| Midgard | |||
Random Encounter |
A new day is about to dawn upon the subterranean town of the Undercity. You wake up after a good night's sleep, snuggled up warmly against Apple Basket and Moonflower.
Moonflower: "Mmh... mornin'!"
Apple Basket: "S'it time already?"
You sit up to stretch, then take a look at the time. The clock on the wall indicates half past three. Time to get rolling!
Smoke: "Yeah, yeah, I'm awake..."
You and your friends slide out of bed, then head to the kitchen, and begin to prepare breakfast together. A plain but filling bowl of gruel later — with a few extra gemstones for Smoke —, you feel satiated, and ready to tackle the day.
You equip 2 Mirror Shin Guards, Tempered Simple Breastplate, Trailblazer's Magic Saddlebags, and Star Hairpin.
After gathering your things, you exit the residence, and head to the western checkpoint for the rest of your belongings. As you pass through the districts, you find their streets brightly lit up by colourful lamps and panels, and just as crowded as they were during the day.
Once at the checkpoint, you retrieve your party's equipment from the locker. Having by far the most storage space, you agree to carry their clothes in your sidereal bag for now.
You get Auburn Knit Cap, Beige Earmuffs, 8 Black Snow Boots, Charcoal Coat, Charcoal Ushanka, Grey Coat, Grey Muffler, Magic Sword Scabbard, Sienna Coat, 2 Tan Mufflers, and 4 Taupe Snow Boots.
Now ready to depart, you follow Justice's directions to the southern checkpoint, and use the emergency exit there. On the other side, a seemingly endless stone tunnel stretches in front of you, dimly lit by evenly spaced exit signs.
You equip Blue Striped Scarf, and Magic Sword Scabbard.
You spend what feels much longer than the next hour walking through the tunnel, and while there seems to be no end in sight for the longest time, Moonflower assures you that she can hear it approaching.
When you finally emerge outside, you are greeted by a wave of cold, still air, and the refreshing smell of pine trees. A thick forest of red conifers covers the area, and far above, you catch a glimpse of the dark blue sky behind an otherwise cloudy ceiling.
Guided by your compass, you make your way south into the silent wilderness for about another hour. By the time you begin to hear distant ocean waves, the sky has begun to brighten, turning to a dull shade of pink.
You soon reach the edge of the forest, and find yourselves out on a gravel beach, facing the massive spire of clouds over the bay. Along the coast, you spot your sailboat in the distance, and a small camp nearby.
As you get closer, you notice that the crew is already up and hard at work. Bright Logic, Justice and Novelty seem to be having a conversation, while Rocket Rush is face down on the deck, focused on some machinery. Justice greets you as you arrive.
Justice: "You're early. Good. The longer we're out here, the greater the risk. I take it you're ready to explore the Mists?"
You look over to your party, nod, then confirm that you are ready.
Justice: "As we are. Rocket is performing one last checkup, then we'll—"
Before Justice can finish her sentence, Rocket Rush cheerfully pops out of the boat to interject.
Rocket Rush: "Actually, we're all done and good to go!"
Bright Logic: "Uhb, yes, just one sball probleb. Accordig to by galgulatiods, the vessel can odly garry the weight of up to four podies. I, for wod, huhbly religquish by rightful place aboard."
Novelty: "As do I. Eleven and I will be guiding you from the shore."
Justice: "Well, you heard them. Only four of us can safely get on board. Since it's your sailboat, I'll leave it up to you to choose who gets to venture into the Mists, and who will stay and wait here."
Enter a comment
2: Trailblazer is on a quest to protect Moonflower...
3: Justice has a mission of his own, but might have his own thoughts on that. We should ask rather than assume.
4: Rocket has more experience relevant to our objective (and personally, I would feel better with Apple Basket left safely with the rest on shore. Experience might be a good thing, but to much to soon can be fatal...).
[Not really the hard choice it would seem, once you think about it.]
Moonflower has to be on board, for obvious reasons.
We also need somepony to drive the boat and Rocket Rush is the best choice. She already went into the Mists three times and is as prepared for this as anypony could be.
The third spot should go to the brave (and handsome) Trailblazer . Admittedly for the very selfish reason of us wanting to see Yggdrasil with our own eyes. But also because we’re on a quest to get rid of the Philosopher’s Stone.
And finally: Apple Basket. Didn’t he want to become an adventurer to see more of the world? Now he could be one of the first creatures in centuries to visit Yggdrasil. Of course, we don’t want to pressure him into doing something dangerous. If he feels uncomfortable about venturing into The Mists, we should accept it and pick Smoke instead.
(Tl:dr: Moonflower, Rocket Rush, Trailblazer and Apple Basket or Smoke, if the former refuses)
It's a matter of experience, friendship, and... something else. Not sure there. Oh wait, I am sure: It's a matter of commitments to keep some members of the group safe, vs going on ALL adventures with them.
Moonflower is definitely in, and Smoke is tough enough to bring along...
But Apple Basket might want to stay behind, since we're going into the unknown. Adventuring IS dangerous, and we've already seen a lot of magical/monstrous critters along the way here. We don't know what might be in there.
So... we need to make a decision there. It's a concern, but not a definite no. Also, there's the consideration that we might need Rocket Rush or Justice, since having someone familiar with the new equipment might be very useful too.
Then again, Apple Basket IS our sailor for this trip... so that might make the decision there.
So unless anyone has strong objections, the party should probably be: You, Moonflower, Justice, Rocket Rush.