nexus_crossings | The Start of the Storm

The god hosted Yule party left the Nexus in the state of beautiful Winter Wonderland. With the snow falling softly and steadily, and the beautiful festive lights twinkling in the darkness, the Nexus is left with a sense of serene nostalgia hanging in the cold air. This peace and joy clings to the streets for several weeks, buoying everyone’s mood as they look back on the past year and forward to ringing in the new one.

It starts in the Wilds, and the outskirts. The cold air suddenly feels like it freezes everything it touches in an instant. Light doesn’t quite pierce the gloom. Gentle snowfall becomes thick and falls hard. One or two people looking for shelter from their uninhabitable homes isn’t too noticeable. People can still enjoy their pretty Winter, blissfully unaware. Pipes freeze solid, paths become impassable, power cuts out, simple walks become baffling in the poor visibility. Soon it’s not one or two people, it’s many, it’s families. There are people coming in, bloody, bruised and scared, saying they were chased. Eventually the kindness of friends and strangers becomes strained. Spare rooms are packed to the brim and the storm that stays just shy of the bizarre torches somehow seems to have a slow, but unmistakable march closer towards a point where the Plaza, Industrial sector and Downtown meet. On top of that, people are complaining about PINpoints acting up or portals freezing over.

Streets are becoming packed full of people with far more problems than solutions. Huddling together and whispering about ghosts and monsters moving about in the shadows. In a place with no government, no organisation, no collaborative emergency services, chaos and confusion reigns supreme. And with chaos, comes panic. With confusion, comes frustration and anger. The Nexus is a powder keg waiting to blow.

That’s certainly how one Durant sees it. As a manager, Isidor is keen on organisation and order. Both things that are lacking in the Nexus at the moment. Groups pop up to help, but struggle to communicate effectively, or work together. Some people get free food twice, some people are still waiting for some at all. It’s madness, and Isidor can’t stand it. Particularly because she, her brother and sister-in-law are stuck here. So, when nobody else takes the mantle, Isidor Durant takes it upon herself to inject some order into this scrum.

In her fur hat and long coat, leather gloves and thick boots, Isidor can be seen directing people this way and that. There’s something about a confident person taking charge that means people instinctively defer to them. She becomes the point of contact quite easily, with people soon taking her direction regardless of whether or not they know her. Under her instruction, people are directed to a building that has tables set up, queues in front of them, and volunteers behind them taking names and telling people where to go. It might still be chaos, but at least now it’s organised chaos.

The question is: Where will your character go?

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((Below are comments for each desk. Tag any of them, threadhop, or post with your own character. I suggest putting your character’s name in the subject to help keep things clear. Comments marked with a snowflake ( ❅ ) have been coordinated with the mods and I as official event comments. The OOC Post is here! If you have any questions, feel free to message me or one of the mods!))

Threads of Note
Medicine/Illness | Shelter/Heat | Food | Security/Crime | Lost items/people | Misc resources/Donations | Volunteers | Expeditions | Planning Table/The woman in charge | Drulb's Deelz | A Ship in the Outskirts

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hermione remembers Felix, for the brief time they worked together during that particular Halloween now two seasons past. And so she approaches his table, to survey the glass bottles that are placed there.

"I am." Hermione gives him a bright smile. "Perhaps, you can tell me what your potions do?"

Felix vaguely remembers her as one of the mages from that night, though at the time his mind was on other matters than making acquaintances. If his nod to her is a little more stiffly polite, his smile doesn't waver any.

"Any number of useful things. But mainly: heal the wounded, restore the fatigued, cure infections... and, of course, resist the effects of severe cold." At that he gestures toward the teal-labeled bottles.

"Very useful indeed." She checks her small clutch for a moment. "I have with me some Liquid Luck, Pepperup Potion, Invigoration Draught, and Vitamix Potion. And would be willing to trade any of those for one that helps heal others, or that would help resist the effects of this cold."

An idea occurs to Hermione. Perhaps a better bartering tactic. "Do you have access to a cauldron? I could assist in creating other potions."

Felix has a pretty good poker face, but there's a twinge of perceptible curiosity at some of the potions she names. Some of their effects he can guess, at least. "Liquid Luck? I presume that does exactly what it sounds like..."

Distilling a draught for luck is hardly impossible, but Felix has never done so himself. Never heard of anyone doing it in years, actually, although he doesn't really mix in serious alchemy circles back home.

"Ah. No, I don't have a cauldron," he answers, eyebrows lifting a little, and not just at the offer. Cauldrons are a new one on him. "My laboratory equipment isn't in the Nexus itself. But I'm not short of time to make potions: what with the snowstorm and the PINpoint troubles, it's the ingredients I need. And finding anything out there would, I think, be dangerous as well as difficult."

"It turns an ordinary day into an extraordinary one." Hermione reaches into her clutch, and pulls the vial of Liquid Luck out so he can see it. "It is meant to be used sparingly, however, as it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence if taken in excess."

"What sort of ingredients do you need? I have a few of those used in my world... bat wing, adder's fork, belladonna, bitterroot, dandelion root, eye of newt and ginger root."

"I'm afraid only the ginger is useful to me at present..." Felix considers the potion she's showing him, because that is very interesting indeed. He dislodges his furs a bit to extend a hand. "May I see?"

He does want to verify it's something of potency before making an offer for it, after all.

"Only take a drop, if you are going to test it on yourself personally." Hermione advises, carefully handing him the potion.

While he looks at it, she reaches into her clutch, and pulls out a large bag of ginger root (the bag itself bigger than the clutch). "We could divide this..."

Never fear, Felix only needs to unstopper it, blinking in surprise at the way flecks of the potion seem to dance above its surface. He sniffs very carefully at the air above the neck of the vial, eyes half-closing for a moment as he tries to parse the heady aura of the stuff. It's strong, that's for certain. When he replaces the stopper, he's careful to make sure it's secured.

He raises his eyebrows again at the size of the ginger bag, both relative to the one it came from and just in itself. That's a lot of restorative tea. "Very well. Which potions were you looking to trade for?"

"One to help heal the wounded. And one to resist the effects of this cold." Hermione knows some spells for healing. But it is not her expertise. And potions would be useful.

Just the two? His eyes flit from her to the potions without his expression shifting from polite goodwill. Still, an item's value depends on the situation. If he hesitates at all, it's mainly because Jim is in the same room. Albeit well out of earshot...

"I can make a better offer than that. In exchange for this luck potion, and half the ginger, I'm willing to give a potent draught of healing and cold resistance each, and one weaker variant of each. If you add the other potion ingredients I'll throw in a potion to restore one's mental and magical energies, too."

"That sounds like a fair deal." She can use the weaker variant of the potions to learn how they are made. And she reaches into her clutch, to bring out her other potion ingredients, each one has enough in its bag that they will be able to share. (And it might be a little weird, seeing her pull large bag after bag from that tiny little clutch).

"Felix... I also want to introduce you to my Patronus." Hermione gestures with her wand. And a spiritual Otter comes out. The creature swims in the air, contently.

"If I have an urgent message to send, I usually use him."

"Your-?" Felix does a double-take at the ghostly otter, and for a moment he looks quite stunned, reaching out to it... but then his senses register that it's not, after all, what he initially assumed it was. It doesn't carry the telltale aura of a summoned spirit as he knows it. Rather, he suspects this one is rather more connected to the mage who called it forth.

"-Ah. I see." Somewhat embarrassed, he focuses on setting out the potions he's promised her. "I'll keep a watch out for i- him, in that case."

The brief almost-touch might cause little tingles along Felix's fingers. And the Patronus returns back to Hermione.

Hermione uses her magic to divide out the ingredients. And makes the exchange for the potions. "Thanks. I am sure these will be very useful."

Edited 2019-01-09 02:37 (UTC)

The Start of the Storm

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