IC: The Sun Never Sets, IC thread for The Sun Never Sets Options

[AtroposReborn]

Ellesar's head pokes partially out of his brief hibernation post and to his surprise notices not one, but two dogs near Stogie. His hand instinctively grips the large knife he keeps by his side at all times as his tired eyes attempt to take in the scene. Noticing no hostility he allows himself to relax.

"Eh? Witness? What time is it?"

His joints ache as he manages his way out of the den of warmth and into the brisk air. His hands begin rubbing his limbs to get his blood flowing. "And since when do you have the ability to pop dogs out of thin air?"

[pbangarth]

"Heh. You'd be surprised what I can do with a good dog." says Stogie.

"No, this girl... her name is Lady... showed up at the edge of camp a few minutes ago. She's got a collar on and there's contact info on it for the owner. I bet if we got a hold of the owner he would be seriously happy to get his dog back, and he might also be an eye-witness to what happened in the town. Maybe give us a few answers?" Stogie reaches into his pocket and gives her a snackie. And, of course, the suddenly eager Jake gets one as well.

"Heard some wolves up in the hills a minute ago, too. Maybe a kilometer or two away. Don't know if it's our friends.

"Want some coffee? I'll make some if you like. I know you need your beauty sleep, but it might be tough to get back to sleep now."

[AtroposReborn]

"Coffee sounds great. I won't be getting anymore sleep any time soon anyway. Now that I'm up, I'm up." the elf retorts. "Where's Smohalla, still sleeping?"

Ellesar takes his time stretching his tired muscles and adjusting his slept-in clothes. After routinely searching through his pack and the medicine bag to make sure nothing's missing, he retrieves his camera and snaps a quick shot of the new canine.

[phlapjack77]

With his head tucked under his wing and his advanced age, the night noises don't manage to rouse the sleeping eagle.

[Tecumseh]

Stogie goes about making some coffee while Ellesar checks on his things and snaps a few photographs. Stogie retrieves water from the nearby creek and sets it on to boil. Jake circles Lady several times, but she remains flat on her belly, declining any invitations to play or otherwise interact. She seems tired; like Ellesar, she probably hasn't been getting enough sleep recently.

Ellesar feeds the fire a bit to ward away the morning chill. His breath hangs in front of him in puffy clouds, the cold sinking into his face and eyes. The water eventually boils, the rolling water a soothing sound. Stogie empties tiny packets of instant soykaf into two mugs and pours hot water over the crystalline powder. Luckily the proximity of Seattle means that even the instant soykaf is a notch above average. The smell of it is comforting. Jake associates the scent with breakfast and begins circling Stogie expectantly. Lady wanders close to the fire and lies down, resting her head on her front paws.

[phlapjack77]

At the smell of the morning coffee (and new wood on the fire) Smohalla soars back to the physical world and wakes up.

The eagle glides down to the campsite and, form shimmering, changes into an old Amerind man, who dresses quickly against the chill.

The new dog is regarded for a second, the predator's eye evaluating, calculating weight distribution, defensive abilities, food possibilities.

Smohalla breaks off from this and sits by the fire, his gnarled hands held out to the warmth, a question looked at Stogie.

Who is our new visitor?

He then reaches for a water skin and takes a long pull.

I don't understand how you two got so big, drinking soykaf like that.

[pbangarth]

Stogie takes a swig of the soykaf. "She's a fugitive from the fire. She has an ID tag that gives contact info for her owner. After breakfast, I'll see if I can get a hold of the owner. I'm susre he will be willing to come out here to get her, and maybe we can get an eye-witness account of what happened in the town. It may tell us something."

He putters with some of the packaged food for breakfast, and gives a bit of kibble and human food to both Jake and Lady. He knows better than to let her eat as much as her hunger might drive her to do.

[Tecumseh]

The freeze-dried food is flavorless and largely unfulfilling, which doesn't stop Jake from mopping up his portion and looking for more. Lady cautiously samples hers but doesn't much care for it. It doesn't seem like she's been starving these past two weeks; there must have been enough small game in the area to keep her going. Mmm, small game. That sounds pretty good after a pouch of eggs that were powdered a few minutes ago but are now rubbery and springy like cheese curbs. There's a packet of granola too but it quickly becomes water-logged and soggy, robbing it of any texture or sweetness. Maybe the technology to preserve flavor in freeze-dried food was lost in the Crash, or maybe it never existed at all. At least the soykaf is pretty good.

[pbangarth]

Washing his hands and the dishes in the creek, Stogie cleans up after breakfast. "Alright, let's see what we can find out from Lady's owner." Stogie checks the contact info stored in the dog tag and calls up the provided number.

[Tecumseh]

Stogie, long accustomed to herding work and schedules defined by the sun, is about to call when a little voice in the back of his head reminds him that not everyone keeps the same schedule. It's, what, a Tuesday, right? More or less. He waits until 8 in the morning to make the call, figuring that a working man will be awake by then and that a retired guy wouldn't care. Or maybe 8 is still too early, since the voice on the other end of the phone sounds a bit tired and gruff when it answers, "What? Eh? Hello?"

[pbangarth]

Knowing how he would feel if his dog had been lost, how he did feel, Stogie doesn't waste any time with niceties. "I've found a dog by the name of Lady, in the wilds outside the town of Greenwater. Her ID tag gives this number to call. Are you her owner?"

[Tecumseh]

"Eh? What? Who?" asks the confused man in a suspicious tone. "Is this a prank?"

Stogie calms explains the situation more fully, describing Lady in good detail, mentioning a couple of her more subtle features that would escape the eye of a layman but would be well-known to a dog owner, especially one who enters his canines in competitions.

"Yes! Lady! You found her?! Where are you? I'll be right out! I mean, I'm at home near the Seattle border. Where did you find her? I'll come to you, just give me a little while!"

[AtroposReborn]

Ellesar sits back and enjoys his meal while watching the dogs interact with Stogie. He allows his thoughts to wander to the past, enjoying the lull in activity for the moment.

[phlapjack77]

Stogie, Ellesar, while we wait, this feels like a good time for me to talk to my friends.

Smohalla's head sags down on his chest as a ghostly eagle flaps it's wings in the astral, gaining altitude.

With a surge of speed, the astral form zips past well-known mountains and land, heading south.

Soon he spots the familiar glow of the Cascade Ork tribe and picks out the distinctive aura of one Grugnir, shaman to his people.

Manifesting outside of the tent, he calls out to his friend that he wishes to speak with him.

[Tecumseh]

Grungir's teepee is actually 30km northeast of Greenwater but, hey, this is the astral plane. If Smohalla wants to fly south to get there, he can fly south. Taking off at a blistering pace, Smohalla opts for the scenic route, rocketing south along the Cascade mountains over Tir Tairngire and California Free State. Then there's a long, rather less interesting stretch as he hurtles over several thousand kilometers of the South Pacific Ocean. Antarctica is somewhat more notable, if only because the mana there is weak and lifeless. It leaves Smohalla with a cold feeling as certainly as if he had flown over the continent as an eagle in the mundane world.

Looping over the South Pole, Smohalla manages to warm up over the South Indian Ocean. It's another long, blue stretch, during which Smohalla is secretly grateful that water spirits cannot fly. He eventually cuts up through Central Asia, passing over Iran, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He makes a very brief detour to the west to avoid the edge of Yakut (Awakened Siberia). Smohalla might not be able to draw its borders on a map, but in the astral world it's like, "Woah, that's Yakut." Not wanting to be unduly killed, Smohalla sidesteps it and continues on his way over the North Pole. Then it's a relatively quick hop over the Trans-Polar Aleut Nation and the Athabaskan Council before finally reentering Salish-Shidhe. Such are the possibilities of the Awakened World.

40,000 kilometers later, Smohalla appears in front of Grungir's tent and verbally knocks. Cascade Ork is primarily composed of miners and smugglers. Miners know no hours - it's all the same underground - but smugglers are not known to be early risers. It seems that Grungir, whatever his responsibilities, falls into the latter category. He eventually emerges from his teepee, partially dressed and cursing the hour. Judging by his aura, a reasonable guess would be that he's enduring a headache from last night's "vision quest". Smohalla is off to a good start.

[phlapjack77]

Greetings Grugnir. It is good to see you again.

I hope you and your tribe are prospering.

I apologize for the early hour, but I would ask you some questions.

We have found evidence of a group of three that seemed to be hunting the Sisters.

Do you know anything of this? An elf, a human, and one other who was not a dwarf or a troll.

[Tecumseh]

Grungir staggers back a few steps as he rubs the bridge of his nose. He takes a hard seat on a log just outside of his teepee, right next to his satellite uplink. He bows his head and moans as his temples throb. "Ooo," he groans mournfully. "Ooo."

After he's had a minute to compose himself, he rubs the back of his neck and looks up at Smohalla. "A bounty was placed on the Sisters about a week ago. It is available for whomever wishes to rid the world of their scourge. I do not know of anyone in particular who has accepted the offer or made an attempt to fulfill it. Other than yourself, of course.

"When you came to me late last week I at first believed you to be in league with the Sisters. But then you said you had spoken with Gunny about the contract. He has been in contact with other groups since then, and I believe they have begun their respective hunts. It is entirely likely that the three you describe are one such team, but I do not know of them specifically.

"But since you yourself hunt the Sisters, why do you ask me about another group is doing the same? It is a very early hour to be asking about something which should be self-evident."

[phlapjack77]

Thank you for you help in this Grugnir. And your trust.

We have the mission of stopping the Sisters in their course of destruction.

These other groups that were hired, they hurt our mission in more than one way.

They anger the Sisters, causing them to be more ruthless in their actions.

And they pose a threat to ourselves as well, as I wouldn't trust many of these...mercenaries...to be honorable.

It seems we should talk to Gunny about things.

Fare well, and may the blessings of the Great Mother comfort you in your time of distress.

This last is said with a kind but knowing smile as Smohalla fades from sight.

He quickly wings his way back to his body on the ever-present winds of aether.

Back at camp, Smohalla's body gives a slight jerk as he raises his head and looks at his companions with bright eyes.

My friend tells me Gunny has contracted with other groups as well as with ours.

[pbangarth]

Stogie gives directions to the startled man, and waits. He figures it should be an hour or so at the least before Lady's owner can arrive. In the meantime, He observes the two dogs, and watches Lady for clues about her personality as she reacts to Jake.

Smohalla returns before Lady's owner arrives, and provides the suspected news. "So we weren't the only ones hired. Why would a Johnson hire more than one team at the same time to do the same job? Seems like a waste of money and a serious lack of efficiency. What's Gunny thinking?"

[phlapjack77]

Maybe he has not heard from us in several days and fears the worst?

I wonder about telling Gunny to stop with these other contracts.

We might have to explain the situation to him, which may not be exactly how he imagined it ending up.

[Tecumseh]

As predicted, an hour later a Rover 2068 tears into Greenwater and screeches to a halt on an empty street on the other side of the river. Lady's ears perk up and she gives a look of recognition to the sound of the SUV. A older man jumps out in an obvious hurry. Stogie and Smohalla watch him from a distance, picking out details. He appears to be in his late 50s or early 60s. He's got a head of graying hair and a generous spare tire around his middle. Or, more politely, he looks "well fed". Stogie notices that he's wearing a Victory Globetrotter jacket - hunting gear for rich people. Somewhat at odds to its intended purpose, the jacket looks clean and pressed. The SUV also looks washed and shiny, although it's picking up a bit of ash and dust from Greenwater.

The man doesn't immediately see the group. He calls out "Lady!" and she instantly responds. She jumps to her feet and then sprints toward him at high speed. She deftly navigates the river before racing up the bank on the other side. She jumps when she sees him. He bends over and wraps his arms around her as she wags furiously. He rubs her neck and her ears as she beams. Jake watches the reunion intently. Stogie fights a single tear.

[AtroposReborn]

Ellesar doesn't notice the man at first, but his attention is quickly captured by the call and the dog bolting off. He watches the reunion of two old friends, a small smile drifting across his face. "It's always good to see the lost found. I am sure the old man spent many hours in grief for his companion."

[phlapjack77]

After watching the reunion for a few moments, Smohalla turns to his companions.

He opens his mouth to suggest going to talk to the visitor.

A sudden thought brings him up short.

That dog is possibly a good witness to the events of Greenwater's destruction.

Stogie, does your magic allow you to communicate with animals to the extent you can find out?

[pbangarth]

"I can only communicate with a dog with which I have bonded magically, and even then, the level isn't down to stories and sentences, but only impressions and senses. Anyway, I'm hoping the man will be the more useful witness." Stogie steps forward and waves to attract the man's attention. "Hello there! Good to see Lady happy like that."

[Tecumseh]

The man waves back across the dividing river. He looks uncertain of how to proceed. The river is not deep nor especially treacherous, but he is far removed from his days of youth and agility. He seems to think that - as he is currently in your debt - he should be the one to come to you. He tiptoes gingerly down the bank of the river before halting at the wet rocks that line the shore. He looks upriver and downriver for an easy way to cross. Not finding an obvious route, he steps back and forth in place before looking over to you with a look that says, I tried.