feintofhart: ([ mid phase ] standin around)
feintofhart ([personal profile] feintofhart) wrote in [community profile] expiationlogs2023-08-23 06:10 pm

[ OPEN GROUP LOG ] emergency planning & diplomacy

Who: Everyone! Please use this as an event log -- put up your own starters, and also tag around to your heart's content!
Where: Aldrip's neighbouring towns, the spooky forest, and throughout Aldrip.
What: The Chosen, reeling from the recent forest attack, decide to organize for future attacks, whether that's diplomacy with neighbouring towns, reinvigorating farmland, or getting some combat training in. Please see THIS OOC post for more information!
Warnings: None anticipated; please let me know if I ought to update it!



In the wake of destruction wrought by the strange beast of the forest, Claude and Marianne - both people far more well-acquainted with the ramifications of damaged farm grounds and unprepared civilians than they would like to be - have taken it upon themselves to try to prepare in advance for the next attack, whatever that may be. After discussion with the leads of Aldrip, they’ve come up with a list of what most needs to be done – and they can’t do it alone. With the community of the Chosen at their heels, new and old, for reasons of altruism and for reasons of simple exploration, they have set forth with the following tasks: an excursion through the eerie Pessiria Forest to get to Rumpitur to exchange goods and services for aid from the dubiously friendly naga-like people who live there, restoring life to the destroyed forest and farmlands so that nature can once again thrive, and to properly stock up safehouses with preserved goods, shelter, and weaponry.

What’s in it for you, you ask? Well, when the next attack comes, you don’t want to be the one going hungry.

EXCURSION THROUGH THE PESSIRIA FOREST

Rumpitur is a full day’s trek away, and not a straightforward one; in order to get to their destination, the Chosen must first hike their way through Pessiria forest. They meet with their packs and wagons at the entrance of the forest, a thick, lush wall of foliage greeting them along a winding, unsteady path. If you’re prone to listening to rumours, you may hear some of the locals buzzing about uncertainly: “no business being on that land, none at all”, “Did you hear? That’s where that Froste boy disappeared – when you go in, you never come back out”, “Going in there? They’ll be cursed!”.

No such dangers will greet the Chosen, but the more paranoid among them will be confronted with the grim reality of an entire day’s travel spent on edge, jumping at every flutter of wings from overhead and snapped twigs from the fauna skittering through the brush. During this trek, there will be ample time for the Chosen to stop and rest a while, replenish their flasks and perhaps share a story or two, but be careful; in forests this dense, it’s easy for someone to get lost. Wouldn’t it be a shame if someone was left behind?

To add insult to injury, once they arrive in Rumpitur, they’ll realize that there’s nowhere for them to stay, and the scaled denizens of the place will firmly - though not unkindly - refuse to let them into their homes. That means that to get anything done, the Chosen will need to make camp right outside, a great opportunity to swap stories around the fire, try to rustle up some dinner, go stargazing, or just complain about the effects of the hard ground on your poor old backs. Happy bonding!

DIPLOMACY OF RUMPITUR

Once diplomatic meetings have come and gone, the representatives of Aldrip and Rumpitur have come to an agreement: Rumpitur will provide its aid, but only at a cost. They have their own interests to protect, after all. But they’re flexible on how such a debt is repaid and ask only that the Chosen provide whatever they are able to – and you wouldn’t want to give Aldrip a bad reputation, would you?

Here, the Chosen can truly shine as they’re asked to give what they can. For some, this means sheer manual labour as they haul water from the wells, transport crops and goods from one place to another, or provide much-needed assistance to the smithies and shopkeepers of the land. For others, this means providing gifts, whether that’s their own handiwork of artisanal goods, of art, of culinary delights, of weapons and toys and trinkets that only the Chosen know of. Other civilians may yet yearn for entertainment; a fussy crowd they may be, but with the same people coming in day in and day out, they’re hungry for new music, new acrobatics, new shows.

Be creative in what your characters can provide – and have them ask for help too! This is a true group effort in showing Rumpitur the Chosen’s goodwill, and showing themselves as a steadfast community that can be trusted.


RESTORING RAZED LANDS

Back home in Aldrip, the Chosen are faced with the farmland and lush forests that were decimated in the wake of the attack. Now that the bulk of rebuilding has been completed for the townspeople, it’s time to turn their attention to the abundance of the earth’s gifts that were ingloriously sapped. Here, the Chosen have been asked to replenish destroyed crops by irrigating and milling the land, planting new crops, and tending to the displaced animals that require assistance – though strangely enough, there seems to be some new flora and fauna that’s popping up. Are those plants glowing? Wait, is that a giant bird? It almost looks as though if you caught it, you could ride it… and the villagers of Aldrip seem just as familiar with them as you are, commenting that new life seems to be drifting into Aldrip’s territory on a regular basis.

Have your characters mill about on the farmland together, nurse wounded animals back to health, plant seeds, and help rebuild farms. Nothing says bonding like a good old-fashioned group activity.

Just watch out – those summer storms can be absolutely dreadful, and on more than one occasion, you may find yourselves taking cover in one of the abandoned old farmhouses to wait it out. Get out of those wet clothes, get underneath those (admittedly musty smelling) blankets and use the stove inside to put on some tea. Get nice and cozy – you might be here for a while!

STOREHOUSE SCRAMBLE

Last on the Chosen’s to-do list is to build up their stores so that if an attack of this scale happens again, they’ll be ready for it. The Chosen are to come together as a group to help dig out safehouses and cellars for citizens to hide in during the next attack, and to help bolster their stores. Now that some of their ranks have brought home goods from Rumpitur, it’s time to figure out what to do with it all.

Chosen may assist in hunting and gathering resources, working together to dry and pickle vegetables, dig out safehouses (careful – there are vermin and minor cave-ins aplenty!), and to solicit local smithies to shore up their stores of weaponry – just in case.

That said, weapons aren’t much good without the ability to use them. The Chosen are welcome to test out the wares in a nearby clearing set up specifically for training, especially if they’re from worlds where they weren’t stuck with swords and bow and arrows. There are scarecrows and targets set-up to practice on, but there’s really no replacing one-on-one combat – take a shot at it, and you may even gain a small audience! And are they placing bets…? Well, you’d better do your best, or else more than your pride might wind up bruised.
strength_of_will: (04 Glee)

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-09-02 04:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He springs back to his feet. ]

I'll get it! I saw one earlier. Wait here.

[ Without waiting for her reply, he dashes off. True to his word, he comes back very quickly with a wheelbarrow. ]
likethestars: (4)

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-09-06 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Ok-- [ Well, he's a fast one. She shrugs then double-checks that they've gathered up all of the vegetables while he runs off to find a wheelbarrow. ]
strength_of_will: (01 Smile)

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-09-09 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He returns with one in due time, approaching...perhaps a little faster than one might expect of a young man pushing a wheelbarrow. It doesn't seem to slow him down at all. He must be stronger than he looks.

But he manages to avoid hitting anyone and sets it down near the vegetables. ]


Here we go!
likethestars: (14)

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-09-10 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She's honestly impressed with how quickly he can move while pushing the wheelbarrow. Her eyes widen a little as she watches his approach. ]

Thank you.

[ She offers a little bow before she busily loads up the wheelbarrow with armfuls of vegetables. ]
strength_of_will: (09 Unsure)

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-09-14 02:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He kneels to help her, tossing them gently in. ]

...If you don't mind me asking, what race are you? I've never seen someone with horns like yours.
likethestars: (14)

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-09-14 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She's much less gentle about transporting them from the ground to the wheelbarrow. Though she might just be well past the point of caring how well this job is done. ]

Huh? [ She blinks at him before looking down at herself. She supposes she is a little strange to most people here. ]

I am Au Ra, Xaela if we needs be specific. And my horns are most akin to your ears.
strength_of_will: (05 Aghast)

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-09-17 04:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Those are your ears?

[ He can't help but stare incredulously, pausing with a turnip in one hand. Come to think of it, they are where one would expect to see ears on a human. However, with her long hair, he had simply thought he couldn't see her actual ears. ]

Wow... I've never seen anyone like you back home. When you say 'Xaela', is that like a clan or a nationality?
likethestars: (14)

omg how did i miss this

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-10-04 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
Aye.

[ She shifts, tail flicking from one side to the other behind her. She quickly goes back to work. ]

Mmn, clan would be best, yes.
strength_of_will: (03 Feeling down)

</3 LMAO it's okay

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-10-07 02:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I see...

[ He quickly looks back down and tosses in more vegetables. He knows it's rude to stare, but... Ears. How do they work? What happens if she knocks them into something? He has so many questions but he feels like it would be even ruder to quiz her on it like she's a scientific curiosity.

So he keeps his head down until everything is heaped into the wheelbarrow. Although he's very obviously keeping intensely silent all the while. ]
likethestars: (11)

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-10-08 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's unsure if she could really explain how her hearing works as it does. It feels like one of those things someone would need to experience firsthand.

The quiet doesn't seem to bother her either. She's quick to finish unloading the wheelbarrow
]

It seems we are done here, I think a break is deserved.
strength_of_will: (01 Smile)

[personal profile] strength_of_will 2023-10-11 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Looks like we are. If you need my help again I'll be nearby.

[ Although it was a brief encounter, he gives her a warm smile. ]
likethestars: (11)

[personal profile] likethestars 2023-10-12 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She bobs her head in a nod. ]

The very same, should you require aid let me know.