THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

[wildermods]

THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE
OOC POST
The group is told to take a week of rest in the Last Homely House as the injured and sick among them heal. The Elves promise them that at the end of that week, there will be a great Council, with representatives of several peoples in attendance.

Until then, they can wander the peaceful halls of Rivendell, which are filled with travelers from all over the Wilderlands who are making a rest stop while they travel through the lands of Middle-Earth.

The most notable part of Rivendell is the Hall of Fire, a great feast hall where people can eat, drink, and be merry. This is the great social hall of Rivendell, where the Elves and their visitors share news of lands far beyond, tell stories, or perform music. The music here almost sounds divine, especially when the Elves sing and play, but they're just as eager to hear songs from other lands, so if any of the squad decide to share, they'll be glad to listen.

Some of the hall's guests are a touch more lively than the others, like a party of dwarves staying at Rivendell. Their stories are a mite more adventurous and if you get in their good graces, they might be willing to share some of the beer they brought with them. Listening to their stories or their talk about their craftmanship is a way to get into their good graces.

The Elves love learning, so there are libraries the group is allowed to browse, though they mostly only contain tales of Middle-Earth (for now), though the Elves seem to be collecting what books about other lands they can. These libraries often have viewing stations with telescopes pointing at the sky. The Elves have been almost delighted by the changing skies, enjoying the challenge of trying to understand how the sky has been knitting itself together with the addition of new worlds.

There are also beautiful balconies here, overlooking the gorge and the waters below, and terraced gardens filled with flowers, bushes, and flowering trees. Their rooms are open to the outdoors and have beds that seem grown into the shape of bed-frames instead of carved. The bathrooms actually have running water. The Elves have figured out how to direct the clean running waters of the gorge in primitive indoor plumbing. Water for hot baths has to be heated first in brass cauldrons over coal braziers before getting dumped into the bath.

It's time for the squad to rest, eat, and regroup. If a great Council is going to be called involving them, it might be a good idea to make sure they go into it as a united front, lest decisions about their fate be made for them.

---

NOTES
✦ Joint log: Since this camp period won't be particularly long, everything will take place in a joint log. Players can post starters with prompts for others and tag into other players' prompts.

✦ Post in actionspam format. Plots and mod-run events in the game are meant to be in actionspam format to keep a brisk pace.

✦ Cursed Weapons/Powers: So they know about how they'll be treated: those with cursed weapons and dark powers will be tolerated by the Elves after entry. While they'll get the same general treatment, the Elves around them may at times seem uncomfortable. Those with cursed weapons will only be distrusted a little, as the weapons themselves will seem more suspicious than their bearers. Those with dark powers or some kind of dark nature (such as being a vampire, Necromancer mage, werewolf, etc.) will be treated with the greatest distrust.

✦ Fairy Swaps: The Elves may be slightly alarmed by the Brugh fairy swaps but get over it easily. However, if the character swapped in is one of the "dark" characters, the swap might be extra cause for alarm. (A potential prompt idea).

✦ Npcing: There will be two npc threads. The "Random Encounters" thread is for characters to have a totally random encounter with an npc. These npcs will be fellow travelers from lands beyond. While they can't give much information about the group's status as Chosen Ones (that will happen during the Council) they can provide info about events in the Wilderlands beyond that may come to affect the squad in their travels. The "Specific Requests" thread will be for more specific issues your character might want to discuss with the Elves. While they'll push any Chosen Ones discussion off to the Council, they're willing to discuss issues with the characters, like if they have questions about having received magic, about being bound to their weapons, etc. The Rivendell Elves have heard a lot of gossip from all over and can potentially provide info based on things they've heard.

✦ Clothes: The group will not yet be fully equipped for their travels (that will happen upon leaving) but everyone will at least be given new clothes since theirs are dirty and sometimes torn. Characters without appropriate travel footwear will also be given light and sturdy boots that will somehow be in their size without their size being asked. They'll also be given basic toiletries like scissors that can be used to cut hair and beards. There are no razors, however, because the Elves don't need to shave so they don't keep them on hand.

Comments

iii

[shipoftheseus]

[Watching the sky is habit for Phos. Danger, in their experience, has usually come from above.

So when wandering outside a bit, soaking up a bit of extra light after too much time poking around the strange interiors of the huilding, they spot the shield flying off the edge of a balcony above almost immediately. For a moment they just squint at it, perplexed and growing only more perplexed as it lands a distance away and then swoops back through the air on its own up to the balcony again. The distant but just audible cursing that follows is even more confusing.

And then it happens again, and after a third time they decide to investigate. Their gold alloy ripples out from beneath their heels into a shifting pillar, lifting them neatly up to the next level. Cautiously, they pause when just high enough to peer over the edge of the balcony's floor, watching this bizarre scene from between the bases of two of the railing balusters.

...Yeah. They can't make any more sense of it even actually seeing what's going on up here.

After another minute or so of watching, bemused, Phos lifts themself up a bit further to peek over the balcony railing, staying low in case Dixon was about to throw the thing again. They'd really rather not get brained by that thing when they're not sure anyone here could put them back together.]

Why are trying to get rid of it? That's a waste of a weapon.

[And it doesn't look like it's working either, since the shield keeps zooming right back to him. Why it's to attached to Dixon in particular, of all people, Phos really couldn't say.]

[awfulcer]

[He jumps a little when Phos pops up, not because he isn't aware someone could come in on him but because he didn't realize it would come from the ground floor. And as he's a person who can't hide emotions when he tries and really doesn't hide them when he doesn't, the disdain and disgust shows all over his face when he sees who it is.

The idea that he could just throw it at Phos does occur to him, but to Dixon's credit, he doesn't even hold onto that thought that long. Or at least too long.

He doesn't even have the clearest recollection why he doesn't like Phos so much. His antipathy is based more on his version of the official story (that basically starts and ends with "he started it") than actual memory of what happened when he was drunk the first time they all got together, or disoriented when they first arrived. But for hell's sake, he thought he was free of this kid, that this kid got thrown into the mirror network never to return except to heckle when they're all discussing shit.]

I'm not trying to get rid of it. I'm trying to get better at bringing it back.

[This time he just drops it off the edge of the balcony, waits until he hears it hit the ground, and then whistles. The shield comes zooming up and he dodges aside an instant before it goes crashing up into the ceiling. It drops to the ground and then scoots, almost abashedly, over to rest of his foot.]

Unless you got one of these magic weapons I wouldn't expect you to know anything useful about it.

[shipoftheseus]

[Phos makes a face right back. It's not like Dixon's given them any reason to be nice, after all. Bortz might be a lunatic asshole sometimes -- most of the time, really -- but at least they're reliable and strong and probably do mean well under all that attitude. Dixon doesn't have nearly so much going for him.

Lifting themself a bit higher, they catch the railing and step up onto the outer edge of the balcony so they can lean lazily over it, the alloy reverting back up inside them aside from the heel protrusions. They arch a crystalline eyebrow, unimpressed.]

Yeah, your method looks really "useful".

[The sarcasm is strong. And to be fair, it looks like Dixon's making more progress in damaging himself than in mastering this particular technique.

Reaching out with a hand, the alloy of their arm stretches and extends across the balcony in a golden tendril that darts out, catches the edge of the shield at Dixon's foot and quickly yanks it away. The alloy shrinks back again until they can hold the shield with two now ordinary-shaped arms, lifting it a little in slightly smug demonstration.]

But it doesn't try to break me when I do it my way.

[awfulcer]

[It is straight-up disturbing to watch Phos move; the lizard part of Dixon's brain is put on high-alert because humans are supposed to move like that, and Phos is close enough to a human that it's an impossible image to shake. Close enough visually, anyway.]

Give me that, [Dixon snarls, calling the shield back, hoping it hurts as yanks away. It darts back to his hand; the way he jerks it back and flinches makes it clear that he still didn't catch it right and that it smarts like a bitch.] Don't think I won't try and get it to break you. It won't listen to you anyway.

[He sneers at the tendril.] Can you put those away?

[shipoftheseus]

[Tragically for Dixon, gems don't really have a sense of physical pain. Phos just rolls their eyes as the shield is yanked away, raising their golden hands oh-so innocently.]

What, does it creep you out? [With a lopsided smirk, they spread their fingers and then the alloy shifts and reshapes with at least twice as many fingers, all of which wave cheekily.] Get over it.

[They haven't forgotten how the other gems shied away when they first got a demonstration of the alloy, before they got over the fear because of the sheer exciting novelty. It wasn't really a good feeling, and neither was being poked and prodded and chased around in curiosity afterward.

This doesn't feel great either, but it's more satisfying to just retaliate where Dixon is concerned. It's not like they expect decent treatment from him in the first place anyway.

As their hands reform into a more normal shape, they give Dixon's hands a critical look in return -- discolored and damaged in spots, red liquid seeping ouf of small cracks. It's unpleasant to look at, especially given the inelegant look of the hands themselves. Pursing their lips and arching an eyebrow, Phos points a now ordinary (if golden) finger at the damaged skin.]

Why don't you just wear gloves?

[Hey, it helps their own king prevent damage from interacting with hard surfaces like other gems.]

[awfulcer]

Uh, yeah, it does. Bodies ain't supposed to move like that. [He looks nauseated by the extra finger trick. His hands tighten around the blunt edges of the shield as if to brace against a threat (the sharp edges have already done a bit of a number on him, up until he finally learned). It's only by the grace of God that he hasn't accidentally hacked a finger off figuring out how to use this thing.]

I'll just pull a pair of gloves out of my ass, that sounds like a next step. [He could probably ask for a pair from the elves, but if he's going to ask for a boost it'll probably be from one of the healers on the team - he still hasn't either realized the healers take a toll from putting people back together. It's not selfishness so much as ignorance.

He gives Phos an annoyed, combative look.]

What's your problem with me, anyway? You've started it every time. [That may not be entirely the truth, but it doesn't change how Dixon feels he was ambushed into embarrassing himself during each of their interactions. He's very entrenched in his opinion of Phos as a persecutor.]

[shipoftheseus]

[Phos bristles, scowling and straightening back up and driping the railing in frustration. God, they were just being nice enough to suggest something helpful and now they don't even know what to say for a moment, left agape by the complete bullshit just thrown their way.]

How the--?! You always started it! Literally everyone would agree with me!

[Everyone who was present during that first (well, technically second) fight knows what went down. Revan even told Phos they were doing the right thing. And Bart was part of that conversation with the mirrors, he knows Dixon was the one who started talking shit before Phos even popped in.

This is a child that's used to getting lovingly (and not so lovingly) picked on. They know how to call in backup where they can.]

[awfulcer]

[Dixon looks angry and confused by Phos' assertion.]

You started it back when we first met! You pulled a sword on me! [Which is, it appears, where it all goes back to, although even with some of his memory blotted out by drunkenness and disorientation, he's pretty sure the second time he and Phos met he was talking to Revan when Phos jumped in.

And then just about everything had been going over his head, and he'd thought if Phos had just explained the situation calmly in the first place he'd have never escalated it. There's still a disconnect between thinking of how Phos was interpreting the situation and what Dixon thinks Phos should have thought.

(The network he'll cop to.)]

[shipoftheseus]

[In a comedically dumb and cycling manner, Dixon having the audacity to look confused only makes Phos more indignant, and they point an accusing finger his way with a scowl.]

You were hurting people!

[but s2g they'll just step right back off this ledge if Dixon pulls out the debate on whether they were people or not back out.]

[awfulcer]

I didn't know that, no one stopped and explained it out to me first, and it's not like that's the kind of thing that's normal. [Dixon will accept that they're people (...kind of), but not that he should have known that. Or that his reality isn't the baseline that all other realities diverge from.

He actually is pretty upset about all this, because that disaster of a first meeting somewhat set the tone for everything that's kept him at arm's distance from the rest of the squad so far. If not for that particularly rocky start, maybe he wouldn't find it a constant uphill battle to find his place in the group. It's not that he doesn't think himself to blame; it's just easy to diffuse blame outwards; he blames himself enough it starts to refract onto others.

Phos should have, somehow, known that Dixon was constitutionally incapable of doing things right, and thus should have somehow prevented it at the start.]

[shipoftheseus]

It's a poor explanation for someone from the Gems' isolated little culture, where materials and supplies and the things people make are limited and precious. Even with things that aren't strictly necessary and might get damaged anyway, like their uniforms, Phos couldn't imagine just tearing them up needlessly. That's too cruel to the people who put time and effort into making them and those who gathered the raw materials in the first place and those who could have used it for something else.]

Even if they were just...fake people or whatever, why do you have to break things for no reason? It's mean, and wasteful.

[awfulcer]

Why's that any of your business? If they weren't your statues you've got no claim on them. [Somewhere, deep down, Dixon realizes that this whole argument is ridiculous, that they're still litigating over the right to kick a broken statue from weeks and weeks ago, but he's caught up in it. The contents of that first interaction have had plenty of time to foment and fester.

He also realizes he didn't actually answer Phos' question, he deflected it. There's just no real way to pretty up the caveman logic of "breaking things feels good", and despite the fact that it's true, Dixon's not going to cop to it in front of this weird Reed Richards girly punk twerp.]

And you can't be mean to something that's a thing, and you can't be wasteful with junk.