The Silence of the Storm

[shardofwinter]

Rations have been cut. Again. Everyone is on one bowl of watery soup a day. Sometimes with crackers, sometimes not. Most people are too tired and weak to do much more than sit around and talk, and nobody discourages them in the slightest. Work has to be rotated constantly as people weaken quickly, but the fires still need to burn, people still need to guard the cooks and rations, and the sick still need to be tended to. Soon the hardest job is keeping up morale while the big expedition comes back. All the gods and heavens of the multiverse help them if they don’t come back with supplies, and soon.

The boundaries have tightened to an almost suffocatingly small space. It doesn’t take much to imagine where they will be by the end of Winter, which at least makes planning a little easier. People are already relocating to deeper in the Plaza. Unfortunately it means that those who have enough energy to often end up fighting with their neighbours, as the close quarters tests everyone’s patience. There are a few spaces carved out for like minded people to shelter from the dreary situation. Mechanics and those like them have set up a nice little place close to the Crossroads Café, and a break area for those helping the sick is sheltered in a room behind the injured and ill. Zandros moves from groups to individuals, looking for help in creating some form of morale boosting display that will adhere to Isidor's instructions. People are surviving in whatever ways they can, but it's reaching breaking point.

((It's the Final Event Post, everyone! OOC Post is here! This is for those stuck at the hub while the Main Expedition is going on. There will be a second part to this post for the Return of the Expedition. In the meantime, have fun!))

Comments

Peter Lussmore +1 cold and miserable goblin

[joblin]

A green guy with big ears steps out onto the Plaza and immediately regrets taking that step. For one thing, he's in shirt sleeves. It takes a few minutes for him to figure out he couldn't just step back the way he came, and a few more to squint at the projected public service film.

By the time he dives into the Crossroads Cafe he's pretty desperate to get warm. If anyone's at the counter he'll plunk down some bills.

"Uh, coffee?" Do they even have coffee? he wonders as he looks around at all the other people who have obviously taken shelter here. Probably not.

[hybriddino]

An enormous dinosaur, about ten feet tall even on all fours, notices the goblin and comes a bit closer. He smiles, probably pretty intimidating from a creature with such massive teeth and claws.

He's holding a whiteboard and marker, which he writes on. Hey, it's the best way for him to communicate.

I'm not sure. We're running short on a lot of thing at the moment.

[joblin]

"Ah! Okay."

That was probably a little squeakier than he intended it, but saurian twice his height. He squints. Maybe it's animatronic, but why not give a robot or costume a voice?

"I just want somewhere warm to hang out right now?" The question creeps in because does he want to be there right now?

[hybriddino]

The dinosaur tilts his head slightly - he isn't an animatronic, he's very real, and likely wouldn't know what that means unless it was explained to him. He's still learning.

What's clear is that he'd spooked the newcomer a little.

I can help you find a warm place. I am the Indoraptor. Good to meet you.

[joblin]

Is it breathing? He points one long finger in the air. "One question. You're... that's a costume?"

Rude. But it had to be asked.

"Thanks. Good to meet you too."

[hybriddino]

Good to meet you, too. You're new here?

The Indoraptor shakes his head.

No, I am not a costume. I have no zipper. He raises his scaly neck to show the visitor that he is a real dinosaur.

[joblin]

"Yeah, I'm new. This is all..." he shakes his head in disbelief "new."

He actually looks. Of course there isn't a zipper but that doesn't stop a tiny part of his brain from chattering that of course it could be fake still. But he just ignores it.

"Sorry. I'm just. I never met a dragon? Saurian? before."

[hybriddino]

The Indoraptor doesn't really know much about dragons, but he knows what he is. He points a claw to his chest as part of introducing himself as a dinosaur.

Is a saurian a kind of dinosaur, anyway?

I'm a dinosaur, not a dragon. I haven't seen anyone like you before. Who are you?

[joblin]

Peter's world had/has both dragons and dinosaurs, because it's dumb. At least the word saurian covers all lizards.

"Oh. I'm Peter Lussmore." Weren't dinosaurs supposed to be nonsentient? Another thing probed wrong. He stands straight and tries to look non-bite sized.

"I'm a goblin. We don't all look the same so I understand the confusion."

[hybriddino]

In my world, there are no goblins, so I didn't know what one would look like. For a long time, there were also no dinosaurs. Humans brought them back to life through science - but I am a very unusual dinosaur.

Indo's going to explain where he came from. He's aware he's more intelligent than other dinosaurs, and that has to do with how he was created.

I was made out of different dinosaurs in a human laboratory.

[joblin]

He waits while the dinosaur writes all of that down.

"Neat." After a second of actually thinking about what that actually might mean to the dinosaur's life, he frowns.

"That sounds lonely."

[hybriddino]

Indo gives a happy trill on seeing that his companion looks sad, trying to cheer him up..

It's not that bad. I have friends now. Like Maisie and Blue and Princess!

He hasn't seen them lately, though.

[joblin]

What was that noise? He startles a little. It seems the raptor will still take some getting used to.

"You mean dinosaur friends? Though I guess any friends are a good thing. It can be lonely being the only one though.

How do you deal with this weather?" (Time to change the subject.)

[liverfree]

"Save your money, friend," says the large, bearded man behind the counter. "There's no more coffee, but I can make you some tea."

He is, in fact, already in the process of doing so. Or at least boiling water. The amount of tea leaves in the glass jar next to the pot suggest that it won't be a particularly strong brew, but it's better than nothing.

"There are spare clothes in the corner if you are looking for something warmer." He frowns sympathetically. "Are you new to the Nexus?"

[joblin]

"Thanks, guy. But really I was just looking for some place out of the cold. Some excuse to stay here a while."

"Yeah! I am." Finally, about time for some answers. He leans forward eagerly. "I saw the whole introduction thing outside, but it doesn't explain all of this at all." He gives a sweeping gesture encompassing the coffee shop refugees.

"What's up with this place!?"

[liverfree]

"You certainly don't need an excuse. No one wants to spend more time outside than necessary."

He adds some tea leaves to a strainer, then pours hot water through it, into a mug. The rest he sets aside, in case this long-eared man changes his mind.

"What's up," he begins, setting the mug in front of him and his hands flat on the counter, "Is that we are in the midst of a terrible snowstorm. The Nexus is home to a whole variety of beings from various dimensions. One of them happens to be a disgruntled Winter spirit." He pauses a moment before adding, "That's the going theory, anyway. This storm has been raging for months, encompassing more and more of the Nexus, so it is certainly not natural."

There is a tiredness in his eyes that seems to support his claim, but there is a small sparkle of amusement, too. "My name is Prometheus, by the way. If you'd like to call me something other than 'guy'."

[joblin]

He sighs gratefully and reaches out for the cup with long fingers. "This is not what I expected when I went to pick up some takeout. So. We just appease the winter spirit and the door gets unstuck?"

He looks up at the stranger's eyes and his ears sag a little. Sure the man's amused but he looks like he's been through something here. It might take more than just appeasing the spirit.

"Prometheus. That's a classic. I'm Peter Lussmore." He gives a professional nod.

[liverfree]

"That's terrible timing," Prometheus notes with a sympathetic wince. As for appeasing the Winter spirit, Prometheus shakes his head. "I don't think so. Whether he is responsible for all aspects of this storm or not, I can't help but feel like this is what he wants. For humans -- and other mortals -- to feel the full effects of Winter."

Nature spirits, at least in his experience, have little concern for mortals.

"Ah, you've heard of me? Or just the name?" He smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Peter. I wish it was under better circumstances. Where are you from?"

[joblin]

"Yeah, it's getting what it wants then. I've been feeling the winter pretty hard. But not as hard as everyone else, it looks like."

"I know the story" he says cautiously. "The Greek one. Were you named after it?"

"I was in Dallas when I came here. You? How long have you been stuck here?"

[liverfree]

"You only just got here," he remarks. "Many of the people here have lived in the Nexus for years."

There's an awkward pause while he considers the question. He hears the caution in Peter's voice, and does not want to spook him. "It was named after me," he finally replies. "I'm the Titan of Forethought."

He leans agains the counter, looking a bit surprised. "Dallas, as in Texas?" It's throwing him off a little, this inhuman with a common name from a familiar city. "Oh, I arrived in the Nexus several months ago, long before the storm. I had a pottery studio in the Shopping District... I had to abandon it when the torches got too close. The storm has been closing in, you see. Centering on the Plaza. That's why it's so crowded here. It's not normally like this at all."

[joblin]

"..." he says, then closes his mouth. He's unsure if this is a joke or what.

"I wasn't expecting a Titan. Especially not one who knows where Dallas, Texas is." His tone is mild. "Yeah, I've been there for a while...hold on, you've been trapped here for months!?"

[liverfree]

"You'll meet all manner of people here," he says simply, giving Peter time to take it in. Although he does have to chuckle a bit at his statement. "Of course I know where Dallas, Texas is. I'm from Earth, after all. I'll admit, I've never met your kind before."

The question makes him shake his head. "No, not trapped. There are normally portals that let people travel to and from the Nexus as they please. As well as small electronic devices called PINpoints." He takes what looks like a smartphone out of his pocket and shows it to Peter. "These let you teleport to coordinates of your choosing. But when the storm arrived in early January, the portals froze over and the PINpoints stopped working."

[joblin]

"I met a dinosaur..." if a dinosaur, why not a Titan? But it's hard to believe since the man looks so human.

"I'm not surprised you haven't met any goblins. I almost never meet any myself. Wait, though. Aren't you supposed to be chained to something?" His eyes narrow in thought, but Prometheus' next words make him stop caring whether it's all a joke.

"Frozen? You mean the storm knocked out the network?"

[liverfree]

"So have I! Did he use a whiteboard to communicate?" He smiles, thinking of his encounter with Indoraptor, but that smile does not last. The storm must be hard on the sentient dinosaur, who is not built for such cold weather.

"Well, it is an honor to meet you." The Titan's eyes light up in curiosity. "Your kind is rare, even on your own world? Are there other sentient species who aren't human?"

It's been a while since anyone has brought up the "chained to a mountain" incident, although with the cruelty of the storm, the Titan's thoughts are never too far from those long nights that he shivered in the cold, waiting for his liver to regrow so it could be eaten anew by that wretched eagle. "Hercules freed me," he says flatly. "You've heard of him, yes? He killed the eagle that Zeus sent to torture me, and broke my chains. I've been living among humans ever since."

He returns his PINpoint to his pocket. "Something like that. That's why this is no ordinary storm."

[joblin]

"That's the one. I don't know how he puts up with such a small space. Or the cold."

"Eh..." he shrugs. "Not rare, exactly. But less than the number of humans and they stick together a lot. I don't run into many, but sure, there are lots of species. Lots of dwarves, the non human kind." He counts them off on his hand. "Orcs, elves. Elves are pretty rare. Rock giants. Not sure how intelligent those are, I don't know if shifters count and, uh, kappas maybe. I was never very good at social studies."

That was kind of long-winded. He pauses. "Oh. I never heard that part." He still has questions but the man seems to believe what he's saying and he's not going to argue.

"Hold on, did it freeze magically. If there's a way for it to freeze, maybe there's a way to unfreeze it. By, I don't know, insulation or heat packs. Something. I can't stay here!"