Into the Sun

[Kitten4u]

AKA Kitten4u's log awaited text-based adventure game! That's right, I finally got it up. Anyway, time for me to explain stuff.

---

The World

Into the Sun takes place in a fantasy world of my own creation that vaguely resembles stuff I dream about. In this world magic is perfectly normal and seeing mermaids and fairies isn't uncommon. Most of the world is unexplored, so a bunch of rich guys are paying adventurers to go explore everything. Think 1492 or so. The known world consists of three major islands and a few minor islands. Here is a poorly drawn map for convienince.

NOTE: I am only revealing information that most anyone would know regardless of where they're from. Using this information IC would not be considered meta-gaming. I'll PM each person specific information about each place when the time comes.

Major Islands

Suide
Suide is a large archepelago in the western part of the Csen ocean. Due to the nature of the island the Suidens were the first to build boats. Because of that they currently have the most advanced naval technology in the eastern world. They also have the best sea food in the eastern world and their economy is heavily based around the sea. The Suidens are the most likely to fund an expidition.

However, Suide is going through some rough times. The current monach, Queen Amelia Malias, is extremely cruel and corrupt. In fact, most of the royal family is much the same way. It's rumored that the people are inching closer to rebelling, but no one would ever admit to such a thing.

Umidpunkt
This is the center island. It's completely covered in a rainforest teeming with life, and the island itself is surrounded by cliffs. There are only two ways to get onto the island; the eastern beach and the western beach. But that's not the most unusla thing about Umidpunkt. There's a river going through the center of the island, however this river doesn't start on the top of any cliff or anywhere logical. In fact, it looks like it just starts in the Csen ocean and ends in the Csen ocean. Because of that some people say that Umidpunkt is two islands and not one.

The government takes this statement a little too close to heart. While the entire island is united under the tribal leader Aneam Nedelle only the eastern part of the island is really civilized. On the other side of the Great River of Triod the land is lawless and downright frightening. The fact that the Umidians are famous for their high-quality weaponry and battle tactics just makes this area more terrifying. It's very dangerous to go there, so the only people that really go there are those with a death wish or those who have been exiled from the eastern part of Umidpunkt. Since Umidpunkts has several problems of it's own it's not likely that they'll fund any expiditions.

Naimis
Naimis is the western most of the main islands in the Csen ocean. It's a dry and rocky place that is located near a very dangerous volcano. The island is made up of what looks like several plateus on top of each other; in fact it looks kind of like a wedding cake from the ocean.

The structure of the island gave rise to a very rigid social structure. Naimis has a caste system. The lower rungs are where the poorer people and laborers live and work and the higher rungs are where the scholors and rulers live and work. It's very easy to see this even if you are not familiar with the island because the lower rungs look very dry and rocky, but the higher rungs are filled with greenery and fancy buildings. It's very difficult to move from one social standing to another, but it is possible.

Naimis is the center for magical research, technology development and overall learning. It has a massive library, university and research center. While they're not very likely to fund most expiditions, however they are interested in getting people to explore the land to the east of them and the volcano to the south east of them.

Smaller Islands

Serrengi
Serrengi is the western most island in the Csen ocean. It's a Suiden colony, but it suffers from high crime rates. No one quite understands why everything is so bad there, but all attempts to get crime under control have failed. None-the-less it is still a popular place for both adventurers and pirates.

Morrengi
Morrengi is the eastern most island in the Csen ocean. It's a massive, active volcano that constantly erupts onto Naimis. Naimis has found a way to deal with its constant eruptions, but they are still interested to find out what's causing them since they believe it's some magical force. It's an extremely dangerous island because the eruptions are massive and unpredictable.

Danger Danger!
There is a reaosn why the Suiden's haven't just explored the entire world yet. Here's why.

The Illusionary Islands
To the west of Serrengi lies the land of Illairia. The Illairians hate anyone that isn't them and will sink any ships that enter their waters. All attempts to reason with them have failed, so not much is known about the land to the west of Serrengi.

The Edge of the World
The Edge of the World marks the end of the Csen Ocean to the north. It's a giant waterfall that appears to flow off the planet. The famous explorer Ren once said that he thought he saw land on the other side, but he was old and a little bit crazy when he said that. No one dares to go there in fear of falling off the planet.

Sea Monster Grounds
To the west of Naimis is a huge gathering of sea monsters. There doesn't seem to be any logical reason for them to gather in such a spot, but they do anyway. Since it's dangerously close to home, the Naimish are particularly interested in finding out why this happens.

Riema
To the south of the three major islands is the cursed island of Riema, or at least every calls it cursed. Nothing makes sense on this island. Trees might be purple and snakes might have four heads. Rabbits might combine with foxes and giant worms roam the eastern desert. It's a very bizzare place and many people who go there mysteriously vanish or come back home with odd mutations or bad memories.

South of Riema
There is no real reason that people haven't explored the ocean south of Riema other than simply being more interested in other things. It doesn't seem to be particularly dangerous.

Notable People

Ren
Ren was a famous explore from Suide. He was the one that discovered Illairia and the Edge of the World. This was about 200 years ago, so he's long dead, but his contributions will always be remembered. It's a shame that no one was able to find his journal.

Marta Nabdalka
She was the first person to try to cross the Edge of the World. No one ever saw her or any of her crew after she tried, so she's believed to be dead.

Amelia Malias
The current ruler of Suide. She gets along well with the rulers of Umidpunkt and Naimis, but she's known for being pretty blood-thirsty despite her elegance. She's currently thinking about declaring war on Illairia because she doesn't like that they don't like her.

Nedia Malias
Amelia's daughter. They're much the same personality-wise, but Nedia is more selfish and immature. Many people fear for the day she will take over the Suiden throne.

Aneam Nedelle
The young ruler of Umidpunkt. His father died a few years ago, so he took over the throne. He's generally good natured until you piss him off. Unfortunately for Naimis, they've pissed him off, so there is a lot of tension between the two nations. Not that the tension is anything new though. Naimis and Umidpunkt have been enemies for about 80 years now.

Safriden Falidine
The current leader of Naimis. His wife Maye recently fell ill. While most of the Naimish doctors say she'll be fine he's not so optimistic and hasn't been seeing anyone because of that.

Acacia
Acacia and her crew are a group of fearsome pirates. She used to just ravage her home island of Umidpunkt, but more recently she's been seen taking over trade ships. She's known for being exceptionally fast, despite fighting with a huge claymre, and devestatingly strong.

---

OOC Stuff

Rules

I'm not playing using any RPG ruleset; I made my own so here it is.

1.) Follow all forum rules.

2.) Fill out a character sheet before playing.

3.) I am Kitten4u the god of the land. What I say is what happens. I'm the one telling the story, you're simply pushing it in certain directions.
-I will post a scenerio and then everyone playing will respond to it. Once everyone responds I will update again.
-These updates are done with only minimal use of a die and no math at all. I expect you to be true to your character sheets. Not doing so will make me bit your head off. Meta-gaming in particular will result in one warning. Three warnings and you're out of the game. Period.
-You are welcome to talk IC while you wait for me to update. In fact, I encourage it.
-I will wait for everyone to submit an action unless there's a reason for me not to. Such things include vacations and particularly heated battles. If it's the later I will always give everyone at least 24 hours to submit an action.
-If the player does not submit an action then they will either follow the group or get mauled by an enemy or something. It depends on the situation.

4.) Actions are only limited by your characters. Remember to do what your character would do regardless of what you want to see. Other than that go wild I can adapt.

5.) Start with one character. You can make more characters later once you have enough brownie points.

Brownie Points

This is how you make a character. Your character's skills will take up a certain amount of brownie points (I'll post how much in the character sheet) and you cannot give your character any more skills once you run out of brownie points. I award brownie points on my whims. So basically, do something cool and you'll get a cool reward. Everyone automatically gets 50 brownie points for playing the game because playing the game makes you awesome.

Character Sheet

I'll explain what each thing means and I'll put how many brownie points each thing takes (in parenthesis) next to each item.

Name: Character's name (0)

Age: Character's age (0)

Gender: Male or female (0)

Nationality: Which island is your character from? Must be from either Suide, Umidpunkt or Naimis (0)

Knowledge: What is your character particularly knowlegeable in? Is he/she esspecially familiar with foriegn cultures? Do they know what kinds of plants are safe to eat? (2 each)

Non-combat skills: These are skills that aren't related to combat. Is your character good at dancing? Giving speeches? Cooking? (2 each)

Non-magic combat skills: Is your character good at weilding a sword? Are they good at dodging attacks? Taking hits? (5 each)

Magic skills: Can your character control an element? (for elements brownie point calculation is 2ⁿ where n is the amount of elements they can conrol. IE 2 elements = 4, 10 (elemental overlord) is 2084). Can they create illusions? (manipulating senses is 3ⁿ where n is the number of senses they can manipulate) Can they do something else? (5 each)

Copypasta version

[b]Name:[/b]

[b]Age:[/b]

[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Nationality:[/b]

[b]Knowledge:[/b]

[b]Non-combat skills:[/b]

[b]Non-magic combat skills:[/b]

[b]Magic skills:[/b]


Remember, everyone gets 50 brownie points for joining. You get more brownie points for being awesome. In order to create a second character you have to pay 10 brownie points + whatever the amount of brownie points their skills takes are.

So, post your character in this thread and at the bottom tell me which island you would like to start on. The majority will win.

---

Players

Five-Minute Cat Nap: 18 points remaining
ShiningDrake: 20 points remaining
Schala: 31 ponts points remaining
Genshuku: 10 points remaining

[Five-minute Cat Nap]

Name: Geist Almirante

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Nationality: Naimis

Knowledge: Etiquette, Foreign Culture

Non-combat skills:

Non-magic combat skills: Fast Dodger

Magic skills: Fast Caster
Magicks- Necromancy, Lightning, Fire, Wind

Grand Total of Brownie Points Used: (2x2x2x2)+(5x2)+4= 30
Remaining Brownie Points: 20

Vote: Kitten Naimis

[shiningdrake]

Name: Shara Kaline

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Nationality: Suide

Knowledge: Herbalism (Knowledge of which plants are safe to eat, what conditions allow that, and what other uses they might have to assist with survival.) Zoology (Knows how to deal with animals and common magical creatures in the wild to have the best chance of surviving the encounter) Other general survival skills (How to best deal with unfavorable terrain/weather conditions, ideal places to attempt to take shelter when necessary/ etc.)

Non-combat skills: Awareness (Will NOT miss any detail of her surroundings, within the limits of her senses)

Non-magic combat skills: Proficient with a sword. Extremely strong, to the point of being able to crush rock. (A side effect of her strength is that her armor doesn't weigh her down when she moves) Extremely durable, and can take many, many hits in combat due to her armor

Magic skills:

Elements: Fire

Other magic abilities: Shara is able to release short-ranged shockwaves of pure, powerful force. The range is only about ten feet, though it can either be in a sphere around her to knock an opponent away, or more concentrated to give more strength to the attack. She can also send a fast-moving shockwave along the ground, but the power is reduced a bit with more distance. It won't affect more than one foot above the ground, but the width can be either very thin and powerful, though won't do anything unless it manages to hit a part of the opponent's body that is close enough to the ground. Alternatively, it can be wider, but not as destructive to what it does hit.

Brownie Points Used: 30

Vote: Naimis

[Schala]

Name: Saeryin

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Nationality: Umidpunkt

Knowledge: Good knowledge of katana usage

Non-combat skills: Cleverness

Non-magic combat skills: Speed, very good katana user

Magic skills: She has two attack spells:
Phantom Spin - Saeryin draws both her katans and stretches her arms out so that the katanas are pointing outward. Then she spins around again and again so the katanas hit everything in thier way. While this happens, some weak darkenss magic emerges from the sides of the katanas so anyone foolish enough to walk in there would both get hit by katanas and affected by the magic (although the magic is the lesser of two evils as it is weak). Saeryin cannot move from her current location while doing this.
Katanas Roam Free - Saeryin can direct one or both of her katanas to attack an enemy by themselves. They only get one try though. After a katana attacks it returns immediately to Saeryin whether or not the attack was successful.

Defense spell: An illusionary shadow forms around Saeryin or an ally to help them blend in in dark places. This will not really be helpful in the daytime or in a bright place as a shadow would not hide you there.

Brownie Points Used: 29

Remaining: 21

Vote: (if only to set it in stone) Naimis

[Genshuku]

Name: Munashii

Appearance: Well, I had to, didn't I?
As for the eye, she says it's a 'magic related incident'. You won't get much more out of her than that.

Age: 19

Gender: Female

Nationality: Umidpunkt (The civilized side, thank you)

Knowledge: What to eat that won't kill you in the wild, great cook (it's a long story) (+4)

Non-combat skills: Danger Sense. Though it sounds like a combat skill, note that she only senses BEFORE battle, so it's not an IN battle skill, so it's non-combat. She knows when hostile things are about (even if they happen to be, the kind that want to tear out your flesh. The farther away the threat is, the weaker the feeling is. The more chaotic the environment is, the less effective it is. (+2)

She can also move without making almost any sound at all. AKA good sneaker. So her sneaking usually ends in a stab, but not always. (+2)

The not always cases can end up being her stealing something. She's adept at picking locks, and always has a few on hand. (+2)

And in case she's caught doing that (or another reason), she can move pretty fast. (+2)

Non-magic combat skills:

The two daggers she has in the picture? She uses them. Oh man, she uses them. They are her only offense, and she's pretty good with them too. Of course, she could use any dagger well, too. (+5)

And she's quite the fast dodger. You'd need to be, when you have a structure like that. (+5)

Magic skills:

Darkness, Illusion(Vision, Touch) (2 + 9 = 11)

She can also, how do you say, 'see magic'. Not through illusions to see what they really are like certain people that we all already know so won't be named, but she can see illusions and magic in the form of a glow. If there's some sort of magic/illusion going on in her sight, she'll see it glow. If people are hiding themselves with illusions, she'll see the glow where they are and anything else they're affecting. If it's fire magic, it glows. If it's affecting her (touch illusion or something), SHE glows, and the user too. Magic and illusions all glow in different colors. The concentration of it will make the glow brighter, and if different types are stacking then she can sort through the different kinds. And why yes, it does have to do with that eye. But she can use both to do this. If she goes blind or something (via darkness, vision illusions, getting stabbed in the eyes), the glows will still be there. (+5)

Brownie Points: 50 - (4 + 8 + 10 + 16 = 40) = 10 remaining

Vote: ...I don't think it even matters at this point. But Naimis anyway.

[Kitten4u]

BGM

Well aren't you people a rag-tag group of adventurers? I mean jeez, what am I supposed to do with this? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. You're all here, you're all going to have an adventure and you are going to like it!

Oh come on, stop looking around for the weird voice. I'm a voice in your head. No you're not insane I'm just that awesome. Anyway, you can just call me Kitten4u. I'll be the one telling your story. So I suppose there's a few things you should know.

Anything I say is guaranteed to be true. I will not lie under any circumstances. Other non-godly-awesome people you come across might, but I won't.

I am not a player in this game. I simply watch and laugh at your silly exploits. Ask me something and I may ignore you. While I will always tell the truth I am not obligated to answer any questions. In fact, I probably won't so don't waste your time. Now if the other godly-awesome people have questions I may answer those. Who are they? Not at all important to you so don't worry about it. But for those people that you don't care about this magical device called PMs is a preferred way of asking questions. PMs count as regular PMs, MSN, Chatango PMs or any other way of contacting me privately. Try to keep as much private as possible to cut down on meta gaming because meta gaming makes me RAEG.

Ahem. Moving on, you guys are a party because I say so. I don't care if you hate each other, you're here for my amusement. I suppose I might let you guys split up later if I'm feeling nice, but avoid doing so. besides it'll probably get you killed anyway.

Moving on, you're all on Naimis because the godly-awesome people wanted you there. What you want a back story? Do it yourself, I'll roll with it.

Oh, and for all you godly-awesome people out there expect a lot of fourth wall breaking in case that wasn't obvious.

So I suppose you guys want to know about your surroundings? I guess it's only fair that I tell you.

---

It's the dry season in Naimis. Well, Naimis is always dry, but it doesn't rain at all during the dry season. Ever. There are massive buckets of water all over the place. The richer people would have more elegant ways of storing water, but this is the lowest ring of Naimis. You can't really expect anything fancy here.

People are going about their business, no one seems to be taking any notice of any of you. Travelers aren't unusual to the lowest ring, so no one seems fazed by your weird clothing. Besides, one guy looks perfectly normal anyway.

From where you're standing you can hear several conversations.

A couple seems to be talking about the child they're expecting.

A group of gossipers are discussing the current troubles on Suide. They seem to be afraid of the queen as well.

A wealthy looking guy with a huge wad of money in his hand is going around talking to various ship owners. People seem to afraid to approach him and anyone he approaches backs away quickly.

A small group of children are playing a game of cards and seem to be discussing something about Morrengi.

There are several people trying to sell various goods. Three vendors seem to be selling food. Another is selling water. Another is selling books. Another is selling building materials. Another seems to be a ship builder. There are a few others, but it is hard to see them from here.

There are other people around, but it's hard to hear what they're talking about. If you moved closer to them you might be able to hear more.

[Five-minute Cat Nap]

Geist was rather quite annoyed. He worked in the goverment of Naimis, within the Foreign Relations department. He had come down to the lower ring to charter a boat to either Suide or Umidpunkt (preferably Suide) for a bit of a vacation. However, that mysterious voice had seemingly roped him into some sort of group of adventurers. He sighed, if he were going to remain on his home island, he'd best educate these foreigners.

"Alright, to those who are smart enough to listen, I am about to tell you the etiquette of Naimis." He said, his eyes sweeping across the faces of those of his party near enough to him to hear his words.

[Schala]

Beside a bucket of water sat a young dark-haired girl no older than seventeen. She looked curiously at the villagers gossiping, wondering when someone would find her. And she wasn't trying to hide. No, she wanted to be found. Hopefully the person would start a conversation with her and she could discover if anything was going on. Right now she wasn't really listening.

Saeryin (that was her name) actually found herself quite bored. There was no...excitement. Nothing special. What she wanted was there to be something special. Something going on. She was now getting a bit impatiant, no one had noticed her yet, and her katanas, while not anything royalty would wish to possess, were pretty good weapons, and so someone must see her...

Then she caught something. According to one villager, the Queen of Suide struck some with fear. But for what reason? Hopefully someone would talk to her and tell her more.

[shiningdrake]

It was strange, how things turned out sometimes. After leaving the knights in Suide, Shara had ended up becoming a vigilante. She couldn't stand to be there anymore, with all that corruption... Had everything been a lie? She'd been dedicated to upholding the law, believing it to be right... But then it had all come crashing down on her. She had no idea if she'd been doing the right thing up until that point. When she chased down criminals... Was that what she was really doing? Or simply acting as an unwitting assassin for an angry noble?

Regardless, she was acting on her own now. Recently, she'd been pursuing a group of pirates... Not merely a single crew though. No, this was more organized. Widespread. She'd managed to track a good deal of them back here to Naimis however. Though there was a severe problem now...

It was uncertain just how much that she'd be able to do. Naimis didn't do anything about criminals as long as they didn't commit crimes on Naimis. However, the ones that did... Were executed. Which was a SEVERE problem on dealing with these pirates. Shara wasn't sure just how much she'd be allowed to do here.

Regardless, she had to at least try. Though right now, there wasn't a lot she could do. She'd gotten caught up with these people, somehow, and she would have to deal with whatever problems there were first.

Shara took note of what Geist was saying, regarding the etiquette of Naimis, while also paying attention to the rest of her surroundings. The couple who were expecting a child didn't seem interesting, and Shara already knew about the problems with Suide. However... That man over there... That was interesting. Why was he being refused passage on ships? It was obvious that he had more than enough money. Though she didn't want to be rude and walk off while Geist was speaking. So she simply stood there calmly, waiting for the explanation to finish.

[Genshuku]

Mysterious voice, hopefully you aren't a cruel and vengeful god. These people better be less trouble then their worth, because if they're more trouble, then there would be nothing stopping her from doing what she was doing before: bounty hunting work, with varying legality.

Now, she was paired with someone that apparently knew their stuff (thank GOD), someone a bit young and just possibly crazy (only a guess, but she was good at assuming), and someone who seemed skilled in the art of battling. Of course, Munashii could stab them all in their sleep with no problem unless perhaps they slept REALLY lightly, but there was no reason to. Yet.

In any case, what she needed was information, as just how the hell did she get here anyway? Must be a blurred memory, that should clear up soon. So, she listened to the information, and...wasn't eying the guy with money in his hand. Not at all.

Yet.

"I'm listening."

[Kitten4u]

BGM

Don't worry Munashii, I'm totally kind and loving.

Anyway, this next paragraph is directed at the godly-awesome person behind the Saeryin, but it's important for everyone so listen and stuff. Make sure to explicitly state every action. DO NOT LET ME ASSUME THINGS. EVER! If you do I'll look for something logical first, but if there are a few logical options then I will RNG it. And if I've learned one thing from Crawl it's that you do not want to leave your fate in the hands of the RNG. You probably don't want to leave your fate in my hands either, even if I am totally kind and loving.

Moving on, Saeryin didn't explicitly state that she was listening to Geist, but she was waiting for someone to talk to her, so I'm going to let her listen anyway. Again, next time explicitly state what she does even if you have to say ____ did ____ (that's actually easier for me to interpret anyway).

So, since all of you listened I'm just going to post the stuff here. If you want a PM to archive it, because you like receiving PMs or whatever just ask me and I'll PM it to you. Remember that this is only a brief overview.

---

Naimis believes the perfection of the self is the best way to show respect.

-Slouching is considered disrespectful; so most Naimish people have perfect or near perfect posture.

-You are not supposed to bow as that bends the spine. Curtsying is considered more polite as that bends the knees instead. If curtsying is impractical for whatever reason, a simple nod will suffice.

-People are expected to be clean. Not working and being dirty is considered disrespectful to the people around you. Trying to cover up the smell with perfume is also considered disrespectful.

-The easiest ways to get respect in Naimis is being incredibly smart or incredibly rich.

-Stupid people are held with very low regard and generally have no hope of leaving the bottom ring.

-It is impolite to meet with people of a higher social class unless that person invites you or talks to you first.

-Fancy language is appreciated as long as it’s not overly flowery and difficult to understand. Proper usage of language is also very important after all.

-Naimis has no tolerance for crime. Most criminals are killed on sight, even for minor crimes.

-Lying is also not tolerated at all. What happens to them depends on the severity of the lie.

-Criminals and undesirables have the ultimate punishment done to them: they lose their name. Names are important in Naimis, so losing your name is very bad. You become a complete outcast. Speaking to a nameless person is even considered a crime.

-Names are important, so people always introduce themselves with their full name (first, middle, last).

---

The people discussing Suide are talking very fast. They're both women and they both look pretty stressed. Whether this stress is related to what they are discussing is unclear.

"I heard that Amelia dissolved another four charities. Apparently she thinks that if you can afford to give money to the poor you can afford to give money to the army. I heard there are a large number of people dying of starvation in the streets because she gets angry whenever people try to help them."

"That is absolutely horrible! What do you think she's going to do with that huge army she's amassing anyway?"

"Well, she claims she's going to declare war on Illairia, but I doubt that's true. I've heard the Illairian's are terrifying and that their army is larger than the entire population of Suide and Naimis put together! I bet she's going to go after either Umidpunkt or here."

"Well, that does make more sense. After all, Umidpunkt is rich in natural resources and we're the gateway to the east. Suidens are obsessed with exploration right?"

"I think so."

Another woman passing by hears what they're talking about.

"I heard she was stabbed to death just recently. I don't think many Suidens even know this, so it's probably just a rumor."

The lady apparently didn't have any time to talk because she just walked off.

"I hope it's true. I'm kind of scared."

---

The rich man seems to be frantically trying to get peoples' attention, but every time he tries the people just brush him off. He runs towards a fisherman that has just docked his small fishing boat.

"I have reason to believe there is something in the center of Morrengi! Please, I need someone to explore it!"

"Not interested. I need to be around to take care of my family."

"I'll give you enough money to feed your family for the next 200 years! I'll even use my influence to try to get you and your family into a higher ring. Please explore it!"

The rich man seems frantic to get someone to explore the volcano for him, but no one seems willing to accept. It's likely that they see the mission as a suicide mission.

"Why don't you explore it yourself?"

"Well..."

The rich man fell silent.

"And that's why you will never find anyone to explore it for you. Please excuse me, I have to haul my fish to the market."

The fisherman nodded and started to walk away. The rich made sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He was clearly frustrated.

[shiningdrake]

Shara felt anger flare up, upon hearing about the queen's atrocities again. Every reminder of all of that... Why had she thought she could help anything there, even before she'd had to leave? Most of the law enforcement there was as corrupt as the royal family... Shara was outright ashamed that she hadn't realized its depth sooner.

However, one thing she hadn't heard about until now was the rumor of the queen's death... Hopefully it was true. Though even if it was, the odds of someone just as corrupt replacing her probably weren't all that low.

However, more than that conversation, the man who was trying to get people to go to Morrengi was rather interesting... Or rather, strange. Did he really expect anyone to go there? It was unlikely that anyone willing to head there hadn't already flung themselves off a cliff, or something similar. Except, for perhaps, a fire mage...

Shara didn't even consider going there herself for an instant of course. She certainly wasn't powerful enough to survive an eruption. A barrier of force might provide a quick shield, but she couldn't keep it up for long, and the heat would probably be overwhelming anyway...

[Schala]

Saeryin was leaning forward and listening. She couldn't quite make out some of the words, but she caught "dissolved another four charaties...dying of starvation in the streets because she gets angry..."

Now she was interested. She ran up next to Shara and listened more. Suddenly someone suggested that the Queen of Suide was going after Umidpunkt!

"NO!" cried Saeryin before she could stop herself.

But wait...what was this? "I heard that she was stabbed to death just recently..." Whew. Saeryin's land was safe.

She turned to Shara. "What's the gateway to the east?" she asked.

[Genshuku]

For now anyway. Just wait until we're in a life-threatening situation. You'll suddenly get out the RNG, Rigged Number Generator, and screw us all over just enough to barely but not kill us, then do it again as part of some twisted game...or just be direct and get us all killed.

...The voices in Munashii's head were responding to her. OK, she clearly had one too many SOMETHING last night, enough so that it was affecting her sanity. Either that, or she was perfectly sane but now losing it due to the voice actually being there, much like a very dumbed down version of seeing Cuthulu. Speaking of which...

Oh for the love of Alice MargaTroid, she was from the same country as the lunatic? Munashii didn't even realize this until now, after her loud exclamation, and she was almost curious as to what clan she was from so she could personally stay away from it (and if it was her own and she didn't know it for some bizarre reason...let's not think about such things).

Gah...anyway, the more you know. It was probably not a good idea to give into any weird urges to take anything from anyone within 500 miles of this place. Like that guy with the money. Rats, perhaps another day, another place. Or, based on what she heard, take his offer, but only if he comes with, his desperation gives in, rob him there, and never return to this island...

Oh right, other people. Damn, again.

And now she was hearing rumors that the Queen of Suide, Amelia, was dissolving charities to build an army. Based on what she heard, the phrases to describe her would be 'gotta look tough, screw my people I've got power to create, and everyone wishes I was brutally stabbed to death'.

We can all hope, like the person saying she was stabbed to death. Just a rumor, that wasn't true (most likely). And chances are, based on the mini-profile she gave her, she was gonna target Umidpunkt, as it only recently became a civilized country, and therefore her definition of easy pickings (if someone hadn't ACTUALLY brutally stabbed her to death by then, of course, if that happened it'd be huge news). 'After all, those mindless brutes can easily be outwitted by our clever tactics!' Sigh. If she tried that...well, if she had an army by the time she was done, it'd be really small. Like they'd even be able to GET IN without getting shot down. And hell would greet them with tea and crumpets if they got on the wrong side of the island.

Leaving the only thing left to do...well, besides loitering, was check out the suicide mission into the volcano.

You know what's in the center of an island with a crazy volcano on it?

Probably lava. Or craters, same difference.

The reason the rich man wanted someone else to do it was clearly so he wouldn't have to risk his hide on a possible suicide mission, and was probably going off a potential hunch, if not a developed theory, both of which are pretty much the same thing. It would be nice if they were prepared in order to see what was causing the frequent eruptions (was it a magical force, or is it just the volcano being a volcano, probably the former, but just because it can be fixed doesn't mean she'll kill herself to try to fix it).

The lunatic then asked what the gateway to the east was. What is this, a pop quiz on what we've learned over the past few seconds? But that didn't matter to Munashii, as even though she could have answered the question, she wasn't going to talk too much to the loony one over there that just screamed a very Big No and most likely attracted everyone's attention. Munashii was never one for large crowds and massive attention.

[Five-minute Cat Nap]

The red mark on Geist's face was beginning to fade. as his anger simmered down. I get stuck with a moron like that?! He mentally raged, entirely willing to strike down the moron once she asked what the "Gateway to the East" was. Still, it wouldn't do for a member of the Naimis government to act so uncivilized, and so with that he quickly headed over to the other girl, then one the stupid one was pestering.

"Have you any idea of what we ought to do?" He asked her, thoroughly ignoring the other person. Personally, he'd probably question the man about what his apparently "discovery" on Morrengi was, though joining such an expedition would be foolhardy without sufficient reason.