Apr 23
[I have a Mage: The Ascension gaming session coming up this evening. Last time, I had to go out and buy a new outfit for monster hunting out on the bayou. I did a quick sketch over lunch of what I was envisioning.]
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[I have a Mage: The Ascension gaming session coming up this evening. Last time, I had to go out and buy a new outfit for monster hunting out on the bayou. I did a quick sketch over lunch of what I was envisioning.]
The young woman exited the tavern, paused, and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. Her perfectly coiffed hair stirred gently in the breeze.
Midori looked up and down the streets, wondering where the best place for her to perform would be.
"Hmmm," she mused to herself, "but first, coffee and something sugary!"
The coffee shop door opened, ringing the bell. The short, redheaded human woman entered, dressed in a fine green dress and carrying a lute.
"Good morning, everyone! It's me, Midori! I'll be playing some impromptu concerts throughout town today, so please feel free to come out and have a listen!
"But first," she approached the counter, "may I have some coffee and some sort of pastry?"
Well, I just got sucked into a magic mirror an' an evil me came out....
What...what do I do now?
As her spirit left her body, one of the Great Old Ones of the ocean depths came to Aralith, permitting her to return to the world of the living...at a price! Aralith's promises to her friends had not yet been fulfilled, so she agreed.
She woke up in a crypt in Emerald Grove.
Within the crypt, a figure stirred. Disoriented, she pulled a dark cloth around her neck and fastened it with a pin she found nearby. She shambled outside.
The figure stumbled through the streets of the town, barefoot. "Brains," she groaned under her breath.
The door to the tavern opened slowly. A figure in a dark cloth worn like a cloak or a robe stood in the doorway, barefoot. She shambled inside, mumbling, "Brains...."
Within the tavern, other adventurers responded by flipping tables defensively, drawing weapons, and swinging flails.
The figure spoke: "My brains hurt.... Ow, must you all be shouting?"
She stepped further into the tavern's common room. "My head feels as if somebody has cracked it open and...moved bits and pieces around." She walked up to Donal, an aarakocra gentleman, slowly lifted both hands up to the side of her hood, and pulled it back....
...revealing Aralith's face, albeit ashen and gray. The most noticeable difference was her eyes, which glowed a supernatural green color.
She looked into her friend's eyes. "Don...al...?"
Midori has succeeded in a recovery check. Reduce Dying value by 1
DOOMED: 1, DYING: 1
Arriving in Emerald Hollow, Hanami Momo found her way to a tavern for food and drink. Shortly after, the Niji-iro siblings (who had been attending a circus performance), entered the tavern in small groups.
Midori, along with her quadruplet siblings Kuro, Shiro, and Kiiro, burst into the tavern. She exclaimed, "I feel that I could drink the equivalent to all the waters of Shadow's Cove tonight!"
The redhead walked up to the bar, chanting, "Drinks! Drinks! Drinks!"
The eldest Niji-iros, Haiiro, Murasaki, and Mizuiro, entered the tavern shortly after. Haiiro and Murasaki seated themselves at a table while the blue-haired Mizuiro made a beeline to the bar to obtain three flagons of ale.
Three of the youngest Niji-iros, Akane, Orenji (accompanied by her guard, William Pierce), and Chaiiro, made their appearance last. Pinku, notably, was not with them this time.
Momo's attention snapped to the newcomers. Clearly, they were Wanese. The kimono the orange-haired one wore definitely had an upper-class Jōnenmachi style about it.
...and their strong family resemblance, colors notwithstanding, meant they were all closely related.
Momo squinted and pursed her lips. They seemed familiar, but she could not quite place them. But their hair colors....
No...variegated hair color within a family was not that uncommon, especially in ancestries that were not purely human. Still, there was something familiar about them....
Looking around the tavern common room, Chairo noticed the Wanese woman with peach-blossom-colored hair giving funny looks to his sibling. He tapped Akane on the arm with the back of his hand and whispered, "Nene, see that Wajin woman checking us out? She's giving Kuro and Shiro a penetrating look."
Momo thought to herself, "Oh! The black-haired one and the white-haired one are armed with daisho pairings of a katana and a wakizashi. Samurai. Nobility. Must be sons of a Daimyō."
Adjusting her glasses with one hand for better focus on Kuro and Shiro, she leaned forward across her table, inadvertently pushing her stew bowl to the side with a loud scraping noise.
Akane replied to Chairo, "Yeah, she's checking them out. Lookin' at their armaments.
"...she *does* realize we can see her, right?"
Akane gestured to her siblings and indicated the peach-blossom-haired woman. They all turned to see her.
Momo hiccuped loudly. The ale was a bit strong for her today, exhausted as she was from her travels. "Samurai," she thought. "Jōnenmachi.... Seems familiar...."
Late that night, Midori called her eldest sister in a video call over WhatsApp.
"Oh, hey Mimi," Murasaki answered, her face appearing on Midori's screen. She straightened a braid of her purple hair. "What's up?"
"Oh, just wanted to tell you about Mardi Gras," Midori replied. "Hey, let me patch Pin-chan in, too." Midori added her youngest sister, Pinku, as a participant, who answered fairly quickly.
"Yo, Mimi...and Mura." Pinku raised an eyebrow.
Midori looked straight into the camera. "I knew you two would still be awake at this hour, but I thought the rest of our family might be sleeping."
Murasaki raised her eyebrows and nodded, catching her sister's coded message referencing who was Awakened and who was a Sleeper. Actual security does not exist for WhatsApp in a world where the *de facto* authorities can listen in anywhere and anytime. Pinku simply replied, "Bet."
"Anyhow," Midori continued, "Mardi Gras stuff. So I finished my set, and guess who I saw backstage? Dr. Jun!"
"Oh," Pinku's eyes lit up with recognition. "How's he doing? Did he set up practice down there? I was wondering where he went off to. Was he on staff for the party?"
Midori tilted her head. "Nah, he's kinda...homeless now."
Her two sisters exclaimed in unison, "WHAT?!?" Pinku continued with concern, "Is he OK? Does he need help? What happened to him?"
Midori thought for a moment, then winked subtly into the camera. "Well, it seems he just woke up one day, realized his life was a lie, and abandoned everything. But he does have a place to live. He's got a sanct—er, that is, a sanctuary where he does his...stuff. I'll let you know more when I do.
"Anyhow, Dr. Jun and I had some business with the guy running the party down here. We also met some new friends: a nun, I guess? And this big strong dude who I call 'Mr. Beefcake.'"
"Ha ha, what?" Murasaki chuckled.
"Yeah," Midori continued, "so we're hanging out for a while. Exploring the city. I'm on a mission: to find all the best Creole and seafood places. You know, learn all of New Orleans' secrets."
Pinku's lips twitched downward. "Hmm. You're in unfamiliar territory, there. Please be careful!"
Midori waved her hand and shook her hand. "You know me, I'll be fine, ha ha! Besides....
"What could possibly go wrong?"
Murasaki and Pinku both facepalmed.
"Anyhow, I need my beauty sleep," Midori continued. "Love you both! I'll talk to you soon!"
As the adventurers lay on the floor, near death, Midori coughed and called out to the rest of her party.
"Well, I think, I think…that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own circus! Because everything I'll ever need is right there!
"It's so hard to say goodbye! I love you all!
"Don't cry, Zookdar, your armor will rust up!
"Goodbye, Connie. You know, I know it isn't right, but I'm going to miss the way you used to treat me like a dog.
"Galon, I'll miss the way you get all liquored up to fight our enemies.
"Fizzarolli, I think I'll miss you most of all."
Midori looked up to the ceiling as if she could see through it to the sky above. "I'm ready."