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[Gilga]

Dana looks at all the commotion add thinks - "Mundanes have odd ways of starting a fire..." She thinks at the noble attempt to get a fire started, and of the hint of actually doing a physical labor just to move some earth around. Everything seems so hard when you actually have to do it with muscle power. Should she instantly start a fire or build us some decent shelter with a spell - she'll be outed as a mage, and marked as a threat.
She tells Maya "What is this obsession about survival? We were brought here randomly, and whomever brought us here could have just killed us and the logistics would have been a lot simpler. They brought medical supplies food and a fresh water source. They clearly intended us to survive at least the first days. I'd be more concerned as to why we are here - who benefits from it and how are we monitored. Perhaps we were recruited to some reality tv?"

Then Dana closed her eyes and focused on her magical senses trying to figure out if there are spirits, active spells or foci nearby:

[ Spoiler ]

Dana has a passive magic sense adept power that should work for magic sense spell (I am not sure what the mechanics are - but I can roll spellcasting(??) )
Magic sense: Magic sense: 10d6t5 4

The subject can detect the presence of all foci, spells,
wards, magical lodges, alchemical preparations, active
rituals, and spirits within range of the sense. It does not
detect Awakened characters or critters, astral signatures,
alchemical preparations that that have expired or already
triggered, or the effects of permanent spells once they
have become permanent.

[Mercy]

Maya looks at the girl who spoke to her. "Hello. My name is Maya, what is yours? I do not agree with you in your thought that whoever put us here will swoop in soon and save us. Think of it this way; if I am right then this is a means of allowing more of us to survive from day to day, and if you are right then I have at least found something to occupy people with instead of arguing and fighting. Either way, this is a win win so why not join us? You are welcome here as long as you are willing to contribute something...............skills, muscles, willing hands, anything that will help the rest of us to survive as a unit, a sort of community. What do you think?"

[Aria]

@Maya, Addie & Raf

The large orc scrutinises Maya and your efforts to make camp and then growls low in his chest
“I’m not interested in being friends…I’m worried about the you and them that is going on…” and he gestures back towards the larger group of kids still out on the bluff where you all appeared.

There is a distinct polarisation happening, with two principal groups forming. The larger, probably mostly SINless or urban poor, is around forty now, gathered round their own fire that is being whipped by an increasingly strong wind. The focus is on the orc with the wild hair and burning gaze who you have discovered by now goes by Rick…

Your group by contrast is around fifteen strong now, corpers and more well to do individuals, huddled in your makeshift shelters around the considerably smaller fire. That still leaves a few stragglers who don’t seem to want to commit to either of the establishing faction.

“We don’t know shit about what we are doing here, what’s going on…we need to work together…and they aren’t going to work for you…can you swallow pride and follow him?”

@Dana

As you stretch your senses out you realise that your normal clarity is missing, hampered by the miasma that fills this place, never the less, you do detect a couple of manifest spirits and hints at magic in the area, but nothing that really explains what is happening…

***

@Lindsey

The spirit is unusually slow in responding to you, something about this place that is sapping you is also clearly having an effect on it. The amorphous being shrugs, and shakes its head but then settles in for a ride on your shoulder, snuggling in against you…

Around the fire a raucous and colourful song breaks out as the kids begin to both relax and also become increasingly wary of the dark that is beginning to press in on you. Not far off another fire flickers in the wind with a smaller group of children silouhetted against it…

@Vincent

Aria looks up at you and smiles again “Team up? I guess so, but we should all be one big team shouldn’t we? Brrrr, it’s getting cold, I’m going to get by the fire, you coming?”

***

@Blank

A careful distance separates you from the others…assessing the situation hasn’t revealed any more information about the whys and wherefores of your current situation, but perhaps a new assessment in the morning will reveal more…

[irn0rchid]

Concerned by her friends unusual reticence, Lindsey scans the area again as they walk, still no wiser about the situation. Reaching the trees, the 'smaller' ork, who Lindsey gathered from conversation was named Rick, orders the others to gather twigs and branches in order to make a fire. Her stature, or lack thereof, not being of much help, she wanders a bit through the treeline, watching the interactions of the other kids. Seeing another girl emerge from the trees and return to the main camp with what looks like a smaller crate than the others, she stops to watch. Laughing as the girl postures on top of the crate, she starts to pay more attention when she reveals that it contains medical supplies.

Once the little speech is done, Lindsey wanders back to the group of orks who are clustered back around Rick, excitedly telling him about the snake and the new box of supplies. They seem to have gotten the gist of what the girl was saying as they're complaining about the odd looking hummie taking off with the snake. Rick seems unconcerned and frowns at the others, "There's boxes of food down there and you're worried about a snake?! Go kill one yourself!" He thrusts out his arm to point deeper into the trees. Lindsey chimes in, "If they're happy with a dead snake and leave our food alone, that's good!" The other orcs stop talking and look at her while Rick appears to be thinking about something. Suddenly he shows a big toothy grin, "Yeah! There's plenty of *our* food still." He looks pointedly at Lindsey, her use of 'our' obviously not lost on him. "Get this wood back to camp before the ujnort do anything stupid." The rest of the orks quickly pick up the wood they'd gathered and set off to the larger camp where they get to work building a fire.

[Raiderj]

"Well yeah. But what happens at first is faction wars and I don't wanna be here for that." Vincent followed her to the fire. "The atmosphere here is... pretty erratic. I imagine the first step would be to identify the people of interest. We need 3 things. Someone with survival skills, makeshift weapons, and a shelter. Oh 4 things. We need a stealthy guy but I am pretty good at that stuff." He told Aria in a low whisper.

[Gilga]

Maya looks at the girl who spoke to her. "Hello. My name is Maya, what is yours? I do not agree with you in your thought that whoever put us here will swoop in soon and save us. Think of it this way; if I am right then this is a means of allowing more of us to survive from day to day, and if you are right then I have at least found something to occupy people with instead of arguing and fighting. Either way, this is a win win so why not join us? You are welcome here as long as you are willing to contribute something...............skills, muscles, willing hands, anything that will help the rest of us to survive as a unit, a sort of community. What do you think?"

Dana looks at Maya, as if memorizing her face. "My name is Dana, what happened to your face?" She bluntly ask. It probably takes Maya a moment to respond and in that moment Dana senses not one but two spirits in their vicinity. Surprised, Dana cuts Maya short and whispers "come Maya we need some answers." She grabs the girl's hand and carries her into the darkness, until she stops after about 20 meters, there is nothing physically present there but Dana can clearly sense a spirit. Addressing the darkness she says "Hello there, care to show yourself friend? I wanted to ask you a few questions - this place seems bad for your kind, why did you come here? "

[Beta]

"Hello, my name is Maya. I have some decent skills in first aid and could certainly make use of those supplies. I agree that they are important to all of us and would not want to see them fought over. I am with several others just over there and we have some crude shelters set up already. Would you like to bring the crate and stay with us? And the snake, I can probably cook it up and see how many can share from it. May I have it?"

Addie carefully keeps a straight face, while thinking "They would eat her alive in my high-school, being that earnest and straight-forward. Still, out here those might be good traits. I could do worse than to work with this one. And she's willing to take the snake away, I'll owe her for that!"

What she actually responds with is "Hi Maya, you can call me Addie. Sure, take a crack at snake cooking if you've got a fire. I don't want to hand these medical supplies over until I've had a chance to check out your first aid skills a bit more, but here and now may not be the place. You say your set-up is just over there? Why don't I pop over a while later for pizza, soda-pop and pedicures -- or maybe just snake, stream-water and some first-aid assessment." She gives a friendly smile to make it clear that she is joking with Maya, not at her.

Separating from Maya and her band, she starts circulating through the grouped up kids. One thing she has learned from helping teach newcomers at the dojo -- there is still a lot of power in exchanging names and a few words.

[Beta]

Seperating from Maya and her band, she starts circulating through the group. One thing she has learned from helping teach newcomers at the dojo -- there is stil a lot of power in exchanging names and a few words.

For the most part, the kids seem happy to have someone come up to them and act fairly normal. Perhaps it helps that she is still carting around the box of medicine, emphasizing that she has done something useful - part of the reason she hadn't given it up too easily. But mostly she thinks it is just that everyone is getting tired of being freaked out and confused, and is pretty happy to have someone come by and joke about how they are missing the urban brawl match/Horizon's Next Top Model/Agent Caine (depending on her guess at their interests), then check that they got some food and found the stream to get a drink.

Some seem to struggle with English, which is just aggravating. It is way harder to win friends and influence people when you can't communicate well. She keeps an eye out for whoever seems to be mostly translating for those ones, since it seems key to her to win over the translators, since they'll be putting their own spin on things.

A few groups give her unfriendly glares as she approaches, which she returns with patient smiles, a quick "How's it Going?" and plenty of personal space-- she's learned from babysitting that it is easier to win people to you than to force yourself on them.

Most importantly, she tries to make contact with the loners. She figures that they are most at risk -- of deprivation, of abuse, of whatever dangers there may be out here. She takes a little more time with them, trying to remember names and where they are from although she knows she won't keep all of it that together -- too bad she hadn't gotten that 'ware for that yet!

She tries to point the loners towards one group or another for the night, mostly nudging them toward Maya's fire since she's pretty sure the scar-faced girl won't take advantage of people in the near future, while she's less sure about the tough looking Orc who manages to organize a bonfire. If they won't go to a group, she tries to pair them up with other loners at least -- two are a lot better off than one.

As she circulates, she keeps an eye out for dropped food. She'd not gotten involved earlier on, and hunger is really getting to her. She knows that with her 'ware she can handle a little dirt, so picking up pieces of ration bars, dusting them off, and eating them doesn't really bother her. Nothing like when she was little and most food made her sick!

Two encounters really stood out. She almost missed the troll girl lying on her back in a dip in the ground. She thinks that was kind of the point, actually. Dot, for that was her name, assured her that nobody had tried to stop her from getting food, and she'd found the water, but that mostly she'd been watching the sky. Dot commented "I've never seen clouds like these, have you? They make me think of scarves doing a complicated dance. But they must be lonely clouds because there are no birds or bees to keep them company. Although the sun looks closer, so maybe that keeps the clouds company?"

It takes all Addie's hard won social skills to field that without looking shocked. That anyone could be in this situation and be so abstract was one shock, but that she herself hadn't really paid attention to any of that was another. She takes the time to see if the troll has any more observations, but doesn't get any that she can make a lot of sense out of. She does get the troll to agree that if anyone wants to spend the night next to her, they can. As Dot puts it "I like feeling more like a protector than a scary monster, and I tell great bedtime stories."

The other encounter is with an elf girl who approaches her. Addie's first assesment is that the other girl would be a heartbreaker if she didn't look so above the crowd. "Actually," Addie revised "I know a lot of boys who would be more smitten with her because she seemed so unreachable."

"Nice reflexes, can you fight? I'd need someone to train with if we are to stay here. I am Dana by the way."

"I'm Addie -- and I'm also totally jealous of your hair!" Compliments never hurt, Addie figured. "Well, I have some training in Jujitsu. I'm not a black belt or anything, but I'm getting pretty decent. I guess that probably helped me grab the snake --not totally different than grabbing a hand. Training together could be good -- I probably practice too much with other people at my dojo, good to get some other experience -- but once we get some time. Lot of work to be done to get this group to pull together for mutual support and all of that. The problem with a mob like this is getting it all to agree doing one thing not five different thing, but personally I think we can be stronger together than all split up."

Since Dana looked a bit skeptical, Addie changed topics "Do you know what happened to the tools? I saw some kids taking a box toward camp, but I wasn't here to see how they got divided up." Upon hearing how the one hulking boy had taken both blades, Addie's face hardened, and she muttered "Did he just. THAT doesn't seem like a very smart plan. I may need to talk to that one. And who was the smaller boy you said who tried to stand up to him?"

[Gilga]

Dana mumbles "Thanks... it has a life of its own."She instantly jumps Addie in sub-dual without asking for permission. Her lighting reflexes means that it only takes a brief second before the ginger elf is lunging her body on top of Addie's. Life of training means that her movements are precise and are filled with grace. There are no second chances to make a first impression and appearing 'badass' might save Dana the need to actually use violence later, especially from the larger orcs.

[ Spoiler ]

Dana will instantly jump Addie trying to catch her off guard.
Initiative: 11+4d6 29 - took off 2 from BG count.
subdo: 15d6t5 6 - perhaps need to also take something from BG.

[adamu]

`Some of them will die, despite your efforts. If the two I scared off had taken the blades, bloodshed would have happened sooner. They are safe with me.`

By the time Raf caught up with the big fellow he was well aware that no one had followed him. Well, he thought with grim humor, no one to witness me taking a beating.

But when the reptilian - why did he think of that word? - when his cold nemesis resorted to logical reasoning, Raf's heart took courage. Perhaps this could be handled in a civilized manner after all.

He quickly gleaned what he could from the fellow's words. Fatalism and pragmatism came through most clearly.

He must change his approach to fit those qualities.

"You're absolutely right about one thing. Whatever is happening here, I have also concluded that most if not all will likely perish. This did not just happen, it was done to us. If it was anything benign, we wouldn't have all been taken against our will, as seems to be the case. So whatever we are here for, whoever did it has no intention of letting us all just go home when it is over."

He paused to let his analysis sink in, and then took the huge risk of sitting on a nearby rock - this little chat could still go south quite easily, and sitting only enhanced his existing disadvantages. But no use hedging his bets - the only real win here would lie in establishing some sort of rapport with this fellow, so he was all in for that.

"I, however, do not have it in me to surrender. If survival is possible, I will do it. And the same seems clear about you. So you can understand that I need one of those knives. You can't possibly use both at the same time. You said yourself I am no threat. And I wouldn't like us to be enemies. I do understand your keeping to yourself for now - that's what I've been doing myself. Watch first, join later. But you're smart enough to know you'll eventually have to form some associations to optimize your chances of making it out of here. I'm a good place to start."

One last pause.

"And I'm not leaving without one of those knives."

[Digital Heroin]

While the little man who follows Blank does not present a physical threat, he seems determined not to leave until personally satisfied. This shows some form of mettle. It also presents itself with a possibility. This is someone with mettle, someone who does not fear possible reprisal when his course is set. Such a person can be a valuable asset. Blank has learned to cultivate such assets, both in his more formal training, and from stories told to him by the more criminal element among his handlers and instructors. The code he has been taught to follow pertains mostly to assassins, but it came from an elevated class of criminal, and they held prisoners among those under their care.

Teach the lifestyle to youth with potential. Cultivate contacts among the rank and file. These are tenants those men lived by. This is the opportunity presented to him.

`If I give you a blade, you owe me. Information. When I ask of it. No lies. Complete truth.`

This is the condition he presents, and the only chance Raf has of receiving the blade. No deception. Obedience in that realm. Of course it does not go two ways, as giving the blade as if it is one of only two that were in the crate will be a deception. Trust is not handed over as easily as a blade.

[Beta]

She instantly jumps Addie in sub-dual without asking for permission. Her lighting reflexes means that it only takes a brief second before the ginger elf is lunging her body on top of Addie's.

Addie was not expecting that! She is slow to react , and suddenly finds herself in a nasty arm-lock. She goes for a reversal, but the hold isn't quite like anything she's met in class and the move she tries to break out ends up being singularly useless
After which it is easy enough for the elf to pin her to the dirt, but to Addie's immense relief she does nothing to cause additional pain.

Not that her pride, and any reputation she'd gained for toughness from the snake, didn't hurt badly enough. She has to bite down hard on a desire to cuss out the elf, but she manages to hold her tongue, and by the time Dana lets her up she manages something loosely resembling a smile and a bow.

Glancing down at the increasing disarray of the cheap clothing she mutters "One thing to keep in mind, this crappy clothing doesn't hold up well to a lot of action." Glancing around she adds "Can you make sure nobody else jumps me while I gather the medical supplies back into the box?"

As she walks towards Maya's camp, doing her best not to limp, she knows she should have done more to recruit that talented fighter to her side, but she just hadn't been ready to be that much of a good sport, at least not yet.

=======================================

At the smaller camp she's happy enough to have a chewy bite of snake, and to hand over the medical supplies to let Maya show what she can do. Addie is impressed enough -- both at her obvious expertise and at had conservative usage of them that she affirms "You are the real deal all right. I'm glad to hand these over to you, Maya -- I just hope that people are willing to leave them in your capable hands."

When the orc shows up and makes his speech, ending

“We don’t know shit about what we are doing here, what’s going on…we need to work together…and they aren’t going to work for you…can you swallow pride and follow him?”

Addie finds herself nodding, and adds "Splitting up makes both groups weaker, and makes it likely that one attacks the other after a while. But I think decisions about that can wait until tomorrow."

After standing up, a little stiffly, she adds "Thank you for cooking up the snake, and all you've done to make survival more likely, Maya. I respect all of that a LOT. I'm going off to make sure nobody is completely on their own for tonight, but I'm sure we'll talk again tomorrow."

Although it has indeed been getting rapidly darker, there is still enough light in the sky that Addie's tetrachromatic vision picks details out well for her as she does a last walk-around. She manages to herd one sullen looking boy towards Maya's group, and when she surprises one boy and girl getting cuddly, their surprise at her sudden appearance helps persuade them to return to the group around Rick's fire.

Finally, as even her vision is failing in the growing dark, so finds the troll girl, Dot, quietly telling a story to two of the loner's, both boys, one human, one dwarf. Addie never quite made sense of the story, something to do with a land where everyone seemed to be some kind of adept or something like that, but the troll gives her a nod and Addie is happy enough to settle down with the small group. "So much for my plan of separate boy-girl sleeping areas" she thinks, but for now she is happy enough just to sit down and be near some other body warmth.

Once the story is done, Addie tells the other three "I don't sleep much. I hope not much will happen tonight, but I'll keep an ear out for trouble for now. Dot, Pierre" she addresses the two meta-humans "if I get worried about stuff, I might wake one of you up to take a look at the situation."

[Gilga]

"If only I was designed a trog rather than a delicate elf - I would not need to establish my turf'" It is difficult to describe the emotion she is feeling - it has some pride and some frustration. Pride for how she pushed her body and embraced the way of a warrior and frustration for never being quite as strong as warrior orks or trolls. Being big and intimidating could mean that non of the boys tries to rape her like that poor girl.

Alas, Addie was clinched and if she regained her calmness - she could notice that Dana's hair color changed into a deeper shade of red. Dana felt satisfied with her skills and grateful for the opportunity to use them. She can hear the beast within, her internal sensei that whispers "Just kill her... " Dana ignores, the shark wants to hunt but he is just a voice. He does not have to live with himself otherwise. Dana has to be careful not to harm Addie - as she was genetically engineered to be lethal. A punch or a kick may be lethal but Dana is not after Blood, not now. Shortly after Addie notices that she is stuck and unable to break out Dana let her go with a smile.
"Don't worry Addie - I have your back... let me know if you find anything more modest to wear."

She nods back at Addie and watches her as she gather supplies with curiosity - as Dana feels the heal spell makes first aid uninteresting. "If I have no physical possessions there is nothing worth stealing from me. I could go light until I actually need something."

Dana finds herself alone as the night progresses and the darkness deepens, Dana ends up practicing her art by the stream. Her practicing seemed to catch the interest of a small group of children, but Dana did not speak to them and they did not approach her. About an hour or two later, Dana finished her training, she took a moment to admire the beautiful night sky before she stripped and entered the cold water. She was sweating due to practice and needed to clean. The water were very cold and felt like countless needles were simultaneously poking her skin. Yet Dana forced herself to remain inside and cleaned herself as much as she could. Including washing her hair. She did not seem to mind the lack of privacy - being clean seemed more urgent than being modest.

Wet and cold she decided to make her way to one of the fires - but where? The orcs were probably more survivable but how could they possibly accept her, they were SINless and she grew in wealth. Dana has never lacked a thing in her life, she was never worried about food or a place to sleep - just about training.
The other camp was smaller and the people there seemed less likely to hold their own in a fight. Still, they seemed more civilized. Their company felt more secure for her. Conflicted, Dana chose the little fire - where she felt she'd be more accepted. She went to the food crate and took a nutrition bar. Then she sat by the fire and attempted to figure out how to eat the darn thing. Needless to say she never ate any processed food before. Shivering a bit she watched the odd nutrition bar with curiosity and dred.

[Mercy]

Maya nods at the large Ork. "I am not against forming one large group, but I would rather not be led by incompetence and stupidity and greed, all of which I have seen there. The leader, Rick, is hoarding some of the rations from the first crates and pretending to keep them for the use of everyone in his group. Sadly, there are not enough rations to go around among all of them there and soon he will be keeping them for an elite few and there will be a competition among the others to be in that group. This usually means the others become second class then third class citizens of the larger group and they are forced to do the majority of the work just for the crumbs provided them. The girls will be offered a chance to better their lot by having sex with Rick and his chosen few and there will be some who do that, while others will refuse for a time and be lumped as lower than the other third class citizens. That is his greed. His incompetence is reflected in his not being prepared for the cold night except for the large fire, which he cannot maintain with the wood he had gathered. It will burn out and leave the people with less warmth than they should have. The fire is far too large and dissipates its heat in too broad a circle. He could achieve the same effect with a smaller fire and conserve his wood supply. The fire is actually a sharing of his incompetence and his stupidity, in my opinion. The wind is blowing harder and there is a chance that it will push his fire away and into the underbrush, creating trouble for all of us. The shelters here are set up to divert the wind and hopefully prevent such an occurrence. The pile of dirt just there is meant to be used to put the fire out if it looks like it will become dangerous. I will go try to speak with them, although I think it will do no good. You say that you are not interested in being friends, but I think that you should be my friend. I think I will need you and that you will need me."

To Dana she says, "Four years ago a very large tiger tried to eat me. He left his marks on my face and much of the rest of my body, but it was I who prevailed. I think it was sheer determination on my part to not give up and die that made the difference."

To Addie she shows her skill with first aid and thanks her greatly when the other girl leaves the first aid kit with her.



Maya observes the activity at the other fire and shakes her head. She walks about her smaller camp and gives words of encouragement in as many languages as it takes to get the point across. She reminds everyone to use the latrine if they need to during the night then calls everyone closer to the small fire. "Please remember that we need each other to survive. That other fire is as loud and undisciplined as the leader of that camp is. I caution all of you that going over there to live is a mistake. That boy does not care for anyone else but himself and a small group of bullies he has granted some status to. I will not stop anyone from going there and I will take anyone back if you return. There is a place here for all of us, even Rick, but we will need cooperation, not tyranny, if we are to survive. I am going to go to that camp to try to get some of his people to join us, even though I do not expect much success." She motions to the boy that has been helping guard the camp and he comes over. "Roger here has agreed to act as temporary bailiff here, which means he is in charge of organizing a camp watch for the night. He will do so fairly, but all of us are eligible to pull watch, after all, it is for the good of all of us. I do not really expect trouble from Rick's camp as they still have enough food to not want what they think we might have. But I am worried about his fire getting out of control. And we do not know what sort of wildlife there may be out here. Rattlesnakes have been seen and there may be other creatures as well. Any questions?"

After answering the few that arise, Maya and the large Ork that refuses to be called her friend go up the small hill to where Rick is camped. The presence of her guardian is enough to get her close to where Rick is holding court. He derides her, saying, "Ahhh. The girl with the scars. Have you come to join our band? Not much use for you in the sack, though. Your face is too horrible to want to wake up next to. Perhaps a bag would help, though."

Maya waits for the laughter to die down, although much of it was forced and several of the kids present looked uncomfortable as he talked. She smiles, but the scars on her face turn it into a grimace. "No, Rick, I have come to ask for a few things. First, I am concerned that your fire is too big and will get away from you in the growing wind. My small shelters are out of the wind's path, but some of your group may be seriously injured if this fire gets free. Also, I am hoping that you might wish to join our groups? I am willing to share leadership, or indeed even give it up, as long as you agree to treat everyone fairly and with dignity and honor." While waiting for Rick to form an answer, Maya notices that several of the other kids are looking at her as if they did not understand a word. She calls out in several languages, hitting on French and Chinese as the most common other languages and repeats what she has said in those languages as well. Rick seems to get flustered and a bit angry. "Hey, don't be talking about me behind my back in that foreigner drek. What I have to say and how I say it is good enough for all of us." He gets a few "Right, Boss" and "You tell the ugly slot" from some of his crew, but most of the people just remain silent. Rick nods and motions to the ground in front of him. "I might, and I say might, consider such a thing if you were to get naked right now and let me and my friends slot you until we get tired of it."

Maya nods. "I do not trust you to keep your word or I might just do that, Rick." She addresses the rest of the group as she turns, "All of you are welcome to join our smaller group if you are willing to help and share and look out for the weaker among us. Please have a safe night." She and the Ork turn to leave, and she ignores Rick's catcalls as they make their way down the hill to the other camp. The Ork says, "My name is Grok. You have either been brave or foolish and I do not know which yet. Still, I think that your concerns about Rick and his followers are well founded. I will stay to help you if you like."

Maya smiles in the darkness. "Thank you very much, Grok. I do like."

They arrive back in the camp to find that Roger has organized a good watch and that people are getting settled in for the night. Maya shows others how to take the hot rocks from the edge of the fire to use to safely give some heat to the shelters and has new rocks placed around the small blaze. She notes with satisfaction that several people go off to use the slit trench before going to bed curled up next to others. It is only then that she can allow herself to wonder at what has happened. The odd sky and lack of animal sounds, even birds, is confusing and disconcerting. She does not know where she is and cannot see enough of the stars to get a fix on her location. She suspects sorcery of some kind but such things are completely beyond her knowledge. She might ask that Dana girl in the morning as she seemed to be able to see spirits near and so must have some access to the astral. Her short funk is disturbed by the arrival of six people, two from out in the wilds and four from Rick's camp who come seeking shelter. They are all tired and cold and she settles them into the shelters, thinking that more shelters can be built tomorrow. So many things to do, but she has already delegated authority to Roger for security and the two French kids for providing sanitary facilities, which will soon be a real necessity. She takes another look at Rick's flaring fire and shudders at what might happen if it gets out of control. Her camp is protected by the hill and the wind is blowing away from her, but being right does not help those kids who might be hurt if she is. With a troubled heart, Maya settles down into her shelter and tries to get some sleep.

[Aria]

@Smaller Camp

It is dark and chilly but could not really be said to be cold. When others are beginning to sleep fitfully, as best they can given the frightening surroundings and the hardness of the ground, two more figures approach the camp from Rick’s. Grok steps up but a harshly whispered “get the frag out of my way…I need to talk to tiger girl…” and he backs off to let Rick and a smaller boy through to your fire…

His voice when he speaks to Maya has lost the gruff orc tones…it is subtler, more menacing “So, you liked the little circus I put on for you back there? Dum trog act works a treat but make no mistake I’m not some stupid frag for you to look down your nose at, if you try to undermine me again I will have to do something about it and a confrontation isn’t going to benefit anyone at the moment! I can see you know what you are doing, so come and do that for me and we can all get along! As for the fire thing, I brought you a little present…Sim, do your thing” and the younger boy scrunches up his face and your camp fire flares just a little brighter and warmer, without apparently consuming the fuel any faster

“Like I said, I’m not stupid…the big fire is a symbol, and maybe, just maybe it will keep whatever predators are out there away for tonight at least! We’ve landed a banquet in their midst, I don’t plan on being in the first course, do you?”

@Larger Camp

The heat of the fire lulls you and it is just about possible to ignore the uncomfortable ground underneath you. It feels good to be huddled together against the winds blowing across the bluff and those that can hold a tune get a prime spot by the fire. At some point during the night one of the boys cries out and his neighbours wearily tell him to shut it, until his cries become a screech…when someone checks on him there is consternation…he is no longer breathing, a large bruise is spreading across his temple from a powerful blow to the head…first casualty!

@Outsiders

It’s lonely out her, for those that feel such things…the night is spectacularly dark, the wind having blown in clouds that hide whatever stars might otherwise have been visible. You are pretty sure there are eyes out there, watching you…

@All

For those that can estimate such things it is the early hours when the atmosphere changes and the first rumbles of thunder are heard across the mountains…the lightening that strikes, a considerable distance off, nevertheless rocks the air with its power. What is most frightening is the deep purple colour of the strike…

[Raiderj]

"SON OF A BITCH!" Vincent exclaimed nearly falling out of the tree. "Aria... Aria!?" Vincent couldn't remember whether or not she came with him. He looked at the sky and cursed his inabillity to assent. "I got nothing kid. Purple lightning is a bit much. Maybe find someone who can assent?" Vincent climbed down and went toward the camps. He had decided to shack up on his own for now. Biding his time until the opportunity presented itself. Also he didn't get along with normal kids to begin with... he ran out and went towards the smaller campfire. "Hey! Can anyone assent?"

[Gilga]

Spirit incident:
As Dana approached the spirit it was gone... "I must appear crazy but there was something here - it does not want to talk to us or be observed by us tough.'" She appologize to Maya and then continue alone toward the other spirit, she follows it deep into the other camp, but Dana wants some answers.

"Hello spirit, would you be kind and answer a question for me ? Were you here when we arrived? Do you know how did it happen?"
She said with excitement as the second spirit did not flee as she approached.
(clearly this one is Lindsey's spirit)

****
Present by the fire:
Reluctantly, Dana places the nutrition bar in her mouth and starts chewing. The taste is 'not terrible' and she needs the calories. The feast is over soon enough and the beautiful elf with her now wet auburn hair looks around the fireplace for someone to snuggle with. Dana is pissed as the Orc king arrives and her hair turns ginger, she struggles with the temptation to just throw that arrogant prick into the fire. As he speaks to Maya tough Dana is uncertain whom of the two is the more reasonable one. She is grateful for the warmer fire tough.

There was little sleep that night, Dana did fell a sleep a little bit but in general adrenaline level were way to high for a good night sleep. She barely noticed the purple lighting, and is violently awoken as Vincent runs towards the camp asking for someone who can assense - Dana stiffens and moves uneasily, she hopes that Maya would keep her secret - as Dana can already picture. A crowd of trident holding orcs crying 'geek the mage' and blaming Dana for their every misfortune. While the tough of fighting so many of them excites her - she is still terrified of being publicly outed as a (sort of) mage .
"Lets see if I can trust you Tiger girl" she thinks.

[Mercy]

Not really able to sleep, Maya is still awake when Rick and the other boy visit. She listens to him talk then calmly responds. "Hello and good evening to you, too, Rick. My name is Maya, by the way, in case you would like to use it in the future. And no, I did not enjoy your little circus. I do not know why you feel it is necessary to use your act like that. In the first place I would never use an insulting word like trog to describe anyone. In the second place, I do not look down my nose at you or feel particularly superior to you. We have different styles and I do not agree with yours. It is my personal opinion that you do not need to resort to sorcery, trickery, or threats to keep people in line. Treating them with dignity and respect will do the same and do it better, because people will want to follow you. I feel that you are used to using your size and your attitude to get by and get others to do your bidding. Do not get me wrong, I want to help you and am willing to work with you to help everyone here. I will not help a tyrant increase his power base or make it easier for one to rule more effectively, but I will help you if you can compromise a bit." She points to her face, where the partial light emphasizes her scars. "The tiger that scarred my face and body and took my eyes was not the largest, scariest, or most threatening animal I have faced, and neither are you. I did not go to see you to try to undermine your authority, you are doing well enough in that area by yourself, and threats do not sway me, but kindness does. I will certainly help you and the rest of the people out, and I will continue to offer a harbor to anyone who wants to be treated as equals and as partners in our survival. If you can see your way to working with me then maybe we can make this work. It is your choice, just as it is everyone else's choice." Maya point to the boy Rick had brought. "Sim, right? Well, if Sim can do that trick, he may have better ways to use his talents, and there are probably many of us here that can use their skills to help us survive."

"If you are willing, I propose a meeting tomorrow for all us. We can agree to work together and ask people to list their strengths and what they can do for us. We can organize instead of just being individuals. I am sure that there must be some that are good at setting snares for what game there is, others can weave grasses for shelters or sleeping mats, someone might be a carpenter and can show us the best way to use the wood and nails from the crates left for us. Others might have skills to explore the area and tell us if there is a better place to camp. We need to work together, Rick, not against each other. Is that something we can agree to? Will you work with me so we can combine our forces to make the best use of the talents we all have? I do not consider myself better than you or anyone else, I am just willing to let others buy into our survival and help us succeed."

[Beta]

Addie decided that while Dot may be strange, she wasn't foolish. The dip in the ground kept most of the wind off of them. Even so, sitting up and watching the goings on was leaving Addie pretty cold. It was frustrating to see figures leaving one camp or the other without being close enough to know what was going on -- her instincts were to get involved, to get people negotiating collective solutions, maybe to chastise the foolish and support the wise but mostly to help the overall group.

But it just wasn't the right time. Maya gave the impression that she knew everything better than everyone else, and Addie was pretty sure that while some kids would be attracted to that confidence that others would be repulsed by. Whether or not Maya was actually right barely entered into the equation. On the other hand Rick definitely had a sort of charisma to him, despite his rough exterior. But Addie suspected that he might be a bit too fond of being the leader.

Hunh -- suspected. She'd not actually talked to him. Why not? It was easy to say 'Because obviously he wasn't one of the ones who might need help' but she felt there was more to it than that. She let her mind wander as she huddled against the night's chill, to Rick, to her parents and her grandmother -- did they know she was gone? Were they looking for her? Would Eric ask why she wasn't at the Dojo? Surely her teacher wouldn't just accept her disappearance without looking, and he was very capable.

She thought she could finally sleep, even her sleep regulator could only hold off fatigue for so long. She lay down, snuggled closer to the dwarf, Pierre, than was entirely decent but right now warmth trumped decency. As sleep began to wrap her mind she imagined Eric coming striding up these hills to the rescue brought a smile to her lips, she could imagine running down the hill to greet him, jumping into his arms, kissing him ... no, of course she wouldn't do that, she had a crush on him but she knew it could never run its course, he was too old, her family would never accept it. Although out here, why should she care what her family thought? They wouldn't be here to see if she kissed Rick.

Rick? She meant Eric, right? Rick was, was .... she was falling asleep too quickly and deeply to formulate the thought in words, but the tingling in her body let her know exactly what she thought Rick was.

[Aria]

@Maya:

Rick's words drip with scorn "Dignity? Respect? ...Kindness? I do not know what fragged up world you come from princess but it is not the one I inhabit! Call your meeting tomorrow and we will see which way the wind is blowing, but I promise you this, I will strip you of these people that are sheltering behind your skirts and I guarantee that they will want to come to me! I will be a tyrant if I must but we will survive this! I do not make threats, it is merely an observation, a study of human nature that is a little less sentimental than your own idealistic views. We do not need to work together, you need to work for me...it is simply the natural order of things. I don't want your body but your mind can be useful...why waste it opposing me? Sim, come..." and the two of them turn to leave...

[Beta]

When Addie wakes up the sky is still pretty thoroughly dark. Her internal ‘link tells her that it is about 8 hours since she thought to have it mark the time, about the time the sun was going down. It had been Summer back home, was it Summer here, too? She couldn’t remember for sure, but she thought the sun had been setting back home around 8 pm, so that would make it four in the morning? Wait, day-light savings time, so maybe sunset was really around 7pm, so it would be something like 3am?

Either way, by her link she’d slept for about four hours – that it had been that long told her how exhausted she had been. At least the sleep regulator had helped make sure that it was good sleep, and thankfully nothing seemed to have happened to her while she was so deeply passed out.

“This could be a double-edged sword out here” she thought. “Being able to stay awake longer, get more done, keep guard, that is all good. But when I do sleep I’m really vulnerable. I really better figure out how to guard my sleep for those three or four hours each night.”

She shifted a bit to try and take the pressure off her hip, but her movement seemed to disturb Pierre who moaned and twisted, letting a knife of cold air slide in between them. “Still too dark to do much anyway, might as well stay here and stay warm until the sky starts brightening. Back home I’d just flick on a light and start my stretches, or simply jump into the matrix for some entertainment. I never thought before how boring it might be not to sleep much.”

But one thought connects to another, and she eventually wonders that nobody else seems to have an internal commlink? Or maybe their transmission abilities were broken somehow? Or maybe wherever they are, wireless doesn’t work? She isn’t sure that they aren’t on earth, but the things that Dot had pointed out seemed to have taken a solid hold of her mind while she slept, and she strongly suspects that they are in some incredible matrix simulation, or sucked into a magic world, or something. Or the implants had driven her insane and she was hallucinating, she still didn’t think that was the case but she still wasn’t entirely positive. Everything had seemed so real during the day, but lying here in the darkness it is much easier to believe that maybe it isn’t.

Still, she hadn’t really worked hard with her ‘link yesterday. There had been so much going on that once she hadn’t connected to the matrix, she’d kind of given up. She spent some time with the user settings, looking anything about range, sensitivity, telling her about other devices nearby – she’d never really used it for more than the obvious functions before, but she knew that all of those settings were in there. Maybe there really were no other links around, maybe her link was broken, but maybe she just hadn’t tried hard enough, and she could improve her ability to communicate, and to coordinate at a distance.

Since she really wasn’t sure how she should be adjusting the thing, she resolved to try a setting, let it run for a while, try another, and so on. It didn’t really cost her anything, and eventually it might let her connect.


When the sky did start to brighten enough for her enhance vision to see well enough, she tried to quietly slide away from Pierre, but he woke up. To his sleepy mumble she replied “Sorry, morning is coming, was just going to take a look around while things are quiet.” She didn't add out loud "And before any snakes wake up!" but she certainly thought it.

The boy woke up enough to mutter “At least that fragging strange purple lightning stopped.” But then he pushed himself more thoroughly against Dot’s side and seemed to fall back asleep.

Purple lighting? Had he been having a weird dream, or had she slept through more weirdness?


As she quietly made her way through the pre-dawn hush towards the stream -- might as well get clean while most were still sleeping -- she started cataloging all the weirdness. Strange clouds, no birds or insects around, maybe purple lightning, no matrix. Hadn't there been something else odd as she'd been falling asleep?

Thoughts of kissing Rick.

She paused mid-stride at that memory. That had clearly been the natural confusion of the names Rick and Eric, with both being orcs, after a long and strange day. Certainly not something that she actually wanted. And the sudden goosebumps on her arms were obviously a result to the cold air, not to that thought! But as she approached the stream, unbidden a thought occurred to her "If I was with him, I could sleep safely."

[Raiderj]

"What the hell is Assenting?" One of the kids asked Vincent. "Its when you look at something with magic to tell if it has a magical touch basically. I can't do it but someone else might. Anyone got any magic power?" The kids looked at him blankly but then started to whisper amongst themselves. One of the older kids asked point blank: "Do YOU have any magic power?" Vincent nodded. "I'm an adept yeah." A few laughed at that which spread amongst the group. "Oh yeah and I am Lowfyr the dragon." He retorted. Vincent looked at them blankly. "Meh. I'll go ask the other group." Vincent walked away. They sent some jeering calls after him then went on their way. But a few of the other kids began discussing at length about magic. "But if there were magic users here that could be useful. They can like grow food and water right?" "Yeah and he but adepts are supposed to be killing machines right? You ever watch Ninja Run?" Ninja Run was a trid about a secret order of adepts(based on real adepts the disclaimer said) that had some unrealstic adept powers and martial arts. "Yeah but I doubt any adepts here would be like that..." "I dunno... what if the kid was telling the truth?" "That scrawny nerd doesn't look like the type..." "Well lets forget about it now. Im beat. Adept boy can go magic hunting all he wants. Who knows? Maybe he finds an actual mage. If they don't burn him alive Im sure they can help." "Thats sick man." The three lay down.

[adamu]

`If I give you a blade, you owe me. Information. When I ask of it. No lies. Complete truth.`

Raf's mind raced. Here was an opening. Could he accept it?

In a perfect world, the scoundrel would relinquish his booty and be roundly admonished in the doing.

In this world, he was offering one part of the assets in question, and for a price.

Would it therefore be immoral to accept?

The aim - several minutes and a million years ago - had been to prevent a damaging material loss to the group at large. Now, here, he and this fellow were alone. No one had even seemed bothered by his predation. And the honest truth was, if Raf by whatever means obtained the knife right now, he would keep it for himself. Because he knew it would in fact be most useful to the group in his own hands.

Morever, he had no use for a hammer, and less for a second knife, as he'd pointed out to this fellow.

Conclusion, getting just the knife would constitute a win on his part.

Was the condition imposed unethical? Not on the strict reading, and he was definitely prepared to read it strictly.

So toss principle aside?

His father was a strict idealist. Except that Raf knew he made hard choices in his boardroom decisions. And what had his management tutor - hired and vetted by his father - taught him? Win-win or no deal, those were the options. A win-lose, even when the winner was oneself, was an unproductive and unethical outcome.

The choice seemed clear. But he wanted no disagreements down the line, nothing to uproot any small seeds of trust, or sour a mutually face-saving accord...

"I'll happily tell you anything you want to know anytime you care to ask. And I never lie anyway. But while I do plan to forge contacts among the others, it will be when I am good and ready to do so. I won't be an errand boy sent to ferret out secrets for you. Neither will I ever knowingly help you harm or exploit the weak. Within those parameters, any knowledge I gain will be yours for the asking. It's a good deal, because I always keep my word and always pay my debts."

He watched the fellow's face for a reaction, but there was none. Just a wall. His code had left him with no choice but to be crystal clear about his conditions, but sensing they might not be what the fellow had had in mind, he attempted to sweeten the pot, though he wasn't sure if it would be at all useful with this one.

"And I'll offer you something much better than a set of eyes and ears. I'll be an ally to you."

[Gilga]

Rick is such an asshole - but every garbage heap has some garbage king. There were real problems something was not right with magic, either nearby pollution or something a lot worse, if only Dana had some privacy she could scout the surroundings and have a look, Too many people in there. She watches with curiosity the power play and pissing contest between Rick and Maya and as Rick leaves she say.

"Tiger girl, pretty boy is bad news for you - he is not here for 24 hours and is already obsessed with power. That person would not tolerate you, and if this is what he does after so little time - it will not be long before he make his move. Are you willing to spill blood for your goal? Because that guy seems like he would.
Frankly I do not really care who is in charge of this garbage heap, there is something very wrong in here and we have no future here. I cannot explain what is wrong but I can feel it in my bones - we should leave while we still can while we have enough medical supplies and enough food. There is no future to this camp. These crates came from somewhere... we should attempt to find that place it should be more survivable, or at least offer us some answers."

[irn0rchid]

Wandering in a bit behind the orks, Lindsey comes into a camp divided into clumps around the crates in the center. The boy who'd spoken out before seemed to be running herd over most of the younger kids and appeared to have been successful in stopping the wholesale looting of the crates. Further around the circle there was a group of older kids that were holding themselves apart but with no readily apparently leader. Then there was the group of orks she was already familiar with, and finally a section where the loners were all together, but obviously not together. Unsurprisingly, it looked like there had already been at least one fight as a girl with clothes more tattered than most was leaving camp for the treeline.

Circling the outside of camp, she catches Rick's eye and nods with a smile then finally enters and sits on the edge of the group of loners with the spirit still on her shoulder. She mentally asks the spirit, "I know you have to go soon, but before you do, can you run uphill and see if you can get a view of the area or find anything that seems out of place and let me know?" As the spirit nods and hops off her shoulder, the orcs finally get the fire going with another loud cheer. All eyes are on Rick as he laughs and jokes with the others.

Not much later the spirit reports back that it's reached the highest point in the area but the landscape looks essentially the same in all directions. Frowning, Lindsey thanks the spirit as it returns to wherever it is they stay when not with her. As the sun sets below the horizon, she watches the fire dance and jump as the kids around it try to keep themselves warm and entertained. "So we've got food, for now, clothes, till they fall apart, and a bunch of kids... not great. No idea how we got here, or even where here is, but someone obviously put us here; what are they expecting from us? Other than the environment, everyone is acting fairly reasonably..." Of course, mere moments after thinking that, the scarred girl walks purposefully into the camp and steps right up to Rick with her protector. "Oh, this should be good!" As expected, the 'discussion' does not go well for her and she eventually retreats with the ork. Once they're gone she looks over to Rick's group and says in Or'zet, "Why is that kid hanging with the ones up the hill? He too good for us here?" Her words have the desired effect as the rank and file grumble. Shortly after, Rick takes one of the others and stalks out of camp, heading towards the other group.

With the sun fully down and not trusting anyone else in this new place, she concentrates and looks around for one of her friends, eventually finding one on the other side of the fire, a fire that was glowing way more brightly than it should! As the spirit walks past the fire and to her side, she studies the fire trying to figure out what's going on. While the colors are in flux, there seems to be a certain pattern to it and, when Rick and the boy return to camp, she suddenly realizes that the boy has the same pattern around him! "He must have done something to the fire somehow..." Looking in her direction, the boy's eyes widen and he nudges Rick, whispering something to him after which Rick locks eyes with her with a raised eyebrow before continuing back to his normal spot. Shrugging, she gets ready to try and sleep, asking her friend to please watch over her and wake her if anyone gets too close or when he has to leave. Having slept in much worse conditions before, she falls asleep quickly.

A sudden screech in the night wakes her and she's almost instantly awake. Looking around in the firelight she sees a commotion in the group of older kids but can't make out what it is. Scruntching up her face, she uses her other vision to look and sees that one of the boys on the ground is obviously dead now, particular look that she's seen many times before. There doesn't seem to be any immediate threat and everyone seems to be either asleep or concerned with the boy, so she lays back down and falls asleep. Sleeping right through the lightning strikes, she is woken right before dawn by her friend who then runs off towards the trees.