Force and Fury

Left Behind: Mulberry Street

So, should I post over to the Char tab or is Jason just to spicy? Let me know one way or the other.

The Hourglass Order

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Out of the frying pan and into the fire. The stray thought inserted itself into Jocasta's head and she couldn't help but think it, even as she drew desperately to nearly her full capacity before Zarina stepped through and took the rest. Ayla was through moments later and using some sort of sonic spell that - surprisingly - Jocasta was not familiar with.

They were on a rocky plateau in the middle of a wide canyon, surrounded by sand on all sides and there was a creature as big as a building in their faces. The lone tethered in the group had not landed evenly. She could feel her wheelchair dangerously askew, but she had come here for precisely one reason: to get Escarra and his people out.

"Cover me!" Jocasta shouted, unable to move without using magic but already pulling on the threads of space and time to get a portal up and the rangers out. Yet, it seemed Ayla was already on the case. Whatever she had cast moments earlier seemed to have... distracted the colossal dragon.

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The sand wyrm was going to eat, and it was happy! The weather was good, its prey seemed utterly unable to harm it or at least uninterested in doing so, and it was going to eat! On some level, the wrongness of the entire situation struck the creature's simple mind, but now it was here and... it was not actually hungry. It had been frightened by the dark thing and fled, but then there had been an easy snack, and now the snack was shooting at it and... wait. Why did it want to eat these little humans again? Humans weren't even that tasty!

The enormous beast paused and regarded the pesky things stinging it with bullets and magics. They were rather appealing and colourful, actually, and it could tell that one was from the strange red stone where they rolled instead of walked. It decided that it was rather fond of them, in fact. Now, the dark thing, it definitely wasn't. That was both paradoxically delicious-looking and terrifying. Perhaps these human-creatures were also not fond of the dark thing. So, only a couple feet in front of them, the Royal Sand Wyrm tilted its head to one side and issued a friendly greeting, seeing how the tiny animals would respond. They still looked somewhat tasty...

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She was almost there. "Warden!" Jocasta called, "To me!" The wyrm was acting strangely but she didn't have the luxury of worrying too much about it unless it was attacking. Escarra and the others scrambled around the rock face, ready to dive through the moment that the portal was active. "Momento!" the warden called. "The dragon! He is -" Then, there was the flash of another portal and, from it, erupted Desmond, Tku, Fiske, Evander, and... Benedetto. The last of the group wasted no time whatsoever, ready to launch an atomic blast at the monster's face. "Eat shit, Worm! The cavalry is here!"

They had mere moments to gauge the situation and make a decision. Would it be fight or flight? Dragon breaks, dragon steaks, or how to tame your dragon?

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Action Opportunities

Welcome to our brief chapter two of Primitive: Fight or Flight. You can find some action opportunities below.
1) Anything you notice? Any interactions?

2) This is all about your decision. If we choose not to fight, things can proceed rather quickly, with a potential large boon and some information gathering. If we fight the Sand Wyrm, then we'll play that combat out and potential rewards will be disbursed if you succeed (warning that this is a very dangerous fight).

3) Either way, please coordinate over discord.

4) If we get some quick responses, this will act as a mini-chapter and I'll have an update up later this weekend.

The Hourglass Order

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Present: Yalen Castel @pantothenic, Maura Mercador @Ti, Trypano Somia @A Lowly Wretch, Ingrid Penderson @dragonpiece, Niallus Saberhagen @McKennaJ71, and Abdel Varga @YummyYummy

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They had been given assurances.

Moths and crane flies now swirled about the lanterns hanging in the courtyard and the remnants of a hearty dinner lay stacked in front of the group of students. Mr. Wei, who ran the inn, and his daughter Yin, who did much of the cooking, had simply kept bringing dishes full of food, and the students were of an age and constitution to continue eating as more arrived. The younger of the pair had already taken most of the mess away, always with a smile and some simple quip in Retanese, once she had learned that some of them understood a few words.

Captain Zhu dined with them only briefly, and he had little more than some appetizers and a drink. Xiulan explained that he was a good captain who cared about his men and he did not want to eat separately from them, especially until the four he had sent to deal with the earlier disturbance had returned safely. When Rikard inquired as to the nature of the disturbance, the group’s guide admitted to little knowledge of what it was. However, it would not be a serious problem else the Bái wèibīng (the white guard) would have been called instead, they were assured before the conversation was steered towards their preferred magics and aptitudes.

“So you are truly master of dragon?” Xiulan exclaimed, eyes widening in Abdel’s direction. She leaned in excitedly. “I love dragon!”

Yin, gathering plates, noticed her excitement. “说什么?” (said what?) she prodded and there was a quick response. “Whooooaa,” the innkeeper’s daughter replied, eyes floating Abdel’s way. “厉害!” (awesome/so cool) Xiulan giggled. “I sink I don’t have to translate this.”

Before the boy had the chance to boast, however, there was a thump on the front door and Yin scurried off to go and answer it. The four guardsmen returned and, with small waves and bows, were ushered up to the mezzanine, where Captain Zhu’s head briefly appeared out of a doorway. Bits and pieces of conversation drifted down, but then they were behind closed doors and the students and Xiulan were left to their own devices. All around them were the sounds of crickets, the soft crackle and warm glow of the outside hearth’s coals, and the lapping of water in a small pond by the garden. Fat lazy gold fish drifted along near its surface, their lips occasionally popping out in circles and little bubbles rising from them. “This is a nice place,” Blossom assured them. “Really, it is.” She yawned. “The little…” she trailed off, gesturing at the fishpond. “这个!” (this one) she sighed in some frustration. She’d had a bit to drink and her cheeks were rather rosy. She stifled a second yawn and, in one smooth motion, rose to her feet, stretched, and bowed. “I sink zat is ze sandman telling me somesing,” she admitted. “Go to sleep go to sleeeeep -”

Kaureerah picked it up, gently strumming on her guitar. “Go te sleeeeeeeep leetel Blaussem.”

“Hehe, I will, I will.” With her fingers, she playfully conducted Kaureerah like she was an orchestra. “You know, I like you have the accent like me. Make me less em…embrassed for my Avinci.” She bowed again and turned theatrically on her heel. “Goodnight! 晚安!” Then, Xiulan was headed upstairs and those who were still by the cooling heart found themselves - for the first time since they had arrived in this distant land - alone.

It may have struck them that they had received no explicit directions yet and discussions had been gently but persistently steered away from the topic of precisely what they would be doing over the next few days. They had merely been told to be ready in the lobby by 8:00 in the morning - time was measured differently in Retan - and they would be apprised of what to expect next. Everything that they needed would be found in or brought to the Golden Carp Inn. They had been given assurances.

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Some, however, believed these more than others.

So it was that Rikard Ambrus sat on the mezzanine at a time the Retanese referred to as 24:00 and watched as Wei Yin trudged across the courtyard, sweeping. She had come from the direction of the stables, where the group’s larger animals were housed. Her footsteps were heavy and she yawned a couple of times as she swept but, gradually, she worked her way across the entire space and was in the process of emerging from a small shed with some wood for the morning when there was a small noise: faint and muffled, and almost like a… scream.

Immediately, the innkeeper’s daughter, moving about in a near-stupor, perked up. She set her bundle down and hurried off in the direction of a side wing. Rikard perked up immediately. He had gotten the distinct sense that they were ever to be respectful visitors here, but there had been a scream - a person’s scream - and it would be irresponsible of him not to investigate, for safety, of course. Pulling some heat from the dying coals, he leapt over the railing and landed gently - almost noiselessly - on the floor below, finding the girl’s energy signature and following it.

The old wooden door creaked softly as he pushed through and the boy avoided using magic to light his way. That was when, up ahead, he could hear voices, speaking just above a whisper and rapidly in Retanese.

“你可以使用你的魔法。帮助他。” (You can use your magic. Help him.” It was Mr. Wei.

“不，爸爸。我不能。警察正在监视外国人。他们也会抓住我们。” (No, dad. I can’t. The police are watching the foreigners. They’ll catch us too.)

“这就是为什么我们应该现在就做！他们只会认为是那些孩子。请，女儿。勇受苦了。” (That’s why we should do it now! They’ll just think it’s those kids. Please, daughter. Yong is suffering.)

“不，爸爸！想想看！州长让我们把他们留在这里，这样他就可以派士兵跟他们一起去。他们想抓我们！” (No, dad! Think about it! The governor told us to keep them here so he could send soldiers with them. They want to get us!) Rikard didn’t understand more than maybe a word or two, and he even doubted those, but he could tell that it was urgent just by the tone of their voices.

“请银.” (Please, Yin.) There was a long pause and then the voice of a young boy. Rikard could feel a small surge of magic: Chemical magic, and Yin’s voice continued to talk to him. Then, there were footsteps on the move. The visitor’s heart hammered and a cold rush coursed through his body. Drawing some more on the Gift to muffle his footsteps and boost his body, he rushed back through the hallway, bursting through a doorway just as he heard a door creak open somewhere well behind him. “谁在那儿?” (who’s there?) came Mr. Wei’s voice, anxious and still quiet enough not to wake the others. Rikard said nothing, however. Instead, he slipped down the hallway to the lavatories and disappeared into them. “Mr. Wei?” he called tentatively.

“Ree-car?” came the innkeeper’s reply.

“I’m in the…” he tried to remember the word he’d been taught. “厕所.” (cèsuǒ - bathroom)

He knew there was more than the innkeeper wanted to say. In truth, his insides were being clawed open by anxiety, but they could not communicate and so his reckoning might be saved for tomorrow. Fuck! he shouted in his head. You just couldn’t stay out of it! You just couldn’t mind your own business! So it was that Rikard hung around in a room that smelled like poop for half an hour, trying to calm himself and hoping that people would forget. They didn’t though. There were more voices speaking Retanese and they were Mr. Wei’s and Captain Zhu’s, quiet but intense. Eventually they, too, went away, and he dashed up to bed, locked himself in his room, and failed to sleep in more than fits and starts for the rest of the night.

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It was the wee hours of the morning. A gentle rain had started and a cloaked figure slipped through the slumbering streets of Wánggǎng. More than once it seemed to pause, scan, and change course, almost as if it knew what it sought but not the way to reach it. In truth, it was not the first such figure, for there had been one similarly attired the night before and there would yet be one after it.

After a handful of missteps, it wandered its way over to a nondescript house not too far from the port district. The light of the moons peered briefly through the clouds. It sparkled off of the near-distant water, illuminating a paper nailed into the door. For a moment, the person in the cloak paused, as if perhaps reading or gathering the courage to follow through on something. Then, there was a tiny burst of magic and the simple lock mechanism popped open.

The cloaked interloper scanned the entranceway and the few simple rooms beyond, pulling back her hood once she found herself alone, to reveal the features of a fair young woman. It was all wreckage inside: the clear remnants of a violent struggle, uncleaned and uncleared for now. She had no idea if that would continue to be the case or if the people whose job it was to make messes disappear simply hadn’t gotten here yet. Quietly, on high alert the entire time, she made her way about the eerily empty home. Light spilled in long sharp lines through shuttered windows and her feet crunched softly across broken glass. Doors were busted open and furniture lay broken and scattered across the floor. Reaching out with her magic as gently as she could - for there had been not one iota of it the entire night - she searched the shapes and energies of her surroundings until she came upon a small figurine: a porcelain doll that had had its head broken open.

It was at about that moment that she felt it: someone very powerful headed her way, and quickly. She was not incapable in magic, but she was not a fighter either. She grabbed the ruined doll, flipped her hood up and, calling upon what she had of the Gift, made her escape with all due haste.

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Action Opportunities

Welcome to Chapter Two of Metropolis: Still of the Night. You can find some action opportunities below.

1) You've settled in for the night and had some dinner. Feel free to comment on the dinner, come up with some shenanigans and hijinks or, conversely, be boring. You could probably explore the inn a bit or or poke about. How far will you go? How about Xiulan? How much can you learn from her? How much should you?

2) Feel free to collab and discuss with other players or characters just what is going on. Maybe start trying to make a plan for tomorrow with the scant little information you've been given? Unpack the day's events and the people you've met? Interact with the animals or NPCs!

3) If you think that it makes sense for your character to have noticed, you may react to the scream like Rikard did, as well as any of the subsequent events. If you take action, though, you will have to roll for stealth and not being detected. There are secrets here to explore.

4) Who is the cloaked figure? What are they doing? Have you been good and stayed put? Any snooping of your own? Any conversations with Rikard. It's very early going, but pieces are moving rapidly behind the scenes.

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The Hourglass Order

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At first, Kaureerah had tried to remember the names. She had tried to connect with the people, but there were too many, there was not enough time to get to know them, and - to her great embarrassment - she could not pronounce most of them anyhow. It was all government pageantry, and she was ashamed to admit that she had checked out before long.

She'd noticed something, though, as she'd stood there waiting, and it had been cast into stark relief when Wu Long had used magic to leap atop his horse before departing: Nobody was using magic, or at least very few. It had taken some time to adjust as she'd first come to human lands - they seemed to divide class by magic use and there was just so much less among them than there was among eeaiko - but this was unusual, even by human standards. And now we have a second mystery to solve...

As Blossom and Kai led them through the streets of the ReTanese capital, Kaureerah found herself unable to maintain any sort of paranoia level and she soon succumbed to the sights and sounds of an idyllic fall evening in this strange land. She was, to be certain, an object of immense curiosity, but less of one than she'd imagined, in some ways. Many of the people living here had seen 'sea people' (Hǎi rén) before, but had never seen an Easterner. Guess who's not the only freak in the sideshow, she thought amusedly to herself. Eventually, she began to strum at her guitar when a melody took her and it was all so idyllic until...

They stopped. Then, Kai was issuing orders to his soldiers and they were rushing off in the direction of where Kaureerah was sure she'd detected some chemical and binding magic. She'd been scanning passively, partly to help her solve her earlier mystery and partly for information. There was kinetic now, as well. Kinetic because they're running. Whatever it was, it was soon out of her sensing range, and she was tempted to put up an illusion and follow. Instead, Kaureerah searched her surroundings for landmarks, noted what she could, and began forming a plan...

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The Hourglass Order

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The forests of West Kerremand were little different from those of his home region, Manfred decided. Walking along, he listened to the familiar calls of the echobirds, and the rustle of the great salamanders as they woke from their Hundrian torpor. He took Dory's hand out of habit a couple of times and made conversation. In fact, he almost let himself relax as people examined the pitcher plants, disturbed the animals, gabbed relentlessly and, most amusing of all, touched the mushrooms. Manfred shot a little side-eyed smirk Dory's way. You never touched the mushrooms around here, unless they were Perrench Food. Of course, it wasn't as if anything too severe would result, and most of those foolhardy enough to do it were yasoi... not of much use anyhow.

Things continued in this manner as the sun started to inch towards the tops of the trees, growing fat, lazy, and golden as it sunk. A different group of animals began to make itself heard now, and he recognized the chittering cries of Bat Dragons and the deep croaking calls of Coal Toads among them. Then came the distorted screech of... something, and an involuntary shiver ran down the back of Manfred's neck. Glances were exchanged within the group of nine and he counseled himself that it was just the echobirds. What had they picked up on, though!? That's what was worrisome. Nervous chuckles issued from a couple of the others. "Well," Manfred remarked, "I guess that's a good reminder of why we're here, no?" Casually, he swung his rifle from his shoulder and continued on with it in his hands, just in case...

The Hourglass Order

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& Esmii'nesta'tawaar

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The men and women were given separate rooms, of course, not that Sven expected to spend very much time in his. He’d been to Hogh Munkhelad before, but never to Hoch Dorumvir! It was all of a minute before he’d pestered Esmii into coming with him to explore.

After Sven 'asked' Esmii if she wanted to do some exploring with him, she happily agreed to his offer, since she wanted to spend some time with him too. Upon meeting up with him, she gave him a little kiss on his cheek, having to stand on her tiptoes for it. "So where do you want to go?" She smiled, taking hold of his arm.

“Well…” Sven trailed off. There were so many options, but he had one, in particular, in mind. “Maybe we could go shee shome of the animalsh? If they don’t have a menagerie, maybe the shtablesh?”

Esmii smiled at Sven’s suggestion. "That sounds like fun. As long as we are together, I dont mind where we go." She held onto his hand, "Hopefully the others will have some luck in their searches as well."

Sven did not waste anymore time, and soon the couple were headed towards the stables, taking in the city’s early evening sights along the way. The tall Eskandish boy - even taller now after another year of growth - had to duck more than once and still managed to bump into a hanging sign and momentarily daze himself. Then, they were there…

Left Behind: Mulberry Street

@Kuro Yup. He's much more the latter. I did want to give him one moment of awesome at some point, just to not make his narrative so straightforward, but it's mostly meant to be a harsh dose of reality, gradually and crushingly delivered until he finds a way to rebuild himself. He's enthusiastic enough in the early going that he'll see, hear, and think no evil until things really catch up to him. Once they do... that's where the juicy part begins.

Left Behind: Mulberry Street

@Kuro In terms of my bandwidth, I intend to manage it by playing my characters in 'arcs', so to speak. Out of the six, I'll probably focus on two at a time, with the others being mostly background. As for Jason, I can certainly understand how he looks... risky. The whole idea was to take a character who absolutely feels like a trope and examine him more deeply: what does this sort of cringelord actually look like in action and what does he actually do once the real apocalypse comes? How much of his prior 'experience' and 'preparation' is actually valid? I betcha the little halfwit is just Jonesing to use his sword collection and all his parkour gear. How quickly does reality destroy the fantasy, or does it? Does he crack? Are there copious amounts of copium? To some extent, Jason was intended as a lampoon of a certain species of metagamey character, but I want to play him with some heart and authenticity as well. I'd definitely hoped to give him one or two crowning moments of awesome amid the trauma and endless humiliation conga and maybe insert some levity while I was at it, but I'd conceived of him primarily as counterprogramming. However, if multiple people feel that he's metagamey and it's a potential cause of unease within the group that you're building, even as deeply excited as I am about this RPG, I'm alright with bowing out as well. I'm easy!

The Hourglass Order

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B E N E D E T T O

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Benedetto was spat out of the portal with velocity, and he hit the ground, rolled, and sprung nimbly to his feet, taking a whiff of that dusty desert air. This fucking place. His face immediately screwed itself up in a scowl and he spat, scanning his surroundings, before his eyes seized on... discount Jocasta and Jocasta's manwife. Where was the bitch herself? He did a second sweep and couldn't pick up her distinctive magical stench anywhere. Not in range.

Then, Tku landed with all the grace of an ocean sunfish trying to fly and, after a bit of self-narrative, launched straight into a pair of questions, the answers to each of which were obviously 'yes'. The Revidian let out a snort, crossed his arms, and sat on a rock. He could take it or leave it. The ruins were right here. They could ditch the others, leave them to fight a sand wyrm, and go take the glory and riches for themselves. Benny certainly didn't need Jocasta's help, but... it might be fun to punch a sand wyrm, and he knew that slimy Inipori who'd sent them - the one who'd just disappeared Silas - didn't like her and probably wanted to see her dead. Benny didn't really want to give that scumbag what he wanted...

He didn't wait for the tethered to respond to Tku. "How 'bout the others? They chopped liver or something?" He shook his head, standing and starting to search for a less familiar type of energy. "If they're not here, they're fighting it, but I got a way we can get there, I guess." He tilted his head to one side and grinned.

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The Hourglass Order

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All who have been to Inner Torragon know it well: the place may pretend to be Avincian, but it is not. From the buildings to the language, to the people, its soul is that of old Zaqhoria and, when the sun rises over the desert, it knows no mercy. After promising to discuss matters at length with Ayla later on, Amanda led them down to the stables. It was still early morning, the rooftops of San Agustin silhouettes bathed in dawn's harsh light. The handful of people about inclined their heads respectfully towards her and her guests as they passed. "Madre," murmured more than one. Coasting smoothly down the smooth old stones, she greeted them in kind but did not stop. Jocasta and Isabella followed in her wake, all three pairs of arms moving in almost perfect synchronization. Then, they turned off of the main path and were there. There were two stablehands about, feeding and preparing the animals. They bowed. "Madre."

"Luisito." Amanda returned his gesture. "Mauro."

She eased herself onto the hay-covered floor, rolling up to one of the horses and and patting the side of its head. "As I explained upstairs, we are a bit short on horses just now," she advised, twisting to face the others as she adjusted one of the animals' bridles. "But I suppose you have other ways of getting where you're going now. Am I wrong?"

Glancing Zarina's way, Jocasta turned back to face the woman who had been the closest thing to a mother she had ever known. "You are not," she admitted. "I may save us a day's venturing out into the desert by means of magic."

Finished with the horse, Amanda gave it a final pat. She smiled, businesslike. "Just as well," she admitted with a shrug. "We did not have enough for you anyhow." With that, she rolled over to the horse's saddle and, from a long pouch, procured a rolled-up map. "Over my shoulders. Come." She unrolled it and held it across her lap as a few of them leaned in. "He left two days ago, for the ruins of Zarfan, down La Boca." Amanda pointed it out on the map and shook her head. "He's out of our sensing range, but he should be well set up there by now." Her eyes flicked between the members of the group. "If you can teleport, then you can get there and relieve our rangers. We need them for defense."

"And I'll send them back?" Jocasta inquired, though it was more statement than question.

Amanda nodded. "I don't imagine it should take long," she decided. "So I'll only keep one of you behind." She smiled softly and some colour rose in her cheeks. "You wouldn't begrudge a mother some time spent with her child, would you?"

Marci started. "I um... I don't wanna be deadweight I can -

"Stop acting tough," chirped Isabella, "and go see your mom while you still can. Besides, you'll be guarding San Agustin, right?" Was she suppressing an ironic smirk or was she not?

"You're mine, little calabaza."

"Seriously!? Are you trying to make me die of embarrassment, mom?

Amanda grinned. "Never, precious!"

"You're making me wanna fight a sand wyrm."

In short, she stayed.

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It was early in the morning when a portal glowed bright and rippling in the courtyard of the refuge. Amanda sat in silhouette, with Marceline at her side, hair whipping like black snakes in the wind coming off of it. They waved and then, with a little salute from the last of the five, Ayla, Zarina, Yalen, Isabella, and Jocasta were through.

It was always as if she had blinked, so sudden was the change in reality. Reddish-beige cliffs rose to either side of Jocasta and she was on the hard, gravelly dirt beside a small watering hole. In the near distance rose the weathered ruins of Cervan - or Zarfan, to its original inhabitants - carved partially into the cliffside. She could see anyone here, so she reached out with her magic senses for Escarra and his rangers, only to find...

Nothing.

They weren't there and, in fact, neither was anyone. A pinch of worry invading her insides, Jocasta twisted to look up at Yalen and over at Isabella. "You guys drawing a blank too?" she prodded, and their answers were affirmative. It was time to reach further, and so she spread her senses out, sweeping the region at ranges only her fellow tethered could come close to reaching. There were the usual energies: arcane from the sun, kinetic from the wind and the shifting sands, and the agglomerations of both combined with chemical that denoted living things. Yet, as she searched further still, an invisible mass settled itself atop her stomach and she felt her pulse quicken.

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She found a group seven people about three kilometers to the northwest, close to where they'd found the aberration a year ago. Only, they seemed to be on top of some kind of rock promontory, or so the kinetic energy of the wind lashing against it told her. However, they were not alone. Jocasta's gut wrenched itself further and her hands tightened around her wheels. "It's a sand wyrm," she rasped, voice barely above a whisper. She twisted to take in the others. It was... at least... "A fucking alpha." damned near three hundred feet in length. It was circling them. This didn't make sense. Sand Wyrms were supposed to be rare, and they rarely went after something so insignificant as a human unless it was opportune. In her entire life up until last year, she had seen precisely one: breaching the sand about half a mile distant, from the refuge walls. That was the day that monsters had become real to a twelve-year-old Jocasta. But she was a monster too, she remembered.

"It has them trapped on some kind of rocky outcropping, two miles north-northwest!" she shouted, already drinking a massive amount of energy in from her surroundings. The winds went still, the sky darkened, and the air grew colder. If it was clear that they were trapped and could not harm it, the Wyrm would emerge from the sand and pursue them overland. She had no idea how long it would be until that happened: it could yet be hours; they could be mere moments from death. "We need to go right now!" she screamed. "Right now!" A portal tore apart the air before them. Dimly, she could feel the leviathan in the distance as it broke the sand and belched white-hot fire. One of the little human energy signatures, too slow to react, was consumed. "Wait! Yalen and Isabella: keep your range!" she commanded, "I'm only going there to port them out." She suited words to action, barrelling through.

She emerged right into the eye of the storm: a maelstrom of 2700°F fire.

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The portal swirled and warped and then, as if they'd just been thrust from a popped bubble, five young men emerged into the burgeoning late morning heat of Torragon's Dune Sea. They were Evander, Desmond, Fiske, Benedetto, and Tku. Not all of them stuck the landing but, when they looked up, there was a man and a woman waiting for them, looking more than a little bit anxious. Their eyes, seeming unfocused at first, quickly snapped to the group. They were Yalen and Isabella and they didn't waste any time upon recognizing who the five. "It's a Sand Wyrm."

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Action Opportunities

Welcome to Primitive, Chapter Two: Into the Fire! Already, mystery and danger threaten to kill not only the party's as-yet unmet allies, but the party itself. Why is the sand wyrm attacking Escarra and his rangers? Why are they two miles to the northeast in the first place? Why have the five boys been sent through and what can they do to help? Below are some action opportunities.

1) The new arrivals can and should talk to Isabella and Yalen. Finding their way to the fight might be a good idea.
2) Jocasta, Zarina, and Ayla will need to defend a massive jet of white-hot fire from the Sand Wyrm. It's rolled a 46! This is an alpha and is every bit as strong as the monster that you faced at the end of Deserted, even without being tainted by an aberration.
3) They should try to make up a quick plan on the spot. There is a lot of pressure and little time, so nothing too detailed! They can fight it or try to distract it while Jojo rescues the stranded rangers, or try to get to the bottom of this first mystery right there on the spot!
4) Feel free to play out your first moves. I'd recommend discussing them on discord first, however.
5) Good luck, and happy posting!