EVENT | LANDFALL | ZESHORA

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: June 17th to July 8th
Location: Zeshora
Situation: Tu Vishan has washed up near the cities of Atoce and Uessaire.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.



The cities of Zeshora were renowned across all of Konryu as works of art, and even with the upheaval which sank and destroyed many of them centuries prior, that distinction remains evident. The Erol'a will recount, if asked, a terrible series of earthquakes and resultant tsunamis that rolled over Zeshora, and how great chunks of the continent simply dropped away. Zeshora was one of the oldest continents, and its landmasses upon the backs of long-dead Great Turtles had been so constant, that no one had even thought it possible such a thing could have happened.

Testament to the Erol'a's resilience however, they adapted and reclaimed the cities that had fallen to, or just below, sea level. Arches, pillars and soaring ceilings dominate the architecture in both cities, and every surface is painstakingly decorated with tiny inlaid shells and coral, turning every hall and room into a mosaic of colour. It's not uncommon for Erol'a dwellings to have multiple stories, and likewise it's not unlikely to have at least a few of those levels under sea level. So it's entirely possible to have one's upstairs be above water, and one's downstairs be below the water! Imagine having to take a swim to get a midnight snack. Of course, the Erol'a don't find that strange at all. Likewise, it's perfectly normal to them to walk down the hallways of their homes in ankle, knee or waist-deep water, something that the Foreigners and even some kedan might take some getting used to. The water temperature during the day is a delightful 80℉/26℃, and about ten degrees cooler throughout the night, so it's pleasant for nearly everyone.

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LINKS
Atoce - City of Pearls | Uessaire - City of Lilies | Ollesse - The Coral Ruins | Secessi - The Floating Reefs | Hatchling Messages
Astegune | Landfall Surprise | Landfall Update - Jun 23 | OOC Post

OOC
Please direct questions to the OOC post! You can either use the areas described under header, or create your own -- don't feel you have to be limited to threading only in the locations mentioned in the starters! Just don't forget to label your top-levels with specific locations (eg the Height or the Deep).

ACTIVITY CHECK NOTE: Due to the late-month timing of this landfall, threads from this log can be counted toward either June or July AC. Just don't use the same comment thread for both and you'll be fine!

Comments

[lasergrenades]

"Good idea." Pepper can agree with the whole squishy-in-the-hair thing. It makes her shudder a little.

She takes his arm and starts walking away from the direction of the children Solomon was evading. She thinks about his query.

"Hmm. It would be nice to get something to decorate my room with." Right now she's got her armor and the picture from home, but that's about it. "There's a big square near the continent side. It's pretty public and out of the sort of industry area. And there's usually a bunch of people on the beaches."

[peacefullywreathed]

It took a missed step to match her pace, but Solomon was fairly adept at that by now and it didn't cause him to stumble. With the light behind him, his shadow ahead was enough of a guide that he didn't strictly need Pepper to lead him either, which was nice.

Ordinarily he'd suggest the beach, but the shadows between grains of sand were simultaneously simple and required a significant amount of precision to control. So, not the beach. "The square," he said instead. "Have you ever picked a pocket before?"

Not that it was something Solomon did regularly, of course. But it was useful for sleights of hand and 'magic tricks'.

[lasergrenades]

Although her legs keep moving, they've temporarily been disconnected from Pepper's brain. She gapes at Solomon.

"What?! No!" Not that she hasn't done plenty of things equally bad if not worse. "That's illegal. Er. At least it is at home. And probably in Keeliai. And probably here. What does that even have to do with carnivals?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"Ah, so when you say 'carnival' you mean the boring ones with cheap stalls and plastic prizes," Solomon teased. "Magic tricks used to be authentic." He found a juulan in his pocket and showed it to her, and then turned his hand and made it 'vanish'. Alright, so he used the shadow of his sleeve to help him do it, because he was so rusty, but he liked to think that he just using all assets at his disposal. "Now check your pocket." She'd find the extra juulan there, with nary a rustle of her clothes.

[lasergrenades]

"Yeah, well, magic doesn't exist where I come from; not real magic anyway. And our carnivals are still fun." Pepper pouts slightly, but the literal magic trick distracts her. She does as she's told, and there is indeed a juulan in her pocket that definitely wasn't there before. "That is definitely authentic, you got me there. And technically that's a gift, not pickpocketing."

[peacefullywreathed]

"Magic tricks do, I should hope." It was amusing how difficult some people found it to tell the difference between magic and tricks. The word 'trick' in the phrase really was the key. "Unfortunately no one's come up with a phrase for the opposite," Solomon said dryly. "It's the same principle, however. The skill is useful, even if you don't use it to steal. But, if you're not interested ..."

He shrugged casually and flicked his wrist, and a shadow flicked out to take the coin back.

[lasergrenades]

"Tricks, yes. You'd probably get a kick out of Penn and Teller." They are indeed hilarious, and Pepper thinks Solomon would appreciate the magician/comedians' sly charm.

"Hey!" The coin in her hand gets snatched out of her hand, although Pepper tries to hold on to it. "Are you suggesting I learn how to pick pockets so that I can make money on the level? That's seriously backwards. In a weird, kind of cool sort of way."

She's torn on this one. It seems like a neat ninja skill to have, but anything that resembles stealing (when it isn't stealing back something that was stolen from you, or something that could cause destruction) is a little off-putting.

[peacefullywreathed]

"I did indeed." He'd seen them live several times, in fact, though he'd stopped paying much attention once they started broadcasting. Television. Sure, it was convenient, but it had nothing on the old charm of theatre.

He smiled. "You'd be surprised how many crimes can be repurposed for opposite uses." He flicked the coin over his knuckles, back and forth. "It's as though most people think tools are inherently good or bad, instead of the person who uses them and the manner they choose to do so."

[lasergrenades]

"You have Penn and Teller where you come from, too?" Pepper frowns slightly. For some reason this is seriously clashing with the way she imaged the world Solomon and Skulduggery and Anton has come from. "This is like, eight different kinds of strange."

Pepper quiets as Solomon speaks, watching the coin. She knows he's right, and she has more examples of that than she'd like. Gene. Hammer. Both Stanes. Even Tony.

"I guess I can't really argue with that logic. Well, I could, actually. A lot. But I won't," she replies, forcing any unhappy thoughts from her mind. "So. You've got shadows, but all I've got is hands and whole lot of awesome. How do I go about charity-pocketing?"

[peacefullywreathed]

"Indeed we do," said Solomon. "Most of the worlds the Foreigners came from seem to be some version of Earth." Then he chuckled. "You can always argue with logic. It's just often foolish, unless you know you can prove the logic illogical. And you're going to practice--on me, if anything else offends your sensibilities."

But he smiled at her, to show there was no edge to the words, save the sardonic one. "Or, if you want to earn some currency before we actually leave, you can be my manager and let me do the charity-pocketing, and I'll teach you on the side."

[lasergrenades]

"I guess. It's just kind of weird having similar experiences when everything else seems so... different," Pepper elaborates. Weird, but not in a bad way. It means she might have more in common with some of the Foreigners here than she'd thought.

He's doing that thing where he's all smiles and charm that makes his teasing seem like chivalry. It's annoyingly successful.

"You'll teach me?" It seems like she's picking up skills left and right here in Keeliai. She has zero problems with this, however. Unlike with SHIELD, she doesn't need a four-year degree to become a badass here, she's learning. Plus, playing Solomon's 'manager' does sound rather appealing, even if it's only pretended authority. The Zeshoran's wouldn't know the difference, since she's a 'Crest' in their eyes. "That would be awesome. Managing I can do. I'm good at getting into people's business," she says, beaming.

want to handwave the pickpocketing? follow up in a new thread?

[peacefullywreathed]

"I would never have guessed," Solomon said blandly, but with a faint smile, teasing more than anything else. He didn't really doubt that her enthusiasm would serve to obscure anything suspicious about their 'act', though there wasn't really much suspicious about it. At least this way she'd have some currency to work with, and he could always show her more on future days.

He could tell when they came off the walls, because the breeze subsided and some of the dampness set in, and the ground turned grittier with sand. "In that case, all we need right now would be a square," he said. "I'll leave that to your judgement."

Sounds good!

[lasergrenades]

Even if Solomon hadn't been teasing her, Pepper wouldn't have found the comment offensive - she takes a great deal of pride in her ability to scheme, control, and/or distract attentions. Tony and Rhodey had even said that if she ever turned evil, they'd all be in trouble.

She doesn't know Solomon well, but he has yet to demonstrate any reason for her to avoid him. This seems like a fun thing to do, and relatively harmless. He can't see her, but she's grinning as they descend into the city.

"Awesome," Pepper says. "Let's go put on a show!"