... So what'd I miss?

[galvanizer]

[Here's a voice that hasn't been heard on the network for some time - deep and rich as always, though with a bit of a long-suffering sigh mixed in.]

Sometimes these Trumps make me feel like a toy they like to put away before bringing back out again at random.

Does anyone know how long I was gone this time, and is there anything extreme that I've missed? This is Asaraanda Adaar of Thedas, by the way, for those I haven't yet been able to meet. Easy enough to spot, just look for the giant with the horns.

Comments

[truerevelation]

... damn, hi!

Ya weren't out of it as long as last time you were away - what was the last thing you were here for again?... but man. Stuff's ... uh. Kinda changed a bit round here.

We ... got the talk on what's going on.

[wholeheaded]

Asa! Oh, it's good to hear your voice darlin'.

Uh, you've been gone a few jaunts but the rules have changed a bit, the Arcana are competing against each other and they're not letting anyone go unMarked anymore, those are two of the biggies.

[ and he knows for a fact she did not have a Mark previous to her walkabout. ]

[galvanizer]

Hello, Kanji. Have you been well?

By 'the talk' I'm guessing the Trumps had a one-on-one with everyone else?

[truerevelation]

Pretty good, yeah. Thanks. You alright?

And right. There was a whole big ... month out thing where everyone around got Marked and taken off to go talk things over with whoever got 'em. That was ... a coupla Jaunts ago now.

[galvanizer]

Hello, Ambrose. [Why yes, her 'voice' warms, almost as if she's smiling.] It's good to hear yours', too.

[A brief pause, thinking, thinking, processing...]

Hmm. That would explain the conversation I had before arriving in this wooden horse. No Marks on my hands, though, and I don't have a mirror so I can't check my face, so I'm not entirely sure it was that Trump that picked me.

[wholeheaded]

I could help you locate it, if you like. And catch you up on the gossip and goings-on.

[galvanizer]

Only if you're not too busy...?

[galvanizer]

I'm fine, feels a lot like the last time I went missing.

That would explain my face-to-face time with Strength... So, everyone is Marked, now?

[highnoonsomewhere]

When you say giant, how big we talkin', here?

[truerevelation]

Yeah. You got it. Picked their teams...

[bitofafop]

When you say you were "gone", where were you gone to?

[galvanizer]

[Taking a moment to remember how to convert to feet for non-Thedosians]

Approximately 7 feet and a bit.

[galvanizer]

So they have their toy soldiers sorted.

... Is it including the children?

[galvanizer]

For me, it feels like I just woke up from a nap, but there are way too many new faces for that to be the case. Sometimes the Trumps put us away, and then sometimes they bring us back out. The last time, I'd been gone for a couple of years before they dusted me off.

[truerevelation]

'Competition', they keep saying. Most of 'em ain't in it to have us hurt each other.
... and yeah. The kids too. We keep getting more of 'em.

[Well, that and he's growing out of the 'kid' age range as far as he's concerned, but.]

[wholeheaded]

You know how it is here, I've got nothing but time. Where are you?

[galvanizer]

By the head of this infernal beast. Want me to come find you?

[galvanizer]

[You'll always be the kid recruit to her]

Mm. Not good. Has anyone taken to keeping an eye on the kids? I know a lot of them have pretty good survival skills and training, but... [Protect the smol]

[wholeheaded]

That'll be fine. I've still got the copper-plated door but I've made some expansions. And I still have high ceilings. D'you want coffee or something stronger?

[galvanizer]

Bless you and your high ceilings. If you have anything stronger on offer, I may just sweep you off your feet.

Whereabouts have you put your door?

[neverfeltthatway]

Asa. [The tone is calm, and only a little surprised.] Welcome back.

You been gone... [He's quiet for a moment, estimating the time in his head.] A little upward of half a year, if my figuring is right. And there have been some revelations, yeah.

Everyone's been marked, and spoken to their 'sponsors'. We're now in the third phase, where the Arcana are competing more directly with each other through the jaunts now, with the winner to 'achieve the world' and 'reflect themselves throughout reality'. Apparently this universe was fortune's - that's part of why the selection of Travelers is left so much up to chance. Essentially, if they win, then whatever the Arcana stands for, the universe would shape itself more according to those precepts.

As such, we've all but unanimously decided that we don't want Tower or Devil to win. The others are a mixed bag, promising various things to their chosen or to the Travelers as a whole if they win. And of course we have to consider what it would mean for the larger universe, too. There's no consensus on who we want to win.

It would also give them the ability to restore the deceased Arcana to life, which is a goal that most of them share. Apparently with several of them gone, the whole is out of balance.

The tournament is single elimination - for each jaunt, there are two Arcana playing, and according to how it finishes, one of them is eliminated. So far Lovers and Hanged Man have been eliminated, and Hermit and Emperor have advanced.

[truerevelation]

Ain't anything formal, I think most of 'em have some sort of adult guardian and then there's Minerva being a teacher...

[bitofafop]

...so they can put us away and pick us back up again whenever the whim suits them. I see.

[Yeeeeah, someone is just slightly more disgruntled than he already was.]

And here the one I spoke with was trying to tell me we weren't toys to them.

Welcome back, though, I suppose.

[wholeheaded]

Won't be the first time.

[ tol not-waifu. ]

And it's in the workshop, near that drafting table I sometimes commandeer. Looks the same as always.

[galvanizer]

[So tol]

Okay, I'll be there soon.

[Aaaand sure enough, a few minutes later, Asa's found her way in, knocking first before poking her head through.]

Ambrose? Are you here?