expiationlogs | {EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

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{EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

THUS DO WE HUNGER

MOD NOTES:

Welcome to the first event!

Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that characters can be involved in multiple prompts (whether you choose to thread that out or not), and that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation.

In two weeks from this event, the moderator team will be posting a poll on the OOC community that will allow players to share what actions their characters took and two weeks after that, there will be an announcement made sharing said results, how those actions have impacted the state of the world, the game's story, what information can be used ICly, and so on.

The various prompts are, of course, optional, so you're not required to travel to Rumpitur if you don't wish to. You're not required to help the locals or other Chosen during the food shortage. There is an option to simply not be involved, and that too can have potential repercussions on the future of the game's overarching story and other characters.

WE'RE STARVING HERE!

HOW TO REPAIR A REFRIGERATOR 101

Do you remember the fishing tournament where a variety of locals and Chosen alike submitted a bunch of fish for a very modest and unimpressive wooden sculpture? Well... about that...

Aldrip's refrigeration has catastrophically failed and as a result, the food stores that the locals have been keeping are now on the verge of total and utter collapse. The townspeople are in an absolute uproar. According to them, this has never happened before and though they would normally just pray to Those Who Were There for a resolution, they kind of need something immediate. Otherwise, all residents of Aldrip are facing the very real threat of starvation.

The good news is that you can help!

The more handy of the Aldrip townsfolk are going to get right to work on repairing the refrigeration units. At present, the only units that exist belong to those who are making food and providing them to the townspeople. This means people like the tavern keepers, the inn, bakers, and other miscellaneous cooks, are those who possess and control these refrigeration units. If you've got some handyman skills, put them to work, though be aware that working on repairing the technological malfunction might just be an electrifying experience. Literally.

THE ALTERNATIVE TO COOKING MAMA

There sure has been a lot of opportunities to cook, but now Aldrip needs cooks and would-be cooks like never before!

Those not necessarily good with repair work might find themselves better suited for hunting the local wildlife, whether that's on the meadowland plains or taking, yet again, a fishing pole into hand. A good deal of the meat, vegetables, and fruit that was already preserved has spoiled and will need to be replaced hastily if people want to continue eating.

With bodies going to retrieve replacement food, there's suddenly an open and demand for people who either already have experience with cooking or just really want to learn. There's no better way to learn than some truly hands-on experience. For those with some cooking in their background, even if it's simple at its best, the kitchens are free and available. You might not have your choice cuts of meat or whatever else you might be accustomed to preparing, but fortunately the dried spices and herbs aren't impacted by the food shortage. Consider making something flavourful or just really spicy. (Alphen, we're looking at you.)

If you haven't cooked before and you're one of those who's just dying to learn, pair up with a buddy in the kitchen, or fumble along. Beggars can't be choosers, after all, and we're facing a crisis. Maybe the threat of having no food will encourage people to try whatever you make, no matter how black, crispy brown it might turn out.

The more innovative and creative individuals may find a way to dry / dehydrate anything caught or harvested. Or we can just have a huge impromptu grilling adventure where people hold raw meat over fire. Your choice!

WE'RE OFF TO SEE... THE NAGA?

WE COME IN PEACE

Aldrip is hardly the only settlement on the continent of Expiation and though the various peoples of these settlements can often stick within their own, when times are hard and adversity encroaches on livelihood, they're not against seeking the aid of others. Some of the more well-travelled of the Aldrip locals are planning an expedition to visit Rumpitur, an impressively-sized village on a peninsula to the east of Aldrip.

They are ready and willing to take all volunteers who are interested in accompanying them to barter for food and other potentially needed supplies. The visit to Rumpitur will require travel through the Pessiria Forest, a thick veil of trees that one can be easily lost in, but if everyone's together, then it shouldn't be an issue.

Consider joining the expedition and getting to know some of Expiation's other peoples.

Rumpitur is home to a race of naga-like people with scaled features, tails, sharp teeth, and forked tongues. Their way of life is considerably more simple in comparison to some of Aldrip's fancier advancements. They are skilled combatants and a fishing people, whose diet primarily consists of seafood. In Rumpitur, one may take note of their many-in-number stone constructs, depicting a notable and perhaps significant naga.

Although they may seem intimidating at first glance and can have terse ways of speaking, they are amicable enough and will be willing to do business with Aldrip and her citizens.

OR MAYBE WE DON'T

The visit from Aldrip, which is a rare occurrence indeed, results in much confusion for the Rumpiturian people, and this may or may not be considered a blessing to those who could be more unscrupulous in nature.

Although the visit to Rumpitur is meant to be one of peace, locals of Aldrip and the Chosen alike have the opportunity to steal supplies from the people. If they choose to do this, they may find that there are no immediate repercussions for this course of action. The likelihood is that this visit has caught the Rumpiturians so off-guard that they're not expecting to be robbed. Of course, how this will impact things in the future remains to be seen...

Individuals may grab as much as they can carry, depending on what they've brought with them. The locals of Aldrip who planned this expedition provided convenient-to-carry containers that can be filled with anything retrieved from the village and her kind. Larger containers will require at least two people to carry when filled, so perhaps you're inclined to work with a partner-in-crime. Just remember that for every action, there's a consequence, even if you're not seeing it right away!

Rumpitur will not notice that they are missing inventory until well after Aldrip has left and travels back through the forest to town, so no one need fear the chasing and hissing of snakes into Pessiria.

Probably.

HOLD ONTO YOUR VALUABLES

IT'S NOT REAL... RIGHT?

Those who've decided to brave the forest will find on their adventure to Rumpitur that it's rather straight forward and proceeds without incident.

The sky above the trees is a difficult thing to see, blocked out by the way the evergreens stretch and imposingly tower above. At times light may scatter through various openings in branches, but it is a largely darker atmosphere, and at night requires the assistance of candlelight or related.

Travellers with the courage to make way through the forest with the others may hear occasional snaps, cracks, whispers, and more enigmatic sounds that are difficult to justify with logic. Of course, whether this is all in the head or something truly more sinister at play is up for debate. Despite the strange occurrences that one may experience, no members of the Chosen will find themselves harmed or otherwise physically disturbed initially. That said, some may later find themselves haunted by strange dreams and visions of the forest in the future if they are especially sensitive to such things.

Were those sounds real? Were you just hearing things? It's probably wisest not to investigate further. At least, maybe not now...

COUNT YOUR NUMBERS

Aldrip has a great many stories about Pessiria Forest and many of the other towns, landmarks, settlements, and people scattered across the continent. Most of these stories seem to depict folklore or a certain mythological feeling about them, implying that many of the locals don't truly believe in any of the more macabre tales. Pessiria Forest has no shortage of poetry and song that pertains to its supposedly 'holy' grounds and mysterious happenstances.

There are several alleged accounts about people having gone missing in the forest, due to how complicated it is to navigate by one's self. The more people travelling together, the safer it is purported to be.

Before leaving for Rumpitur, heads have been counted to ensure that wherever they start is also where they end up, however, for the more observant, one may find that the returning party is short of a few heads. Maybe some of them stayed behind to further the diplomatic efforts with the Rumpiturians. Maybe they're going to catch up later. Maybe they took a different pathway through the forest with some of their mates. Maybe there's something more untoward going on.

If this is brought up to the locals, the leaders of the expedition will warily make note of it and conduct their own investigation. At least, they say they will. Either way, it's suspicious no matter how you may turn it. Perhaps put heads together with another and see if you're just miscounting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah, there she goes again; Shinjiro pulls a face briefly, strained for a few seconds about being, well. Called... nice? It's an improvement that he can accept such a statement without breaking out in a cold sweat, honestly. Aerith seems used to his attitude already, anyway...

So he merely shrugs, ultimately. Yes yes, he's so nice, he's the nicest person around. Embarrassing.]

....Dunno. No one's attacked us yet.

[That "yet" is just his pessimism speaking, these snake people seem alright. Maybe. As long as he doesn't, personally, have to do any diplomacy.]

It's not like we have to stay here if things go bad. Best to wait and see, for now.

[And Not Talk to Anyone, Shinji-style. The perfect plan.]

[‘Yet’ sure is the keyword there and even she’s aware of it. She prefers to be optimistic and tends to default to that, but in truth, she keeps it in the back of the mind that things don’t always go according to plan. In fact, they usually do go awry at some point. Better to be prepared for that kind of thing. At least she knows that Shinji is probably bracing himself for that proverbial impact.

It sure is nice to feel like there’s more than a few people here she can rely on.

Folding her hands together, she wears the same smile that she often seems to in his company thus far and really anyone else’s at that. Almost as if Aerith may not do much except smile.]

I don’t think things are going to go bad here, per se. As long as people mind their manners.

[Although she’s aware of a few by this point who aren’t doing that. Not like she could expect everyone to be, after all. There’s always troublemakers in a group. She should know. She is a bit of a mischief maker herself.]

But hopefully the trip back will be uneventful, too…! Maybe we can try some of their food. I bet they have things that Aldrip doesn’t have.

If they're not going to play nice, they should have stayed with the horses.

[Shinjiro may have a history of Bad Deeds himself, but like, come on. Starve, or be decent to these snake people... it's not a difficult choice, in his opinion! If he catches someone making a scene like he nearly did, he will box their ears. Helpfully.

But that's for later. Food is the magic word, and he looks off down the street with more interest than before. That's right, they're mostly here for foodstuffs, huh...]

....What do snake people even eat?

[Unfortunately, not everyone listens to logic. Aerith may not come out and say it so directly, but she absolutely agrees with him. If someone came with the intention to disrupt what they’re trying to do here, then they shouldn’t have come at all. Why spoil things for the majority?

Not that she has any proof that anything is going to be spoiled, of course.

She offers him a sympathetic look. She’s on his side, after all. Aerith is willing to hope for the best, honestly. Better than expecting the worst. Not as exhausting either. His question is a great distraction, too.]

Oh! Uhm. Hm. Well, I saw they had fruit? At least, I think it was fruit? It was colourful, whatever it was. I got some from them earlier that we’re going to take back with us. We’ll have to try it and see.

[Which is a considerably better alternative to what snakes as animals eat. Probably. Aerith is not sure she is interested in eating a rat. Or a mouse. Or other rodents.]

[oh thank god it's not rats]

Mystery fruit...?

[They're all going to get sick eating weird snake fruits, aren't they. He's going to bite into a snake fruit and regret it immediately, he can feel it coming. But sure, that's another learning experience, or whatever. Someone can put a check mark on a little list next to "fruits bad" or whatever.

He does not consider the inherent illogic in the naga giving them fruit they can't eat here in this exchange for foodstuffs, but he's a pessimist, so. He'll be suspicious of the fruit until he sees it.]

Fruit's a start. ....Should we look for more stuff?

[Huge: the concession of "we," which he is sliding in there without acknowledging it, like it's a normal thing to avoid acknowledging.]

I mean, I ain't much help talking to them, so...

You don't like fruit?

[Her eyebrows raise, accompanied by that surprisingly earnest question. To her, there's nothing wrong with trying something new. The worst thing that can happen is they don't like it. And there's probably plenty of other things for them to eat. The fruit will keep just fine if they can find someone with a Blizzard spell or two.

Her healing magic worked, so there's no reason elemental music won't, she thinks.]

I guess we could also check for... meat? Or vegetables. Or something like that. I think I saw they do a lot of stuff with fish? But Aldrip kind of does, too. It's right by the water. Although they might have fish here that we don't have over on that side. Different waters and stuff, right?

[Ignore her. She knows nothing about fishing.]

I like fruit fine. And meat, too, but I was thinking more like... seasoning.

[A beat.]

You know, so people can eat something that's worth eating. No point in coming all the way out here to bring back stuff that's boring to eat.

[He's very passionate about this, but he's doing his level best to keep it contained. The logistics of preservation and avoiding too much food waste are important, he would love to get some preserved items, but also...

Some of y'all season with Just Butter... he's seen it... This is necessary.]

We shouldn't get too much of anything, either. Nowhere to put it back in Aldrip.

Seasoning? Like...

[...Does he mean literal spices or something? She's heard that Aldrip has some, but he might not mean it quite like that. He continues and she realises she's not a good judge of what is or isn't boring food. That is likely because her upbringing has never really put her in a position where she could be picking about food. It's probably the same for most others in the slums. At least they're getting the chance to eat, right?]

Huh. I guess that's true. I've never thought of food that was boring, personally. I don't know very much about food, though. I think depending on what we bring back, it can be preserved or something like that. I don't really know how to do anything like that either, but it's probably not that hard.

Like herbs and spices. ....I'm better at cooking than preservation, but I know a few things.

[He shrugs; he'd agree with her if he knew, but for him, it's practically the opposite: shunted around orphanages for most of his life and then spending time on the streets, he cares even more about having good food to make up for all the times he didn't have that access. Plus, like, everyone deserves to eat well, right? So they may as well aim for that, even if they're in a bit of a bind here with the whole fridge problem.

So he is indeed on the hunt for spices.]

Do you know how to pick good meat? I can handle the spices.

[Oh. He really does mean spices. She has to wonder what spices Alphen and Rin were using when they were having their little spice-off or whatever it was that Rin had made mention of to her.

He makes mention of meat and she raises her eyebrows, shaking her head.]

I don't think so! My mom handles most of the cooking back home. I helped her prepare some stuff, but that's not really anything I know much about. I'm much better with plants. Normally. Some of the ones here I don't recognise, but some of them are like plants back home. I'm going to guess that probably won't be very helpful. I don't see why we can't pick out some meat together.

It was just gonna save some time.

[Efficiency in grocery shopping, that's his goal. Maybe she should go pick out vegetables, or maybe Shinjiro should stop trying to split the party simply because he's a picky loner about foodstuffs. Okay.

Meat. Yes. They can head in that direction.]

....You don't want to pick anything too fatty or too lean. Nothing too brown or too white. The marbling— uh, you'll see, just look for lines— usually means the meat's better, if there's more of it. The best cuts will look totally red or pink, and never trust anyone who calls a specific piece "the special," that means it's about to be too old.

[Remember all of this, there will be a meat quiz.]

Oh, wow. That’s a lot more involved than I thought it would be.

[It’s an easy thing for her to admit to. When it comes to selling flowers, that seems considerably easier. Although that sort of knowledge might come with its own different complications. What’s transparent in these moments is that she knows… next to nothing about meat. She can’t even say what kind Elmyra has used in her stews. To an extent, that might not matter either.

Meat is meat, after all, though she’s suspecting Shinjiro might be quick to correct her if she were to ever give voice to such a thought.]

You know a lot about this kind of stuff. Is that something you like working with back home?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{EVENT #1} ADVERSITY 131425.845119

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If too old, please feel free to drop. Sorry for the wait!