GGaD » [[DoF]] - 2: A Lonely Town, By The Cliffs and The Fields

Time · May 22, 2023 12:43:45

It’s been a while since you entered the Domain of Flowers… actually, how long has it been? Hours?? Days? Surely not days… whatever. There hasn't really been a time to stop and rest. You’ve been on the move for most of the time. As time has passed, the environment has done so as well. The dense humidity of the jungle is long gone, and in its stead, it has been replaced by the washing waves of grasslands and high cliffs.

There are no longer trees and brush that would prevent sight and for some, flight. Now the beauty and danger of the domain is open for all to see. This breathtaking biome spans almost as far as the eyes can see, with the jungle only being but a speck now, however, its openness reveals the sharp and jagged gashes within the earth, cliffs that drift far below… Who knows what’s down there?

You walk for what seems a while longer. Whether that time was uneventful, or interrupted by a battle with another contestant or other danger of The Domain depends on the person, but you see something as you cross over a hill and move out of the way of some rocks. A… town? What’s a town doing here? There shouldn’t be any settlers in the Domain, right?

You make your way to investigate the matter, making sure to stay away from the nearby cliffs that the town is situated by, following a battered trail. As you enter, you are surprised to see the location populated. It may be small, but that doesn’t mean it’s any sort of ghosttown.

You easily recognize most of the populace here to be competitors themselves, like you. Some look like merchants willing to go the extra mile in providing for contestants, and there appears to be a faction that stands out.

Multiple figures stand out in that they are wearing all white, acting kind and polite to anyone they interact with. Some look like healers, while others have assortments of weapons attached to them, such as blades, tomes, and even a few exotic contraptions.

You overhear that this faction is called the Whitecloaks. They’re a neutral faction of mortals who have ventured within The Domain to help anyone in need. It looks like they’re keeping this town as a neutral zone. Almost like agents or followers of The Flowers. You discern that this faction is in fact truthful to their word. It seems like most of them entered the Domain to witness the development of a deity, and to keep that process safe. When that new deity arises, they may very well become their first followers.

You look far off, and notice not far ahead, there is the base of the mountain. But you’ve heard of rumors that beyond the point, that is where terrifying monsters have roamed, and beyond that, in the snowy cold, stands an impassable wall.

Well. There’s no way anyone’s passing that anytime soon. Especially not when anyone isn’t at full strength. So, why not rest up for a bit before trying?

((Yo random note but what if the winner gets the Whitecloaks as their followers. I can see it))

Last edited by Time (July 13, 2023 18:09:16)

ThreePunchAxel · May 22, 2023 12:53:08

Ozark is tired. He's covered in blood of various colors, along with various other substances he encountered while moving through the jungle, and the bandages along his arm have become ripped and tattered. So when he makes it to the town, the first thing he does is find a chair, sit down, and start wrapping his arm again. He's approachable, but he might not be in the best mood.

Marsh · May 22, 2023 18:05:17

Marsh for one, is smitten with the view. Eyes wide, wings fluttering excitedly and as a result elevating just a few inches higher. Then, as quick as their wonder has come, it goes with a loud lament "I should've brought my camera!"

Patil ignores the outburst and continue on, avoiding any and all signs of danger. Taking what looks to be the most boring path and conserving his energy. Once inside the town, he opts to stay near the Whitecloaks, a suggestion from Marsh who seems to have taken an immediate liking to the group.

"You know what, I don't think I'd mind having followers if they were, like, chill like them." They nod their head towards the figures in white, "Seems pretty cool actually. Speaking of, if either of you win, do you think you'd like have a plan for like..uh..hmm no let me phrase that better." A pause, then carefully, "If you became a deity, what would your target demographic be?"

Patil snorts, "'Target demographic' what, like it's a marketing scheme or something?" Although he does consider the question and a moment later answers, "I suppose they'd be mercenaries or something equally shady. I can't see myself being one of the 'good' gods so I doubt my followers would have proper morals either."

(I am under the assumption that Arcan is still like a point of the triangle trio situation?)

Time · May 22, 2023 23:31:59

((Yea))

Arcan appears to be somewhere in between Patil and Marsh's enthusiasm. Certainty fascinated, but not enough to let her guard down. So she follow's Patil's path, but takes long looks of studying their surroundings.

"Despite that this place being practically an arena, it's very beautiful." She notes, adjusting her pack and bow.

"But for me, I wouldn't know who my followers may be. I would feel like... that's something that falls into place naturally." She narrows her eyes at the nearby Whitecloaks, "I don't know about these guys though. They may be nice and friendly an all, from what we've seen, but nearly all of them are carrying some sort of weapon."

---

Ozark is most likely to find the nearest seat in some sort of tavern or something of similar function.

"Hello." A nearby figure approached the newcomer, "I see that you've newly arrived from long travel, pray, can we do anything to help you?" It's a Whitecloak, who looks overly polite, and has an oddly serene smile.

AshTheAvaricious · May 23, 2023 12:28:20

Among the beaten and battered competitors, there is one who seems jubilant and largely undamaged. Some may have heard his name before, for his capture of the Wolf before it ascended, but that was quite some time ago, shouldn't Lycaon be older by now? His armour glimmers where it hasn't been stained in mud and plant juices, which means that he is almost a spotlight in the light.

While Lycaon is blind, evidenced by the black blindfold covering his eyes, he seems acutely aware of whether or not somebody has entered where he seems to be dancing, wielding his swords. Seems that he's making sure that he is in peak condition before continuing the journey, practicing the motions of his dance-like blades art.

ThreePunchAxel · May 24, 2023 05:00:58

Ozark finishes wrapping his arm and looks up at the Whitecloak. "Who are you guys?"

Marsh · May 25, 2023 21:23:50

Patil hums in agreement, "The weapons are concerning but I suppose, considering the setting, it does make sense."

"Yeah but like some of them are healers which means they can't be that bad." Marsh argues, "Plus they're all in uniform which is honestly just cool and totally not a design I want to steal for cult-esque background characters." This comment is followed by another, quieter, lament over their lack of a camera.

Patil doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the conversation, not his full attention at least. His eyes are trained on the dancing swordsman, intrigued and alert.

Time · May 26, 2023 00:38:20

"Cult? Do they look cult-like?" Arcan wonders as she studies the group.

She also takes notice of the danger as well, "It's interesting that there's such a wide plethora of people here."

---

"We are Whitecloaks, sir." The man gives a small bow, "We are simply a group that wishes to witness the making of a deity."

ThreePunchAxel · May 30, 2023 09:13:48

"Interesting goal." Ozark stands up. "Do you guys have a weapon maintenance station, or something? I don't really have time to stick around."

Time · May 30, 2023 20:59:03

"Of course." The man continues with his smile as he looks Ozark back in the eye, "We have a smith among our lines. Though you many not be getting too far beyond this town. Follow me." While the last note wasn't intended to sound ominous, the man's odd tone definitely made it so. He backs up a bit, before turning around and expecting Ozark to follow him.

Marsh · June 5, 2023 21:00:43

"Oh yeah, definitely cult-y." Marsh punctuates the observation with a confident nod, "They've even got their outfits color coded and it's all white. White is like the second most cult-y group coordination color, the first being black of course."

Patil's scanning the buildings taking stock of each one and the purposes they serve. He's hoping to find a rest stop of some kind, really just somewhere shady to sit. Evidently he finds nothing so Pat settles for sitting cross-legged on the ground right where he stood, "Sit and rest, I have a feeling this is just the beginning."

Time · June 6, 2023 18:51:50

"I thought that red would be a more cult-y color" Arcan says as she adjusts her pack and examines her bow, "I haven't come into any cults or cultists, but that's just what I think." You know... talking about these Whitecloak people as if they are a cult does make them start to feel more and more like a cult... what are they even doing here anyways?

---

At the conversation of these Whitecloaks, one of these approaches Marsh and the group, "Hello there, I see you all are new in town." This Whitecloak looks to be a proper man with a proper and clean face.

---

Alethea stands as she watches the commerce and newcomers as they filter and walk about in the town. She smiles. It's nice to see that a decent group have made it this far.

Marsh · June 19, 2023 20:02:19

"See that's why you gotta study character design. Red makes sense but in reality it's far too obvious which is why..." Marsh's voice trailed off as they stare wide-eyed at the Whitecloak with a guilty expression on their face. It's never not awkward to be caught talking about someone.

"I was under the assumption that we're all new in town." Patil said, standing up and offering the Whitecloak his hand, "Patil, it's a lovely village you have here."

Time · June 20, 2023 23:29:32

The Whitecloak smiles and takes Patils hand, giving a light chuckle, "You're wrong." he says, "It's just some of us are more new than others. That's all. Welcome." He looks to the other two, "I presume these are your traveling companions who may I have the pleasure of greeting?"

---

Arcan stays silent for the moment. Though Marsh was right... red is a very obvious cult color.

Marsh · July 3, 2023 21:49:54

Marsh immediately unfreezes and starts apologizing "OH right, uh sorry, sorry. Marsh. That's uh, my name, yep. What's your name?"

Patil is considering the merits of elbowing both Arcan and Marsh in the ribs for their seemingly non-existent social skills.

Time · July 3, 2023 23:10:32

((Hmm should we just start it up?? Less people, but still))

Arcan realizes this as well. Oh... she was expecting that Patil was going to introduce them! It kind of felt like he was addressing just Patil to her.

"Um. Hi, I'm Arcan." she pipes up.

---

"Greetings, Patil, Marsh, Arcan." The man bobs his head, "I believe my name is irrelevant. Being apart of the Whitecloaks, I am just to ensure that the game goes smoothly. Possibly even become the first followers of the newly ascended."

He again looks across the group, "If one of you is to be rewarded the honor, I would gladly give you my name as a follower."

ThreePunchAxel · July 4, 2023 05:24:08

Time wrote:
"Of course." The man continues with his smile as he looks Ozark back in the eye, "We have a smith among our lines. Though you many not be getting too far beyond this town. Follow me." While the last note wasn't intended to sound ominous, the man's odd tone definitely made it so. He backs up a bit, before turning around and expecting Ozark to follow him.

Ozark follows the man, mildly suspicious of his tone.

AshTheAvaricious · July 4, 2023 15:17:50

It's been uuhh two months since I mentioned what Lycaon was doing. He's done with the practice or whatever, with his swords sheathed and going back into the town proper; since it'd definitely at least be poor manner to have been doing that in like the town square or whatever. The warrior finds a whitecloak, and waves for their attention while approaching. "Excuse me, do you happen to be one of the folk here to supply and heal the challengers? Would you happen to know where I could grab some provisions?"

Time · July 5, 2023 01:59:41

((Nah dw it's fine I'm viewing this plot to be a slow burn. We may drift away from it, but we'll (or just I) will eventually come back to it))

After following the man some ways, likely in an uneasy silence, Ozark and the man stop at what seems to be a smithy. Or something adjacent to that. It was of stone, and had an open area for the craftsmen to work.

"Here, sir." The odd man does a small bow while drifting an arm to the building.

Say. There was a craftsperson here after all. Or craftspeople. One was pounding away at some contraption, while the other was sharpening multiple blades of varying shapes and sizes. They looked quite similar to each other, actually, and both of their white cloaks looked to have darker smudges on them, presumably from labor.

One of them takes note of Ozark and the odd Whitecloak. "Yo. What can we do ya for?" She asks. She was the one sharpening the blades.

---

The Whitecloak seemed to take a moment to register that Lycaon was talking to her as she was staring off towards the tall mountain ahead.

"Hm? What?" She says as quickly realizes that someone was expecting an answer from her, "Oh, yes. We Whitecloaks provide supplies to challengers. If you follow me, we can get to the main provisions tent. Its not that far from here." She pushes off the wall she was leaning on, stumbling a bit before looking back to Lycon to see if he was to follow, or simply wanted directions.

ThreePunchAxel · July 5, 2023 17:32:22

"I need something precise done, and as fast as you can do it." Ozark takes a length of serrated chain off his belt. The chain is cracked and severely worn down, likely from combat. "Is there anyone here who could repair this?"

Marsh · July 5, 2023 19:23:38

"That's not odd or culty at all." Marsh whispers as subtly as they could (which is not very subtle at all) to Arcan.

Patil ignores the fact that he very clearly heard Marsh's comment. Smiling brightly he says, "Well then, I hope for the honor of learning your name some time in the near future. The Whitecloaks seem like a lovely group of people, I'm sure you'd all make wonderful followers."

Time · July 6, 2023 23:04:26

ThreePunchAxel wrote:
"I need something precise done, and as fast as you can do it." Ozark takes a length of serrated chain off his belt. The chain is cracked and severely worn down, likely from combat. "Is there anyone here who could repair this?"

"Well hold up there." The smith talking to Ozark says, putting a hand up and approaching the bounty hunter. She tugs the chain from his hands whether he wanted to relinquish it or not. "Everyone here want's an 'as fast as you can do it' order." One would expect her to get cut on the chain's teeth with that sort of handling, but due to the thick gloves she's wearing, it seems not.

She takes it back to the working area, calling out to her work partner, who looks up from his work. They both look at the chain for a few moments, quickly speaking to one another, before the women looks back to Ozark, "I mean, we'll try to get it done ASAP, but you're still gonna have to wait nonetheless."

---

Marsh wrote:
"That's not odd or culty at all." Marsh whispers as subtly as they could (which is not very subtle at all) to Arcan.

Patil ignores the fact that he very clearly heard Marsh's comment. Smiling brightly he says, "Well then, I hope for the honor of learning your name some time in the near future. The Whitecloaks seem like a lovely group of people, I'm sure you'd all make wonderful followers."

"Well, they are very infatuated with whoever the new deity person is going to be, so I mean, they're kinda not a cult if they don't really have a person to worship yet." Arcan whispers back, leaning into the comedic display by covering her mouth with the back of her hand to hide her mouth while talking to Marsh.

---

The Whitecloak talking to Patil chuckles, "You've very confident in your abilities, I see. Well, anybody who isn't probably is not in the running for the flower anyways."

"We do hope we can accompany the newcomer's wishes." the Whitecloak nods, "We are sure that in a world such as ours today, deities of all mortalities would wish to influence them. We want to make sure the newcomer has at least some bit of a structure. Every Whitecloak has their own individual reasoning for joining, but we all wish for the benefit of the victor." He seems to be clearly ignoring Marsh and Arcan's antics for the time being.

AshTheAvaricious · July 7, 2023 13:26:54

Time wrote:
The Whitecloak seemed to take a moment to register that Lycaon was talking to her as she was staring off towards the tall mountain ahead.

"Hm? What?" She says as quickly realizes that someone was expecting an answer from her, "Oh, yes. We Whitecloaks provide supplies to challengers. If you follow me, we can get to the main provisions tent. Its not that far from here." She pushes off the wall she was leaning on, stumbling a bit before looking back to Lycaon to see if he was to follow, or simply wanted directions.

"I'd be grateful for the assistance." Lycaon smiles, with teeth slightly too sharp but hey who'd question him, and he's going to follow her as she leads him but there's no elegant way to describe that.

Time · July 8, 2023 16:33:08

Nah, the appearances of everyone here greatly vary. Not many will question fangs for teeth.

That includes the Whitecloak accompanying Lycaon. If Lycaon decides not to speak, then for the most part, they will just walk in silence.

Once again, if they keep on traveling with no convo (and therefore not much rp) they will arrive at the provision's tent.

Honestly, I should have not said a provisions tent, because the image in my mind is now much different. The provisions location is in the center of the town, taking residence within a large two story building. This buildings looks rather simple, with a balcony on the second floor, and multiple small windows dotting the exterior. Outside this building is a large canopy, where a multitude of Whitecloaks appear to be overseeing.

"Here we are, sir." The Whitecloak says to Lycaon, "Just talk to any of my companions and we will see how we can help you out.

Basket Cat · July 8, 2023 16:43:10

Naiyan materialized in the town next to a Whitecloak. "Hello! I was wondering if you could tell me about what you're doing here. Who are you? What's your organization?"

Time · July 8, 2023 16:58:28

Naiyan materialized besides a pair of Whitecloaks who were standing under the canopy of the provisions area.

One startled in surprise, while the other simply appeared intrigued by the deity.

"Oh, I've heard of you!" The curious one said, "You're that deity who managed to sneak past and is reporting on the events here! You... are a deity, right?"

"Hey. Don't be sneaking up on people like that." the other one grumbled crossing their arms. The more tense Whitecloak was wearing a mask and had a hood up, so it was hard to tell their features.

"Oh, please" The excited one responded, "She's here just to record everything!" he clapped the masked on on the back before looking over to Naiyan, "I'd love to respond to your questions."

"We're the Whitecloaks! Everyone apart of it here is for their own reasons. Just like how the competitors are here for a reason." He says, "For, me, I'm here 'cause I want to adventure! I've heard so many stories about deities when I grew up in my small town, and I wanted to be apart of the scene when I got older. So as soon as I was old enough. I set out. Lucky enough it was around the same time that this event was gonna happen. One way or another, I found my way among the ranks."

Marsh · July 10, 2023 21:16:25

Time wrote:
The Whitecloak talking to Patil chuckles, "You've very confident in your abilities, I see. Well, anybody who isn't probably is not in the running for the flower anyways."

"We do hope we can accompany the newcomer's wishes." the Whitecloak nods, "We are sure that in a world such as ours today, deities of all mortalities would wish to influence them. We want to make sure the newcomer has at least some bit of a structure. Every Whitecloak has their own individual reasoning for joining, but we all wish for the benefit of the victor." He seems to be clearly ignoring Marsh and Arcan's antics for the time being.

Marsh doesn't reply, deciding not to push their luck and piss off a member of the organization that's quite literally surrounding them. They hum a little tune though, because it's hard to stop talking once you've started.

"That's... really noble actually. I'd imagine it hard for new deities to gain footing without a proper following." Patil says. After an appropriate length of pause, enough to change the subject, he says, "I remember noticing a big tent near the center of town when we arrived, is that where the provisions are kept?"

Basket Cat · July 10, 2023 21:45:41

Time wrote:
Naiyan materialized besides a pair of Whitecloaks who were standing under the canopy of the provisions area.

One startled in surprise, while the other simply appeared intrigued by the deity.

"Oh, I've heard of you!" The curious one said, "You're that deity who managed to sneak past and is reporting on the events here! You... are a deity, right?"

"Hey. Don't be sneaking up on people like that." the other one grumbled crossing their arms. The more tense Whitecloak was wearing a mask and had a hood up, so it was hard to tell their features.

"Oh, please" The excited one responded, "She's here just to record everything!" he clapped the masked on on the back before looking over to Naiyan, "I'd love to respond to your questions."

"We're the Whitecloaks! Everyone apart of it here is for their own reasons. Just like how the competitors are here for a reason." He says, "For, me, I'm here 'cause I want to adventure! I've heard so many stories about deities when I grew up in my small town, and I wanted to be apart of the scene when I got older. So as soon as I was old enough. I set out. Lucky enough it was around the same time that this event was gonna happen. One way or another, I found my way among the ranks."

Naiyan bowed dramatically as the Whitecloak recognized her. "Ooh, very interesting." She pulled up a small digital screen beside her. Lines of text appeared rapidly, scrolling upwards as new words took their place. "I dunno chat, even the NPCs seem super detailed. I wonder how long the developers spent on this." She closed the window and looked back to the Whitecloak, hovering off the ground an inch or so. "Soooo, you like deities and hearing about 'em, huh? Who's your favorite?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

Time · July 11, 2023 00:44:42

Marsh wrote:
"That's... really noble actually. I'd imagine it hard for new deities to gain footing without a proper following." Patil says. After an appropriate length of pause, enough to change the subject, he says, "I remember noticing a big tent near the center of town when we arrived, is that where the provisions are kept?"

"I'm grateful you understand our purpose." he smiles with another nod, "But yes, that is where we keep most of our provisions. Do you wish for me to lead you there?"

Basket Cat wrote:
Naiyan bowed dramatically as the Whitecloak recognized her. "Ooh, very interesting." She pulled up a small digital screen beside her. Lines of text appeared rapidly, scrolling upwards as new words took their place. "I dunno chat, even the NPCs seem super detailed. I wonder how long the developers spent on this." She closed the window and looked back to the Whitecloak, hovering off the ground an inch or so. "Soooo, you like deities and hearing about 'em, huh? Who's your favorite?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

((ain't no way Naiyan steaming and calling NPCs... W deity W chat W stream))

"Hey, don't call us NPCs!" The masked one huffed, "We're people too!" now that you think about it, that mask does seem quite sci fi.

"What's an NPC?" The other tilted his head in question.

"Non-player character"

"Oh." He looked confused, but eventually shrugged it off, "Uhm... my favorite deity? Well... that's going to be hard. I hear lotsa stories, but I never really seen many..." After thinking, the excitable one exclaims, "Oh! I know who! I like Ark. The guy seems to be a really fun dude and really adventurous. His way of magic definitely seems much better than Time's gosh. That dude is such a bore. I've only heard of him being stoic and analytical. Can't he live a little?"

((I'll do task assignments really soon))

Marsh · July 12, 2023 17:44:19

"If it's no bother." Patil replies, waving for the whitecloak to lead the way. "Are healing potions part of the provisions?"

(( Playing Patil is really just a test of my own social skills ))