yoon's palace

[strawsandals]

I thought I told you to leave me alone.

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CHAPTER ONE (CW: Themes involving starvation/hunger)

[strawsandals]

[ Yeah, you sure aren't at the library anymore.

In fact, you're in a village that looks worse for wear, sitting on dry, barren land. It's cold. Despite its appearance, it isn't abandoned, either; there are people here, but a lot of them look sick. Tired. Freezing. Some of them may not be alive anymore upon your arrival.

There are others who are walking around – people who seem to be faring at least a little better than the rest. Some homes smell like something's cooking, which normally wouldn't seem like a big deal, but…

You are suddenly very, very hungry, and you are freezing – but you also have nothing. There is also nothing around you but some people with food to eat and clothes to layer on yourselves.

With a little bit of investigation, some people you spot in the area are:
- A woman cooking in her home
- A young man carrying a small sack of potatoes
- A traveling merchant
- A woman carrying clothing
- A gentleman with wool and herbs

What will you do now? Leave them be, plead? Negotiate? ...Steal? ]

(OOC: Please bold what you decide to do! Feel free to discuss, but each character can make their own choice – including leaving the NPCs alone – but those who choose to interact can only pick one NPC (individually) right now to encounter.

In this phase, hunger is a sensation, not a status effect, unless stated otherwise.)

[prozaic]

[You know what? Bye, Shalem's fucked. He's already hunching into himself, limbs unresponsive and body growing colder by the second. If anyone had doubts that he was a serpent, maybe those doubts are quelled now. He looks like he's going to sleep, not even a hint of pain on his face, but-- it's more nuanced than that, the way his body reacts to the cold.

And because he's too cold to even go to anyone, he's too cold to try anything to help himself.]

[idealitas]

[ Immediately takes his coat off his shoulders to put over Shalem's, then checking his body temperature and pulse.

Yi Sang will be fine, Depression and all that. ]

...

[cirquedesang]

[...Well, he's got a hoodie? He doesn't generate body heat himself, so it isn't skin-warm, but he does drape it around Shalem's shoulders on his way by.

(It's black, oversized, and very soft, at least?)]

[supherb]

[Unfortunately...all Arven really has to offer is a vest. But it's better than nothing. He can at least function without it.]

[townmusician]

[Aaaaah???]

Ah, hey, what do you think you're doing—

[Hello??]

[moodwrecker]

[This is a terrible time to be the kind of gal who wears clothes with exposed midriffs. Aubrey hugs herself for warmth because whew!!]

Wh-where are we now?

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise is wordlessly taking off her shawl and holding it out to Aubrey. ]

It looks like a village.

[gardenful]

[ She pulls her jacket tighter around herself, really regretting the spaghetti straps of her dress right about now. ]

Good question... A memory, you think?

[ A frown. ]

We should get some kind of food or extra layers.

[supherb]

[The world shifts, and suddenly Arven feels a level of hunger that he hasn't experienced in quite a while. He shivers and wraps his arms around himself to try to generate some heat.

Well, this fucking sucks. But it's not completely hopeless. He needs to press on and help get to the bottom of this palace.

The scent of someone's home cooking draws him to the woman cooking in her home. He doesn't just barge in though even if that's standard for Pokemon games. He gently knocks on the door.]

H-Hello?

[finalmix]

[ kinda sucks when you're just wearing thin layers and you're cold and hungry, so he's definitely drawn towards the heat and also food.

(it's kind of strange, feeling this intense hunger)

while arven knocks on the door and waits for a response like a polite person always should, joshua doesn't. instead he just adds on: ] We need some food, and to share the fire, if you don't mind.

[ worth a shot asking? ]

[townmusician]

[FUCK talking to people, with the way everyone is freezing Haruka is going to look for something flammable, to see if he can start a fire with his persona so he can shove people at it.]

[strawsandals]

[ W-WELL. Yeah, actually! There are blankets lying around. Not many, though, but there are probably scraps and a few full pieces he can find that maybe don't belong to anyone!

Haruka can find a total of five blankets (5), and the ones he can grab are, thankfully, full blankets and not scraps. This has also netted him...currency! 5 "gold", to be exact! (14) It just sort of appears in his hand. Hurrah. ]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Oh wow, it's like that experience in Jordi's palace except it's not going away!

Sunrise has the look of someone who is trying to evaluate how dire this situation is and does not particularly like the conclusion she is reaching. ]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Once Sunrise has Dealt With That, she pauses for a moment, before she decides to see if she can find shelter. Genuinely she has no idea if they'll even be staying here long, but it seems kind of bad to be outside for too long when they're all cold and hungry. ]

[cirquedesang]

[Usually a hunger like this is followed quickly by a loss of self.

When it doesn't, this time, a different, older instinct takes over, and he tries to pickpocket the merchant for whatever valuables they may have.]

[idealies]

[ Somebody turned down the temperature! Ai's shivering, which only makes her cling to the arm of the man who had so graciously prevented her from flying through the portal face first. ]

I-I think I'm okay. Are you?

[ What now? ]

[idealitas]

[ He'll go approach the merchant to see what wares they might have for sale, even if he might not have the money on hand. ]

[imperiosity]

[Wow, this place is super depressing!! It's also super cold, so although he probably should be faring better than some others here, it's still not great considering how his dress shirt has a pretty low cut.]

Shit, you could freeze the tits off a pom...

[Anyway, since there's a number of them who are cold and hungry... he's going to try flagging down the gentleman with the wool and herbs.]

Hey, do you have a moment?

[emptyself]

[ while soujuurou feels at home and nostalgic in this place, he also does recognize the familiar hunger and cold that seeps through his bones. after a minute of just looking around like a lost puppy, he decides that talking to locals is a better way to spend his time.

so he'll go up to the young man carrying the potatoes, curious. ]

Hello. How is the harvest?

WOMAN COOKING IN HER HOME

[strawsandals]

[ When Arven approaches, the door opens very slightly. The woman looks at him a little warily. ]

...Can I help you?

[ Except she sees how cold he is, and the frown on her face deepens. But then Josh comes up and makes his requests, and the woman closes the door a little more. ]

I'm sorry. I don't have much to give you.

POTATO MAN

[strawsandals]

[ The potato man is still agitated, and he looks at Soujuurou with nervousness and some contempt. It's clear that there's not much talking that Soujuurou can do to change things, unfortunately.

...Which means that something shifts.

The man lets out a yell, and throws the potato sack behind him. There's a flurry of dark energy, and then he reveals his true colors: A Shadow.

You are now in battle with a Level 20 Mokoi! Soujuurou, you're up first! ]

TRAVELING MERCHANT

[strawsandals]

[ Yi Sang approaches the merchant. The merchant is surprised to see that someone is buying from him from this area, and he says that he was just passing by, but he will stop to have a chat with him. ]

I have some fruits on me, some fabric...

[ He gives Yi Sang a small list, as well as some of his prices, but you don't have any money on you right now.

Meanwhile, Celeste is going for the steal (17). As long as Yi Sang can keep him distracted, he will go unnoticed. ]

WOMAN CARRYING CLOTHING

[strawsandals]

[ Aubrey, Aerith, and Fray(argenti) approach the woman rather diplomatically. ]

Ah, yes...if...if you don't mind...

[ She'll hold out her pile for them to assist her with. What will they do next? ]

GENTLEMAN WITH WOOL AND HERBS

[strawsandals]

[ The gentleman is still very suspicious of Aaron, and doesn't seem to budge...yet. ]

Information? You want...information? Well, you're gonna have to pry it out of me, first.

[ And just like that, he transforms.

You are now in battle with a Level 28 Jack Frost! Your move, Aaron! ]

I'll beat the hee-ho outta you!