning she had no use for weapons, her mind wondered an important question - what was the last gift she'd been given? Although Kura was often generous to the Mortalborn, Ela got very little in the way of gifts or presents. Overwhelmed with sudden gratefulness and joy, Ela didn't know how to react.

After a few trills, the young Mortalborn smiled at the woman and nodded her head, her expression of genuine warmth. "I'll make good use of it, thank you" she said, almost reassuring Rynata that her gift would not be wasted. As determined as she had been before, she held the yellow stone in her hand and made her way on to the boat, making sure to be on the same one as Rynata. It was rare Ela made a friend, but she felt she had this time.
Even though the two had only just met, a thought bothered Ela. "Of everyone here, who would you say is the worst looking? As in, the ugliest" Ela muttered to Rynata quietly. After pausing for a second, she continued. "As a young girl I always used to think I was ugly, and I just...I don't know, everyone here seems so pretty, so I'm worried it might be me. It's not, is it?" she muttered, a slight whimper to her voice like that of a small dog.

As that question rang through her head, sadness still fresh for her, Ela glanced down and noticed something in the water. She had been told clearly not to touch anything, but this was different. It was gold, Ela thought, as she quickly reached down and grabbed it.It was a struggle, and took a few swings, but her hand finally grabbed the soft item. A yellow sponge, soaked with water, was resting in the river. Ela was confused, glancing down to the soft and weird feeling creation, having only used one when she was living with Karem in the Eternal Empire.
"Excuse me, you might need this" Ela said, offering the sponge out to Tio on the other boat. "If your boat gets any water in it, you can stop it sinking" she stated, like it was fact, before looking back to Rynata.

"Oh, I should add, I don't think you're the ugliest. Actually, you're pretty, if I do say so" the Mortalborn said, still awkward from the act of kindness that had been given to her. As she said those words, her eyes glanced to the fish, one popping and bursting. Ela was in shock, simply nodding in agreement with Rynata's idea, staring blankly at the fish - startled.


561 words (not including this word count and brackets)

[Max]

As luck would have it, the broody woman was severed from the people that had been previously serving as her triggers toward behavior that was any less than pro-social. It didn't please her much that she was just as separated from Mercedes, but so went the roll of the dice when one left their role up to the fates. At the very least, this Ben character seemed just as knowledgeable about the pestilence they were investigating as he was strong. It mattered little what exactly was causing the disarray in the wilderness whether it was something of superstitious proportions of easily explained; only that identifying and fixing whatever was causing the disarray would be done with haste. A casual walk, nor a paddle, through the forest wasn't something Max was comfortable doing in her free time. It didn't take long for the wannabe adventurers to find their way into their boats to begin their journey.

Orchestrating a paddle rhythm that kept her in sync with the rest of her small crew was a bit of a tough feat for the Rusalka. As history would admit, Max had a far better track record with sinking ships of all shapes and sizes compared to properly maneuvering them. After a few bits of practice, she began to get a handle on the motion. Enough to help keep them moving in the right direction at least. Everyone once in a while it seemed someone had found an anomaly in their environment worth noting. A half break into their journey, Max dipped her paddle down into the moving water with a mirthful turn of her lips. Up came the paddle soon after to reveal a worn, ripped, yellow pair of what could only be underwear resting on the flat end of the tool.

"Anyone want to hold onto an extra pair before we get started?" Max teased the group in her fleeting moment of good nature. "Aw, not even just in case?" Once more the paddle dipped just below the surface of the water to set the discarded underwear free to float again. One could imagine just how the article of clothing might've be "lost" by someone out in the isolated forest. Eyes on Ela, Max couldn't keep herself from voicing life to the question that swelled in her mind.

"I saw you and Councilwoman Kura are anything but strangers," the Mixed Race announced her observation just loud enough for her voice to carry to the next boat over, though not so much as to make a spectacle of the floating crew. "I could be wrong, but that get-up doesn't convince me you're the lobbying type. Exactly how do you know each other?" It was not her place to ask about that connection by any means, but once again, the concept of boundaries didn't seem to strike Max as all that important. Each of the others in her team were still strangers to her. It was important she started unearthing details, figuring out just who she'd been surrounded by as a result of Tom's lottery.

Everyone's attention was rightly drawn to the unexplained gathering of fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors beneath their boats. Any of them might've been right in assuming Max was no fish expert or intellectual of any real kind, but she knew a real outlier when she saw one. "Uh," she looked to Ben with a hand on her sword hilt the moment one of the fish exploded into a thick, black cloud. "Is this something funny looking we should be placing in the 'kill' category?"

(Word Count: 596. Sorry, I'm wordy!)

[Tio Silver]

After a short discussion the party split up into three teams. Tio was put in the group led by the guy called Ben, along with three women who each had their own very distinct, very unique characteristics. Rynata he knew before, having fought through that whole blizzard debacle with her a season ago. The second was the lady with the (possibly blood) painted face, who was dressed in furs that had a distinctly primal theme going for them. Now that he looked at her more closely he realised that she was sporting a rather impressive set of claws on her hands. Was she perhaps one of those shapeshifting magicians? The third had a fighter vibe going for her as well but seemed more civilized in her practical, working family’s clothing, and immediately struck him as the one to hide behind if something big and hungry fancied making a snack out of them.

As they paddled along the river Tio watched the woods passing by and his reflection in the water, and lightly connected to his defiance spark to hear the voices of the elements around him. Away from civilization they were happy, free to stretch out and flow to their own accords instead of being imposed upon to follow mankind's will. It was thanks to their voices whispering to him that he noticed the object fluttering down from the sky; a long, pale yellow feather about the same shape as a swan’s. It didn't look like it came from any kind of bird he knew. Was it from a species unique to these woods?

“Aww, why thank you.” He said to Ela as she passed him the sponge. “Here, do you want this feather? It could probably make a nice arrow, and you seem more like the hunting type than I am.” A fond smile crossed his lips. “Hey, just out of curiosity have you ever accidentally shot another person while hunting? I went out once with step daddy number forty seven and… well, let's just say he's had a limp ever since.”

After a few breaks the boats passed through a rocky area and arrived in a more open section which was teeming, literally teeming, with fish. To make matters even weirder some of those fish seemed to be exploding! Tio watched with a raised eyebrow as one of the smaller fish swimming besides his boat popped into a cloud of black ooze.

“Okay… that's a new one.” He muttered, resisting the urge to dip a finger into the water and test the consistency of the black goop. “Hey Benny boy, mind if I nab a sample of this stuff? I’m not normally the sciency type, but this stuff looks kind of fun. Anyone want to try cooking one of these fish up? I bet they’ll taste like nothing you've ever tried before.”

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[Pegasus]

85th Ashan, 718

It seemed like a good start, Ben thought. Apparently, this lot were going to get on well - even to the point of exchanging gifts! Of course, there were some strange and unusual things happening and Ben knew that. Always best to be aware, after all. Even his mother, Immortals rest her soul, had understood that Scalvoris was a strange place. Oh, how true that was.

Anyway, a few things were exchanged. Ela received a gift from Rynata and, in return, gave one to Tio. As a gallant gentleman, he returned the gesture and offered Ela something. Avian plumage and a very fine example of it. Alas, Max's discovery of a pair of used underwear was not received as well by anyone, but her suggested use of 'keeping a spare' made some sort of sense. Except, maybe not that pair. It was nice, Ben decided, his group were getting on and that was important.

It took him by surprise, therefore, when Rynata asked him about his mother, but he smiled at her. Answering wasn't comfortable, but he did it. "I know everyone says it," Ben said, "but I had the wisest mother in the world. I don't know how she knew so much, but she did. Always right, the woman was." Eyes turned to Ela for reasons he couldn't explain, he added. "I reckon, aye?"

Asking questions, awkward in many places, was what happened for a while. And then? It was then that they saw the fish. It was, Ben decided there and then, going to be one of those trials. Odd things happening in odd ways, to him and those around him. A magnet for weirdness, that's what his mother had called him and, here it went again.
"I'm not sure, no, I think its best to just keep an eye for now, " said, Ben, in response to the general question. "I think Rynata has the right of it, lets hold fire on samples of killing until or unless something happens?" Eyes wide, Ben seemed unsure in truth, "It seems like we might just be making them angry, otherwise" Angry, it seemed, was bad. "It is funny looking, Max, aye, but they're not botherin' us at this point" Everyone could tell he wasn't entirely convinced himself but still, he urged them forward, slow and careful.

And so, they moved forward. "I'd rather you didn't just yet, Tio. And don't call me Benny boy, please, I don't like it. It's what my mother used to call me," he said. Emotion was evident in his voice and his demeanor, but he kept a friendly smile. Onward, therefore, they went and about five bits had passed, with the strange fish teeming around them.

And teeming was the right word. It quickly grew so that they were having trouble moving the boats. Every time one of them put an oar in the water, fish exploded and the water was turning black. It was just then that the smell reached them. A pleasant, almost floral but with undertones of something else, smell assaulted them. Olfactory assault was the word for it, it was overwhelming.

As they breathed it in, the effects of it began almost immediately. In the form of vivid, strange hallucinations. Illusionary creatures, people, experiences, each one of them fell on to the crew of the two boats that trial. It was sudden onset, a few bits after they first noticed the smell and it was all encompassing; they existed, for a time, in the hallucination.

Consequences this round:

Achievement: The Constant Non-Consonant Unlocked: Max, Ela and Rynata all completed the "all sentences start with a vowel" objective and will earn an item at the end.
Achievement: Totes Awks! Unlocked: All pcs asked their awkward questions - and this will award them extra loot at the end! Ela, Rynata and Tio also answered theirs, so will get a double hit of Good Oooze News.
Secret Achievement: The Cringe! Unlocked: Tio, Ela and Rynata have all asked really really awkward questions, which were enough to make me cringe. Good ooze for you all! Extra 'reward' at the end - it'll be cringe-worthy. Consequences: Positive:

• Max, without doubt wins the "best item" reward. There is Good Ooze in Max's future, as she has earned a positive consequence.
• Ela wins the "best use of the item" for making me snort aloud. That sounds like Good Ooze too and Ela has earned a positive consequence
• Max completed both can-do objectives and will earn a positive consequence from the Good Fishes

Map

Map of Sweetwine Woods

► Show Spoiler

NPC

Ben

Race: Human
Most obvious attribute: Strength
Cautious
Good with boats
Prefers an axe
Superstitious
Very attached to his late mother
Doesn't like being called Billy Boy

OOC Info

!	Message from: Pegasus
	This thread is now CLOSED

!

Message from: The Rules

The rules for this thread are as follows: I will post once a week, on Sunday. If you all post sooner, I might do the same, and then you'll have another week. I will post again on the 29th April 2018 There is no posting order throughout this thread. This thread has objectives (both stated and hidden) and Achievements. These will impact the thread itself and the consequences at the end. One post each between mod posts. Do not control the NPCs (that includes the Mysterious Fishes) If you've got any questions, PM me. We're going on the old "three strikes and you're out" school of thought. [/list]

!

Message from: Points to Note

This is a potentially high risk thread. Your pc might be maimed, scarred, psychologically damaged, forced into strange and weird situations, killed or even forced to stop and take a long, hard look at their lives. This thread will have an impact on all of Scalvoris. No animals, trees or imaginary friends were harmed in the creation of this thread. These groups are now set. No moving, changing, slipping around, etc. This thread structure and objectives, achievements etc are following a way of modding which was done by a very good friend, Straylor. All credit to him for the ideas.

Objectives

!	Message from: Must Do Objectives This Round!
	1. If you were asked a direct question in the last round, please answer it. 2.Please include a description of your surround sound, 360 degrees, total immersion hallucination. This might be funny, dark, whatever. Keep in mind - it will have consequences! 3.Your pc will suddenly emerge from the hallucination, when they do they immediately notice.... (insert item of interest here).

!	Message from: Can Do Objectives This Round!
	1. Include the words Cool, Cornucopia and Concubine in your next post. 2. Have your pc say the words "I swear, mine's the biggest" in a way which makes sense. Please note: these are optional objectives. You can do one, both or none of the above.

[Tio Silver]

It seemed that the nickname Tio had decided to give to Ben had accidentally crossed some kind of sentimental line. Damn, now he felt kind of bad for bringing it up. He'd always had a gift for giving people the perfect nicknames, ones that described who they were far better than their real names ever could, but every so often people weren't happy with the names he rechristened them with. There was nothing to do now but apologise.

"Ahh, sorry about that." Tio said sincerely, putting his hands together in a gesture of apology. "I guess a different nickname is needed then. How about..." He thought about it for a moment. "Notorious B! Yes, or NB for short." No way that would get mixed up with a nickname his parents gave to him. It was perfect!

While Tio was distracted however the fish had been exploding at an increasingly alarming rate, and the black goop they were releasing was starting to dye the whole river black. It was only as Tio finally noticed this that the smell hit him, and immediately his vision grew dark around the edges as his senses blurred. What was going on?! Was this some kind of magical drug?! Tio fell backwards onto the deck of the boat as his sense of balance gave out, and the darkness clouding his eyes consumed his sight entirely.
Tio blinked, taking in the sight of the icy tundra before him. Snow pelted down at him from above, whipped into a frenzy by the howling winds, but strangely enough the freezing cold he should be feeling wasn't present, replaced instead by a hollow numbness and a unpleasantly cool sensation. When he looked downwards at his feet Tio discovered that his body was strangely translucent, like a ghosts, and that it stood on top of the snowy ground without leaving an imprint. The snow seemed to be passing straight through him as well, as if he wasn't really there. Was this what they called an out of body experience? It was certainly a strange sensation.

Although the blizzard obscured most of his surroundings, Tio could just make out the silhouette of something big in the distance. He also thought he could hear some kind of sound coming from that direction, but it was impossible to tell what it was over the sound of the wind. With no other landmarks in sight there didn't seem to be much of a choice but to head towards it, and so with his footsteps ghosting over the snowy ground Tio began to walk towards it

The closer he came to the shape in the distance, the more defined it became until he could finally make out what it was. It was a grand palace built entirely out of ice, complete with turrets and walls that stretched up into the sky! Or at least, it was half a palace. The place seemed to be right in the middle of construction; covered head to toe in scaffolding and with a small village of temporary apartment blocks set up around it. He could even make out the figures of little workers in builders uniforms going about the place like ants. Eventually he reached the construction sight, and could help but gawk as noticed that the people, the builders, weren't normal people at all! Their bodies were correct, but their heads were all those of strange animals; wolves, badgers, even... was that a turnip? Turnips weren't animals were they?

As he wandered across the grounds, Tio came across a large table set up in the clearing around the palace where three... people?... in suits were seated, picking absently at food from a cornucopia in the middle. They were all locked in a heated argument, but as Tio walked past one of them spotted him and promptly spat out a half chewed nut.

"Oh shoot, is that..."

"Silver! Crud! Grab him!"

The three of them jumped up from their chairs and ran over to him, each with panicked expressions on their faces. One of them had the head of a giraffe, the second a lion, and the third a pigeon, but all of them managed to look strangely human at that moment. "Excuse me, sir! Sir! You're not supposed to be here! Marianna wasn't supposed to send you for a few more seasons!"

"Marianna?" Tio asked, confused. "Who in the beneath is Marianna?"

That seemed to be some sort of keyword, as the three of them looked at each other in shock. They quickly turned in on each other and began to whisper, and occasionally Tio could hear snippets of conversation such as 'he hasn't met Marianna yet', 'how did he get here on his own' and 'we can't let him see what's inside'. As they talked however Tio looked around the grounds, and spotted a sign that looked suspiciously like a business logo hanging over the door of the nicest looking building. "Oraculazer Vision Construction Limited?" He read aloud. His eyes travelled down a little to the right, where a woman dressed in a revealing, concubine styled dress was holding a box of cosmetics and painting a black symbol underneath the eye of... "Hey! THAT'S ME!"

It was indeed him, or at least someone with enough make up on to make them look exactly like him. The symbol the cosmetics lady was painting on was the witchmark that appeared every time he connected to him spark of necromancy, but upon hearing Tio's shout the imposter looked around sharply and left a long black smudge running down the side of his cheek. One of the three people in suits looked over to where he was staring and tutted. "Oh for the love of... Terrence get out of here!"

The imposter turned tail and ran away into one of the buildings, and before Tio could go after him the three suited people came to surround him. "Mr Silver... I'm sorry, I really am... the giraffe headed one began, "But we're going to have to ask you to leave."

Tio shot a glare at him. "No! Not until you tell me why someone called Terrance who looks just like me is walking about the place!"

The three of them shared glances, and in perfect synchronization let out long sighs. "Okay Mr Silver, I'm going to level with you." The lion headed one said. "My name is Mr Causality, head of Finance and Human Resources. To my left is Mr Inevitability, Chief Director, he gestured to the giraffe, "and to my right is Barry, Head of Artistic Design." He nodded at the pigeon. "The company put us in charge of building the life changing vision you're going to have in a few seasons, but you weren't supposed to be arriving until... well, the future. I'm afraid we're just not ready to roll."

"But if Mr Ziell finds out the vision has been spoiled for you he's gonna blame us, and we might end up loosing the Idalos contracts, which means we're going to have to make some good people around here redundant. So we were hoping that maybe you could... well... do us a favour and just pretend you were never here." Mr Inevitability said. "You'll still get your vision, we keep the contracts, and Ziell isn't any the wiser. It's a win-win for everyone."

"Wait? You're... a vision construction agency?" Tio asked. "What's that?"

"We build the settings for and direct visions of the future on behalf of third parties too busy to build them all for themselves." Barry replied. "It's a profitable market, but it takes real planning to pull off. Nobody cares about a vision that doesn't have dramatic effect after all. Don't worry, you'll get what I mean when the time comes."

Tio opened his mouth to give voice to the other many questions he needed to ask, but stopped as he felt his body lurch upwards. A faint, pale light began to glow around him, and before he knew what was happening his body slowly started to float up into the sky.

"Oh thank the maker, he's leaving." Mr Causality whispered to his two associates, before looking back to Tio and giving him an entirely insincere smile. "Nice to meet you Mr Silver. Have a safe journey home! And remember: not a word about what you just saw here to anyone!"

Tio tried to shout out something, anything really, but found that no air could pass through his throat. And so with a brief flash of light the pirate winked out of that plane of existence.
Slowly Tio's senses returned to him, and the yludih found himself staring up at the clear sky above. A single bird, too high up to be made out clearly, circled above them as if watching their journey, and idly Tio wandered if it was the same one that'd shed the feather from before.
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[Ela Wolfsdotter]

"Thank you" she smiled as Tio handed her the feather, a friendly smile that she rarely gave to anyone. Two people had given her a gift, for the first time in a long time. Sickly sweet feelings ran through her in a way that she wasn't used to, and she loved it. She had, as far as she was concerned, made two friends this day. Though the question confused her that followed, about shooting another person. It reminded Ela that although she was a natural predator, only using claws and fang, these people still relied on weaponry to fight.
"Truth be told, I have never shot an arrow. Though I imagine if I have another poor soul would end up like step daddy forty seven" she admitted. With claws like hers, using weaponry had never been easy. Fighting at range was near to impossible for the Mortalborn. Though truth be told, the woman had no issues with that. She had been given a gift naturally, and it put her on the same playing field as all other predators. What wasn't to love about it?

Then came the voice from the other boat, asking about her relation with Kura. Ela glanced over to see Max, who clearly had some ounce of curiosity to the Mortalborn's relationship with her sister. As far as Ela was concerned, there was nothing wrong with her question. In fact, the pup was always proud to talk about Kura. As jealous as she was of her older sister, there was a strong bond between the two that couldn't be denied.
"Kura Wolfsdotter is my sister, though we took different paths and approaches to life, admittedly" the young girl confessed. Ela had no shame in admitting they were relatives, and could only hope Kura would take the same approach. After all, cave-dweller or not, Ela was still her sister. She couldn't be THAT embarrassed about her, could she?
"Hello, Ela" the voice spoke in front of her. She glanced back to the front of the boat to realize that she wasn't on a boat anymore, but back in her home many Arcs ago. There she knelt on the floor, bodies around her, but this time one body was missing. Before her stood her father, stab wounds still prominent, but somehow alive. Her eyes widened as she looked at him, the man she hadn't seen for so long before her as if none of it had ever happened. As if the mortalborn hadn't feasted on his corpse to survive. As if she hadn't been alone.

The house smelt of blood, and all around it was coated with death. Corpses of both dogs and a human rested around her, lifeless and drained, and the air was thick with the bitter yet hunger-inducing stench of blood. Even the outside was void of life. All of the trees were rotting, the animals dead or missing, as silence filled the area. Nothing was alive but Ela and the man before her - and only one of those should have been.

"Father? What are you doing here? You...died" spoke the young girl, confused. A wide, twisted smile spread across his cheeks as his eyes turned a blood red and his body started to shift. His muscled bulged and tore from his shirt, and a razor sharp fur was growing from his skin. No, it couldn't be, Ela thought. There was no way it could be, he was...the Oh Flunny?

Giant bunny ears burst from his head as his bones snapped and twisted in to his new, monstrous form. Around her the house shattered and fell, crumbling over her and narrowly avoiding crushing the poor girl to death. A vicious cackle turned in to a demonic roar as the beast before her exploded in to a new form, the gigantic wings causing the air around to knock Ela back a step. Her father wasn't her father anymore, he was the monster that would end the world.
As the vision faded away and Ela returned to the land of the living, a faint glow caught her eye on the shore. A gem, small and strange, almost energized. Shaking from what she had seen, the girl placed a hand on Rynata's shoulder, wanting someone to keep her safe. "What the fuck is going on here?"

[Rynata]

"Worst looking?" Rynata tilted her head at the unexpected question. The sailor wasn't too concerned about appearances, but Ela's earnest worry about her looks struck a cord. "I don't think you need to worry about that," she reassured. "You have stunning eyes, and besides, I think you already answered your own question. Everyone here is rather pretty. Not that I would turn heads, or anything like that, but what do they say? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"

What was surprising, pleasantly surprising this time, was when Ela offered up a compliment. Others might have wanted it to be framed in more flattering words, but the corners of Rynata's mouth quirked up into an appreciative smile as she regarded the other woman.

"Well, thank you!" she replied, laughing easily.

However, they were soon surrounded by the strange fish. Their writhing bodies made it quite difficult to guide the boat, and Rynata worried that if the fish became more aggressive, it would be enough to tip the craft. Dipping the oars into the water, she tried to maneuver them into a less crowded current, but the fish jostled the oar, popping into black ooze as they did so. Before she could react further, a thick cloying scent filled her senses. It was like being drowned in flowers. Pleasant, but something inherently wrong about it. Growing dizzy, she slumped sideways, trying to blink away the strange malfunction in her eyes as the scene around her warped and blurred, growing too bright, and then settling into foggy darkness.

She was standing alone in misty darkness. 'But how could that be?' she wondered utterly confused, she had just been on the boat with the others. Try as she might, she couldn't shake off the reality around her like she might have done in the case of an unwanted dream. Not knowing what else to do, she took a step forward. The floor, like her surroundings, was a dense black. It blended in so well that it looked as though she were standing suspended in mid air. Walking forward, the sound of her boots echoed endlessly in the empty space. For a while, that was the only sound that accompanied her as the fog grew worse around her. However, the ring of her heel slowly morphed into whispers that echoed back louder and louder. The voices didn't seem to be saying anything intelligible. Just whispering among themselves. When Rynata stopped, the whispers continued at the same level and when she moved forward, they gradually built up again. Crossing her arms and hugging them close to her sides, she grit her teeth and did her best to tolerate the rising noise. When the tension of the voices echoed in her very heart, she arrived before a cornucopiableeding out fog. Likely the source of what was all around her. Next to it was a shrouded feminine figure.

The person wore an partially obscuring robe but underneath that, the glint of a bold and embroidered outfit could be seen. Frankly, it seemed like something a tasteless noble would have their concubinedon. Not that Rynata was trying to look, of course. In addition, they were surrounded by dimly glowing orbs of varying sizes. These seemed to be the same misty material pouring out of the horn, only coalesced into an almost physical form. Next moment, the figure extended a hand and from somewhere behind Rynata, or perhaps from her, a similar orb floated to join the others which had now fallen into orbit around the other woman. As the smallest orb circled to the forefront, the woman shook her head and

Pop.

The small sphere blinked out of existence. She continued in this fashion and by the time the third orb had been destroyed, Rynata could no longer ignore the mounting sense that things were not going to go in her favor. Gradually, the smaller orbs were weeded out, and soon enough, 'her' orb circled into view. The hooded woman turned her head up just so that Rynata could see the cruel curve of a pitying smile.

"Wait, wait! I swear, mine's the biggest." Rynata jumped forward, her voice laced with nervous, false humor, half knowing that her efforts would prove futile.

Sure enough.

Pop.

The same instant her raised foot hit the floor, the glossy black surface cracked and caved in on itself. Not unlike a lake who's surface had been covered with ice, a great distance below, dark waves crashed and churned. By now the whispers had turned into roars, but that could also have been the sound of the violent waters. Rynata's heart leapt into her mouth as she started the drop. However, something caught her shoulder, pulling her back, back, back, and back.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

A voice, and a bucket? As she returned to her former place on the boat, Rynata's eyes had focused on an old wooden bucket resting somewhere near her knees. Once again the natural sounds of coolriver water surrounded her.

"Oof, that's what I'd like to know," she said, running a hand across her eyes. Her heart was still jolting anxious and irregular beats from the vision, unsure of what exactly had happened.

[Pegasus]

85th Ashan, 718

Ben smiled at Tio and nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate it and yeah, I like that! NB! That's meeee" sadly, the last bit was trailing off as he passed out. Each of them had a moment, a strange moment of seeing the exploding fish and then, each one of them, fell into a strange realm of awake but not and in that they experienced some very strange things.

And then, they woke up. When they awoke, they all saw something and it was odd. There was a bird, which landed on Ela's shoulder, Tio found he was holding a Bucket in his hand and Rynata was clutching a Gem. They saw these things, each one seeing the other's and then they were fully awake. A few things they might notice at this point. Firstly, the fish in the stream were back to normal. No inky blackness, no multi coloured giant exploding fish. Just... hake and haddock swimming around. As fish are wont to do.

Ben looked around, and asked, "Where have they gone?" Because it seemed, they were down on numbers. Then with a sigh he added, "Alright. We've got to keep going. Come on." And so, our erstwhile travellers... travelled. Up Ol'Tucks Run and then they came to a place where there was a tall, dark canyon to their left and the treeline came to the shore on their right. Ahead of them, it became obvious that this was a place which could best be described as rapids. Really, really rapid ones.

"Ok, so," said Ben. "Dark Canyon Creek. Ahead of us, to the left eventually is Vultures' Haven. It's called that because the Vultures drop the bones there of all the people who've died here," the bird on Ela's shoulder squawked loudly, as though in agreement. "If we're going to ride the rapids, we'll get there quicker, but it's dangerous. We could drag the boats which is the slowest and safest way and also, we could try and steer, fighting against the rapids to sort of go a middle ground."

Ben looked at them and gave a slight, non-committal shrug. "What would you rather do?" he asked.

Consequences this round:

Achievement: Queen of the Round Unlocked:Rynata is the only player to meet all objectives. She gains extra loot at the end.
Achievement: I did my duty! Unlocked: All pcs who posted met all must do objective. The Fish Scales are balanced, but not tipped in your favour. In order to tip the Fish Scales, those pcs who posted this round have a new objective next round. It is a can do and is not open to anyone not achieving this. If, in a way that makes sense, you can have your pc touch or, preferably, try to style another pc's hair (not your own), the Fish Scales will fall in your favour and the Cod of Justice will be pleased.
Secret Achievement: Right time, wrong plaice! Unlocked: Tio has realised something vital about the way that visions work! He will be awarded a specific bonus at the end.
Secret Achievement: Two Out of Three! Unlocked: Both Ela and Tio used the animals from the other threads in this one and so they have earned the Enlightenment bonus.
Consequences: Positive:

• In the round just gone, the Scared Skate wanted to feel fear. Ela wins this round. Next round, there is another fish watching.....

Map

Map of Sweetwine Woods

► Show Spoiler

NPC

Ben

Race: Human
Most obvious attribute: Strength
Cautious
Good with boats
Prefers an axe
Superstitious
Very attached to his late mother
Doesn't like being called Billy Boy
Is evidently, the forgiving sort

OOC Info

!	Message from: Pegasus
	This thread is now CLOSED

!

Message from: The Rules

The rules for this thread are as follows: I will post once a week, on Sunday. If you all post sooner, I might do the same, and then you'll have another week. I will post again on the 6th May 2018 There is no posting order throughout this thread. This thread has objectives (both stated and hidden) and Achievements. These will impact the thread itself and the consequences at the end. This is a CONVERSATION / DECISION round - so feel free to discuss in PMs or to post more than once SO LONG AS EVERYONE ELSE has posted. Please note that, because of a slight situation in an earlier timestamp, Max is now OUT of the thread. The PC herself was not ever in here so it was a different NPC you interacted with and they've now disappeared. Sorry! Do not control the NPCs (that includes the Bird!) If you've got any questions, PM me. We're going on the old "three strikes and you're out" school of thought. Genuvah has missed two rounds

!

Message from: Points to Note

This is a potentially high risk thread. Your pc might be maimed, scarred, psychologically damaged, forced into strange and weird situations, killed or even forced to stop and take a long, hard look at their lives. This thread will have an impact on all of Scalvoris. No animals, trees or imaginary friends were harmed in the creation of this thread. These groups are now set. No moving, changing, slipping around, etc. This thread structure and objectives, achievements etc are following a way of modding which was done by a very good friend, Straylor. All credit to him for the ideas.

Objectives

!	Message from: Must Do Objectives This Round!
	1. Decide, as a group, on an agreed strategy for crossing Dark Canyon Rapids. 2. Be sure to let me know explicitly what you are doing.

!	Message from: Can Do Objectives This Round!
	1. Put forward a campaign speech for why you should be nominated Group Leader (IC, of course) 2. Use one of your own items (in your CS) in an unusual and funny way to attract a reward. Please note: these are optional objectives. You can do one, both or none of the above.