❪ mini-event ❫ OLYMPIA QUESTS: 1

[natha]

It isn’t easy starting life in a new place. It quickly becomes apparent that you are in dire need of two very important things: money and a good name. In addition to full-time jobs, certain people in Olympia will reward handsomely for helping them with tasks. Submit any AC eligible thread of participating in this log's prompts for One (1) Olympia REP point HERE. Threads involving your flora/fauna submission may also be submitted, even if your submission is not made official game canon. FOR THE RECORD     It’s time to put on your hiking shoes. Characters will be approached by both Evras and Lysa at separate times. Both individuals are interested in recording species of plants and animals-- El Nysa is bursting with all sorts of life, after all! It is impossible to chronicle all of it without help. You will be provided with a journal to chronicle your findings. Each submission pays 100 silver. OOC: We need YOUR help in worldbuilding the area in and around Olympia and The Outlook! Create a creature or plant and submit it HERE by August 31st at 11:59 PM EST. ONE entry per character only. NOTE: If you have accepted a job at The Sanctuary or Simwe Institute, you MUST submit your entry to your boss to maintain your position. You may assume a character got the job if they established contact, even if an official offer hasn't been extended yet. Although an entry will net you TWO (2) Olympia REP points no matter what, we will be choosing a maximum of 20 entries to include in the official bestiary for future encounters. THE BIRDS AND THE BEES     Along with the request to record traits of a certain specimen, Evras and Lysa independently ask for more quick favors. Certain species, due to their unique natures, aren’t as prone to procreating as one would hope. They need your help. The directions for these requests, provided by Evras or Lysa, are simple. You will be provided a small amount of heavy aphrodisiacs (and a mask) to spray in a particular region. Because the natural aphrodisiacs of the island run a bit thin there, the wildlife has been less... willing to comply. Each species you help will net you 50 silver. Three species in particular are in need of a little help. Note: There will be a mask provided. Forgetting it may mean you start to feel some of the effects yourself. You may also be immune. Please put appropriate warnings in threads if applicable. Xlarix, also commonly referred to as the love bug. Found in MURKWELL HOLLOW. They have an ability to release literal positive energy, making those exposed to it more willing to be friendly and jovial with another. Even the most heated rivals can easily become the closest companions. You may even be tempted to temporarily abandon the request and do something fun with your new best friend. Unfortunately, while many have desired to use its effects in diplomacy, its effects only last a few minutes at best. Despite their powers to assist others in bridging emotional gaps, they are vicious insects. During mating, they engage in battle, normally losing the lives of both parties before their spawn is even properly produced. This is why they need a little help. Try to break up the fights as much as you can. For the Xlarix, being in each other's presence for long enough will eventually get them to calm down and continue the process. You may get unlucky in the process and end up with an extremely painful sting that requires healing, however. The pain increases with time, and if you allow it to go untreated for more than a day, it will be excruciating, enough that it may be debilitating, for 12 hours before eventually healing on its own. Sepht, found in EDRATHE RUINS: Both shy and antisocial, it’s no wonder these little marsupials don’t have much luck in the mating department. They prefer to live in isolation, and are much more concerned with hoarding everything they can get their hands on. This includes stealing anything you may have brought with you. As a warning, they are incredibly strong. They can also fly, so good luck catching them after they’ve made off with your stuff. Let’s hope you can get back that magical sword or enchanted necklace of yours. Once you have sprayed the chemical in their habitat, do not stick around the area. Despite being more suggestible to mate now, they are shy to the core, and will not come out of hiding until they are sure the coast is clear. Cinjaw, found JUST OUTSIDE OLYMPIA. Domestic animals kept by local farmers in the outskirts of Olympia. These guys are just really, really lazy. Too lazy to care about things like passing on their genes. Honestly, if it weren’t for the efforts of humans and the fact that their meat is too delicious for the Olympians to allow these creatures to go extinct, they would have been wiped out years ago. Stay too long near the herd, and you will begin to feel extremely lethargic yourself. Nothing sounds better than using the person next to you as a pillow for your nap, or dropping everything you’re doing to go sleep in that hay. Hopefully someone finds you and is kind enough to wake you up. After spraying the aphrodisiac, you won’t want to stick around. They are loud: loud enough to damage hearing without proper ear protection (Now you know why those farmers walk around with ear plugs). HELP A NEIGHBOR     Being new is tough in any given neighborhood. This is especially the case when you’re a newly arrived refugee. Though you’ve been welcomed here, you haven’t established a lot of trust in the community. Your neighbors don’t know a single thing about you, and that name tag fiasco doesn’t count. Fortunately for all of you, the rule of this game is simple. There is no monetary payment, but isn't it priceless to feel good about being a good samaritan? Make yourself helpful. Did you neighbor mention wanting to take their pet chicken out on a walk? Offer to do it for them and they may pay you back in a meal or a small gift. Did one of them mention needing help with rearranging their collection of thousands of cat figurines? Well, who better than to ask but you! You over there, why not help your fellow refugee by doing this task together? It never hurt to do some teamwork. Or maybe your roommate is the one taking that chicken out on a walk, and you’re just ready to judge. Complete judgment. But hey, that’s fair. BLOOD BANK     CW: Needles, Blood One of the things that quickly becomes apparent about life in Olympia is that all citizens are welcome, including those who may possess unique dietary requirements. The Blood Bank is an institution that has stood proudly for many years, and in addition to providing meals for some of its citizens, the supply is invaluable for care in The Sanctuary, research in Simwe Institute, and for use in certain types of magic. They're offering you a special today, for your blood in particular! You just look so... healthy and able-bodied. Donate a few pints, and you'll earn an easy 200 silver. Unfortunately, the center is so busy today that they've had to call on volunteers, and depending on who you've met so far, your particular volunteer may look familiar. It's... another refugee. Wait, are they even qualified?! How did they even get roped into this?! Qualified or not, the job pays well for both the refugees donating, and the ones drawing the blood (much more for whoever's donating, though. Fair is fair.). A blood drawing set inclusive of clean needles, antiseptic swabs and a blood storage kit, will be provided. Sticking a needle into a vein isn't as easy as those people in the Sanctuary make it seem, though. You may not always get it the first time, so try, try again! And if you still can't hit the bulls-eye? A rogue-looking Olympian "volunteer" approaches and hands you a knife. Apparently, cutting right into the vein and collecting the blood in a saucer also works; the staff would only need to sterilize the blood with a spell afterward. And about the gaping wound you'd cause? They always have healing potions on hand for when things go wrong (but just like the potions from before, they have been known to cause some nausea). You'll do anything to help your fellow Olympian, right? OOC     There are a total of 3 OLYMPIA REP POINTS possible to earn in this log. 2 from OOCly submitting a flora/fauna above in For the Record, and 1 for submitting any AC-length thread for any of these prompts. You may do one or the other, or both. Submit a flora/fauna HERE and submit an AC-eligible thread HERE by AUGUST 31st 11:59 PM EST. The results of The Birds and the Bees will be submitted to whoever you submit a flora/fauna entry to. If you do not submit a flora/fauna entry, submission to either one may be handwaved. In the event of CAPTCHA, we will be providing an overflow. In the event of a second CAPTCHA, players are advised to move threads to an overflow post on their character journals. These threads remain eligible for AC, AC Rewards, and REP. 1 SILVER = 1 US DOLLAR. QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

sort of ii, sort of wildcard

[unprays]

[ the man in the chair next to hers seems nervous — oh, he's doing his best not to seem like it, but she can see the way he's glancing around, craning his neck to see whether the person assigned to draw his blood is already coming.

(truth be told, she hated it — the uncertainty that something might be in the needle, that instead of drawing her blood it would poison it, but she needed the money; her family needed the money, and if a little pain and her blood would give it to her... there was little choice to be made.)

she turns to him, with a small smile. ]

I was wary of the procedure too, ser, but it is quite safe.

[punshots]

[ Channeling his nervous energy into knee-drumming-fingers certainly isn't doing his composure any favors, but he can't help it. There's something about being poked in the arm and having his life force drained out of him that nags, even though he knows full well it'll help another person. Next time? Next time, he's going to find an alternative method for community service.

He does manage a slanted but genuine smile for the woman sitting next to him. It's not easy to try to comfort a total stranger. He can appreciate that from experience. ]

Y-yeah? You already went through?

[ Though truth be told, he's not so worries about what they're going to do to him so much as how he's going to react. Needles, man... ]

[unprays]

[ she smiles slightly, biting it down as the nervousness of anyone is nothing to find amusing, or shouldn't be — she was just as nervous, after all. the smile she offers him is kind, sweet. the kind of smile she saw Margaery direct to anyone who approached her. ]

Yes. [ with a pause, she rolls back the sleeve of her heavy dress, revealing a bandage with the slightest hint of red in the middle. ]

It is uncomfortable, but hardly painful. You are very kind, ser, to think of donating and helping others.

[punshots]

[ He follows her movement with his eyes as she pulls back her sleeve. That doesn't look so bad. It's just a tiny prick, after all, and when you consider the surface area of the entire human body, one tiny spec of skin in the inner elbow hardly seems consequential. It's - no big deal. Not really. ]

Ah - heh. I just...want to do my part. [ And whatever he can to give back after being given a second chance of life here, but that answer isn't so casual and he chuckles sheepishly. ] It doesn't hurt that they're paying, too.

[unprays]

You are doing more than your part. Not many would allow others to draw their blood without a second thought.

[ she ducks her head, smiling still as he chuckles, as though to agree with his words in the most ladylike manner. ] It does make it more bearable. My brothers have promised to find work, but so far... [ well. so far no one has seemed to be hiring, and it isn't like they have a whole lot of experience with regular work. ]

[punshots]

[ He wouldn't say he hasn't had a second thought, though he'd still come, despite those second thoughts, and that counts for something, right? That's the hope that's keeping him in his seat, anyway. ]

Some of the jobs here are kind of overwhelming, huh? [ Or maybe it's just the thought of having a steady job to begin with. That's putting down roots. It's making this place less a place to stay and a home instead. And that...feels like a betrayal somehow, like he's turning his back on Eos if he embraces life in this new world.

But he doesn't say that - not directly, anyway. ] Saw the Royal Guard put a posting up. I was thinkin' about trying that out, if the'll have me.

[ He has his doubts, but "royal guard" was, at a distance, what he was doing back home, so...it's only fitting. ]

[unprays]

I must confess it is more than that for me... I have never tried to work. It was not something ladies did, back home. Here, I am sure I must, for our family to have enough silver.

[ how mundane it sounds, speaking of money like that — back home, it was never a concern she had to deal with, either. there is nothing quite like the arrival and the realization that came with it to make her fully realize just how lucky she had been, in Westeros. how privileged. ]

I am sure they would be grateful to have you, ser. My brothers... I believe it is the guard they are seeking to work for, too. Perhaps you may meet them there.

[punshots]

[ He's not one to pry - ever, unless the invitation is clearly made - but he has to wonder what kind of world she comes from where ladies aren't allowed to work. Or - weren't expected to. Whatever the case may be, it must be an adjustment. He's had a hard enough time, and he hasn't had to deal with too much culture shock himself. ]

That's really kind of you to say. [ He chuckles gently, a light blush touching his features. He's not so sure they'll be grateful, but as long as he can get on with them, maybe he'll be able to prove himself in time.

Ah, hoping he can prove himself. What a novel idea that still is. ]

What're your brothers' names? I'll keep an eye and an ear out for 'em if I get in. [ But then, his mouth thins, realizing a glaring error he's made. ]

- Hang on. My bad! That can wait. I'd like to learn your name, first.

[ He grins sheepishly at her. One day, he'll learn how to do introductions right... ]

[unprays]

[ for her, she withdraws the information not because it is a secret of any sort, but rather because it would come with the eventual explanation of being a Stark, a high-born, a lady, one who was betrothed to the king before marrying his Hand — she never cared about it back home, where it was all so natural... but here, she is overwhelmingly aware of how their worlds are gone, how they are all the same. how she is nothing more but ordinary, not a noble, and explaining that she had been might make others regard her differently.

she very nearly answers him, before he tells her to wait — and when the explanation as to the why comes, she ducks her head and laughs lightly. ]

How polite of you, ser. Very well. My name is Sansa, Sansa Stark. My brothers are Robb Stark and Jon Snow. [ she inclines her head. ] Would you do me the honor of giving your name in return?

[punshots]

[ He's not sure he'd go as far as to say "polite", considering how he mishandled asking for her name, but his impression of her so far is that even if he deserved an eyeroll, she's not the type of person to give one. She's been nothing but kind and friendly. ]

Name's Prompto! Prompto Argentum. [ Sansa, and Robb and Jon...he'll commit those to memory. For someone so distractable, he's always been good at remembering names. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Sansa. [ He's halfway to offering a handshake, before he hesitates. ] Um - do they have handshakes where you're from? Or should I bow? Some sorta sign? K-kiss your hand?

[ If he weren't a little red-faced already, he definitely would be now. ]

[unprays]

[ she can't help it — she laughs again, lighter and brighter than before. it is oddly charming, his stuttering about what she thinks is a normal, polite greeting... but to save him the embarrassment, she rises up and curtsies with perfect grace. ]

The pleasure is all mine, my lord. [ the correct answer: bowing is good enough. though she adds, with a tone that betrays an edge of mischief, ]

You may kiss my hand, too, if you wish. [ it's meant to be a joke — he doesn't need to, but his embarrassment proves to be good amusement for her. ]

[punshots]

[ Oh no, a curtsy? She's on her feet and he soon follows, scarlet color rising in his cheeks and chuckles as he returns her curtsy with a bow. It's not the first time he's used such a gesture to greet someone, but it still wasn't common back on Eos. A gesture reserved for royalty, which -

Well, she's so polite and wonderfully kind, it's all too easy to picture Sansa as royalty, too.

Before he straightens again, he glances up at her, a little wry awareness that reaches his eyes. Even if he's laughing as he does so, he reaches out to take her hand cordially in his. ]

Well, I wouldn't want to - break with custom!

[ And he presses a quick peck to the back of her hand, cheeks blazing by the time he lets it go and bolts upright again. ]

[unprays]

[ of course, she hardly considers herself as royalty — a highborn, yes, but royalty... no, even though she is the sister to the King in the North.

she stills, not expecting him to go through with it; when he straightens up again, it is not only his cheeks that burn red, but hers, too. ]

How considerate of you, ser. [ she glances to the side, noticing how one of the Sanctuary workers is approaching them. ] Oh, I've distracted you too much already — they must be anxious to be done with it and let you go soon.

[punshots]

[ It's probably just as well that the Sanctuary worker comes then, because Prompto is more or less just persistently clearing his throat at this point, even if he's doing so under a goofy smile. ]

N-no, you haven't been a distraction at all! [ Well. In a sense, maybe, that she's distracted him from the inevitable blood-drawing that's coming his way, which he's realizing again with a fresh wave of alarm, is now almost upon him. He crosses his arms to drum his fingers frenetically across his skin. ]

It was really nice to meet you, Sansa! Even, you know, given the circumstances.

[ She's made the wait far more bearable than it would have been otherwise, that's for sure. ]