thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

[promittere]

NEW MOON ADAGIO

Between the constant requests from the North and the sense of tension that pervades the manor, Sage Tatara makes an executive decision: we're going North, baby.

Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.

One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...

That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...

Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?

Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.

While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?

However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...

While the Forest of Dreams is a memory/dreamshare free for all, the aural memories replayed by the bats in the Cave of Time will come from one of the original wizards only. If you'd like an audio replay of a perhaps significant moment either in their personal life or a clue as to what happened to them (it will be randomized), then please reply to this comment!

JOB BOARD

Clean-up and repairs. While thanks to the hard work of your Eastern friends the worst was prevented, the City of Rain emerged from their short ordeal a little worse for wear.

Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...

As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.

Reverence. Several Northern villages are currently outside the protection of a wizard, and have requested the sage's wizards' presence. They're terrified of the monsters and worried the barriers for their villages will fail sooner than later. They don't simply ask for help for free, however, and these smaller villages are steeped in their tradition—they'll pay you their respects, praying to you, offering you gifts, groveling at your feet, in hopes for a modicum of your time and protection. Do their offerings please you? Then assist them with what you deem appropriate for their worship to you: kill a few monsters for them, or a lot if you're pleased. Strengthen the barrier a lot, or not at all if you're displeased. It's up to you! You have the power here. What's it like to be a god for a day?

Ladies' night. The monthly lady officers' gathering is coming up in the City of Affluence—it's an exclusive meetup for the women involved in and related to Western military and bureaucratic affairs. Anyone is welcome, so long as they meet two requirements: they are outwardly presenting feminine, and they have an invitation to the gathering. Here's your chance to flex your transformation and glamour spells! Infiltrate the meetup with a disguise and a fake invitation, mingle, enjoy the drinks, the jazz, the entertainment, and find out what you can... What's the Western army up to? Be careful, though—don't get caught and kicked out!

The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...

G'RAHA TASKS

Greetings, new friends! I am G'raha Tia, and while I hesitate to call myself a mentor or a replacement for the one you had, I am eternally grateful for the assistance I received and will do my best to help your cause in any way I can. To that end, I feel I may need to be caught up to speed on the events and get to know all of you.

We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

Even if we're not here for very long, I think we should leave our mark (not literally! Don't paint on the walls!). I got paint and big paper in the dining hall, but no brushes... Do you know what that means? Finger paint! Finger paint a portrait of yourself with your name and I'll hang it up in the library when they're all done!

Thanks to Cid and Khun, my camcorder works now. The thing is, what's the point of filming anything if we have no way to watch the film?! Could you guys work together to make some kind of projector? Or like...VHS player? We could have a movie night together!

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your fourth event! It's your dreamshare and memshare event! Ready to open up with your deepest and darkest secrets?
🌙 We're halfway through the game. How do you feel?
🌙 Back at the manor, Kurapika and Maya have set up a bulletin board! Leave comments, argue with your neighbors, have fun. Be nice. Don't set it on fire.
🌙 On the admin side of things, Lav has swapped out Wanderer for G'raha! Please say hello to your new mentor NPC.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting to the post, and remember to check back frequently, since not everyone checks plurk or discord all the time.
🌙 The next country to go on their mission is North. Do you think a PVP-enabled mission will go well?

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[foresightis2020]

I think we should.

It truly would be nice. There wouldn't be anything far too boisterous about it, so I believe hardly anyone would object. We do get quite a few who enjoy watching the stars, after all.

[ Back at the manor, she means! Also, well, Jing Yuan coincidentally holds up her own fan as well, smiling behind hers as they talk because it might be a little fun. Like cool spies. The smile cools as her tone turns serious, though. ]

But, you're correct. The West is far more industrialized, so damage to buildings and harm to people would occur far more easily. Not to mention, the other complications...

[fallingsand]

[ With them both using their fans to look so secretive, Bruno can't help it. A giggle bubbles up from him and the sound surprises him, even if only briefly. He sounds so much like one of his sisters laughing. After more than a day of practicing this form, it still shocks him. In any case, for the sake of not looking too suspicious, he'll go back to idly fanning himself. ]

You think so? I wonder if there'll be any meteor-watching parties or if we should set up our own. Up on a roof? Or maybe further out of the city? It has a lot more lights here than I'm used to.

[ A light means fewer stars. ]

[foresightis2020]

[ As for Jing Yuan, she looks amused again, hearing that.

She doesn't quite laugh, but she decides to fan herself too for funsies; she was just originally holding it close to herself now, but it has changed. This is totally helping with the guise and keeping things oh-so-secretive. ]

If there are, I don't see why we shouldn't attend, or set up our own.

Hmm, I think it'd be best set out further from the city, though. Or I should hope others would do so in the first place. Either way, viewing everything closer to industrial areas might make it harder to see things, just in general.

[ She's visibly excited by the idea, though... ]

[fallingsand]

[ It sounds fun. Weird how Bruno feels less inclined to run away at the very mention of a gathering. When did that change, he wonders. Of course, they are still a concern, but even here, he's still decided to come, even if he feels too awkward to go mingle. ]

Exactly! That's what I was thinking. Find somewhere with a good view and bring our own lights. Ones we can dim when we have to.

[foresightis2020]

[ Developments that essentially end up as an ultimate net positive...?? ]

...Ah, there's a thought.

Perhaps candles? Those can easily be dimmed by blowing them out.

[ She hadn't thought that far ahead in regards to bringing own lights, but it did at least give a possible idea of what kind. There's probably also generally maybe lighting via magic as option as well, she supposes. ]

[fallingsand]

Candles could work! Oh, or maybe make some crystals glow and have them in lanterns we can close when we want less light?

[ That has a very nice wizardly knack to it, he thinks, but he won't say that out loud. They're just here as regular non-magical ladies, after all! Yep. Nothing strange about them whatsoever. ]

[foresightis2020]

Oh yes, that sounds like it'd do nicely.

We'd probably have to go to an artisan or someone who'd know how to procure the right materials, but nothing is impossible, hm?

[ Totally non-wizardly and only vaguely sounding wizard-like by happenstance, it's fine...!! ]

[fallingsand]

That shouldn't be a problem. We can find something like that here in the city, I'm sure of it.

[ That's right, no wizardry going on here. Just two ladies talking about a late-night picnic. ]

[foresightis2020]

[ Totally exactly that. ]

Mm-hmm. They do call it the City of Affluence for a reason; it'd be embarrassing if they were ever lacking in something.

[fallingsand]

Huh, that's true. Maybe I should go shopping after this...

[ He has money. It's still a weird concept to him but he has it! Maybe the West will have more interesting art supplies or writing tools or, well, who knows? ]

For more than only light-up crystals, I mean, but that's later. We should probably— [ Bruno looks around them again, then shifts a step closer. ] Do you have any idea what they're all talking about when they mention that demonstration thing?

[foresightis2020]

Well, if you wish to make it a joint activity, we can both make it so.

[ Jing Yuan often has not much reason to go shopping, just in general, having made it a point of getting what she happens to need in a single sitting in as few trips as possible. But, there are always things like books and such which are worth purchases.

When Bruno steps closer, she responds, voice appropriately quieter, fan raised this time to cover her mouth instead of simply fanning the air: ]

I do happen to have some suspicions, my friend. It could be very well in the same realm with manipulation of particular light-based machinery and the like, albeit more sophisticated. To the point that I imagine it may contain certain marvels that I am more accustomed to than perhaps most...such as holographic projections and the like. Though, for a world like this, that would be rather highly advanced.

That being said, please be aware this is merely just speculation.

[fallingsand]

You sure? I get a little nervous around crowds still, so I wouldn't mind the company.

[ Shopping had been easier when Tatara took him out, back when they were looking for furniture, but that had been early in the morning. How much worse would it be later in the day? In the evening? Or do they come back in the morning again? That's something they can figure out another time, though. ]

Hmm...

[ Bruno pauses in his own fanning a moment to try and understand what Jing Yuan suspects. They sure do use a lot of machinery that Bruno could never imagine on his own. The most complicated technology in his valley was the camera, and even that was a very, very old-fashioned variety. Ah, but once he wraps up thinking it over, he moves his fan to one side of his mouth to hide his face from that side before whispering, ]

Jing, I don't know what a holograph is.

[ He may have made that toucan out of light back at the beach but he doesn't realize there's a name for that. ]

[foresightis2020]

I'm sure. Crowds aren't fun to be around, but if you have a familiar face with you, that tends to make them far more easier to navigate.

[ Jing Yuan is also not a fan of being around too many people. Case in point with her current attendance in this party being hardly all the fun except for talking to a familiar face right now (Bruno) ]

Oh? You do not? Hrm...

[ She will just kind of whisper right back with: ]

Think of it as something comparable to the toucan you constructed. Except instead of using magic, it is from a machine made with a particular type of technology. There are quite a variety of usages for such things.

[fallingsand]

[ Shopping trip through the fanciest city on the continent! There are probably some cool cafes, too, but that's something they consider when they're actually out there, wandering around. ]

Comparable to... oh! [ Bruno's 'oh' is less of a whisper but he'll look embarrassed for a second and drop back to a hushed tone. ] Wow, there are machines that do that? But wouldn't it be weird if that was what it was? Everyone here is from their military, so what if... if it's a weapon?

[foresightis2020]

[ That is indeed something for them to consider. Jing Yuan is already considering some ideas in her head. But it will have to wait until they're out and about to see what viable places are possible. ]

That's correct, there are.

[ There's a momentary pause, though, because hmm. She then utters her next words in a quieter tone: ]

...You do have a point. Or at least even if it isn't something outwardly like a weapon, it could potentially be used to supplement one.

[fallingsand]

Would it be weird if we went around asking what it is? Like, are we expected to already know?

[ That's been the main cause of Bruno not simply asking. He knows so little about this country's technology that he can't quite tell what's common and what isn't. ]

[foresightis2020]

Hmmm...

I suppose that is the question, isn't it? We are here and pretending to be not too different from our supposed peers.

[ Though, given how they haven't been caught, he has reason to suspect none of those in attendance think of them as mages. ]

Perhaps we could be expected to know. Though if we receive any judgment, it might not be because they suspect our intentions in asking. It is certainly something to consider, however.

[fallingsand]

Yeah, could be they end up thinking we're just stupid instead.

[ Or maybe that's just him. Who even knows? Bruno lets out a huff and resumes fanning himself. ]

Ugh, maybe we should just go get more wine instead and see if we hear anything on the way.

[foresightis2020]

They very well could.

[ At the least, Jing Yuan seems to agree with Bruno's statement...maybe that's why there is no immediate gung-ho-ness about it.

But then again, the General was never the type of person to do anything but be careful in a myriad situations. ]

Well then. Let's refill our cups, and see what they have to say. If it's worth any use, our eavesdropping will produce something of substance. If not, we lose nothing by straining our ears.