Solo And So It Starts

Asterope experiences the troubles of trying to traverse Alvadas for the first time

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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.

And So It Starts

Postby Asterope on August 21st, 2017, 8:34 pm

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42nd/Summer/517

Securely in the city, Asterope's steps faltered as caution kicked in. She'd heard stories, of course, of the tricks Ionu and the city itself liked to play on its hapless inhabitants; not even longtime citizens were safe. A visitor such as herself, and one new to life in general as it were, would be an easy target.

Warily, Aster scanned the street around her. For the moment everything still seemed deceptively normal. A bright red sign caught her eye, and she turned to see it hanging off of the roof of a small, mossy house. Upon reading the sign, which promised welcoming, housing, orientation, and (perhaps most importantly)
sanity, Aster quickly changed direction to make her way to its door.

Creaking it open, she poked her head inside before stepping in, Navi pressed close against her legs. Approaching the empty desk, she tentatively poked at the bell on it. A sharp, clear sound rang out through the air, and a moment later a woman with rather unkempt ginger hair popped out from somewhere out of Aster's sight.

The woman, as it turned out, was named Serenity, and was in charge of the Sanity Center. She was kind enough to give Aster a brief, bare-bones rundown of Alvadas and to tell her about the Cubacious Inn, where she could settle in for as long as she needed; however, Aster then made a fatal mistake.
"Do you by any chance happen to know where exactly the inn is?"

The look on Serenity's face was clearer than any words could have been; her friendly smile dropped instantly and she let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, her forehead creasing. It was like the question had aged her a decade. To be fair, she had just explained the basics of Alvadas to Aster, but it was such an automatic question to ask. Aster felt her face heat slightly as blood rose to her cheeks with her embarrassment, and she quickly blurted out an apology which was tiredly waved away.

Feeling slightly more prepared than before, Asterope thanked Serenity for her help, throwing in another small apology, before leaving the center to brave the streets of Alvadas, Navi trotting at her heels.

Mentally, Asterope asked the city to please could it direct her to the Cubacious Inn before she picked a direction and began to walk. She was used to feeling out of place among others, her horns, faintly glowing skin, and general otherworldly aura usually attracting attention, but she was pleasantly surprised to pass people of all races in the streets. The large majority were human still, or at least appeared to be, but there was more diversity than she had ever encountered anywhere in Cyphrus.

Having been walking in one direction for awhile, though less than a full bell, Aster decided on a whim to turn a sharp right corner. She walked a few feet before stopping, dismayed to find herself back in front of the Sanity Center.
I know I didn't walk in a circle, that's impossible, Aster thought as she turned back around, only to find that the corner she'd come around had disappeared, leaving a straight stretch of road. Clearly, she had underestimated the city, then.

Navi was looking up at her, head cocked slightly, as if confused by their apparent circle-making. Aster frowned slightly, then having limited options, picked a direction different than the first one she'd went in (or at least she thought it was different), and set off once again, determination in her stride.


"Common" | "Nari" | "Pavi" | Thoughts
"Other People's Speech"
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Last edited by Asterope on September 6th, 2017, 10:28 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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The sun will rise, and we will try again
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Asterope
A light that never goes out
 
Posts: 651
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Joined roleplay: August 16th, 2017, 11:11 pm
Location: The Outpost (Sunberth)
Race: Ethaefal
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Overlored (1) Alvadas Seasonal Challenge (1)
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And So It Starts

Postby Asterope on August 22nd, 2017, 6:53 am

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Aster walked briskly forward in her chosen direction with a false sense of confidence, as if perhaps she could trick the city into thinking she knew where she was going. That notion promptly went out the window when she turned another corner, left this time, and ended up back in front of the Sanity Center. A small frown pulled the corners of her mouth down. It was one thing to get lost, but to just end up in the same place over and over again? It was beyond frustrating. If she'd been lost, there was at least the potential to make some progress towards her destination; this was just annoying.

Not having any other choice in the matter, Asterope began to walk again, this time going back the way she had just came and purposefully ignoring all the turns she came across until rather suddenly (she was sure there had been more street left in front of her) she was faced with a row of buildings, giving her no option but to turn one way or the other. Aster milled around for a moment, peering down both the left and right ways. Neither was particularly remarkable, nor did she see the telltale red sign of the Sanity Center down either street. She inhaled deeply and turned left, taking her first few steps hesitantly.

The scenery remained unfamiliar. Relief washed over her, almost a tangible sensation like a cool breeze, and she settled into a comfortable pace. Of course, there was no telling if she might suddenly end up back at the entrance of the city, but Aster felt that perhaps that particular annoyance had run its course. She walked for awhile, in no particular hurry now that she felt she wasn't going in circles. Her feet ached a bit, and a general sense of weariness permeated her from the long travel to reach the city, but there was no real rush for her to get to her destination.

The air was hot, perhaps uncomfortably so for most people, but Asterope enjoyed the warmth of Syna's light beating down on her. It comforted her and she could feel some of her energy returning, putting a slight spring into her step as she tilted her face up every so often to bask in the sunlight. She was doing exactly that when she felt her knees suddenly hit something.

Alarmed and caught off balance, Aster spread her arms to try and remain upright, but was panicked to see herself tipping forward toward the yawning mouth of an empty well. When did that get there?!, the bewildered thought crossed Aster's mind when suddenly she felt a grip on the back of her shirt and she was yanked away from the well unceremoniously. She would have fallen the other way directly onto her rear if it weren't for the hand that flattened out against her back to steady her.

Navi was growling beside her, and Aster shushed her as she turned to face her anonymous saviour.
"Hey there miss, you alright?" A gangly young man, perhaps still a teenager, stood before her, looking genuinely concerned.

"I believe so. Thank you so much, sitting at the bottom of a well would hardly have been an ideal way to spend my day," she laughed slightly, though she was still a bit shaken by her near tumble. The man chuckled as well, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, you gotta be careful, they been popping up all over the place lately."

"I see. Well, thank you again, really. Is there anything I could do to repay the favour?"

Asterope was surprised to see a faint blush colour the man's face.
"Nah, it was nothing. You just take care from now on, hear?" Aster nodded, and the man mimed tipping a hat at her with a lopsided smile before sauntering off. Turning around again, she was both surprised and yet not to see that the (dangerously low-built) well had disappeared.

Careful to keep an eye out for any other suddenly appearing wells, Aster began her trek once again; she was much more cautious in her steps this time, and decided to pay better attention to her surroundings in general.


"Common" | "Nari" | "Pavi" | Thoughts
"Other People's Speech"
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Last edited by Asterope on September 6th, 2017, 10:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The sun will rise, and we will try again
User avatar
Asterope
A light that never goes out
 
Posts: 651
Words: 661387
Joined roleplay: August 16th, 2017, 11:11 pm
Location: The Outpost (Sunberth)
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Thread (1) Mizahar Grader (1)
Overlored (1) Alvadas Seasonal Challenge (1)
Power Fork (1)

And So It Starts

Postby Asterope on August 23rd, 2017, 4:07 pm

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Not long after her encounter with the first well, a second one appeared; again, it chose to materialize right in front of Aster. She stopped short this time, having been paying attention, and folded her arms over her chest. It seemed the city had a sense of humour, which given what little she knew of Ionu, was not all that surprising.

Aster was in the process of simply skirting around the well when a small, clattering noise caught her attention. It sounded as if someone had thrown a rock into the well, but nobody was near enough to have done so. She paused, then leaned over to carefully peer into the well. She had no idea what she expected to find, but a group of small, bouncing pebbles was certainly not it.

The well was just deep enough to make them hard to see, but the sheen of the pebbles reflected the light as they...well, bounced. Aster watched as they moved, seemingly with a life of their own, occasionally knocking into the sides of the well rather than the dirt floor, causing the sound she had heard. She honestly had no idea what to make of the illusion; at least, that's what she assumed it was. It was so harmless and yet so totally ridiculous, she couldn't help but smile as she observed the scene before her.

Eventually, she straightened up again, and continued on her way, casting one last glance back at the well full of pebbles. The sun had moved past its peak by that point, and the air was beginning to lose some of its heat, if only slightly. The things she'd seen so far had been perhaps annoying or an inconvenience, but not yet dangerous. She wondered if people had exaggerated the nature of the city in the stories she'd heard, or perhaps so far she'd just gotten lucky.

With a contemplative hum, Aster turned the next corner and perked up considerably. Just a few feet down the street stood a large building made up of three cubes, the pastel yellow standing out against the rest of the buildings around it. Asterope hurried towards the Cubacious Inn, excited to finally be able to put her backpack down and take a moment to rest.

Entering the building, a small chime above the door announced her presence as she approached the counter. An older woman turned to greet her with a bright smile; whereas Serenity had been friendly in the sort of way that implied she had to be, this woman exuded a much more natural, vibrant sort of cheer.

"Hello there dear!" The woman beamed at her. "What can I do you for?"

"Hello," Aster returned the woman's smile with one of her own, though it was perhaps not as enthusiastic. "I'd like a room, please."

The woman, Georgia, gave Aster the prices, and the Ethaefal settled on a moderate room. She'd need the room indefinitely, but for the moment she paid for until the end of the season. Pulling out her coin purse, she counted out the necessary number of Mizas and handed them over to Georgia, who handed her a key with a number on it in return.


"That should make finding this place a bit easier for you," She winked at Aster, who examined the key in her palm curiously. It almost felt as if it was buzzing very faintly. At her puzzled expression, Georgia laughed and explained the key acted as a sort of weak homing device for returning to the inn. "It's a thing all keys do here, really. Doesn't mean you won't ever get lost again, but you'll end up having to camp out on the streets a lot less."

Intrigued, Aster carefully pocketed the key to her room; she was certain that it would be useful. Thanking Georgia, she climbed the stairs and located her room, letting herself in. She dropped her bag onto the desk for the moment, not feeling up to unpacking yet, and dropped down onto the bed before falling back, letting her head thump gently against the mattress. Before she could try to kick her boots off so that she could pull her legs up onto the bed, Navi sat on her feet heavily.

"Navi," Aster protested the large dog halfheartedly, wriggling her toes beneath the mutt's rear. The dog simply huffed at her, nosing at her thigh incessantly until Aster relented and scratched at her head, just behind her floppy ears.

"Looks like we'll be staying here for awhile, girl," Aster told her companion, looking around the room. It was quite cozy, actually; the wood of the desk, shelf, and chest was dark, a contrast to the pale peach walls. The mattress was surprisingly comfortable, though perhaps that was just due to the fact that she hadn't slept on a real mattress in quite awhile, and covered in a dusty blue and mauve quilt.

Asterope lay there for awhile, simply relaxing, before letting out a sigh and sitting up. She stretched her arms above her head, interlacing her fingers together so that her palms faced the ceiling, and her shoulders and spine gave a few satisfying cracks and pops. Pushing at Navi so that she moved off of her feet, Aster walked the short distance to the desk to begin unpacking her belongings.

Ledger :
2 SM/day x 50 Days (including the 42nd) = 100 SM = -10 GM



"Common" | "Nari" | "Pavi" | Thoughts
"Other People's Speech"
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Last edited by Asterope on September 6th, 2017, 10:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The sun will rise, and we will try again
User avatar
Asterope
A light that never goes out
 
Posts: 651
Words: 661387
Joined roleplay: August 16th, 2017, 11:11 pm
Location: The Outpost (Sunberth)
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Thread (1) Mizahar Grader (1)
Overlored (1) Alvadas Seasonal Challenge (1)
Power Fork (1)

And So It Starts

Postby Asterope on August 25th, 2017, 7:29 am

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Opening her bag, Aster began rifling through her belongings, stacking them on the desk as she emptied the pack. She really didn't have all that much that needed to be unpacked; it was really mostly clothing. She folded her underclothes, chemise, both her cloaks and her three dresses neatly, setting them aside. The work was mundane, but soothing in its own way.

Despite the restlessness that lived under her skin, Aster found the act of unpacking to calm her; the thought of staying in one place for some length of time no longer seemed unbearable. Perhaps it was the always shifting, never stable nature of Alvadas in particular, a quality of the city that she saw in herself some. Whatever the reason, the thought of settling did not bother her the way it once had when she was freshly fallen.

Humming a tune she'd picked up in her travels, off-key as she attempted to replicate it through memory, Aster surveyed the room in an attempt to mentally place her belongings. She dropped her bedroll into the chest at the foot of her bed almost gleefully; she wouldn't miss having to sleep on it, that was for certain. On top went her folded clothes and her spare set of boots. She carried the items she'd used during her travels to the shelf in the corner opposite the bed, depositing her lamp, rope, and other such things on one end; her meager set of toiletries went on the other end.

Aster clapped her hands together, clasping them as she stepped back to admire her handiwork. Nobody would mistake the room as a permanent residence of any sort, but she'd made her mark upon it, and now it was hers for the time being. One item remained in her bag, and she surveyed it for a moment, debating. She'd bought the dagger as a safety precaution despite not knowing how to use it, and had kept it stowed in her bag since; Navi had proven to be enough protection in the few altercations she'd ever had.

Perhaps it was time to make use of her purchase; in a strange new city with so many people, the extra protection may come in handy. As much as she didn't like to think anyone would attempt to harm her, Aster knew caution was always the best route to take. With a resigned exhale of breath, she plucked the dagger out of its pocket and attached it to her belt. Its weight, though not much, rested against her hip, an uncomfortable and foreign presence.

Finished with her unpacking, Aster slung her now empty pack over her shoulder. Her brief rest had given her all the energy she needed, and now she felt excited to take a more proper look around the city. Patting her pockets to make sure she had her (really quite handy) key and her coin purse, she clicked her tongue for Navi and exited the room. Georgia was no longer at her desk when she passed by, so Aster simply breezed past the front desk and out the door.

It was time to see just exactly what Alvadas had to offer.


"Common" | "Nari" | "Pavi" | Thoughts
"Other People's Speech"
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The sun will rise, and we will try again
User avatar
Asterope
A light that never goes out
 
Posts: 651
Words: 661387
Joined roleplay: August 16th, 2017, 11:11 pm
Location: The Outpost (Sunberth)
Race: Ethaefal
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Thread (1) Mizahar Grader (1)
Overlored (1) Alvadas Seasonal Challenge (1)
Power Fork (1)

And So It Starts

Postby Madeira Dusk on March 20th, 2018, 1:16 am

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Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!


Asterope

Skills
  • Observation: 3xp
  • Socialization: 3xp
  • Land Navigation: 3xp
  • Logic: 2xp
  • Organization: 1xp
  • Singing: 1xp

Lores
  • Location: Sanity Center
  • People: Serenity Berel
  • Alvadas: twisting streets
  • Lore of finding comfort in Syna's light
  • Alvadas: has a sense of humor
  • Georgia: proprietor of Cubacious Inn
  • Alvadas Keys: act as compasses

Awards & Retribution
-10gm
+Cubacious room key

Notes
What a great, gentle, day-in-the-life thread. I need to read stuff like this every once in a while. ^^

Let me know if I missed anything. Enjoy your grade!
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Madeira Dusk
long may she reign
 
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