AC: Round 1 - Group 9

[Revenant]

This thread is reserved for member of Group 9. The thread will open at noon on August 18th (Pacific time) and will be closed after two weeks.

Good Luck!

Group 9
Liliana Ambria - Liliana Ambria
Captain Blake Andrews - In the Vastness of Stars
Resolve Curie - Resolve
Abrinano Ticherra Voscinato - Opposites

[Resolve]

Resolve groaned, stretched, and sighed from what seemed to be awakening after a very restful nap. She could've laid there several more moments but a deep chill that radiated from the surface beneath her was chilling her to the very core, her skin prickled and dusted with sand. Did I fall asleep in Moody's basement again? She opened her eyes. Oh.

The sky was bright but overcast, diffused rays falling through heavy gray clouds to illuminate a foreign landscape. Resolve squinted as her eyes adjusted and observed that she, along with a few others, was on a frosty beach that stretched wide on either side, the sea behind her, a dense evergreen forest ahead. Patches of white snow and ice spotted the ground which was resident to a peculiar red sand that radiated in vibrant contrast, stained the color of rust from unusually high levels of iron.

Peeling herself off the frigid ground, Resolve immediately regretted her choice of clothing for the tournament. She'd donned her habitual modified sari, a long strip of richly woven red cloth that wrapped around her waist and was pinned over her shoulder on one side. Its short length was optimal for free movement, but not particularly warm. Her other shoulder might as well have been bare even with her thin short-sleeved choli and she could feel the bite of salt-and-pine-scented wind on her skin, causing her to shiver as she staggered to her feet to get a better look around. At least her boots were sturdy with treads that would work well on ice, but the black leggings that covered her legs weren't helping much against the breeze.

Resolve pulled the trailing end of her sari around her shoulders and neck and looked to her apparent team mates with some semblance of humor, smiling through clenched teeth. She didn't know any of them... that was either a curse or a blessing, and she was about to find out which.

"Better'n a desert, no?"

---

One couldn't see from the shape of the island from their position, but it was a narrow strip of land which formed a forested ring around a secondary, inner body of fresh water originated from some unseen spring. Over that half-frozen obstacle was another smaller island, their ultimate destination.

[Opposites]

Abrinano awoke as the magic wore off him and his body felt the cold snow beneath him. Why they weren't placed in a cabin is unknown but it didn't matter. it just made things harder. Abrinano looked around and noticed that only one of his teammates was up. He looked at her and said, "Good evening disgusting old hag, My name is not Abrinano Ticherra Voscinato. Who might you not be?" He of course meant the exact opposite of what he said, but she didn't know that, unless she was caught up on famous chefs.

[In The Vastness Of Stars]

Both of them, my team mates that is, both of them thought I was asleep. They thought that I hadn’t woken up yet for one reason or another. Maybe they thought I was more prone to magic spells, or maybe they thought I was just lazy. Either way, they would have been wrong. In all reality, I had woken up around the same time as the girl. I just lacked the same motivation that she had to get up. Sure, the snowy, sandy ground would be cold to most people, but most people also did not have access to a S.T.A.R. Sword.

Thanks to the varying radioactive waves my blade produced (anybody boarding an Imperial Galactic Ship is required to have a Radioactivity Immunity Level of 5.0 or higher), I found my body to be just as cozy as a child under a heavy comforter. In this relaxed stupor, I spent my time looking above at the various clouds while the girl surveyed the area. I soon heard my other team mate speak, although he did so in riddles. I closed my eyes and shook my head, a smile creeping across my features.

“Captain Blake Andrews,” I said, still not budging from my lying down position, “I can assume you guys signed up for this whole Adventurer’s Crown mess as well? Guess that makes you people my team mates.” I sat up, bending my legs and wrapping my arms around them, my eyes still transfixed to the sky. I had not been on Althanas long, but I made it a top priority to familiarize myself with their star system. While normally my recommendation would involve waiting till nightfall so I could pinpoint where we were exactly, I felt that we had to get Abrinano somewhere warm.

After all, be it from the radioactivity of my S.T.A.R. Sword, or maybe just too much exposure to the element, this man was obviously suffering from some sort of mental disorder. Perhaps a warm fire and cup of hot chocolate would get him back into his right mind set. I finally stood, scratching the back of my head as I smiled to my team mates.

“I think it best if I went exploring a little. Maybe I can find some shelter in case we’re out here for a while,” I motioned my hands in a ‘Calm Down’ like motion to soothe the possible outbursts that might come from such a suggestion. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon, I’m just walking around. Grasping a feel for our surroundings.” I began to walk past my comrades, thinking of how odd it was that I would volunteer myself for such a task. A typical IGS Captain was trained to make sure his crew took the unnecessary risks before himself. Guess I wasn’t a typical IGS Captain.

I closed my eyes as I walked, humming an unfamiliar tune in my head.

[Resolve]

The first other team mate to physically rise was an extremely large man who called her a disgusting old hag. Resolve wasn't quite sure where that came from or why he had such a bizarre manner of speech, but she hoped it wouldn't ruin their future discourse. She blinked a few times in a baffled sort of way, glanced over to the second rising man, and then answered with her own introduction. "I'm Resolve." She didn't have a fancy title like the Cap'n or elaborate name like Mr. Not-Abrinano, so she figured keeping it simple would be for the best.

Resolve wedged her hands under her arms and hopped in one place for a moment, feeling the warm clouds of condensed breath hit her frozen nose. When Blake announced he was to go exploring she figured that would be a decent idea, even if for the simple purpose of getting moving and finding comfort that way. "I'll take a look around, as well. I'll stay within hollering distance."

With that the girl trotted off, beelining for the woods. It was a dense place, the path made perilous by tangled roots that rose as high as her knees and fell into valleys with nooks that would be delightfully efficient at tripping and twisting ankles. Not much grew in this arctic place, the flora much limited to ancient-looking evergreens and the dried skeletons of underbrush that clawed like little hands at her legs as she trudged around. Wildlife seemed sparse, as she didn't notice much for tracks or signs of animal life at this point.

There were pros and cons to this circumstance. The air was dry and there were plenty of fallen branches; fire would be a cinch. Snow and ice were available for drinking water, if one of them had a vessel or knew how to fashion one. The plentiful amount of brush, leafless or not, would make it manageable to build a shelter if snow came… but food might be an issue. Actually, aside staying warm it was the biggest issue, and Resolve had no clue how long it would take them to reach their goal.

At least it was beautiful here, in a strange, uncomfortable sort of way. The soil was dark red in muddy patches under the snow and ice and that was oddly exotic. The dark green of the needles on the trees, the rich browns and contrasting speckled whites of their trunks… oh. Were those white birch?

Resolve tore a chunk of the paper-like bark off a nearby tree and wedged it into her belt, just in case. Maybe she should write her will on it, just in case.

After all, this walk was giving Resolve an opportunity to think strategy, as well. She was a social creature and always up for some good old team work, but not everyone else was inclined to those sorts of things. She'd have to be careful. Maybe there was a serial killer on their team. Hm...

Once she'd navigated a decent amount of area and didn't find much else of interest, she considered turning back. That was when Resolve, nearly literally, stumbled upon a stream. She'd stepped on a bubble of ice and it cracked and shattered glass-like away into the shallow edge of some moving water. Most of it appeared to be frozen over quite solidly, but still she followed it back toward the beach and appeared in the clearing not far from her original position, the others appearing as large insects orienting themselves on the rusty sand in the distance. Oddly enough it appeared that the water, surface unfrozen once it hit the salty tidal line, was running toward the ocean instead of away from it. She felt that was worth noting. She also realized that ice fishing might be a reasonable way to find something to eat.

"Hey," Resolve shouted to the others as she jogged down the beach, feeling energized at the warmth that coursed through her muscles as she pushed herself to go faster. The thin air hurt her gasping lungs, but she didn't care. "I found a stream! Should we follow it?"

[Liliana Ambria]

"Everyone, hold up!" The words rang with a clarity as a brunette carefully peeled herself from the beach. the grains of sand poured from her clothing quickly at first before falling in a dwindling trickle that marked the hardest part of getting clean, finding where the last of the sand was. All she knew was one moment she had been preparing for this little journey and the next she was here, with half her equipment left behind with her husband. The irritation at that small fact left nothing to be said as she muttered a prayer of patience to Uriel, before she dusted off the sand from her clothes.

Looking around the area Liliana Ambria realized all to well that this was not too different an experience than Seth had experienced when he went after Letho. If that was the case, she did not wish to repeat the experience as she moved down the beach towards the people rushing towards the edges of the jungle shouting out their discoveries. A hand clenched in a fist as she realized her work was cut out for her before she carefully looked at what gear she did have. Her sword was with her, but the shield hadn't been packed yet and so it was left behind.

So was half the clothes she had intended to bring. Seth had told her to pack light, and now she knew why. Because she had planned on taking more, now she was shield less, probably only given to a few changes of clothes, and a few accoutrements. Not to forget to mention that Meredith was probably crying from the magic that suddenly stole the woman who had been feeding and caring for her. Seth was a patient man with the kid, but he didn't know Meredith's habits yet, and she had hoped to instruct him on them one last time before she left.

Looking up at the sandy sky she muttered softly, "Thank the gods that at least its not raining..." Thunder loomed on the horizon as Liliana looked out over the waves and shook her head muttering about her luck as she looked to the others. There was a rather obese man who was trundling about the area, trying to remain inconspicuous from the looks of things. A gentleman had just ran off into the jungle leaving her to look down the beach where another woman was yelling about a river. A sigh left Liliana's lips before she carefully tucked her scabbard in her satchel and moved down the beach, tying her hair back into a ponytail to prepare for whatever had happened and looked upon the small stream kneeling down to sip at the water before she sighed...

"Fresh water, that means creatures will be drinking from it, and predators will be using it for a hunting ground. I wouldn't follow this, we'd be up to our waists in no time and that's if there is anywhere to go following it. For all we know we'd be wasting time, better to find a game trail and follow that towards the inner island. We should pool our resources together for now and see where that leads us. We might have something we weren't expecting if we work together for now," Her voice held an authoritative tone that she loathed using. Everyone was running around no one was taking charge and so the brunette was going to step up. Power in this fashion was almost an indulgence for the priestess of the God of Power, and she hated having to take it in so blatant a fashion.

It felt like bullying and mothering at the same time. Memories of her daughter Samantha's upbringing ran rampant through her head before her fist clenched tighter on her bag and her brow furrowed, banishing the saddening thoughts. The parallels were there, it was only a matter of time before she would see them. She half expected to hear Seth's voice, joking about the predicament before they would go off, but she knew the truth.

She had joined this tournament to prove she didn't need to hide in Seth's shadow, and true to the promises of this ill fated event, she was proving that slowly but surely. Looking at the only other Rational person she sighed and lowered herself to a knew filling a water skin before she spoke, "Lets stock up on water and go looking for that game trail soon, storm on the horizon and I don't feel like being carried on a riptide out to sea."

She never thought she would be thankful for having grown up in Berevar, where a chill like this was nothing more than an average spring day.

[Opposites]

"I disagree, we shouldn't fill up on water. After all it is as unimportant as the water in the ocean, And I don't mean that." Abrinano said with a smile then walked over to the stream and filled a giant container that was on his back with water. Then a large bottle as well. "Also the predators will not be checking this stream constantly. So, lets not head away from the stream and towards those open plains," he said pointing towards the forest. "We shouldn't also find food there since I'm not hungry," he said with tears in his eyes.

[In The Vastness Of Stars]

“Wow…this is awkward,” I said to nobody in particular as I looked up towards the sky. There still didn’t seem to be any indication of stars that I could correlate with a location. Was Night ever going to come? Worse yet, I found myself not lost in the dense shrubbery of the jungle just a mile or so beyond where I had first woken up. I began to reconsider my first assessment, thinking that maybe I should have stayed with the group that was probably far more educated of the world I had just arrived on than I was.

I reached to my side, withdrawing what appeared to be a simple sword hilt to the common eye. I looked to the object, smiling to myself as I spoke. “S.T.A.R. Sword, activate!” I commanded, as a large beam of blueish-green light propped itself out from the hilt. I traveled further into the jungle, occasionally finding myself hindered by weeds or other greenery. Such things were no problem as I hacked away at the vegetation with my weapon. With my free hand I began to wipe beads of sweat from my forehead.

If it had been snowing not far from this jungle, why did it feel so humid? Was I really sweating from exertion that much? I made a note to exercise more often when I returned to Alerar from this tournament. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment and trying to take in the surroundings. As I tried to focus on the sounds of the area, I found myself caught up in the unfamiliar tune I had been humming to myself as I left my group. It was odd; I didn’t know the song, or even the lyrics, but the tune seemed to be hardwired into my brain.

I opened my eyes and the song vanished from my head. I shook my head, trying to relieve myself of the drunken stupor the song had put me in, and push forward. My efforts paid off, as I soon found myself outside of the jungle. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get back to my party and inform them as to what I was now seeing.

It was a lake, but one that seemed to be frozen over. Keep in mind I did not want to determine how frozen the icy ground was at the moment, but the solid water seemed to completely surround a single island in the middle. Normally, a boat would be required to reach such things, but since I didn’t have that luxury, walking across the blue sheets of possible death in front of me seemed to be the only option.

I stood there for a moment, my back to the jungle canopy. My eyes shifted over to my weapon. There was no way I would be able to cross the ice in time with my S.T.A.R. Sword; the weapon would melt the ice with its radioactivity faster than I could run. I closed my eyes for a moment, asking myself whether it would be better to leave my only usable weapon here, or simply wait for my team members to find me, if they found me.

I opened my eyes and looked back to the island, raising my eyebrows at what I thought was a new sight. Something blue, almost human in shape was in the distance, though I couldn’t make out any specifics. I waved towards the figure, hoping for non-hostiles. “Hello! Can you tell me where I am?!”

There was nothing but silence as a response. I let out a deep sigh of frustration. “Great, stuck on a team with a mentally disabled member, and now trying to have a shouting contest with a mute. Could my life get any worse?”

If I only knew then what I know now.

[Resolve]

Resolve did, indeed, wait up as Liliana summoned her command voice. She wasn't particularly good at following instructions but she was always open to those who may have better ideas than her, and it seemed this woman –– about her age, and almost her size –– had enough life experience to take charge of the situation. Resolve wasn't exactly a follower, but the thought of being eaten alive by beasts wasn't the most inviting, so she simmered down.

Figuring she should hydrate herself while they convened, Resolve tapped into her stores of energy to craft a cup in her right hand. It appeared almost to be liquid glass as it sprang to life in her palm, distorted and warped but apparently solid as it held water from the stream just fine. She took a long drought to empty it and then the vessel vanished, much of the energy reabsorbed. She mentally reminded herself to be careful, this skill wasn't just some party trick here like it was back home; being careless and expending too much energy might be the difference between her making it to their destination and falling behind to whatever obstacles laid in their path.

"I didn't see any signs of animal life, human or non, just now," Resolve explained to Liliana as the other young woman filled up on water. "I'm not so sure if a game trail will crop up. Come to think of it, that's a bit alarming… how deserted is this place? But I do agree we should get out of range if there's a storm abrewin'. Need help carrying anything?" She'd understand if a stranger wasn't trusted with her belongings, no offense taken, but since she didn't have much of a load outside her clothing and her sword and the other small things strapped on her belt, she figured she should offer. "I don't think I caught your name, by the way. I'm Resolve." With a fatally optimistic flash of white teeth she smiled in greeting, then glanced to the goliath that was Abrinano. "Shall we? The Captain doesn't seem to be on his way back, not sure if he's worth waiting for." She would've regarded the giant's mention of food and such with more attention, but she still wasn't sure what to make of that manner of speech. Maybe there was something wrong with him... but if they ran into any beasts, she'd be glad to have his company.

The spirited girl kept a brisk pace as they entered the forest together, not to outrun her team mates, but to keep warm. She almost could have looped circles around them as she explored possible nodes of interest within the dense clusters of trees, but always deferred back to the others for decisions on direction. Liliana seemed to have some idea of what she was doing and Resolve was fine with going along with that, at least for now.

Then a voice called out, audible from ahead through the trees. The words were muffled by distance, but the voice was almost recognizable. "Is that… Blake? Did he find someone?" She looked to Liliana and Abrinano for their reactions before running on in as she was so suicidally tempted.

[Opposites]

Abrinano did indeed hear Blake call and started running hoping to get food, he plowed a tree down and still stayed at a pace of 15 mph. As he ran he made a trail for the others to follow. He finally reached Blake who was standing at the edge of a frozen lake. On the lake looked like a motionless statue. He sat down and cried, "I wasn't hoping for food." He then looked down at his stomach which growled. "I'm not hungry."