Another World [ST: Exalted]

[Thelonius]

The Alien Sky

They were on a side of a mountain, almost at the top of it. The slope upward quickly became almost vertical and rugged, but it was still possible to climb it with due care. The slope downwards was very flat and could be walked with only a couple of difficult places. Those looked like volcano or meteor craters, the colour of ash, several dozen of them covering the sides of the mountains. The crater size ranged from about ten meters in diameter to almost a hundred. They were the only places, where the multicoloured grass wasn’t growing. Everywhere else it covered the earth in a carpet of colours, barely reaching knees of the adults. There was little variety in the plant life. Every blade of grass had about the same shape and length, some patches differing slightly in coloration. It looked very beautiful from the group’s high location. A person could begin to see patterns in colour after looking long enough, just like one would see shapes in the passing clouds in the sky.

There were no clouds in the sky. That is to say, there was nothing familiar there at all. Its most prominent feature was something, that could only be described as a river of colour. And it wasn’t a semi-transparent rainbow palette, no those colours were bright and rich, they had definite substance to them. The river of colour was flowing from one side of the sky to another, as if painted by a titanic brush. Chromatic streams descended from it, eventually splitting into lone thin threads of single colours. The closest thread must have been about hundred meters from the ground.

There were no sources of light – no sun or stars and the river of colour didn’t give out any glow. Yet the land around them was bathed in soft, ambient light, the sort you can see during the last minutes of sunset. There weren’t even shadows to give out its source. The air around them was hot and dry, with a strange taste to it. Their little group was going to start suffering from dehydration soon. The whole area looked about the same – mountains gradually went up, their slope becoming very steep at the top. At base they formed long and very narrow valleys, currently concealed by a shroud of thinning mist.

[JessGulbranson]

Geoffrey shakes his head and smacks his lips. "I've got a right Patty Hearst going. Wouldn't mind standing next to the Earl of Spain down there." He points towards the misty vale.

[TruorTupnm]

Coming to his senses, David stands there and just stares for a moment. What...? Where? Why?! After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he takes in the fact that he is not alone and, "Phew!"s, finding that he just averted going weak in the knees enough to fall down. He registers Geoffrey's words but doesn't understand them, so he raises an eyebrow and nods. "I'm sure that I agree, Mister..." Whether he got a name or not, he looks where the man indicated and decides that he'll lead the group down there. "And I feel like Dorothy. We should get moving. None of us appear to be geared for a long trek, in this heat." Deciding to focus on the task at hand, rather than making himself go crazy with wondering what's going on, he'll start looking for the fastest way down, keeping an eye out for sources of water.

Perception + Survival ---> [roll0] Perception + Awareness (if required) ---> [roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

Alexander looks around himself in bewilderment. He's quite young, seeming to be no older than about eleven. He's dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, and doesn't appear to have anything of note on him. "Uh... what..." Yeah, the kid's stumped.

[TruorTupnm]

Seeing that Alexander is stumped, David, "Ahem!"s to get his attention and tries to screw his face into something resembling sympathy. "I don't know, either, but we can't stay here." He points to the easier-looking way down, since he'd instinctively want to skirt around the craters. "We'll head down. Hopefully, we'll find a trail, on the way. Keeps your eyes peeled for springs."

Turning to include both of them, "My name is David Hayes, by the way. I've done a lot of hiking, camping, hunting, and stuff, so, if you don't mind, I'll lead the way. Tell me if you see anything..." He raises an incredulous eyebrow at their surroundings and emits a bit of an unhinged chuckle. "Especially unusual."

[JessGulbranson]

Geoffrey hefts his satchel crosswise onto his back, instead of dangling off one arm. "Lionel Richies all around then. I'm Geoffrey Reed, retired an-chee-pre-nore, livin' off what Shawshank Redemption is to be had. David, pleased to meetcha." He offers his hand. "Lead on, Dragon & Tennille. And what's your hanger, young squire?" He looks toward Alex as he digs in a pocket, removing a very large white handkerchief and draping it over his sweating pate.

[Yuki Akuma]

Alexander just stares at the two adults, his eyes wide with fright. "H-how are you... two... don't you realise we're, like..." He points up at the sky. "Look! There's no sun! But it's light out! And the colours are all wrong! How can you be so calm?!"

[JessGulbranson]

Geoffrey gives off a deep, hoarse laugh. "Ever been run out a pub by a gang o' Perry Comos dressed like Disney Princesses? I weren't no palm tree then. But this... well, we've either been given 'half-a-gross' of something illegal, or this is that island on the tele." He takes out another handkerchief and offers it to the boy. "No matter, it's never seen the inside of my bugle. But keep it. A present from your very own Johnnie Lock!"

Using... um, Charisma plus Socialize to calm the kid down. [roll0]

[TruorTupnm]

David hesitantly shakes Geoffrey's hand, then gives him a patient look. "I am embarrassed to admit this, but I am having trouble following you. Ah, I have never really been out of my small Southern town. Would you mind, er, could you possibly be a little more clear?"

At Alexander's excitement, David grimaces and resolutely doesn't look at the sky. Of course, he is then staring at the multicoloured grass, which causes him to screw his eyes shut for a moment. With a sigh, he opens them and gives Alexander a more genuinely sympathetic look. "As I said, I don't know what's going on. I intend to find out, though. The last thing I remember was...going to school." He shifts his backpack with a shoulder. "I still have my backpack."

He bounces a bit, then gets down on one knee to examine the grass. He twitches at how ridiculous it looks, and how ridiculous he probably looks. "This place seems real enough, but it can't be. I would rather not go mad, so I intend to solve the riddle of what has happened. Do either of you have any light to shed? I don't believe in the supernatural, but I am open-minded to any ideas you may have."

[Thelonius]

David Hayes

The grass appears to be a normal plant, apart from its strange coloration. You notice a drop of water on one of the grass blades and the soil appears to be moist, despite the dry air. Perhaps a biologists or a farmer could have learned more with this brief examination, but you are a medicine student.

Everybody

Your little group isn’t alone here. For some reason you haven’t noticed them before, but there is another group of people on the mountain opposite of yours. It’s as if they’ve appeared out of nowhere, while you were talking. The group seems to be less than half a dozen, it’s hard to make out at such distance and in the dim light. They appear to be descending the mountain, moving in your direction.

Another look at the landscape reveals one more figure, this time on your mountain, but far to the side. It is possible you haven’t noticed that person, because he or she was concealed by the side of a crater. The figure is staying near it, engaged in some sort of activity, but at such distance it’s impossible to make out any details.

[TruorTupnm]

The grass looks real, feels real, smells real. David raises a piece to his mouth but thinks better of it, when he spots the person on their mountain. He stands and starts heading that way. "Oh! Well, this person should be able to help us." Upon noticing the group on the other mountain, he indicates them with a nod. "Were those people always over there? Maybe I just didn't notice them? Or maybe we're not the only ones having problems." Wondering what the lone figure could be doing, he stops and wonders aloud, "What do you tell someone in such a situation? Ah. We are lost and possibly in need of medical attention." He drops the strangely-coloured grass, as if it's poisonous.

As requested, Intelligence + Survival, to see how far away were are from people ---> [roll0]

Upon peering, gauging distances, and telling the others about them, he offers his opinions, "I would guess that that other group is in the same situation we are. They're headed our way, probably to ensure safety in numbers. Maybe one of them will have some answers. This other person is alone, different from the rest of us. Hopefully he is our welcoming party. He could just be another unfortunate, like us, and he came alone, for some reason. I'd prefer to reach him before the other group does. Either way, we should be cautious." He then nods decisively and offers, "We don't know each other, but I think it's best that we stick together, on this. We don't know if any of these people will be friendly."

[JessGulbranson]

Geoffrey takes out his pipe and begins to light it. He makes no reply until it is firmly puffing. "We'll take it as it comes then, won't we? I don't see no Huey to get to."

[Thelonius]

A girl rose from the coloured grass at the base of the mountains, between the two groups of people. Down from her position the mist concealed the ground, swirling in a narrow valley between the two mountains. She felt a brush with something cold, when she moved her hand. A metal shovel was lying next to her.

[Yuki Akuma]

The boy doesn't really seemed to have calmed down that much, but at least he's not babbling or anything. Yet. He's just staring at the figures on the other mountain - then he raises his arm in a vigorous wave.

[Thelonius]

Both groups are in plain view of each other, despite large distance, so they probably saw him waving. They don't slow down their descend or return the gesture.

[TruorTupnm]

Seeing the girl pop up in between the two groups, David, "Argh!"s and whirls around a couple of times, expecting people to pop out of nothingness, right on top of him. He stops, takes a calming breath, and decides that he probably just didn't notice the apparently river-of-colour-gazing girl, earlier.

Seeing no one respond to Alexander's wave, he, "Hmmm..."s and looks at the little kid and the older man and winces, as he blurts, "Are we dead? I don't remember traveling anywhere near the Bermuda Triangle, though I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are other such places, in the world." He shakes his head to clear it, then makes, "Let's go!" motions with his hands. "We can't fix things, just standing here."

If the figure on this mountain still hasn't moved, he'll try getting the others to move with him to that person. If not, ah, well, where's that guy going? If he's moved out of view or something, he'd head for the girl.

[Kazaran]

Zoe shook her head, waking from what seemed to her like a long sleep - except she couldn't remember falling asleep in a meadow of rainbow-colored grass. Whoa... what's going on? Am I dreaming? She pinched her arm, but to no avail. Confusion apparent in her face, she looked around, marveling at the strange sights all around.

Her next instinct was to reach for her backpack and check if all her gear was there; she rarely left the house without her camera and notebook. Of course, if this really was a dream, all bets were off.