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wildestlogs2022-03-26 02:58 am
wildestmods) wrote in wildestlogs2022-03-26 02:58 am
HOME SWEET HOME
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.
❧ 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.
no subject
[Elle can hear the betrayal in Ange's voice. And she gets it-- Ange is a lonely, vulnerable young girl and if Dan did have bad intentions he could take advantage of her. Luckily, Elle's pretty damn sure that that's not the case.
But the idea has to be scary to Ange. Ange, who seems to be a sheltered girl who doesn't recognize a one-night-stand when she sees one, and doesn't understand what it means to never have guaranteed food and shelter from day to day. ]
[She takes a moment to figure out how best to approach this.]
You came from a well-off family, right? [She doesn't look at the ring Ange's holding, but it's a close thing.] Roof over your head, food on the table... people who took care of you. Or at least, who made sure your basic needs were met. [Elle doesn't know Ange's story but her distrust of adults is visible from space. It might be too much to assume that the adults in her life have truly cared for her as they should have.]
[She pauses to let Ange interject in case Elle's assessment is wrong.]
Dan... didn't. Not the way he should've. Not like we did. He had people he needed to take care and no way to do that consistently. And when people are in a crisis, they get desperate.
[Elle half-shrugs and half-sighs.]
And when people get desperate they do things they know they shouldn't. Taking that stuff from that woman-- in his head, it wasn't going to hurt her the same way not taking it would hurt him. For her it was the loss of replaceable material goods, for him it was survival.
Not saying it was okay, but I can guess what was going through his head when he did it.
no subject
Despite that, though, Ange can't picture herself stealing from anyone like that. Not knowing the weight of that kind of desperation, she just can't picture herself conning anybody, not even in a place like the Wilderlands, where she and everyone else have very few resources]
Does that mean you would be doing the same if you ever were in his position? Tell me that, Elle.
[Is this something everyone feels and she just doesn't, for some reason? Ange wonders that]
no subject
I don't know. But if I didn't have any other options, I don't know that I wouldn't, either.
[Elle's been put in some pretty desperate positions. Luckily that isn't one of them.]
But if someone was dependent on me to take care of them? There isn't a lot I wouldn't do for the people I love.
[She knows that much for sure. Elle has strong morals but she's also willing to be flexible. She's done things that aren't necessarily good, or even could be considered "bad", but she tries to help more than she hurts. "Do the least amount of harm possible" is something of a morbid personal mantra.]
Dan's... Dan wasn't equipped to live in society. He's illiterate, has no official records, no standardized education, and by the time he was forced out into the world no one was willing to help him get any of those things. The way other people survive; getting a steady job, finding a place to live, settling down; those weren't ever options for him in the first place.
[It isn't said out of pity or judgement, it's just a fact. Elle doesn't think any less of him for these things.
One of the many tragedies of Dan's life is that he was screwed before he even started. The system was rigged against him.]
no subject
Ange tries to put aside her opinion and think without her cynical biases. Dan is...maybe he really would do a lot for those he cares about. If -- she thinks if -- if Dan really was sincere about all the help he was giving, he was the kind to give to others...and of course you can't give what you don't have. He would resort to this, to give to anyone he was taking care of.
...it's a selfish thought, but for a moment Ange wonders if Dan would do such a thing for anyone in the younger population of this camp...if he would do it for her. She would be irate if he ever did, but would he feel like he had to?]
...I didn't think he was in so much trouble.
[She was feeling remorseful already, and this certainly heightened it. She tore into Dan pretty badly, putting her own feelings first instead of thinking why Dan was doing anything or if he was doing it for any reason other than selfish gains]
I just couldn't stop thinking about how betrayed I felt. I was...blinded. [As usual. When Ange gets angry she just doesn't listen to reason] What do you think about Dan? What kind of person is he?
no subject
But that's not what Ange's asking. Ange's asking if Dan's intentions were good.]
Dan... I think Dan is a good person. [Not that Elle really believes in the idea that there are "good" or "bad" people, but this is not the time for a lecture on moral relativism.]
And I think he tries really hard not to hurt other people. But he doesn't always succeed.
Dan's... [impulsive, self-destructive, hyper-vigilant, and all sorts of things she doesn't want to say to a girl who was starting to see him as a trustworthy adult. She doesn't need to be shown that side of him right now.] I don't think he would ever purposefully take advantage of you or anyone else, not like you saw in that memory. First of all, it isn't necessary, we have resources and he has people who are willing to help. Second of all, he knows better than to do that here and now.
And I think he would never do that to a kid, and he sees us as kids. He was in a bad place when he was doing that kind of thing. This situation, in some ways, is probably an improvement.
no subject
She winces]
Do you know anything about anyone he was taking care of? I saw a memory afterwards.
[...this is where she should perhaps have given more detail about what she saw, but apparently she didn't, a little busy trying to hold back her guilt, trying to keep a grip on her emotions]
no subject
If I did, I don't think I could say. I can tell you that he grew up taking care of his siblings. After that... it's possible.
[She doesn't know how much Ange's knows about Dan's past. He asked her not to talk about what she saw in his memories-- she can only assume that mean any mention of his daughter.]
Hey,-- [Elle reaches a hand out to place on Ange's shoulder. If Ange seems to react negatively, she'll pull away immediately.] --it's okay that you didn't know how to react. It's okay to feel conflicted over this. It's a messy situation that involves stuff you probably haven't had to deal with before. No one expects you to know what to do or how to feel right away.
no subject
........
[She knows Elle is right. What does Ange know about how to react or what people do, really? It's not like she ever had a chance to be with people and really know them, much less a trustworthy adult. Literally everyone she knew was untrustworthy as hell -- and it didn't help Ange looked at them all with distrust...it proving to be the right attitude, too.
Dan is a weird, unusual case. She has no idea how to handle any of this]
It will be a pain to have to be in the same place avoiding each other. I'll have to be the one to apologize.
no subject
[Ange needs to be able to talk to Dan, tell him what happened, and mean the apology she gives.]
But don't put it off too long, either. Letting this shit fester will only hurt you both.
no subject
[Not going to get her hopes up, admittedly. Ange stands up, looking down at the floor]
...do you think Dan will be fine once he returns home? If he's in this much trouble then...
[She's already considering to give him some money, yeah. It probably isn't a good decision, to give him some cash -- but it's not like she wants her fortune at all, and she was planning to give it all to charity and pretty much say to hell with the Ushiromiya businesses, not thinking of the severe upheaval that would cause to the many employees. Logistics aside, she giving Dan some money so he doesn't have to go doing honeytraps wouldn't be too bad, she thinks]
no subject
[Elle doesn't think Dan can go home, but she isn't sure if the reason's emotional or magical.]
And he will. He'll understand. And he'll understand why it hurt you, too.