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 Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 4:31 am
Quote: Curious Findings (17) : Maybe it’s got something to do with the weather, or the construction, or all the other general oddities that seem to occur in Destiny City, but for the first time in nearly fifty years, the historic tree in one of Downtown Destiny City’s parks has woken up. While the tree was known for being alive and growing despite a lengthy hibernation, this is the first year that it’s sprouted leaves–but that’s not all! The unique tree has now also started growing strange pods. Because of the trees legacy–and not at all because of the oddity–the area has been taped off, but that really hasn’t been enough to stop anyone curious enough to investigate. The tree itself is several feet wide and stands roughly fifty feet tall; it’s branches spread significantly and seem like they can hold a lot of weight–which is good, because the pods growing on it have a hard brown shell and can grow up to the size of a soccer ball. Sometimes, the larger ones seem to tremble and shake in place. Maybe it's an animal trying to nibble? Maybe it’s just the wind? Maybe it’s something else. The pods can be pulled from the tree or collected from the ground; the shells are incredibly difficult to crack open, and some of them leak a strange, acidic sap that is strong enough to cause skin agitation–and in some cases there are even reports that it’s burned through wood or fabric. Sometimes, the healthier looking pods that aren’t leaking anything even seem to shake on their own, which is a mystery in itself. Another mystery is why Almadel seems so keen to trade for them…
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Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 4:37 am
Iðavöllr knew that she probably shouldn’t be in this particular section of the Destiny City park, knew that the area had likely been taped off for a reason, but it hadn’t stopped her from slipping past the taped off area anyway.
It hadn’t really been too hard to do so, likely aided at least in part by the lateness of the hour–
Being powered likely helped too.
It hadn’t taken much walking to find the tree, although in truth given that the tree was several feet wide and towered upwards, it would have been pretty hard to miss the tree.
Or the strange pods growing on said tree.
Unfortunately Iðavöllr had had some experience with pods that if they were not the same pods then they at least looked remarkably similar to them - and she wasn’t sure she wanted a repeat experience–
But neither was she sure that she could quite leave them either, not if the pods turned out to be one and the same as the others.
She hesitated and then frowned slightly as she picked up on an aura. One that was strong, albeit not as strong as that of her cousin’s.
There was a warmth to it though, which suggested that it was an Order aura.
Seiana_ZI Apologies to be so slow with this start Sei
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 7:05 am
Everything about the shaking seed pods was screaming dangerous to him, but in the end, it didn't quite matter, and it didn't quite matter for one specific reason. When he and Almadel had parted last, something of a date had been promised, or at least an evening of mutually enjoyed food and charming fun. Abzu intended to make good on his words, but first, he supposed he should play Almadel's usual game. He wanted goods in exchange for his services and items--including the soppranissimo saxophone he kept in his subspace pocket--and the good he seemed most interested in this year were these seed pods. So he'd bring himself, the music he had practiced in the year of time he had gained, and a few of these seed pods. Felt like the most assured way to make sure anything that happened went well. It hadn't been hard to get past what was walled off--especially as the wall was not terribly good, to be honest--to advance toward the seed pods. Would he just have to wait for one to wiggle down? He was not tall enough for this, nor was he physical enough for this, squire status or not. Perhaps the nearby Order aura was a bit taller and would be willing to split the goods-- Oh, hey, he knew her. Even better. "Iðavöllr!" called Abzu, beckoning her toward him. "Here for the seed pods?" Maybe she'd know an easier way to get them down from the tree, at least, beyond simply staring up and waiting for them to fall at his feet conveniently so he could pack them away to bring with him... litian no worries! i am hilariously slow at the moment
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Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2023 3:30 pm
IWhilst Iðavöllr might have normally contemplated maybe trying to see if she track down the source of the other aura, today she'd found herself a little distracted by the pods–
Okay mayhaps a bit more than just a little distracted.
But the more that she stared at the pods was the more that she was convinced that the pods really were the same as the ones that she had had the misfortune to stumble on previously and there had been more of the pods on the ground, presumably from having fallen at some point.
Iðavöllr did her best to give the pods a wide berth, because the last set of pods had come completed with murderous insects that had seemed to act as if she was on the menu - and had had some ability to...
So caught up was she with the pods, that she found herself starting visibly at the sound of the voice calling her name, and it was only belatedly as she picked up on the aura that was pretty much on top of her that she realised that she was no longer by herself by the tree.
When she turned around, feeling somewhat sheepish however, Iðavöllr wasn't able to help the genuine smile that curved her lips (and in truth nor did she particularly want to).
It didn't stop the somewhat sheepish feeling however.
"Abzu" she said as she gave the pods one last dubious glance before stepping over towards the other knight.
"It's been a while" she said, because the first and last time that they'd met had been back during the fight with the creepy blight creatures, she paused as the change in outfit finally registered alongside the strengthened aura "Did you get stronger?"
And then her mind finally caught up with his question about the pods "Uh.." She paused for a moment before admitting "I don't know" because if she was being truthful she hadn't really worked out what to do with said pods as yet "Should I be?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 4:44 am
Seeing the genuine smile on her lips only strengthened the smile on his own. It was good to see her again. They had each other's backs in that blight fight, and it had been nice to find another knight he had connected with so easily and so well. They had caught each other's rhythm and had actually stopped each other from taking too much damage even despite how much the blight creatures would have rathered them dead... Maybe she would have an idea of how he could get one of these things down if anything. ... Though she was giving them a suspicious look. Abzu wasn't sure if he liked that, but of course, it seemed in Almadel's nature to ask for some of the things he was unwilling to get himself, or idle curiosities that he wanted to collect. And if these things were somehow dangerous-- "I have!" But he was happy to talk about his upgrade for a moment. "I had been facing some things that were threatening me and overcoming them enough for Abzu the Wonder to recognize that, I suppose. I was able to convince a Negaverse agent to give me a starseed back with the new ability this gave me." He couldn't quite stop himself from doing a small twirl to show off his suit. Neptune-granted tailoring was the best out there. He had professionally tailored suits. He was rich and had gone to several debutante balls. Abzu wasn't sure if any of those surpassed the fit of this-- Oh, did she not know about them? "Ah, maybe! Have you heard about Almadel, that-" hot- "alien merchant that tends to lurk just outside of the city proper during Star Fest? He's evidently looking for these things this year. Was gonna grab a couple to bring to him." Between that and the song on the saxophone he promised, everything should go fantastically. "He's got some pretty cool stuff usually. Gave me an instrument from my wonder last year, for example. "If you gather a few, he might have something for you too."
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Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 5:22 pm
"I’m happy for you" Iðavöllr started, before her mind caught up to what she had just said as she quickly added "I mean not the whole things threatening you part" because that part sounded pretty terrible "But I’m glad that you managed to end up getting stronger."
Her lips quirked up in another smile as she added "And your new outfit looks very dapper - it suits you."
She shook her head when Abzu asked her if she’d heard about an alien merchant called Almadel "No, I’ve not heard of an Almadel" she admitted as she was pretty sure that neither Athene or Liryn had mentioned anything about an alien merchant."
Iðavöllr hesitated for a moment, "But I think that I’ve come across those eggs before." She pulled a pod from her subspace, one of two that she’d kept after her encounter with the acid-spitting bugs and held it out to Abzu.
"Some weird bug hatched out of some of them" she admitted "And they weren’t exactly friendly." Her lips quirked in a wry smile "I’m not sure why I even picked this up" she admitted, smile fading as she glanced back at the tree full of many more of the pods "And was wondering if I should try and find a way to get rid of it and the other one that I picked up."
Just as she’d been contemplating what to do with the pods on the tree.
"But there are some more pods on the ground on the other side of the tree."
Or at least there had looked like there might be some - Iðavöllr hadn’t exactly gotten too close to go and check.
The idea of a merchant sounded somewhat intriguing though, even though she had no idea what the aforementioned Almadel would want with something that seemed to hatch acid-spitting bugs.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2023 1:09 am
At the compliment, he offered a smooth smile and winked in her direction. "Thank you! I try to be." In a lot of ways it came naturally to him, but it also taken years of listening to people and realizing what they liked. It always felt nice to have somebody acknowledge that he was fairly charming. "And I knew what you meant, no worries! Sometimes good comes out of the bad." That was what happened with Princess Ida, wasn't it? And that was what happened with Princess Cybele too. Something bad was happening, and out of that, Order gained some new power. She hadn't heard of Almadel? That took him by surprise--from everyone he had talked to so far, he seemed like a known commodity--but what truly surprised and was the fact that not only did she seem to already have some, but they they were also dangerous. "Those do look very similar yeah!" Very similar. Now that he was a bit closer to the tree, he could see more of the details in the seeds, and he could definitely see the commonality. Why would Almadel want these? Especially if they hatched violent bugs... Maybe it had something to do with that itself? Maybe they held some sort of intergalactic interest because of that, or because of something they produced, or some ecosystem they were supposed to be part of not this one. And he hoped not this one if they were causing such a problem. "Honestly, if you're trying to get rid of them, might be a way to get rid of them and get something interesting. Sounds like a win-win to me." And he knew he was shoving this into his subspace back at the moment he actually picked one up, because he had no interest and it hatching and deciding to attack him. He'd take it out when he took out his soppranissimo saxophone to show off his skills. He'd... Figure out why Almadel would even want these later. Intergalactic merchants were their own mystery. "I'll go grab a couple of those myself though, and put them away immediately. I'd rather them leave us alone if they are going to hatch into something terrifying ..." Let Almadel deal with whatever these were.
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Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 1:39 pm
Iðavöllr nodded at Abzu’s comment that sometimes good could come out of bad "It really can" she agreed.
It made her think, funnily enough of that weird game board that both she and her cousin had gotten caught up in last Halloween, the experience one that she would rather not experience. Ever.
Yet at the same time, it had finally given her the push to properly meet Athene halfway, so that the two of them could finally work through clearing the air.
A bit of good out of all of the bad (and the absolute icky miserable courtesy of a godawful swamp).
She eyed the pod in her hand for a moment before banishing it back to subspace, because Iðavöllr really, really didn’t want to take a chance on the thing hatching.
"Truthfully, if this Almadel person really wants these pod things then he’s very welcome to my two" she admitted, because Abzu was right in that it would at least be a way of getting rid of the things. "And maybe I could see if I could pick a couple more of the stuff for him."
She laughed at herself slightly, "Oh listen to me" she said ruefully as she shook her head. "I guess I’m still having trouble seeing what this Almadel person would actually want with the pods, even if it does solve the ‘what to do with things’ dilemma pretty neatly."
She added "Although on a more serious note I don’t mind helping you look over the pods though if you want a hand with them."
A thought occurred to her "By the way, you wouldn’t happen to know where to find Almadel would you?" Because it would make no sense to try and find the merchant without having an idea of where to start.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 4:18 am
Abzu couldn't help laughing at how eagerly she returned the seed pods from whence they came. He'd probably make sure to get rid of any others as quickly as possible considering ... well. That these things housed terrifying bugs. It baffled him. Maybe he'd ask Almadel why he'd even want these. Perhaps a sale? A delicacy to another race? "Agreed," muttered Abzu, laughing again. "Better with someone who knows what to do with them than with us." Although maybe Almadel was also just going to sell these off... "Oh, absolutely. He sets himself usually a bit outside of the main of the city, but he's hard to miss. Keeps himself in a bubble of some sort, some kind of alien magic or technology no doubt." Or perhaps both, if magic was so ubiquitous for them that technology and magic blended into one and the same and became indistinguishable. It was hard to tell these days with everything that happened around this city just by itself. "Part of why I knew to look was because he had a bunch of notes plastered around it..." Abzu eyed his ring, considered seeing if he could pull up a hologram, and instead dug in his subspace pocket for his civilian phone. On it, he pulled up the aforementioned note, turning it in her way so she could observe what was on it exactly. "Not sure why he wants them, but it's definitely important that they're not leaking." If the leak was the preface to them hatching, he'd do everything he could to avoid that...
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2023 7:24 pm
Iðavöllr nodded thoughtfully as Abzu mentioned that Almadel had a tendency to set up outside of the main city in some sort of bubble - and whilst the whole thing seemed strange, it in a weird way kind of fit in.
After all weird things seemed to happen in Destiny City pretty frequently and that was even without counting the powered life side of things–
That weirdo antique television at a charity fundraiser a few years back came to mind as did that whole thing with the giant spiders one year.
So yes it was probably about par for course for Destiny City that an alien merchant had apparently set up just outside of town.
Her brown eyes scanned the picture of the note on the civilian cellphone that Abzu tilted her way, "Oh I actually think I may have seen some of those" she said at last, with a wry note in her voice, because yes there had been a bunch of similar-looking notes plastered around come to think of it.
"Although I hadn’t thought to go and read one of them," she admitted.
Although that was likely obvious, given that it was the first time that she’d seen the actual information on it.
"It makes sense that he.." she paused and then amended it to "The merchant doesn’t want any of the leaking pods though because the leaky ones seem to leak some sort of acid-like substance. Iðavöllr had found that out the hard way.
She wrinkled her nose slightly as her lips momentarily turned down in a small frown as she added "Those bugs were able to spit a kind of acid-like substance too."
She could still remember the way that the branch on a tree had buckled and cracked when the substance that the bugs had spat in her direction had mercifully hit the tree instead during her encounter with the things.
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