Event: A Prelude

[trainmasters]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 8, evening
Where: around

[It's a beautiful evening in the jungle tonight. It's warmer than usual, and some new plants have appeared, black vines that climb up the trees near the Aurora, opening hundreds of tiny white flowers that glow in the darkness. They let of a sweet smell that's soothing like a chamomile tea, and are filled with a dew that, if consumed, leaves characters feeling relaxed and just a little more likely to act on positive impulses.

However, the vines of this plant aren't so harmless. When broken they drip a milky white substance which irritates the skin, leaving red welts that burn and last anywhere from an hour to a full day, depending on how long the substance is in contact. Eating this won't kill you but it'll give you really intense heartburn and nausea for a few hours.

Additionally, if you're walking around in the nearby jungle, you might trip over one of the small cracks that have appeared in the forest floor. Mostly they're not visible underneath the grass and underbrush, but the bigger ones have caused a slight unevenness in the ground that can catch careless toes. There doesn't seem to be any particular pattern or origin to the cracks, nor do they have any other affect on their surroundings. They're just there, suddenly, in a roughly 100-foot radius from the train.

But there's plenty of reason to ignore these natural phenomenon, because there are some new teammates waking up in your carriages! In response to this new wave of arrivals, existing players will hear a cute jingling ringtone come from their Chain. Upon checking, the screen displays... a silly animation of balloons and confetti and the words "WELCOME NEW HEROES", which goes away on its own after a few seconds or when characters tap it. The same display is shown on the big screen in the lounge, in which trays full of colourful drinks have mysteriously appeared. The drinks taste like Kool-Aid and change some part of you the corresponding colour -- pink hair, blue skin, purple eyes, or maybe just a literal green thumb!]

[[OOC NOTE: Newbies can review the arrival scenario on the navigation page if necessary. The drinks in the lounge come in any colour you want, and cause colour shift in whatever and however large an area you want. It could just be a strand of hair or it could be your entire body, whatever you feel like playing with.]]

Comments

[crimeson]

Not a bad habit to be in.

[but Randy shrugs]

Ehhh, kind of? It's not much of a pattern yet, but it seemed likely given I was in the second batch of arrivals and this'd be the third.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . ah]

Is this "Star Prince" hurting for recruits?

[crimeson]

Oh, for sure.

[purrtagonist]

Has he considered putting an add in the paper, rather than just--

[uh]

[how does he put this diplomatically]

[. . . answer: he doesn't]

Kidnapping people?

[crimeson]

Who knows? We haven't exactly gotten a chance to talk to the guy. I'm not a fan of the kidnapping myself.

[purrtagonist]

[COMFORTING. . .]

Does he accept strongly worded letters?

[crimeson]

Dunno. It's worth a shot, though?

[purrtagonist]

Hm. All right, then.

Can you point me in the direction of the nearest post office?

[is. . . is he being serious. . . probably not?]

[crimeson]

Nope!

[he's assuming it's a joke, but]

[purrtagonist]

[B U T]

[snorts softly]

Worth a shot.

[inclines his head to the side, curious]

What's your name?

[crimeson]

Randy Orlando, at your service.

[offering Akira a hand]

How about you?

[purrtagonist]

[eyes the hand for a moment, before taking it, his grip firm]

I’m. . .







A unicorn. You can just call me “unicorn.”

[Akira]

[crimeson]

Ah... forgot, huh? That's rough, but it's pretty common around here.

[purrtagonist]

[ppppauses, before asking casually and not at all correcting him on his assumption]

Is it? Is that what the welcome note meant when it said pieces may be lost?

[crimeson]

Yeah. I hear it's that, at least.

[purrtagonist]

. . .

We definitely need a hero’s union.

[crimeson]

Right? Hard to organize something when the situation is what it is, though.

[purrtagonist]

[tucks his chin into his hand in a thoughtful gesture]

Is it? Has anyone tried? At the very least, it’d be worth it to get everyone on the same page.

[crimeson]

Sorry, maybe I'm being a little defeatist. It's definitely worth a shot. Getting everyone on the same page is a great idea.

[purrtagonist]

[a small huff, expression turning sympathetic]

You’ve been here longer than I have, which means you’re in a better position to know what’s going on.

[holds up his Chain again]

What can you tell me about our situation that isn’t included in the welcome message?

[crimeson]

Let's see...

[reading the welcome message for good measure, then nodding.]

So every once in a while, a Trial happens. So far the pattern seems to be that we're grouped up in two groups of about half the passengers each, by team, and then we have to play some game set for us. Making the right moral choices, or solving a murder mystery. Stuff like that.

[purrtagonist]

“Right” moral choices.

[sssasounds a bit dubious, but. . . he moves on]

Who runs these “Trials?” The Construct?

[crimeson]

By the standards of the runner.

[he amends, casually.]

I don't think so. Not unless the Construct is putting on multiple personas to trick us for some reason. The last two trials were run by two different people, or at least it seemed that way.

[purrtagonist]

. . . ah. Comforting.

[EVEN MORE DUBIOUS]

Who were they run by, if not this Star Prince?

[crimeson]

We haven't seen them, I think, but... one voice was a man's, and seemed pretty serious, and there were feathers scattered everywhere? And the other was a lot more excited and kind of mischievous, and there weren't feathers.