EVENT ★ WELCOME TO PERDITION'S REST

[futurologists]

ARRIVAL Recruits leave Oska at midday, with about 10 minutes of final warning given from over jewelcomms. Then the white mist rises as rifts open, and Oska is left behind. When they arrive in the new world, they’ll find themselves aboard a train, specifically seated in the coach traveling compartments. The other passengers -- humanoids with muted skin tones and bright eyes -- have already been notified of their arrival, so although there will be a good deal of curious staring, particularly from children, no one is going to be very alarmed at the strange, eclectic assortment of aliens that suddenly show up on board. It seems that, for once, recruits will enjoy a peaceful arrival. The dusty scenery flashes by placidly outside the windows, the rumble of wheels is constant and soothing, and there’s even a snack cart that makes its way around (the snacks aren’t free, though -- recruits are provided a modest sum of Qorral currency, and the locals are already interested in getting in on it). BAD COMPANY The first sign of trouble appears about two hours after arrival when there’s a faint BOOM and each of the train cars gives a little shudder. That would be the rear train car’s back wall being blown open. The other passengers know exactly what this means, and some lock themselves into traveling compartments while others haul out previously put away shotguns and pistols, ready to do what needs doing. And what needs doing is to fend off the troupe of bandits that have decided that this train looks ripe for the plucking. They board from the gaping hole they blew in the last car and begin shooting their way up the length of the train, robbing as they go, but they also circle out on their horses (mechanical and only vaguely horse-shaped four-legged contraptions that easily keep pace with the train) to provide an armed and unfriendly escort. They’ll shoot through the windows if anyone looks like a troublemaker, and are old hands at ducking to the other side of their horses to use them as cover from any return fire. The conductor and all present passengers would really appreciate a hand from any recruits who feel like stepping up. Those not quite ready to engage in a shootout can always keep the civilians locked into the compartments company. They, especially the children, might need some calming words (and the sage advice to keep away from the windows, and stop making faces at the bandits). The bandits put up a pretty good fight, but will eventually be driven away (hopefully without having snagged too many ill-gotten goods from the hardworking citizens of Perdition’s Rest), and peace falls back over the train. The passengers will be a bit frazzled afterward, though, and no one can quite ignore that whistling sound caused by the missing back wall of the final train car. It’s a long two more hours before they reach their destination. WELCOME TO PERDITION’S REST A dusty wooden sign swings on rusted hinges overhead as the train pulls into the station: PERDITION'S REST. The engine finally stills with one puff of smoke, and as the passengers begin to disembark, recruits will find a small group awaits them. The Mayor, his aide, and the sheriff are gathered just outside the train station, and once everyone is more or less off the train and conveniently gathered, the Mayor will clear his throat for attention. "I'm guessing y'all had a long ride here, didn't you?" He addresses the crowd calmly, with the kind of voice that doesn't need to be raised much to be heard. "Heard about them bandits.They ain’t gonna trouble you here in town, but best mind your wanderin’. I'm Mayor Mordecai Jones, and Perdition's Rest welcomes your company. You'll find our businesses hospitable and our services ready. We're a quiet place, keep mostly to ourselves and don't bother none. You'll do just fine here if you abide that." The aide waits quietly as the Mayor speaks, while the sheriff eyes the gathered bunch with a resigned wariness. She, and a few other locals who would be willing to speak up if asked, are of the opinion that they've gotten by just fine for 30 years without anyone's help, and they don't figure they need it now. But they'll tolerate the meddling, so long as everyone plays nice. Mayor Jones's speech draws to a close with a last note that trouble can be brought to him or to Sheriff Rosamund Holladay, and he, his aide, and Sheriff Holladay break the meeting without further ceremony and head away. Welcome to Perdition's Rest. It's recommended that you look around a little, familiarize yourself with the place, and find lodgings. It's going to be home for a while. OOC NOTES Welcome to Mission: Perdition's Rest! This mission will last for around three months, currently slated to end in mid-December. Depending on developments, this schedule is subject to change at our discretion. You can view the dossier here, which contains information that is ICly known to all characters, no matter their arrival time. You can find locations here. Please direct all questions pertaining to the mission to the dossier page to keep questions and responses in one place for easy player reference. General game questions should be directed to the FAQ. The Bounty Board will be updated this weekend, so keep an eye out! Remember you can also request bounty missions or submit player plots at any time.

Comments

[sheriffing]

[ Emma's talked to Sakura enough times to recognize her, even in the chaos of a gunfight. She ducks down between two seats on the other side of the aisle, making herself visible to the girl but shielded away from everyone else. It leaves the opportunity to defend the kid, if need be, because if there's one thing about ALASTAIR that annoys Emma above all else, it's their willingness to leave children in the line of fire.]

Are you okay?

[ First thing's first. She doesn't appear to be hurt, but sometimes it's hard to tell.]

[keystaff]

A-ah! Yes! I'm okay.

[She was just trying to be careful during all of this. But of course she would be willing to help Emma. If anything it's more nervousness because guns weren't really something she had to deal with. The Clow Cards were magic and had the Sword at best to deal with when she was capturing those, and back on Chantes and other missions things weren't necessarily quite this advanced previously.]

What about you? Can I help?

[sheriffing]

I'm okay. Just a little distracted.

[By all of the gunfire, which is exactly why she wishes they hadn't let kids be a part of this one. Now that she knows Sakura is here, she's not inclined to leave her on her own.]

What are you doing?

[She was talking before. Something about a shield?]

[keystaff]

It's kind of hard not to be....with all this. [What with the guns and robbers and all. That's pretty understandable, really. Not that Sakura is immediately necessarily aware of Emma's instinctive protectiveness over children around her age in particular.]

But I was helping. Um, with my Cards.... [She holds up the Shield Card for Emma to see.]

[sheriffing]

[Cards. Emma's not an expert on otherworldly magic, but she's betting all of this has some kind of purpose here. She stares at it for a moment, and then lets her gaze lift up to Sakura.]

How do they work?

[Do they work? It's something worth asking about.]

[keystaff]

How? Well, they're magic! They used to use Clow-san's magic, but then I changed them to use mine when I summon them. Which made me kind of tired at first but I got used to it. I guess you could say it's like there are spirits that I sealed to the cards? And those spirits can help me! There's a few of them. I guess I mostly use Shield, Windy and Fly though.

[But that still leaves a few others to work with too.]

[sheriffing]

Is this something that can protect you here?

[Because Emma can hear the commotion not too far away from them, and while she's ready to jump up as soon as she needs to, she doesn't want Sakura to get caught in the crossfire.]

[keystaff]

Shield can. It can make...like a barrier? So that should protect us from the bullets.

[Yes, 'us' because of course Sakura isn't just thinking of herself in all of this. Even if she is barely into her teenage years and shouldn't be anywhere near dealing with this sort of situation.]

[sheriffing]

Is it going to shield them from my bullets?

[It's an important question because she'd like to take the opportunity to slow them down wherever she can. If all she can do is protect Sakura, that's more than enough for her.]

[keystaff]

I don't think so.

[Riza seems to manage fine when Sakura helps her out. So. She's figuring the same, even if Emma's gun or guns might be different. Right now Sakura is more focused on the defensive while they figure something out to sort the situation. So Emma and herself don't get hurt in the middle of it all.]

[sheriffing]

Then let's give it a try.

[Emma doesn't like the odds of them getting out unharmed otherwise. Her priority will be looking out for Sakura, but if they could eliminate some of the risk, they could get this over sooner and keep the injuries to a minimum. Maybe she's been doing this for too long, but the bandits don't frighten her the way they should. Once you've faced one villain, you've faced them all.

And honestly, they do this a lot with ALASTAIR.]

What do you need from me?

[keystaff]

Just tell me which way to go. And stay close, in the barrier, otherwise you could get hurt.

[All she really wants is to keep Emma and anyone else safe as best she can in this. Sakura is totally fine letting them take the lead if necessary so long as she can still help somehow. Which she is.]

[sheriffing]

Alright, then let's go in the direction of the chaos.

[ Ahead, but with no shortage of damaged seats to shield them, should Sakura's cards become an issue. She'd worry about bringing the girl into danger, but if she's just going to find it anyway, there's safety in numbers.]

[keystaff]

Okay.

[Which is probably a good thing. At least this way Sakura is supervised in this chaos. Because she would head to figure helping somehow regardless of running into Emma or not.]