Quest Mingle: August-September

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Quest Mingle: August-September
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Quest Plotting!

• These quests are valid from start of August until end of September.
• Characters don't need to be a member of the guild to do quests and anyone can do any segment's quest! The quests are just marked this way to show where the quests are taking place.
• City Location Details | Segment Location details
• Remember to keep distances (times are calculated as walking times) in mind when planning what quests to do when. You have two full months, so there's no rush!
• For some of the monsters, additional details can be found from the Beastiary.
• Rewards are for one completion of the Quest, but characters can do it multiple times to earn more money from them, as the problems do repeat.

• Please see the guild page for permanent quests.

🚨 Emergency Quest 🚨

Going Gorgon

A massive monster has been spotted in the Jungle of Judgement (Summer Segment). It has been feeding on the native fauna and even people! It looks like a giant snake lady with wings. Some have identified it's name to be "Gorgon". We can't have this monster feeding on everything that comes even close to the area of the Jungle its at, so we need people to take care of it! We will pay 2000 Moon Coins for your efforts of somehow solving this problem - may it be destroying the monster or just getting it leave!

OOC: This is a player made quest that won't last for two months. More information on it in this post. To suggest a quest, please leave a comment on the Player Suggestions page.

Log for the Gorgon Quest is here!

City Quests

Even in your city... quests! [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
Blind Cooking	Local TV channel is looking for participants for a new type of reality cooking show. In the show one person is blindfolded and the other is giving them instructions. This is very much a trust building exercise for the participants, as well as entertaining for the viewers. Of course, any and all injuries will be healed by a team of specialists on set.	Upon entering the set the producers will do a spell that will determine how well the two people know each other. The closer they are the less likely they'll be allowed to work together. The goal is to find people who barely know each other to take a leap of faith in cooking. Of course the spell can be fooled by keeping your thoughts neutral about the other person while it's being cast.	500 Moon Coins, a free self made meal
Emotional Art	Amberfall artists have set up giant blank canvases all over the districts (even in Frostreign) with plenty of different painting tools (brushes, spray cans etc). The task is to paint with your positive emotions and make pictures that radiate with positive energy. The tools and canvases are all magical so trying to enforce negative emotions into the paintings will lead to the paint disappearing once it's been on the canvas for a while. These works of art are meant to uplift the spirits of the citizens and just let people have fun with painting.	Characters may learn an instant spell for cleaning their clothes from paint (and only paint) while they're participating in this quest or can be provided with overalls. Occasionally the paintings will be changed to a new blank canvas to give people more room to paint, but the "finished" canvases can be found from various places in the city.	100 Moon Coins, a watercolor set, watercolor paper
On a Magic Carpet Ride	The Research Center is always looking for fun new ways to travel. Now they are looking for people to test out the newest ones. It's a magic carpet meant to be ridden by two people. One of them powers up the carpet by singing (anything goes, even songs thought up on a whim) and the other steers the carpet. The test drivers are asked to complete a course where they need to pick certain items throughout the city and then return back to the Research Center.	You are free to come up with simple items (fruit, special tokens, stamps - anything that won't be too heavy to carry) for the course. If the character in charge of singing stops, the carpet will gently float down to the ground (or whatever is beneath it) until singing continues again.	700 Moon Coins
Pipe Express	Mysterious turquoise pipes have appeared all around the city. Some natives have entered them out of curiosity and ended up in a completely different place. Turns out they're warp pipes, a new way of fast travel! However, some of the warp pipes have an extra challenge that will take them to either a grassy terrain where you get chased by small dinosaurs that breathe fire or a pool with fish called Toe Nibblers. Some have even found just a room with a bunch of gold coins! Please help us label all of the pipes and where they might lead.	Fire Breathing Dinosaurs are the size of a house cat and can look like various different dinosaur species. Toe Nibblers are various fresh water fish that nibble on people's toes and aren't generally very dangerous. There's 1/10 pipe chance to end up in either of the enemy pipes and there's 1/50 chance to drop into a room full of gold coins.	300 Moon Coins
Undercovered CW: Gang Activity	After the opening of the Underground Mall, there has been an increase in criminal activity and shady people, especially in the center district. The police are very understaffed, so we're asking otherworlders to go undercover and infiltrate these crime groups (but only those on the surface). Any information provided is important and will help towards making the city a safe place to be in.	You're free to come up with different motivations, reasons and plans the minor crime groups may have and use the local Law Enforcement to bring them down with the help of your character. Some groups will hand out simple flower pins (imagine small, like hair accessories) to characters out of trust towards them.	2000 Moon Coins, possible flower pin

Winter Segment

Lights, Snow, Quests [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
Invisible Maze	Throughout the Winter Segment, invisible walls have appeared. These walls form a maze and occasionally one finds themselves stuck in an invisible dead-end. They're very hazardous and make traveling in the Segment difficult. We ask that you find whatever is causing this maze to exist.	Passing through the maze will lead to finding an invisible Mime Monster (a bipedal, masked ermine creature). Once the characters reach the Mime Monster it will turn visible and attack. All its attacks are invisible but you can predict what they are by participating in a game of pantomime. The Mime Monster doesn't need to be killed if you show it a pantomime it can't solve.	400 Moon Coins
Just Around the Riverbend	The rivers and lakes of the Winter Segment are flooding due to giant monstrous Snow Beavers making dams all over the place. These beavers are the size of human teenagers and their coat looks like powder snow. You don't have to kill the beavers, just get rid of their damn dams!	Snow Beavers usually travel in groups of four and make dams on any watery surfaces. The dams are strengthened with ice, but shouldn't be too hard to destroy; it's just that there's a lot of them and the Snow Beavers will try to bite anyone who attacks the dams.	600 Moon Coins
Snowed Out	The Summer Districts want to make ice and snow sculptures in the city to cool the areas a little bit. To accomplish this, special snow and ice need to be delivered from the Winter Segment. Any snow and ice that glitters like the northern lights under sunlight will be perfect for the task as it won't melt. Bring as much of it back as possible.	Sleds and other means of transport are provided for the task. Snowmobiles can be rented to pull sleds easily through the snow.	200 Moon Coins
Yet We Must Fight	A group of Giant Yetis have emerged from the forests of the Winter Segment, looking to destroy anything in their paths. They have weapons made out of wood that they use to hit opponents with. They've been making steady progress towards the City Barrier, attracted by the masses of people inside it. We believe the barrier will hold, but the natives would likely get spooked if they saw them banging on the barrier so chasing them away is important.	The Giant Yeti max height is 6 metres / 20 feet. They don't have any other abilities other than their size and their wooden weapons. Killing them is optional, they just need to be chased out. Usually by fire.	900 Moon Coins

Spring Segment

Breezing through quests [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
Cats Need Catnip Badly	Local animal shelters have run out of cat- (and other creature-) nip due to not being able to visit the Creature-Nip Meadow regularly for the past two months (due to a certain quest). Now they want to fill their storage with as much of the herbs as possible.	Eating or otherwise ingesting the various herbs in the Meadow may turn people into the creatures they're meant for (cat nip -> cat). At the least they will make the person act like said animal for a few hours.	200 Moon Coins
Farming Life	The Research Center has provided barrier stones. These stones can be used to protect farming plots where you can grow various vegetables and herbs. The barriers don't protect them from normal animals, but they do protect them from various natural disasters and monsters. Place these barrier stones around the various abandoned farming plots and maybe get into farming yourself!	The barrier stones only cover plots of 5 x 5 kilometres / 3 x 3 miles. There can be multiple next to each other. Various vegetable and herb seeds are also provided by the quest givers.	200 Moon Coins, fresh vegetables/herbs later
Movie Inspirations	A movie producer needs references for a fight scene and wants people to defeat local Spring monsters in the flashiest way possible and get it on camera. Camera provided, of course, with enough film for four different takes.	Any Spring Segment monsters in particular will do the trick (even slimes). Cameraman safety is not guaranteed during the quest and they may have to tend to themselves.	100 Moon Coins per clip
Panda Picking Season	It's the time of the year when Giant Pandas tend to feast on the Bamboo Labyrinth in large parties. This is a necessary cycle to keep the labyrinth in good shape. However, the panda babies tend to run off. Please protect them and bring them back to their parents. The grateful mama pandas will give characters golden bamboo shoots they find from the ground as a reward.	Golden Bamboo Shoots are a special type of bamboo that will upgrade the Spring Power Holder powers when added to regular food. If a non-spring holder eats it they will just feel a lot lighter for a few days. It also tastes delicious. Please refrain from taking the baby pandas away from their parents. If you must adopt a panda, adopt the whole family at least!	Golden Bamboo Shoots

Summer Segment

Get your hottest quests here [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
All These Mummies CW: Mummies, Skeletons, Mind Control	Areas near the Deserter's Desert have recently seen an increased amount of Mummies. They have certainly appeared from out of nowhere (or from sand, we suppose). They're a menace... but not in a fatal way. Instead they're trying to wrap bandages around people to turn them into them. The bandages do have a 1/50 chance to actually make someone completely act like a mummy (walking in a trance, wrapping bandages around people) that can be canceled by taking the bandages off. They should be dealt with as soon as possible.	The mummies are otherwise mostly harmless, but the Research Center would appreciate if someone captured a few of them so they could study them! Actual mummies have skeletons underneath all the bandages but nothing else. If they're stripped off their bandages they will comically cover their genital area and run away.	300 Moon Coins
It's Raining ... Fire CW: Burns	The Summer Segment is a place where it rarely rains outside the Rain Jungle, and when it does rain it can be something other than your regular water. Like fire. Recently observational team has noticed fire raining down from the skies. The source seems to be Wyverns circling in the skies (their scales, when falling, turn into fire). Put out the fires before they spread too far and dodge the unpleasant rain.	The Wyverns can be fought, but they're danger level 10 and even killing one is a very, very hard task, especially since they're cloaked in Dark Energy most of the time.	400 Moon Coins
Pirates of the Great Lake	Mysterious ships have made an appearance on the Great Ocean Lake: ghost ships and pirate octopi ships. They're disturbing all life on the lake, throwing explosive and other things into it. The Research Center has provided ships that can be taken to the waters and some pirate outfits to fit the theme (optional). Destroy the enemy ships and restore peace to the lake!	Ghost Ships are ships that don't seem to have any members onboard (or they can only be seen by the Winter holders). Pirate Octopi are octopi with eyepatches (and some even have mechanical tentacles in place of normal ones). The ships rarely fight each other but they don't consider each other allies either.	700 Moon Coins
❗High Risk Quest❗ La Va Land CW: Burns	New creatures are emerging from the Lava-Ridden Land. Monsters made completely out of lava and rocks and are slowly making their way towards the segment and burning their way through everything. They're especially headed for the airship station, though we are unsure if they'll be able to cross the Forever Fall, but we don't want to risk them actually passing through it. Defeat them, however it takes or chase them back beyond the barrier.	Lava Monsters are extremely dangerous and will burn anything they touch. They're closely shaped like slime and other blobs, making hard to tear apart as they will just reform themselves. Their weak point is the lava core, lodged deep inside their bodies. Breaking the core means the lava creature will dissolve.	8000 Moon Coins

Autumn Segment

Maple scented Quests [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
Leaf Me Alone	Majority of the autumn leaves have turned magical and have started to cause people to fall into a state of sleep whenever they hit someone. Luckily, most people have fallen asleep on the safe zones, but there are those who did not. Be careful not to get hit by the leaves and try to get rid of them instead, all while saving the people sleeping in wrong places. As long as a leaf remains on someone they will either sleep or feel very drowsy and the more leaves they have on them the more potent the effect is.	The effect is less effective through clothes, but will still make one feel sleepy/yawn a lot. With enough layers of clothes the characters will be able to collect the leaves for extra potent sleeping potions. However it's not recommended to eat the leaves as they are, as it might lead to a comatose state instead.	300 Moon Coins
Migrating Foes	Over the course of several weeks, some (Spring) slime and (Winter) Gem Biters have made their way to the Autumn Segment and are now eating special mushrooms near the Mushroom Sanctuary (but not inside it). These mushrooms grow them in size and now we're dealing with human-sized foes. Slime are still relatively harmless, though now they can cover someone in their slime drool, but Gem Biter bites may actually be dangerous. Fight these creatures and either destroy them or bring them back to their original habitats (the effects of the mushroom will fade with time).	Eating a mushroom will make someone grow triple their current size (clothes will transform with them). The effect will fade in a day. Used in potions this mushroom will help with plant growth.	400 Moon Coins
Silent Streams	In the woods, near the Silent Mountains, people will find they lose their voices. In fact, all the sounds disappear. However, it's also the place where you can find one of the purest of water sources, needed for a special potion. The quest is simple: obtain the spring water and bring it back, but be careful of the dangers you cannot hear.	While the area around the spring is relatively safe, sometimes Spirit Animals wander around, attracted by the emotions of those in the area. They will only attack if there are too many different emotions in the area at the same time. There are also actual bears and wolves wandering the woods, but they rarely come too close to the Silent Zone.	100 Moon Coins per water container
❗High Risk Quest ❗ Rest in Pieces CW: murder, drowning	Lately people have died or gone missing near the Abandoned Graveyard. A new type of Kelpie specie has emerged from the Flooded Woods: the Ghoul Kelpie (or Ghoulpie). It can't enter the protected area, but it will haunt people right outside of to either immediately feast on them or take them with them back to the woods to drown them. They're extremely aggressive and attack anyone on sight. They need to dealt with as soon as possible to bring peace back to the area.	Ghoul Kelpies have a sticky fur that anything sticks to. Their teeth are sharp and venomous and their mane turns into vines that poison or stun their opponents. Their weakness is that the more dry they get, the more vulnerable they are to attacks so they occasionally need to retreat back to water.	8000 Moon Coins

NSFW Quests
DO NOT use the Quest Mingle for these quests and instead play them on other posts! This questboard is only unlockable by characters that are 16 or older.

The Spice [ Click to Expand ]

Quest Name	Description	OOC Notes	Rewards
Sex on Air	A new airship is looking for workers for their opening months. The airship cruise that circles around the districts and segments is meant for pleasure and pleasure only. Employees will dress up in sexy lingerie and serve customers drinks, food and entertainment. It's much like a sexy host club on air. There is also a chance of trying their new spell: actually having sex while floating in the air. Just make sure not to fall behind the airship or you may be in trouble.	Of course anyone is allowed to just be a customer of the airship - or why not both, with occasionally doing work and occasionally being served. The Airship leaves evening second evening from the Nightwake Central station and returns after two days. Think of it as a luxurious cruise.	900 Moon Coins per cruise
Shibari Lessons	Due to the last month's Freezing Heart incident, local sex shops have opened up workshops around the Underground Mall. They are teaching characters magical shibari. Every knot tied around someone will represent an emotional or physical block they have. Once all knots are in place a spell is cast on them that will relieve them of their burdens for some time (depends on the person, how fast they will grow these burdens back in their minds/bodies). May also cause arousal to doing this with a partner you know and trust might be a good idea.	The spell doesn't completely erase the burdens, it's merely meant to bring temporary relief and pleasure. The spell is a customized for every person, but it has to include the words "release you from your burdens", but otherwise it can be worded however the one doing the spell wants (for ex. "With my love and care towards you, I release you from your burdens"). The spell has to be one full sentence, but it can't just be "I release you from your burdens".	Shibari Spell, Shibari Rope

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[reviven]

[ Joshua's arms will hate him for all the effort later, but better they both walk away sore and alive than not be able to walk it all. Once he guides Jill closer, he slides his arm around her waist to help steady her, leaving the wyvern to cry in agony as it slowly dies (he hopes). He'll leave the vultures to finish off the rest of it, more concerned with getting Jill to a safe spot several yards away so he can focus all his attention on her.

...If he doesn't keel over himself first, but he's doing a decent job of remaining steady on his own feet at the moment. ]

I assure you most of it is the wyv–

[ Torgal's barking causes him to tense up, as his gaze darts from the wyvern they already felled to the wolf itself, making sure the wyvern's brethren haven't arrived to avenge their fallen. Fortunately, that is very much not the case as he spots a familiar outline approaching. Honestly, it's a miracle in itself Ultima didn't alert him before Torgal, but Joshua isn't going to question that right now. Instead, he smiles in relief, wishing they both weren't banged up at the moment to meet Clive with a hug. ]

Clive! You're a bit late to join the hunt. We just finished taking care of the hard part for you.

[wardenofice]

[Jill tactfully slips free from Joshua so that the brothers can embrace if they wish. She's doing a good job staying on her feet, even if she feels like her limbs all want to give out after using so much magic all at once. She's experienced fatigue but not this quickly, she's fairly sure. Joshua's plan had been for them to stab the beast and yet she had mostly used magic upon it.

Hastily she puts her injured arm behind her back, hoping Clive would not have seen it. He would have already seen her leaning onto Joshua. There was no avoiding that. Please don't notice...]

Clive... did you just arrive? I only just found Joshua earlier.

[Saving her from being cooked by said wyvern.]

[pecsonthebeach]

[At the very least, they're both standing, or something akin to it. Considering some of the things they've seen, this is better than what can be expected. Not that Clive still isn't concerned; of course he is. They're upright, yes, but clearly nearing the ends of their ropes.

And Jill...oh, Jill. She never stands like this, with either or both arms behind her back, not when she's with him or Joshua. Something's wrong and he intends to find out what, but as long as they can all walk, then he can push down her concern long enough to get out of this situation.]

I did, yes.

[At that moment, though, the dying wyvern makes a particularly anguished noise. Clive sighs. The least he can do is put the thing out of its misery.]

Leaving me the dregs, eh, Joshua?

[But he gives his brother a small smile, too, before resting a hand on each of their shoulders.]

Do me a favor, both of you, and sit down before you fall down. I won't be long.

[With another look at both of them, he approaches the wyvern and draws his sword. Joshua was right; they really did do a number on the beast. He notices all the damage around the creature's neck and decides that will be his focal point. Without giving the wyvern much time to retaliate at his appearance, assuming it could at this point, he musters up a bout of strength and jabs the blade into that ruin of scales and flesh with a disgusting squelch, ignoring the fresh cries of pain.

Damn those scales, though. Worse than even the roughest of hides in this sort of situation. Thankfully, this doesn't require elegance or to leave behind a beautiful corpse. No, he just needs to end it. Clive rests a foot on the wyvern's head and then wrenches the blade down, hoping to sever whatever is keeping it tied to the last drops of life. It takes a few efforts, but finally his blade must cut through where it needs because the beast falls silent.

Clive pulls the sword free with some resistance, and flicks the clinging core off the blade before resheathing it and returning to his family.]

[reviven]

Well, we can’t always let you have all the fun now, can we?

[ His rueful grin breaks into a slight grimace as his body is keen to remind him that he may have overdid it just a smidge. Rather than push through it, he takes his brother’s advice and plops on the ground, patting the spot next to him for Jill. ]

Let me mend the worst of it so we can return together on foot. Otherwise , I fear Clive may offer to carry you the whole way back.

[ Carry the both of them even…but Joshua is determined not to be a burden right now. Thankfully, Ultima yet remains silent in his prison so Joshua doesn’t feel like coughing up half a lung as per usual. Being separated from Valisthea has likely weakened Ultima’s strength considerably -or at least, that is Joshua’s prevailing theory. He’s not going to complain if that is indeed the case.

Instead, he is going to focus on finding a way back to their world, once he and Jill are in less of a sorry state. ]

[wardenofice]

Understood.

[She smiles a bit, shaking her head as Clive walks past them and she stops concealing her arm. Doing as she's bid, she also takes a seat next to Joshua so that he can heal her. The burn is quite messy and painful and she's glad for a healer she trusts.]

Are you sure...? You're already worn out like me.

[At the mention of Clive carrying her her brows raise.]

Speaking of carrying... that was the last time I saw you both. You were carrying him away after Barnabas injured him.

[She shifts uncomfortably, looking down at her injured arm as she holds it out for Joshua to treat.]

I was captured not long after that.

[pecsonthebeach]

[He hadn't gone far to completely dispatch the wyvern, but Clive is still relieved to see Jill and Joshua (and, yes, Torgal, too) right where he left them. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a treat, tossing it to the wolf.]

Good boy.

[He can't help but overhear the end of Jill and Joshua's conversation, though. He kneels down in front of them, still looking to make sure that they look steady enough to head back on their own strength.]

And we took you back.

[That's important for her to know. That Barnabas didn't separate all of them for long. But if she doesn't remember her rescue...

Clive swallows, the memory of their night on the beach still fresh in his mind. There's a heaviness in his gut at the thought that he holds someone so precious in his memories alone, but he will have to address that at some other time. Not here, not when another wyvern could show up at any time and wreak havoc on them.

But, hopefully, they can afford a breather.]

Do either of you still need a moment?

[reviven]

[ Joshua's hands get to work quickly, glowing as magic unspools from his fingers across Jill's flesh, rapidly stitching together her wounds. He would hear no more protest regarding this matter, especially since he's nowhere near winded as Jill (or so he tells himself). ]

The last I recall, we were all in preparation to take to the skies to fight Ultima. How peculiar that we were drawn here from different points in what I presume to be the same timeline...

[ As far as he's aware, at least. For all he knows, there could be more subtle differences in their memories. ]

I suppose I will have to leave it to my brother to enlighten you further, as he had spent more time at your side than I between your last memory and mine. If he wishes to.

[ He gives Clive a pointed look, unsure how Jill would handle knowing she parted with Shiva and whether or not she would try to do the same here. ]

And her wounds have responded well to the Phoenix's magic, so the two of us should be fit enough to return to our temporary dwellings here. It would also benefit us all to vacate the area before more wyverns arrive.

[wardenofice]

[She listens to them both, but more importantly she watches - the pointed look from Joshua, the way general sense that she's missed something important. It makes her feel almost guilty and she doesn't know what to make of that when neither is upset with her. Once Joshua is done healing her, she turns over this new knowledge for a moment.]

Thank you, Joshua. [Examining her arm for a moment - ]

I still want to understand how you both could have memories I do not but... I'm glad we are all here.

[She doesn't know how she would eve begin to ask Clive to fill in the blanks, as Joshua has so clearly given him the opening to do. She considers asking now, but wonders if perhaps the two of them should talk later. It's a strange situation to be in.]

We should go, before more of them come - if they do.

[pecsonthebeach]

This is not the first time we have been toyed with. I fear it will not be the last.

[It is still incredibly bizarre to think their memories all reach different points. Clive doesn't like it, feels like his freedom is being taken in an unforeseen way, but if there's anything he knows all of them are good at, it's persevering. So that's what they'll do.

Joshua's look penetrates him, though, in a way he's not used to. But he's right. Clive has the responsibility to tell Jill what's happened. And he will. He will. But not here.

Clive stands up and holds a hand out first to Jill, then to Joshua should he need it.]

Let's go, then.

[reviven]

[ Yes, he will take that second hand, as he's already pushed himself enough for one day between fighting a wyvern and healing Jill. He dusts himself off gently after standing and wipes some of the remaining flecks of blood from his face and neck before starting down the direction of their apartments. ]

Of all the more cruel ways to toy with us, sending us to a world absent of the trials of our own may be the cruelest, especially when Ultima yet awaits, a threat still lying just out of our reaches. I am almost inclined to believe he may have orchestrated this to hold us off from our goal even longer.

[ But this magic is surely different, as are the people here. They don't seem to be under Ultima's control, and Joshua is sure he'd feel it if Ultima were at all emboldened by this world. However, the fiend has gone completely quiet, as he had in the days during Joshua's distance from Clive.

His fingers graze over his chest, half-expecting it to spark some sort response. ]

...I will see what information I can gather once we return, though I fear there may be no clear path home.

[wardenofice]

[She takes Clive's hand and does her best to brush herself off too once she's upright - though there isn't much to be done for any blood on her clothing. Between herself and the wyvern, there are quite a few spatters and stains. At least she no longer has a burn to contend with, thanks to Joshua.

While the three of them walked, Torgal trotted along ahead of them, tail wagging slowly back and forth as he went. He was alert, looking for more enemies should they pop up.]

No, this is different than something Ultima could do. It would have been all too easy to give these people the same treatment as ours have been given if this had been by his hand. Magic also does not work the same way for the others, wherever they all come from, as it does in our home. They are not depleted of their life force and they are not subjugated for it as far as I know. At least... there was a gentleman I spoke to when I first arrived who told me of it. Moreover - we're told we are meant to be here to help. If anything, it feels almost as if by an accident of fate the three of us were chosen.

[There were still too many questions, of course, but not the answers to satisfy them. Why them? Why had she come here first and the two of them later? It was just nice to not be alone and to be reassured that she would not remain captive back home either.]

I've been here just over a week, so I don't know how quickly we'll all be able to return.