EVENT LOG: DUDE, WHERE'S MY SOUL?

[asgardmods]

Who: EVERYONE going on the Mimisbrunnr trip
What: the Dude, Where's my Soul? mingle log
When: Days 514-516 ( Sept. 23-28 )
Where: Salt Side and Deep City
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 514 ( Sept. 23/24 )

An NPC post will go up explaining the new information the gods have collected and the purpose of this mission. Any willing Travellers will be invited to go on this excursion to Deep City; as it's an allied territory, they will be able to take the train and reach the oceanside kingdom by early evening.

However, upon arrival to the native village of Salt Side, it will be immediately apparent that things on the coast are not as peaceful and calm as they once were. With the collapse of Yggdrasil, the entire worldscape has been changing, and the ocean has not been immune. From the looks of it, Salt Side was recently hit with a tsunami and the native humans and elves are only halfway through rebuilding their once boisterous community. The nearby water is still restless and overactive, lapping aggressively at the coast though it isn't threatening to overflow at the moment.

When the Lady of the Sea comes to receive the Travellers, she will be generally standoffish and cold. The mermaids believed their kingdom to be free of Ragnarok's graces, deep below the ocean surface as they are, but time has proven otherwise and they aren't pleased about it. She will warn them that the ocean is not pleased and that they must wait until morning to make their venture into Mimisbrunnr, unless they'd like to try their luck with the ocean's newfound darkness.

They'll be given food and shelter in one of the native buildings for the night, where the natives will be weary and some may even be frightened; when asked, they'll say that it isn't safe and it's best the Travellers be on with their business quickly. Curiouser and curiouser ...

Day 515 ( Sept. 25/26 )

With the sun high in the sky and bidding safer tidings, Ran will give each of the Travellers a hemp necklace that will allow them to breathe, speak, and move freely in the water. She will remind them again to tread carefully, lest they provoke the depths of the water; what exactly this means isn't clear yet, but the mermaids will not be pleasant or friendly as they guide the Travellers to the bottom of Mimisbrunnr and the entrance to the sacred cave. The impression is clear: the sooner they leave, the better.

Detailed information of what they'll see can be found here, only the serenity of the ocean floor will be lost to eerie silence and a near tangible tension. The Sea Serpent is nowhere to be seen - for now. Once inside the caves, the Travellers will feel a gradually building pressure and a distant ringing in their ears, not strong enough to be painful but distinct enough to make itself known. The air will be cold and still, and though they will be able to breathe freely, it may leave some with a vague aching - sadness, maybe, or pain.

When they reach their destination, the voice that graces them within their chests and their minds is lyrical, but no longer warm and gentle. It is cold and tired, and speaks without words:

Ask.

The Travellers will be able to ask a single question, either individually or as a group, and they will receive a single answer before the pressure will increase to near-painful and they will feel an urgent ushering to leave.

Past the cavern's entrance, the Travellers will immediately see that the ocean has violently burst into life. It has grown darker significantly, and the water stirs in small pockets of whirlpools and currents threatening to pull any that come too close into the whirlpool of Mimisbrunnr. The mermaids will be frantic, some abandoning their mission to assist the Travellers while the rest desperately work to drag them back to the surface. Those that lose their grip on the mermaids or get caught in a current will drown within seconds, so hold tight and pray for deliverance.

Closer to the surface, it will be easier to see what's causing the ocean's disturbance: the massive Sea Serpent is agitated and crashing through the waters almost haphazardly, whipping things about with its enormous tail and charging forward blindly. Anyone too close to it may be clipped and dragged back to the ocean floor with no hopes of reaching the surface. On the coast, the Travellers will find the natives and the mermaids in a panic as the waves begin to climb over Salt Side once more.

As per the player poll, the Travellers will overall pool their efforts into attempting to save the Sea Serpent from its bid for destruction. For this part of the battle, it will mostly entail trying to get everyone out of the water safely, staying on the defensive against the raging water and the haphazard lashing out of the Serpent's body, and getting all of the Travellers and natives alike to bunker down for the night. As the option was offered and quite a few were onboard for it, it might also be prudent for a few of the Travellers to attempt contacting their gods for backup! For now, though, it's best to shield yourself against the tides before attempting to wade in unprepared.

Day 516 ( Sept. 27/28 )

The Serpent's raging continues through the night, leaving the shore a mess by the time the sun rises - but reinforcements will arrive in the form of a band of human and elven natives lead by the god Jormungand. The Travellers will have to work together with each other and their allies to accomplish a single goal: chase the Sea Serpent onto the land.

They'll each be given new hemp necklaces to allow them to work underwater again, and they will have to band tightly together to keep from being swept away by the currents and the Serpent's thrashing. Those remaining on land can grab the Serpent's attention by attacking directly and pulling back to designated vantage points, where the natives will have as much rope and netting laid out to attempt a sort of capture. Jormungand will join in the fighting, donning the form of his own slightly smaller serpent, but he will need the Travellers to work with him to see this task into completion!

It'll take the better half of the day, but eventually, they will succeed in dragging the Serpent onto shore and securing it down. It will continue to thrash and struggle, but it will come accompanied with a miserable keening that couldn't be heard over the thundering of the waves during the battle. Closer inspection will show a cascade of open wounds along the Serpent's sides, burns and gashes and rocks embedded in its flesh; the changing of the ocean's surface affected all its inhabitants, not just the mermaids, and the Sea Serpent's agitation comes as a direct result of distress and pain both.

The Travellers will have to work together with the elves to heal the creature of its wounds, and throughout the process, its struggling will die down into grateful compliance. The mermaids will remind them all that the Serpent is not meant to live on land and that they must work quickly to return it to its home, so anyone not assisting in the healing process can still help out by dousing the Serpent's body in seawater to keep it cool and wet. It'll be a huge project, so work together and work fast!

By the time the sun has set, the Serpent will be nearly entirely healed, and it will take one great sweep out from under the nets ( almost as though it could have done so the entire time … ) before crashing back into the ocean and disappearing into its depths. The ocean surface will be still and tranquil for the first time in many days, and the natives will be profoundly grateful. Even the mermaids will be inspired, taking the scant few minutes they can don their human forms to thank the Travellers with elaborate jewelry made of decorative shells and precious gems, all strung together with the same hemp that allowed them free movement beneath the water. These gifts won't work in the same manner, but they will protect them from being soaked in rain or flooding, making them a useful piece of armour to have on hand during times of need.

Ran will give the Travellers her final thanks and tell Jormungand to inform the King of the Mermaids' full alliance with Asgard; as they have shown mercy and respect for the ocean and her children, when the time comes, they will gladly fight beside the gods and their Travellers.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Dude, Where's My Soul? event. To plot out interactation with any of the NPCS ( Ran, Jormungand, or the voice in Mimisbrunnr ), feel free to snag the NPC handler or one of the mods and we'll get you connected. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] along with the time and location in the title of your comment. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Comments

DAY 515 - IN THE CAVERNS

[asgardmods]

[ Respond here to thread out your character(s) asking their questions! Please let me know in the title of your comment if there'll be a group for tagging order, and I thank you in advance for your patience with responses! ]

[familyissues]

[ Desmond shivers in the entrance, chilled by the air and the clinging seawater. It does not stop him from moving forward, glancing left and right down the branching tunnels and picking one to explore. His chest is heavy in a way that's uncomfortably familiar to him, a pang of weighty sadness that suddenly clouds his vision.

It feels like he's sitting beside Alastair in the Mirror again, crowded in by death on all sides, and watching the light burn out in his friend's eyes. The feeling is so strong he puts his hand to the wall, unbidden, sighing softly in the cool air. ]

I'm sorry.

solo

[samantha_grey]

Samantha made her way into the depths, trying to shake the memories of coming here before, of the things she'd lost since then. She'd come a long way to set everything up as the Mother had told her the last time. As she walked, the half-breed watched the dripping, dank walls that surrounded her, and when she heard the voice she could feel the differences. Time was growing short if these voices were fading.

"We mean to kill Thiazi," she said in a dead, plain tone. She no longer cared if the gods were telling the truth. She'd been pissed off enough to pick a side on her own. "Lore says she is to give the world new life. Who can rise in her place, and how do we help ensure that the cycle renews through them?"

[magician_king]

[It's the dragon, she was the one who put the question in his mind. Quentin has to ask;]

By fighting with the Asgardian gods, the way we are now, against Thiazi and to save the magic and the tree and queen and all, are we risking changing what was meant to be?

[He's a little nervous of what the answer will be.]

Solo

[not_sasuke]

[Well, he should probably make an attempt to be a tad more formal with the voice of the world. No smiles, no sneers, his question is strictly to the point:]

What does Thiazi plan to do to us next?

solo

[abhero]

[Hamel had planned to walk in like he owns the place and demand answers. He isn't really one to care about manners, not even when talking to the world itself. But the sadness weighs down on him, and that voice is so tired, he doesn't feel like acting out. He's being respectful for once.]

My world is in great danger, even without what's happening to—uh. You, I guess. I was on my way to stop it before I was pulled here. So my question is, if we win this fight here, and I go back to my world, will it work? Will I be able to save it?

[And as much as he tries to be on his best behavior, he can't help but add quickly:]

'Casue lemme tell you, helping to save all the other worlds and then having mine ruined after I get back sounds like a total rip-off.

solo

[bythewaves]

[ The feeling of Power is old and at once both different and familiar to one who has been both friend (student) and foe to Valar and Maia alike. He marvelled at the ocean, whose hearts desire rests deep beneath the waves of his own world, and who has walked beside its changing shores for thousands of years offering his laments to the wind and waves. There are many things he could ask - about his young ones, about his own world. But for him who was once Makalaure Canafinwe, the golden voiced bard who was his mother's darling boy, who wished, in long lost brighter days, only to care for his family, such pain in the voice that asks can only bring one response ]

Lord what may be done to ease you?

solo

[fire_punk]

[It's hard to forget the reason they've come. And if Thiazi had stolen Tyr's soul once, what would keep her from doing it again?]

How can we keep Thiazi from stealing someone's soul again?

solo 'cuz yolo

[stilledsurgeon]

[Alright, he's gotten used to the weird, but this has to be the weirdest thing ever. Still, this seems like something that's important. At least from the way that the mermaids are hustling them along. He should be reverential, probably, but he isn't. He's angry, and just about at the end of his patience.]

You know, we didn't ask to come here.

[Hawkeye begins to pace in his usual long-limbed, hunched way, looking agitated.]

I mean, this world, the war. Not this little underwater piece of Heaven. I know I certainly didn't ask to be here. "Please, take me from one war where I at least had people who could help keep me sane, and drop me in another war that's anything but sane and then take what few friends I had away from me." Of course, not before making me watch helplessly while someone I love died. Because "war is hell" wasn't true enough, eh?

[He gives a bitter little snicker and shakes his head, his strides quickening and his gesturing becoming more pronounced.]

Your "gods" brought us here, against our will, expected us to just fight a war we barely understand! Of course, just like back home, our "generals" here in this magical fairyland don't give a damn about the lives they're messing with. As long as we obey and don't ask too many questions.

Uh, well...of them, I mean.

And we don't even have a guarantee that all of this suffering will make a damn bit of difference to anyone! There's nothing to say that this Grand Epic Battle for All Worlds Ever will make everything alright. Because it won't. Just like in the smaller war on the little world I live on, none of the pain, bloodshed and death will mean anything, because in a few years after the peace treaties, the definite lack of peace will start right back up again.

[Finally he stops ranting, and eventually he stops pacing. He can feel that pressure building, pushing him to get on with it and get going. Alright, fine. Hawk shrugs, looking deeply tired himself.]

I guess my question is... are we really making a difference? I'd like some reassurance that we're doing more than just delaying the inevitable.

Solo

[fredless]

[It's the first and the last question for Fred, the one that always lingers even as she's drifting to sleep at night]


...why?

Solo yolo molo

[izanyagi]

[There were many things he could have asked at that moment. Yet Souji had a feeling that he wouldn't be the only one asking questions. It was partly selfish, but also something that others might want to know. People who had no homes to return to. People who came here just before a mortal blow...they deserved to at least know.]

Once this war is over and we all return home [As there was no doubt, in a mind always filled with hope, that they'd find a way to make things right,]...will we remember what happened here?

Solo

[madcuriosity]

She still can't truly believe she's here. Dragons, the caverns, it feels like things are happening so quickly, that everything is happening all at once. Does that mean it was all coming to an end soon? She swallowed and had to ask... had to wonder...

"I just want to know..." well, not just... she has so many questions, so many things she wants to ask.... she swallows and thinks back on her own mother, not just the one waiting for her in England but the one she gained here.

"I just wish to tell you," she rephrases, "thank you... for everything...."

All days - Open to all!

[pushesgently]

Day 514 — On the train

[He doesn't like leaving the city, but he also can't bring himself to stay behind and wait. Altaïr has long since grown used to the fact that the Assassins cannot take action the way they would in his own place and time, but lately it seems to chafe.

Perhaps that's why he passes much of his time on the train pacing through the cars—or maybe it's the prospect of entering the water to reach Mimisbrunnr. They have been assured that they will not drown, but he is not to proud to admit that the idea is intimidating, at least to himself.]

Day 515

[If the answer to his question leaves Altaïr unsettled, the serpent's attack leaves him alarmed. This place is not his element, and his way of fighting will do little good here. All he can do is reach out to the nearest mermaid with one hand and the closest Traveler with the other, in hopes that they'll be able to reach the surface.]

Day 516

[Altaïr looks and feels like a drowned rat, albeit one wearing sparkly jewelry. He hadn't had the energy to turn it away from the grateful mermaid; perhaps it will make a good gift for his wife.

It's been such chaos that he hasn't been able to tell whether all the Travelers on this excursion made it through safely, so he takes a little while before the return trip to walk among them, nodding hello to those he sees. They may not all be friends, but he's glad to see each and every person who still lives.]

514

[samantha_grey]

Calm down. The train won't get there faster with you walking around.

[The voice came from a tired, irritated woman who was biding her time by repeatedly tapping at the counter of the window sill. They both, it seemed, had their own nervous ticks.]

514

[sings_of_death]

[Zero had been slightly annoyed by the idea of going to the ocean, to her it was going to be something like the land of seas which meant the air would be thick and sticky. Not to mention it was always a pain in the ass to fight things that tended to dive underwater and then pop-up where-ever the hell they wanted.

Still she was rather relaxed in a car towards the back of the train, at least until about the third time that the other came pacing through.]

Just what the hell is your problem? Don't know how to swim?

515

[familyissues]

[ They're beginning to gather the shoreline, the waves rolling in with a bright hiss and spray of white, Desmond is fiddling a bit nervously with his hemp necklace. He makes a beeline for Altaïr when he sees him, coming alongside his ancestor with a short, stiff wave. ]

Hey! I'm surprised you came.

Hamel | 515-516 | OPEN

[abhero]

Day 515
Stupid natives. Why did they have to act all nervous and mysterious instead of, oh, warning them about the giant fucking snake waiting to drag them into a watery grave?

Having flown well above the crashing waves the moment he made it to the surface, Hamel has an excellent view of both the ocean and the shore. When he spots someone in trouble, he swoops down and grabs them unceremoniously, ready to carry them to safety.

“That’s gold ten runes. And if you whine or writhe around I’m charging extra.”

Day 516, morning-noon
Hamel lands is in one of the vantage points, completely drenched and beyond annoyed. The salt water is ruining his hat.

“If I fly there to get its attention, can I trust you to not suck and do something when it comes closer?”

Day 516, afternoon
Fly away, get water, fly back, dose serpent, fly away… if Hamel’s hands weren’t busy with carrying buckets, he would have started pulling out hair. He knows he should be happy they succeeded in capturing it, but water duty is just so damn boring. At least earlier there was some action.

After what feels like a million rounds, Hamel can’t take it anymore. Instead of dosing the serpent, he empties a large pail full of cold saltwater right over someone’s head. Oops!

*
Later, he’s at the serpent side, wielding an axe. At first it seems like he’s helping to remove some sharp rocks wedged in its flesh, just not very delicately. However, a closer examination will reveal he’s simply trying to get himself a piece of it. He just wonders what giant sea serpents taste like.

(Someone should probably stop him)

516, morning-noon

[not_sasuke]

[In reply, Hamel gets a net flung up at him - probably with some telekinetic help, judging by its speed. Yuusuke's got a coil of rope already slung over his shoulder.]

I'm ready down here, but try and see if you can't trip it up from the air, too.

Samantha Grey - Open (with one Closed thread) - Warning for death on 516

[samantha_grey]

Day 514
(Closed to Ran)

Samantha didn't care that Ran was in a mood, or that it was pretty obvious that she partially blamed Asgard and by proxy the travelers. Seeing the conditions in Salt Side was an eye opener and a splash of ice-water on her rage that had been building since Loki's message. She made her way when Ran wasn't obviously occupied and stood where she could be seen.

It was apparent that she wanted to talk, and that only the few shreds of politeness she remembered from her mother's lessons kept her from blurting something out. She'd wait to be acknowledged, but she'd fidget like hell doing it.

(Open to Everyone)
Train -
On the train, Samantha was 'in a mood.' Admittedly, she wasn't as bad as she'd been on the way to Muspelheim, but it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere. She was plotting out a series of questions that needed answering, issues that had to be addressed, ten-thousand ways to kill an ice queen. It was a lot on her mind, and she had limited numbers of people to speak to anymore about her issues.

So she sat in her bench, fuming and growling low. She could be approached easily enough, if someone was feeling ballsy.

Salt Side -
Yeah, so, Samantha wasn't simply going into her room like a good girl. Until the moment that she was hustled away and told to get into her room and wait for them to take her tomorrow, she was looking for buildings that needed repair or cleanup that could be done in the fading light. She wasn't necessarily that conversational as she did so, and she ate the food that was given with a quick wolf-down, rather than lingering.

She looked, for lack of a better word, more pissed off than she had before.

Day 515
Coming out of the water, Samantha was gasping and coughing. She'd had to down one of those horrible potions she'd made for this crap and barely avoided drowning several times. Vomiting up a gout of water, she got to her feet and immediately went to shakily get to her feet. There were people in danger, and her senses were keyed to that. Whatever half-baked plans people had for that psychotic, gigantic fucking snake, she had other things to worry about.

"Hey! You! Get the hell away from the water! Come on! We have to get you people to shelter!" she shouted at whoever was there in front of her. It really didn't matter if they were local or a traveler.

Day 516 (Warning for Character Death)
Snakes. Why... why the hell did it have to be snakes?!? Did any of them understand how much she hated snakes? A gigantic serpent on the coast scaring on one end, and a gigantic one in the waters roiling around like a thrashing, lashing whip. It was six of one, half-dozen of another. Either one of them could have swallowed her whole, and she was hating every minute of this.

Maintaining her grip on those in her group was difficult. She was on the end of the line, offering power to whoever was connected to her, but as they continued their distractions from this end, trying to push it closer to the land, she could feel her grip slipping.

(OOC: Minor note - 516 is open first come first serve. It won't be a long thread. No more than five posts apiece. Samantha's phobias of serpents will cause her after a few posts to lose her grip during a particularly close thrash and be lost to sea. She can help until then, but trying to go after her and save her once she loses her grip and lets go is a death sentence, because her terror would cause her to drag someone down with her.)

[yggdrasilssea]

Ran truly had no intentions of chatting at lengths with any of the Travellers. What they and the gods were doing was not something she had asked for, and the world was suffering. She was sick and tired of gods and humans and otherwise acting like they knew what they were doing.

And yet she let them do this. Perhaps because it was the Mother. Perhaps she was hoping they'd realise how stupid they were being if they went down there.

She watched the Travellers trickle off for a while and only turned to Sam when the crowd was thinning. Sam had always been one of the Travellers she liked, at least in comparison, so she figured she might as well hear her out.

"What is it?"

Ran, Lady of the Sea | OTA | All days

[yggdrasilssea]

514

[ While Ran is present to meet the Travellers, she doesn't bother to hide the fact that she isn't happy to be. She's got her arms folded in front of her and eyes them all with reproach as they step off the train onto the platform. ]

There's food and shelter prepared for you. You can't venture into the water today. It has never been a very good idea to go into its depths during the night before, and now it is even less so. The ocean isn't pleased and it will not be kind. Consider that warning a courtesy. I'll be back in the morning to give you the necklaces that will allow you to breathe under its surface.

[ With that briefing over with, she shows the Travellers to their temporary home. After that she'll hang around for a while in the area, so anyone can approach her if they dare despite the stay away air about her. ]

515

[ And as she said, the following morning she stands by the waterside with a bunch of hemp necklaces hanging on her left arm. Come get your necklace! Maybe have a chat. She won't let you linger for too long, though; she wants the Travellers to get this over with quickly. ]

516

[ After the Serpent has returned to the ocean, Ran will seem like a completely changed woman. As the crowd gathers on the beach, she's smiling wide and has her hands on her hips instead of crossed in front of her like a wall.

Seeing the Travellers put so much effort into saving the Sea Serpent, sacred to her people, when they could just as well have gone with the easier option of simply hacking at it until it died ... Tying down such a big creature is a difficult task, and she and her people could not have done it without the Travellers attempting the same.

She watches her people lavish gratefulness over the Travellers for a while, before she gets their attention. ]

Thank you. The Serpent is very important to the sea and us who live in it. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that you risked your lives to save it. I'm not sure we could have done it without your help.

[ While she takes her attention away from the Travellers for a moment to talk to Jormungand, she will be much more approachable this time around, should anyone like to say a more private goodbye or something before she heads back to Deep City. In fact, she'll gladly have a conversation with any of them now.

So while she's still this happy, take the chance. ]

((OOC: Would you rather prose, I'm good with that too!))

516

[magician_king]

[He can't resist. Quentin, who comes from a world that is both full of fictional quests and actual ones, understands the importance of moments of connection like this, never mind harbingers. He's very pleased to catch her in the aftermath and check;]

Can I ask you about something that happened during the fray? Under the water- there was a voice.

the Twelfth Doctor - ota - all days

[attackeyebrows]

Day 514:
[This is the Doctor's first journey outside the city, and of course he's not going to stay cooped up in one of the houses at night. He slips out eventually, when the natives aren't paying attention, and wanders the tiny community in the dark, occasionally poking through the wreckage of buildings. Eventually, he makes his way to the shore, watching the waves splash against the coast. He's not quite foolish enough to ignore Ran's warning and head into the waters on his own; instead, he studies them as the moonlight reflects off the waves.]


Day 515:
[The Doctor is still soaking wet after their journey through the waves, but that doesn't matter. He's scrambling around, trying to pull everyone he can to safety, even as his clothes are plastered to him and his boots are squelching in the wet sand. He's grabbing natives and Travellers alike, not giving them a choice as to whether or not they're getting to higher ground; instead, he hauls them bodily up the beach and away from the water.]


Day 516:
[After the sea serpent is under the netting, the Doctor joins the group of people frantically hauling water from the sea to splash it on the creature's body. He can't help with the healing, but he can help keep it wet, and so he passes buckets back and forth until his muscles ache. And he keeps going even after that - bloody inconvenient human bodies - because, as far as he's concerned, there isn't any other option. They can't let the serpent die, not after everything they've done, and they can't let it go back into the water half-healed, so it can continue its assault on Salt Side.


When they're done with everything, he accepts a hemp necklace and a hug from a mermaid with an awkward smile, surreptitiously fidgeting once she lets him go. Though the lines on his face are etched deep with exhaustion, there's a light in his eyes that says how happy he is with the outcome, and with the simple work of saving people. For the first time since he arrived in Asgard, something seems right.]

514

[bossily]

[Clara can't sleep. It's not unusual for her, especially here in the past month or two. She's grateful both her Doctors and Jamie are here with her, it makes her mind feel a little more at ease. But she still can't rest, so thankfully she's good at pretending she is. So good that she thinks the Doctor must honestly think she's asleep, because she watches him slip out of the house and out into the night. Frowning, she slips away herself, and trails along after him.

She finds him at the shoreline, and moves to stand at his side. She doesn't say anything at first, just remains close to him. But her arms move up to cross over her chest, and she turns her head to look up at him.]

Not waking me up before you head out? Some friend you are.

[He gets an elbow to his side for that.]

Yuusuke Sagami | All days | All open!

[not_sasuke]

[514]

Not really rolling out the welcome wagon, are they?

[It's a cute attempt at a joke, but really, even he isn't stupid enough to put much weight on it.]

Sounds like things haven't been going too great here, either. What a surprise, right?

[515]

[He's soaked to the bone and slightly disoriented from the quick ascent through the water, but he's still quick enough on his feet to start making it back to the (relative?) safety of the homes deeper inland. But if others are struggling to keep up...

Well, they may just find a bit of rope snaking around their arm and dragging them in that direction, too. Hopefully they don't get rope burn.]

Hurry up!

[516]

[A. Capture Attempt]

[So they had decided to capture the thing, huh? Well, he won't really argue with that. Instead, he'll be using his telekinesis to help guide the ropes and nets over the great creature. If he sees you around with nothing better to do, he may just fling a coil on over in your direction, too.]

Help me out here, would you?

[B. Post-Capture]

[He's wiped. Not that he looks it - he's keeping his breathing even and, somehow, acting perky as ever. But he's getting tired, telekinetically hauling those buckets into the air to keep the serpent wet enough so it doesn't die on them now that they've gotten this far.]

What a big baby. We really have to hold its hand through all of this, don't we? Figuratively, anyway.

516 - b

[sings_of_death]

[Zero was pissed, no it was more than that she was pretty murderous and the only thing keeping her from chopping that damn serpent up was the fact that her sword had been taken when she had made it back to land and went at it the first time.

She might not have been allowed to kill, but she was going to be damned if she helped to keep it alive.]

We should just get the fuck out of here and let these assholes deal with it themselves. If they want it to live it's their problem.

All days | OTA

[madvaporskillz]

{514}

[Chessur's never been to the sea. He goes because he's curious, nothing more and nothing less. That said, he's not entirely sure what to make of it when they arrive. Everything smells strange, for one, and he's not certain he likes the idea of so much water all in one place.

For the most part, he stays away from the shore itself, and on the few occasions that he draws near he doesn't even try to keep his tail from lashing. He does, however, answer what few questions might come his way, be it from another traveler or one of the natives themselves.]

{515}

[If Chessur hadn't been happy about the idea of so much water all in one place, he's less so about the idea of actually going into it. Oh, he listens to the explanation and takes the necklace that would let him breathe underwater, but he's no more happy about than he'd been previously.]

No one said anything about this.

[It's more of a grumble than anything. If people actually need - or want - him to actually bother with going down into the depths he will, but on his own, he'd much prefer to stay ashore and simply let things unfold as they will. But he's willing enough to listen to suggestion, at the least.]

{516}

[Regardless of whether or not he actually goes down to the caverns, by the time the serpent starts making a mess, he's more or less resigned himself to the fact that there is going to be some amount of water in his near future. Besides, nets he can deal with, and he takes to one of those much more willingly than he had before.

By the time they manage to get the serpent to shore, he looks more than a little bedraggled, with the fur of his ears and tail quite entirely soaked thanks to his recent trip into the sea but it looks like he actually enjoyed himself. Something like this is an impressive catch, even if he hadn't done it alone! And that's a fact that he means to enjoy.

Further on in the day, he can also be found helping carry water to pour over the serpent. Anything else is more work than he wants to bother with.]

515

[bonnypiperlad]

Aye, well, not sure we've got much choice. Not if we're going to get the answers we need.

[Truth be told, Jamie doesn't look much happier about the idea of going down into the depths, eying the water with an expression that's just this side shy of uneasy. He'll go down, though, he knows, once the Doctor's ready to do so. Chessur, on the other hand, doesn't look much like he's wanting to go at all, and after a moment, he glances up at the other Traveller a little thoughtfully.]

Take it you're not so keen on the idea of going, though.

OTA 514-516 happy to switch prose/brackets

[bythewaves]

Day 514
The Sea, the Sea. Ever in all elven hearts lurks the Sea-longing, the aching call to Sail West to Elvenhome and more than that, to see the waves and hear the call of the ocean. For in the waters of Arda is still heard the echoes of the Song from which was born their world. And for Maglor, of course, there is one more pull, the reason he has spent thousands of years walking the shore - once upon a time he threw his father's jewel into the waves, and it calls him, still. This is Asgard, not Middle-earth - but the call is just the same. He is old enough that he can control it somewhat, but he could scarce refuse to come, when the offer was made. That night he does not sleep, instead walking the shores and singing softly in his own tongue, the language of the exiles - but the tune is one of the songs of praise to the Lord of the Oceans that he learnt in Middle-earth, and the light of the stars are in his eyes.

Day 515 OTA but the cave talk is solo
He marvels at the mermaids and his eyes are full of wonder as he walks the ocean floor. When he leaves he is pensive, but the urgency of his guides stirs him, and once he sees the trouble he will grow grim.

Day 516
The keen of the serpant draws a soft mournful noise from Maglor - He cannot heal, soul far too stained, and this is not his world, in any case, but he creeps as close to the serpant's head as he can and croons to it, sweet and gentle, the same lullabies as he once sang to brothers and frightened peredhel children, weaving comfort through his song. White sands he sings Gentle breezes. The call of the gulls, the crash of the waves. He leaves only to refil his bucket of salt water and rewet the towel he lays on dry scales.

516

[fire_punk]

[Kevin kneels on the other side of the serpent head, trying to keep it from moving too much at the wrong time and hurting itself or someone else.]

How did it get hurt like this?

ALL DAYS | OTA

[lethechained]

[Day 514]

[Naminé spends perhaps even more time than usual looking out of the train, this time. She's quiet but just a little bit restless, a little bit more inclined to shift in place or take a walk to stretch her legs than would otherwise be common, for her. It's not nervousness, exactly, but there's something of an anticipation to it.]

[Day 515]

[... Hanging around on the ocean floor, however, does make her a bit nervous. It's hard to tell, but there is a certain apprehension to her expression as she looks around - fascinating though the sights may be.]

[Day 516]

[Her role in the capture and healing of the serpent is a natural one; she is, after all, suited only to the latter. She attends to her duties as best she can, standing much closer to the unhappy creature than she's entirely comfortable with in the process.]

[... Which, of course, she does end up paying for; one particularly ill-directed thrash sends her stumbling back, unharmed but startled.]

515

[samantha_grey]

[When things were going to hell on the ocean floor, Samantha was frantic in looking for someone that she knew along with the grip of the mermaids. Deep under the water, she caught sight of Naminé and pushed a small bottle into her hands as she swam over. She had very few samples of it left, but she wanted to make sure and offer some back up, just in case.

The look that her friend would see in her eyes, though, was one of terror. Samantha was truly afraid, her eyes wild while she almost looked pleadingly for one of the mermaids to come for them.

Why snakes?]