{Ore Drakes} The Expedition Outpost | OPEN

[SeaCrest]

ORE DRAKES
Ore drakes, or simply drakes, are egg-bearing creatures that are often found in large groups. They closely resemble dragons, but drakes are not predators in the traditional sense; they consume large quantities of rock and ore as the main component of their diet, and supplement this with bones, bark, and plants. Their island of origin, Odekka, has very few predatory threats, and as such drakes can be found in many fantastical colors and patterns! They are roughly the size of a large housecat, although individuals can vary greatly in size!

Drakes do not possess different reproductive organs, and any two drakes can be bred together, thereby greatly increasing the possibilities of the breeding program as we work to ensure that the drake gene pool does not become too small. Any names and genders associated with drakes may be assigned by their owners - drakes are not sapient, although they are quite intelligent and may be taught tricks and simple commands.

The Drake Export Office (DEO) is extremely pleased to announce that, for the first time, the home of the ore drakes, Odekka Island, will be open for exploration! Certain parts of the island are off-limits, but there is plenty of terrain for you and your drakes to explore! We do ask that all drakes be collared with an identification tag so that, in the event that you are separated, the drake may be returned to its rightful owner.

There are, of course, some rules to help preserve the ore drakes and their home.

RULES

• You may only participate in one expedition at a time.
• You may begin an expedition at any time, provided this thread is open. Expeditions are meant to be a permanent feature!
• Expeditions can last for several days - it depends on the choices you make! If you choose to end an expedition early, you will not be awarded EXP. However, there is no time limit, so you can leave an expedition open and come back to it later!
• All rewards will be deposited to your inventory!
• As you adventure, you will be presented with different options. Each decision you make will shape your expedition, and may affect what you find!
• You do not have to participate in-character if you do not wish to! However, you will still need to provide all of the information requested to make your next move.

Curious about who owns what drake? See our records department!
Masterlist Records

Credits
Original sketches by BronzeHalo @ dA
Lined, based, and colored by SeaCrest

[SeaCrest]

HOW TO PLAY

New permits are currently not available!

First, fill out the Adventurer's Permit Application! You can create a character to explore with, or you can just put down your username. You can also select which drake(s) you would like to take with you on this expedition - this is solely for RP purposes, but you have to have at least one!

Next, please wait for a reply. This is the beginning of your journey! You will presented with some options. To continue, you will reply with your choice. Feel free to be as simple or elaborate as you want! As long as the appropriate information is there, you can continue.

Make sure you check out your Expedition Inventory! You might find useful things that will help you solve problems that would otherwise be insurmountable!

Sometimes, you will encounter an event! An event will almost always give you the option to ignore the event and move on, or to engage. Events can give you items or tokens, which you can use later! All items and tokens will be deposited to your inventory automatically as they are earned.

Eventually, your adventure will come to an end. You do not need to reply to the final post, as no more rewards can be gained, but you can wrap up your story if you like! This gives you the opportunity to start over with a new character, if you decide you don't like the previous one. These characters are for RP purposes only, and you don't need to maintain any continuity if you don't want to!

[SeaCrest]

BEGIN YOUR EXPEDITION

Before you can even begin your expedition, you first need to apply for an adventurer's permit! This permit must be renewed every time you wish to go on an expedition to Odekka.

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: The name of your character. This could be your username, or it could be a character of yours! This does not need to be the same for every expedition.
Drake(s): Please list your drakes using the format ID - NAME!

Code Select Expand

[font=century gothic][b][color=#9933ff]ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION[/color][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Drake(s):[/b] [/font]

After waiting for your application to be approved, you are directed to the Drake Preserve, where you are met by a bright young woman with auburn hair - Dr. Mirielle Farrowstead, the founder of the DEO and head caretaker of the preserve. She gives you directions to meet your transport - a small propeller plane - at the runway not too far from the main office building, and wishes you good luck. One of her drakes, large and almost completely white, watches you from the reception desk as you leave.

The flight is long, and somewhat uncomfortable, but you bear with it, checking on your drakes from time to time to make sure that they are happy. At least drakes can be fed ores and other minerals, saving you the fuss of needing to provide them with fresh meat, but their food supplies are quite heavy. Once you land, they should be able to forage for themselves.

Upon arrival, you check in at the small Outpost building, the main expedition headquarters. A woman with short, curly black hair and fine laugh lines around her eyes and mouth greets you with a cheerful smile, introducing herself as Dr. Ellen Wong. She gives you a map of the known landmarks, as well as areas that are currently off-limits, cautioning you that these areas are patrolled regularly and trespassing will result in an immediate termination of your expedition.

"It's not that the local flora and fauna are necessarily dangerous to us," Dr. Wong explains. "But there are certain delicate populations that we would like to protect, as well as areas where the terrain is not particularly safe for the average explorer. They will require much more experience."

[SeaCrest]

ACTIVE EXPEDITION INVENTORIES
The items listed here are for expedition purposes only and are not part of your regular inventory!

Ryuukokoro	Ryuu	078 - Marbled Moss 077 - Cross	1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle 1x Fish
Sunchaser		051 - Silvestra 037 - Harun	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle
Saturnalia	Shaydra	90 - Chemistry	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle
Ember		086 - Andromeda 094 - Rhea	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle
Country		114 - Haru	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle
Midnight Phantom	Ree	108 - Dawn's Chirp	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle
YourLoveOnly	YLO	009 - Poi	1x Map 1x Lantern 1x Coil of Rope 1x Machete 1x Emergency Radio 1x First Aid Kit 1x Water Bottle

[SeaCrest]

RESERVED

[YourLoveOnly]

How neat I would for sure like to do a more in-depth adventure sometime, but for now I'll go with brief responses XD

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: YLO
Drake(s):

[Saturnalia]

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: Vayshedruvon
Drake(s): 061 - Cavaiya



Yay! Love stuff like this

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
After Dr. Wong has given you your map, as well as checking over your supplies, she sends you out to meet a young man by the name of Barnaby, who shuttles you out to one of the expedition areas. After all, if everyone is exploring right next to the Outpost, there won't be much by the way of discovery, will there?

After Barnaby leaves you, you look around. The trees are tall and thick here, with no discernible path into the forest. Do you...

• Use your machete to hack your way through the undergrowth?
• Try to climb a tree to see if there is a path nearby?
• Follow the tree line left (north) to see if you can find a path that way?
• Follow the tree line right (south) to see if you can find a path that way?
• Turn around and go home?

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
After Dr. Wong has given you your map, as well as checking over your supplies, she sends you out to meet a young man by the name of Barnaby, who shuttles you out to one of the expedition areas. After all, if everyone is exploring right next to the Outpost, there won't be much by the way of discovery, will there?

After Barnaby leaves you, you look around. You are at the base of a rocky hill, and to the west you can see mountains. To the east, the forest is thick and dense. Do you...

• Climb the hill?
• Investigate the rocks at the base of the hill?
• Head west towards the mountains?
• Head east towards the forest?
• Turn around and go home?

[Ember]

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: Ember
Drake(s): 033 - Eldritch


So excited for RP-y stuff!

[SeaCrest]

Ember
After Dr. Wong has given you your map, as well as checking over your supplies, she sends you out to meet a young man by the name of Barnaby, who shuttles you out to one of the expedition areas. After all, if everyone is exploring right next to the Outpost, there won't be much by the way of discovery, will there?

After Barnaby leaves you, you look around. You're on the bank of a wide river, which flows down from the mountains north of you. On the map, you can see that there is a dormant volcano in that direction. The river flows south. Do you...

• Head north to the mountains (and the volcano)?
• Follow the river south?
• Enter the forest to the west?
• Stay where you are and do a spot of fishing?
• Turn around and go home?

[Saturnalia]

Vay is a girl of medium height, hair buzzed close to nearly-bald level, faint violet tattoos on her face. Her bone structure is just blocky enough to not be full elf, but her pointed ears make it clear that she isn't fully human, either. Lilac eyes, a trademark in her family, gaze out at her surroundings, mostly calmly, but with a subtly hard glint to them. She's no stranger to taking care of herself.

She looks around after Barnaby leaves, politely thanking him for taking the trouble to bring her out. The drake at her side is all darks and brights, quite striking, and gazes from side to side eagerly, clearly glad to be out and about.

Vay sighs, but the touch of exasperation to it can't fully hide that she is also excited to be exploring a new place. "Well, they wanted me to get out after the last incident, so I might as well make the best of it, eh, Cavaiya?"

In response, the drake looks up, tail slashing the air impatiently, and Vay laughs. "All right, all right, let's go. You choose the way."

Cavaiya doesn't waste another moment, and bounds forward, straight to the rocks at the bottom of the hill, clearly determined to investigate them.

(Option 2!)

[Ember]

Ember looks around as Barnaby leaves, taking in the area she was dropped off at as the eerie black drake twines around her legs. He spends some time sniffing the ground right around her feet before peeling away from her and following whatever interesting scent his nose has caught. Ember watches him go with a small smile before pulling the map out of her pocket and trying to think of where to go.

She's not exactly keen on the idea of climbing mountains but even despite that she is rather interested in a volcano. She decides to head north to the volcano and once she starts moving Eldritch's head comes up and his eyes follow her for a moment before he bounds after her with his dizzying eyes still pinned along his back.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
The rocks are uneven, some of them perched precariously on others, so that your explorations turn into an exercise of strength and balance. As you and your drake investigate the nooks and crannies, your drake notices what appears to be a very tiny entrance to a cave. Do you...

• Try to widen the mouth of the cave?
• Ignore the cave and continue your exploration?
• Send your drake in alone?
• Turn around and go home?

Ember
The trek to the mountains takes a long time. Along the way, you come across a grove of some strange fruit trees. Before you continue, what do you do?

• Take a piece of fruit.
• Leave the fruit. You don't know what it is, and whether or not it is poisonous.
• Stop and see if other creatures have been eating the fallen fruit.
• Turn around and go home.

[YourLoveOnly]

I'd like to climb a tree and look for a path that way.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
Selecting a sturdy-looking tree, you begin to climb. It is arduous work, and your drake reaches the top long before you do. By the time you reach the top, your original purpose in climbing the tree has been forgotten, in favor of the Wild Egg that your drake is peering at with some incredulity. It is about the size of a duck's egg. Do you...

• Take the egg?
• Leave the egg and go back to looking for a path?
• See if you can locate the parents?
• Open your Encyclopedia to read about the nesting habits of ore drakes before you make a decision?
• Turn around and go home?

[Ember]

It has already been a long journey and Ember pauses to take a rest among a grove of trees. Eldritch seems especially pleased with the rest location, bounding around the trees. She laughs at the drake's antics and decides to stop for a while longer and see if anything else has eaten the fruit. Or intends to. She's not sure much will show up with an energetic drake on the loose and a human nearby but she thinks it's worth looking around herself to see if something has been munching on the fruit. Maybe it's safe to eat?

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Upon close examination of some fallen fruit, you note that several bear the teeth marks of what appears to be a drake, or several drakes. However, what is edible for drakes may not be edible for humans...

Will you...

• Offer the fruit to your drake?
• Taste the fruit yourself?
• Collect some fruit for further examination later?
• Leave the fruit and continue onwards?
• Turn around and go home?

[Ember]

"Well...looks like your kind have been into these things," Ember tells Eldritch. He tilts his head in her direction briefly at her words before resuming his cavorting. She considers seeing if he'll take one from her hands but ultimately decides he's been bouncing around them without much interest in them for the moment so she shrugs and collects some fruit for later. Maybe someone can tell her later what they are and if they're any good. She makes sure to grab ones that are not already nibbled on and shoves them into her pack.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You obtained 1x Sunfruit!

You continue on your way, well rested and now burdened with fruit that may or may not be edible. Cresting a hill, you note that the river is fed by a series of small waterfalls. The waterfalls do not block your path, but they could be interesting. Do you...

• Continue north towards the mountains (and the volcano)?
• Change course and head towards the waterfalls?
• Explore the surrounding vegetation?
• Turn around and go home?

[Ember]

It was Eldritch that heard it first, some sound that caught his attention over the hill and Ember ran after him to keep up as he took to the air at last in his haste to find out what it was. She gasped when she saw the series of waterfalls and gleefully chased after her drake to head towards the waterfalls.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Upon arrival at the waterfalls, you notice that the water is quite deep. You also notice that there appears to be something glittering below the surface...

Do you...

• Attempt to dive down yourself?
• Send your drake to investigate?
• Ignore the sparkles and continue looking around?
• Turn around and go home?

[Saturnalia]

Vay follows Cavaiya, carefully climbing up and around and over the precarious rocks, careful not to twist an ankle. This would be a bad place for that, she thinks to herself. The drake, meanwhile, is adept at navigating the stones.

Vay notices Cavaiya peering intently, and joins her to see the mouth of the cave. Clearly, the drake is interestedin what's inside.

"Well, let's find out," the half-elf says, and begins trying to move rocks out of the way to widen the mouth of the cave.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
Carefully, you begin widening the mouth of the cave. As soon as the hole is wide enough, your drake rushes inside, to your chagrin. Well, there's nothing for it but to keep digging.

By the time you have widened the hole enough to stick one arm and your head in, your drake is clearly much deeper into the cave than you had anticipated. Eventually, you manage to clear enough space to crawl in. Do you...

• Enter the cave to explore? (you have 1x Lantern in your pack for light)
• Stick your head in only enough to call your drake back?

[Saturnalia]

Well, this isn't quite how I wanted this to go, Vay thinks to herself, as she hustles to clear more from the cave. It's hard to see how far in Cavaiya has gone, but there looks like there should be enough room in climb in after her...

Well, nothing risked, nothing gained; let's hope this isn't my worst idea.

Vay rummages in her pack for the lantern and enters the cave to explore, hoping she can get back out easily enough.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
Although it's a tight fit, you only bump your head once as you wriggle inside. To your surprise, the narrow tunnel widens about one body length in, leaving you in a much bigger cave than you thought. Your drake is there, digging gleefully among the rocks to produce shiny objects that she proceeds to swallow or toss aside as she sees fit. Everything is somewhat grimy, so it's difficult to see what they are, exactly. There are seven or eight of these lumps scattered over the floor.

Do you...

• Pick up the first?
• Pick up the second?
• Pick up the third?
• Pick up the fourth?
• Pick up the fifth?
• Pick up the sixth?
• Pick up the seventh?
• Ignore your drake and examine the walls?

[Saturnalia]

Vay takes a moment to watch Cavaiya as she digs and chomps. The girl assumes that her drake friend knows what she's doing and isn't going to eat anything she shouldn't, though she's pretty curious about what these things might be, and why some are being cast off.

"Whatcha find?" she murmurs as she walks forward a step, bending to pick up the fourth lump.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
You obtained 1x Rough Diamond!

Polishing your chosen lump carefully, you realize that it is a Rough Diamond! Pocketing it, you turn your attention to the cave walls, which aren't very interesting. They're somewhat damp, giving the whole place a rather musty, mildewy smell. It seems to be a dead end, but is it really? Do you...

• Look for another tunnel or cave?
• Go back outside?
• Take a nap?

[Saturnalia]

"Ooh," Vay breathes, as the lump polishes up. "Good find, Vaiya," she says to the drake, carefully tucking the rough diamond away. "Think there's anything else to find?"

She turns in a circle, looking at all of the walls, trying to see if there are any other tunnels. She takes a slow walk around the cavern, trying to judge if there are any breezes or differences in the air that might denote another passageway, glancing at the drake to see if Cavaiya finds anything.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
Your careful examination has paid off; there is a crack just large enough for you to slip through behind a fold in the rock. Do you...

• Squeeze through and explore further?
• Turn around and leave the cave?

[Ember]

"Whoa! Eldritch! Eldritch?" Ember spots something under the water and tries to share the discovery with the only other creature around. The drake in question turns his head to look at her at the sound of his name. He sees Ember pointing at some sparkling point beneath the waves and he begins an aerial dive towards the surface. "Oh...oops," Ember says as she accidentally sends her drake to investigate.

[Saturnalia]

Vay spots the crack, assessing its size. It seemed a shame to leave now, when there might be more to discover!

"Cavaiya," she calls softly, not wanting to create too much echo. "Shall we explore this and see what we manage to find?"

She heads towards the crack, squeezing through to explore more, lantern held in front of her.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You obtained 1x Silver Ore!

Your drake returns with something shiny in their mouth. When you finally coax them to drop their prize, you discover that it is a lump of Silver Ore! Quickly, you pocket the ore and return to exploration. Do you...

• Go for a quick swim yourself?
• Continue looking around the falls?
• Look for another landmark to head towards?
• Turn around and go home?

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
After squeezing yourself through the crack, you find yourself in an eerie place lit by blue light filtering from somewhere up above. Based on the height of the ceiling, you assume that there's a small opening near the top of the hill through which light is coming, although that doesn't explain why it's blue.

Do you...

• Investigate the shallow pool at the center of the cavern?
• Investigate what appears to be a pile of giant bones...?
• Investigate what appears to be some kind of treasure chest? Didn't the DEO say that this island was uninhabited by sentient species?? Hmm...
• Turn around and leave?

[Saturnalia]

Vay takes a moment to let her eyes adjust to the new light source and look around, keeping Cavaiya close to her for the moment. Pool of water, bones... treasure chest? Well, that seems rather out of place.

The chest is the most tempting to look at, but years of past adventuring and training has taught Vay that it's best to make certain there aren't any threats or dangers before grabbing for treasure. She eyes the bones, but ultimately approaches the shallow pool to inspect it and its contents, calling Cavaiya to come with her.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
Upon examining the pool, all you find are a few blind cave-fish, their small white bodies darting around in the water - barely a foot deep, you think, although you don't feel like testing it. They flee from your light, sending ripples through the water. Strangely, you feel rather woozy...

Do you...

• Sit down for a little bit to see if the dizziness passes?
• Investigate what appears to be a pile of giant bones...?
• Investigate what appears to be some kind of treasure chest? Didn't the DEO say that this island was uninhabited by sentient species?? Hm...
• Turn around and leave?

[Saturnalia]

That wooziness is worrisome. Vay wonders if maybe there's something in the cave causing it... she doesn't know enough about the flora and fauna of this place to make more than a guess, though. Perhaps it would be better to leave? But curiosity is also tugging at her. She looks to Cavaiya, wondering if the drake is showing any signs of not feeling well.

The bones are probably a bad sign. If something (or many things) have died in this cave, then it's probably not safe to linger in. The water had held no clues... she wasn't sure the bones would, and that chest was certainly curious.

Stubbornly, though, Vay decides to take a look at the bones, just to see if there are any clues about how they came to be here-- by violence or maybe just natural causes?

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
As you stumble over to the bones, the dizziness suddenly gets much, much worse. You reach the bones just as it gets the best of you, sending you sprawling over the rough, cold floor. Darkness is creeping in at the corners of your vision, and you can see your drake flapping frantically at you as they try to figure out what is wrong. Propping yourself up blearily, you manage to hold onto consciousness to note that the bones look much like you imagine the skeleton of a drake might look, only much, much larger. Black spots obscure your vision before you can try to determine the cause of death, but you take hope in the fact that your drake, at least, appears to be unaffected by whatever is causing your weakness...

When you awaken, you are still in the cave, although you are now laid out on your back, with your pack beneath your head as a sort of rudimentary pillow. Squinting, you sit up, wincing as your head protests the change in orientation, and look around.

Your drake is in your lap, and extremely happy to see you alive and well. Surely your drake couldn't have arranged you like this, so the question remains - who did? You can't see anyone else, and the stone floor is hard enough that the only way you'd see footprints is if someone had something wet on their boots. Something white flickers at the corner of your vision, but as soon as you turn to look at it, it's gone...

Your head feels clear, and apart from the initial disorientation, you feel as healthy as you were when you first entered the cave.

Do you...

• Rest some more?
• Investigate the giant drake skeleton?
• Investigate the treasure...chest...wait, where did the chest go?
• Look for the chest?
• Leave the cave immediately?

[Saturnalia]

That was incredibly bizarre, Vay thinks, getting her bearings as she regains her consciousness. She isn't sure which is more unsettling, that someone arranged her comfortably, or that the chest seems to have vanished. Clearly, she and Cavaiya are not alone, in any case.

"Care to tell me what happened when I passed out?" Vay askes the drake, though she knows she won't get much by way of an answer.

The chest moving, though... well. Vay has heard of some suspicious chests that weren't actually treasure chests, and would prefer to know that it hadn't sprouted legs and begun moving around. She decides to take a look around for the chest. If nothing else, maybe she'd see some drag marks or something if it had been pulled somewhere else...

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
You approach the rocks where the chest was previously wedged, and notice that there are, in fact, marks that indicate someone dragged the chest somewhere else. Who that someone might be - and what that someone might be - were yet to be determined.

Following the marks, however, you come to realize that they lead...into the pool?

Do you...

• Investigate the pool again?
• Investigate the giant drake skeleton?
• Turn around and leave the caves?

[Saturnalia]

Last time Vay went to the pool was when the dizziness set in, making her slightly wary of getting too close again just yet. While she's certainly very curious about where that chest ended up-- especially given how shallow the pool looked-- she decides to carry through with her prior task and thoroughly investigate the skeleton.

"Some giant ancestor of yours, maybe?" she says to Cavaiya as she once again approaches the bones. She keeps an eye out as she does so, hoping to catch any movement in case there's someone else still around.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
To your rather inexperienced eye, the skeleton really does resemble that of a giant drake. It's difficult to tell, of course, given that the skeleton is clearly so old that any connective tissues are long gone, leaving all of the bones collapsed in a heap. Still, you think you see several long, thin bones that don't fit with legs or a tail that must be wing bones, and the proportions seem mostly familiar. Your drake, however, seems not to be particularly interested in the skeleton, and has approached the pool again.

The massive ribcage seems to have something wrapped in dark blue fabric nestled between the fourth and fifth ribs.

Do you...

• Try to reach the bundle without disturbing the bones?
• Reach for the bundle, disturbing the bones in the process?
• Leave the bundle alone and approach the pool again?
• Turn around and leave the caves?

[YourLoveOnly]

I've seen Drake eggs without any parents around before and I also know Drakes have no gender, so I feel pretty safe in assuming there is no mother brooding a nest. I imagine they are more like turtles, where eggs get left somewhere and hatch independently. If I turn out to be wrong and we run into to the parents I'd be more than happy to give them their egg back, but for now I decide to take the egg. If assistance in hatching it would be needed I'm confident the people at the Preserve have the knowledge needed.

[Ryuukokoro]

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: Ryuu (see my avatar for appearance)
Drake(s): 078 - Marbeled Moss

077 - Cross

[Saturnalia]

Vay studies the bones, intrigued by them even if she doesn't know a whole lot about drake skeleton anatomy.  She tries to imagine how such a huge creature had even gotten into this cave, and glances upwards in an attempt to figure that out before turning back to the cloth bundle.

well, that's interesting, she thinks. Studying it for a moment longer, she makes up her mind and reaches in for the bundle, trying as hard as she can to not disturb the bones.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You obtained 1x Wild Egg!

You take the egg, careful to wrap it gently before tucking it into your pack. It's a bit tricky to maneuver at the top of the tree, but you manage. Do you...

• Go back to looking for a path?
• Climb back down?

Ryuukokoro || Ryuu
After Dr. Wong has given you your map, as well as checking over your supplies, she sends you out to meet a young man by the name of Barnaby, who shuttles you out to one of the expedition areas. After all, if everyone is exploring right next to the Outpost, there won't be much by the way of discovery, will there?

After Barnaby leaves you, you look around. You are on the shore of a small lake, with a sandy sort of beach and some reeds. Do you...

• Go for a swim?
• Look around some more?
• Investigate the reeds?
• Turn around and go home?

Saturnalia || Vayshedruvon
As your fingers brush the bundle, without warning, the world goes black. You're still awake, you can feel the fabric beneath your fingers and the rocks pressing into your knees, but you can't see a thing. After a second, the darkness passes, and you can see again. As you blink, shaking your head a little, you catch that white flash out of the corner of your eye again, and turn, to find a nearly pure white drake perched on a nearby rock, wings spread for balance. There is a single spot of black on the drake's forehead as it stares at you, but you can't tell if it's threatening or not. You vaguely remember seeing this drake in the office at the preserve, just before you left. What is it doing here?

Do you...

• Leave the bundle and back away?
• Hold onto the bundle and back away?
• Stay where you are and try to offer something to eat to the drake? You have no food for the drake...

[YourLoveOnly]

With the egg safely stored I continue looking for a path

[Ember]

Ember pets Eldritch's head after she puts away the silver ore. "Such a good boy, yes you are," she tells him, even knowing he doesn't really have a gender. He huffs pleasantly at her before bounding away and back into the water again. Apparently he's a fan of it? With a hum Ember decides to continue looking around the falls since she's already there.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
Holding onto the branches tightly, you lean out until you can sort of see through the trees. They're still very thick, but you think you spot a sort of clearing that you think you could get to over to the north. There's also the telltale sparkle of sunlight on water to the west, although you're not sure what kind of body of water that might be. Both directions look like you'd be able to find your way to them without too much trouble, although you'll probably have to bushwhack or make detours around thick vegetation.

Do you...

• Climb down and head north?
• Climb down and head west?
• Stay where you are and take a nap?
• Climb down and go home?

Ember
You continue looking around the falls. They're not very tall, maybe ten or twelve feet in height, but the spray is nice and refreshing as it wafts over you in the breeze. As you continue wandering around, you suddenly come across what appears to be a cage...the perfect size for an adult drake. There's even a shiny bit of bismuth inside as a lure. Carefully, you back away, and make sure that your drake doesn't go anywhere near the trap.

Do you...

• Find something to trip the trap so that it closes and no wild drakes will get trapped?
• Disarm the trap by destroying it or otherwise damaging it?
• Leave the trap alone and hurry away.

[YourLoveOnly]

I like water :3 West please!

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You head west, fighting your way through the thick vegetation as best as you can, your drake flitting among the trees. You're quite thirsty, so you hope that the water source is drinkable. Before you reach it, however, you stumble across a bush full of small, rather oddly shaped berries. They're half deep purple, and half creamy green, with little individual globes clustered together, much like a blackberry. The colors are mixed together with no rhyme or reason, and if it weren't for the half-eaten fruits scattered on the ground, you probably would have assumed that they weren't ripe yet.

Do you...

• Sample the berries yourself?
• Offer one to your drake?
• Leave the berries and continue onwards?

[Ember]

Ember gasps upon finding a trap of all things - especially one that looks meant for drakes! She considers just tripping it and leaving it but with the lure still inside it she doesn't want to encourage any wild drakes to linger around trying to get at it despite the cage as a barrier. She quickly looks around trying to find some way to disarm it by damaging it.