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Post by Admin on Oct 11, 2022 15:52:44 GMT
Ooc: for Dante to begin
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Post by Dante on Oct 11, 2022 17:04:59 GMT
Dante sits alone in his studio, a look of mild frustration upon his face as he once again attempts a sketch from a place he had seen in his dreams. His dreams had always been so vivid, even when he was a boy, and for better or worse that always made recalling what he had seen in the dreams easy. Having long ago learned of the art of portal construction or, as the ancient manuscripts he had uncovered and translated referred to as 'Trump crafting', he began to experiment. Starting off with the familiar, he drew of places he favored since childhood, places from the worlds he had visited and the people whom he had grown close to. Creating these images had taken time but he had always managed to succeed in the end. This time though, he had seen this place, so like the mountain and castle from the frozen world of Lyngourion, the world where according to ancient myth was the world from which the gods ruled, atop the frozen mountain in a castle made of crystal and ice. Dante had been there many times after leading an expedition to drive out the giants whom had long ago invaded the castle and destroyed the cities that surrounded the mountain. He had spent years painstakingly examined and studied every inch of that great castle, feeling a sense of kinship to it and yet, not. That was when he began to have the dreams, the dreams of another place, of another castle that was like this castle of crystal and ice but wasn't...and ever since has he tried to draw a sketch of this place and yet, every time he had attempted to make contact and go there, he had met with failure. Did this place simply not exist? No, something in his heart told him that it did. After doing away with the failed sketch, like he had so many others, he decided that he would attempt to reach this place the hard way. He explained to his colleagues that he would be departing, uncertain as to how long he would be gone but that they could reach him via the card he had given one of them to contact him should they need to, and decided that if he could not reach this castle atop the mountain, then perhaps he would start with another place that he had seen in a dream and found to be real after visiting it via Trump. The image was of a simple signpost beside a road with a roadside tavern, and the signpost had several names of places, each pointing in different directions. After appearing upon the road and breathing in the air of this place for a moment, taking in the rustic look of it, chose to begin walking in the direction indicated by one such sign. The name carved upon it, was KASHFA.
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Post by Admin on Oct 12, 2022 8:31:11 GMT
It is an inauspicious change when he steps from his comfortable room into a boot-sucking puddle of mud. He sinks to his shins. The sign still hangs but now tipping over as the post can't hold the weight. The sky is iron grey, the road not much more than a mud lake. The trees' branches hang low, beaten down by the rain.
Ahead there is a dip in the road. A cart is stuck in the deeper mud, and two donkeys struggle mightily to pull the cart out. Four drovers push as best they can but are getting nowhere. Even from this distance, Dante can hear them swear.
On a slight rise beside the dip sits a shack made of scrap wood, stuffed papers and mud. Two horses shelter in a fine shed next door to the shack. Hauling tackle hangs from the wall. On the covered porch of the shack, an old man sits in his chair, smokes his pipe, and laughs at the drovers' predicament.
"Two gold coins, and I'll lend you me horses! A fair price to save you all this toil and trouble. Sun'll be going down soon, too; mules won't like standing in mud all night but them bandits will like an unguarded cart," the old man says.
The drovers try to ignore him and swear and push, swear and push.
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Post by Dante on Oct 12, 2022 15:51:26 GMT
After the initial disorientation of not necessarily the transition from his room to this place but rather the state he finds himself in passes, he immediately checks the display on his wrist to see if the suit AI detects hostiles from below...When it's determined to be merely mud caused by the heavy downpour he sighs and speaks quietly to himself "well...been to worse places. At least I'm not greeted by something trying to eat me this time..." He will try to make his way as careful as he can to insure that he doesn't lose his balance or end up stuck himself as he gets closer to get a better view of the cart and the poor souls trying to free it from the muck. He says loudly enough to be heard "hello there! You folk look as though you could use some help. May I approach?" Holding out his hands to show that he is not armed, though the guard of a rapier can be seen hanging from his side beneath his heavy coat, he finding himself suddenly grateful for its waterproofing.
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Post by Admin on Oct 13, 2022 3:15:53 GMT
[OOC: Made a slight edit to my previous post. Hopefully it makes a bit more sense, not that it changes Dante's post. I really have to stop posting when I'm falling asleep.]
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Post by Admin on Oct 13, 2022 3:19:59 GMT
The four men eye Dante as he approaches.
One replies.
"Aye, another pair of legs would be a help but probably not enough. Be warned that we don't have coin to pay for your help."
The man on the porch blows a smoke ring and laughs.
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Post by Dante on Oct 13, 2022 12:38:28 GMT
Dante gives the man on the porch who laughed a weary look, but returns to the others below "if you give me a ride we can call it even. I fear that if I try walking the roads as they are now it'll take me months to get where I'm trying to go." He examines their cart, looking for the most secure spot to which he can brace to help them push, and also securing his footing as best he can in this muck, unconcerned if his legs sink further, so long as his greater strength helps to free the wagon from the quagmire, working alongside the others to do just that!
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Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2022 5:35:25 GMT
The old man laughs and winks at Dante when he sees the wary look. He even begins to slap his thigh in a hambone rhythm.
Dante's strength is great, but the mud doesn't let him set his feet, and his feet slip and slide in the goop.
"We go to Jidrash, and if you can get this blamed cart moving, then we'll let you ride with us," one of the men says.
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Post by Dante on Oct 14, 2022 12:50:57 GMT
Dante curses quietly when his feet refuse to get traction on this thrice damned muck...
He closes his eyes and calms himself, making a point to ignore the rude man finding amusement in their plight. "oh well, when in doubt..." He steps back and reaches into his coat, drawing from it an armored case, and looking through the cards within, drawing two and putting the case away afterwards.
The first card, with a stylized alicorn silhouette on the back and on the front, which he is now staring it, lay a neatly organized pile of excavation equipment, including shovels, picks and rope. He stares at the card, waiting for it to grow cold and once it does, reaches in and grabs the items from within.
The second card, similar to the first but only the front has a wooden ladder drawn on it. And once that card grows cold, he draws the ladder from within this space, "ah now, if your men would be so kind as to take those shovels, I think we will have an easier time of it if we dig out from the front of the wheels. While you gentlemen are doing that, I will take this ladder in half, placing each in one of the trenches you dig right up against the wheels. That at least should give us less to fight against to get your cart moving."
Is there anything nearby sturdy enough that he could brace the rope around? That sign post sounds like a no go. Perhaps some trees or a large boulder nearby? His plan for the rope is to turn use it as a pully, tying one end to the cart, bringing the rope around the more solid object and he pulling as they push.
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Post by Admin on Oct 17, 2022 2:48:34 GMT
There are enough trees that can be used.
In a short while, the cart is free, and they are moving down the road with only the sound of the creaking wheels and the old man's swearing to interrupt the peaceful sound of rain. But it is still slow going along the muddy road.
"Jidrash city, here we come!" one of the younger men says.
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Post by Dante on Oct 17, 2022 3:18:04 GMT
Dante laughs to himself having helped free the wagon, and taking no small amount of pleasure at the old bastards disappointment. Hearing the young man's exuberance though Dante will pipe up "what can you tell me of this city? Can't say that I've ever been there"
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Post by Admin on Oct 17, 2022 4:55:23 GMT
"A city of wonders with everything needed to create joy in a soul," says the young man.
"A desolate pit of death and destruction that we will probably lose our lives in," says the oldest.
"A fine, if rustic, city. The only city in Kashfa so far, although the new King speaks of settlements to be built close to Eregnor. A city of trade and industry, though with the ways to Amber and most other lands unpassable, it is a city of rough gangs and unemployed youths. King Rinaldo has his force of street enforcers busting heads when needed, so we should be safe. If Religion is more your thing, then there is the Church of the Unicorn, largest in all the worlds, so they say."
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Post by Dante on Oct 17, 2022 5:04:07 GMT
He listens intently to what all have to say, though the mention of Amber and the Unicorn definitely get his attention. "sounds like a place to keep your whits about you. Thanks. I think I will see this temple for myself. Though, if I may ask, why is it so difficult to travel to Amber these days?"
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Post by Admin on Oct 18, 2022 17:16:45 GMT
"It was never easy at the best o'times unless you was a great captain with a ship in good order and a fine, strong crew, then you could brave the sea lanes through strange seas and navigate distant shoals before finding your way into the harbour of Amber City. But now, the contrary winds, tempestuous seas, and driving rains make the passage impossible.
"You don't seem like the kind o' lad to enjoy others' misery, but if the fancy takes you, then search out them captains and laugh at their tears!"
"It be no less than they deserve," the old man says. "Robbin' us blind with their fees and charges all these years."
"Good King Rinaldo will sort them out," the youngster says. "And chop off the heads of the dockside tax collectors too!"
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Post by Dante on Oct 18, 2022 17:24:10 GMT
"I...see...so there are no land routes to Amber City? Is it an island? Seems an unfair levy upon hard working men such as yourselves."
He grins wryly "I don't take pleasure in other's misery, but I am always eager to listen to those who want to speak and to learn. Once we get to the city, I may just take you up on that. I suppose they drink their woes away at a particularly popular bar?"
He looks at the youngster "you've a strong opinion of King Rinaldo...does he often perform such...extreme...punishments against injustices?"
Taking the opportunity, Dante pulls out his pad and begins making sketches of these men...not Trump sketches, but these are men from another reality, and he wishes to make a memento of the occasion. And who knows, perhaps remembering the faces of a band of merchants might come in handy sometime later.
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