• Event • The Lights on the Water [Ashan Seasonal]

[Vivian Shiryu]

Food, drink, the fear of a capsizing rowboat, and the sense that there was likely to be something terrible on that island combined to make a weird atmosphere for Vivian. It was enjoyable, but tense, a sense of danger that she enjoyed actually. "Nice to meet you, Arlo and Vega. I'm Vivian." she said, before looking at the new arrival they seemed to know. She didn't comment though, as Pepper seemed to be talking to Arlo and Vega. She did note the child talking about something in the water and actually did look over the side, as they were conveniently on the same side of the boat. She saw the same woman the child did, for the brief moment that it was visible before it disappeared.

Then she looked up as they approached the island, being careful not to touch any of the floating lights. They were beautiful, but she didn't trust them at all. She wasn't that foolish, after all. When they finally landed, she helped Vega and Arlo, and anyone else who volunteered, carry children to the island and help the elderly over as well. Once everyone was ashore, she stood next to Arlo and Vega looked over the island. "Well, I doubt we'll see anything else particularly interesting on the shore, if you don't mind my saying so. I'd be up for going to see the woods." she said, smiling slightly. She looked really casual, like any tourist.

She was tense though, these people were hers to protect. But at the same time, she wanted to try and find out what had happened on this island. She could go to the woods alone, but she wasn't sure that was safe either. Electricity crackled between her fingers a moment as she flexed the powers she had gotten thanks to Palenon. She didn't use them as often as she should, she wasn't as skilled as she should be. She shook her hand to disperse the sparks, then readied herself. Go forward or stay, she honestly expected trouble.

[Pepper]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/x60qFy2.jpg[/img]

93 of Ashan, 718
Rharne

At Vega's happy greeting, Pepper felt another knot of tension ease. Smiling she waggled her fingers chest high slowly moving her head side to side It's been.. okay I guess.. Nothing very exciting has happened at least.. Arlo, she noticed had opened up a simply enormous basket filled with food, this was even more food than she'd had to schlep home uneaten last time.. But with the boat this full, and Arlo and Vega seeming to want to share it all, perhaps it was a good thing that there was so much. As she found a seat near a small girl and her mother, she smiled and nodded at a few of the passengers who met her eyes. At another familiar voice, she turned and saw Gem, the newest cook at the inn, and grinned. Won't Nita be mad? Oh right it's your day off.. Leaning forward she mock whispered You didn't hear it from me, but Nita's real happy with you! You should ask for a raise next season!

As the boat left the docks, the mood was jolly. Some people started singing and Vega pulled out a fiddle. She played well, by what Pepper could judge, and her fiddle glowed softly.. In a different mood Pepper would have wanted to ask about it later, but today she just let herself enjoy the magic of music and laughter and the fresh scents on the breeze.

Much like the younger children, Pepper was leaning over the side of the boat a bit with her fingers trailing in the water, when the child she was sitting next to called out about a girl in the water. She immediately looked were she was pointing. The water was fairly clear but the shape must have been at least four five feet deep.. She got the impression of a pale shape, long strands of hair and big luminous eyes.. Perhaps it was a Mer? Pepper remembered hearing that the lake had a small Mer population from someone..

As the boat approached the island, she could make out the many small orbs bobbing about over the waves at the shore. As the boat came closer, many of the orbs floated over to the boat and the passengers. Pepper laughed with the children and held out a hand near one of the orbs to see what would happen. The orb didn't move away and slowly Pepper curled her palm underneath till it was almost as if she was holding it.. There was a soft tingling sensation, the orb didn't seem to have a weight, and looked somewhat like what she imagined a bit of fog with a tiny light at its heart would look like. Gently she uncupped her hands. Looking at the orbs weaving about the boatload of people, and then receding, she was reminded of a bunch of puppies, playfully coming to investigate each new stranger at their door. She laughed at her fancy even as the boat reached the shore.

Seemed they'd need to get their feet wet, but that was hardly a problem in such nice weather. Pepper removed her shoes, choosing to hang them from their laces to her bag's straps. She rolled her pants legs up to nearly the knees, the looked around. Vega, Arlo, and many others were helping the younger children cross safely to the shore. She noticed a few older women, perhaps grandmothers that were looking apprehensively at the water, and offered to help them cross too. Her footing was likely to be firmer than theirs for sure.

Once everyone was on the shore, and the time limit of two breaks had been conveyed to the group by the woman from the row-boat, the group started splintering off as families began to move away in search for a good spot on the beach. The place was truly magical.. and more importantly peaceful, even with the groups of tourists camping across the silvery sands.

Pepper was just about to head off on her own when Vega asked Arlo whether they should head to the beach or explore the woods. She'd mentally shrugged and taken a few steps away, but stopped at Arlo's supposition that perhaps the mystery of the orbs' origins was in the woods somewhere. Now that was a dilemma.. She did want to get some alone time, but her curiosity had been piqued.. If there was a chance they could find out what the orbs truly were.. She turned back, just as another woman, a tall one with a slightly reserved vibe, voted to join the party if they were going to explore the woods. That was good, Pepper supposed. If she was going to go traipsing through unknown forests, and she was very conscious of the irony of her good intentions earlier the same evening, she might as well go with folks she knew and trusted to be good at such things. I'd join you too if that's okay? I'd like to see whether there are orbs in the forest as well..

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

Nauta caught the glances of the other passengers as he ate but chose to ignore it as he knew why they were that apprehensive of him. Instead he decided to just show up those Glass Quarter dullards, an annoying needle to the side like the prick he was. He paid the prohibitive fee for his ride on the Serenity and even had himself appear more appropriate to the festivities but if he needed more to be recognized, it would be through a pretty glass he refilled his wine in. So fine it was, the Starlight lived up to its name as it sparkled for as long as the aukari he nursed his drink; even after he disembarked.

His goal however would force him to down it after a little bit as where he was going, there was no picnics and tents. He even doubted if even two breaks would be enough for it which meant he had to keep in mind the time he would need to return but such concerns would be left to the occasion it became his problem. Until then the alchemist's mind was made up for him to explore the isle for its bounty which he could use for his next creation and nothing would stop, not even the Lightning Knights and their investigations until the next trial because 'ohhhhhh...!' He did not expect that the beach already yielded objects of interest.

As the aukari had not been to many beaches, the oddity of silver sand did not register to him but the bioluminescence coat it had did. The forest may have the telltale glow as well but if he had a chance to study it in a safe spot with plenty of other people and the light of the torches... After some quick tests which he could observe some of the more useful qualities of the stuff, tossed into the water and into the fire to observe its reaction among others, Nauta collected a few more for his own use before he used the poorly lit beach to slink off into the Feldwyn Forest by himself. He may not have needed to but after the open tests, he did not want anyone to think the aukari was up to some sort of mischief nor did he want anyone to get any bright ideas of following him.

Although that did not stop him from following anyone else, at least initially. He could hear the voices of others which have ventured into the forest before him which meant at least, there was no dangers towards their direction. Nauta would use them to aid him in his advance to keep himself in relative safety... at least until he found something more interesting which would make the risk of danger something he could consider.

[Geminius Rose]

Gem was already beginning to enjoy the little boat ride. He wasn't sure if he would have been better off on the other boat; he might have had more leg room, but perhaps half as much fun. A redheaded woman introduced herself, and then her friend - traveling partner, companion? - and his attention was soon averted to Pepper. His grin was wide as she revealed Nita's apparent like of him. "What can I say; I'm a fairly useful individual." He would not, however, dwell too much on his rescuing attempt in light of his 'usefulness'.

As the boat continued on, cutting through the water with ease, he took in his companions. He made sure to introduce himself to all others on the boat, complete with his steady grin. It was mostly a matter of taking in the scenery, but when one child had pointed out a girl in the water - he'd been quick to turn his head and follow where the child had pointed. They had already moved a bit away and thus he could only see the vestiges of what the child had seen. No more than a shape in the water, indistinct. Gem's eyes narrowed and he clicked his tongue, staring at the water for a moment longer before turning away again.

Their boat arrived on shore soon enough, and as the passengers disembarked, the mixed blood found it behooved him to assist others as Vega did to get those who needed the help off the boat. He would declare the ride most enjoyable before glancing over to the other boat. He figured they might have enjoyed their own brand of entertainment, and decided it would not have been the type for him. He'd seen luxury and finery before; it would have been nothing new, probably. But, he'd never know.

Taken to the scene was he, mostly the glowing aspect of it all. What could he say; pretty lights tended to draw the eyes. After a moment of wandering about the sand and letting the sights sink in, he glanced over at Pepper. It would seem that she was debating something or another, and when he looked a tad bit ahead of her, there was the pair that he'd previously been introduced to. Approaching the younger girl, he nudged her gently with his elbow. "Sounds like they're about do some adventuring - you wanna join 'em?" And then, without a moment's hesitation, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to the two. "Vega, you mind us joining your little adventure crew?"

Gem figured that, one way or another, things were bound to get interesting. Now, how quickly they did would be up to him and he decided it would be good to just speed things along.

[Oracle]

Fellow tourists gallivanted across the silvery beaches of Isle Vyrelle. Small groups of children danced among the lights that glided across the shore, and there were circles of adults quietly watching the radiant phenomenon with awe. There was a rather rowdy bunch of men wading in the waters drinking from bottles of ale and beer. The scent of the alcohol tainted the otherwise ethereal scenery, but no one seemed bothered enough to make the group leave. Strangely many of the colorful orbs of light were gently circling the loud and boisterous group of men, but they appeared to be keeping a safe distance. Something about the lights seemed…almost disapproving of their behavior.

Being made of more adventurous stuff, the group from the boats headed toward the beautiful glowing foliage and greenery of Feldwyn forest. Nauta paused for a moment to study the silvery sand of the shoreline. When he tossed it into the water it glimmered like starlight before the tiny pinpricks of radiance vanished beneath the gentle waves of the lake. When tossed into flames the sand turned almost the color of gold, sparkling like glitter before falling to the ground below. It was a lovely chemical reaction, perhaps something worth investigating simply for producing delightful parlor tricks or things of beauty, but the sand seemed mundane enough otherwise.

There was a narrow hunting trail that led into the leafy forest that dominated the majority of the island. There was a soft illumination to everything with the woodland. The trunks of the trees glowed a subtle aqua green in between the cracks of the bark, and the leaves themselves held an emerald radiance within the stems that outlined the delicate veins within. Violet, fuchsia and golden yellow flowers decorated the forest floor. The petals also carried the same radiance. If picked any of the plans would lose their glow within the next break, seeming to indicate that the source of the bioluminescence was not the plants themselves rather held within the island.

The trail extended at least fifteen yards into the foliage before opening up into a wide open clearing where there were an array of triangular shaped boulders scattered around. A luminescent lichen grew on these stones, illuminating intricate, swirling carvings on the surface of the rocks that displayed what appeared to be an artistic rendition of waves. Within the waves was what appeared to be the outline of a woman on one of the boulders, on another large triangular stone was etched the outline of a man within the water. The woman was appearing to be swimming away from the man, with him in pursuit. It was certainly a strange piece of art to be found in the middle of a woodland that saw very little of people, other than tourists during the brighter breaks of the trial. There were several smaller boulders surrounding the two with the woman and the man, on these stones were the individual etchings of different animals. On the first of the smaller stones was the image of a sly fox with a long elegant tail, the on the next stone was the picture of a mischievous raccoon, and on the last stone was the artistic rendition of a svelte ferret.

The group was given a few bits of inspect the area and take in the artistry of the different carvings before several orbs of light entered the area at a slow, gentle pace. They appeared much larger than the orbs they had seen on the lake, roughly the size of a cantaloupe each. The colors in these orbs were richer and more vibrant than those they had seen before as well, and it appeared that the lights seemed fixated to approaching the men of the group. An azure orb of radiance drifted toward Arlo in a playful manner, dancing over currents of air before coming to rest at eye level before him. Then an emerald green orb approached Gem, swirling through the air like an elegant dancer before coming to sit before his eyes. Lastly an amber orb with a ruby radiance zipped toward Nauta with an eagerness almost like that of a child before coming to stop in front of him. The lights did not appear to be aggressive, but they did seem to be inspecting the males of the group rather carefully while the women were left to simply watch.
What were these things and what did they want?

!

Message from: Oracle

Participants Vega Arlo Pepper Nauta Vivian Gem You all can post in any order. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions! I plan on posting again in roughly one week, by 6/18 Please get you posts in before then if possible. Impacts Positive Star Violinist :Vega entertained and enthralled others with her music, including someone in the waters below. There will be an extra reward at the end. Boy Scout Chef: Always prepared, Arlo provides dinner to the other occupants of the boat. His kindness has been noticed by many. There will be an extra reward at the end. Comforting Friend: Pepper assured Gem that he has been doing great at his new job. There will be an extra reward at the end. The Adventuring Sort: Gem helped bring the group together to begin journeying into the forest. There will be an extra reward at the end. Unknown Wary Warrior:Vivian is suspicious of the floating lights, her restraint has been noticed by someone unseen. There will be an extra reward at the end. Curious Alchemist:Nauta took a moment to experiment with the silvery bioluminescent sands. His curiosity has been noticed by someone unseen. There will be an extra reward at the end. Great job at getting started everyone! I've awarded every one of you an achievement since you all worked to accomplish something notable in your posts. Achievements will be more difficult to attain in the future but please keep up the great work. Try and get your posts in by 6/17 so I am able to respond the following day on the 18th. Thanks!

[Vega]

Vega had enjoyed the boat journey over and she had realised, as they made their way and she watched Arlo just how good he was with the children. He seemed to be drawn to them and wanted to entertain them, tell them stories and make their eyes widen. Was that why they seemed to end up chasing after children so often, she wondered? It almost certainly was because she was quite a different kettle of tuna. Still, they had a good time and she greeted new and old acquaintances with equal enthusiasm. Then, when it came to lifting the children off the boat, Vega would quite happily carry them on her shoulders, one at a time of course, and them splash her way through the water as required. If she made big splashed with the aim of making them giggle, well that was just so that they didn't spend the time clinging on to her or anything.

But she grinned amiably at Arlo when he spoke about going into the woods and she nodded her head. "Makes sense to me. Lets do that then," Vivian said that she'd come too and Vega grinned. "Sounds good to me, Vivian. You from round here? We're.. well, tourists, I suppose. Travellers, move around from place to place, really." Growing up, Vega had much preferred her own company and had wanted nothing more than to be left alone and to her own devices. Now? Well, she was a very different adult than the child she had been. Pepper wanted to come along too and Vega nodded her head. "More th' merrier, love, both of you!" That was to Pepper and Gem who had introduced himself on the ride over.

There was a weird bloke who'd gone on the posh ship and didn't bother speaking to anyone, and Vega dismissed him as entirely unimportant. The drunken lot, or the lot who were drinking, she glanced at them and narrowed her eyes. No need to behave like plonkers, far as she could see, but there it was.

As they walked, Vega looked around in amazement at the glowing leaves and trees. She tugged Arlo's arm and pointed things out and then realised that perhaps he could see them already, so grinned and stopped. Mostly. She didn't pick any of the flowers, that seemed like an awful thing to do frankly. "Is it true," she wondered, thoughtfully, dropped onto her heels examining one of the flowers before lifting her head to ask the question as she stood up. "That in like, land-livin' places, you give each other the corpses of flowers as romantic gestures? Is it supposed to represent somethin' like 'here's one I sacrificed earlier' or somethin'?" The question was directed at Arlo, sort of, but around anyone who was nearby too. "Cos you know, as a biqaj livin' on the water, that's exactly the same as courtin' someone by givin' them a dead fish, innit? Like...here's the corpse of what lives in the thing I travel on. I love you, here's a dead haddock. Bloody weird you lot are."

To anyone who was looking, Vega seemed entirely serious. To Arlo who knew her? She absolutely was. But thoughts of dead cod wrapped in ribbon were lost when they got to the stones. Vega poured over them and then, as the orb flew in front of Arlo and another in front of Gem, Vega frowned slightly and moved over to stand next to Arlo, her hand in his. "Hello floaty orb," she said and glanced between Arlo and Gem, then back to the stones. Then she shook her head and decided her imagination was running wild. "What is it, d'ya reckon?"

[Arlo Creede]

"And you, Vivian," Arlo said when the unfamiliar woman introduced herself. She'd ridden on the small boat from the mainland beside them, as he recalled, and seemed friendly enough. Looked capable too, which was always a good trait to have in a traveling companion, when headed off into the unknown. What was going on at the shoreline was curious enough. But who knew what they'd find inside the treeline?

"Of course," he said to both Vivian and Pepper. "The more the merrier." And the same to another man he couldn't recall seeing or meeting before. Gem, that was. There was another figure, thus far an unfamiliar one that he'd spotted coming off the fancier and larger boat. Man seemed standoffish, distrustful, traits which themselves tended to breed suspicion. But for now, Arlo made nothing of it. People were people after all, and sometimes curious ones at that.

As the group headed off and Arlo glanced back towards the beach, he frowned a bit at the conduct of the drunkards in the water, thinking that something about those orbs seemed sentient, and thus, if those things were skeptical of human presence at all, they might take an even dimmer view of that sort of thing. Better they group was putting some distance between them all, he thought. The woodlands, from the trails themselves to the trunks of the trees to the leaves, all glowing, had a magical feel to it. And maybe it was? Arlo knew far too little of magic at all, to know if that's what it was at work.

"Look here," he said, once they happened upon the stones and he noted the ones in particular that depicted both a man and a woman. "Reminds me of the woman some of us saw beneath the boat when we were coming over." Surely he wasn't the only one of this group who'd seen her? Vega's comments and questions regarding traditions, flowers and...haddock however caused him to come up short, grin and snort in an effort to suppress a burst of laughter. The best part however, was that he possibly apart from anyone else, knew that she was dead serious. The part of him that was mischief then, left it to one of them to field.

Then the orbs arrived, a blue one right at the end of his own nose, and captured his attention. It was if the thing was studying him, and the other males of the group it appeared and only them. The temptation was strong to reach out and touch it but on this occasion, unlike the time he'd downed a mysterious potion handed him by a mysterious stranger, he resisted the impulse and smiled as Vega took his hand. After all, thus far the orbs hadn't behaved in what he'd perceive as an aggressive manner.

"I don't know," he admitted when Vega asked what it might be. "But I can't help but wonder if these orbs have some sort of connection with the woman in the water. And if there are more like her around here." As for him? When in doubt, ask the orb. "What, who are you?" he asked. "What are you doing here on the island?"

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

The voices led him along the path of a significantly sized group just ahead of him from the ruckus he could hear. Maybe they were those which became bored of idyllic picnics and the unexciting parties at the beach or, like him just arrived on some other vessel with the purpose of exploring the isle. Nauta did not know, nor did he care except to stay aware of any trouble which the group should encounter... first. He hoped for his sake they would remain safe even whilst he passed through that narrow trail as he observed together with the poorly lit illumination of Vyrelle, it would make any attempt to escape should the need arise that much more difficult.

But that did not stop the aukari as he studied the foliage, which on a preliminary examination did not seem too different from the sand, even as he simply followed the noise from behind. No other reagents the beach was in abundance of were available for more tests to see if foliage would react the same as the sand- without a hint their bioluminescence would last for only so long after they were plucked, the alchemist would have to remain content with taking a few more samples for himself to test them on his return. It was only a little less than two breaks. He could afford to be patient.

Though he became a lot more curious the deeper he went into the isle. As the path opened up, he found more... deliberate designs all around him. No tourist, the only people he heard to visit the isle, would have had enough time or attention to do that he reckoned but what did he know about the drunks of Rharne? They could be up to anything just for their kicks during their rounds and Nauta would not put it past them to have a romanticized creation of... whatever it was the pictures were all about. Sacrificing people to the woodland creatures maybe?

It was then the aukari took notice of the group, likely the same he had followed from behind and the smaller among their number. "Pepper, a little late for you to be out alone, no?" he asked which was quite obviously just a crack at her since by his own count, she was definitely not alone. Maybe he would eventually learn of the others from that- like the two the aukari uncharacteristically loathed the moment he saw them though he did not have the foggiest why. While there was no reason for him to be more expressive of his gut, his gut had yet to steer him wrong which meant the better choice would be to just... flutter away.

Unlike that other thing which seemed to want to make his acquaintance. Nauta did not know much about those orbs other than as a draw for tourists like him but at least he did not hear about any of them being dangerous. The isle would have been closed off a long time ago otherwise. Instead of his usual reaction, the aukari simple waved his hands around it to elicit a reaction- it did come up to him after all. If there was nothing else out of the ordinary, it would be his turn to inspect it though instead of a stick, it would just be another leaf to see what would happen if it was touched.

Though taking a point from the idea that maybe the orbs could understand them, Nauta did more to make it seem like a game than a hostile action when he went "cootchie-cootchie...coo?"

[Pepper]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/x60qFy2.jpg[/img]

The party walked towards the forest, Vega, Arlo, Vivian, Gem and herself. Pepper didn't initially notice Nauta who was following them from some distance away. But she had noticed the group of drunken revellers, all men, who were surrounded at a distance by some of the orbs. They do seem intelligent, like puppies, warily standing guard over the strange men..

The bioluminescence in the forest had transformed everything into a magical, wondrous place. She had seen some plants that glowed like this at night, but never so many at once. Here every leaf, every bit of greenery, every flower petal, everything living in fact, seemed suffused with a soft, subtle glow. Vega's comments and talk with Arlo ran in the background, but Pepper couldn't suppress a small giggle at Vega's seemingly serious comment about the 'corpses of flowers as romantic gestures' and 'gifting haddocks'. When Arlo didn't reply to this, she turned to Vega with a smile and said, "Perhaps if dead flowers started stinking quickly enough, people would stop picking them. But since they keep looking pretty and smelling nice.. Folks can't help it I suppose." At Nauta's call, she looked back in surprise, "Oh! Nauta! Fancy seeing you here." She smiled at her crack about her being alone, "Well you are here too.. and I knew many of the folks here from earlier. I met Vivian here today, she gestured towards Vivian." Quickly she pointed out the other members of the party, introducing Nauta in turn, "I met Nauta during that business with the missing children earlier." Turning to Gem she said, "Now that I remember, I saw you later there too.."

In a clearing some distance further, triangular boulders were scattered throughout. Everyone moved around looking at those, and the carvings illuminated by the litchen on them. They were unmistakably carvings, not chance markings, and they seemed to tell a story. "Doesn't that woman seem like she's swimming away from the man?" The animals. the fox, the racoon, and the ferret were drawn well too, just a few minimal strokes managing to give a very life like impression of the animals. At Arlo's mention of the woman they'd seen in the water while coming to the island, Pepper called out "I saw her, but I couldn't see her face at all.. just long hair and big eyes.."

After a few more bits, the orbs arrived here. These were bigger, perhaps the parents of the smaller ones? Pepper had returned to Gem's side and one of the orbs, an emerald green one came to a stop in front of him. Noticing the other orbs, she said "Why are they only looking at the men?" To Gem she said, "Maybe it's a test Gem, I hope you haven't done anything bad recently.." the grin on her face, and the twinkling eyes telling him he was only teasing. "I know why they aren't testing the women, coz we are naturally nice!" There was the faintest tone of irony in that statement, mixed with amusement. She had certainly known of women who weren't nice by any measure.

In a normal voice, and to the orb she said, "Hello." and simultaneously asked Miret Should we try sending to them? Perhaps they are spirits of this forest?

[Vivian Shiryu]

When the group made it to the stones, Vivian took the time to look over the stones, looking specifically at the triangle stone with the woman swimming away from the man. "Oh, what happened here." she muttered, now certain that something had gone very much wrong. Then the lights started to approach the group, she set her hand on her rapier and readied for a potential fight. "Keep an aye out folks, I doubt these things are all that friendly, going by these murals." she said, her tone cautious. She figured these spheres had something to do with the woman in the water, and doubted they had good intentions for the males.

Unfortunately, it seemed her advice had not been heeded. Arlo was talking to his orb and the redhead was apparently trying to tickle the one that had approached them. Rolling her eyes, Vivian relaxed slightly and joined the rest of the group. "You guys think they're connected to the woman that was hanging out in the water under our boat? So far, they don't seem aggressive, but if they are, they may not like men too much." she said, her tone dry as she leaned against the stone with the drawing of the man and the woman, being careful not to put enough weight on it to knock it over.

Off Topic

Sorry for the incredibly short post, I couldn't think of anything to do with Vivian. =[