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PORT: THE SKY-CITY OF BHUJERBA

May 4th, 2022 – May 11th, 2022
Welcome, bhadra, to the city-state of Bhujerba! The Peregrine touches down on May 4th, in a proper port — airships are the only way on and off the city, so the Aerodrome is a busy and bustling place. As a sky-city built on a mountainous structure floating ten thousand feet above the ground, it has little in the way of wilderness, but it has a sprawling city with deep mines stretching down beneath it. Look down past the railings when the thick clouds part and you'll see the world below; look up and you'll see great blue crystalline structures, a mark of the deep magicks that keep the city in the sky.

The full OOC write-up for the port is here. If you have any questions about the event, please ask here.

1. Disembarking

It's been months since the ship made port, but whether it's been days or months, it's always exciting to see somewhere new. The Aerodrome is thriving with people, passenger ships and merchant ships and military ships alike making berth in the docks, all contributing to the rivers of people pouring in and out of the building. The sounds of the crowd bounce around the vaulted ceilings, humid tropical air hotter still for the press of bodies everywhere. Navigating the crowds takes a certain confidence, lest you get knocked aside by a burly creature carrying a crate on his back, or separated from your companions by a throng of chattering flight stewardesses.

Of course, not everyone will disembark. Inmates cannot leave the ship without a warden as escort, and wardens are responsible for inmates in port — they don't have to be glued to each others' sides, of course, but it's harder to make trouble under a watchful eye.

2. The Cloudborne Tavern

Thanks to the Navarch, there are rooms booked in the Cloudborne for passengers who do not want to trek back and forth from the Peregrine. Staying above a busy and bustling tavern isn't always the most restful affair, of course, given there isn't really a closing hour, but it certainly makes for a life experience.

The tavern below is full of colourful characters, drawn by the ludicrously cheap pints. It isn't uncommon for people to get soundly drunk, but a watchful Seeq keeps an eye out on the place: get too rowdy or violent and you might find yourself thrown out on your ass.

3. The Lhusu Mines

Though the mines are closed, there's plenty to do in the labyrinthine tunnels winding deep into the mountain.

The Paling — Talk with the locals in the taverns and on the streets and you might notice a frequent topic of conversation: the paling's fall. The paling was a Crystal used to create a magick barrier that kept fiends at bay in the mines, so that the miners could work safely. However, something — or someone — has stripped the paling of its magickal energy, and now the fiends have overrun the abandoned tunnels. Sometimes they even make their way out and attack the locals. It is imperative that some brave hero makes their way deep into the tunnels, finds the paling, and recharges its magick power. But so far no one has been up to the task...

Hunting Marks — A bulletin board in the Cloudborne has posters for bounties, seeking hunters willing to deal with the fiends that spill out of the mines. Many are for looking for materials, such as bat fangs fresh from the jaws of the massive, four-winged bats, or bone fragments from the undead skeletons. Or, for the particularly ambitious: the mighty Nidhogg, a colossal snake with a highly venomous tail spike. A prize awaits the first to return with its skin!

Filthy Pirates! — Not everyone ventures in to mop up trouble for the locals: the mines are a considerable draw to those who are happy to risk the fiends for the chance to loot the goods left behind. Many people have fallen in these attempts, leaving gil, armor, weaponry and other goods strewn through the depths. Be careful, though: not all treasure is as it seems.

4. Shopping!

The marketplace is as busy as the Aerodrome, with massive crowds clustered around covered tents, wooden booths, and humble cloths laid out on the stone floor, all bearing incredible wares. The atmosphere is raucous: people haggling boisterously, children scampering between adults' legs, people hollering for others to move, move, as they shove their way through with carts of purchases or goods for sale.

Food is plentiful: turnips and onions are particularly popular, given the season, and tomatoes fetch a high price. Street food vendors sell stewed cockatrice (chicken-esque!), chunks of moist cactus, flank steaks on sticks, and something aptly called "bacon bread".

And, given the war going on and fiends loose in the world, there is no short supply of weaponry and armor. Swords, pikes, bows, axes, daggers, even a small number of rudimentary firearms, all available to those with ample coin. Armor is popular too, with artisans prepared to make it custom within a day or two — leather is affordable, but the price of metal could feed a laborer for a year.

Beware of pickpockets. Happy shopping!

Threaded | Flat

Disembarking
[Theo is overwhelmed the moment he steps off the ship with his warden. He had been staring at Bhujerba from the Observatory since the Peregrine had gotten within landing distance, but it still hadn't prepared him for actually being here. He's probably overdressed for the weather, not used to a humid climate, but also not really into the scanter bits of fashion popular here. The temperature was far from his mind as he takes in all the different sights and sounds, the different people, and the one thing he can't get over: machines everywhere that are powered by magic. In the open. Being used by anyone and everyone, as if it were totally normal.

Such an idea would never be entertained by the mages in his home. A society comfortable with and benefitting from magic is something he daydreamed constantly as a child. Did the people here know how lucky they were?

While not straying far from his warden, Loki, Theo will be found gawking at everything, occasionally remembering to pick his jaw up from the ground. He's giving off obvious tourist energy, but at least he's street smart enough to keep an eye on his pockets. Can't risk losing what little money he's given.]

Market
[This is the place he'll be haunting the most today. Normally not interested in things like weapons and armor, he can't help but ask the shopkeepers a dozen questions about the magic imbued in certain pieces. After a few answers, though, they're not interested in helping someone who doesn't have enough money to buy anything. Seeing all of this equipment makes his heart ache, missing his casting skills more than ever. What he could do with even one piece of magicite...

Speaking of. At another stall, Theo takes advantage of a distracted shopkeeper and makes off with something he's been missing more than anything else from back home - a notebook and pencil set. He doesn't have enough of his own money to buy one, and he doesn't want to ask his warden. He is a pretty good shoplifter though, being well-practiced at it as a means of survival back home. At least in a new city, the shopkeepers here don't recognize him, and this one doesn't catch him. That doesn't mean someone else nearby doesn't.]

Tavern
[Once in the proximity of alcohol again, Theo thought he'd be more than ready to fall right back off that wagon he was forced on after arriving on the Peregrine. But now, as he watches everyone else around him imbibing, he hesitates. While it seems fuzzy and distant sometimes, the memories of the two weeks he spent drying out hit him hard. The tremors, the sweats, the restlessness, the nausea...

When the bartender asks him a second time if he wants something, it snaps him back down to reality. Yes, he wants one. No he doesn't. Yes, he definitely does.

After another moment of nervous hesitation while scanning the room, he turns back to the bartender and points at someone from across the bar who's enjoying a cigarillo.]

Um. Do you sell those here?

[Theo had asked Loki if they could crash back on the Peregrine instead of the tavern. Partly because of the temptation of alcohol, though he won't say that. He needs a clear head for what was coming this morning.

He doesn't have many possessions aboard the Peregrine, though he's sad about having to leave them behind. Bringing them along would be too obvious. Just one thing he needs, the plant clippings, wrapped carefully in cloth and tucked in a back pocket. Conveniently, his local garb came with some light leather gloves.

This had to work. This had to work. If there's anywhere he wants to stay in the universe right now, it's this world. Theo can hardly believe his luck, them landing in a place like this, but it doesn't do much to steady his nerves.

Why did his warden this month have to be Loki?

Theo meets his warden at their scheduled morning meeting time, looking a bit withdrawn. But that's normal for him, right?]

Theon is always itching to leave the Peregrine. No matter how long he stays, it always feels too cramped and too clinical. However, things have changed since the first simulation. Now, he isn’t certain he trusts himself to know what’s real and what isn’t outside of the ship. The Navarch had announced this stop as a port, but what reason does he have to trust her? He hesitates to leave, not wanting to stumble headfirst into someone else’s life once again.

But he knows that he can’t live in fear forever, so he ultimately blinds himself to the unfamiliar surroundings and leaves alongside William. At least he has a warden this time, and he doesn’t need to attach himself to someone else’s.

He’s been sleeping poorly again, and it shows in his slightly haggard appearance and the way he drags behind, less than energetic. He knows he doesn’t have to stick too closely to his warden’s side, but he can’t imagine finding anything to do without a bit of coin in his pockets.

“I don’t suppose it’s worth asking for money for a pint or two.”

Or five, he adds silently. He isn’t used to asking for money. He had always been allotted a sum in Winterfell for his personal use. It was never something he needed to worry about.

1. Infirmary

[Loki wakes up in bits and pieces. It's a bit like being hungover, all dry mouth and aching head. And the part where he doesn't know where he is.

Eventually, his eyes piece together his location. The infirmary, in one of the beds. He sits up into a stretch, the expression of discomfort at waking like this twisting even darker as he remembers.]

Theo. Ymir's bloody balls, I should've known.

[He pulls out his CommLink, only to discover he really should have known. He groans, thunking the device against his forehead only to drop it abruptly into his lap at the sound of someone approaching. He calls out, not particularly caring who it is.]

Was I dead?

2. Solitary | Locked to Theo

[This is the second time he's visited his inmate post escape attempt. Only this time, he's responsible for said inmate getting away with it. Well, getting away with attempting, at least. Which speaks to his lack of even feigned patience, this time around.

He enters, crosses his arms, and glares down at Theo.]

And I thought we were getting along. Not that this is surprising, in hindsight. Given how much you remind me of myself.

[He blows an annoyed breath through his nose before tipping his chin up, prompting.]

Tell me. What was the plan, beyond running aimlessly?

3. Planetside

[Once he's spoken to both his inmates and ensured someone is looking after them, he leaves them both on the ship to explore the planet himself. He's still interested in the place, in the magic it uses, but he's not exactly hiding how he needs a moment away from wardening, from the responsibility he keeps fucking up.

But he doesn't avoid anyone from the Peregrine outright. He isn't running like his inmate did. He's just...breathing.

And it's easier to, certainly. Focusing on getting his hands on some magicite at the market takes up a large portion of his day when it turns out to be precious enough that his charm-- which is, admittedly, lacking due to his mood --can't knock any prices down low enough. It doesn't help that the Moogles evidently don't find him very interesting, which serves to annoy him further.

He briefly visits the area just outside the mines, hoping to pick up some extra gil from a bounty, but his heart isn't in it. There's a clear detachment in his movements as he takes out a fiend, sighing heavily as he retrieves his knives from its hide.

And at the end of the day, he decides to stay in the tavern rather than return to the Peregrine. He isn't ready to address his failures yet. He hasn't even come up with a suitable punishment for Theo, yet. He settles with a drink at a corner table and starts writing a list of possibilities, none of which seem all that likely to make any real impression. Eventually he's just staring into the middle distance, tapping his pen against the paper and nursing his drink.]

Edited (IMPULSIVELY HIT POST...) 2022-05-07 18:39 (UTC)

I. Tavern

It's noisier accommodation than she's used to, but Misty likes the tavern fine. Her comings and goings are consistent; regular hours kept, dinners often taken in the form of whatever pub food will reach her fastest, an hour or two spent mingling after that before she turns in for the night. There's visible damage every time she returns — bruises along the exposed portion of her midriff, a split lip, scores of cuts and raw patches where exposed skin met rock — the worst of it displayed earliest in the week, before she's invested in leather armor and the cheapest spear she could find. When possible she'll steer herself toward faces she recognizes, but the ratio of people to available seats works against her as often as not. It turns out the locals are friendly enough, and her initial discomfort is quick to fade.

A day or so into port she'll drop herself into the first available seat near someone else from the Peregrine, the air about her more focused than casual. Leaning in to give her murmur the best chance she can against the background din she asks, "Have you heard anything about this whole paling thing? Any idea how you 'recharge' a rock?"

(Or more mundanely, perhaps she's proposing some trade for whatever's on their plate. The owners aren't as sympathetic to a stolen purse as she hopes a fellow traveler may be.)

II. Mines

As invigorating as she finds the bustle and heat of the city at large, the mines reveal themselves very quickly to have the most of consequence going on. There's a lot of draw, between general curiosity, fascination with the idea of the fiends, money to replace what's spent on food, souvenirs, and necessary armor, and a clearly disastrous situation that deserves inspection, whether or not anyone currently on-ship is capable of correcting it. Excluding short excursions to the market in the morning and afternoon this is the bulk of where she spends each day, pleased to be of some use.

She can be found:

—— Laboriously dragging the remains of a fiend behind her, roughed up and disheveled already from the process of fighting it. Upon sighting anyone she can reasonably expect to not be some grave robber she hurries through a few emotions, all visible on her face — it's a relief to see them, then some modest joy that she aims to rein in, and just as quickly it all drops out and she can only look sheepishly from the newcomer to her haul.

"Don't suppose you look at the boards, do you? Know what parts people were looking for? I remember something about bats, but not the, uh, specifics."

And has consequently resigned herself to dragging the entire thing back to where she could check. Unless of course, they remember enough to lighten the load.

—— Deep in the mines, precariously lifting and tipping some expired explorer into a slowly-filling cart. As delicate as she means to be, even the partially-decomposed are heavy, and she's relying as much on her own physical strength as she can for fear of being stumbled upon displaying anything she'd rather not.

The embarrassment is much more prominent here, as upon noticing another presence she's quick to throw up both of her dirtied hands. It looks weird. She knows.

"This is less creepy than it looks," she promises, wincing. When you have to say it, it's likely already difficult to believe. "I want to see if I can get some of these guys back to the outside." She gestures to the cart, then pauses to wipe sweat from her brow. "Some of them were probably here for the wrong reasons, but a lot of them must have families, right? Gotta be something they do with dead folk here."

A beat. "Could I ask you for a hand?"

The cart's gotten heavy.

III. Market

Having gotten thoroughly lost and physically brushed aside far more than she'd care to admit after first encountering it, Misty does her level best to only enter the marketplace in the morning or evening and exit as soon as it feels too crowded to comfortably go from A to B. (This last goal proves nearly impossible. It's a high-demand area, and she's certainly not the only one to try this approach.) It does come much closer to bearable, however, and she's only slightly less likely to stop and chat here than in the mines.

She can be encountered:

—— Being physically swept out of the way and into another person's path, increasingly more irate than apologetic.
—— Paying entirely too much at nearly any stall, having never had to haggle before in her life. Those who prove adept at it may prove a valuable enough resource to tail for a brief time. Don't mind her.
—— Ducking close as one passes, quickly indicating an item (she's easily won over by anything eye-catching or sharp, but textiles and small metalwork will draw her in always) and asking in a hurried tone where it was purchased, and what a fair price is.

IV. Wildcard

[Just fuck me up.]

Edited 2022-05-08 01:09 (UTC)

1 | peregrine

[He's quick off the ship, only slowed down by an attempt to find something he'll wear (too far into the habit of long-sleeves at the height of Tokyo's summer, between his job and Fox's contract, to stop), but he pauses at the bay doors if someone intercepts him. The problem is, if it's an inmate besides Mello or Ellie, he flatly says,]

I'll only take you with me if your temp warden says it's alright.

[Otherwise, when he returns to help keep tabs on the inmates stuck aboard, he brings various goods: mostly food (sometimes preserved and sometimes fresh, sometimes smelling strongly of spices), occasionally alcohol, and eventually a sword. He spends some time in the observatory working out the best way to carry it, his old habits obsolete with only one arm to draw the blade.]

2 | lhusu mines

[He's reluctant to wander into the mines himself and well aware he's no longer the first person anyone would ask, but it takes little prompting for him to quietly tag along with someone else. He only has a shitty blade early on, something cheap turned over at the market, but he wastes no time in zeroing in on a given objective, whether it's a mark or material. He does, however, stop someone whenever he catches a glimpse of a less than ideal future, with an idle,]

Wait, [before he beams a rock at a treasure pot, hard enough to shatter. It skitters back wildly.

Otherwise, who wants to fight or run from a marlboro with him, pls.]

3 | marketplace

[Aki treats the marketplace the same way he does most of his life: with brusque efficiency. He only bothers looking at trinkets, armor, and even most weapons if pushed; his interest falls more on the local cuisine, the novelty of the curatives, and the occasional sword. He flat out ignores the firearms.

(If there's an inmate with him, he pays for their food without a word, like it's rote.)

Likewise without a word, he occasionally tugs the back of a passerby's vest or the sleeve of their shirt: nudging someone (whether from Ivalice or the Peregrine) out of the way seconds before a cart goes by, a seeq turns sharply with a crate, or some other accident might happen.]

4 | wildcard

[mines prompt is wardens only, unless an inmate sneaks off or smth (sorry, he wouldn't let an inmate go in without a weapon and lol he's not gonna willingly give them a weapon). otherwise, hmu on plurk if you wanna brainstorm or randomize me, captain.]

Marketplace
[ There are so many incredible things to look at on this planet, it's tough to stay focused on any kind of task, even when it's a fun one.

Grace is looking for cooking supplies-- specifically, appliances like toaster ovens and hot plates that can be brought back to the ship, but also things like mixing bowls and spatulas. In the months she's been aboard, she's missed the comfort and satisfaction of baking so badly, and now that they're in a place with a modicum of civilization, she's on a mission.

But the hustle and bustle of people everywhere, some familiar and some totally alien (and some adorable little bunny people!) make it nearly impossible not to indulge in one of her other favorite pastimes: People-watching. She can be found leaning against a fence rail somewhere, eating some sort of fried bread thing and gazing at the humanity (for lack of a better word) teeming around her, or intentedly perusing various local wares, trying to discern the uses for various alien types of cooking implements that might or might not be a type of balloon whisk.

She looks, it should be said, noticeably happier than she usually does, when she's getting lost in a crowd. ]

A. [ If Rhys hadn't learned his lesson from everything else that happened after the last port, the FOMO he's getting from being kept behind would probably do the trick all on its own.

For the first day at port he can be found in the observatory, pining for the outdoors as he stares out the large window. He'll let out an exaggerated sigh every time someone walks past, practically begging to be asked what's wrong.

Go on, ask him! ]

B. [ By day three he's climbing up the walls with boredom and continued FOMO. Everyone's probably having so much fun out there doing...whatever cool things you could do in a flying city. It's much cooler than the last port, why couldn't they have landed at another barren fish people planet?

He's finally found a way to keep himself entertained, at least. Desperate times...

He can be found in the hallway outside the dorms, having set up what looks to be a little obstacle course and race track with whatever resources he's managed to scrounge up from around the ship (stacked cans from the vending machine, he's borrowed a few other inmate items like Travis's foam cat, lined up sporks divide the race lanes, etc) and has managed to corral a few cleaning bots to interact with them.

He's crouched over the race track right now, watching as three bots make their way down the divided lane. ]

C'monnnn Larry, my money is on you.

C.[ When he's not pining at the window or creating personal entertainment at the expense of bots just trying to do their jobs, Rhys can be found in the dorms themselves, sitting cross legged on his bed and hunched over his portable keyboard and commlink, typing away. Project PONG is basically all done, he's just waiting for Archie to approve his code (totally clean, no funny business, promise) and he's moved on to his next project.

He's pretty engrossed in his work right now, a deep crease line forming between his brows as he concentrates, and it's unlikely he'll notice right away if anyone joins him. ]

Edited 2022-05-10 19:55 (UTC)

(Placeholder for a few closed things; if you'd like something bespoke hit me up on plurk/pm and I'll write something out for ya!)

Closed for Bucky

Alex was actually rather happy that Bucky was willing to go bounty hunting with him. Maybe he could even borrow or wrangle a weapon under the warden's supervision. (Because while he did have his knife from the fishwife-trader, he'd rather no one know about that unless needed.)

But Alex actually had few qualms about going after bounties. Making some extra cash. He wanted more blankets and some pillows for his bunk. Maybe a nice knapsack or bag to store things in.

OTA

Find Alex browsing stalls, especially those that offer creature-comforts and luxuries. If they have textiles like blankets or cushions, or if they have actual books or other forms of easy entertainment, he's especially interested. Come bother him.

Threaded | Flat

Theo Crawford | OTA | May 4th

May 5th | Locked

horse girls only (closed to william)

Loki Odinson | OTA + Theo

Misty Day | OTA

no subject

Grace Gibson | OTA!