Event | Landfall | Bresilyk | Phorezton

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: December 3 - 11, 2013
Location: Phorezton, Bresilyk (landfall)
Situation: Tu Vishan makes landfall at the winterbound republic of Bresilyk!
Warnings/Rating: Please include warnings in comment subject lines

OOC Post | Approved Items | Special Gifts
Aihsohlow | Phorezton | Markutte | Countryside

The smokey, warm home of the wood miners guild. This is a thriving secondary industry, with the center of town being devoted to an elevator that descends into a large cavern in which a strange form of fungus grows that possesses many of the same traits of wood. The majority of the town works at some job related to the Rhook fungus, either in the mining or the processing of it. They build and sell beautiful Rhook furniture, carts, and other wood-based paraphernalia here. A number of auctions are held here, with the items often bearing a smokey scent or bit of ash - explained as having been recovered from the ashes of a recent fire.

All visitors must report to their customs entry, an easy diversion given that it is the only entry into the town. Provision of an adequate gift will result in their tin visa being stamped with a series of lines that looks like the rings of a tree. The police here are marginally more relaxed about proof of identification, but they are sharply on the lookout for arson and any property-related crimes. There is a smokey scent hanging in the air and a whole section of the city is little more than a warm, charred cinder. Questions about this earn the explanation of a dark mindset overcoming half the residents of that area only two months back and it worsened quickly into strife. One night, the area went up in flames and many of the residents perished with their homes and nearly the whole town was lost. Since then, they have been careful about fires and changes in personality both, with many residents currently residing in jail until their foul tempers dissipate.

Customs | Settlement | Auctions | Harvest Haul | Other

Comments

CUSTOMS

[ironwood]

Phorezton recently suffered a tragedy at the hands of fire and the local authorities have not fully ruled out the potential of an outside influence contributing to the situation, so the customs officials here are more particular about who accesses their dome. There are only six officials employed at customs and it is closed from sunset until sunrise, with only departure allowed if there is an emergency. Questions asked of visitors include probing for incendiary tools or devices, a key concern for the wood miner's guild. Those found possessing them will be catalogued and occasionally checked upon by the settlement's police to ensure that their inventoried items have not changed. All those that provide a gift for the Harvest Haul will be granted access, with a date and a series of lines that looks like the rings of a tree stamped onto their tin visa card.

Open

[cmdreffingshepard]

[Shepard is always more than willing to answer questions - safety first, and all - and really, in the long run, being searched is a minor annoyance. She doesn't carry weapons with her anymore, not like she would back home.

Still - the bits of information she's gleaning from the customs agent in this settlement are worrying.]

Something isn't right here.

Open

[andaway]

So I'm not the only one who gets that feeling.

[Clark is just putting his glasses back up after an exhaustive search when he turns to loo at her. He had honestly allowed them to search him without much complaining. He understood safety measures as much as anyone, and at least this was way less invasive than blood tests and the sort. He'd actually sneaked into the mainland with Aquaman that time, instead of letting them find- whatever they would find in a Kryptonian blood sample with the right tools.

But the way the officials are acting does make him raise an eyebrow.]

[cmdreffingshepard]

Being searched is one thing, but there's just something not right about this whole place. [It's not even just the authorities, either, though the talk about a recent fire in this settlement definitely got Shepard's attention.]

Have you talked to people in any of the other settlements? There's... a strange sort of undercurrent, I think.

[andaway]

[He gives her a shake of his head.] This is my first stop in this land. But I did notice some... unease, some general nervousness. But I thought it could just have been me.

[People usually like sharing on their own more than being questioned so he's learned to make a show of knowing little, at first. Not to mention his experiences in the mainland have all been painful at best so he is keeping an eye out for any possible weirdness. ]

[cmdreffingshepard]

[Shepard shakes her head a little.] I did wonder if I was imagining things. It's not like we know what this place is usually like, so we don't have anything to compare it to. But - this fire they're talking about.

And I've had some chats with some of the locals. There's something they're not saying. Wonder if it has anything to do with our evil spirit. [that last bit, she lowers her voice for slightly - she doesn't want anyone Nearby to overhear and get upset.]

[andaway]

[He nods, that had been pretty much his first thought about the whole thing as well. He hates that they know so little of what they are facing, and what they know is that he could be anywhere, anytime, any person and they wouldn't know.]

It's hard to investigate without raising suspicion or getting people on edge. [A beat.] More on edge, anyway. And nervous, suspicious people never tell everything they know.

[cmdreffingshepard]

Yeah. Back home, I would've had the authority to conduct whatever investigations I saw fit, but that's not the case here, and it seems like doing anything like that would probably just make things worse, anyway.

[Shepard frowns. Maybe they should just let it go? She's not good at that, though. She's used to making everything her business.]

[andaway]

Really? What kind of authority, if you don't mind me asking? [As a journalist he never really had any official authority, but the press card did open some doors even if it closed others.

He's also curious what she will tell Clark, since the time they talked about their line of job she talked to Superman.]

[cmdreffingshepard]

I'm a Spectre - it's tough to explain to someone who isn't familiar with the system of government in my universe, but we have a lot of freedom to act outside the law if we believe it's necessary.

[She looks a little uncomfortable - she's never been a huge fan of the kinds of things other Spectres sometimes do, and even when she does them herself, she frequently questions herself about it.]

Closed to 616!Bucky

[flamingshortshorts]

He can smell the smoke in the air easily, because if there is one thing Toro will always know, it's fire. He's curious and looking out to see what's going on, but being in line does kind of make it harder to get a good view. And then he gets to the customs desk and the questions are rather...specific.

"Incendiary devices?" He looks down at himself and holds up his hand. "Uh, yeah, but it's not the kind I can just get rid of."

Well that obviously is not the answer they were looking for because another official is being called and things are a lot more intense. They're wanting to search him and check his bag and what the hell. "Hey! I'm not going to light the place on fire. That's not a match you're smelling, that's me!"

[beganwithamask]

Bucky is, of course, standing right behind him, waiting to be admitted into the next town. He hasn't had any problems with customs so far, but when he starts to get closer in line, and starts to smell the ash and smoke drifting off the area, he starts to worry about his best friend in front of him.

Of course they're gonna be suspicious. Of course.

But he's nothing if not a pal, so when the customs officials start swarming Toro, he shoves his way to the other man's side, hand on his shoulder. "Aw, c'mon fellas, we don't want any trouble. He just naturally smells like this." He lowers his voice a little. "Between you guys and me, he's got a medical condition, y'know? Sweat glands don't work right. Poor guy." He lightly punches Toro in the shoulder, what seems to be an 'I'm here for you buddy' gesture, but really says 'Shut up about you setting things on fire'.

[flamingshortshorts]

"What? Buck--" he cuts himself off when Bucky punches him in the shoulder, taking the cue for what it means. He still doesn't like getting insulted by Bucky while he's got these jerks acting like he's waiting to burn the town down. Are they really that scared? He hasn't even done anything or tried, but if they really are that suspicious, it might be better to keep certain things to himself.

So he sighs and holds up his hands. "Look, you can totally check all my pockets," he offers. "I don't have any matches or lighters." The natives don't seem to be completely at ease, but there is one coming over to check his pockets--so much for a show of faith.

[beganwithamask]

It's not insulting, he's saving your bacon, friend. Also he wants to get into that town and check things out, and they're never going to if Toro keeps advertising his firebug status to them when they're obviously on the lookout for anything incendiary. "It's true, we ain't got nothin' to hide. My buddy and me just want to look around, y'know? Don't want any trouble." He holds his hands up in a placating gesture, and he's glad he left the gun at home as they come to search Toro's pockets, and then Bucky's.

He tries to make small talk as they do, trying to slip in some flattery and camaraderie as soldier types, but they don't seem to be really biting at his charm. "Bout how long is this gonna take, fellas? We were wanting to go look at the auctions."

[flamingshortshorts]

It's still insulting, but Toro is used to Bucky always having a plan that gets them out of trouble--or into it--at his expense. He should just accept it, but it's a familiar kind of annoyance that comes over him. But if it gets them through the customs officials, he'll let it slide and even takes off his jacket so they can see that he's not hiding anything in his sleeves either. They seem satisfied enough, even if still somewhat suspicious.

"Really folks, this is about all I've got." It makes him nervous and twitchy to have been treat him with such distrust, but he doesn't lose his cool and light anything up. That would be at least the second dumbest thing he's ever done in his life and he would like to not make that list longer than it already is. They finally step back and take the little gift he had brought--bronze bowls he'd made at the smithy--and then looked over to see if they were done with Bucky.

[beganwithamask]

Bucky's keeping a sharp eye on Toro, and the other on the people checking them over for anything incindiery. Of course, they're not going to find anything, Bucky's pockets are largely empty except for some money and his visa, and Toro doesn't need matches to light up, so there really isn't any way they can rightfully keep them out. But still, if Toro does happen to light up, Bucky wants to be ready to fend off an attack.

He passes over his own little gift, some junk he got in Keeliai, and offers them a smile as they stamp their cards. "Thanks, fellas. I know you gotta be careful and all. C'mon, buddy, let's go, we're gonna miss the sales."