EVENT ★ MAT GATHERING

[futurologists]

The investigations in the sungazing log have lead to a number of discoveries, including trace amounts of solar radiation and seemingly temporary lights in the sky that match no known star charts currently in Chantes. On the 15th, Rick will announce via the verdict over the network: the sun isn’t gone. un: 82736775 Those of you who actually did your job instead of screwing off (and breaking my shit! Yes, I know all about it), congrats. We've made headway on our dumbass situation. The sun isn't gone (obviously). There are radiation levels suggesting that it's still there somewhere, but it's weirdly faint. Concerning item number one. Concerning item number two: there are lights in the sky but they're not native stars. They're red in the west in the morning, and in the east in the evening. This suggests a solar cycle that we just can't observe (with a western sunrise apparently). There are no moons visible; supposedly there should be two. Go figure. The most interesting observations came from the storm, during which the "star" readings went off the charts, dawg. All lit up like Christmas and shit. Hypothesis: the darkness is not because homeboy made anything "vanish with magic," but because he stuck a big "blanket" between the planet and the sky. The "stars" are likely just holes in his dumb bullshit. So let's get this solution rolling so we can get off this godforsaken rock. This is where you losers come in. I need things . . . The mystery of the disappearing sun might be clear, but that doesn’t mean the problem’s solved. Now’s the hard part: creating something that will dispel the darkness. Fortunately, with the right ingredients, science might be able to win the daylight back. All recruits will be encouraged to help with some good, old-fashioned teamwork and fetch quests. SCAVENGER HUNT The list is as follows: Iron ore. Collecting it seems easy enough, but a dangerous serpentine creature capable of breathing electricity known as a Behir lairs nearby. If hungry, it will ambush characters and will not stop unless it succeeds or is slain. Following the rich iron supply, characters will also find a series of winding underground caves and caverns. Inside are items such as glowing cave mushrooms that are likely radioactive. Blue mushrooms maintain their coloring due to a rare solute in the cave water, helpful for optimizing fuel. Green mushrooms are useless and if you collect them you should feel bad. Bat guano. Bats indigenous to the caves also seem to be affected by the contaminated cave water, however -- they’re enormous, blood-sucking, and have developed a mild venom. While one bite won’t kill anyone, the bats have numbers, ultrasonic screeches, and bad tempers. Plutonic rocks. The source of the odd cave life, an ancient scattering of some massive meteorite resides deep inside the cave. They’ve got rich veins and chunks of crystal, the bigger the better. (We’d tell you what these space oddities are for, but we think it’d blow your minds.) Cave Minnows. The fish inside the cave lakes are easy to spot since they’re bioluminescent, but only the small, quick ones metabolize the correct oils for this project. The large ones will simply try to drag you into a death roll the -- surprisingly deep -- waters. Glowworms. See those lights hanging overhead? They’re not bulbs, but bundles of strange, glowing cave worms. Reaching and handling them might be tricky, and keep careful watch of them. They’ll burrow into anything, including your packs, your collected materials, or worst of all, you. Rock salt. Delicious! Potassium nitrate. This one is easier to find in Chantes itself: an old woman in town has a giant jar of it that she uses for pickling. Recruits may attempt to wile her out of a cup, or steal from the elderly. Wildcard. If you don't mind volatile reactions, go ahead and science on your own. Or see anything else that might be useful? Grab it and go. As a side-mission for the cave items, it seems the 15th is also the only day of the year that the night-blooming cereus plants are open around the cavern entrances. These flowers must be handled very delicately or they’ll wither and die, and local insects of all shapes, sizes, and aggressiveness will be drawn to them, so collectors beware. These flowers will have no bearing on the sun solution, but the goblin church will ask outgoing adventurers to bring some back with them. These items may come into play in February depending on IC actions, but otherwise they make for some pretty decorations! And finally, a big thanks to ricksybusiness for submitting their player plot and working with us. You go, Rick Sanchez.

Comments

[1300yen]

[You'd think that living in a city on a giant lake would mean that Alisha's a fishing pro, but...]

Not much, unfortunately. [She takes off her gloves and armor on her arms, kneeling down by edge of the water.] I suppose I'll simply have to learn on the job.

[grunehexe]

[Yeah, Sieglinde... really would think that. Her village did have a stream... and a small pond, but. The Green Witch wasn't exactly free to go fishing. - were there even fish in that pond?

Her eyes were following the darting glows of the fish beneath the surface... quite quick little things.]

Perhaps we should herd them...

[It worked with cattle!]

[1300yen]

[Look she was a noble, no one would let her do something normal like fishing!!]

If we had more time perhaps, but with how big this lake is, herding them could prove difficult. [Although honestly she can't say she knows much about herding either. One thing she was familiar with at least—] Fishing is like another form of hunting though, wouldn't you say?

[grunehexe]

[Okay, she can at least sympathize with that, being in something of a similar boat.

She nodded a bit- it did seem similar, but...]

- then you have experience hunting?

[1300yen]

[nodding] Although this is quite different from hunting a boar...

[But the principle was the same, right? Lying in wait, patiently biding your time until the perfect moment to strike came. If the prey couldn't expect an attack, then there would hopefully be no time to defend or escape when it came.

So she leans closer to the edge of the lake, hands hovering just barely a few inches above the water. The fish are small, but not so small that you can't see them—or even grab them. She waits, not making a single sound until she deems the moment right, before darting her hands in and pulling them back up...

To actually bring back some fish.]

[grunehexe]

[Boar- now that was quite impressive sounding, actually.

Sieglinde leaned forward slightly, arms held out for balance to make sure she didn't topple in herself, watching critically as the fish darted about. The moment stretched on, and she almost spoke up, until-

How fast!]

Eh- ?!

[She just grabbed those fish out of the water???]

[1300yen]

There! [#SKILL like this is totally normal, but honestly she's glad that it worked out like she was hoping... It would've been a real pickle if her fishing method didn't work. She turns to Sieglinde, proud of her catch.] You have a container for these, yes?

[grunehexe]

Oh-

[Yes, let her just put her jaw back where it belonged... she fumbles a moment, but finally pulls out an empty glass jar, thrusting it towards Alisha.]

[1300yen]

[She puts the fish into the jar, scooping a little water into it afterwards as well so they won't die in there.]

I admit that this may not be the fastest or most efficient way to fish, but at the very least, we should be able to gather them like this.

[grunehexe]

[There definitely seemed like there should be better ways... but Sieglinde had never fished, nor actually seen anyone fishing her entire life, so though she understood the concept...

This seemed to work for now.]

Then we shall go with your... hands.

[It wasn't like she had a hook or net in her bag, as many things as she did have in there.]

[1300yen]

[She nods, about to wait for her next strike, but then she considers. Sure, this isn't exactly a field trip meant to be fun, but Sieglinde doesn't have much to do like this aside from watch her grab the fish. There's no guarantee she'll successfully catch fish every time, too, so won't it get boring for Sieglinde to just sit here and watch?

Hmm.]

Would you like to try catching them as well?

[grunehexe]

Me- ?

[It came out before she could stop herself, blinking and looking down at her hands and back up.

Athletic pursuits had never been her strong suite...]

[1300yen]

[nodding] I thought perhaps you might like to try, even if only once. It would be your first time fishing, right?

[grunehexe]

[Hmm... Well, it probably wouldn't hurt, would it? Even if she failed, as she expected she would, (as proud as she was about her abilities... she knew her physical limitations), they had a bit of time for that, didn't they?

Sieglinde frowned in concentration, awkwardly getting down to her knees in a poof of skirts, setting aside the jar of fish and staring down at the water closer, trying to pull her long sleeves back out of the way.]

How do you do it... ?

[There must be a trick to it, right?]

[1300yen]

[Alisha stays close, ready to make sure that Sieglinde doesn't end up falling into the water in her attempts. (Or worse: that nothing drags her into it.)]

The key is patience and speed. In hunting, you must wait for a moment where the prey is unsuspecting of any danger. On top of that, you must move swiftly so that it doesn't have the chance to react and run away.

[grunehexe]

Alright...

[That sounded simple enough, didn't it? Sieglinde's brow continued to be furrowed in concentration, getting her sleeves out of the way and holding her small hands over the water.

She waited, trying to be patient, until the fish were willing to come closer to the surface...

She tried, suddenly reaching in with a big splash of water and closing her fist over-

Nothing!]

[1300yen]

[She's not surprised that she doesn't catch anything. Hunting is the kind of thing where honed instinct helps a lot, and that's something she has after all her years of training. Still...]

It was a valiant effort! [And she means that sincerely.] Perhaps next time, try to keep your fingers closer together so that you don't make such a splash. If you'd like to try again, that is. [She'll understand if Sieg isn't interested.]

[grunehexe]

[It's true that Sieglinde had never hunted anything in her life- or even done anything, really, to prepare her own food beyond occasionally allowing the kitchen some of her herbs for seasoning.

But not being good at something was frustrating- and though that frustration occasionally bred the desire to give up, rather than try harder, in this case...]

I shall try again.

[And she'll take Alisha's advice, too, and give it a few more good old tries before they continue with... their actual mission.

Well, you know what they say. If you teach a man to fish...]

[1300yen]

[There's no reason they can't take a little time with the mission, right...

But she's surprised that Sieglinde continues trying with it, and a little impressed too. The fact that the girl was already a doctor at her young age already spoke of her determination of course, but Alisha didn't think she'd be interested in something like hunting like this. Whether or not Sieglinde ever catches one of them (although who's to say that even without skill she might not be lucky and catch one just from that), she's certainly impressed as is.]

Your determination is admirable! If you keep this up, fishing could very well become a new skill of yours.

[grunehexe]

I will become capable in many things done in the outside world!

[Sadly, Sieglinde will not succeed in catching a fish this day, no matter how hard she tries.

But. Thanks for watching her keep trying, Alisha.]