[open to Investigators] Roll call and IC welcome/infopost

[howexciting]

Is everyone all right? I think-- cazzo!-- I think a roll call is in order. Leonardo da Vinci, present.

We seem to have found ourselves in the Afterlife, or some form of it. But where precisely, I don't know. Angels and demons in the same place... it's unheard of, in the stories of my time.

For those new Travelers, welcome to your first Jaunt. I am sorry it is not more hospitable... if anyone needs better clothes or any supplies, I would be happy to assist, if only I can manage to disperse this crowd-- Dio mio, this crowd! This is ridiculous!

... please, if anyone has found a quiet spot where I may hide, tell me? I am having a bit of trouble, here.

Comments

[creativefool]

Crowd? What - where are you? I'll be over there as soon as I can...

...oh. Uh, yeah. Right. Kanji checkin' in. Afterlife, huh - yeah, I was ... startin' to get that picture.

[howexciting]

Oh, Kanji, grazie a Dio! I-- well, I don't know where I am, I only just got here, the same as you. There aren't exactly maps about.

[creativefool]

...okay, good point. Can ya, uh, see any land marks or anythin'? I landed in a campsite lookin' place, were you there at all?

[wholeheaded]

[ well, with help on the way for Leonardo, Ambrose can freely be intensely unhelpful. ]

Here I was thinking we'd landed in the Nome Kingdom in the middle of a Phanfasm gathering but.. okay. Angels, demons, and I'm gonna go ahead and call them ghosts. Lots and lots of ghosts.

If anybody comes up with a cover story, please share before we get incinerated or something. I've got the feeling Kansas isn't gonna fly here.

[shiroganeheir]

This is Naoto Shirogane, sensei. Do you need some assistance? I can attempt to find you, even though I am no intimidating figure.

I have found, through my questions, that we are in a town called Melasurei, in what can only be described as Purgatory, some land between seemingly Western Heaven and Hell. There are angels here, as well as demons, and some beings inbetween. We are believed to be what are called Immortali, which I can only deduce is some sort of immortal non-celestial soul. I apologize. I am completely out of my element when it comes to Western mythology.

The current situation is not good. The mail delivery has been stopped, and another sort of being, called the Peregrines, who recieve most of their sustenance that way are currently rioting over this. I have been warned that these Peregrines might attempt to actually drink our blood whether voluntarily on our part or not. I would caution everyone to be careful.

If you do have a moment on a more personal note, sensei, my usual clothing is currently much to warm for the climate. I have already passed out once.

Finally, I am wondering what the Trumps have against the mail. This is the second time in five Jaunts when we have arrived in a riot connected to mail.

[shiroganeheir]

I have been telling people, Ambrose-san, that I have been cursed to someone else's afterlife. It certainly feels that way to me.

Kansas would possibly stick out a bit, yes. Perhaps you pleased someone who allowed you life after death? The locals seem to think we are some sort of immortal souls.

[tailforbrains]

Neeshka here. With Monkey. He's still a big gryphon, which is kind of neat. I haven't tried leaving this camp thing I showed up in yet. I mean, um. I don't really want to be running around somewhere where there's angels and demons, you know? It's not, um. Very comfortable.

Or safe, either, probably.

[upcard]

U-um...this is...this is Mai.

[Yep, she sure is present.]

I don't really know what's going on, but... um, someone told me everyone in that crowd is sick with--with Wrath...? [She has no idea, okay, this sort of religious nonsense goes right over his head.]

Is...everyone okay?

[upcard]

Y-you passed out?!

[That's sure an alarmed squeak but Naoto why]

Are you okay, Shirogane-san?

[shiroganeheir]

I will be fine, Mai-san. I overheat easily due to my usual choice in clothing.

It should not be difficult to find something cooler.

How are you faring?

[upcard]

Oh, thank goodness... I'm glad that you're okay.

[She was alarmed, okay.]

I'm fine, though... someone helped me away from the crowd, so...I got lucky.

[solvethepuzzle]

This is Near; I am well.

And yes, it appears to be some facsimile of the afterlife of the Christian mythos, though inexact, of course.

[wholeheaded]

So we've got some kind of built-in thing to fit into? That's convenient.

[ oh hey speaking of built-in and convenient: ]

Actually, my name means "immortal." I always thought my mother was being presumptuous but... maybe I can get away with saying she was prophetic.

[howexciting]

[You can practically feel him pinching the bridge of his nose from here.] As most Jaunts are a facsimile, yes. My biblical and epic readings have not prepared me for this, I am afraid.

But I am glad to hear you're safe. Where did you appear?

[howexciting]

I am fine, if a little jostled. Good to hear from you, Mai.

[Not hear, but... you get the picture.]

Not in this crowd, thankfully. I seem to have quite a lot of fans in... wherever we've found ourselves.

[howexciting]

Really? I had thought with your... ancestry, you could easily fit in, here. Perhaps even better than the rest of us.

[howexciting]

What? No, I... I don't see a campsite at all.

[howexciting]

The Investigators also did in Digital Frontier, as I understand it, with the Variables... and before that in the Heartbeat Academy as new arrivals, and before that in Harrogate as literal travelers.

And I suppose it is not a lie to be coined an immortal soul, since we seem to come back from the dead, as per the Trumps' whims.

[creativefool]

Ah, dammit. [...Pause. Probably not the best thing to say, given their current circumstances.] A lot of us ended up over there - no wonder I didn't see ya. I've been tryin' to map the city a bit, but I ain't got a lot down yet... look, are you safe? You said there's a crowd? A lot of these ghost guys look like they're out to turn us into lunch...

[howexciting]

Naoto, could you give me a general idea of where you are? I can try to locate you. I do not know if you can open portals into Liminal Space, but... it might be better to meet in Liminal Space if you do.

... Mai, are you comfortably dressed, or might you require cooler clothing also?

[protect_and_serve]

Phedre and I are all right.

Have you seen Alcuin?

[howexciting]

I am safe. This crowd is more interested in my artwork than in me, thankfully.

... I am not sure what it says about the state of my eternal salvation, when I have admirers here of all places.

[Chances are not very good, honestly.]

[howexciting]

No, I haven't, I--

[There's a pause, while he calls out to Alcuin alone psychically a few times. Then, dolefully:]

... he is probably an Infiltrator. He isn't responding over the Network...

[wholeheaded]

...all right, so it's not so unique. Still, helpful.

[ the back from the dead thing... been there, done that, don't wanna test it a third time or really think about it. ]

[wholeheaded]

Or it could just be that your fame proceeds you everywhere.