wilderlogs | THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

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THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

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.

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[Kal opens his mouth, but as soon as he realizes he’s going to ask ‘that Hercules?’ he closes it again. He’s been on the other side of being questioned when he shares his name or meets a fan to do the same to someone new. So he’s… having a beer with Hercules. Sure, why not. This may be more of Diana’s thing (and he makes a mental note to talk to Cassie about it), but if Kal can be teammates with a literal Amazon what’s a little bit more of legend?

So he shakes hands with him, trying not to grin too widely. He’s always been a fan of mythology, after all.]

And you may call me Kal. It’s nice to be surrounded by happy people after what we’ve been through.

[Herc caught that anyway, and it's a question he's gotten used to. Here, especially. Nobody seems to recognize him on sight which is nice, but it does force him to have to explain himself every so often. Still, no reason to call attention to it.]

Kal. I agree! You'll have to tell me some of what transpired before I arrived. I meandered in shortly before we departed Philadelphia.

[Taking a swig, he claps one dwarf on the back.]

But, I believe it's story time, yes? Tell me Kal, have you ever heard of a being known as the Hulk?

[May as well check.]

I can't say I have, no.

[He reaches for one of the mugs, giving his thanks to the dwarf that offered it. He tells himself he's not going to drink too much, he doesn't have his powers so it's actually possible for him to get drunk now. And while that would be potentially fun to see for everyone else, he definitely doesn't want to go through that.

Still, it'd be rude to not drink at least some, wouldn't it?]

A friend of yours?

[The rudest.]

You could say that. Hulk is a being that grows stronger as he grows angry. Strong enough to make even a man as mighty as myself concerned when he loses control. He's generally heroic, but there are times when he's too far gone.

[That's just the setup though.]

The story begins when he and I were traveling through the realms surrounding Asgard, a craggy land rife with troll dens and jotun that had been left behind to raid outlying farms. Our companion, the mighty Thor, had been waylaid in Midgard and Skyfather Odin had enlisted us in his son's stead to go and treat with one of the troll chieftains. As you might imagine, trolls are hideous things, but this foul beast was well known for not only his appearance, but his stench.

[A dwarf guffaws.]

And the report was accurate. As we neared it's den, we were forced to cover our noses with cloth, lest we choke on the beast's reek. Tell me, what is the foulest odor you've ever smelled?

[Thor, Asgard, Jotuns… Kal’s interest always lay in Greco Roman mythology, and that only got exacerbated when he met Diana but that doesn’t mean he can’t recognize those basic names, and he raises an eyebrow as Hercules goes on because that feels a bit conflicting. But he’s an alien from outer space, he’s… definitely seen weirder. He can roll with it.

And so, at the question, he grins.]

I spent a lot of time in a farm. [Raised in one, really, but can’t exactly say that in a Superman outfit.] So I think I’d have to say a pigsty in the summer if it hasn’t been properly cleaned.

Ah, of course! Stables in summer are quite bad, yes. I remember the Augean stables well!

[His fifth labor. Unforgettable indeed. That had been quite a problem.]

It was like that, though imagine a stable filled not only with dung, but with rotted eggs. And as you might guess, the troll was less than enthusiastic at our arrival. He rushed out...

[Herc leaps to his feet, arms up in a menacing gesture, getting into the character and taking on the voice to match...]

You dare intrude upon my lair!? You must die!

[Which he follows with...]

So what do you think happened next?

[At this point Kal is on the verge of a fit of laughter, really. Part of it is the beer, part of it is that he just mentioned the Augean stables like it’s nothing… but it’s mostly that Herc is just a damn good storyteller, even the dwarves seem to be entranced. Not that seems to be a difficult ordeal, they seem to be willing to listen to anyone who will give them fun stories but Herc also seems a natural at captivating his audience.

Kal grins at the question, quick to ease:]

I mean, you’re standing right here with me so I assume you didn’t die. [He tilts his head.] Did he attack you?

Of course he did! The beast's smell was so foul when he came into the open, it was nearly enough to choke even me!

[Leaping about with a growling sound to sound like the troll, he chuckles...]

But Hulk, no...not him. That only made him angry. And nobody likes it when he gets angry. Over and over he pounded on the troll, but as you well know, trolls get back up when you hit them.

[Sweeping his gaze across the audience...]

Who knows how to stop a troll's regeneration?

[Kal has fought trolls before, of many different kinds. But his approach to fighting them has been either ‘punch them as hard as they can take it’ or ‘call someone with magical abilities’ if the first didn’t seem to work. Still, it feels like the question deserves an answer.]

Cutting their heads would be too gruesome, wouldn't it?

It also wouldn't work.

[That from one of the dwarves.

Hercules nods and leaves the dwarf the floor.]

Ya have to set them on fire after knocking them out. Elsewise they'll just regrow.

[Herc nods.]

Right. That or use magic on them and I'm not exactly skilled in that particular art.

Neither am I. [Kal wrinkles his nose- he’s never made his… dislike for magic a secret, though he tries to be polite about it since he works with people he greatly admires that are magic users. But when magic is one of the very few things that can actually affect you… you learn to fear it.]

So you… burned him?

Of course. His stench so upset the Hulk that my friend pretty much pulverized him. And then we set him on fire.

[Herc's face gains a 'but wait there's more' look.]

The smell, however...only got worse. It spread in a thick, choking cloud all over that section of Asgard because our troll was so...foul...and it had to be evacuated for at least a week!

[Kal can’t help it- he laughs, and that’s the reaction Herc is obviously going for so he doesn’t even try to stop himself. The mental image of actual gods, demigods and the like running away from a foul smell just makes it all the more fun for him.]

How do you even get rid of such a foul smell? And I bet the Asgardians weren’t all that happy about it.

Oh! That part was easy enough.

[He grins even wider.]

We made Thor clean it up when he returned! He was not best pleased, but the Allfather demanded that he do just that.

[Kal doesn’t even try to keep himself from laughing at that, since it’s obviously what Hercules is going for. And while he’s never known Thor personally, the mental image of a god forced to clean up that mess is just incredibly amusing in his mind. He wonders if this is someone messing with him, or someone with a very vivid imagination, or if he really does come from a world of myths and gods. The result is the same anyway: the story is amusing, and Kal is having a good time. Considering everything that’s happened in this place since he got here, that’s no small feat.

He reaches to squeeze his shoulder.]

Please, tell me Loki was there to watch him clean up? [Because he's hardly an expert, but he does know that would make it even more amusing to him.]

[Laughing, rich belly-shaking laughter, Hercules nods. Of course Loki saw it...]

Hah, as if the trickster would miss the opportunity to see his brother doing an honest labor!

[If an embarrassing one...]

There were photographs of it spread around Asgard within the hour!

Edited 2018-06-26 04:20 (UTC)

[And he starts chuckling again, because the idea of a god like Loki having access to phones is even more amusing to him, even if Diana has proven again and again that mythological beings and technology are not a bad mix.]

Thank you for this, Hercules. I feel like we need stories like that, when we’re being dragged around different worlds like this.

Nay, friend. Thank you for listening. Livening a stranger's halls is always a worthy endeavor.

[He has fun telling stories. however...]

I do believe, however, it's your turn.

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THE LAST HOMELY HOUSE ※ RIVENDELL ※ LOG 2

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