nysalogs | ❪ mini-event ❫ OLYMPIA QUESTS: 1

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❪ mini-event ❫ OLYMPIA QUESTS: 1

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.

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[He huffs a short, quiet laugh.] Try with the cream.

Apostates are simply any mage that lives outside the influence of the Chantry. And since they have no supervision by definition, no one can be sure that they haven't turned to blood magic.

[He shrugs.] And since no one wants to take the chance that they might become a blood mage's puppet, everyone distrusts apostates. And it's not an unfounded fear: people are people, and some people care not at all for the well-being of others. They're perfectly willing to take someone's free will or life if it serves to gain them more power, arcane or otherwise. [And he takes another sip. It's a damn fine cup of coffee.]

Not everyone does. But because it has happened, people always fear that it will.

[How much cream? Too much. He wants this to taste as little like coffee as possible, now that he knows what coffee (with a lot of sugar) tastes like.]

People. Some people. Magic has nothing to do with that—a tyrant with a crown can subjugate hundreds of people just as easily as a sorcerer who's lost his way.

[He's back to stirring this cup obsessively. Hmm.]

I'm more worried about people who are so eager to pass judgment.

[That's okay, it's a sign of rich tastes. He's not going to scoff. He will add some honey, though, and begins to stir it in.]

Most of the people I've met are simple folk, wishing only to prosper in their simple lives. They think little about the way that things could be, and most are content to believe whatever they are told. It's not intentionally malicious. Most lack even the slightest thought that they may have some measure of control over their own destiny.

[Then, much quieter, over the rim of his cup, Zevran stares into Merlins eyes with a hint of intensity.]

I've known of many a crowned tyrant, and have had a hand in bringing down a few. [The cup is set down.] The very powerful need the illusion that they are untouchable. I assure you, they are not.

[Change of subject! Zevran glances out the window onto the street, watching said little people go about their lives, before turning back.] Of course, there was some unrest when I...left. A great many of the Circles had disbanded. The Templars declared all mages apostates.

We were in the middle of a war. I think that is all done with. I hope so.

[Whatever happened to nice, simple water... The pitcher on the table tempts him, but no, he needs that to Experiment.

There's a spark of something in his expression when he hears the word destiny, but he leaves it alone. It doesn't matter now, unless—well, unless. The rest of this... story, about Templars and a war...]

Oh, it must be. It isn't there at all, isn't that right? [He shrugs, like casually dismissing all those Storm-eaten worlds is just how the way they have to go about their lives now. One day he'll tell himself that and he'll even believe it.]

Well, it doesn't seem like practicing magic is much of a problem here, as of yet.

[He can't help but laugh at that, just a little bit. It's true, and it sucks, but there's nothing they can do about it, so they might as well move on.]

Wars are made by people, who carry them with all of their memories. But I hope, at least, cooler heads will prevail. My own community is small yet and shows no sign of carrying over that hostility. Here's hoping others will follow suit, when they, ah, arrive.

Given that everything seems to run on steam or magic, I highly doubt Olympians would have trouble. And refugees are so diverse, if one gives you trouble, you can avoid that person. [Shrug!] No loss of community.

If you say so. [No loss of community, is it... He'd probably have to feel a sense of community here first to feel like he's lost it. There are a handful of people he feels like he gets along with, but a community? He helped some strangers deliver their mail, earlier. Truly inspirational.]

The steam... things, now those are interesting. I've never seen anything that didn't run on a bunch of horses pulling it.

[We have GOT to get you out of the house more, Merlin. :| Come hang out with the Theodosians, there's no way that'll end in trauma!]

Does that include your mills? [He's...mostly joking.] The dwarves of Orzammar created quite a number of wonders that run on neither magic nor animal power. Some, I'm sure, operate by steam.

[You know, every time he goes out he barely makes it home, and with trauma to spare? He'll feel right at home with that kind of nonsense.]

Steam, though. [isn't it wacky???] It would be much easier to just run everything on magic, if you ask me.

[Which is why no one is asking Merlin, but nevertheless. Watch him drink this coffee that's now 70% not coffee.] Never met a dwarf, either. They don't have magic?

Why not? They live in the pit of a volcano, there is no shortage of heat to make it with.

[And he will observe the coffee consumption. He has yet to realize just how much it's going to affect the young man, and honestly? If they're adding magic into this mix at some point, it may not have been the best idea.

Live and learn.

But yes, dwarves.]

That they don't. They don't even dream.

[i had to look this up and the results were insubstantial]

I'm not sure what a volcano is. But that's... certainly they have some magic. Magic is in everything! I've already said that.

[when that coffee hit]

I suppose they could have some problem getting to it, but surely there's some. [He nods, like he's just made this decision himself. Surely.]

[No lie, he is 100% here for long philosophical debates. Partly, it's because he likes to hear himself talk.]

Yes, but we're talking about two different systems of magic, as well. The one I know of comes from the Fade, the realm of spirits and dreams. If your sleeping mind cannot touch the Fade, you can have no dreams, and therefore, no magic.

There are benefits, though: it makes the particularly resistant to the Fade-metal lyrium. No one else can work the metal quite like dwarves. Even holding pure lyrium would cause you or I to become mad or poisoned.

[Finally, he pauses, taking a drink and then resting with the cup between his hands, feeling the warmth through the thin china, his thumb and forefinger gripping the handle gingerly. Then he tilts his head to the side.]

Are there no volcanoes near Camelot? Hot springs, geysers, anything of that sort? ...How far have you been outside of your city, anyway?

Edited 2017-09-08 03:03 (UTC)

[Merlin's interested, to be sure, but magic to him is so vast and malleable and nearly indescribable that he almost has trouble putting it down as a system; as a thing with rules. Besides "don't hurt anyone" and "stop trying to raise the dead," what rules does magic actually need?

He also makes a face in the middle of Zevran's explanation, a little scoff and the smallest hint of a smirk, like he definitely believes if he got his hands on some lyrium he'd totally handle it. Don't let him touch anything, ever.]

I've been all over— I suppose. Pretty far from Camelot. [Although the most advanced transportation he's got is still a horse, so "pretty far" is pretty small from certain perspectives.] Camelot is... woodsy? Bit of a permanent chill in the air all around?

[Anyway tell him more about the fascinating "systemic magic" thing he thinks is fake-] Fascinating stuff, though, metalwork. A friend of mine's the daughter of a blacksmith, very interesting, why do your dreams come from the realm of the dead?

[subtle, like a sledgehammer's gentle touch]

[I can't wait until we get a Varric and we can all have the red lyrium discussion. The scoff almost makes him shake his head.]

So, like Ferelden, then. Does it also frequently rain and smell of wet dogs? [This is accompanied by a genuine, teasing smile. Then, more seriously: ] Is it landlocked, or by the sea?

The spirits in the Fade aren't the spirits of the dead--sure, the Chantry believes the souls of the dead will pass through the Fade to... [vague hand flap] wherever it is departed souls go, but Fade spirits are... Hm.

[Zevran takes a sip, looking off into a corner of the booth at nothing, really, trying to think of the best way to phrase it.]

They are chaos incarnate. According to the Chantry, they were the Maker's first children, but they lacked free will or imagination, so He made humans instead. [Setting the cup down, he smirks dryly.] No word on where elves come from, of course.

And Fade spirits, craving knowledge of mortality, visit in a person's dreams, trying to tempt one into being possessed. The line between "demon" and "spirit" is a bit hazy.

[Finally, he leans in on the table, letting his chin rest on a palm and smiling. his eyes almost light up as Merlin has his full attention.]

Now, tell me more of Camelot. [Like a kid on Christmas.]

[Let Varric tear him a new one, that'll be fun for everybody. Merlin once again listens to all of this, and uh, it doesn't make any sense - but if it's... religion? It sounds like a religion, and if it's someone's religion, it would be far too hypocritical for him to put it down that much. More than he already has, casually.

He makes a face, though, not quite affirmative but enough-] It does rain, but I like to think parts of it smell nicer than wet dogs. Certainly not the kitchens in the castle...

[Never mind that. What does he say about Camelot? Um.]

I can't believe you're going to tell me all of that- stuff about demons and spirits and souls and then ask about Camelot. What do you want to know, besides the smell?

[Don't worry about putting down the Chantry, he does it, too. Not as much as some people, but whether or not he believes in all their stories (and he doesn't), they've got some convenient explanations for things. No telling how much of them are true.

He shrugs lightly.]

Anything? Everything. It seems to be the key to knowing more about you, after all. And you have yet to really tell me much about your home.

[Yes, well... maybe some other time. At the tavern, when he's in between no inhibitions and passed out on the floor.

For now, he's completely blanked on Camelot, all of a sudden. It's only slightly surprising that someone actually wants to get to know him; he's spent so much time purposely not drawing attention to himself that he almost expects it to keep happening here by default. But, hmm...]

Well... I miss it. [He looks down at his half-drunken coffee, a little more sobered than his weirdly feverish magic babbling.] Suppose that's strange to feel about a place that would have me hanged if anyone knew what I am—but I can't help it. It was home, even with the rain and the dog smell.

[Camelot sits heavy in his chest not for its problems or its kind of crap weather but for everyone in it, and for the kingdom it could have become—no more of that, now or ever.

But moving on!]

The woods were pretty, even if they were full of bandits. Couldn't really go more than five paces without being ambushed, now that I think about it. Hm.

[Not only a pervasive dog-smell but rainy and with forests full of bandits? Zevran smiles fondly at the description.]

It's sounding more like Ferelden by the minute.

[He lifts his cup but pauses.]

Though that was during the war and the Blight. If you tell me next that they were also full of giant spiders, I'm going to start to think these coincidences suspicious.

[Giant spiders... He has to stop and think about the past, like, few years for a second- mmm, no? He doesn't think so.]

No, none of that. Different magical creatures, though, and I'm saying magical with emphasis because if you tell me your spiders are just naturally very large I'm going to get up and leave.

[That actually earns a genuine, if short and huffy laugh.]

I would not blame you one bit! But no. And before you ask, I have no idea what makes them so large. Magic perhaps.

There are plenty of the tiny ones, however, that like to crawl into cabinets or under the bed. [Then he makes a face.] Or into ones' boots.

Always shake out your boots before putting them on!

[And then it's spiders in boots that get Merlin to laugh, so they're both just laughing about spiders now.]

Now you sound like one of Camelot's knights. 'Look out Merlin, I think I saw a snake lurking around your boots'... [He shakes his head. Knights: dumb, and he loves them all dearly.]

It was a stick they put in my boot, that time.

[And then they're laughing about snakes. Or knights. One of the two.]

They must have liked you then! If they hadn't, it might have been a real snake!

[Both of these things are laughable, knights perhaps more so- it'll do.]

You never know, when all of them get together. They watch out for me as much as I watch out for them, I suppose. [So, like, obsessively.] Sooner or later they're bound to wake up and cause trouble.

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❪ mini-event ❫ OLYMPIA QUESTS: 1

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