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Fantasy The Eobine Expedition

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Arthur could feel his face growing red as he listened to Abalista. Taking criticism wasn't exactly one of his strengths.. especially when his abilities were being called into question. He managed to stay what he thought was 'relatively composed' as she spoke, although it would've been obvious to anyone looking at his expression that he was entirely taken off guard by her remarks.

She completely had a point, of course. Even Arthur, buried somewhere underneath the indignation, knew this was a fair criticism - this expedition group was leagues below most standard groups in terms of organisation and resources. The Red Wings, they certainly were not. And, even if he really tried to stretch it, he knew he hadn't exactly shown anything that would demonstrate he was a good enough leader to not get everyone killed immediately. But still.. even knowing that.. even knowing it was a completely reasonable question.. he could feel that familiar anger start to flare up in his throat.

His chair scraped across the stone floor as he leaned in to address her - which seemed to be pointless, as her eyes were currently fixed up at the ceiling - and was about to interject, when she dropped her head, her gaze returning to Arthur's.

"Have you considered any of these things?"

"Of course I- huh?"

He snapped his head around at the mention of his name from behind, fixing the newcomers with an unintended glare. There were two of them: a young man, who was the source of the voice. Arthur recognised him, he was certain he'd seen him hanging around in the tavern for a while now. Behind him stood a tall woman, with an expression he couldn't quite read. Whatever it was, it was intimidating enough that the glare slipped right off his face.

"Oh, uh.." He mumbled, embarrassment at his near-outburst creeping into his voice, "That, uh, would be me. I'm Arthur Breines."

Gesturing for the two to join them around the table, Arthur glanced back at Abalista. The interruption had been enough to clear most of the indignation from his mind - now, he just felt anger at himself that he'd let himself get so riled up so quickly. Abalista's concerns were well-founded, no matter how much he didn't like hearing about it. Before he could respond to her questions, Lorelei interjected. They both had strong points: on the one hand, you were putting yourself in grave danger if you didn't do as much research into the tree and it's inhabitants as possible. On the other.. they were intending to go into uncharted territory. At that point, there was no guide, no textbook. Just intuition. But of course, you won't get to that point without getting past all the other trials Eobine has to offer, and Arthur was beginning to feel that self-doubt begin to creep in considering all of this..



He didn't expect such an impassioned response from Rokka, but it arrived at just the right time. Regardless of how prepared they were or not - it meant nothing if they ended up giving up at the first sign of trouble. They might not be as organised as other expedition groups.. but they were here now, and there was no point in him agonising over whether he knew enough to continue. Arthur nodded, taking in her words, paused a moment for consideration, then, decisively, got to his feet. Light dizziness washed over him, and he realised that maybe those two pints of ale had had a stronger effect on him than he'd initially thought, but it didn't stop him from clearing his throat as he addressed the whole group.

"Alright, everyone." His eyes swept around the table. It really was a bizarre mix, but he felt like, in that moment, he understood why they'd picked this expedition over all the more conventional ones - he understood why this journey needed to go ahead. This expedition was happening because there were people who needed this, needed to climb Eobine - and this was their only chance. Maybe they were blacklisted from other groups, maybe they didn't have the fees, maybe they just didn't have the time. He certainly felt like he didn't. So, he couldn't afford to worry over when he'd be fully ready - it needed to start now.

"These are all valid points. If we want to make it far, we need to know what's in store, and we also need to be physically prepared so we're not essentially walking around with targets on our backs.. that means adjusting our outfits - and volume," He looked directly at Samuel as he said this, "Accordingly. But, if we're gonna be going into uncharted territory, that information is all going to become useless at some point anyway. So what I'm really looking for, are people that are willing to take that risk."

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he could definitely feel his courage building as he spoke.

"I'm not gonna lie, this isn't the most prepared team. I don't have all the equipment and funding those Extractors do, or the experience. But, I mean - I'm looking at the people in this group, and I can tell for a fact that you guys can handle yourselves in a fight. Some of you already live on Eobine; you know what it's like. Hell, we even have someone from the ERU!" He nodded his head at Elias, then turned to look at Aba, "So I understand if you have concerns, or you don't want to continue with the expedition. I won't judge anyone if they want to leave. But I think.. as messy as this is, we really have a chance, here."

Suddenly aware of how long he'd been speaking, and the eyes on him - not just from the group, but the surrounding tavern patrons - Arthur finished with an awkward smile.

"So, uhh.. I hope I can, uh, prove myself as a leader to you guys, or something." He could feel himself turning red again. Public speaking was not his forte. Attempting to give moralising speeches, even less so.


interactions: everyone
mentions: Gomenesigh Gomenesigh , BluEndings BluEndings
 
"Fascinating." Maddon mused as Kerrian revealed his true face. "Most fascinating indeed. It seems the rot is in partial remission. This will certainly make finding a cure easier, but I fear such a compound could only exist on Eobine, if it exists. I can say without a doubt that no conventional method will cure you at this stage, but I suppose you already knew that."

It appeared the rest of the group had begun quibbling over whether they had what it took to make it to the top of Eobine, where so many other expeditions had failed, but before Maddon could offer his own insightful wisdom that very likely involved a dramatic monologue for the whole tavern to hear, Arthur had already beaten him to it. During Arthur's speech, Maddon was even mentioned with regards to volume, which made very little sense to Maddon, since he had been very meticulous in making sure that all of his chemical compounds were measured out in precise volumes earlier.

Nevertheless, Maddon rose from his seat and cheered as Arthur's speech drifted to a rather awkward close. "Whooo! That's the man who's gonna climb Eobine! Yeah!" Maddon wasn't entirely sure if the rest of the tavern was clapping of if the sound of his own applause was echoing in his ears, but either way he soon decided it was a good idea to sit down after realising he was swaying a little too much.

"But really though," Once he'd sat back down, Maddon addressed the group. "If any of you are having any doubts about this expedition, I heavily recommending signing this contract." He produced a folded piece of parchment and a quill from his satchel and laid it on the table. "If you die, you can donate your body to science. Or not even your whole body, if you don't feel comfortable with that, like just an organ or two. There's a lot of cool experiments I can do, it's all around just a good deal."

mentions: Gabe Gabe N Nue
 
POST-01
CARNELIA
A week had passed and Carnelia had yet to properly adjust to her new lifestyle. Without her parents' support life seemed harsher than she had expected—a far cry from the romanticisms she had dreamt of in the past. The week her and her sibling had been from home they simply tried to get a foothold on life, to organize themselves before they begin an expedition up the tree. They needed to gather supplies beyond what they had taken from their household, though what Carnelia assumed would be a task that would take a mere few days had been stretched to more than a week. Coupled with a dwindling pouch of coins it only seemed as though their situation would become more dire. Though thankfully, in the morning, the two had discovered a call for an expedition by an anonymous organizer.

Such an expedition was perhaps the best-case scenario for the siblings. Travelling with a group would be beneficial in all areas, and they needn't worry for their supplies compared to if they had continued to travel independently. Late into the evening, after eating a quick meal, the two walked through the streets of Helmfirth. The normally cheerful Carnelia seemed more timid than usual during this walk. While she had agreed on travelling with strangers, she was still wary, and walking the streets with only Spinel by her side made her nervous. The fact that it was pouring rain didn't help with the situation either, though thankfully the thick branches overhead kept them protected from the elements.

"We should be there soon—maybe..." Carnelia murmured to herself, her eyes darting from building to building. While the town was small, each building seemed to share an almost identical appearance. Carnelia relied on the storefront signs to guide her, focusing on each of them to make sure she hadn't missed it. She glanced at signs of shops, restaurants, and eventually, she found the 'Woodcarver Tavern'.

Carnelia's eyes instantly sparkled. "Spinel Spinel! I think that's the one over there!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the sign. Hastily, she grasped her sister's hand and ran towards the tavern. She practically bursted through the door with a bright smile. Though Carnelia seemed to gather her composure as she began to observe the rather calm atmosphere within the room.

She let go of her sibling's hand and whispered, "I think those're the people we're looking for." Carnelia was referencing a small group that had formed in an area of the tavern. And as she had brought the group to Spinel's attention, she gestured her to follow as she began to walk towards them.

Once in the strangers' line of sight and in earshot of them, she greeted them. "Hi! I heard there was an expedition happening. Is everyone here involved in it?" she questioned.
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Interactions - Nano Nano & everyone at the tavern (a lot of people to tag so I'll just list it as that >A>)
 
Kerrian finished his mug of ale, watching the commotion on the expedition. He doubts that a lot of these people would be back in the morning, but he didn't care about that. Alone or with a dozen, he will climb this tree and find something to help him. He rises from his chair, dusting his robe. "I apologize, but I must prepare myself for the journey." He noticed the newcomers, more people eager to join the group, and smiled, even though his face was obscured. "Yes, this is the group. I believe the distraught blonde over there is the leader. The people are already going to their rooms, so I suggest you do that, too." He cleared his throat and announced. "I will be providing my services throughout the journey, if anyone desires an edge in power. Just look for me in my room, or whenever. Have a good night." With a bow, he grabbed his bag and headed to the innkeeper, grabbed a room key and went upstairs.
 
(Time skip: the group finish their introductions and make their way to their rooms. They take a further day to make sure they're fully prepared, and then wake up early in the next morning to leave.)

It was that time of morning, where the sky was only just starting to brighten up, and the air was still thick and damp. A thin layer of mist was rising up from the floor, it's surroundings still dotted with droplets of dew. Unsurprisingly, most of Helmfirth's residents were still asleep. When Arthur had crept downstairs that morning, the innkeeper was fast asleep at the desk, and the room had been otherwise deserted. He figured that even most wannabe-expeditioners didn't want to get up at this ungodly hour of the morning.

Arthur was no stranger to being up early - back at home he'd had to get up at the crack of dawn if he wanted to get all his jobs done, and he was more of a morning person anyway - but no matter how many times he did it, he never did manage to get rid of that odd little feeling that it wasn't in human nature to be up at this time - it didn't feel like morning, but it didn't feel like night either.

"It's called a 'liminal space', Arthur", His brother had said to him once, in that proud, smug way he always had. As a kid, Arthur had found it hard not to feel irritation from being talked down to when he did that, but at the same time, it did feel.. cool to have a brother who seemed to know so much.

"A limminy-huh?"

"A 'liminal space'," He repeated, "Like the space between one thing and another. You're a teenager, so you're in the liminal space between childhood and adulthood."

"I'm already an adult-" Arthur had opened his mouth to protest, but his brother ignored him and continued to speak.

"And this time right now is inbetween night and morning. So it's a liminal space." Arthur nodded, like he understood, but he kind of didn't. "You know how you said you started to feel weird when you helped out Mr. Brickenden down at the docks for a whole day? It's because you're used to using the docks to get from one place to the other, so it's weird to stay in the in-between for a long time like that. It's probably why you get that weird feeling when you're awake at this time."

"Ahh. I think I get it," Arthur lied, closing his eyes thoughtfully and nodding his head like he'd just been imparted some great wisdom. His brother was always explaining these weird.. what was that word? 'Con-shepts'? Yes, he was always explaining these weird, complicated 'concepts'. Things that exist sort of but you can't touch them, like thoughts, or something like that..


Arthur snapped out of his daydream. It had been a long time since he'd thought about his brother. As a kid, he always assumed that once he was all grown up, he'd fully understand all those strange ideas his brother tried to explain to him. Now he was a legal adult, and he couldn't say that he did..

He leaned against the exterior of the Woodcarver Tavern, waiting for his fellow party members to join him. It was still a good while before the time he'd suggested everybody meet him outside at, but he preferred being the first one there - he was the leader, after all. Aba's words from two days ago had gotten to him, and he'd spent the previous day going through all his belongings once more, reevaluating everything, throwing out the unneeded stuff that was taking up space and buying some last minute items. The good thing about Helmfirth's reputation was, you could still buy expedition equipment all the way up here (albeit at a slightly more expensive price..) and by the end of it, Arthur was certain he was as prepared as he possibly could be at this point. All the rearranging had whittled down his luggage to one, large bag, that rested at his feet. He'd advised everyone else to do the same, although he wasn't sure how many of them had listened..

Whilst waiting for everyone else to join him, he took the time to flick through his journal - well, technically, it was his sister's journal, but given that she'd never managed to finish it, and had no clear intentions of coming back, he'd taken to writing his own notes about Eobine on the blank pages. Thumbing through the pages again, he felt a strange feeling rise up in him again - something like sadness, tinged with a bit of anxiety. Well, here I am, Evaine. Eobine. You must be up here, too, mustn't you?

When he had came to Eobine, he'd done it not even letting himself fully consider the possibility that he'd find his sister. For one, he wasn't even 100% sure she was here. Of the limited things she'd wrote about in her apology note, her whereabouts was not one of them, although Arthur couldn't think of anywhere else she'd have gone. But now that he was here.. he was standing on the exact same piece of land that she must be. In that moment, it was hard to get rid of that hope that he'd run into her.

If she's still alive, that is.

Arthur stared blankly at the journal, realising that for the past few minutes he hadn't actually been taking any of the words in, and snapped the leather-bound book shut abruptly. Reading it was stirring up too many thoughts he didn't want to deal with right now.
 
ᗅᙘᗅᒪᓿSᖶᗅ ᙢᑗᘉᓿᘉᗅ
Current Location: 10th Layer, Outside the Woodcarver Tavern
Interactions: N Nue


Aba had departed from the group rather brusquely and stayed to herself through the following day. She was probably the most experienced among them when it came to actually exploring the tree and she wanted to be as prepared as possible. She didn't look forward to being more of a leader than the leader itself, but she knew there wasn't much of a choice. The night before the journey was to start, she forfeited her room and had one last meal at the tavern. Mostly to enjoy the last bit of really good food she would have in a long time, possibly ever. She had never really considered the possibility of death, even in this group expedition, but she always knew it was a possibility.

While it was selfish, she would not hesitate to leave her group and turn around if it meant survival. She didn't just want to climb the tree, she had to. It had been calling to her for years, for most of her life. It wasn't something she could easily explain and even if she did, she sounded crazy. So, after her meal, she retired to the roof of the inn and perched herself up there. She hadn't traveled in awhile and wanted to get her body used to the travel again. The roof wasn't so bad at least. Zuzu stayed with her and it was open. The rooms tended to be stifling and she had quite enough of them several days ago. The air was cool and although wet, it didn't bother her in the slightest. She ended up falling asleep as she peered up through the leaves above her, thoughts of their new adventure traveling through her mind.

When morning came, she was roused by the soft padding of Zuzu on her chest. He was pawing at her chest and her face and as soon as her eyes fluttered open, Zuzu hopped down and slinked to the edge of the roof. Aba took a moment to rub her eyes and stretch her arms high above her head. Her body was stiff, but nothing she wasn't used to. She carefully walked to the edge of the roof and peered down. Their leader was already there, which was surprising. She looked around and although she couldn't tell the exact time, it had to be quite early. She walked back up the roof and strapped her pack on, pulled out her new pair of goggles and strapped them to her head, and grabbed her staff.

She quickly jumped to the ground, her legs bending into a crouch to soften the impact. She stood up straight and looked at Arthur for a moment as Zuzu jumped down, finding his normal perch on her shoulder with his tail wrapped loosely around her neck. Without any words, she walked past and into the inn, where she only stayed long enough to grab a quick meal before heading back out. It was enough to fill her up, but wasn't going to make her too full. It was important to always be well fed and hydrated. The tree was very unforgiving when it came to that.

She walked back out with her plate and crouched on the opposite side of the doorway as Arthur, her arm holding the plate extended as she picked away at it. She fed Zuzu small bites here and there, but he mostly fed himself. She wasn't sure exactly what to say. She wasn't about to apologize for her words from the other day and she had never been much for small talk, but she was sure he was probably feeling awkward. "Why did you decide to create this exhibition? What drives you to pursue climbing the tree?" Her voice was rather dull, almost as if she were bored. She was genuinely curious, though. Everyone had a different reason and she never talked to other explores except to get information.
 
Arthur was somewhat surprised that Aba was still here. After what she said at the Inn that night, he'd gotten the impression that she didn't want to continue with the expedition, and he hadn't seen her yesterday, either, so he'd assumed she'd left. So, it was a relief to see her again that morning - sure, she may be blunt, but she seemed to know the most out of all of them about actually exploring Eobine, and that was a useful person to have on the team. That being said.. it didn't make the atmosphere any less awkward.

Arthur fumbled with the strap of the journal, deliberating on whether or not he should say something. It seemed rude not to, but at the same time, Aba didn't really seem like the.. talkative type. It was sort of hard to think of something to say. He finally settled on asking her if she was still coming on the expedition or not, but as he opened his mouth to ask, she spoke.

"Why did you decide to create this exhibition? What drives you to pursue climbing the tree?"

Taken aback by this, he turned to look at her. Her tone was deadpan, and it was hard to determine if she was asking because she was interested, or because it was awkward to stay silent. He took a few moments to consider his answer.

"It's.. sort of hard to explain," Arthur said, turning back and staring off into the distance, "We - my family - we lived as far away from Leranor as you could possibly get, y'know. It was this tiny, sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere. And even though Eobine was the furthest it could be, somehow, it managed to draw my family to it, one by one. I'm.. the only one left. I think." He added, hastily.

"It wasn't just my family, though. This sort of thing happened with half the village. It's almost a ghost town, now. I never could wrap my head around how Eobine had such an influence on people, how it attracted people to it so easily - I guess I sort of resented it too, for pulling my family apart." He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a forced, awkward chuckle, "Anyway, I guess it got me too, because I'm here now. I'm climbing the tree because I just.. need to know. I don't know how to explain it properly, but there's just this nagging feeling that there's something not quite right about the tree, or something hidden, and I need to find it." His gaze fell to the leather journal he was holding. He hadn't realised he'd been turning it over and over in his hands, absent minded. Arthur still didn't understand the contents of the journal.. but he was sure that coming to Eobine was his only chance of ever finding out.

"..What about you?"
 
Kerrian closed the door to his room, sighing heavily as the night came to a close. He placed his heavy bag on top of the table, taking his materials out of it, arranging neatly on the table. "Red, Blue, Green. I need to mix more Red paint..." Kerrian unclasped his mask, the ludicrous amount of runes shimmering in the surface of his whole outfit, revealing his visage. The horns that were hidden to fit in the mask slowly grew again, returning Kerrian to his natural appearance. He closed his eyes, breathing the night air of the tree. It felt a little damp, the smell of wet wood filling his nostrils, calming the tattoo artist from the whole trip. Silently, he started his diligent effort in maintaining his inks. Replenishing the materials on the inert inks, checking for materials to be bought, distilling new inks from Kerrian's stock... it was like an orchestra, especially because of Kerrian's ability. He expanded his fingers, using the peculiarity of his body to increase the efficiency of his craft. It was well past midnight when he decided that it was enough. Kerrian was exhausted, well beyond normal.

Kerrian had his curse, his mutation long enough that he knew when it was time to "feed". He cursed under his breath, almost spilling fresh ink on the table. Kerrian huffed, recomposing himself and finishing repacking. He finished his bag and reclasped his mask, laying in bed with the heavy apparatus. He couldn't afford respite from his prison, at least not now. Each time the robes would deactivate was life force drained from his accursed body. This, however, only steeled his resolve for the trials that would start.

He spent the last day of preparing buying what he needed, and offering his services. Of course, no one would trust something as important as tattooing magical symbols on their skin to a weirdo in a mask. Frustrated, he spent the rest of his night at the bar, drinking his worries away. The next day started early, with Kerrian deciding to spend some more time outside his clothing to take a deep bath, cleaning everything he had and sleeping soundly. Maybe something "edible" would bless him on the first days of travel.

He reached the tavern on the first floor of the Inn and outside, seeing two familiar faces. The leader, Arthur, talking to the girl with the tasty... Kerrian shook his head. He wasn't something to eat, god dammit. He's Abalista's animal. He approached the two, sighing. "Good morning. I hope you had a better night of sleep than I did."
 
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ᗅᙘᗅᒪᓿSᖶᗅ ᙢᑗᘉᓿᘉᗅ
Current Location: 10th Layer, Outside the Woodcarver Tavern
Interactions: N Nue
Aba mostly stayed quiet through Arthur's little speech. She wasn't quite expecting that much of an explanation, but she really didn't mind. She slowly ate the rest of the food on her plate as he talked and only occasionally her eyes flicked over to meet him although her head stayed facing front. "I haven't spoken to my family in years." The comment was quiet and very much unexpected. She almost hoped Arthur hadn't heard it. He continued talking at the very least, which she took as a good sign. When he finished, she stayed silent. Her eyes stared at nothing in front of her. She knew the return question was coming and yet she still didn't really have a response for him. She turned and regarded him silently, her sparkle filled eyes almost glowing in the early morning light. She was prepared to give him a response, something short, but would still get the point across.

The door swung open in that moment and she instantly stood up as the fully clothed man came out. She couldn't remember his name, but knew that he was the tattoo artist from the meeting a couple nights ago. Zuzu let out a soft whine and Aba could feel his tail wrap tighter around her. She clicked her tongue softly as her eyes flicked over to the masked man. Suspician instantly filled her. Zuzu didn't typically act like this around other people or even other creatures up in the tree. Aba swerved around him and entered into the tavern without another word. While it was mostly frowned upon for other patrons, she stepped behind the bar and washed her dish. She frequented the tavern so often and they knew her so well that they gave her a lot of liberties.

She returned outside a short time after and strangely didn't go back to her interactions with them. Instead, she pulled herself back up to the roof and unstrapped the bag from her back and laid back. Her legs dangled off the edge of the roof, one draped lazily over the other. Zuzu curled up on her stomach as she lay there, arms tucked behind her head.
 
Rokka Mokona

Since they decided to postpone the traveling until the next day, Rokka decided to go back to her house for one last preparation. Though after she finished her packing she didn't feel like the contents of her backpack changed much.

When the sun finally arise on the next day, Rokka was already heading towards the inn. Her house was in the 6.5th layer while the inn was in the 10th layer. She couldn't help but to use the elevator, again. Just thinking about it was enough to make her shudder.

The elevator was a double-railed vertical platform that was built on the most straight surface they could find, usually people coukd find three to four of them on each layers. Iron bars entangled around the platform, making it looks like a bird-cage. Sturdy steel wires were attached to the top and bottom part of the platform as the main mechanism that would pull it upward or level it downward. Steamy machine was put on both side of the rail, the other side of the steel wires were connected to these machines. Elevator was quite popular in the lower layer, especially among tourists. On the higher layer, not so much. The reason was...

*blech*

Almost! She almost lose her breakfast, but she hold it in! This phenomenon occured starting from the 8th layer. It seems using elevator would gave people nausea, and it became more severe the higher the elevator go. As far as she knew, scientist still couldn't pinpoint the problem, but some natives theorize that the tree itself was passively trying to hinder humanity from advancing further.

Rokka couldn't care much about that though. Just let those newcomer vs native arguments away from her dream. After a few minutes recovering from the nausea, she made her way to the inn. She waved her hand at the sight of Arthur and the masked guy standing in front of the inn.

"Morning!"
 

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