No Longer in Kansas - Episode 1

[fire_insideout]

Eris

"... Beautiful." Eris finishes Sarah's sentence silently, knowing that her perspective would not be shared by the others. Still, she can not deny that the battlefield brings not the sickness to her as it did to some of her companions. Broken bodies, blood and chaos, it is madness painted on the ground itself, but Eris somehow feels more at peace now than she has in a long time. "Death and despair. Is that what I am becoming, a lover of death?" The thought is not wholly unpleasant and she silently grips the handle of her scythe tighter.

She hasn't thought too much about the meaning of the weapon until now, too much has happened since they walked through the portal, but it is difficult to deny that her whole outfit was very much in line with the idea of 'Death' and now her feelings too starts to tilt more and more towards the macabre. "Perhaps... There are more transformations going on than what the eye can see here." She glances silently at Tobias and Colin.

[PeacefulOak]

A short while later the Tribesmen urge you onward, gently lifting those who have collapsed to their feet with a look of appreciation for the shared grief. The journey starts once more, turning closer to the East as you make your way ever closer to the Forest. Tobias has the grips of the travois and is marching along, but his steps seem neither as confident nor as strong as they did before the rest.

Garan beckons Colin to the front as they walk. "Forgive me for not responding as we rested, Fury. I was thinking of the future, and your words did not penetrate.
Allow me to make amends with a story." He raises his voice slightly as he begins, including the group in his tale.

"Long ago this land was rich with diverse peoples and with diverse magic. There were Gods and Goddesses aplenty for people to follow and worship, near endless supplies of magical sources and diversity to fulfill every need. Of course, not everything was rainbows and flowers in this time. There was prejudice, hatred, violence, and war for any number of reasons. Holy wars in particular were frequent, and nations rose and fell on the backs of the faithful and fervent."

"It is said that out of those wars many benefits were gained, but it is also true that many griefs were created. One of those was the origins of the half-bloods, most often children of hatred and fury and the ugliness that goes along with it. Often abandoned, near universally reviled as reminders of the horrors that war brings, these half-blooded pariahs lived on the outskirts of society, doing the hardest and the dirtiest labor for scraps of food and scant shelter from the elements. No Gods or Goddesses looked kindly on them, and they suffered."

"One was born who was deemed to be particularly unholy, a child of battle between the elves of Correlon and the orcs of Gruumsh. Which was the aggressor bears no import to our tale, but the very fact of this girl-child's existence was an offense to all. No land was given to her for rest or home, no shelter, no food, no labor. Cast out among even the outcasts,
this girl left civilized lands and drifted among the hills. Amid these very hills that you see behind us she drifted. How she survived is lost to the ages, but eventually she returned to the nations. She returned with strength of both spirit and presence and she addressed the masses. She spoke not to the heights but to the depths, to the discarded and impoverished,
to those for whom war and hatred was a curse and a burden instead of a glory. She preached the downfall of the Gods, the casting aside of the Goddesses, and the unification of all peoples that war and strife might be cast aside."

"The leaders of the time, both of faith and nations, paid her little mind in their smug confidence. How little they knew of their danger, of the tragedy that waited in the wings.
For the people were tired of wars that mattered not, tired of pointless deaths to fill the coffers of careless leaders and absent deities. The people threw down their Gods, their Goddesses, their kings and leaders. They raised up this queen, this leader and godless power. Within five years the divine energies that flooded the land were quenched."

"It was then that the changes began, and that some few began to feel fear. Unity of spirit slowly became unity of form. Instead of cherishing our differences as unique and special,
the unique and special were abhorred and absorbed into the norm."

"But we were speaking of the hills. Since her return, these hills have changed. Battle after battle, war after war has soaked blood and anger, bile and despair into these hills, and something stirs in the depths. The dead do not lie quiet here, and the very stones whisper of murder and discord. It is said that somewhere in the heart of the hills lies the heart of this evil. Many have searched for it, for to purify these hills might heal the land and the hearts of many. None have returned who sought the heart."

Garan's tale has a lyrical quality in tone that likens the ear to those few remaining aural traditions on Earth. The rise and fall of his voice is almost hypnotic, and it distracts you from the length of the journey. As you walk, you notice that over the battlefield there is a shimmer or a haze, almost like heat rising from a burning desert. Beneath it the rolling hills of carnage seem almost to shift and move.

[Anyr]

Sarah played no part in the conversation. She was too busy processing all the new revelations about this world. It had magic, and monarchies, and objective holiness, and deities...or were all the deities dead? She wasn't quite sure. Either way, it was a lot to process. So the young banker just walked silently along.

[Inevitability]

This is a horrible world. Richard thought as he heard the story. War, death, discrimination, totalitarianism... It was all too similar of something he was all to familiar with.

"You told us about where the queen and her armies came from." Richard finally speaks, his voice echoing from the helmet. "However, you didn't mention where you came from."

"...Or why you have tentacles, for that matter."

[fire_insideout]

Eris

As Garan retells the story of the land they have so suddenly found themselves trapped in Eris listens with half an ear, her thoughts still on the battlefield and the feelings it stirred. But when she hears the words "...The dead do not lie quiet here..." her head turns towards the tribesman, her gaze piercing.
"The dead... walks?" The unintended reference to one of her favourite tv-shows from her earlier life turns her tight lips into a small smile before she continues. "Tell me more."

[Malachite]

Colin listens quietly to the small reptile as he tells the tale of how a world fell into madness. It's both sobering and surreal to hear this tale where things like orcs and elves are real and not just on paper or a screen, where gods and goddesses have a physical form which can be fought and defeated, and where events happening in a place have real, tangible effects on the landscape.

He picks up on the same thing as Eris.

"...This world has literal zombies? It just couldn't get... You know what, I'm not even going to say it. Based on everything that's happened so far, I'm absuolutely certain that it could get worse."

[Inevitability]

"I've seen zombies." Richard speaks in response to Colin. "It was just before I met you, in a ruined city. They all had some greenish sign on their body."

"Garan, could these be the same as the dead you describe?"

[PeacefulOak]

The rippling haze over the hills disturbs your eyes slightly as the journey continues. It is many miles over heavy rolling hills, and though the pace is not swift for many of you this is an unusual level of physical labour which leaves your thighs and calves burning and your breathing heavy.

Garan, having paused in his storytelling to give you all the opportunity to reply, continues.

"Yes, the dead walk here. They rise from their eternal rest to torment the living, forcing grieving families to slay their loved ones, or be slain in turn. This is a particular challenge without the favour of the divine to assist us. No strange glows or markings, though. I have never seen the like of that before, it sounds strange and arcane, a mark of deviltry."

"You ask of my work, these tendrils I have crafted. As I said before, I am a Shaper of the Free Tribes. When the true nature of the queen began to show itself, many of the less normal creatures began to seek shelter outside of her influence. Goblins and orcs, gnolls and ogres, and even the wise and wily Kobolds that you see before you all chose to flee the depravities of the umbral queen. Her fastness was in the fields and foothills of the mighty mountains which lie now behind us, so we fled to the wild depths of the forest, seeking shelter there. Our shamans and priests were lost without their divine sources of power. Only our witches and wizards still held the power to affect their surrounds, but their power was turning wild and strange."

"The queen could not stand the idea that there were peoples free from her control, not within her demesne, not forming into the whole of her created peoples. She reached out with her might, her magic, and began to rain chaos and flame down upon the forest. In an effort to deflect her, all the mages of the Tribes gathered and channeled their might into a shield over the Forest. The clash was immense, and the tumultuos nature of the magic spun beyond anyone's control. Instead of a simple shield, the skies over the Forest was scorched and blackened, leaving the shadows you see now. In the same moment, all our mages lost their ability to channel any magic beyond the simplest tricks, and even those risked drastic consequences."

"In place of these old magics, a new skill was discovered. Somehow in the shadows of the Forest flesh began to retain its lividity for some time after the death of the creature, and was able to be harvested and used to enhance the living. There are as yet not many Shapers among our people, individuals skilled in the harvesting and shaping of flesh for purpose. These tendrils are my own invention, acting both as a tool for combat and an additional sense for our scouts. At times our scouts are limited in their sight, but a sense of smell can hunt out even the most cleverly hidden foes." Garan smiles with unabashed pride.

Ahead of you, the Forest grows larger and larger, the enormity of the trees becoming apparent as you near the edge of the rolling hills. Another mile of open land lies between you and the immense trees, between which strange dark shadows flicker and twitch.

[dethkruzer]

For a while Julia would simply stay silent, at first to try and push away the pervading sight of destruction that she had just witnessed, and then to try and take in everything Garan had to say. She tried to keep up, but it wasn't easy. A lot of fantastic elements there, and try as she might, there was still much she could not comprehend. Still, among everything Garan had said, one little detail... Stuck out for some reason.

"When you say unity of form, are we talking something like... selective reproduction? Or something more... Drastic?" It was difficult o put her thoughts into words here. On one hand, she had a rather ghastly guess as to what Garan's words might have implied, but the very idea kinda made her feel a little sick, but on the other, she also wished that it wasn't as she thought.

"Also, please forgive me if I seem intrusive with my request, but might I study these tentacles you say you have created at some point?"

[PeacefulOak]

Garan shudders, a full body shiver that reaches the very tip of his tentacle, making it twitch.

"You speak of one of the greatest evils of the queen. She did not stop at simply sculpting the flesh of her chosen peoples into forms that pleased her and her sense of unity. Deep beneath her palace... deep beneath... Garan shivers again. "Once, as a young man, I journeyed with some few allies deep into the heart of the queen's city. Seeking secret paths, we found tunnels and dark passages that led us to the depths of the palace. The sounds coming from those depths... the mingled cries of pain and passion, the cries of childbirth, the wailing of children as they take their first breath... all mingled together into a chorus of the most perverse creation imaginable. Only I, of my friends, found the strength to look... and to this day I wish that I had not. It was in that moment that I realized that we had not the strength to overcome the queen in her home. Since then, we fight to survive, to keep her out of our lands." Garan sighs, and gestures almost carelessly behind him towards the hills of death which you passed earlier. "This was a mistake. A pitched battle was never the right choice, and now we have lost the cream of our youth and the fiercest of our warriors. The gains were not worth the cost... not worth the cost at all."

Garan muses for a moment then shakes his head, freeing himself of the fugue. "Forgive my maudlin mood. You wish to see my work? If you can look and walk, you are welcome!"

[Anyr]

The list just kept growing: Goblins and Orcs and Gnolls and Ogres and Kobolds and shamans and witches and wizards and freaky flesh crafting. So much to process. For all Sarah knew, she and her fellow castaways might be the only humans left on this world...

[fire_insideout]

Eris

Garan's story fills her head with all kinds of imagery and Eris is almost overwhelmed by the feelings awakened in her. There is something about the Queen and her actions that Eris can relate to on a very basic level: The idea to be loved, accepted and welcomed as a ruler has lit a fire inside of her she instinctively knows will be impossible to extinguish. At the same time she knows that she and the Queen can never be allies, their primal desires are too similar to allow for anyone to be their equal. One must be destroyed so the other can flourish.

But for now the Queen is far beyond anything she could even dream of challenging and the security given by the group is a welcome feeling that she embraces.
"Thank you for being so open with us, Garan. Had it been another day I would have walked with you so you could show us more of your creations and told us more of the darkness upon the land, but we have traveled far, farther perhaps than we thought and have ended up somewhere we did not expect. I, for one, would like to rest and think for some time before we decide what to do next." She looks around.
"Is there a place were we can wash ourselves, and eat?"

[Malachite]

Colin follows the story with grim fascination. This world just keeps getting stranger and stranger, with a tyrant ruler holding sway over an oppressed land of living myth and magic.

"There are atales on our world about elves and orcs, goblins and ogres," he says. "But I've never heard of a gnoll or a kobold before. You say that you are kobolds? I think I met some beings like you in a cave full of glowing fungus before I met up with the rest of these people." He gestures ruefully at the wounds covering his body. "It didn't end well for any of us."

He thinks for a moment.

"So what else from our fairy stories is actually real here? Dwarves? Fairies? Dragons? Ghosts?"

[dethkruzer]

"Kobolds.... Julia slowly intoned, her attention having been caught by Colin's repeated use of the word. Her mind withdrew within for a moment. "Fairies.
Originating from German folklore, most of them ambivalent spirits of the home." She would speak, before pausing, her gaze drifting to Garan and his people. "Though dare I say, the semblance isn't really there." She then remarked dryly.

That said, she then took a few faster steps to catch up to Garan. "I'm gonna have a closer look now, if I do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, just let me know and I'll stop." She then spoke to the kobol, waiting for the go ahead before laying her hands on the tentacle.

[PeacefulOak]

The tendril of flesh is strange to your touch, as you would expect never having encountered the like before. The surface is firm but slightly porous, almost clammy to the touch. You palpate it gently, feeling the strength and fluidity of the muscle within and beneath that some sort of tough tendon or cartilage that forms the core. You remember the fluidity of these tendrils at rest, and also the strength and tension of them from the battle. Curiously, you almost feel as though this might be something you could figure out the method of creating.

"Dragons and fairies haven't been seen or heard of in centuries here, though legends remain. Ghosts, on the other hand, are most certainly a threat of this time. As I said, the dead do not rest easy, here." Garan turns to Eris. "Soon we shall be under the shelter of the Forest. There we can rest in peace, and perhaps find another method of travel to take us closer to our destination."

You notice now that the forest is much closer. Formed of immense trees, this is an old forest. Even from where you are you can see that the trees are widely spaced within, with a little undergrowth at the outer edge and not much beyond that. Shortly thereafter you find yourself at the edge of the trees. Several small figures step forth to challenge the group, green skinned and lanky with large ears and sharp teeth in their wide mouths, but Garan steps forward and responds in a language you haven't heard before.

You are led past the forests edge and see a large wagon hitched to a pair of draft horses. "Here, climb in and we shall rest and journey at the same time."

[Anyr]

Sarah normally enjoyed walking through forests: Not that she got much chance to do so, in her line of work. The one ahead was a real beauty. It was ancient, mysterious, and atmospheric. What a shame that Sarah was in no condition to appreciate it. Even the green-skinned creatures only managed to startle her a little. She climbed onto the cart with leaden movements. At the very least, it felt good to take the weight off her feet. She wasn't used to walking so much any more. From the looks of it, she'd have ample opportunity to get back in practice.

The weary woman took a seat closest to Julia and Eris (if possible). Those two seemed to be recovering faster than her. In Julia's case, that was understandable. A doctor would naturally be fascinated by all these new physiologies. Sarah wished that she had something similar on which to focus. At the moment, her mind's eye was still staring at that field of corpses...

[Inevitability]

Richard enters the carriage with some difficulty. For a world filled with reptile-midgets, tyrannical queens, and restless dead, something as simple as a horse-drawn carriage was out of place, somehow. The horses weren't even tentacled or anything.

[dethkruzer]

"Remarkable..." What initial assumptions she could pull together from her brief manual examination seemed to draw a measure more awe and interest than most would consider... Healthy. There was still more she wanted to know, more she wanted to learn of this, but for now, it seemed the time she had was cut short, the group having come across a wagon that she had completely managed to miss being there. In fact the first thing that brings here to realize the presence of the wagon was Garan stepping away to speak to some other strange creatures.

Small. Green skin, could perhaps be related to an iron-rich diet. Teeth that would suggest a carnivorous nature, but a physique that didn't necessarily fit a hunter. Though perhaps with those large ears, they could be more ambush-oriented? Perhaps she'd learn more in time. Such thought went though her head, as she would stare at the greenskins for a moment longer than one could expect. Finally though, she snapped out of her analytical daze. "I'd still like to discuss this creation of yours later, if you do not mind me asking." She would say to Garan, before moving over to the wagon and climbing in.

A sigh escaped her as she got to sit down, Julia seemingly having been oblivious to the accumulated fatigue, which felt like it had just hit her all in one go.

[Malachite]

Colin hoists himself up into the wagon gratefully. This has been a long, stressful day, and the aftermath of it all is beginning to hit him. From the look of it, many of the others are feeling equally weary. As the vehicle sets off, the rocking from side to side soon sends him off to sleep, his chin resting on his chest.

For now, Fury has to bow before Fatigue.

[fire_insideout]

Eris

Eris climbs wearily into the wagon, her legs heavy and her mind filled with thoughts of the dark sights they have seen and done.
"Thank you Garan, your hospitality is much appreciated." The woman manages a thin smile before she slides down next to Colin and a few moments later she too is fast asleep.

[PeacefulOak]

Though not particularly comfortable, the wagon provides a welcome relief from the hours of walking you have all just completed. In a similar sense, the quiet shadowed majesty of this ancient forest is a soothing balm to the senses, senses which for some are still reeling from the events of this, your first day outside of your normal everyday lives.

Sleep takes each of you, and you each find yourselves dreaming deep and resonant dreams.

Colin dreams of the hateful words and acts he experienced in the world, witnesses atrocities committed against the innocent... and he feels his rage stirring within him, offering itself in a wordless red haze as a tool to destroy those who do such wrong.

Richard dreams of that first shock of battle, dreams of blades and spears rending delicate flesh... and dreams of himself there, the armor of his skin deflecting all blows and his every step growing larger and more powerful than the last. As the dream fades, he dreams of the armies kneeling...

Sarah's mind skitters from nightmare to nightmare, every horrifying moment of the day replaying in exaggerated detail. Behind the nightmares there is a pulse, a beat, steady and reassuring like the heartbeat of a mother to a newborn child. The nightmares fade, leaving only the beat that pulses blue, yellow, red, brown... repeating over and over again. "Worry not child of all, you are stronger than you believe both in body and mind. Release your need to control, flow like the wind and wave to crash around and through your opposition. When you are ready, come to me." The dream fades, and for the first time since crossing the first threshold, the lines of stress and tension relax on her face.

Eris dreams a quiet dream, a dream of a long line of souls wandering up and down the hillsides, stumbling over their own corpses as they pass... unable to move on, unable to return. You feel as though a choice awaits you, a choice that could determine the fate of many such souls. Your dream ends with an awareness of a hunger that pulls at the wandering souls, longing to tear and consume them. Somehow, this does not elicit fear in you...

Julia, despite her excitement, also drifts into a deep sleep. In her dream she stands over an operating table, a strange corpse before her. Her hands move, and instead of closing and sealing they cut and separate organ from muscle, fat from skin. As she works she realizes there is a word for what she is doing... harvesting. Inspiration strikes like lightning and instead of tissue and bone you see blueprints and building materials... a way to improve on the normal and make it extraordinary. As the dream fades, a familiar voice soothes and disturbs you: "Would this have saved me?"

Beyond this, the night passes uneventfully. You awaken to a chirrup from Garan. "We are almost arrived. Would you care to arrive refreshed and on your feet?"

Tobias does not awaken immediately, moving gently in his sleep.

[Malachite]

Colin scrubs the back of a hand across his face, then looks down and grimaces at the dark brown stains that still cover his arms. The dreams he had last night have helped him gain some measure of peace about his newfound gift for violence - which is a little disturbing in itself when examined in the light of day - but it's still uncomfortably messy.

"If there is anywhere to do that, yeah, that'd be great. I suppose you're talking more a cold stream than a hot shower, right?"

He jumps down from the cart and tugs some scraps of clothing from where they've adhered to his skin.

"Is there anything in the wagon I could wear instead of these rags? I don't know how I can repay you, but I feel like this isn't the best first impression to your people."

[Anyr]

The real world was so overrated. This simple dream of pulsing lights was all that Sarah needed. It washed away all of the worries and cares of the day before. She just wanted to stay within its embrace forever. But of course, that wasn't an option. Try as she might to prevent it, consciousness returned all too soon. Sarah blinked the sleep out of her eyes. A quick inspection revealed that yesterday hadn't been a dream. She was still stranded in this crazy world. But on reflection, she was surprisingly okay with that. She felt somehow more prepared to face this new day. Amazing what a good night's sleep could do. With new found vigour, Sarah hopped off the cart.

"Refreshment sounds *Yawn* good to me. What kind of cleaning options does this place have?"

[PeacefulOak]

"There is a small hollow with a spring-fed pool off that way, you may bathe yourselves and make ready to visit the home of the Free Tribes." Garan gestures off to one side, and you can see a faint path leading away and down a slight slope, between massive smooth-barked trees.

[dethkruzer]

her eyes had opened at... some point, those green orbs casting a blank, unfocused stare toward the rough, the owman's sleep having left her head cocked back. She may or may not have been awake, when exactly that had happened, she couldn't quite remember. She couldn't remember falling asleep for that matter, either. Julia would blink once, than twice, her gaze seemed to momentarilyy focus before her memory seemed to sort itself out, and with that, the dream she'd had the past night. Honestly, she'd rather not have.

She drew a sudden, startled breath, her upper body whipping forward. Her breathing was fast, her eyes darting about as if searching for danger. But just as quickly she calmed down, upon finding herself in the wagon. What came next was a long sigh. Seems all this hadn't been a dream after all, that or she was just in a coma. She then drew a deep breath before standing up. This elicited a pained groan from Julia, she was aching... basically everywhere. She caught something of a mention of a spring. That sounded... "Nice." She would finish her chain of thought aloud.

Climbing out of the wagon, she would shake her head lightly, she would cast her gaze to Colin, then Sarah, before looking over the way where Garan had pointed.

[Anyr]

"Excellent! Wait, just the one pool? I suppose we're taking it in turns, then. Does anyone happen to have a 6-sided dice?"

Sarah had already been naked around these people once. She didn't intend on it becoming a running theme.

[fire_insideout]

Eris

At Garan's call Eris opens her eyes, the dream still lingering in her mind and the hunger she felt then is now silently gnawing inside her stomach.
"Thank you Garan, it is very thoughtful of you." She smiles at their guide as she climbs out of the wagon and wraps her robe tighter around her.

"You can go first Sarah, I don't think we're in a hurry, so let's freshen up the best we can."

[Anyr]

Sarah was only too happy to go first. She eagerly rushed off down the tree-lined path. A few minutes later, she was swimming blissfully in natural surroundings. The flowing water felt so good against her skin; Way better than usual, actually. It was almost like she had a new connection to it. Come to think of it, maybe she did. Tentatively, Sarah beckoned to some of the liquid. Her eyes widened when watery strands flowed upwards, to twist around her body. Amazing! The next few minutes were a flurry of experimentation. She twirled spears of water from one hand to the other. She swam through successions of liquid archways, that formed ahead of her and then collapsed behind her. Even when she sat on the pool's edge, part of it followed her onto land. For this brief time, all of Sarah's troubles were forgotten. She just embraced the childlike wonder of the best bath she'd ever had.

When Sarah eventually returned to the group, it was quite a while later. She'd gone a fair bit over her allotted time. The damp banker gave her teammates a sheepish look.

"Sorry for taking so long. I was testing out a new discovery. Remember the air sword and the earth armour? Well..."

She wasn't just clad in her in her normal robes. Tendrils of water swirled around her too. They separated, orbited and merged in a dance that defied gravity.

"...Now there's this. I'm betting that fire will work too, when I find some."

[Inevitability]

Richard looks at Sarah's new trick interestedly, and with a small amount of jealousy. She got control over elements, and what were his powers? Being stuck inside a metal shell!

...With that thought, the man realizes that bathing may be somewhat complicated in this state. Strangely he didn't feel the urge to wash that normally emerged after wearing his armor for a long time. Despite the heavy metal exterior, he felt strangely comfortable. His skin wasn't itchy or sweaty at all, almost like he couldn't even feel it.

...Could he feel it?


With bathing out of the question, Richard decides to at least go clean his armor, and begins asking the kobolds for any supplies or advice.

[PeacefulOak]

Your guides produce a number of loose supple leather robes, woven leather belts, and thick cured leather sandals for those that require or request clothing. Likewise, cleaning supplies of a dark lye soap, short sharp blades for any that look to shave, and a polishing grease substance that can be used on metal armor.