TDM #5

[calderaevents]

ARRIVAL

It happens in an instant. A heavy weight in your gut, a trembling of your limbs, the world spins and you barely have time to register that you're falling before you lose consciousness. And when you awaken, it's not where you were last. Dark, unadorned oak walls surround you in a tiny room, the only furniture the bed you are currently resting upon, and the bedside table with a folded piece of parchment resting atop it that simply reads:

“The Tavernkeeper is awaiting your arrival downstairs.”

As you exit you find others like yourself emerging from the surrounding rooms. You are indeed in a tavern, but there is no hustle and bustle one might think to hear in such a place. The only person down on the main floor is a humanoid figure wiping down the bar, who smiles when they see you. They're familiar, but not, and you can't quite place their face. For some reason, however, their presence is comforting and warm.

“Welcome, Visitor. I'm sure you have a lot of questions.”

And you most certainly do.

Due to popular demand, the starter tavern and the drinks provided are available to in game characters via a portal accessible only to those with a faction gem.

DRINK MENU

FLAMEFRUIT SANGRIA a deep red wine based punch with chunks of softly glowing fruit floating in it. A single serving makes you feel relaxed, social, and maybe even a little flirty.

MOLTEN MEAD Though the thick drink itself is room temperature, it bubbles sluggishly, and feels very warm going down. The bold flavor affects your mood. You feel very bold! Like you could do anything!

BESALT BRANDY a hopefully staple drink for the brewery, this liquor is smooth and rich with a peppery bite. Ironically after consuming it, you kinda want to bite someone! Not hard! Just a little nip and nibble!

THAT ASHY ESPRESSO a single potent shot of dark espresso swirled with a gold-tinged cream. Intense and bitter with a hint of caramelized sugar. You are now very awake, hyper, and excited.

PYROCLAST'S WHISKEYa glossy black whiskey that turns a vibrant glowing orange when swirled. You now breathe fire.

EMBERMARK WINE a rich, velvety, spiced wine that immediately makes one feel mellow and calm.

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY

As the effects of your drink wear off, the Tavernkeeper speaks once more:

”It is time, my friends, for you to find your new homes.”

You are compelled to walk through the only door leading out of the tavern, finding yourself not outside, but in a deep black, seemingly endless room with five portals arranged in a circle. As the last of you leave and the door closes behind you, gone when you look back again and replaced with nothing but that black void, three of the portals illuminate:

The first portal is surrounded by an almost blinding light, prismatic rainbows shining brightly in the dewy air outside of the tavern. A soft breeze may gently caress you, pulling you toward it. The portal seems to lead to a city in the clouds, airships and winged beings of all sorts soaring through the skies. Of the little bits of visible land, much of it boasts giant waterfalls that look like clouds melting into the land below. The portal calls to those who crave independence and freedom; and especially to anyone that wishes to find the strong bond of a family not forged in blood.

The second portal is encircled by a fairy ring of spotted white capped mushrooms, the faint scent of damp stone and rich earth wafting from within the faint green glow. Peering inside, one can see a sprawling harbor city of gray hewn stone, a melting pot of humanoid beings going about their day, and beyond, rolling green farmland and cottages clustered in small villages. This portal is destined for those who crave stability and solid ground beneath their feet. A simple life, an adventurous one, and everything in between can be found within.

The last portal is adorned with shells and seaweed, the glow of blue around it catching on droplets cascading down the circular opening. Beyond it you see a city housed inside a massive bubble deep under the ocean, spiraling towers encrusted with coral, and a variety of different creatures mingling about the streets. Outside of that bubble, merfolk swim, a massive squid engulfs the view from the portal as it smoothly glides through the water, and schools of fish disperse as it passes. A sanctuary in the sea that calls to those with a hunger for knowledge and a desire to aid those in need. Or perhaps it is the mystery that beckons you - the lure of the unknown in the depths that bids you explore it.

---

Upon following the pull of the breeze through the first portal, you are thrust into the beauty of a lively city that goes by the name of Heaven's Bow. Much of this main city feels exactly as you would expect on a city below, but there are clouds surrounding every direction you look. The walls of buildings are made with light-colored limestone, and buildings are generally built up to heights made even more grandiose by their position in the sky.

The Skyfall Docks are the first thing you notice, boasting hundreds of airships sailing in and out across the clouds with shouts that accompany a typical port city. Just outside is a fantastic market with goods not only from the other regions of Caldera, but from what some shopkeepers claim are other worlds--items sold or left behind by Visitors. Almost anything can be found in the markets if one is willing to look hard enough. Transport to other locations throughout the sky and even to the land or sea can be found here.

If the docks are too lively for you, you may instead find yourself roaming the underbelly of Heaven's Bow and finding brothels and gambling parlors filled with the promise of pleasure and fortune. The guild house for the Sylphs can be found here as well, giving out quests and training to prospective adventurers and guards alike--though none of them seem concerned with the illicit activities that surround them. Perhaps the freedom the Sylphs boast of extends to what others may deem an undesirable activity.

But most curious of all, you find a shimmering opal gemstone in your hand. When placed anywhere on the body, it will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.

---

If it was the second portal that called to you, you will find yourself in the busy city of Grey Ward, with its cobblestone streets and sturdy grey stone buildings. You are in the heart of the city, the Glass Market, so named for the colorful stained glass windows of the surrounding buildings. The scent of cooking food and the sound of barkers fills the air; watchful guards keep an eye out for pickpockets and thieves, and citizens go about their day. From here, one can investigate the rest of the city: the Sundown Docks, where both sea and sky faring skips transport people and goods. The Soot Spire, home of inventors and engineers. The Hearthstill, the main residential area. The Downs, a smaller residential area for those with less means.

Outside the city walls, one can explore acres of farmlands to the east and west, or follow Terra’s Pass to the less settled areas, but take care. Past the Skyward Range, out in the smaller burrows and villages, the influence of the city guard diminishes quickly, and you’ll have to keep your wits about you. Bandits along the road are always a risk, and the wildlife are less controlled by regimented hunting.

In your hand is a gemstone, a brilliantly green emerald that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.

---

If the last portal beckoned you through it, you find yourself within that bubble covered city beneath the sea, the city of Salt Spire. Your ears pop with the change in pressure, and the smell of the salty sea fills your nostrils. All around you buildings made of dark stone encrusted with coral and seagrass tower high above your head, the backdrop outside the dome a deep blue, seemingly endless sea filled with fish and merfolk and all other manner of creature swimming through the water. You stand in the heart of it all, surrounded by people with gils on their necks and scales upon their vibrantly colored skin, all of whom seem intrigued by your arrival. You have many options of where to visit in the city under the sea, but where oh where will you go first?

The Salt Spire Library is right before you, an impossibly large building housing thousands upon thousands of books of all genres. Fiction, non-fiction, romance and mystery and all between. You may even find books from your world and others! Oddly enough though, no Calderan history books are to be found, and if you ask for them, the librarians and locals all choose to ignore your questions.

If scholarly pursuits aren't to your interest currently, perhaps a trip to Bluetide Market would be more your style? The marketplace is host to every manner of shop one might ever need: artisans of all varieties, apothecaries and healers in the Shimmer Quarter, the most in fashion undersea clothing shops, food stalls, and all between can be found in Bluetide. There are also the Tideshore and Fogbottom docks on either end of the city. The former allows transport to the surface via large, magical bubbles for those that cannot hold their breath or make the swim themselves yet. The latter allows people to venture further into the sea. Those without their underwater abilities are offered rebreathers for travel that last for four hours before needing to be replaced.

In your hand is a gemstone, a shining sapphire that, when placed anywhere on the body, will transform into a piece of jewelry with the gemstone set in the center.

IGNACIA'S CRADLE/EMBER VEIL

Months ago, a piece of land from Heaven’s Bow fell from the sky and scarred the land below, damaging a part of the city. From that chaos and ruin rose new life, a new ruler, and a new city: Ignacia’s Cradle. Just a short walk from the edge of Grey Ward, the gates of the city are guarded by two massive obsidian golems, and any who did not rise from the lava itself are warned at the entrance that to travel about the city will be most difficult, unless they have obtained a way to mitigate the extreme heat: be that with a charm, an ability, or a potion. The very streets themselves are paved in slabs of volcanic rock, tall spires of buildings constructed and shaped by rapidly cooled lava. The main method of travel are the mine carts, with tracks that wind through the spires ready to take one to almost any location.

Currently, the main feature of Ignacia’s Cradle is the Lava Flats, home of skilled smiths that use the extreme heat of the lava to melt the strongest metals and create unbreakable weapons, glassmakers and jewelers who fashion elaborate headpieces, rings, and amulets. These items are sold at the Ember Market on the outskirts of the Flats.

At the edge of the city lies the Ashfall Terrace, where a small farm using the rich volcanic ash and soil is in its infancy, as well as the Basalt Brewery where clever alchemists are researching ways to use the extreme heat to craft new and unique beverages that they are eager to find folk to test them out on.

---

The hot spring of Ignacia’s Cradle is a breathtaking anomaly located just beyond the Ashfall Terrace, tucked into a secluded crater formed by the celestial impact that gave rise to the city. Here, molten veins from the Lava Flats weave beneath the earth, heating a natural reservoir that bubbled to life amidst the chaos. The spring’s waters shimmer with an ethereal brilliance, hues of deep turquoise blending with molten gold and fiery orange, as though Heaven’s Bow itself left behind a fragment of its essence. Steam rises in curling wisps, carrying the tang of minerals and faint traces of sulfur.

The spring, known to locals as The Ember Veil, is both a sanctuary and a marvel of natural wonder. Its soothing waters are reputed to heal wounds and fortify the spirit, with the temperature kept in perfect balance by an intricate system of naturally formed vents and channels. The edges are lined with intricately carved obsidian benches, where patrons can soak their feet or meditate in the rising steam. Plants resistant to the intense conditions—vivid fire lilies and ash ferns—dot the perimeter, their resilience a symbol of life’s ability to flourish even in the harshest environments.

Sometimes, when two or more individuals share the waters, the spring creates a subtle connection between their minds, allowing memories to surface like ripples on its surface. These shared memories appear as glowing, translucent scenes that hover above the water, visible to all within the spring. Participants can relive moments from their lives, experiencing them through each other’s eyes, fostering profound empathy and understanding.

Another of the spring’s mystical properties occurs when bathers who enter the waters feeling drained, injured, or burdened by grief often find their vitality restored. The waters seem to draw out negative energies and emotions, replacing them with a warm, invigorating sensation that spreads through the body. In rare instances, the spring has been known to accelerate physical healing, mending minor injuries and soothing chronic aches, as though the magic itself is stitching the body back together.

A lesser-known but equally fascinating effect happens on particularly clear nights, when the moonlight reflects on the spring’s surface, some bathers report fleeting glimpses of potential futures. These visions are often cryptic, appearing as brief, dream-like flashes, but they have guided many to life-changing decisions. The alchemists of the Basalt Brewery believe this effect stems from residual cosmic energy, and they have begun experimenting with enhancing it through the addition of rare minerals and lunar elixirs.

RADIANT SUN

The day begins like no other, with the skies painted in hues of golden-pink as the Radiant Sun ascends. Its light spills over the world, warm and soft, caressing the land and filling every heart with a sense of peace. Beneath its glow, emotions of love and connection bloom like never before. Strangers exchange heartfelt smiles, old friends embrace as though no time has passed, and lovers find their feelings deepened, their bonds strengthened.

Even the air feels different—lighter, sweeter, as though the universe itself is celebrating. The songs of birds harmonize with the melodies of impromptu musicians who feel inspired by the sun’s radiance. Those with magical abilities sense their powers of healing and creation magnified, as if the sun itself lends its strength to their intentions. Long-held grudges seem to melt away under the sun’s tender gaze, replaced by tears of reconciliation and words of forgiveness.

The Radiant Sun touches every heart differently:

◾A widow finds peace as memories of her late spouse no longer bring sorrow but gratitude for the love they shared.
◾A timid youth finds the courage to confess their feelings to the person they’ve admired for so long.
◾A gruff warrior lets down their guard, laughing freely with their companions for the first time in years.

For a fleeting moment, the world feels as it should be—unified, harmonious, and drenched in love.

But as the day wanes and the Radiant Sun dips below the horizon, an unease begins to settle...

JEALOUS MOON

The golden light gives way to deep purples and silvers as the Jealous Moon rises, its glow pale and cold. Its light pierces the heart, not to warm it, but to expose the insecurities that lie buried within. Where love had flourished during the day, doubt begins to creep in.

Under the Jealous Moon’s influence, emotions twist and darken:

◾A once-reconciled pair of siblings argue over old grievances, as jealousy over perceived favoritism resurfaces.
◾A couple, who had spent the day lost in each other’s arms, now question each other’s loyalty and intentions.
◾A nobleman, inspired to be generous during the day, grows suspicious of those who received his gifts, fearing they may exploit his kindness.

The air grows heavy with tension, and the magic of the Radiant Sun fades, replaced by the sharp sting of distrust. The moon’s pale light seems to follow people like a judgmental gaze, amplifying every fear, insecurity, and lingering resentment.

Worse still, the night seems endless, as though time itself has bent beneath the weight of the Jealous Moon’s envious glow. For three long days and nights, the moon lingers high in the sky, its pale, piercing light casting a shadow over hearts and minds, amplifying discord and despair. Its power sows strife among even the closest bonds, driving some to dangerous extremes. Yet, when all seems lost, the scholars of the three factions unite their wisdom and uncover a glimmer of hope—a means to dispel the moon’s cruel influence. For those who have not yet succumbed to jealousy’s grip, there remains a chance to reclaim harmony, a chance for redemption before the damage becomes irreversible.

The solution lies not in complex rituals or rare relics but in the simplest and most instinctive actions: physical connection. To weaken the moon’s hold, people must embrace one another—offering a hug, a handshake, or even resting a hand on someone’s shoulder. These gestures of closeness disrupt the isolation and mistrust that the moon thrives upon. Sitting side by side or holding hands creates a barrier against its oppressive light, reminding the afflicted that they are not alone. Even small acts, like sharing warmth through proximity or clasping arms in solidarity, build a shield of connection that the moon cannot penetrate.

As these actions ripple through the night, the Jealous Moon’s light begins to dim, its sharp, cold glow softening until it fades from the sky entirely. The tension in the air lifts, replaced by a quiet calm that feels almost foreign after the chaos of the past three days. Slowly, the world seems to exhale, and the darkness that clung so tightly to the hearts of many begins to loosen its grip. People step back from the brink of despair, their minds clearing as if waking from a long, disorienting dream. Relationships strained by the moon’s influence begin to mend as apologies are exchanged, tears are shed, and bonds are reaffirmed.

ALL IS WELL(?)

With the Radiant Sun rising again, its golden-pink hues spilling across the horizon, life begins to return to normal. The birds resume their morning songs, markets reopen, and the hum of daily activity fills the air once more. Though traces of the moon’s influence linger in whispered memories, there is a collective sense of relief and gratitude among the people—gratitude for the light, for connection, and for a second chance to heal.

In the outskirts of Ignacia's Cradle, Aella and Terra, two of the three leaders of the factions, come together to address the gathered crowds. Together they assure the people that this celestial event was a rare anomaly, something never before recorded in the annals of history. They explain that while the Jealous Moon’s influence was unprecedented and deeply unsettling, it was a unique alignment of cosmic forces that is unlikely to occur again in their lifetimes—or ever.

The leaders thank the people for their resilience and compassion, emphasizing how their acts of unity—simple gestures of closeness and connection—proved stronger than the moon’s envy. They commend the scholars for their quick thinking and the Visitors for their role in guiding others through the chaos. Finally, they urge everyone to move forward, not in fear of what has passed, but with the knowledge that even in the darkest moments, their strength lies in the bonds they share.

QUESTBOARD

Settled in? Good. It's time to make your way to the Questboard located in every city in numerous, easy to access locations. That is, if you want to make any kind of impact on the world or just get some Bones for anything you might wish to purchase. Visitors are given a very small stipend in which to survive every month, but all it does is keep you fed and housed. These quests will assure you greater wealth, and they're the main reason you're here: each finished quest helps the Calderans fix their shattering world.

Quests can be accepted at the questboard via magically signed parchment upon the board. Just sign your name to accept and the paper will be whisked away... somewhere. You're not actually sure. Probably nothing to concern yourself with.

Once quests are completed, earned Bones will be dropped off at the character's residence by Bonita, the mysterious artisan who has supposedly handcrafted every Bone circulating in Caldera. Please do not speak to her, she startles easily.

*February will be the last month to complete quests for this rotation. New ones will go up on March 1st.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Caldera's fifth TDM! All characters awaken in a strange tavern with nothing save the clothes on their backs, all of their powers stripped, and a piece of parchment directing them downstairs to the Tavernkeeper. There is a thread of all questions answered by the Tavernkeeper here, and if you have more, feel free to ask there for what would be offered ICly.

For OOC questions, please direct themhere.

All locations are available to be explored! Ignacia's Cradle and Ember Veil have been added, along with details about the Violet Drop regarding the Cult of Triton.

The TDM is game canon and all completed quests can be carried over once accepted into the game.

Participation in the Radiant Sun/Jealous Moon effects is not mandatory.

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Comments

ember veil time to suffer

[odare]

Ah, what a relaxing place this is. Warmth and comfort seep into his bones as he lays back against the pool's edge. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, apparently that. A scene that could be taken right from a tape of the Games, except from the fact that there are adults and dinosaurs in it, plays in the water before his eyes. He's been in this spring already, so he knows this is someone's memory. His body tenses up, and then the woman next to him seems to claim it as her own.

Hunger Games. He has not heard those words in months, and hoped to never hear them again. No. No, fuck, no, no. Not again, not here.

"What?" His breathing is coming quicker now, panicked, and he looks at Shepard urgently. "What did you just say?"

Arrival

[nunconformity]

Mercedes had felt similarly, and she'd made a quick beeline to get information as well. She was polite about it all, but she'd certainly grilled the Tavernkeeper as much as she could before she'd accepted the offer of a drink. A soft, rich wine is what she's served, and she accepts it without much hesitation. No sense in not taking what's offered, especially if it smells this nice.

Settling down to enjoy it at the bar, Mercedes is the picture of relaxation when Ingrid walks in. As she asks her questions, Mercie listens intently, and it's only when her friend finishes up that she softly clears her throat and makes her presence known. She hadn't wanted to interrupt, and figured it was best if her more hot-headed companion got the same answers she had gotten straight from the source.

"Hello Ingrid. It's nice to see you."

[earthborn]

Shepard turns to look at him, rolling her head across her shoulders with an exaggerated lassitude. She regards his panic with an exsanguine stare, the scars on her cheek glimmering faintly in the dim, foggy light of Ember Veil, and then gestures at the memory of the arena doggedly playing itself out in front of them.

"Hunger Games. The Arena," Then something seems to spark in her expression, and she frowns, actually sitting up a little, the better to see his— Oh, "Holy shit."

She knows this guy. Oh, not personally, they had never had reason to hang out. But there was merch, posters, vids and advertisements. District Four's famous heartbreaker, the Victor of the 65th games, long before her time in the limelight.

"You're Finnick Odair. Damn— You alright?"

[chosenundead]

As luck would have it: being peppered with questions is not an attack on this occasion!

"Oh, and you talk! How lovely. Yes, of course," The knight comes willingly, seating herself at the table with no difficulty at all, though the motion is suitably noisy, "Only if you do want to attack, that's alright. I haven't a sword at the moment, or my shield, so it's only that it's awkward, not that I can't fight, you know."

Her armor is a liberal mix of plate-metal, leather, and chain-maile, with a well-worn tabard thrown over the lot, and belted 'round the waist, and she wears it light and casually.

And she does not remove her helmet.

[chosenundead]

"Oh but that's no reason not to do it, it's quite alright," she is quick to reassure him, both hands a gentle reprove. Not to worry, Loki, she isn't mad— or at least, she isn't angry, "It's no trouble: I hardly say a word to most of the people I kill!"

She is very sure this is a comfort to you, Loki. One needn't be acquainted with someone in order to acquaint them with entropy, so to speak. Ha ha!

"Really?" She cocks her head, quite an odd gesture for someone in full armor and a helmet, and then looks at the sky. There is an impression, somehow, that she is squinting, "Oh I see. It's like a lantern..."

Something is glowing, in the dark slit of her visor, deeply red and seductive in its call to violence. It's low, yet, but growing by slow degrees, like watching the minute-hand proceed along its round.

"Yes, you might be right. Let's— oh where did you?" She sees him at last, and moves to join Loki in the shade, "Ah, there you are. Oh, now this is a bit better."

questboard

[thecodexabides]

Gadriel's not so psyched on the 'save the world' thing for this place. He has Opinions about the trustworthiness of their captors, and the amount of jars of venom he keeps producing show that it is not going away.

However, someone wants to see a chainsword and Gadriel is willing to do many things, up to and including warcrimes, to share the chainsword appreciation.

Fortunately or not, warcrimes tend not to be on the quest board, but maybe something would seem appealing. Who knows. It had been a few days and it was worth a look. So here's all nine feet of barely civilized Space Marine in his armor, reading over the quest board. "Mushrooms. Absolutely not." He remembers the last time he had to harvest plants. "I am not falling for that again."

[odare]

As she says his name, his breath hitches audibly, and though he's trying not to show his panic, it's not working. He's so caught off-guard.

She knows him, but he doesn't know her. Yet, her clothing says D5. He wracks his brain, but can't for the life of him remember a District 5 Victor who looks like this. Her look is distinctive and he has a good memory for faces, so he's perplexed.

"I-- Should I know you? I'm sorry, I don't remember-" He's trying to be friendly and polite, but the anxiety is still bleeding into his voice.

[miss_filed]

"Likewise, I cannot imagine being alive for so many years. Does the world remain endlessly fascinating? OR do you get bored, after a while?" History does repeat itself, or at least rhyme well enough. Maybe after a while it got tedious and that was why the tall man was so melancholic.

"I suppose if someone would put my private things on display while I were alive, it would feel awkward, but after death, in the passage of time, would it really matter that I had a crush on one of my tutors? Or that I like or dislike certain foods? I'd like to think that it would make me, well, more alive in someone's mind. When we die, it is the best immortality we can hope for, I think." Since we are not Egyptians, with their reed boats and afterlife.

[halfdecay]

[ In one swift movement, Owen drops the cloth inside a small parchment bag. Will it yield any results back in their makeshift base? Who knows? There may be some scrap of dead skin or hair from their bone thief. Best to keep their bases covered.

He takes a moment to take inventory of the corpse’s remains, mouthing the several phalanges caught between soil and root. ]

Two from the right…Perhaps four more from the left side.

[ One spot of ivory catches his eye. He dusts at it gently, revealing the tibia. ]

Make that five.

[miss_filed]

"Well I have no weapons, unless this," she looks at the table, "this fork counts, but it would not do much against armor like that." A girl had to be inventive to survive, she's learned.

"Why are you surprised that I talk?" Oh no, here comes the question train puffing into the station. "What kind of armor is that? Is it heavy?"

[holdshisown]

"We are quite different beings, so it's only understandable there are things between our people that simply baffles us. I would not say the world grows dull and boring. It is constantly changing. If anything we are more vulnerable to the grief that comes with living such long lives." History does repeat but the roads it takes to reach the same conclusions are not always the same and thus facsinating in their own right.

"Ah, well... death is not necessarily a permanent thing to my people. So I suppose I'd have a different view on it. An Elf may very well walk in on a group gawking and speculating about their life after recovering in the Hall's... and I can't imagine they'd be best pleased by it." He surely wouldn't be so.

[miss_filed]

Five. So it seems the rest may have been looted for these artificial Bones?

[Evie alternates between amusement and puzzlement at this place naming their currency Bones. As an Egyptologist, she finds it delightful, but also, a bit, well, distasteful. However, when in Rome...!

She was about to ask another question, when she freezes, eyes darting around, and then she flings herself down into the hole with him. ]

I think someone is here!!

[miss_filed]

"Oh, I see! That would be mortifying, especially if others who knew me also came back!" What a strange world and here she is having possibly the strangest conversation of her life.

"One day I would like to hear the history of your world." It would probably take multiple days. She might need more notebooks. "But does that apply to these relics here?"

Evelyn Carnahan | The Mummy | undecided

[miss_filed]

<a href="https://calderamemes.dreamwidth.org/1953.html?thread=2513313#cmt2513313>pretend I have clever text </a>

[holdshisown]

"Yeah... it's not a thing people often think about when they imagine what immortality is like." He'd never really thought about how strange it would seem to humans that his people did not really have to stay forever.

"I would not mind telling you. We do love to share knowledge and stories." Most likely, at least if she didn't just want the shortened version. "I'm not sure. I don't really know how the people these relics came from thought about these things or if there nature might be like that of my own people. Which is why I feel a bit conflicted about the whole thing."

[halfdecay]

Wha-?

[ Before Owen has a moment to process what Evie said, his face catches wisps of her hair. They don’t know each other well enough, but he can at least trust her to know when they need to duck down. When in doubt, if you see an Egyptologist make a move, you follow.

He lowers his head to whisper: ]

Could be the grave keeper making their rounds. Or you don’t think…?

[ He doesn’t have to finish that thought. ]

[miss_filed]

[She would apologize later, for almost landing on him. Right now, she crouched down next to him, craning her ear to listen. ]

Would the keeper be making attempts at being quiet?

[halfdecay]

[ There is a pregnant pause after her question. His ears pick out the faintest of footsteps and a soft crunching of dead leaves. ‘Shit’… ]

Not unless they want to wake the dead.

[ He quips before tugging lightly at her sleeve, signalling for them to move towards the wall. ]

[hegemons_lance]

Ingrid is focused on running down the list of questions she doesn't notice when someone else joins them at the bar.

When she hears the throat cleared, she initially assumes she's been holding up the line, only to discover a familiar face when she turns to apologize.

"Mercedes! It's a relief to see a familiar face." Not to mention a friendly one; fast friends from their days at the Officer's Academy...and fellow turncoats as soldiers in the Adrestian army.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting long." The tavernkeeper passes Ingrid her own drink, which she takes. After all, Mercedes already has one of her own.

[miss_filed]

[She silently follows his lead, pressing her back cautiously against the side of the hole. The steps grew closer, schussing across dead leaves.

[And then, slowly, they started moving away.]

...should we look? [On the one hand: risk. On the other: a clue.]

[needsexcitement]

"You're sweet and the offer is very flattering."

She swept her wing forward to lift his head slightly with her primaries beneath his chin.

"But I'll have to pass. I'm engaged."

[halfdecay]

[ His face responds faster than his tongue, waggling his brow at her before he climbs out. As “enthusiastic” as he is to continue their little excavation, he would rather wrap this up as quickly as possible and collect their reward. No need to fart around longer than necessary.

And of course, chivalry is not dead (not now, at least). He offers a hand to Evie for her to grab on. ]

Think I heard them headed towards the mausoleum.

[earthborn]

"No," Shepard says, definitive. Friendly face and polite she can read for, but painted over the first steps of an anxiety attack. Not exactly a rare expression, in the Tribute Tower, "I'm from the Seventy-fi—"

No, that couldn't be right. Seventy-fifth, the endless quell. That was as stupid now as it had been back then. Shepard takes a brief glance upwards to do some rapid internal calculations.

"I guess it was more like the eighty-fifth Games. But that's complicated. Don't worry about it— Hey," She shifts through the water, deliberately mussing the surface where the vision is playing back; it worbles and goes strange, like a warped vidscreen, and Shepard pays it no mind. Awkwardly bare as they are, she betrays no hint of body-consciousness, laying a hand on Finnick's shoulder with careful, deliberate movements, her voice pitched low and smooth, firm and commanding, "Breathe. You got out. We both did. Breath. You're safe, here. You're not in Panem anymore."

And that was, even if everything else went to hell, one truly untarnished good thing to be said, about Caldera: it is not Panem.

[miss_filed]

[It must be safe, because he had climbed out, and spotted no issues.

She gladly took his hand and climbed out, dusting off her skirts.]

Should we check them out?

[coldsong]

His sense of humor can be quite dark at times, so when she says she hardly speaks a word to the people she kills, he can't help but giggle. "I suppose. Why get into a lengthy conversation when you know it'll be cut short?"

--oh. He's not sure what that glow is, but he feels the pull of it. She's not quite as mad as she seems, then; a genuine danger. But he still wants answers.

A gesture at the awning above them and icicles creep around the edge, adding a little extra shelter. "It suppresses the influence a bit, but perhaps not enough. Explain to me what you mean by going hollow? If you're about to become a danger to yourself and others, I can and will kill you for the sake of preventing a crisis, but there might be another way."