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HOME SWEET HOME

Elrond let the gang decide when to leave, providing hospitality and medical care until they're ready. When the quest calls to them and they know it'll tug them along soon, he makes sure each is fully supplied and armed with weapons of their choosing, some custom made. They each have a pack, food supplies, and extra clothing. All of them get offered sturdy boots, even those who have stranger body types like Filbo.

He gives the group four copies of a book transcribed with the prophecies that had been brought to Rivendell, to be studied and interpreted on their journey.

Those who mentioned knowledge of the One Ring are briefly pulled aside away from the guests at Elrond's Council. They're implored to keep it secret, for the knowledge of Frodo's task could lead to people trying to steal the Ring when he's on a journey to destroy it.

Crowley is also released from the dungeon, with Elrond apologizing for the Elves' caution. It's at least clear he's been shown some of the same hospitality. He's healed up, well fed, and clothed in replacement clothes just like they all are.

Elrond's final goodbye to the whole group is warm and genuine.

"Namárië. It is a word we use for greetings and goodbyes. It means 'be well.' Whether you seek to help this world or try to find a way home, it is our hope that whatever paths you tread fly beneath your feet, and whatever obstacles you face are quickly overcome."

A pause.

"It would be easy to try to make you feel that the hopes of those in this new world go with you; but such burdens should only be carried by those who choose it. The Green will not admit it, but they have done you a great wrong. If you try to only find your way home, it's justified, and I hope you do find it."

Yes, there are prophecies, but making people do something by force is wrong, and all weary travelers deserve to find their way home. After a brief time of saying any goodbyes, they get to make their way to the other side of the valley. On the other side of the pass is the castle the Green spoke about.

The castle is a Frankenstein monstrosity that seems cobbled together from many buildings and machines. The second the last of the gang piles inside, it starts moving, massive legs clanking along. But where it's going is unknown. At least that means they have time to explore, rest, and get settled.

There are many mystical objects and mysteries within. One half of the castle seems to be a strange frozen realm of faerie, with strange sights to explore. But even the warmer side of the castle has its oddities. Magic waterfalls that show memories, and a scrying pool that shows frozen images of home, locked to the times each member of the squad left theirs. There are magical doors that lead to sights beyond the imagination, strange collections and even entire small realms, some beautiful, some dangerous.

The three magical creatures, Jonald, Ronald, and Rolkien constantly get underfoot trying to get the group settled, but refuse to talk about their former master, seemingly hurt at his leaving the castle.

The castle also seems to like assigning roommates for some of the group, making it so doors only open to their assigned room anytime they try to go to a place to sleep, even teleporting to them to the room if they fall asleep elsewhere.

It's a strange place, sometimes dangerous, sometimes annoying, but at least they have even more time to rest, train, plan, and prepare. They will have a few weeks to adjust to their new normal.

Then...who knows where the road will take them.
OOC DETAILS
❧ Prompts. The mods aren't doing prompts, but players can check out the page on the Moving castle for inspiration. The castle has many mysteries and oddities and absolutely anything can be behind the magical doors.

❧ Food and water. The castle seems to have an internal pressurized water supply and food is plentiful...for now. The food supply will not last forever but some food was left behind by the castle's previous occupants. There there's enough for a long break without hunting. There is some fresh food that's rotten and needs to be thrown away but whoever lived here clearly knew how to keep food prepared. There are cooking oils, flour, and sugar for bread and baked goods. There is jerky of various types of meats, dried fruit, sun-dried tomatoes, stores of nuts, jars of preserved fruit and jams (and empty jars to make more), and hard cheeses that need only a little mold cut off them to still be edible. Some of the jars have confit, meat cooked and preserved in lard, or garlic preserved in oil. A small root cellar has a few barrels of potatoes, parsnips, and onions.

It also has some barrels of beer and bottles of wine.

There are also dried herbs hanging in bundles from the kitchen ceiling, jarred pickled vegetables, and vinegar for pickling more. There are also fresh veggies the group can harvest together. The gardens will not be infinite in supplying the group but luck has it that many vegetables are ripe for harvest right now. The squad can pick juicy tomatoes, green beans, peppers, carrots, radishes, blackberries from a small thicket, squash, and plenty of zucchini. The garden does need tending to stay healthy. Aside from harvesting from it, weeds need to be pulled, beans and tomatoes need to be trellised, spoiled veggies on the ground need to be tossed away.

❧ Bathing. There is no soap other than what the Elves may have given them but there are hot baths. The water has to be heated on a fire down the hall and carried to the tubs.

❧ Weather/Atmosphere: The air outside and inside is on the warmer side. Even though the stone is cool, the cooking fires warm the air to something comfortable. The air outside in the gardens is warm and sunny, with the occasional cool breeze due to the altitude.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Raistlin enters the room with caution, having understood immediately upon crossing the threshold to the faerie realm that he walked in dangerous territory. But nothing comes without danger, and all power is purchased at a price. There are sure to be treasures here.

First come, first served.

He walks carefully among the mirrors, looking at none of them head-on and trying not to be caught between two of them. The aura of magic hangs heavy over everything and he's not a fool. Mirrors are right up there with suits of armor for carrying curses.

He is disappointed, but not surprised, to find that Ange has already fallen victim.]

Miss Ushiromiya.

[He calls her name softly - he has no way of knowing what may or may not dwell on this side of the castle. When she doesn't stir, he kneels besides her calls again, more sharply]

Miss Ushiromiya!

...leave me alone.

[Ange seems to be aware of what's around her, it seems. Aware, yet she continues staring at the mirror. She seems unwilling to move away from it, wanting to see it just for a moment more, just for a minute more, to see what she wants to have.

There have been a lot of 'just a minute more' before Raistlin arrived, and it's very easy to guess that, if nothing is done, there will be countless more]

[Raistlin was half-expecting this. He shakes her briskly by the shoulders, hard enough to snap her head back, breaking her line of sight on the mirror]

Wake up! You're enchanted, you little fool.

[Ange gasps when she's forced to look away from the mirror and shaken. It takes all of her self-control not to look at the mirror again, but she manages to turn her head away and, carefully, crawls away from it, a little shakily]

That mirror...that mirror...what is it even supposed to do?

[She was exploring when she suddenly saw the reflection. She didn't even have time to see if there was anything telling what it did, or any warning signs]

Trap the foolish and unwary.

[He glances at the mirror and sneers at whatever he sees there]

The mirror shows your heart's desire. It's a standard enchantment, but quite effective, particularly on the weak-minded or the unprepared. [he leaves it to her to decide which one she's going to be] You could have starved to death, staring at it, lost in the dream it showed you.

[It has to be that she's unprepared, she thinks. It caught her off-guard, that's all that happened, if she had any inkling she would have been able to avoid it.

At least she hopes that's what happened. The thought she's weak-minded is one she'd like to avoid]

...that could have happened to me.

[She had spent a couple hours there already]

What a hassle. We don't need a mirror like this one. If it wasn't for how it'd upset the owner of whatever place this is I'd get someone to help me throw it away.

[There's no way she's the only one unprepared enough to get caught by this mirror's alluring images. Others could get brought as well. it's unlikely they will die here because sooner or later someone will find them here, but it's bound to embarrass them quite a bit]

You aren't the only person from a world with no magic. [It's as close to a concession that she's not weak-minded as she's going to get] We should warn the others of the mirror's qualities.

But moving forward, exercise greater caution. Magical traps and dangerous enchantments are a fact of life now, and you must never assume an object is ordinary simply because it appears to be so.

There has to be a way to figure that out at a glance without getting caught into it...

[Perhaps she has to take that in her own hands, and see if she can draw a magic circle that will alert her to something magical trying to look ordinary, to avoid getting caught into this kind of situation. Problem is that, given how magical this land is, she'd have to narrow it down quite a bit to avoid getting false alerts virtually all day.

It's curious, for as much as she doesn't like being an Alchemist, she really is starting to rely on it quite a bit, trying to use it for all kinds of situations. Already came up with a few magic circles, including one against the monsters and creatures that already attacked them]

If we were in my home world, I could teach you a spell to sense the magical emanations of an enchanted object. But it's another skill I've lost since coming here. [He is very disgruntled to admit it.] I am working to recover it. But it is a possible and very basic magical ability.

For now, a good rule of thumb is that in a place like this - a wizard's lair, or an ancient tomb, or a magical castle - assume any object may be enchanted or magically protected until proven otherwise. Handle with care, and move with caution. And with a partner.

Edited 2022-04-16 03:45 (UTC)

[You know, after seeing Ange just do all Need says, it's a good thing Need is generally a benevolent person -- because Ange hasn't shown much caution or care with that magic object.

In fact...]

Perhaps Need would be a good partner for that. It's possible she's perceptive enough to recognize anything that seems off...

[Although asking Need to tag along with her all the time feels a little presumptuous to Ange, she's pretty sure that sword would accept to help her if she ever asked her]

Need would be an excellent partner. She is a masterful magician, quite educated, and quite powerful. I believe she equals or exceeds the master mages of my home world.

I may be available as well. From time to time.

...yes, you would be a good one too. Need has praised you before. She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would give praise without meaning it.

[Need seems to like Raistlin, yup]

[Raistlin doesn't say anything to that; he does, look, however, deeply pleased, just for a moment.]

As it happens, I am free at the moment. Was there somewhere else in the castle you were planning to explore?

[Ange considers it, accepting because, well, at least with someone knowledgeable by her side, she's not going to do things like find herself trapped watching a mirror for hours]

I was intending to explore in that direction. Whether there's anything outstanding over there remains to be seen -- but given we're supposed to use this as a base, I had judged at least having a general idea of what was around here would be good.

[That's where the throne room in the Burgh is at, with everyone frozen in time. Quite unnerving!]

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