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

[naturallywavy]

_{[ Stoop to his level. Do it, """mongrel."""
Though, he trails off, and Gintoki doesn't bother to really care about the rest of his sentence. ]}

A woman's panties can be considered a delicate. Sometimes you gotta hand wash'em. That's what I know. _{[ He knows a lot more; he's god "kids" at home. ]}

I'm not surprised. None of you is really meant for gentleness; just obnoxiousness.

_{[ Gintoki takes a moment to break picking flowers and picks at a different stem instead.
A stray nose hair in his right nostril. Here we go. ]}

What's with that? It's almost peaceful today even with you around.

[babbylon]

As if you're any better.

[It's not even said with malice, really, more like uttered with sincere resignation. As much as it nauseates him to make the comparison, he knows Gintoki was a similar sort in at least one sense: he wasn't soft around the edges. Just soft enough that Alice would come to trust him with her life, somehow.

He's not jealous, he tells himself. She's just a troublesome girl. If anything it bothers him that someone so irredeemably stupid could prove themselves so charming.]

Women are simply impossible to handle, vexing even the likes of a peerless King. What, I might ask, is with that?

[And why is he talking about this to begin with? Maybe Gintoki just had that air about him which invited insipid conversation.]

[naturallywavy]

_{[ Gee. A woman has got Gilgamesh down? Does he even want to know? Was it Alice specifically or somebody else? ]}
This is a wake up call. It's cause you're not actually God's gift to women like you may think. You're really not. No woman is required to accept and like you.

And that goes for all men, too.
They're also not required to lay themselves out for men with their behaviors and emotions. Let them be vexing; they're allowed to be and just get over it.

[babbylon]

[Wake up calls generally don't tend to have much of an effect on Gilgamesh. He grunts and makes a dismissive gesture with his hand, like that would solve all his problems straight away. But there may be some truth to Gintoki's words after all, which is the only reason why he heeds them, glancing over.]

So giving the offended party space is sufficient? ...hypothetically speaking.

[No, not Alice. Certainly not Alice. Why would he even think that it's Alice?]

[naturallywavy]

_{[ Isn't it funny how Gintoki is always right in these talks they have? It's actually pretty humorous, especially with how Gilgamesh talks down on him.
Anyway, Gintoki gets that. He gets that hypothetically speaking part and how it isn't quite hypothetical.
While it would seem more expected for him to be nosy about Gilgamesh to tease him later he..—
—respects him, for a change, and doesn't ask. ]}

Space is generally what you do unless you want to get kicked.
_{[ then again, why is he asking Gintoki for advice; he is literally the worst with women.
The worst with women, but pretty good at understanding people in general. ]}

—Then resolve.
_{[ he means talk it out. ]}

Maybe grovel.
_{[ pushing it, Gin. But he knows all the girls back home can kick his ass if he really fucked up with them. ]}

[babbylon]

[Better that he doesn't bother, really. Not even Gilgamesh himself could properly put into words just what he's seeking to do; he's uncertain whether or not he wants to push the girl away or attempt to bring her closer. At any rate, it tastes a lot like failure and he doesn't like it. He rolls over, facing away, and grumbles to himself.]

The King of Heroes does not grovel.

[And he has to wonder if that would even work. Alice seemed wary of him no matter what he said or did and perhaps it's for the first time he's arrived that he's accepted it may have been his own fault. Gilgamesh reaches to a flower head and frowns when he grips a bit too hard, and wasn't that just the perfect metaphor?]

Perhaps I should simply cut ties outright. It may be for the best.

[naturallywavy]

The King of Heroes doesn't take a shit either, but groveling is something you are physically capable of and you have to do it. Especially if you screw up which isn't really hard for you to do.
<sub>[ sounds like, at least.
Though, his next sentence.. Gintoki relates to in a way.

All in all, he is ultimately the reason for the turmoil his friends back home are going through. One of them is even considered an enemy, but he would still protect him in certain circumstances even if the other was set on killing him. Over and over and over.
Their ties weren't cut.
They were closer in the most tragic way after that day and none of them wanted to admit it. ]</sub>

People leave scars.
They're not easy to just ignore.
_{[ but do as you wish, Gilgamesh. ]}

If you care, you'll fight.
if you don't care, then whatever.