TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 21:37:41 GMT -5
Two years after the Avatar defeated the Fire Lord and ended the war, things still haven't quite gotten back to normal. By the end of that terrifying summer, many smaller towns had been burned to the ground, and their refugees, unable to rebuild quickly before the onset of winter, moved to the bigger cities of Omashu, Ba Sing Se, and the blossoming desert citadel, Ma Lei, aptly nicknamed Lotus city. To escape the taint of the war, there has been a mass exodus across the great desert to find new life in the cities. A tribe of sandbenders sells guides to take caravans across the sands, much to the scorn of their neighboring tribes. Yet even with all the moving, there have been murmurs of revenge. The new king of Omashu has been trying to talk the Earth King into demanding reparation for all the damages caused by the hundred-year battle or even declare war on the Fire Nation outright. Firebenders who elected to settle down in the Earth Kingdom are treated like second class citizens, and there have been rumors of anti-firebender gangs who murder in the night. The only place this thirst for vengence hasn't taken root is Lotus City. Some say its because of the strange system of government there, which consists of twelve senators and no monarch. Some say its because the city is so far in the desert, its people are too busy trying to survive to worry about fighting. And some say it's because the mysterious designer of the city, the Great Architect, is a firebender herself.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 21:52:00 GMT -5
Fenny sat quietly at the bar, staring half-heartedly into a cup of some drink she couldn't pronounce, then quickly downed it, trying not to gag on its sweetness. She had been at the Misty Palms Oasis since late afternoon, waiting for the rest of the travelers to arrive before they would begin their long journey across the sands. Over the course of several hours, she had amazed a young mother and child with some crude magic tricks, won several copper pieces and a nice hat from a drunken gentleman who enjoyed gambling with young women too much, met a band of brothers who were crossing the desert to seek their fortunes in the cities, and tried to learn Pai Sho (and failed). Now she was simply sitting around, unnaturally quiet as she tried to reserve some energy for the night hike she knew their caravan would soon be engaging in.
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 21, 2007 22:38:42 GMT -5
Matsu paused at the doorway of the bar and took a deep breath. Fearing for his life he had continued to walk as the caravan he had journeyed with took a rest. His feet were sore and his pale skin was tinged red with sunburn. As a firebender who had once been in balance with the sun, he just felt like cursing it now. He knew that a guide was supposed to meet him there but still he felt uneasy, what if this guide wasn't to be trusted? Would this person lead them into the middle of the desert then let them die? He wouldn't even be able to protect himself. He rubbed the stump of where his right arm used to be. It was still infected and he could feel the phantom pains coming from it too. He glanced down at the injury and sighed, he supposed at least, nothing worse could happen to him. Unless, that was he lost his other arm. He didn't think he would live for that. He paused for a moment to pushed his dark hair away from his sweaty brow before entering the only slighlty cooler room. He barely noticed anyone around him but went and sat at the bar, only half seeing the lady he sat next to. "Do you want anything?" Matsu looked up at the bartender who spoke to him. He opened his mouth then shook his head. He was flat out broke, not one gold or copper or bronze peice to his name. "No thank you." He murmured, looking down at the bar.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 22:48:26 GMT -5
Fenny squinted into the bottom of her glass at some sort of colorful pulp. "Get one for the man and another round for myself." she said, still distastefully glaring into her cup as she put down two copper pieces. "We have to keep scurvy at bay, don't we? Cheers." she clinked her glass against that of the burned man's when their drinks had been handed to them, then downed the glass like a shot and made a face. " I'm not much for sugary things though."
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 21, 2007 22:54:58 GMT -5
"Um...scurvy?" Matsu looked puzzled for a brief moment. "Thank you ah, m'lady for the drink." He gave her a brief dip fo his head in what might be a bow for some people. He started to reach for it with his right hand, before he realized his mistake...nothing would reach. He picked it up with his left hand. He hadn't talked this much in a long time, in fact he hadn't even spoken to anyone else on the caravan. Well he was alone, and here was someone polite enough to buy him a drink, he supposed he should introduce himself. "My name is Matsu."
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 23:06:10 GMT -5
" 'Name's Fenny." She settled back on her stool, watching mildly as Matsu tried to reach without a hand, decided he was not an airbender or able to move things with his mind, and switched to the left. His voice seemed hoarse from disuse, or maybe just the sand. "Scurvy is a terrible disease. Terrible! ...I'm not sure what exactly the symptoms are, as I've never had it because I always remember to eat brightly colored fruit. Fruit keeps it away, for some reason." she jabbed a finger into the pulp in the bottom of her glass and stuck out her tongue a little. "But that is an entirely useless bit of conversation, so let's get to the basics while we're still on introductions. I am going on the caravan this evening, with many of the others here. Are you going, or do you just wish to continue baking yourself alive on your lonesome?" she added briskly. Being confinded to this bulding for so long was making her antsy.
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 21, 2007 23:17:10 GMT -5
Matsu looked completly out of place and surprised by how much she was talking to him and for a moment he looked quite taken a back. He took a drink in order to cover his surprise and quickly shuddered at how sweet the drink was. "I'm ah...going with the caravan, I went ahead while they rested." Deciding he didn't want to get scurvy, whatver it was, he drank the rest of the drink, including sipping down the tangy pulp.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 23:26:04 GMT -5
"You shouldn't do that when you get out into the real desert, you know." For the moment out of things to say, or at least anything that wasn't a fairly obvious warning that most children would understand, Fenny put her glass down on the table and took inventory of the bartenders stock as he took away her glass. She wondered mildly what she was going to do with the golden hat at her feet. As a winning, she couldn't just throw it away: it was a matter of pride. But she really didn't like wearing hats, as they messed up her hair. She worked hard every morning to tie her hair back with wire as well as bead and curve the edges just so.
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 21, 2007 23:29:37 GMT -5
"I'm aware, but it was..becoming........tense." He said for lack of another word to say. He glanced to the hat that was at her feet. It was rather eyecatching in the most gaudy gold color in his opinion. "You could use your hat there to scare off the animals that roam the desert." Wait, he was TALKING? He didn't even know what he was talking about, he was just assuming animals lived in the desert. He had no right to tell their guide what to do, or even give suggestions really.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 23:35:52 GMT -5
"Tense?" Fenny raised her eyebrows. "I guess you could. Isn't it hideous? I can't believe that fellow was actually wearing it." she tilted her head towards the fellow who was now asleep at his table.
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 21, 2007 23:37:38 GMT -5
Matsu looked at the man quickly, he was giving to much away, way to quickly. "Maybe it is becuase he was to drunken to realize how horrible it is. Maybe you can sell it to one of the ladies on the caravan. Many of them seem to enjoy the taste of tacky items." He said quickly changing the subject and definatly talking more then he usually did.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 21, 2007 23:49:25 GMT -5
"Nah, most of them are poor refugees, like the rest of us. And I don't want to give it away, because I don't actually want to see some poor misguided soul trying to wear that clonker in the baking heat." she kicked the hat over, where it lay on its side like a beached pigwhale. She could just see a tiny label inside of it.
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 22, 2007 21:42:46 GMT -5
Matsu watched the golden wretch of a hat laying on the floor. It moved in a slight coarse breeze but then it aprubtly ended, as it was in the desert...no wind. With a lack of anything to say he picked up his empty ice cup and pressed it to his hot forehead, hoping to cool himself down. He closed his eyes for a brief moment but then they snapped open. Water was running down his face and through his finger tips, only a firebender would melt anything that fast. Ever since the accident his skills had been irregular, he couldn't even make a flame but now this. He dropped the ice cup and it fell onto the bar, making a dull thunk as what was left of the ice split in half. One half spun off and slid to a watery stop in front of Fenny.
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TGM
Buzzard Wasp
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 526
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Post by TGM on Feb 22, 2007 21:53:57 GMT -5
"Faulty cup." announced Fenny as the bartender and the groggy drunken man looked up at the sound of the thud. "Anyone back there?" came a course reply from the other room. A scowling middle-aged man swathed in light brown poked his head into the room. "The caravan is about to leave! Are you coming or not?" he sneered, then disappeared again. "Looks like our gentleman guide is waiting for us." Fenny raised her eyebrows in concern at the man's behavior. She hadn't been keeping track of her time at the bar, for this room sloped underground to keep as cool as possible, and therefore had no windows. But now that she thought about it, the rustle of talk from the other room had disappeared. Fenny slid out of her seat and scooped up the hat from the floor, tucking it under her arm before turning back to Matsu. "Coming?"
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pirateliz
Avatar Aang
Co-creator of A Far Cry From Home.
Posts: 1,153
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Post by pirateliz on Feb 22, 2007 22:14:30 GMT -5
Matsu hesitated, he thought Fenny was going to be the guide. She had acted like it at least. "I'm coming." He said as he stood up and followed her, his left hand clutching at his stump. Soon he would need new bandages, in fact he needed new bandages three days ago, but he didn't want to ask for some or steal any. He stepped out into the cool twilight desert and looked at all the people milling around, he didn't believe there could be this many refugees with the war supposedly over. However he knew first hand that the war really wasn't it over.
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