etrayalogs | MISSION 009

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MISSION 009

⏵ CAMP ETRAYA ⏴
On May 16th, Aurora and the companion bots direct those not heading off to Solmara to make their way to Camp Etraya.

Nestled away from everything else in a large clearing full of wildflowers and redwoods, Camp Etraya is a nostalgic summer camp experience put together just for it's residents! Cabins are assigned, scary stories are told around campfires, gossiping happens among friends on the trails surrounding the cabins - and don't be surprised when something goes awry. After all, this is still Etraya.

While the rest of Etraya is still accessible and will not be blocked off, characters are discouraged from venturing far from camp for too long: Aurora will specify that they are on a mission, and that missions do require participation, but she has intentionally left them the freedom to wander. Not sleeping in their assigned cabins, not participating in events, and staying away from Camp Etraya will end with her having to take more extensive security measures, so please be on your best behavior! The last thing she wants to do is start enforcing boundaries, but she will if she has to.

Camp is set up much like your generic summer camp! Each cabin is named, housing is assigned to characters as they arrive, there are camp counselors, and rotating daily tasks and chores. There are also multiple activities that characters are expected to participate in, and each activity is worth points that goes toward their camp graduation score. This score will be visible on their earpiece, and follows the A-F grading system. We are not be monitoring this, and are leaving character scores up to players. We do, however, ask that you please report your characters' camp grade HERE for rewards and demerits to be handed out after the mission itself.

Cabin assignments can be found here, which also has their roles, and chores assigned to that cabin. Those who are participating in Solmara have received an assigned cabin, too, but their absence toward the beginning will not harm the cabin's ability to compete given how spread out their assignments are.

⏵ WELCOME TO CAMP ⏴

Camp life is meant to instill a sense of belonging, connection with nature, encouragement towards the creative, all on top of a firm foundation of responsibility. Upon arriving, campers will be escorted towards a table of white t-shirts and countless buckets of dye!

Each Etrayan will be invited to make three Tie-Dyed shirts- as well as required to wear one as part of their summer uniform. Camp counselors must wear 80s basketball shorts or cut-off jeans. Campers may wear cargo shorts or a skort. For those with physical limitations to what they can wear, accommodations will be provided.

Here, bonding is the camp runners' priority. They will be pushed into various ice-breaker activities, such as trust falls, two truths and a lie, and Never have I Ever. As the sun goes down, there will be weenies roasting over the bonfire, followed by s’mores and a sing-a-long! With the stars well-visible, it’s off to bed with campers.

Each day after will start much the same: with the ringing of the bell and raising of the flag (Aurora, while unfamiliar with flag designs but an understanding of the concept, has chosen a rainbow flag for the camp. Rainbows make people happy, right?), followed by a meal at the Great Hall, morning assembly, activities with counselors, chores, free time, and then an evening winding down by the great fire. An hour after sun down, campers will be escorted back to their cabins for curfew. Camp Counselors are expected to keep track of their campers, and ensure they're all within their cabins for bedtime. This is part of their grade, too! Curfew lifts an hour before the first bell.

⏵ CAMP ACTIVITIES ⏴

As with most summer camps, Camp Etraya offers a wide variety of activities to participate in. While some of these activities may be mandatory, others are optional. We'll be leaving this up to individual player discretion: perhaps Viktor is mandated to report to arts and crafts, whilst it's optional for Silco to show. Silco, on the other hand, may be mandated to report to the archery contest. Characters are encouraged to participate in a minimum of one camp activity per day.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of camp activities.

Three-Legged Race - You and a partner are tied together at your ankles, and you must race others to the finish line. Those with abilities that would give them an advantage will find that the rope that ties them together hinders those abilities from functioning.
Archery - This can be more traditional, magical, or include moving targets! If you're particularly unlucky, your target may even shoot back.
Softball - What instills a sense of camaraderie better than a bit of team sports? Games will be held on Wednesdays, the field is otherwise available for practice.
Dodge Ball - Standing diametrically opposed to Softball is dodge ball, the bully’s sport. This is a great opportunity to claim dominance or be sent to the Nurse’s Office.
Obstacle Course - You are directed into a large maze with multiple obstacles for them to overcome, such as rock climbing walls, ramps, tires, and nets.
Capture the Flag - Small teams are put together in order to take the flag from a particular bot, whose entire goal is to avoid being caught.
Canoe Race - Canoes are placed into the rivers just off of the camp, and characters must race to the finish line.
Chocobo Riding - Learn how to care for and ride these magnificent birds! Newbies will be taken around the corral, whereas more experienced riders can take the trail around the lake.
Arts and Crafts - Make friendship bracelets, bead lizards, paint rocks, learn origami! Or perhaps you're tasked with putting together an enchanted necklace. Don't know how to do enchantments? Now is as good of a time as any to learn.
Campfire stories - Share scary stories amongst yourselves around the campfire late into the night. If you're particularly unlucky, you may just hear the thing you were just warning others about..

⏵ NIGHT TIME ⏴

Once campers have been put to bed, the counselors can still stay up. Unwind with hidden beers and the strumming of a guitar. Don’t get too comfortable, though, since without supervision, no one is keeping the campers in bed.

After dark, should campers evade their counselors, they can go exploring in the dark. Eerie lights glimmer from the lake. There’s rumors of a headless spectre walking from the archery field to the edge of the forest. Should you behave, you still might hear a scratching at your bunk house window.

And on the very last night of camp, there will be a talent show. Show off your hidden talent and bask in the excitement of wowing your fellow campers!

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Welcome to Camp Etraya! Please enjoy the s'mores and campfire songs. :)

Camp will last approximately two weeks, going from May 16th to May 30th.

For all questions relating to this mission, please refer to the plotting post. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

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[It's an odd thing to hear, that someone likes spending time with her. In her time here, Shadowheart's made few enough friends, and John is only one of two she'd consider close.

Aside from Scratch, of course, she thinks fondly, as she watches the dog stick his nose in the water and startle himself by blowing a large bubble.]

That's sweet of you. [And she means it.] But it's more than what will happen to me. I have memories of a future, now, in which my friends die, or worse. Saving the world is all well and good – not that I believe for a second that's truly what we've been brought here for – but what of saving them?

[ He wishes he had good news to share. That he could say "you'll know, you can change things, this knowledge isn't for nothing" but having been through it himself, she deserves the truth. ]

Unless something changes at the end of all of this, you won't remember when you go home. I went there just after Aphaia and didn't remember Etraya until I came back.

[ No, not good news. Maybe Echo can be reasoned with, but John has his doubts given that no one has ever had contact with them. Which means that Shadowheart will be at the mercy of fate. Not comforting.

Scratch's antics remind him that there's a dog life vest on his boat, maybe he can get a second one for him and take them both sailing with Bear. Let the dogs play in the water together. It doesn't make up for Shadowheart's future, but maybe they can make the best of her time here. ]

You went home?

[She glances back at him, startled and - if she's honest - envious. And in the moment that her head is turned, Scratch decides to leap out of the boat to chase a fish in the water. They're not far from shore, there aren't any strong currents that could drag him away, and Shadowheart could cast telekinesis and simply lift him back into the boat. But her sudden spike of panic is far too overwhelming for her to think of any of that.

She grabs at him, trying to catch him mid-leap, and instead finds herself flailing, her balance lost, and tipping into the water.]

[ Dogs are often good at swimming so John startles when Scratch leaps, but he isn't overly concerned until Shadowheart goes in after him. There's an instinct to jump in after her, but she's wearing a life vest and he recognizes it'll be easier to get her back in the canoe if he's still in it.

Instead he keeps the boat steady, paddling just enough to keep it close enough that she could reach out and touch the side. ]

Don't panic. Your life vest will keep you afloat.

[Despite Shadowheart's best inadvertent efforts to sink herself in a panic, her life vest keeps her afloat long enough that, eventually, her hand slaps against the side of the boat. Once it finally sinks in that she's not drowning – though she has swallowed, and possibly inhaled, a mouthful or two of river water – she stops flailing and clings for dear life to the side of the boat.]

There's nothing under my feet! I can't feel the bottom.

[For all she knows, there could be an empty, yawning abyss beneath her full of sea monsters.

Scratch, having failed to catch his fish, doggy paddles easily back to shore, shakes himself off, and turns to watch.]

[ Seeing Scratch paddle off is a relief, but John really needs to make sure he has a second dog life vest when he invites them on the boat. This does mean he can turn his attention back to Shadowheart.

What's the easiest thing to do here? Should he try to get her back into the canoe or just swim them both back to shore? He's tempted to jump in just to reassure her, but then he'd have to swim the canoe back to shore and the drag would make that hard.

John stows his paddle and goes to the side where she is, extending a hand down. ]

It's okay, we're close to shore, nothing but some kelp and fish down there. Keep a grip on the side with one hand and grab my hand with the other, I'll pull you in. Try to roll onto your side and tuck your legs in as you come in the boat.

[Shadowheart grabs the offered hand, but instead of using it to haul herself back into the boat, she just shakes her head.]

I'm not getting back in that death trap.

[Without bothering to ask permission, she casts dimension door, wheezing out the words of the spell through what she's convinced herself must be entire lungfuls of river water. Pale blue light swirls around them as the landscape shifts. Unless John pulls his hand away before she's done with the casting, they'll both be back on shore, the boat floating out in the river on its own. If John does pull away, Shadowheart will teleport back to shore alone.

Either way, Scratch runs up to her and starts nuzzling her in concern.]

[ It's reflexive for his body to jerk in surprise as the magic swirls around them, but he doesn't let go. Instead he's... on the shore. And the canoe is not.

Well.

He could swim back out, flail back into it, and paddle it back. Or he could let it lazily float along and go get it later. He opts to give her a mock put upon look. ]

You've made more work for me later.

[Shadowheart watches the boat drift slowly past them from beneath the sodden fringe clinging to her forehead and obstructing her view. She coughs a single wet cough and runs her fingers through Scratch's soggy fur.]

Turns out I wasn't ready to get in a boat just yet, [she says with exaggerated grimness.

With a sigh, she casts destroy water, and she and Scratch are suddenly bone dry. She isn't really aiming for the river, but several gallons of water disappear near the riverbank where they're standing, causing a sudden whoosh as more water floods in to fill the gap.

Scratch gives himself another shake.]

I can get it back, if it matters that much to you.

[ The sight of magic will never cease to impress and (if he's being honest) excite John. This thing of out stories, out of fairy tales. Magic. Shadowheart might think that the modern conveniences John is familiar with are wonderful, but he feels the same way about magic. He's too old to be asking for more demonstrations, clapping his hands like an excitable child, but if she's offering... ]

If I say it does?

[ There's amusement, even the barest hint of that wonder in his voice. But he really does want to see what she'll do to get it back, beyond the practicality of the matter. It would be helpful to have the boat back, and he won't even ask her to get back on it. As long as it's not floating away he can paddle it back later. ]

[Subtle as it is, she catches the hint of wonder in his voice, and glances at him with something bordering on surprise.

In her world, magic is mundane. Everyday. It doesn't take much to learn a simple cantrip or two, and many have an inborn spark of magic. As someone with elven ancestry, whose lineage could be traced back to the fey, she's fairly certain she could conjure fire since she was in swaddling. A nightmare for her parents, no doubt.

But John's excitement about it somehow makes her feel excited, too. As though she were happy simply because he's happy. Odd.

Normally, she'd be loathe to use such powerful magic for such a simple task as retrieving a boat, but he seems to want her to. And if it would make him happy... would that make her even happier? Is that how friendship works?

So she draws her hands through the air, bright purple-pink light beginning to glow along her fingertips and in her eyes. The boat lifts up out of the water and moves towards them before thunking down on the riverbank, completely out of the water.]

There you are. Simple enough.

[ This time he doesn't hide how much he enjoys watching the canoe float over the water. There's practically a grin on his face as he first watches the spectacle and then looks over at her. Magic.

When he first decided to be her ally it was because of her magic, because of that potential, that power. But really seeing it in action is something else. Besides, they're friends now, not allies; there's part of him that's nervous showing his feelings so blatantly to her, it's something so foreign to him, but he also feels like he shouldn't hold them back.

He doesn't want to hold them back. Maybe that's what friends are for.

The way he's friends with her is different than the way he's close with the rest of the team. That was a slow boil amongst people who hid from the world, who were dangerous and cagey and more comfortable being alone. He and Shadowheart... he brought her flowers (never mind that they were a Valentines Day mission) and then they baked a pie. That's a thing normal people do. In a way, it feels like he can be more of a normal person with her, just— John. ]

Is it really that simple?

[An awkward, almost nervous, sort of laugh bubbles up in her chest when she sees his smile. She is happy simply because he's happy, she must be, and isn't that odd?]

It's a powerful spell, I'd need to rest before I could cast it again. But there are other things I can do more readily.

[Normally, Shadowheart wouldn't show off for the sake of showing off, like some sideshow clown performing tricks to make an audience clap. Her magic flows from the gods – whether she wants it to or not, it seems – and though her relationship with them has become... complicated, she won't treat them or the power they grant lightly. But John is excited and that makes her excited, and so she considers what other spells she might cast to delight him.]

I can disguise myself— [She casts disguise self, transforming with a swirl of pale blue light into a tall, burly human who looks a little like John.]

Or make you stronger. [She drops the disguise, returning to her true form, and taps John on the arm, casting bull's strength on him. It'll wear off by the next time he sleeps, but until then there'll be power imbuing his muscles, enough to double the weight he can lift.]

It truly is that simple.

[When she'd first spoken to John of her magic, she was trying to sound impressive, to make herself seem a useful ally. Now seeming useful is the furthest thing from her mind. She's doing something that feels almost entirely foreign: just having fun.]

[ When she laughs he realizes they really are both be strangers to this. To friendship. She had been straightforward with him at the start so he hadn't been sure, but it feels comforting in a way to be not alone in it. This strange experience of sitting on the beach, watching Shadowheart do magic for him, excited in a way he hasn't been in his memory. ]

Is magic common where you're from?

[ To John she seems very powerful. ]

Quite common. I'm more powerful than most, but elves and tieflings are born with a bit of magic, and anyone can learn a little, given brains and dedication. I'd teach you, but... I don't know how.

[Gale would, if only he were here.]

You'd need a wizard for that.

[ John can't imagine actually learning magic and being able to use it. That seems to far fetched. ]

How are you different than a wizard?

[ After all, that's what basically everyone back home that could use magic would be called. ]

Wizards study their magic. They get it from tomes and scrolls. I'm a cleric; I get mine from a god.

[She squints up at the sky. There's not a hint of the moon up there, only the unrelenting glare of the sun.]

The goddess of the moon, to be precise. [Her smile turns rueful. She doesn't want to ruin the fun they're having with details of why the goddess of the moon has deemed fit to grant her magic.] But I'd rather no more talk of gods just now. I want to tell you all about it, I do, but... I find I'm enjoying myself.

[And she'd like to keep enjoying herself. No moon, no gods, just two friends having fun.]

Then we'll talk about it another time.

[ It's strange to hear someone enjoying his company. He knows there's people who do enjoy spending time with him, but all of that is in a work environment. Harold is the only person he ever did things with outside of work. Which gives him an idea. ]

After we're done with summer camp I can take you to see a movie. Harold set up an old tv in the library we can watch it on. It's not the same as seeing it in a theater, but we don't have one here.

[ It's a special thing, to share that with her. It's something he and Harold did, one of the few things they did together when they had free time. Years ago now, before Samaritan, before even Shaw. A lifetime ago. But if she's enjoying herself then he won't mention his death. It's not the right time. ]

[She lights up at the idea.]

The moving photographs you told me of? Yes, I'd like to see that very much.

We don't have a large selection, but there's some variety. What kinds of stories do you like? Action, romance, tragedy, historical? I think we have at least one horror.

[ He can find something in their DVD collection, he's sure, and all without asking Harold for a recommendation. Harold certainly has good ideas but this is John's friend, it's on John to do. It's not like he needs Harold to make all his decisions for him. ]

What kinds of stories?

[Now that's a question she's almost certain she's never been asked before.]

I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever seen a play. And the only books I remember reading are the scandalous sort that teenagers somehow manage to get their hands on no matter how restrictive their guardians.

[It's almost funny. She can't remember her own name, but she knows she can recite passages of trashy smut books by heart.]

What sorts of romance stories have you got?

[ That gets a few moments of consideration. Sure he's cleaned the section plenty of times, but how much does he remember of the collection? And of what he remembers, how much does he know? ]

We have Pride and Prejudice, which is based on a book. I haven't read it but it's famous. I think it has ladies and lords in it. [ He nearly mentions Titanic and then decides at the last second she shouldn't see a tragedy about a boat or he'll never get her back in one again, and he would like to take her sailing one day. ] Brokeback Mountain is about two cowboys. I think The Notebook won some awards but I don't know much else.

[ He flashes an apologetic smile, a bit awkwardly. ]

Sorry, I don't know much about movies.

You know far more than I.

[She laughs softly.]

I don't know what cowboys are, but I think I'd like to try a romance story. Or... or something about traveling. Do they have movies like that, where they show pictures of different places? I've never really been anywhere, and if I can't go myself, it would be nice to see photographs, at least.

[She finds herself becoming more and more enthusiastic as she speaks, excited – almost childishly so – at the prospect of this new experience he's promised her.]

[ They do have that. ]

We have documentaries. There's a short series called "Planet Earth". It talks about different natural environments on the planet and the animals that live in them. I've heard good things about it. I think there's also ones about city travel, if you'd rather see where people live.

[ He'd much rather watch a nature documentary or a travel documentary than a romance movie. Not that he has anything against romance, it's just... he prefers documentaries. The factual things. ]

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MISSION 009

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