When They Die: A Roleplay RP (IC, Open)

[Pax Nerdvana]

James Dawson
?????????????
James Dawson watched with interest as some sort of gray dressed military group appeared. They all appeared to be carrying blasters of some sort. He decided he would go introduce himself to the giant first though. He'd met plenty of people, but never a giant. At least there weren't any avians around here. He picked up his duffels and walked over to the giant. He said to the giant in a monotone,"I'm James Dawson, spaceborne. Who are you, and what planet do you come from?"

[Barapam]

The War Room
December 4th, 1962

Just as she sat down again, an aide of the Austrian chancellor handed her a dossier. The chancellor kept talking, and Ilsa listened with great interest. Her dog, having left the letter to Emperor Napoléon, returned to rest by her feet. The Führer gave him an appreciative pat. She felt triumphant. Despite the previous setbacks, she was confident that she and the other forces of good were finally on their way to reveal the agents of E.V.I.L., and stop Dr. Strangelove from achieving his ghastly goal. She opened the dossier, and -

Ilsa Wulff
Walhalla?

The sudden white flash sent her flying. She immediately thought that the mad Doctor, or one of his minions, somehow had set off a superweapon right in the War Room. Scheisse! It was supposedly a safe bunker, but obviously not secure enough, and now with with the most powerful leaders of the world eliminated, there was no one who could stop the nuclear apocalypse anymore...

"Ouf!" The leader of the Swiss Reich landed right on her bum. Something hard and flat. She blinked, and realized that she cold still see. Just as if she was still alive. Was this the afterlife?

A yelp nearby. It was Wilhelm, just next to her on the platform, and next to him, the nuclear briefcase. Ilsa sat up and hugged her canine companion, and he licked her cheek in return. Wherever she was, she at least had a friend, and wasn't alone.

Not alone... that's right, people were talking all around her. All kinds of different people. The giant viking first strengthened her impression that she was indeed in Walhalla, but looking at the others, she might just as well be on the set for a science fiction movie to be recorded. No cameras though, at least not what she could she... Besides, with the blast and all, it was far likelier that she really was dead.

She stood up, and since the "welcome comittee" had some info about this world, and Ilsa wanted to know for sure, she approached them, briefcase in hand, and with Wilhelm by her side.

"You seem to know a lot about this place, so what exactly is it? The realm of the dead?" she asked, in a demanding tone.

[Saxony-Brandenburg]

The Aether

"Alright class, let's get started..." And that's the last thing I could hear before the sounds of my own heart beat drowned out any noise. I tried to look up, and I could tell the world was slowing, as if put under water. It was bright, the light coming through the windows was now blocking out anything I could see. I tried to raise my voice, to call out and ask what was going on! But- Thud. Black. My vision was cut short as my head made contact with the desk infront of me. And... that's all I could remember, all I knew of my perceived death.

It wasn't all that bad. I fell into a great sleep, for what felt like months. It was almost calming, in a sense. My mind was blank- I was just... floating? Floating without a body, without a mind, without a purpose. Without life. And that... was it. That was, until a terrible force began to push up against the back of my head. Cold, hard, it brought my very skull from it's lull into it's painful pounding. And that's when it began again. Sound. Such a foreign concept for far too long was suddenly thrust into my mind, and the sound of my own heart jolted me from my peace. The world turned dark again, and suddenly all sorts of feelings of simply being came upon me. The feeling spread all across my back and extremities, of a hard, cold, and smooth surface beneath me. And just like that...

"Oh Good lord!" I gasped as I bolted upwards. The light surrounding me, the sky above, blinded all sight for a flash, before color began to settle on this world. I couldn't even begin to think of the average questions of where am I or what has befallen myself, as the sheer flood of senses overwhelmed my faculties to the extent I was unable to process anything of merit. I simply sat there, hugging my knees, on this large stone platform. The wend gently whipped at my cheeks, and blew my hair, obscuring my vision, but I was overcome with a disturbing sense of inhibition. What could I do but passively observe, watch the sky? I noticed many things. The wide fields of grass and flowers, swaying in the same wind which moved my hair and clothes. Somewhere along the way, I had lost my hat, perhaps it had fallen off my head before whatever it was happened. It seemed like an hour of perfect still-life before I began to think, and the first thing that came to mind was "What happened to everyone else after I died? My people, my family, my friends? Where did they all go? I was told... when I left this world, my people would go with me. That we'd look down upon the new that replaced the old, and one day give a second wind to those we deemed 'The Just', 'The Righteous', or 'The Good'.But as I looked around I saw none of that. What really did I see? I suppose when you hold such a passivity in your observations, they really aren't observing anything. I suppose I should choose what I see. Well, there were people, around me, some even floating about me. And there were some moving. Some speaking, but I couldn't quite hear them. Everything seemed muffled, everything was serene. I turned my head, and for the first time that numbing layer of reality seemed to vanish and at all once I could tell, "I... I am alive."

I slowly pushed myself up, and brushed the dust off my skirt. It seemed so foreign, so foreign in fact I don't suppose I could possibly be homesick. How could one miss home when one cannot recognize where 'Home' is? My over shirt had become unbuttoned, but at the time I didn't care, and in careful, intentional steps I approached the group lead by the taller one, silent. It seemed like the right thing to do, it seemed like I was called to do something, and just followed the herd who, I supposed, was feeling rather similar right now. I suppose I was lost in my head those first moments, and now I was lost in it again, but slightly closer to the exit. How I got out of my body to begin with, I'll never know. I suppose it didn't matter? I-I'm not sure. Maybe it would be in a book? Something Metaphysical, something like Kafka, yes, he would have something to say on this experience. If only I had tried to be friendlier. If only I could be more outgoing. If only I did something different- I dunno, um, if only I was nicer to that one guy... If only I wasn't such a dork. If only-

"Alright, shut up Frieda von Wettin, or- or I'll yell at you some more!"

[Talchyon]

The Field - The Center
Haverd Haengsson

James Dawson
?????????????
James Dawson watched with interest as some sort of gray dressed military group appeared. They all appeared to be carrying blasters of some sort. He decided he would go introduce himself to the giant first though. He'd met plenty of people, but never a giant. At least there weren't any avians around here. He picked up his duffels and walked over to the giant. He said to the giant in a monotone,"I'm James Dawson, spaceborne. Who are you, and what planet do you come from?"

Haverd squinted as one of the midgets sauntered up to him. The man was wearing clothing with pretty colors. But his head! Obviously he was some kind of knight ("though not a lucky one," thought Haverd'). It was too bad that the poor man had lost half his helmet in some kind of combat, and now only had the other half hanging on the left side of his head! And what a name! James Dawson Spaceburn!

"Haverd Haengsson, at yer service." Haverd nodded his head, hopefully this James Spaceburn feller wouldn't find it insulting. Haverd could use a friend. "But I don't come from any plants. Bergthorsson is me clan, if that's what yer talkin' 'bout."

Ilsa Wulff
Walhalla?

The sudden white flash sent her flying. She immediately thought that the mad Doctor, or one of his minions, somehow had set off a superweapon right in the War Room. Scheisse! It was supposedly a safe bunker, but obviously not secure enough, and now with with the most powerful leaders of the world eliminated, there was no one who could stop the nuclear apocalypse anymore...

"Ouf!" The leader of the Swiss Reich landed right on her bum. Something hard and flat. She blinked, and realized that she cold still see. Just as if she was still alive. Was this the afterlife?

A yelp nearby. It was Wilhelm, just next to her on the platform, and next to him, the nuclear briefcase. Ilsa sat up and hugged her canine companion, and he licked her cheek in return. Wherever she was, she at least had a friend, and wasn't alone.

Not alone... that's right, people were talking all around her. All kinds of different people. The giant viking first strengthened her impression that she was indeed in Walhalla, but looking at the others, she might just as well be on the set for a science fiction movie to be recorded. No cameras though, at least not what she could she... Besides, with the blast and all, it was far likelier that she really was dead.

She stood up, and since the "welcome committee" had some info about this world, and Ilsa wanted to know for sure, she approached them, briefcase in hand, and with Wilhelm by her side.

"You seem to know a lot about this place, so what exactly is it? The realm of the dead?" she asked, in a demanding tone.

An angry new girl had appeared, with golden flax for hair and a dark blue and white kind of - man's outfit? Why would she not want to wear a dress? The angry woman strode up to the large group, asked if they were dead! More or less. Haverd would have been somewhat intimidated, but instead the giant's mouth scrunched up in a confused, "Huh?" look, and his voice boomed out of his gigantic voicbox. "Dead?! We're not dead. Pinch yer arm and see fer yerself. Er. Where're me manners? The name's Haverd. Haverd Haengsson. At yer service. And far's as we can tell, this place is called 'Hee-yer.' Least, that's what Happy over there called it."

Happy was starting to head east towards the mountains, and he said gold was there! Haverd's eyes got big at the sound of that. "Happy! I'll come with yuh! Wait fer me!" Looking at James Dawson Spaceburn, Haverd asked the colorful but obviously unlucky knight who only had half a helmet, "Yuh could tag along, if yuh like."

But just then, a new girl arrived. Long brown hair with a brown-ish dress. And blimey, but she made no sense.

The Aether

"Alright class, let's get started..." And that's the last thing I could hear before the sounds of my own heart beat drowned out any noise. I tried to look up, and I could tell the world was slowing, as if put under water. It was bright, the light coming through the windows was now blocking out anything I could see. I tried to raise my voice, to call out and ask what was going on! But- Thud. Black. My vision was cut short as my head made contact with the desk infront of me. And... that's all I could remember, all I knew of my perceived death.

It wasn't all that bad. I fell into a great sleep, for what felt like months. It was almost calming, in a sense. My mind was blank- I was just... floating? Floating without a body, without a mind, without a purpose. Without life. And that... was it. That was, until a terrible force began to push up against the back of my head. Cold, hard, it brought my very skull from it's lull into it's painful pounding. And that's when it began again. Sound. Such a foreign concept for far too long was suddenly thrust into my mind, and the sound of my own heart jolted me from my peace. The world turned dark again, and suddenly all sorts of feelings of simply being came upon me. The feeling spread all across my back and extremities, of a hard, cold, and smooth surface beneath me. And just like that...

"Oh Good lord!" I gasped as I bolted upwards. The light surrounding me, the sky above, blinded all sight for a flash, before color began to settle on this world. I couldn't even begin to think of the average questions of where am I or what has befallen myself, as the sheer flood of senses overwhelmed my faculties to the extent I was unable to process anything of merit. I simply sat there, hugging my knees, on this large stone platform. The wend gently whipped at my cheeks, and blew my hair, obscuring my vision, but I was overcome with a disturbing sense of inhibition. What could I do but passively observe, watch the sky? I noticed many things. The wide fields of grass and flowers, swaying in the same wind which moved my hair and clothes. Somewhere along the way, I had lost my hat, perhaps it had fallen off my head before whatever it was happened. It seemed like an hour of perfect still-life before I began to think, and the first thing that came to mind was "What happened to everyone else after I died? My people, my family, my friends? Where did they all go? I was told... when I left this world, my people would go with me. That we'd look down upon the new that replaced the old, and one day give a second wind to those we deemed 'The Just', 'The Righteous', or 'The Good'.But as I looked around I saw none of that. What really did I see? I suppose when you hold such a passivity in your observations, they really aren't observing anything. I suppose I should choose what I see. Well, there were people, around me, some even floating about me. And there were some moving. Some speaking, but I couldn't quite hear them. Everything seemed muffled, everything was serene. I turned my head, and for the first time that numbing layer of reality seemed to vanish and at all once I could tell, "I... I am alive."

I slowly pushed myself up, and brushed the dust off my skirt. It seemed so foreign, so foreign in fact I don't suppose I could possibly be homesick. How could one miss home when one cannot recognize where 'Home' is? My over shirt had become unbuttoned, but at the time I didn't care, and in careful, intentional steps I approached the group lead by the taller one, silent. It seemed like the right thing to do, it seemed like I was called to do something, and just followed the herd who, I supposed, was feeling rather similar right now. I suppose I was lost in my head those first moments, and now I was lost in it again, but slightly closer to the exit. How I got out of my body to begin with, I'll never know. I suppose it didn't matter? I-I'm not sure. Maybe it would be in a book? Something Metaphysical, something like Kafka, yes, he would have something to say on this experience. If only I had tried to be friendlier. If only I could be more outgoing. If only I did something different- I dunno, um, if only I was nicer to that one guy... If only I wasn't such a dork. If only-

"Alright, shut up Frieda von Wettin, or- or I'll yell at you some more!"

Being the tallest person there at 30 ft. tall, Haverd the giant viking gaped at the new girl, who was yelling at someone. Perhaps it was herself, but there was no way for Haverd to know. The only thing he could think to say in that moment was, "Er..." as his slow mind tried to sort out what kind of greeting she had said, and who this Freeda von Wet One could possible be.

"Er..., yuh want to go lookin' for gold with us too? It's that-a-way," Haverd pointed to Happy, and began to follow East after the dwarf.

[Plzen]

Sven "Ray" Jensen

When the haze of green and black faded, Ray looked around. They were surrounded.

What happened, exactly?

Ray's green eyes blinked. On one hand were people who looked to be as confused as he was. Intermixed with a few who looked very dangerous indeed. And... a ten-metre giant?

Who even is that tall?

On the vast and open field that they were apparently now standing on, some looked at him. Some gestured to him. Some ignored him. None were recognisable, except the girl that subtly slid next to him. Not obviously enough to suggest any kind of weakness, but decisive enough to let him know that his companion did not think them to be among good company.

Where are we? Who are these people?

Subtly, subconsciously, his hands reached behind him for a wrench. The Jensen residence was in a nice enough neighbourhood, by the standards of his city, but not so nice as to make him a stranger to street brawls. Ray was not so innocent as to miss the implication of waking up in a strange location, surrounded by unknown people, with no memory of how he got there. His fingers grasped around the familiar cold touch of metal.

I don't feel nearly as confident as I look right now.

Carefully continuing to turn around and assess his environment, Ray's eyes locked on two girls, the only people in this platform that seemed vaguely near his age. Thunderbolt and Ruya, although he did not yet know them as such. The latter appeared to already be busy with conversation, but no matter.

Ray's mouth contorted into an ever-familiar smirk.

"Hey~"

---

Sigrid-Anna "Sammy" Jensen

Her brother winked. Winked! At a couple of girls they met not ten seconds ago!

I swear one of these days I'm actually going to kill him. I'm going to kill him!

"What a brilliant opener, Ray," she commented, keeping her eyes fixed on her surroundings but knowing that Sven Ray would be listening just the same. "I'm sure the ladies would be absolutely bowled over. They'll totally not want to kill us. It's not like we're being mugged over here, kidnapped and surrounded by strange people. Noooooooooooooo. Everything is clearly fine. Draw more attention to us. Go on. Why don't you drop a pick-up line on them next?"

...that may have been somewhat more verbose than Sammy's usual conversation went, but in her defence she was not as adept as Ray was in hiding her emotions. Her veneer was not a perpetually confident one. Under pressure she tended to either ramble, or clam up. It was clear that today was shaping up to be more of the former rather than the latter.

To his credit, Ray did not rise to the taunt. In the few seconds of silence that followed, Sammy's consciousness unfroze itself, and the analytical gears of the Jensen daughter's mind whirred away, trying to find - desperately grasping for - a rational explanation for all this.

"So what now, brother of mine?"

Like Ray, her gaze lingered on Ruya. Her uniform both intrigued her and perhaps, just perhaps, inspired a little bit of hope.

Military? Perhaps this was some kind of armed forces experiment gone wrong. There has to be an explanation for all this... right?

[Higher Japan]

North North, North of the Northern North

"Alone at last." Amelia muttered, gavel still in hand as she looked around. The entire world almost seemed like a blank slate now, nothing left to do, nothing left, this must be some state of enlightenment. Looking around, she saw that the hills to the west moved slightly, almost as if something had happened. Something was moving. Something was alive. Something that would probably kill her. She could either move forward or go to the side, now think like-whoops, can't go there yet.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to head towards the massive moving mass.

[Lord Dominator]

Zubher

Zubher nodded at the inability to access old realms.

"While I am sure your idea of a realm differs greatly from mine, your answer is acceptable. Do you otherwise mean to say that we are all in some new universe?" he questioned.

Other than that little bit of information, he found the suggestion of those eastern mountains and their gold would be a good place to start in this new universe. Getting back to the basics and the roots was always a good idea in his opinion.

[Barapam]

"Of course we're 'hier'!" Why the giant suddenly used the German word for 'here' was more than Ilsa understood, but she rolled with it. "The question is what, or rather where, hier is, and given the flash and the shockwave that brought me here, I'm pretty sure we're dead."

She left it at that, Haverd didn't seem to be the brightest, so any further discussion would be pointless. 'Pinch yer arm...' As if their senses suddenly would stop working just because they were in the Otherworld... You'd think a viking would remember the old sagas better, but evidently not. Nevertheless, she followed him. Being Swiss, Ilsa always had a thing for money, be it banknotes or gold. She whisteled and snapped her fingers to get the attention of her German Shepherd, who had strayed off, curious about all the new smells this unknown dimension could offer. However, he came when his mistress called, and they headed eastwards with the rest.

[Zjaum]

Center

Zubher"While I am sure your idea of a realm differs greatly from mine, your answer is acceptable. Do you otherwise mean to say that we are all in some new universe?" he questioned.

Vrabriya froze. She turned to her dwarven comrade and spoke in their native language. "Happy, what does 'universe' mean?"
Haapsalu was similarly perplexed. It wasn't a common term that was brought up in everyday language, especially around him. He tried to reach the far excesses of his memory. "I think 'the universe' is synonymous with 'everything.' Take it with a grain of salt, of course; Piotr and Co. would probably decipher more. Of course, they speak... Russian, was it?... with each other, so perhaps they wouldn't know either."
"Ah, okay, thanks!" responded the warrior gleefully, reverting to English. "Yes, everything is new here! Welcome to a new world!"
"Not that we will have time to kill, but we lose time now!" exclaimed the dwarf. "Everyone coming with, please follow! Everyone staying with Abigail, please stay! You are free to do as you please, but we cannot help you otherwise!" And with that, the journey eastward began.


East

The first route of the hike was flat. There were rivers to ford and marshes to cross, but Haapsalu knew the quickest ways across them- without fashioning boats, of course. Occasionally people needed to carry him across to keep him from swimming, but everyone of at least an average height did just fine. Soon, they reached the foothills of the mountain range- deep but easily traversable valleys and peaks, places were one could fall down a hill and not require immediate assistance. The sun should have set at this point, it being midday when most people had arrived, but it had merely stayed in roughly the same position. It was difficult to tell how much the sun had changed; one would need to either stare directly at the blazing inferno or measure the lengths of their shadows, both being incredibly hard things to do. Regardless, most were probably quite tired at this point. Haapsalu announced. "All right. We are almost there, but it would be the most tough part of our hike. I say we make camp and sleep now. You must be much awake to find gold in these mountains!"

He commanded armies back in his day, and he knew what an absolute burden fatigue was. He himself would have gone to bed about now, and, while the newcomers had probably arrived here with different biological clocks (everything else was different; why not that), he figured that a uniform sleeping regimen would be optimal. Besides, perhaps there were a few campfire stories folks might tell once the group had settled down. While his opportunism had surely left him, his curiosity was still never sated, even in a place like this.


One-Step North

Amelia would find that the large gray behemoth was not a single entity but multiple... in fact, a whole army's worth of individuals. At first glance, they looked like mere hazy shapes, with no face or form. However, looking at each individual one could give Amelia the distinct feeling of humanity, as if each of those shapes was an indiscernible soldier in this vast host. None of them reacted to her presence, simply moving along exactly the same route as they had travelled previously.

Her initial hypothesis that this was a dream was, seemingly, more valid. However, none of the characters or armies were from anywhere she knew, or anywhere that she could collect from even her distant memory. Odd was not strong enough of a word to describe this predicament.

[Rupudska]

Carefully continuing to turn around and assess his environment, Ray's eyes locked on two girls, the only people in this platform that seemed vaguely near his age. Thunderbolt and Ruya, although he did not yet know them as such. The latter appeared to already be busy with conversation, but no matter.

Ray's mouth contorted into an ever-familiar smirk.

"Hey~"

In their collective defense, neither girl reacted too much to the obvious, and very poorly timed, flirting. Ruby simply gave Ray the middle finger, while Ruya replied with a dismissive "Hey" in turn and a wave of her hand - she was too busy using her Scouter to, well, scout the surrounding area. She was getting an odd reaction - the radar didn't seem to much like the areas at long range, and the readings she was getting were downright confusing. Especially to the north. Her radar, designed primarily to pick up human-sized targets, picked up a lot of something to the north, but it was unable to make out what.

Of course, she was probably just too low.

---

Later
East Camp

Unlike before, Ruby and Ruya had two very different reactions to the breaking for camp. Ruby was a superheroine, that was for certain - or at least, a vigilante - but she was from London, raised in London, and had only been living a few months in Newfoundland after a forced relocation - none of those locations terribly high altitude, and even this altitude at foothills was beginning to wear on her lungs. Or perhaps it was just all that walking - she hadn't needed to do much of that either, since Newfoundland had an island-wide taxi service ever since all the world's capes were relocated there, and London had its famous Underground. So with much glee, she took a suitably soft-looking patch of earth, took off her jacket, folded it up, plopped it down, and with a mumbled "bloody fuckin' finally" she curled up, catlike, upon it.

Ruya, however, didn't seem much worse for wear. She was military, and far more importantly a Witch, so long hikes were no big deal to her - emergency training covered being shot down deep in enemy territory of course, and besides, as a Witch she had well-beyond human strength, and her Ability being 'Superstrength' pushed it far beyond that. With her Strikers being a few hundred kilos apiece, it was a good thing that they could be commanded to fly on their own, running off reserve mana stored in their tanks. Not for as long as flying with a Witch to power them, but still. They could take the Gatling off her back too, which was another several kilograms of weight not being carried.

She allowed her Strikers to land, forelimb wheels out as they touched down for what could be described as a three-point landing for each unit. She took a cautious look around with her Scouter again, and again determined there was something wonky going on with her radar at long ranges. This was a bit more concerning now than it was earlier, but she paid it no mind.

She pulled her rifle to a more forward position and hem-hem'd to get some degree of attention.

"Mr. Haapsalu, I'm not sure what sort of things are out in these mountains, but I get the feeling that there are at least some that need to be kept watch for, even in the day. With your permission, I'd like to take first watch, and maybe one other person to come along." She looked briefly at Ruby, who gave her the finger, then decided someone else would probably do.

[Xah]

Entropy
East Camp

Entropy frowned at a word that was bandied about.

Gold.

There were a few substances that Entropy disliked, mainly due to their irritating ability to resist decay. Amber was a good one, most igneous rock, certain alloys, and precious metals. Platinum was best, gold was almost as good. Being stuck in a gold lined, amber coffin for literal ages had given Entropy a searing dislike of what many thought was just a pretty metal.

However. He also wasn't about to be left here, in this weird place, on his own. Not when there were real, living people to journey with and their tasty potential. So he went with them.

His appearance coming through whatever had brought him here had depleted a lot of his energy, and he had looked a bit... tattered, at first anyway, but walking through the vegetation soon revitalised him, even if he left a trail of dead plants in his wake. When they eventually stopped for the day (even though this day never seemed to end, Entropy was feeling remarkably fit, he'd even stopped smelling of decay. Walking wasn't a typical activity of his, and his clothing and shoes were doing badly (rubber soles tended to last, thankfully), but there was more than enough materials around to sustain him. Then someone mentioned gold again and he scowled.

"Mr. Haapsalu, I'm not sure what sort of things are out in these mountains, but I get the feeling that there are at least some that need to be kept watch for, even in the day. With your permission, I'd like to take first watch, and maybe one other person to come along."

"I don't need to sleep, or rest much right now," Entropy said, his voice croaking. "I will help... keep watch."

[Pax Nerdvana]

The Field - The Center
Haverd Haengsson

James Dawson
?????????????
James Dawson watched with interest as some sort of gray dressed military group appeared. They all appeared to be carrying blasters of some sort. He decided he would go introduce himself to the giant first though. He'd met plenty of people, but never a giant. At least there weren't any avians around here. He picked up his duffels and walked over to the giant. He said to the giant in a monotone,"I'm James Dawson, spaceborne. Who are you, and what planet do you come from?"

Haverd squinted as one of the midgets sauntered up to him. The man was wearing clothing with pretty colors. But his head! Obviously he was some kind of knight ("though not a lucky one," thought Haverd'). It was too bad that the poor man had lost half his helmet in some kind of combat, and now only had the other half hanging on the left side of his head! And what a name! James Dawson Spaceburn!

"Haverd Haengsson, at yer service." Haverd nodded his head, hopefully this James Spaceburn feller wouldn't find it insulting. Haverd could use a friend. "But I don't come from any plants. Bergthorsson is me clan, if that's what yer talkin' 'bout."

Ilsa Wulff
Walhalla?

The sudden white flash sent her flying. She immediately thought that the mad Doctor, or one of his minions, somehow had set off a superweapon right in the War Room. Scheisse! It was supposedly a safe bunker, but obviously not secure enough, and now with with the most powerful leaders of the world eliminated, there was no one who could stop the nuclear apocalypse anymore...

"Ouf!" The leader of the Swiss Reich landed right on her bum. Something hard and flat. She blinked, and realized that she cold still see. Just as if she was still alive. Was this the afterlife?

A yelp nearby. It was Wilhelm, just next to her on the platform, and next to him, the nuclear briefcase. Ilsa sat up and hugged her canine companion, and he licked her cheek in return. Wherever she was, she at least had a friend, and wasn't alone.

Not alone... that's right, people were talking all around her. All kinds of different people. The giant viking first strengthened her impression that she was indeed in Walhalla, but looking at the others, she might just as well be on the set for a science fiction movie to be recorded. No cameras though, at least not what she could she... Besides, with the blast and all, it was far likelier that she really was dead.

She stood up, and since the "welcome committee" had some info about this world, and Ilsa wanted to know for sure, she approached them, briefcase in hand, and with Wilhelm by her side.

"You seem to know a lot about this place, so what exactly is it? The realm of the dead?" she asked, in a demanding tone.

An angry new girl had appeared, with golden flax for hair and a dark blue and white kind of - man's outfit? Why would she not want to wear a dress? The angry woman strode up to the large group, asked if they were dead! More or less. Haverd would have been somewhat intimidated, but instead the giant's mouth scrunched up in a confused, "Huh?" look, and his voice boomed out of his gigantic voicbox. "Dead?! We're not dead. Pinch yer arm and see fer yerself. Er. Where're me manners? The name's Haverd. Haverd Haengsson. At yer service. And far's as we can tell, this place is called 'Hee-yer.' Least, that's what Happy over there called it."

Happy was starting to head east towards the mountains, and he said gold was there! Haverd's eyes got big at the sound of that. "Happy! I'll come with yuh! Wait fer me!" Looking at James Dawson Spaceburn, Haverd asked the colorful but obviously unlucky knight who only had half a helmet, "Yuh could tag along, if yuh like."

But just then, a new girl arrived. Long brown hair with a brown-ish dress. And blimey, but she made no sense.

The Aether

"Alright class, let's get started..." And that's the last thing I could hear before the sounds of my own heart beat drowned out any noise. I tried to look up, and I could tell the world was slowing, as if put under water. It was bright, the light coming through the windows was now blocking out anything I could see. I tried to raise my voice, to call out and ask what was going on! But- Thud. Black. My vision was cut short as my head made contact with the desk infront of me. And... that's all I could remember, all I knew of my perceived death.

It wasn't all that bad. I fell into a great sleep, for what felt like months. It was almost calming, in a sense. My mind was blank- I was just... floating? Floating without a body, without a mind, without a purpose. Without life. And that... was it. That was, until a terrible force began to push up against the back of my head. Cold, hard, it brought my very skull from it's lull into it's painful pounding. And that's when it began again. Sound. Such a foreign concept for far too long was suddenly thrust into my mind, and the sound of my own heart jolted me from my peace. The world turned dark again, and suddenly all sorts of feelings of simply being came upon me. The feeling spread all across my back and extremities, of a hard, cold, and smooth surface beneath me. And just like that...

"Oh Good lord!" I gasped as I bolted upwards. The light surrounding me, the sky above, blinded all sight for a flash, before color began to settle on this world. I couldn't even begin to think of the average questions of where am I or what has befallen myself, as the sheer flood of senses overwhelmed my faculties to the extent I was unable to process anything of merit. I simply sat there, hugging my knees, on this large stone platform. The wend gently whipped at my cheeks, and blew my hair, obscuring my vision, but I was overcome with a disturbing sense of inhibition. What could I do but passively observe, watch the sky? I noticed many things. The wide fields of grass and flowers, swaying in the same wind which moved my hair and clothes. Somewhere along the way, I had lost my hat, perhaps it had fallen off my head before whatever it was happened. It seemed like an hour of perfect still-life before I began to think, and the first thing that came to mind was "What happened to everyone else after I died? My people, my family, my friends? Where did they all go? I was told... when I left this world, my people would go with me. That we'd look down upon the new that replaced the old, and one day give a second wind to those we deemed 'The Just', 'The Righteous', or 'The Good'.But as I looked around I saw none of that. What really did I see? I suppose when you hold such a passivity in your observations, they really aren't observing anything. I suppose I should choose what I see. Well, there were people, around me, some even floating about me. And there were some moving. Some speaking, but I couldn't quite hear them. Everything seemed muffled, everything was serene. I turned my head, and for the first time that numbing layer of reality seemed to vanish and at all once I could tell, "I... I am alive."

I slowly pushed myself up, and brushed the dust off my skirt. It seemed so foreign, so foreign in fact I don't suppose I could possibly be homesick. How could one miss home when one cannot recognize where 'Home' is? My over shirt had become unbuttoned, but at the time I didn't care, and in careful, intentional steps I approached the group lead by the taller one, silent. It seemed like the right thing to do, it seemed like I was called to do something, and just followed the herd who, I supposed, was feeling rather similar right now. I suppose I was lost in my head those first moments, and now I was lost in it again, but slightly closer to the exit. How I got out of my body to begin with, I'll never know. I suppose it didn't matter? I-I'm not sure. Maybe it would be in a book? Something Metaphysical, something like Kafka, yes, he would have something to say on this experience. If only I had tried to be friendlier. If only I could be more outgoing. If only I did something different- I dunno, um, if only I was nicer to that one guy... If only I wasn't such a dork. If only-

"Alright, shut up Frieda von Wettin, or- or I'll yell at you some more!"

Being the tallest person there at 30 ft. tall, Haverd the giant viking gaped at the new girl, who was yelling at someone. Perhaps it was herself, but there was no way for Haverd to know. The only thing he could think to say in that moment was, "Er..." as his slow mind tried to sort out what kind of greeting she had said, and who this Freeda von Wet One could possible be.

"Er..., yuh want to go lookin' for gold with us too? It's that-a-way," Haverd pointed to Happy, and began to follow East after the dwarf.

James Dawson
?????????????
James replied to the giant,"It's good to meet you Haverd. I suppose clan could fit, instead of planet, which means you are from another time period. It would help if I could figure out where the slag I am. I suppose I'll tag along, seein' as I don't have anything better to do. Maybe I'll even get some target practice in." He patted the holster on his belt.

[Higher Japan]

Amelia

"Holy Victoria..." Amelia muttered, looking at the entire army. The army was faceless, absolute, and exuded power. It reminded her almost of the Canterallian army, an absolute force with the most advanced equipment in the entire world. These soldiers appeared faceless but yet humane, as if it was just a mask. Looking forward, she decided to follow the army to see where they were going exactly.

[Plzen]

Sigrid-Anna "Sammy" Jensen

In their collective defense, neither girl reacted too much to the obvious, and very poorly timed, flirting. Ruby simply gave Ray the middle finger, while Ruya replied with a dismissive "Hey" in turn and a wave of her hand - she was too busy using her Scouter to, well, scout the surrounding area. She was getting an odd reaction - the radar didn't seem to much like the areas at long range, and the readings she was getting were downright confusing. Especially to the north. Her radar, designed primarily to pick up human-sized targets, picked up a lot of something to the north, but it was unable to make out what.

The dismissal from the two girls was so blatantly obvious that even she could taste it.

My brother always did have more confidence than common sense.

In any case, she was slowly being convinced that maybe, just maybe, they would not in fact die and be stripped of their organs that day on that platform.

Nobody around us seems interested in us. Good. That's good. No interest is good. Maybe we'll live to find out just what is happening.

The first route of the hike was flat. There were rivers to ford and marshes to cross, but Haapsalu knew the quickest ways across them- without fashioning boats, of course. Occasionally people needed to carry him across to keep him from swimming, but everyone of at least an average height did just fine. Soon, they reached the foothills of the mountain range- deep but easily traversable valleys and peaks, places were one could fall down a hill and not require immediate assistance. The sun should have set at this point, it being midday when most people had arrived, but it had merely stayed in roughly the same position. It was difficult to tell how much the sun had changed; one would need to either stare directly at the blazing inferno or measure the lengths of their shadows, both being incredibly hard things to do. Regardless, most were probably quite tired at this point. Haapsalu announced. "All right. We are almost there, but it would be the most tough part of our hike. I say we make camp and sleep now. You must be much awake to find gold in these mountains!"

He commanded armies back in his day, and he knew what an absolute burden fatigue was. He himself would have gone to bed about now, and, while the newcomers had probably arrived here with different biological clocks (everything else was different; why not that), he figured that a uniform sleeping regimen would be optimal. Besides, perhaps there were a few campfire stories folks might tell once the group had settled down. While his opportunism had surely left him, his curiosity was still never sated, even in a place like this.

Bad! This is bad! I'm going to die!

Walking. Walking. More walking. After the last few hours, Sammy hated walking with a passion. Walking on plains, then on wetlands, and across streams... Sammy hated water now too.

At least the dynamics of the group seemed clearer. There were two men at the front, leading them for... some purpose. From evesdro... critical observation of her companions, it looked like everyone else here was baffled as to their newfound location as well. And... more worryingly, the people supposedly leading them did not seem to really care for any of their lives. A couple people just walked off and... they had to have noticed that, right?

Ray... you could have offered to help, you know. I saw you looking. I know that you know how deathly tired I am right now.

At first, her eyes darted back and forth, taking everything in. The plants were unfamiliar and nor was the terrain, but it was always useful to know one's environs. Just in case she needed to move in a hurry later down the line. But now... exhaustion. Sleep. Make damp? What camp? She was literally ready to fall on rock and sleeeeeeeeeeep. Besides, it's not like she had anything to make camp wi...

"You know," Ray noted, "people used to laugh at me lugging useless stuff now. Ha! Who's laughing now?"

A length of irritating-blue plastic tarp emerged out of his backpack. A ripped-up textbook fell out of it. Sven Ray pulled out what looked like a camera tripod.

"Just because you win the lottery doesn't mean it was a good idea to buy a ticket in the first place, Ray," she quipped back. "Never confuse results with sense."

...on second thoughts maybe she'd have a shared tent after all.

---

Sven "Ray" Jensen

Ray always did have more confidence than common sense.

Later
East Camp

She pulled her rifle to a more forward position and hem-hem'd to get some degree of attention.

"Mr. Haapsalu, I'm not sure what sort of things are out in these mountains, but I get the feeling that there are at least some that need to be kept watch for, even in the day. With your permission, I'd like to take first watch, and maybe one other person to come along." She looked briefly at Ruby, who gave her the finger, then decided someone else would probably do.

Well, miss military hardware needs a partner to take first watch, eh? Let it never be said that Ray was a person to turn down such a blatant opportunity.

Entropy
East Camp

"Mr. Haapsalu, I'm not sure what sort of things are out in these mountains, but I get the feeling that there are at least some that need to be kept watch for, even in the day. With your permission, I'd like to take first watch, and maybe one other person to come along."

"I don't need to sleep, or rest much right now," Entropy said, his voice croaking. "I will help... keep watch."

...then someone else volunteered.

Oh come one! And he looks intimidating, too! I don't know what that smell that comes off him is, but it's making me really really suspicious about what he has tucked away in his clothes...

An unknown danger. A dark enigma.

Clearly this was the kind of person who should not be crossed, at least not until more was known about them. If he wanted first watch so badly, then...

"Yo, man, no offence, but I really think you can use a shower and some rest, y'know? Don't worry about it. I'm feeling pretty awake right now, and I'll be happy to help her take first watch," Ray commented, before turning around to the mysterious figure that has been leading them all here. "Of course, that is if you don't mind...?"

...never let it be forgotten that Ray had more confidence than common sense.

[Zjaum]

East

Haapsalu in his diligence had found a cave. The elements were far from capable of hurting them, but he himself wanted somewhere cool to rest, a place where his eyes could rest, a place where the bright of the sun wouldn't pierce through his eyelids. "Hello, all!" he announced as he came back. "I saw a place for sleep! If you wish to cut down trees, you may do it now! We might need them to cover up the hole! As for eveyone else, we need brush and mosses to sleep on tonight. I will start gathering those."

With that, he turned about and headed back up the hill. "Oh, and the cave is in that direction, just a few minute's walk. You must not miss it." His finger erred towards the southeast, where a grove of trees stood out specifically through the rest of the region. The cave must be in there. "A fire would be nice, if anyone would know how to make it."

At this point, Ruya felt a pip. There was a human, neither hostile nor friendly from the looks of it, in the vicinity. The pip was heading towards them at the pace of a brisk hike. Simultaneously, an anomaly was also found on her radar. It wasn't a lifeform or an object... really, the radar system didn't know what to make of it. It seemed to be acting up. Maybe the human showing up was just a figment caused by the radar's reaction to the anomaly; who could know?


North

The army would march north, at a standard marching pace. There was no noise from them, not even the jingling of belts or the stamping of feet. The only noise she could hear would be a small breeze, which didn't seem to affect the horde of shapes in the slightest.

The great gathering came to a stop at the silhouette of a city. It was no bustling metropolis, but it was far more than a mere hamlet. The army laid in to the town with unparalleled ferocity, encountering similar shapes that quickly began to organize into what clearly seemed to be the defending army. Again, there was no noise, though Amelia could come up with the sounds if she thought hard enough. The battle seemed to be a toss-up, but there was a small, distinct feeling in the back of her head that the defenders would lose as it stands.


Center

Vrabriya sighed. It was a good day today, all things considered. New friends, and now a simple quiet. A great potential time to catch Z's. She found what appeared to be a soft bed of grass and laid down to sleep.

[Rupudska]

"I don't need to sleep, or rest much right now," Entropy said, his voice croaking. "I will help... keep watch."

"No," Ruya said pointedly, "no you won't. I don't know what's going on with you, but you're giving off energy readings pretty similar to the things the Neuroi use to drain mana from entire cities. So, no offense, but I don't want you anywhere near my equipment, in case whatever Ability you have works the same way."

She turned to the flirt. "You can come, if you're fast enough to keep up, that i-" Her thoughts were interrupted by an odd reading on her radar. Her head whipped around to focus on it, but it was too far away to get an accurate ID on what it is at this distance - not surprising, as it was humanoid and had no equipment.

With another practiced flip, she arced vertically, feet in the air, took off her shoes, and slid into her Strikers in one motion.

"Clear the exhaust zone!"

"Clear the wha-" said Ruby before having to leap back lest she be nearly knocked down by the force of a jet Striker's 'leapfrog' exhaust - jet Strikers could take off from a point, but it required a lot of energy, a lot of thrust, and as demonstrated tended to knock over nearby things.

In a second, though, she was in the air - and at a few hundred knots, she'd be at the reading's location in moments.

[Talchyon]

East
Haverd Haengsson

James Dawson
?????????????
James replied to the giant,"It's good to meet you Haverd. I suppose clan could fit, instead of planet, which means you are from another time period. It would help if I could figure out where the slag I am. I suppose I'll tag along, seein' as I don't have anything better to do. Maybe I'll even get some target practice in." He patted the holster on his belt.

All the talk from this James Dawson Spaceburn person was rather confusing to Haverd, especially when he started talking about "timed peer-yids" and "slag". Haverd was beginning to think that James meant "slug," but that didn't seem to be it. As for what a "timed peer-yid" was, Haverd didn't have the faintest idea. However, he wanted to look like he was bright enough on his own, so he simply nodded and smiled with what he hoped was an intelligent look on his face (which, however, only made his eyes wider and his eyebrows raised, with kind of a half-grimace, half-smirk on his face. A look no one would ever mistake for intelligence.)

The trek East was just like Haverd was back home. When all the other men in his clan went out on their raids and Haverd was left behind, he tended to go exploring. Haverd probably had explored the most territory in all of Arinetha. That was, until the light snatched him the first time and he wound up far away in that field of golden, burning heat. But here, Haverd fell back into old routines, whistling some as he walked. His sturdy boots kept out the moisture from the squishy marshes, and he generally had a good view of where they were heading. A forest ahead, and in the distance, a mountain side with a nice cave. Haverd smiled at the choice that Happy was taking them to.

"Of course we're 'hier'!" Why the giant suddenly used the German word for 'here' was more than Ilsa understood, but she rolled with it. "The question is what, or rather where, hier is, and given the flash and the shockwave that brought me here, I'm pretty sure we're dead."

She left it at that, Haverd didn't seem to be the brightest, so any further discussion would be pointless. 'Pinch yer arm...' As if their senses suddenly would stop working just because they were in the Otherworld... You'd think a viking would remember the old sagas better, but evidently not. Nevertheless, she followed him. Being Swiss, Ilsa always had a thing for money, be it banknotes or gold. She whisteled and snapped her fingers to get the attention of her German Shepherd, who had strayed off, curious about all the new smells this unknown dimension could offer. However, he came when his mistress called, and they headed eastwards with the rest.

The blond lady in the strange outfit seemed cross with Haverd. Women-folk usually did. They tended to see him as either something to fear, or a big nuisance. Haverd felt bad for it, but he had had that same reaction all his life, and he fell back into familiar routines. He muttered to himself, "That's just what they called this place, Hee-yer. As for the flash and all, why, it's just like what happened to me the last time..." The blond woman might hear and respond, but whether or not she did, there was little more Haverd could think of to say in that situation, other than, "An' I'm not dead yet. Don't think yuh are, either."

On the way, Haverd noticed an awful smell. Wrinkling up his nose, Haverd could have sworn that he smelled the smell of dead, decaying bodies. It was a familiar scent - the same as when other clans came to raid, and wound up having to fight for their lives. When the fighting was done, the bodies were all piled up before they were burnt. And this scent was coming from his own group! It was a man, with colorful clothes but who seemed to kill even the plants as he walked with them. Haverd's eyes got wide and he tentatively put his hand on his good luck charm, on the lanyard beneath his tunic. This man had to have some kind of dark magic, and it made Haverd more than a little worried about having him with them.

Fortunately, there was opportunity to do something and get his mind off of things.

East

Haapsalu in his diligence had found a cave. The elements were far from capable of hurting them, but he himself wanted somewhere cool to rest, a place where his eyes could rest, a place where the bright of the sun wouldn't pierce through his eyelids. "Hello, all!" he announced as he came back. "I saw a place for sleep! If you wish to cut down trees, you may do it now! We might need them to cover up the hole! As for eveyone else, we need brush and mosses to sleep on tonight. I will start gathering those."

With that, he turned about and headed back up the hill. "Oh, and the cave is in that direction, just a few minute's walk. You must not miss it." His finger erred towards the southeast, where a grove of trees stood out specifically through the rest of the region. The cave must be in there. "A fire would be nice, if anyone would know how to make it."

Haverd volunteered to fell trees. With his sharp axe, Haverd went to work hacking at the trees as though they were twigs. It didn't take long, until Haverd had a good stack of wood to be used to cover the cave entrance up, and more for burning. Of course, the cave was not big enough for all of them plus him. Haverd didn't think much about how he would have to lay down, and probably a little distance from the cave. Lying down among the trees would not be easy. Haverd was kind of used to it. For many years, he had been too big to lay down anywhere else but on a patch of ground outside. It did give him a chance to see the stars every night, however. And that was something he would never give up.

He brought over the felled trees and put them in a big pile near the cave. If they wanted covering, Haverd would help put it out there. But after everything was said and done, and as everyone else hunkered down or began to sort out the guard duty, Haverd went off a short ways to the edge of the forest to find a clearing he could lie down in. He had just managed to find a spot when he saw one of the women-folk of their group take off in flight. "Blimey!" Haverd thought to himself. "Two people who can use magic in our group! And here I am, just plain old me!"

[Zjaum]

In the Woods

This... this was a lot of wood. Haapsalu just stood there, thinking of what to do with this. Why, it could probably be used to build a whole new dwelling structure! The dwarves were nothing, though, if not stellar architects. Granted, said structures were mostly subterranean, but there was more than enough material to make up for the lack of experience. "All right, I know it should be best to cut up the trees here. The branches can be used as firewood for inside the cave, while the trunks can be used for a small, low-roof house. That way, everyone can have shelter, even the tall man... where did he go, anyway?"


In the Sky

The anomaly was temporarily abandoned, and the individual was pursued. Ruya's system notified her of a projectile, aimed in her general direction. It was a clear miss, and soon below her waved a country girl in freckles and overalls, grinning the largest smile one would think possible.

[Pax Nerdvana]

East
Haverd Haengsson

James Dawson
?????????????
James replied to the giant,"It's good to meet you Haverd. I suppose clan could fit, instead of planet, which means you are from another time period. It would help if I could figure out where the slag I am. I suppose I'll tag along, seein' as I don't have anything better to do. Maybe I'll even get some target practice in." He patted the holster on his belt.

All the talk from this James Dawson Spaceburn person was rather confusing to Haverd, especially when he started talking about "timed peer-yids" and "slag". Haverd was beginning to think that James meant "slug," but that didn't seem to be it. As for what a "timed peer-yid" was, Haverd didn't have the faintest idea. However, he wanted to look like he was bright enough on his own, so he simply nodded and smiled with what he hoped was an intelligent look on his face (which, however, only made his eyes wider and his eyebrows raised, with kind of a half-grimace, half-smirk on his face. A look no one would ever mistake for intelligence.)

The trek East was just like Haverd was back home. When all the other men in his clan went out on their raids and Haverd was left behind, he tended to go exploring. Haverd probably had explored the most territory in all of Arinetha. That was, until the light snatched him the first time and he wound up far away in that field of golden, burning heat. But here, Haverd fell back into old routines, whistling some as he walked. His sturdy boots kept out the moisture from the squishy marshes, and he generally had a good view of where they were heading. A forest ahead, and in the distance, a mountain side with a nice cave. Haverd smiled at the choice that Happy was taking them to.

"Of course we're 'hier'!" Why the giant suddenly used the German word for 'here' was more than Ilsa understood, but she rolled with it. "The question is what, or rather where, hier is, and given the flash and the shockwave that brought me here, I'm pretty sure we're dead."

She left it at that, Haverd didn't seem to be the brightest, so any further discussion would be pointless. 'Pinch yer arm...' As if their senses suddenly would stop working just because they were in the Otherworld... You'd think a viking would remember the old sagas better, but evidently not. Nevertheless, she followed him. Being Swiss, Ilsa always had a thing for money, be it banknotes or gold. She whisteled and snapped her fingers to get the attention of her German Shepherd, who had strayed off, curious about all the new smells this unknown dimension could offer. However, he came when his mistress called, and they headed eastwards with the rest.

The blond lady in the strange outfit seemed cross with Haverd. Women-folk usually did. They tended to see him as either something to fear, or a big nuisance. Haverd felt bad for it, but he had had that same reaction all his life, and he fell back into familiar routines. He muttered to himself, "That's just what they called this place, Hee-yer. As for the flash and all, why, it's just like what happened to me the last time..." The blond woman might hear and respond, but whether or not she did, there was little more Haverd could think of to say in that situation, other than, "An' I'm not dead yet. Don't think yuh are, either."

On the way, Haverd noticed an awful smell. Wrinkling up his nose, Haverd could have sworn that he smelled the smell of dead, decaying bodies. It was a familiar scent - the same as when other clans came to raid, and wound up having to fight for their lives. When the fighting was done, the bodies were all piled up before they were burnt. And this scent was coming from his own group! It was a man, with colorful clothes but who seemed to kill even the plants as he walked with them. Haverd's eyes got wide and he tentatively put his hand on his good luck charm, on the lanyard beneath his tunic. This man had to have some kind of dark magic, and it made Haverd more than a little worried about having him with them.

Fortunately, there was opportunity to do something and get his mind off of things.

East

Haapsalu in his diligence had found a cave. The elements were far from capable of hurting them, but he himself wanted somewhere cool to rest, a place where his eyes could rest, a place where the bright of the sun wouldn't pierce through his eyelids. "Hello, all!" he announced as he came back. "I saw a place for sleep! If you wish to cut down trees, you may do it now! We might need them to cover up the hole! As for eveyone else, we need brush and mosses to sleep on tonight. I will start gathering those."

With that, he turned about and headed back up the hill. "Oh, and the cave is in that direction, just a few minute's walk. You must not miss it." His finger erred towards the southeast, where a grove of trees stood out specifically through the rest of the region. The cave must be in there. "A fire would be nice, if anyone would know how to make it."

Haverd volunteered to fell trees. With his sharp axe, Haverd went to work hacking at the trees as though they were twigs. It didn't take long, until Haverd had a good stack of wood to be used to cover the cave entrance up, and more for burning. Of course, the cave was not big enough for all of them plus him. Haverd didn't think much about how he would have to lay down, and probably a little distance from the cave. Lying down among the trees would not be easy. Haverd was kind of used to it. For many years, he had been too big to lay down anywhere else but on a patch of ground outside. It did give him a chance to see the stars every night, however. And that was something he would never give up.

He brought over the felled trees and put them in a big pile near the cave. If they wanted covering, Haverd would help put it out there. But after everything was said and done, and as everyone else hunkered down or began to sort out the guard duty, Haverd went off a short ways to the edge of the forest to find a clearing he could lie down in. He had just managed to find a spot when he saw one of the women-folk of their group take off in flight. "Blimey!" Haverd thought to himself. "Two people who can use magic in our group! And here I am, just plain old me!"

James Dawson
James looked at the giant. He couldn't tell if the giant was confused or not. He looked around, and saw people felling trees. He decided to help as best as he could. He wasn't exceptionally strong, even with his cybernetic arm, but he did have a blaster carbine that could help cut down trees. He pulled it out of his arsenel duffel, and loaded in a power cell. He put it on low power, which wouldn't set the wood on fire, but would burn through it. He flicked off the safety with a click. He said,"Ok, which trees are we cutting down?"

[Xah]

Entropy
The Camp

"Yo, man, no offence, but I really think you can use a shower and some rest, y'know? Don't worry about it. I'm feeling pretty awake right now, and I'll be happy to help her take first watch,"

Entropy laughed, a rasping sound. "A shower is the least of my issues," he said. "And I have rested enough in my time."

"No," Ruya said pointedly, "no you won't. I don't know what's going on with you, but you're giving off energy readings pretty similar to the things the Neuroi use to drain mana from entire cities. So, no offence, but I don't want you anywhere near my equipment, in case whatever Ability you have works the same way."

A shrug. "Whatever you say lady. No offence is taken, I am used to people viewing me in a distasteful light, such is the downside of being who I am. I won't be sleeping anyway, so I'll watch, even if I'm not on watch. So to speak." Entropy looked around. "I can be useful, by the way, it's far better than sitting around. I shall, however, stay away from your firewood."

[Vulkata II]

In the Woods

This... this was a lot of wood. Haapsalu just stood there, thinking of what to do with this. Why, it could probably be used to build a whole new dwelling structure! The dwarves were nothing, though, if not stellar architects. Granted, said structures were mostly subterranean, but there was more than enough material to make up for the lack of experience. "All right, I know it should be best to cut up the trees here. The branches can be used as firewood for inside the cave, while the trunks can be used for a small, low-roof house. That way, everyone can have shelter, even the tall man... where did he go, anyway?"

Jack Horseshine
Jack grabbed his tools and his beloved Arc Welder and went with Haapsalu along with the rest of the volunteers that was interested in helping. That and Jack wasn't a man that interested in pulling branches and making Papier-mâché with them.

As soon as Jack realized what he was going to use to cut the trees with Haverd promptly answered his questions, watching in amazement as he saw the viking destroy the trees and turned timber into logs Jack realized the rest of the crew that followed suit was no longer needed in cutting wood unless Haverd got tired. Watching as stacks of branches and logs collected themselves into raw material in front of everyone that joined it was questionable on what to do next; as Haapsalu asked a question Jack snapped out of his continuous daze and tried to be useful for once.

"Hell if I know boss." Useful meant doing something than just stand all day at least. Grabbing his trusty old arc welder Jack showcased it to everyone and wondered if they knew what it did, he then wondered if his electrode and holder could light a fire with branches, "On another note, I think I could start up a fire. Could be a forest fire or just a simple wild fire but we'll all be cozy nonetheless."

[Zjaum]

"Ok, which trees are we cutting down?"

This question took the dwarf by surprise. "Um, well, the ones that are good for lumber, I guess. Don't cut the small things." There were no environmental regulations in his world, not that dwarves cared for the arboreal in any real capacity. That's what got them into trouble with the elves in the first place! "Any are fine."

"On another note, I think I could start up a fire. Could be a forest fire or just a simple wild fire but we'll all be cozy nonetheless."

"Why, yes! Let me to chop up the tree first."

It is said that many hands make light work, and that truism certainly applies to this. It took about an hour to strip the hulks to their most useful parts, and another hour to strip the additionally-collected ones. They had enough to make a little village at this point, let alone a single house. Regardless, Haapsalu felt quite comfortable in the cavernous excesses of the deep, occasionally more so than even structures of his own design. Hence, with a spring in his step, he called out to everyone. "All right, allow me show you the cave!"

The cave was tiny, to be sure, but deep. A thin ridge spiraled to the bottom, where room for a dozen or so humans (or one giant) was available, and where the heat and brightness of the sun were unable to reach. The stone floor was wet, which was partially why the flames were so vital. Haapsalu had gathered mosses as the giant and company were gathering trees, and there was enough at least for the light sleepers. "Well, pick your spot," the dwarf said. "Or I might help with building the house, if you do not like caves."

[Pax Nerdvana]

James Dawson
James nodded, and got to work cutting down trees with his blaster for the next hour. It wasn't too hard, but pine sap kept getting on his armor. This was very annoying. After that, he used his blaster to cut the most useful parts off the trees. Happy announced that they could either find a spot to sleep in the cave, or they could help build some buildings. James Dawson said,"Do we have plans for the house? If we do, I'll help build it. If not, I'll be fine sleeping in the cave." He returned his blaster to his arsenal duffel.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Kyle Cameron
Celeste Irwin
Victor Bates

Center

Kyle Cameron was the first one to notice he wasn't at the Hub. He blinked briefly, clutching his hand as he found himself in a different location. He looked around to see that he was in the middle of what appeared to be a stone platform where two statues were behind him. He checked what he still had. He was holding his shotgun and he was still wearing the vest he gotten from that police cruiser. He had a pistol in his pocket, along with an ice skate dangling from his back. Cramped into his vest and pockets were his boxes of ammo and anti-depressants. He then realized he had his personal journal with him and..."Shit. I don't have my pen!" Kyle complained, as he looked around at the stone platform he was on. He didn't have a map, so he might look around.

Celeste Irwin woke up later, standing on the stone platform. She looked down to see that she was still wearing her clothes. "Was this heaven? No, it can't be?" Celeste thought, as he noticed a man on the platform with her. "Where's Garnet?" she asked, where Kyle noticed her. "Who the hell are you? You from the Hub, also?" Kyle asked, where she showed confusion. "No, we were traveling to Stockholm. You seen a boy named Sid Garnet, he was in the helicopter with me." Celeste asked, where Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Uhh.. I know it's weird to ask, but...you look like shit." Kyle said to Celeste, thinking she was sick with some kind of illness. "I don't look like shit. You never seen a zombie before in your life?" Celeste questioned Kyle.

"W-what?"
"I'm dead. Isn't that obvious? So, where are we?"
"Uh...What?" Kyle had no idea what was going on any more. Until he noticed someone sleeping in the middle of the field. "Hang on, I think I see someone. I try to figure this out."

Kyle walked over to the sleeping figure, which Celeste followed him to meet them. While both of them were distracted, Victor Bates woke up on the stone platform.

[Zjaum]

North

The besieging army had torn through the defenders, razing the city to the ground. There was a strong aura of panic and fire, though no flames were present. A few pale shadows and shapes ran away to the north, but the whole scene before Amelia vanished to ash, then to smoke, then to nothingness. The only thing remaining were the already-departed survivors and the army. After a pause to recognize their good work, they turned to the southeast.


East

Everyone had been situated. There was no urgent need for building the little village quite yet, so they could make it on the way back home. The giant wasn't present, but there was no danger. They would send for him in the morning; doubtless he wasn't too far off. Moss covered the floor of the cave in nice, plump mounds, each about Vrabriya's size, as per the dwarf's memory. Of course, he tended to exaggerate the height of humans, so they were nearly the dimensions of twin-size beds. Never doubt the ability of dwarves to harvest material.

The campfire was set, and those who decided to stay there for the night were all ready for bed. Haapsalu yawned. "Good, so, we are about to go to bed. While we have a gathering, does anyone have ghost stories or stories from their past? We are in a closed cave, if we are to sleep together, we might as well know each other. And a nice boring story might help to make us rest, yes?" He chuckled. "I'll go first if no one has anything to say."


Center

The warrior heard the footsteps approaching and groggily opened her eyes. Upon noticing to whom the footsteps belonged, her adrenaline forced her awake. "Ah! Werai! Yerar!" She seemed startled, but she soon became half groggy, half alert, like a drunken stupor. She tried her best to snap out of her daze, but the day's happenings had taken their toll. "Hello, welcome, three, to the... new world. I am, Abigail, I am here to watch the portal." It would take her a bit to fully wake up, seeing as it was practically bedtime (even though the sun was high in the sky; she had slept face-down). She plopped on the ground in a two-knee kneel as she observed the characters before them. One was a sickly pale, while the other two seemed normal, at least, relative to the ensemble she'd previously encountered. "I'm sorry for the... the..." She began to fall back to sleep, partially thinking this was a dream, but desperately trying to keep herself awake.