WORLD JUMP # 1: EL MINHA.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players welcome to el minha. It will happen at random- you could be asleep, or wandering the Temple, or a variety of other options. It will feel a little strange, like a sudden warmth spreading across your skin, and then your bracelet will light up and a semi-familiar voice will be heard. I hope you are able to help the people of El Minha! And oh- in case I didn't mention it already, water is very, very valuable here. And then you will blink, and it will be bright. Bright, and warm, as you are standing just inside the grand walls that protect the impressive city before you. At your hip there will be a small bag with a few bits of coin - nothing too crazy, and definitely not enough to last you the entire stay (which...you're not exactly sure how long it will be), but enough to get started. Your presence brings a couple of glances, a stare or two, but overall the city seems to continue on with its day. Welcome to the Red Desert, the city of El Minha. THE PALACE After a few hours of being within El Minha, the King has heard that a large amount of travelers are now wandering within the city limits. An audience is called in front of the Royal Palace, and King Kathashun steps out onto the dias. He is dressed rather plainly, for a monarch -- a purple robe, with some gold bangles and bracelets, but no ornate crown or anything like that. However, when he appears, the natives around you grow quiet, at the presence of their King. “I understand that there are a lot of new people, within our fair city. Welcome to El Minha, the Jewel of the Red Desert. Enjoy our culture, our people, our wares; we welcome you, and hope you enjoy your stay.” There is a pause, though, as King Kathashun seems to weigh out what he wants to say. “I normally do not spend my time greeting tourists to our city, as our Crown Guard typically handles educating our visitors on our ways,” he continues, folding his hands behind his back. “But the heart of our city has been heavy, in recent months, and I feel it is my duty as King to be clear, to be honest, and to speak the truth. Recently, we have been attempting to hunt down individuals who wish our city harm, who have harmed my family, and my people. The Syndicate has been active, as of late, and I warn all of you who are not familiar with El Minha to avoid certain areas of the city should you wish to keep your pocketbooks.” There’s a slight quirk of his lips, as he says that, before he tilts his head in a polite gesture of greeting toward the crowd. “Please, enjoy El Minha. And should any of you garner any information concerning the Syndicate, please do not hesitate to contact me.” For the duration of your time in El Minha, King Kathashun will be within his palace . . . or so the Crown Guard says, should you ask them for an audience. That being said, you might be lucky wandering the streets. The King of El Minha tends to mingle more with the common folk than the Crown Guard would lead you to believe . . . THE GRAND MARKET Welcome to the heart and soul of El Minha - a massive outdoor market in the center of the city. Covered by fabric stretched between the buildings, this market feels almost like a city, or living soul, in and of itself. It is constantly moving, constantly evolving. Anything you could imagine is for sale here - spices, jewelry, weapons - whatever you’re looking for, anything at all. While you won’t necessarily find specific items from your home, you can find any matter of similarly made or crafted ones. Think cheap knock-offs, or unnecessarily well-made versions, because they can vary widely. There can also be items of some level of magic, though nothing particularly strong or overly impressive. (feel free to ask the mods on the previous ooc post about if an item is too over-powered to be found in the market - and also know that there’s always the chance you could find it in the underground. It just depends on how determined you are to track it down.) Stalls can range from cobbled together boxes and goods to grand, incredible stands - it all depends on what you’re looking for, and how long you’re willing to look. There is no map here, so tread lightly! The merchants that work in the market are experienced, practiced sales people. They know how to sell to anyone, but especially tourists. Barter to your hearts content, but it will take a little more than a ‘please’ to get those prices down. They have expert eyes and will not take pick-pockets or thieves well. However, as experienced and watchful as the merchants may be, that won’t stop young kids on the streets targeting the tourists as well - so keep an eye out on your pockets! As long as you have coin, water, or something to trade you are welcome as long as you’d like to stay here in the El Minha Marketplace. However, if you loiter for too long, you might get a swift kick in the ass to either get moving or buy something - they’re not giving away anything for free, and that includes the shade. THE SPARKLING SAPPHIRE As the announcement from King Kathashun comes to an end, all members of the Circle will be communicated - in one way or another - the direction to the Sparkling Sapphire. Free housing, you’ve been told. All you have to do is go, give them your name, and let them know you are part of the group that King Kathashun has directed here. Here, as it turns out, isn’t too shabby of a place. A large building with plenty of rooms, it is clean and fairly busy, with a bustling tavern area and rooms upstairs. You can pick up your key from the older woman behind the front desk, and are directed to the staircase in the middle of the establishment. The rooms are clean, but plain, with one or two beds depending on your preference. Downstairs in the tavern you can find food served for both breakfast and dinner, which is included in the room. Otherwise, there is a small fee for food or drink, and the servers are talented and experienced and very, very friendly. It is in the tavern that you can find the hookah, and some strange liquor as well, but it’s up to you if you choose to drink it. The food is incredible, beyond incredible, and they can make almost anything that you’ll like, though it may come out a bit creative. The main room is comfortable - with a roaring fire but without the suffocating heat. There is a bard in the corner, who will sing or tell stories or simply play, depending on the feeling of the room. Have a drink! Or a meal! While most of the people here are indeed Circle members, there may be a couple of natives mixed in as well. Take a load off, relax, and enjoy the hospitality that only a King’s Coin can bring. THE FIGHT RING The ring itself is somewhat on the outskirts of town - a colosseum-esque collection of buildings that watch over a pit-like arena. The buildings protect the Fighting Ring from any outside eyes, or any unwanted attention, as this area is solely under the command of The Syndicate. Anyone is allowed inside, as long as you don’t cause any problems and don’t start any trouble. There are a number of what you can assume are Syndicate-employed figures that are constantly canvasing the area as well, so don’t expect to be able to sneak in unless invited or allowed. The Fight Ring is open for volunteers at any time, and once you’ve been checked for any fun business and told the rules (no magic, only weapons allowed are the ones provided, the fight will end once one side relents or is taken out of commission). If this still feels like your cup of tea, you are invited to take a spot in line. Perhaps, if you’ve shown yourself promising enough, The Champion may appear to protect their crown. Otherwise, you will find plenty of adversaries around. If you are looking for a less aggressive route, there are plenty of seats open to watch, as well as many other members of the city taking a break to watch the fights, and they certainly wouldn’t mind sharing some of their favorite stories of matches or victories. The Champion is the resounding favorite, but the stories shared will vary to the point that almost no useful information can be gleaned. Join in the festivities that surround the ring! Pick up some food, bet on some fighters, enjoy the competition, and maybe you’ll be lucky and catch a sight of The Champion, or any of the other legendary figures of the El Minha Fight Ring. THE GOLDEN PHOENIX The Golden Phoenix is the central location of the Syndicate . . . and locals will make absolutely no effort to hide that fact from the Circle members. However, people don't seem to be afraid to go, though you definitely need to have coin to get through the door. There are multiple tables where various dice and card games are being played, as well as old slot machines. There are multiple employees in dark uniforms wandering around, offering drinks to all those who are spending coin on the machines, free of charge. If you loiter too long without spending money, you will be asked why you're there -- not in a threatening way, of course. But the relationship between the Syndicate and the King isn't all that great, as of late . . . can't be too careful with spies. In the back of the Golden Phoenix, there's a tiny racing ring in the back where small lizards are being raced in a little track set on a table. You can place bets on any of the lizards and, who knows? You may win a prize, including a little lizard! How cute! (Be careful, though: they nip.) But out back, there's another lizard racing ring, though these ones are . . . well, they're certainly not tiny. In fact, people seem to be riding on them akin to horse racing . . . and jockeys are a dime a dozen, in El Minha. Fancy yourself the next Triple Crown winner? Step right up, step right up, and take a spin on the track outside! Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. There will be some NPCs interacting with characters as well, so keep an eye out for those as well! If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the mod questions thread back in the OOC post from before! From this point forward, the Circle has become involved with the political stasis and climate of El Minha. What your character finds out, decides, and does from here on out will affect the future of this city- one way or another! But what you do is completely up to you. What you discover, explore, and uncover in this city will be yours to discover, explore, and uncover. Who knows what you might find? :)

Comments

[bowtiedbones]

[She takes it carefully, turning it around in her hands before handing it back.]

It's definitely big enough. Good condition, too! If we had Internet I could tell what kind for sure, there's been so many morphological studies done on birds, nevermind corvids alone, but I can't even begin to charge my phone here.

Did the stall have any skeletons? Or just skulls?

[oculusriffs]

[he straightens just slightly, a sign that pretty much every single word Eliza just said completely piqued his interest.]

[the gears are also turning frantically — man, why isn't the concept of the internet something that he can hold in his hand? does he have to actually know the content of a study to be able to magically conjure a copy of it? what all rhymes with corvid? morbid, sordid, reported, afforded ...]

Not complete skeletons. The right bones may have been there, but you'd probably have to put everything together yourself.

You sound like you know your stuff. Is this something you study?

[bowtiedbones]

I have, in fact, a pigeon skeleton in my purse right now. Not as cool as a crow, but I did put it together myself.

[she pats her purse proudly. that skeleton's since been taken apart to better fit into a tupperware container, but that was a busy week cleaning and trying to piece that puzzle of a pigeon together.]

But yeah! I'm a necromancer. My studies focus on extinct species, so it's basically skeletons and bones all day every day.

[oculusriffs]

[necromancy was sort of at the bottom of his list of professions he was thinking of, but all right. that's pretty cool.]

Think I could get a look at the pigeon?

[at some point not too long before he arrived here, Dave had stood in his room, digging through the piles of junk he hadn't seen in three years, unable to really remember what level of sincerity or irony he'd meant when he collected them.]

[the fossils and other weird dead things, he'd eventually concluded, were something he was drawn to out of complete sincerity. if the collection of universes hadn't put on his shoulders the responsibility of creating a new universe, he would have loved to be a paleontologist. or whatever science it was that lets him check out dead things all day.]

[that responsibility isn't his anymore, so ... nothing stopping him from checking out dead things all day now.]

I'm not all that brushed up on skeletons scientifically, but I'm pretty all right at cleaning fossils and the like. If you ever need help on that end, just let me know.

[bowtiedbones]

You are? Fossils, really? Absolutely, yeah, if I come across something, I'll definitely let you know!

[Whether it's a hobby or a profession, she's thrilled to find a colleague. the save-the-worlds situation and this city are all far out of her comfort zone, and it's worse still with her magic nullified and her own fossil collection worlds away. but talking about bones is good and familiar, and showing off her skeletons is always fun, no matter what world she's on.

Eliza digs into her purse, pulling out two cotton ball-filled tupperware containers. one, labeled "Clare," has a pigeon skeleton nestled inside and the other, labeled "Lori," has something spikier.]

Here! This one is the pigeon, and then this one has a 700-year-old flowerdrake.

[oculusriffs]

[Dave isn't really the type to give out his smiles so easily, not so much because of his personality, but because of his emotional defenses. but there absolutely is a ghost of one on his features as he opens the containers and has a closer look at their contents.]

[he loves these dead things. and he loves that Eliza gave them normal names — though, now that he thinks about it, that probably makes sense in its own way, if you're in the business of reanimating dead things. do they have their own personalities, too?]

How long did it take you to put Clare together? Also, did you see the birds in the forest back wherever we were earlier? The ones with the twelve eyes.

[bowtiedbones]

About a week? It was a project working from a pigeon still with feathers and all, so most of that time was spent cleaning.

[Both of skeletons are in good shape, almost all tiny delicate bones present and accounted for— the pigeon even still has its sclerotic rings in the eyes. The other skeleton has a spiky skink's head with a parrotlike beak, four legs, and two wings— a little dragon. and where Clare is just a jumble of bones mixed in with the cotton, Lori is curled up tidily, wrapped around in her tail like she's gone to sleep in a nest.]

And I did! I'd love to see the skull for one of those, I have no idea how they manage to fit that many eyes in their head.

[oculusriffs]

Man, that was the same damn question I had — my guess for why they had so many eyes was that have a lot of natural predators in there, but Astoria only ever mentioned that a hermit she knows eats them.

[after marveling over the bones for a few more minutes, he hands the containers back to her.]

Thanks for letting me see them. I wouldn't mind a chance to meet Lori in the flesh — in the bone. I dunno, what's the right phrasing for that?

Gonna guess your usual line of work has nothing to do with the magic you've got now, though.

[bowtiedbones]

"In the bone" isn't wrong. I can wake her up for you later just, y'know, not in public here.

[she tucks the containers back safely into her purse, and pulls out a piece of chalk next]

The new magic I got actually matches the birds, kind of! I can draw extra eyes to see through. Super unrelated to necromancy, but so far it's pretty cool.

[oculusriffs]

Huh. Might be handy if you're putting together something small, like a lizard.

[Dave just watches her curiously after that, then, because it looks like she's gearing up for a demonstration.]

[bowtiedbones]

Oh! That's smart, I hadn't thought of using them like that! I could get multiple angles on the fiddly parts.

[mostly so far she's been working on getting used to the eyes, testing their limits or trying to figure out how the magic for them even works in the first place. easy tests like the demo now:]

Here, can I see your palm for a second?

[oculusriffs]

[he hesitates, but only for a ghost of a second, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort. he has no reason not to trust her, and no reason to suspect her magic is anything but temporary. instinctive, defensive walls can be hard to break down, but in the interest of science, he's trying.]

Yeah, all right.

[Dave holds his hand out, then.]

[bowtiedbones]

I haven't tested this part out much, but in theory...

[she takes his hand and draws a quick, simple eye on his palm. the mark clings to his skin better than regular blackboard chalk should, but it is still just chalk, bits of it already flaking off onto the table]

If my sigil is on a person, they can piggyback that connection. Close your eyes and you'll be able to see through your hand's eye.

[oculusriffs]

[he turns his hand over to get a better look at the eye drawn on his hand, and then, closes his eyes to get a better look at — well, himself. it's a bit like taking a selfie, he's even holding his hand a bit like how he would if he were using a phone.]

[same old pair of aviators. same old completely neutral expression. same old hair, though his bangs are slightly slicked against his forehead from the heat. despite everything, it's still Dave.]

[he curls his fingers over his palm, watching them obscure his hand vision, fascinated.]

Is there a limit to how many you can use at one time?

[bowtiedbones]

[eliza watches this all closely, pleased to see her eye working. it's a weird new magic, but there's still that sense of accomplishment when a theory tests out.]

I haven't found an upper limit yet, but it gets hard to pay attention to them all after a couple. I can sense them just fine, but watching through them is like trying to watch a bunch of TVs at once.

[oculusriffs]

Makes sense.

[after another minute, he opens his eyes again.]

It's probably only fair that I let you see what my magic does. What's something you don't have that'll help you out? Just has to be inanimate and small enough to hold.

[bowtiedbones]

Like... sunscreen?

[oculusriffs]

Sure, if that's what you want. What SPF?

[bowtiedbones]

At least 50?