Journey to Svartalfaheim!

[samantha_grey]

Who: NPCs and Those Signed Up for the Event
What: Several Travelers journey to the land of Dwarves and Mountains to barter for weapons, trade and other nefarious plots... complete with an ambush!
When: Days 275-277
Where: Hover Train/Svartalfaheim/The Deep Mountains/Hover Train Ambush
Rating: Let's keep it PG-13. If you want R-Rated material, please make a separate post.

For those who had come to gather for the journey into the cold north, Samantha stood alongside those already ready for the trip. Despite the warmth, there was a faint chill in the air. She had a distant look in her eyes and few smiles other than quick nods to those present. Only when she was sure nobody but the planned journeyers were there and everyone was on board, the thing moving, did she settle down and look calmer.

The die was cast and the next chapter in this story begun. How would it end?

OOC: Subthreads are available for all participants for the Train Ride on late 274/early 275, Travel within the City and business deals with the Dwarves, general plotting and interactions between characters, the Journey into the Depths and the Ambush.

--Train Ride and City threads are fully open. Go for it, and in general you may NPC generic Dwarven traders. They're cold, aloof, love stories, hard work and their craft. I have had clarified that deals for personal weapons can be brokered through the gold that Odin has sent and that each person is bringing, along with any stories they have to tell. Feel free to use this as a chance to tell your character's tales. I am told, however, that any ongoing deals for extra trade with the travelers and Asgard will be limited at best. Remember, Odin's paying for us to be a distraction!
--The Depths: Two threads are available - Going down and Distracting the Dwarves. Samantha and a few she trusts will go into the deep to find the ore in question, while she asks others she trusts to keep a few dwarves busy with fool questions, stories and attempts at serious deal-making that ultimately only go a little ways. An "as we keep them busy and not asking where the journey head snuck off to" thread is possible. If you are interested in being part of the Depths threads, contact me and we'll discuss options on how to involve your character through interaction on their way up, and how much Sam, Eridan or Merlin may end up revealing. (I will be posting the actual descent thread on the 7th)
--The Ambush: The subthread is going up now, but we'll start the actual thread by Saturday once we've got a clear idea what we're up against.

Comments

Train Ride! (very late 274/early 275

[samantha_grey]

Have a lovely train ride into the mountains with absolutely nothing going wrong whatsoever! Feel free to post up any threads you want!

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[For the first leg of the trip he's dozing fitfully, snapping awake now and then and glancing around sharply as though he's forgotten where he is, then dropping off again.

As the hour gets more reasonable, he'll start to move about the train more, impatient and restless at being cooped up like this. He needs to find someone to talk to, because the silence is driving him crazy.]

[occulthymns]

[Euri's never going to get used to being on a train. The whole trip she's wandering around, fussing with the stuff she brought along, staring out the windows in awe of how quickly the landscape is going by.

Later on when she sees him she'll take a seat next to him, grinning.]

Hey, Sam said you were going on this.

[And then an internal freakout followed because Pyro needing to be diplomatic seems like an oxymoron.]

[samantha_grey]

[Yeah, it's quiet compared to the trip south. There's maybe a third as many people going on this trip as there there, at most. A small voyage, and most of them are on the quiet and contemplative side, despite Eridan's usual bluster.

Still, Samantha's easy to pin down, just up by the front of the car, looking out the window with wary eyes. Hearing his footsteps, she glanced in his direction and nodded.]

Fancy seeing you here.

[occulthymns]

[Euri is restless. She's used to walking everywhere, and even if the train is big it feels cramped and alien. The only saving grace is the view outside the windows - it's spectacular. Seeing the land woosh by is practically mesmerizing and more than once she stops to just sit and stare out the window.

When she isn't doing that she's fussing with the bag she brought. It's filled with potions, a couple changes of clothes, a hat and her knife.

And snacks for the train, of course.

She feels pretty prepared, she brought her parasol along in case the sun is too strong there, and she has an idea of what kinds of supplies the shop and Draco could use. She's just never met dwarves before, and she isn't sure how to behave around them.

Oh well, she'll figure it out when they arrive.]

Sam - Open!

[samantha_grey]

[Sam is not hard to find on this trip. She's not really all that frantic or frenetic, but she's taken on a 'role' of authority for the thing, so she's keeping herself visible, available, clearly present for anyone who wants to speak with her.

It's all a front, a ruse. She wants people to see her this visibly because she wants it to look like everything's official. Maybe futile to an extent, but official. She hates being in charge of other people, and she'd rather be in the lab right now, but there was something that needed fetching, and she didn't have much of a choice in the matter on that.

Still, anyone who wants a word with her can find her without even trying.]

[5thchild]

[ Kaworu doesn't sleep. Well, he does, but not during the trip. because it was his first trip to Svartalfaheim and this time he has a camera. So the angel pretty much spends the time taking pictures of everything.

Though there are some issues going on with some people he knows - and lives with - he is quite satisfied and happy during this trip.

He also brought cake, if anyone would like some. ]

Soushi Miketsukami || Open!

[discrepant]

[The train ride felt rather silent as the more time passed by along with the use of the network was beginning to become more and more limited as well. He could not help begin to realize that traveling between kingdoms had an effect over the bracelet.

Even so, it did not entirely concern him because he had no one to speak with back in the city just like he had no one to speak with in the train ride neither.

Sitting down on one of the seats, his gaze will be out of the window as he mindlessly began to ponder over all kinds of different thoughts -- some that made his expression grow more and more blank while others made a more serious, almost bitter expression can mostly be read looking at his eyes. It won't be long until the expression disappears.]

...I wonder how long it'll take to reach the next city...

[His gaze will remain by the window as he begins to lightly touch the katana's sheath as if it was giving him something to do.]

[fishdouche]

[Eridan has very intentionally chosen a seat as far away from anyone as possible and crossed his arms petulantly over his chest as he stares out of the window.

Who exactly had decided on this little party of adventurers anyway? It was practically a train full of literally everyone in Asgard Eridan couldn't stand. There was some small mercy in Sollux being absent, but Pyro's smug face more than made up for it. And then there was Kaworu. The only person in Asgard who made him more uncomfortable than Equius--which was quite a feat in itself.

He will probably pout here for the rest of the trip unless someone comes to interrupt his brooding session.]

FASHIONABLY LATE AND OPEN

[foodshortage]

[ Uther is going to keep to himself during the train ride. He's not completely closed off and if someone approaches he'll give them some attention, and more so if they start talking, but. Basically, he's sitting in his corner and looking maybe a little sulky. But he is pleased to be doing something, so everything considered? He's actually in a pretty good mood. ]

Svartalfaheim (Mid 275-Early 277)

[samantha_grey]

Welcome to the halls of the mountain king. Grand stone structures, the sounds of smiths at their craft, stout folk walking about and doing their business. It's all so quiet, so somber, so humorless, ancient tales told over mead in the evenings.

They seem willing to trade, willing to speak, willing to discuss. Between Odin and Samantha's contacts and even perhaps Fenrir's name, they allow you innocuous travelers free access to the trade quarters, but they always seem so distant about anything more than a deal for the here and the now, unwilling to break their neutrality or good relations with gods and giants.

Yet still, it is safe and clean, if very foreign.

[Open to All] (Afternoon 275-Midday 276)

[fishdouche]

[Eridan will spend most of his time on this "trading expedition" wandering the markets, glaring down merchants far more than making any actual purchases. His paranoid sulking is a perfect fit for Svartalfaheim, even if it makes him stand out from the more excitable travelers.

He's often mumbling to himself as he stalks through the tunnels, about the futility of this venture and the company he's being forced to keep. He doesn't trust any of them, besides Sam. But what kind of trust is needed for a simple trading trip anyway?]

Wide Open

[samantha_grey]

[Certain deals were made in secret. Samantha had a contact to meet with, but almost all of her time the first two days was spent fielding questions and telling stories to various dwarves. Unlike a few people, she was in a particularly diplomatic mood.

What was odd, however, was that it seemed like she wasn't actually acquiring any weaponry herself. It was almost as if she were building up the good will of one a talented set of smiths to build her something. What, she wasn't saying off the cuff. To the casual observer, it almost would have seemed like she was simply there to spread good will and keep the peace in case there were misunderstandings.

Of course, if anyone was curious, the could catch snippets of her stories rather easily. Some of them definitely seemed to capture the dwarves' attention more than others.]

[any day | open!]

[ex_outofcontrol435]

[Most of the weapons still don't impress him, because they're too obvious or too heavy or just not his style.

His attention has been attracted by something, though; if you move closer, you'll see him holding a contraption made of four metal rings with a sort of bracing shape at the bottom. He's discussing it mildly with the salesperson, but there's a familiar light in his eye as he does so.]

Stronger than brass? How strong are we talking, here?

[The dwarf starts to laud the strength of his creation, and Pyro's eyes only get brighter and brighter. He's turning the weapon around in his hands now, looking more possessive than casually interested. Looks like a sale is about to be made.]

[open like an open thing]

[dreamspinning]

[the dwarves of svartalfaheim trade in runes and stories, and ushahin has quite a few of one and even more of the other. he's lived a thousand years and nearly half that again, seen the passing of ages, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the machinations of shapers, his world's gods. he's spread nightmares over entire kingdoms, calls ravens his brothers and has breakfasted with the eldest dragon, who might be the oldest thing alive in his world. he's also comfortable beneath the ground, surrounded on all sides by dark and stone.

that is to say, he's got some stories, he tells them well, and he's not doing badly for himself in terms of trade or attention. in fact, he's doing pretty darn well. well enough that someone might be able to ride along on his coattails, or slip off while even the more watchful dwarves are absorbed in his tales.]

Any day | Open

[5thchild]

OPTION a
[ Kaworu didn't mean to buy a weapon. It's not something he particularly needs or even thought about using, but after talking to a dwarf dealer, he eventually convinced the Angel to buy a knife. Which honestly looks like an adornment, but it's incredibly sharp.

You may find him inspecting the blade for a moment, before he puts it back in its sheath. ]


OPTION b
The main reason he came was to talk to the Dwarfs. Dwarfs may not be friendly, but they sure enjoy stories, don't they? So he came to tell them stories and hear stories, talk about Asgard and to learn more about this world, or at least the stories of this world. To talk about the stars and the stories relating to it. the land and its secrets.

But of course, he told them his own story too. About a lost race and other races. Angels and a world with Evangelions. Pain, sadness, souls and rebirth. Confusing to those who only catch the story in the middle, but apparently fascinating for those who heard it from the start. Though, more than a story, all of it really did happen.

Sitting surrounded by four dwarfs, he finishes his story ]

... And the world was left to be rebuilt by that boy. A world built to Ikari Shinji's desires.

Either day

[occulthymns]

[So there's a severe lack of plants here, but Euri actually finds this place preferable to Asgard. She likes stories, and even better she likes alcohol, so she's having a great time. She's getting rather excitable after a few too many drinks, or at some dramatic point in some dwarf's story, or during a trade, but all in all her spirits are raised.

She'll be wandering around exploring every nook and cranny of the place, trading for the shop and occasionally stopping for drinks. At one point she can even be seen walking around with a thin metal staff.]

Open!

[foodshortage]

[ It truly is unlike anything Uther has ever seen. For the first day, he mostly wanders, to get an impression of the city and of the Dwarves, how they are, live their lives, what they seem to like. For day 275 you'll see the king of Camelot almost wide-eyed with close to childish awe. He's seen many great cities, but this is something else entirely.

After the first day, he starts looking into bartering and buying. He thinks that going for some amount of modesty is probably good, so rather than share a lot of stories of his own battle, he tells of Arthur's. Takes the chance to brag maybe a little about his son, but he's certain that's no problem. So, when he's not appreciating the weapons, he's sharing stories of battles and war. Cheery. ]

[open and lol late]

[suppressthedark]

[Ichigo was interested in all of this, really. At least it was a change of pace from the normal goings on in asgard. He browses the markets, talks with a few dwarves, and he thinks it might not be as interesting as he thought-

and then one of the dwarves realize the big black thing he's carrying on his back is a sword and suddenly he's surrounded by a bunch of them examining his Zanpakuto. It's disconcerting, to tell the least, and his voice can easily be heard as it rises with his irritation.]

Look, I'm not going to trade Zangetsu, he's special-Yes, it's metal! At least I think so-No, I'm not going to let you check-OI! DID YOU JUST TRY TO TAKE A SLIVER OFF?!

[Haaaaaalp]

Into the Depths/Holding Action (Night 276)

[samantha_grey]

But then again, why did she truly convince so many to come here? Samantha and a few have gone missing, a sum of dragon's blood paid for the sake of silence. What do they seek to find, and do those travelers still in the city have a good tale to keep any asking questions busy?

Do they, perhaps, have questions of their own?

Into the Dark (Semi-Closed)

[samantha_grey]

(OOC: Currently open to Merlin, Sam, Eridan, Uther, Eve and Euri potentially - as I'm reasonably certain these individuals may be read in on most of the details, and not asked to remain above to help with keeping people busy. Don't feel compelled to come in. You can easily do stalling the dwarves or just your own thing. Posting will be free-form without post order for a couple days until I'm sure who's joining, then we can get an order going. There may, or may not be GM involvement in this thread, so keep that in mind.)

The caverns were dry, bone-dry and the air had a horrible, stale and faintly corrupt scent to it. Samantha crouched low, letting her eyes adjust to the dark. She had excellent vision in the night, but there were limits and this place was basically pitch black. Striking a match, now that they were out of sight of any of the last dwarven patrols, she lit her torch.

With the eruption of light before her, she glanced back at the others and nodded, pulling out the pitons and rope. She'd brought lots of rope and mining equipment, along with an entire legion of pitons. "According to what he said, the information points to the caverns below us. They don't mine down here, and we're going to be going in for at least an hour," she said softly. "Be careful, stay close and don't play hero. There's no way to know what's down here."

Holding Action (Open)

[samantha_grey]

(OOC: My only post here - Anyone not going down who'd like to keep suspicious dwarves busy with stories or just make a general nuisance of themselves together making the travelers look like there's nothing worth worrying about may feel free to do so. Those ot going down into the Dark are welcome to confer amongst yourselves if you want to plan anything, but treat it free-formly if you like.)

Reprisal (Wide Open)

[samantha_grey]

(OOC: I don't care how sneaky they are. This is a group of 11 people who went to the city, and everyone else here are dwarves. Everyone knows some people went missing. If your character has not received explanations to their satisfaction or wishes to discuss with the others what is being done, this is the time. Reasonably speaking, even if Sam or Eridan or Merlin are suspicious, this is the point of entry into the Weapon-plot for everyone, at least to some extent. Sam will have to at least come up with something even if she hasn't told you already.)

[Samantha and the others made their way back into the camp, the cambion last. She'd had to leave the ore with her contact, and she wasn't exactly happy about that. However, it was the only option. The fact remained that she couldn't forge it, and she didn't know anyone in Asgard that was a master forge on the level she trusted with this work. It was the Dwarves or nobody. Settling down with a 'fwump,' she tried to relax in the common room where the lot of them were staying.]

Ambush! (Late 277)

[samantha_grey]

Hey, you didn't think this would all be ale and cheese did you? Details to come...

Re: Ambush! (Late 277)

[samantha_grey]

[And here, everything had been going so very well thus far. Nobody had died. The dwarves had managed not to be completely offended at any point and she'd managed to convince her contact to handle the forging in relative secret. The rest was up to when it was finished, and there was nothing for it otherwise. She couldn't trust the workmanship needed on anyone she knew in Asgard. It was the most unpleasant realization but the truth.

The train was on its way back, the mountains in the distance, when she turned her head and growled, speaking just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.]

(OOC: NPC action will be present at least initially. Full details coming when Mods post, but we're dealing with humanoid attackers, minimal power but high skill. We can do this in one giant cluster or you can break off as separate threads with one or two others to take on a couple of your own. Please keep this to at most 3 threads for mods' sanity. Have fun with it.

Please wait until Mods reply first before making your entry posts.)