{Ore Drakes} The Expedition Outpost | OPEN

[Ember]

Ember glances over at Vili with a small smile. "I didn't know he was tailing me but it's definitely not his first time looking out for me. He and Tea saved me after I...uh...fell into a river. Bumped my head. She really is very tough, and very kind." She gives the drake a little wave, grateful for him helping her out.

"Actually! I did wonder...I found a trap the first time I was out here, do you know anything about it? Is that a poacher thing?" She couldn't resist asking about the trap.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Clara frowns, shifting her weight. "Yeah, it's a poacher thing. Dumb f*cks think the drakes'll take anything shiny, even if it's an obvious trap. I try to get rid of them as I find them but Odekka's huge and I'm only one person. Ellen was talking about hiring more rangers but it'd be a pity to have more humans running around on the island. The drakes don't deserve it. Where'd you find it? If it's been a while it's probably not there anymore but I'd appreciate it if you reported any other traps you find. I guess you could handle them yourself if you want but don't make any danger for yourself. We've got at least one poacher still on the loose, I haven't caught them yet. Pretty tall, probably north of six feet, and got a thing for sweets. Littering all over the place, d*mn them. If you find any wrappers I'm sure Ellen would appreciate it if you picked them up. Not your job, nor mine, but we've gotta do what we gotta do. Anything else?"

Do you...

• Ask about the terrain?
• Thank her and say your goodbyes?

[Ember]

Ember frowns and shakes her head in disgust. Poachers are some of the literal worst. She describes where she found the trap and what she did with it. "If I see any more I'll let you know for sure, even if I deal with them it's probably good to know where they're setting them at least. Speaking of, anything I should know about the terrain?"

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra makes her observations about the shore, and notes the nesting drakes. It seems that they really can adapt to living in a great many places, which is admirable.

While the cliff face might be a tempting challenge, Shaydra doesn't particularly feel like injuring herself by trying to climb down it, so she continues uphill.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Clara thinks for a moment. "If Barnaby dropped you off where I think he did, you've already found the marsh. Steer clear of it, if you haven't. There's a series of caves west of here. I recommend making yourself a map or marking your trail, or Barnaby will never find your bones. Tea said there's open fields out east, with room to run, if you're into that. Other than that, we're pretty well surrounded by forest here. It's a decent trek to the caves."

Do you...

• Head west?
• Head east?
• Head north?
• Head south?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You continue uphill, coming to a rocky plateau that seems quite deserted. Some goat or sheep tracks, and their dung, tell you that the animals were here earlier, possibly even yesterday. Fragrant herbs dot the plateau, some of them leafy, some of them grassy, some of them flowering.

Do you...

• Continue northwest?
• Head west?
• Head northeast?

[Ember]

Ember thanks Clara for her time and decides to set out once again with her drakes in tow. There wasn't much mentioned about the north or south which makes her almost more interested in them so she heads north.

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra reaches the plateau, taking a moment to get her bearings and look around. Chem sniffs around a bit at things, but there doesn't seem to be anything overly exciting right here, so the pair decide to continue northwest.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You head north into the forest, quickly losing sight of the marsh. The vegetation is quite thick here, and you eventually are forced to change direction. Do you...

• Try to go left?
• Try to go right?
• Go back the way you came?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You continue northwest, coming to a small group of rissica berry bushes. Do you...

• Pick some berries?
• Continue northwest?
• Head west?
• Head northeast?

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra recognizes the berries. "Ahh, these can be useful," she comments aloud, glancing at Chem. She decides to pick a small quantity of the berries, assuming they'll go to good use at some point in the future.

[Ember]

Ember tries to go right.

[SeaCrest]

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You have obtained 2x Rissica Berry!

You pick some berries and stow them carefully before moving on. The forest begins again at the far side of the plateau ahead of you, but it seems a long way away, and there is little cover here. If you feel threatened, there's nowhere to hide. Do you...

• Continue northwest?
• Head west?
• Head northeast?

Ember
You head right, fighting through the vegetation until you stumble, quite literally, into a pond, just inside a clearing in the forest. You're lucky; of all the places where you could have entered the clearing, you had to end up where the edge of the pond was. There seems to be something shiny in the mud beneath your feet...

Do you...

• Dig for the shiny object?
• Get out of the pond and try to wash off your feet?

[Ember]

Ember digs for that shiny!

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra tucks away the berries and then considers her options. She glances up at the sun overhead, and at the lack of trees, shade, and cover in general. She glances to Chem, who sits, stoically staring around and patiently waiting for someone else to make the decision.

With another look to either side, Shaydra decides to veer west.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You have obtained 1x Gold Ore!

You pick up the shiny object and rinse it off to reveal a Gold Ore! A nice find. You put it away carefully after wading out of the pond and washing off your feet. Straightening up, you consider your options. There are several "paths" leading out of the clearing, although they may not lead anywhere. They could just be dead ends.

Do you...

• Take the northern path?
• Take the eastern path?
• Take the southeastern path?
• Take the southern
• Take the western path?
• Take the northwestern path?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You veer west, crossing over the plateau and coming to a lone, twisted tree, gnarled with age and saltwater. Threaded through its branches is some kind of tattered silk remnant, faded with age but definitely some kind of blue or purple solid, with one edge picked out with gold thread that sparkles in the sunlight.

Do you...

• Pull the remnant down?
• Leave it and continue west?

[Ember]

Ember takes the northern path.

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra regards the remnant, wondering what it could be from. There isn't a lot of human (or humanoid) articles around the island, so it certainly stands out as being rather different. Carefully, she reaches up and retrieves the remnant from the branches to look it over.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You take the northern path, feeling the slight in your calves as the ground beneath your feet slopes up slightly, then evens back out. Everything looks very similar, and you hope you won't get lost wandering in circles this time. Maybe you should mark your path. Do you...

• Make little piles of pebbles as trail markers?
• Use your machete to score a mark into the trees?
• Draw in the dirt?
• Leave no marks and carry on?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
Examining the scrap, it appears to be the remains of a light dress or overrobe, the silk stained by saltwater and what appears to be dried blood. An article of clothing worn by someone aboard a ship that wrecked nearby, perhaps?

Do you...

• Head back toward the beach to see if you can find the wreck?
• Take the remnant and continue west?
• Bury the remnant and continue west?

[Ember]

Ember has very recent memories of getting turned around repeatedly and frankly the terrain doesn't look all that different from then. Probably time to mark her way again. Scoring the trees would be one of the best ways but she doesn't like carving into them as an idea. The piles of pebbles could be disturbed but it's a start so she does that.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Carefully, you make little piles of pebbles at regular intervals, hoping that if you mark your path you'll be able to tell if you're doubling back or veering off course. Your drakes knock over a couple as you leave them behind, but enough remain standing that you don't bother turning back to fix them up.

It seems to work, and you end up at the edge of a copse of oddly white trees, their slender trunks completely white, as if they have been leeched of all color. Their leaves are somewhat spade-shaped and quite plush, but they, too, are pure white.

Do you...

• Go around the copse?
• Go through the copse?

[Ember]

"Those...are not birch trees," Ember says to her drakes as she marvels at the pure white trees she discovers. "Not quaking aspens either since they're...too white. Maybe some kind of aspen though?" Her mumbling about the trees done, Ember starts making her way through the copse.

[YourLoveOnly]

Uh-oh! Well, only one sensible solution now, I guess, since I don't really fancy another full on swim. I lay down on my stomach and put my hands on either side of the raft, which luckily isn't too big. I'll try to use my hands to peddle the raft in the right direction, although I guess any direction is a step in the right direction at this point XD

[SeaCrest]

Ember
As you make your way through the copse, you realize that there are no creature sounds surrounding you. It appears that the creatures of the forest avoid this place. You wonder why.

You're beginning to grow sleepy. Do you...

• Stop and take a nap?
• Go back the way you came?
• Keep going?

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You manage to paddle yourself enough that the raft drifts to your right while spinning slightly, bumping into a thick cluster of reeds before you suddenly notice what appears to be a large yellow eye staring at you from a scant two feet away.

Do you...

• Get out your machete?
• Keep paddling?
• Try to jump to shore, which is reasonably close enough if your raft doesn't move while you get up?

[YourLoveOnly]

Eek! However I am reluctant to try and attack or kill something, so the machete is not an option. Sudden movements don't seem too smart either, so let's just keep paddling.. Fingers crossed!

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You keep paddling, trying to get yourself to the edge of the swamp while keeping an eye on the...eye.

It takes you a few minutes before you realize that it hasn't moved, or blinked, since you first spotted it. Maybe it's not actually an alligator? Dr. Farrowstead did say there were no large predators on the island...

You manage to paddle away from the eye and back towards the center of the swamp, which is not, precisely, what you had intended, but it's progress nonetheless. Eventually, after many exhausting minutes, you manage to guide your craft to shore. It's not where you intended to end up, but you're tired and want to get off the water.

You climb up onto the bank, wincing as your feet sink down into the mud before you move to more solid ground, and look around. There is an open bank to your left, littered with leaves and branches below a sweeping willow. To your right, the swamp curves around. Ahead, the forest is thick and you can't really see anything.

Do you...

• Go left?
• Go straight?
• Go right?

[Country]

ADVENTURER'S PERMIT APPLICATION
Name: Country
Drake(s):114 - Haru

[SeaCrest]

Country
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?

[Ember]

Ember shivers. It's unnaturally quiet in the copse and despite her tiredness there's no way she's stopping for a rest there. Backtracking might take just as long as going forward, so she decides to keep going.

[Country]

Country looks around at the thick trees, might as well dive in and make my own path. Country begins hacking her way through the heavy undergrowth with her machete.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
At some point, you end up on the forest floor, sprawled beneath the white trees in a deep sleep as your drakes join you in slumber. Minutes, hours, days - it isn't clear how long you lay there, since nothing moves in this white thicket, and no leaves catch in your clothes or hair, no insects crawl on you, no animals pick at your pack.

You are woken some undetermined time later by a black drake with white eyes and a white circle on its forehead, prodding at you with a pointed wingtip. Blearily, you open your eyes, fighting against the fatigue - and then the soreness as your muscles protest your prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position. You have grass in your mouth.

The drake beckons to you, having apparently already woken up your drakes.

Do you...

• Follow the drake?
• Lay back down?
• Grab your stuff and run?

Country
After the first couple of whacks, a gunshot rings out, a bullet embedding itself in the tree next to you. You spin around.

"I don't recommend harming anything on this island," a hard-faced woman informs you sternly, a rifle trained on you. "Didn't Ellen give you the rundown? This is a protected area."

Do you...

• Respond angrily?
• Respond politely?

[Ember]

How. How did she end up falling asleep? Ember's really not sure and she groans as she gets to her feet, blearily following the drake. It woke her up after all and that seems to be a very good thing right now.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
With the drake periodically prodding you, you make it to the edge of the grove, where suddenly you feel revitalized in a way you hadn't even after your prolonged nap as you leave the strange white trees behind. The drake circles you once, appearing to be examining you, and, seemingly satisfied, leaves immediately. You make a note on your map to have Dr. Wong mark this area as off-limits. Who knows how long you would have lain there if the black drake hadn't woken you up?

Do you...

• Head north?
• Head west?
• Head east?

[Ember]

"Okaaaaay, white trees bad, thank you," Ember comments, and appreciates, the black drake before it flies away. "They are pretty though...even if they are creepy." Her drakes nose at her and she laughs as Andromeda finds a ticklish spot. "Yeah, yeah, moving away from them now. Further north, then?"

[YourLoveOnly]

I'll go left towards the willow

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You head north, picking your way through low shrubs and birch trees as you approach a river. Do you...

• Head upriver?
• Head downriver?
• Cross the river?

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You head left, ducking easily under the willow tree's sweeping branches. Twigs crunch underfoot as you make your way through, only to stop when you notice something shiny at the foot of the willow. Do you...

• Pick up the shiny?
• Leave the shiny and continue on?
• Climb the tree?

[YourLoveOnly]

Pick up the shiny!

[Ember]

Ember heads upriver.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You pick up the shiny, and find a Gold Ore!

You have obtained 1x Gold Ore!

Carrying on, you come to a series of strange rocks that look a bit like giant plant sprouts, vaguely conical in shape and coming up to nearly your waist. They're quite thick at their base, and a patchy grey color that indicates that they're some kind of uneven mix of minerals.

Do you...

• Examine the rocks more closely?
• Mark them on your map and move on?

Ember
You head upriver, although it's quite flat here and the only way to tell that you're headed inland is the direction of the slow-moving waters of the river. Because it's so flat here, the river is quite lazy, winding gently. At some points it's so shallow that you could cross and get no more wet than if you'd stepped into a puddle.

Do you...

• Continue upriver?
• Cross the river at one of these shallow points?

[Ember]

Ember figures she may regret it later but for now a safe way to cross a river is a blessing so she finds a shallow point to cross at.

[YourLoveOnly]

I'd like to examine them more closely

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You cross the river, and as you step onto dry land on the other side, something sparkly catches your eye. Before you can grab it, one of your drakes swallows it.

Well. So much for that.

You can continue heading upstream, or you can head into the forest on this side of the river. Do you...

• Continue upstream?
• Head north into the forest?

YourLoveOnly || YLO
You examine the rocks more closely, noting that they look similar to a certain type of tree you're vaguely familiar with, with bark that peels off in patchy layers. You circle them, finding nothing else of interest. Do you...

• Touch a stone?
• Mark the rocks on your map and move on?

[Ember]

Continue upstream!

[SeaCrest]

Ember
You continue upstream, enjoying the sunshine and the light breeze. Presently, you find yourself climbing a steep hill, and when you reach the top, you realize that you are now at the bottom of a sheer cliff face. You heard the roaring of the waterfall, but you'd thought it was only rapids. There's no heading upstream now, not without climbing gear; the wall is much too sheer and slippery to scale safely.

Do you...

• Turn right and look for a path at the base of the cliff?
• Turn right and head into the forest?

[Ember]

Ember glances up the sheer face of the cliff and sighs. So much for continuing that way. She turns right to see if there's a path.

[Saturnalia]

Shaydra takes a moment to study the remnant of cloth, attempting to figure out just what (or who) it could have been from. It's hard to tell just how old it might be.

With a glance back to the trees, she heads back towards the beach, curious if there's a wreck somewhere.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
After a while, you find what appears to be a narrow, natural path that slopes up the side of the cliff, steep and, in some places, broken through. Do you...

• Climb the path?
• Look for a more reliable way up the cliff?
• Head into the forest?

Saturnalia || Shaydra
You head back toward the beach, taking a more direct route and cutting across the plateau to where you know you can get back down to the beach. Once there, you can see no obvious signs of a shipwreck. Do you...

• Head left, back around the curve of the bay?
• Head right, around the back of the beach to the base of the cliffs you saw earlier, where the drakes are nesting?

[YourLoveOnly]

Touch a stone!

[Ember]

Let's be real, Ember's been on so many adventures and lived so YOLO she goes up that path.

[SeaCrest]

YourLoveOnly || YLO
Somewhat disappointingly, touching the stone does absolutely nothing. They're a normal temperature, slightly cool from the shade, and rough to the touch, but otherwise unremarkable.  You shake your head, mark them on your map, and move on, coming to a wide swathe of rocky ground cutting straight through the forest.

Do you...

• Head uphill?
• Head downhill?
• Cut across and continue into the forest?

Ember
The path is narrow, uneven, and right next to a long fall. Carefully, you sidle up the path, muscles tense as you come to the first break in the rock. It's small, and luckily for you, easily spanned with a slightly larger step. It's the ones further up that give you trouble. You're trying not to look down too much, but you kind of have to now.

There's a tiny, tiny lip that you might be able to balance on briefly instead of trying to leap sideways across the chasm. Do you...

• Pretend you're a spider and try to cling to the wall as you sidle across?
• Jump! What could possibly go wrong?
• Go back down and find a safer route?

[Ember]

Time to attempt to be spider-man.

[SeaCrest]

Ember
Holding on - barely - by your fingertips and toetips, somewhat off-balance due to your pack, you start to shift your weight to the center of the gap, with the intention of making a second step across to the other side.

You don't make it.

Something slips, and you're unable to recover. Despite the valiant attempts of your drakes to slow your fall, you slide down several feet until you end up wedged between two rocks, your limbs contorted oddly, but, thankfully, nothing broken. You should really buy a lottery ticket.

You're unable to see the ground from where you're wedged. Do you...

• Take a risk and try to just jump down?
• See if your drakes can tell you how far you have to go?
• Wiggle until you can get yourself re-situated for a climb and try to climb/slide down to the ground?
• Against all common sense, try to climb back up?