The scene opens one early morning in the middle of an active military compound in the year 2015. Soldiers are doing drills, performing weapon maintenance, and testing out their tanks. But we are focusing inside of one very specific meeting room in the dead center of the compound. The door to said room is opened, and in steps (# of players) people of varying shape, size, and appearance. The rounded table in the middle takes up half the room, but is large enough to seat 12. The room is decently lit, but the only thing to look at is the USA flag against the front wall. A pair of military personnel "gently guide" you into the room and "recommended" you take a seat, as they have to prepare for your "meeting." The door is slammed shut behind you all, leaving you alone in the room. (GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO TALK) After several minutes, the same door opens, and in steps (players #) armed military officers, each carrying the latest and greatest two handed military combat rifles, full thickly plated chest armor, and a large camo pattern backpack matching their camo outfits. The officers step back, take a saluting pose, and the farthest left one announces in a boisterous voice "ROOM SECURED. SEND IN THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF." In steps a man everyone in this room recognizes as the president of the goddamn US of A himself, George Bush III, as a Bassett Hound. He carries a confident smile and a stack of file folders under his arm as he walks up to the same table you are all (hopefully) sitting at. He politely turns to the officers and says "thank you gentlemen, at ease." The soldiers step back and assume a more laxed position, but no less threatening with those guns in hand. He turns to all of you and clears his throat before dropping his folders onto the table, them opening to reveal every personal record and document to ever have your (player #) names on them. "I thank you for stepping forth to volunteer for what is now known as the single most dangerous recon mission in history. I know you've been briefed on it multiple times, but I'd like to take the jargon out and shoot straight so there's no misunderstandings, and when I'm done, I want each and every one of you to decide once and for all if this is really a task you are prepared for." He grabs a remote from his pocket, presses a button, and lowers a projector screen in front of the flag & the soldiers. He taps another button, and images of a giant circular rock wall jutting up from the ocean are displayed. "For as long as we have documented it, we have been aware of a mysterious unknown land mass in the middle of the Pacific." "This mass is approximately 10 miles wide, nearly perfectly circular, and has an unscaleable rock wall all around its border extending at least six miles into instant cloud cover. We believe this land mass is occupied with people who, bare minimum, have the tools and numbers needed to shape it as such." "Now I'm sure you've heard of us using... less than friendly means of gaining entrance, and it is true, but it has failed at every turn. Either the weapons we use never make contact or have no effect if they do." And true to his word, you see several clips of missiles, bombs, and massive artillery that would normally evaporate a continent either bounce off the rock walls or explode on impact and leave none. "Samples show that whatever is making the rock so resilient is not the rock itself, but some type of magical force within it. That same force extends into the open air above it beyond the cloud cover, so high that our vehicles cannot breach it. We are, of course, curious if this has any Military applications." "In comes the Program ya'll volunteered for. Twice a year for over a century now, we've sent soldiers, scientists, engineers, the best of the best men and women we had to offer inside through the one and only entrance we could find, a small cavern near the water's edge. Despite that, every single one of them has never returned, and we never receive communication from them again." "As such, the military has opted to start taking in people of a more... unique background, such as yourselves, and are hoping for different results. (RECITE EACH OF THEIR FULL CHARACTER NAMES.) Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be the same as those before you. Infiltrate this island, gather any & all intel you can about this place & its inhabitants, and return alive." "Now I know ya'll have lives, assets, and dependents of varying degrees, but we always ask for people to be prepared to never return to them. But in exchange, they will also have the most to look forward to." "There is a dedicated monthly budget for this project, and all the excess proceeds went into essentially a "reward" for anyone that came back. That is well over a century's worth of amassed funds, and if any or all of you (players #) return with anything of value, you get the whole sum." He then slides a folder toward your group with a single sheet of paper inside, listing a sum of money that would take a chunk out of the national debt. "In addition, we would even be willing to discuss your personal records and how to make certain... red flags and highlighted marks disappear." "In the meantime, your personal possessions, homes, assets, and everything else would be funded by this budget and cared for either by your pre-selected caregivers or ones we select if needed. We do this for 25 years, and if you do not return, any remaining assets are liquidated and added right back into the budget." "And that is about the nitty gritty of it. If you are still interested, we will leave immediately to get you fed, bathed, and geared up in the finest weapons, armor, tactical equipment, and... essentially everything these gentlemen behind me are wearing and then some." "If you have questions, feel free to ask now. And if you are having second thoughts, the exit is right there. And trust me when I say, no hard feelings, braver men and women have walked away from this offer. Myself included." He waits for anyone to ask questions or walk out of the room before finishing, "Very well then, welcome to Project Evermore. Gear up, your chopper leaves in three hours." They first give you the opportunity to get yourselves cleaned in their professional grade decontamination showers and your clothing sterilized, as well as access to their military uniform outfitters if you would like anything more fresh to wear. They then take you to a dining hall to eat, and they offer to make you whatever your favorite dishes are, as a kind of "last meal" situation in case you go without quality food for a while. And they make the food fairly quickly, but it DOES taste a tad bland. Military food. You are then escorted to an armory full of whatever weapons, ammunition, and special gear you think you may need. Everything is packed as cleanly as possible into backpacks for you, including a few weeks worth of military food rations, a halogen flashlight, a first aid kit, a bulky military radio, and other basic survival accessories per person. Finally, you are escorted to a nearby helicopter (an MH60-R ROMEO) where the president is waiting. He shakes each of your hands and salutes you all as you take off to your next destination. 2 HOURS LATER The helicopter carries you to an offshore aircraft carrier (USS Enterprise (CVN-65)). Upon landing, you are escorted off by more military personnel, where they double check your gear and weapon stock, making sure everything functions and is strapped down. All the while, you can see the colossal rock wall of an island in the distance. This massive round chunk of stone gives off the oddest golden sheen, but its walls ascend well above the low cloud cover. You can just BARELY see a single speck of a black dot of a hole on this surface, right next to the water's edge. Otherwise, this stone looks perfectly clean. They give each of you a large manilla envelope marked 'signing bonus,' and advise you to take good care of it. (OPEN IT) Inside is $50,000 worth of cash and coin, broken up into 100 different types of currency worth about $500 each. They say it is "just in case there IS civilization, this will help you survive among the most likely related countries." You are then escorted down through several staircases within the structure to what looks like an inflated speedboat (RHIB - Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat). Each of you is handed down one ata time onto the boat, and when everyone is on board, it quickly jets off through the water to the island entrance in a matter of minutes. The entrance is just a rough ten foot high by ten foot wide cavern carved into the rock wall, but there is also a floating dock attached to it by some massive weights on ropes. The dock is stable enough to hold a couple people at once, but the driver recommends you go one at a time. Once you are all in the mouth of the cavern, the driver calls to you, and throws you a small briefcase. 'For the return trip,' he says. (OPEN IT) Inside is a signal flare gun with three separate flare cartridges. Once he confirms you opened it, he zips away on the water back to the carrier. You are now faced with the ocean at your backs and the cave before you, and it only gets darker as you look deeper in. *IF THEY ENTER* While the rock is overall rough, it is definitely NOT a natural cave. The walls have something of a carved and scraped pattern in them, like chisels were taken to it, but not with a rhythm in mind. Even the floor itself shows some smoothness, and after a minute or so, you realize the cave is at a slight incline. About 20 minutes walking into the cave, your flashlight shows the floor and walls not only getting smoother as you go deeper in, you could almost recognize a pattern in the ground. (NOTICE ROLL) You hear a soft rumbling noise in the distance, slow and repetitive, like a growl on a repeat pattern. *IF THEY CONTINUE* The noise only grows louder as you continue. You finally spot a light in the distance, coming from a lantern hanging off the front of an old blue and white wooden shack, tall as the cave itself and occupying the entire right side of the path. You also realize the cave is a dead end aside from the box. There are no obvious markings on it, but there IS a large square opening on the front, like an open window. That repetitive rumbling noise is as loud as it could possibly be AND is coming from inside. *WHOEVER CHECKS* Inside the opening, you see a man sprawled out on a chair, and he isn't moving much. His legs are loosely flopped, his arms are hanging freely beside him, and his head is flopped almost all the way back and to the side. *SAY OR DO ANYTHING* You hear the most ungodly painful snoring noise you have EVER heard another person make. The man finally makes a move, and it is to twitch a bit in his sleep. *INTERACT WITH HIM* The man suddenly shouts "OH FUCK" as his body flails and falls backward onto the ground, chair and all. "Owww...." After a minute, he stands up and dusts himself off, revealing himself to be a golden blonde Stallion of just over 6 feet with lighter blonde hair down to his shoulderblades, wearing a tan button front shirt and black slacks. "Sorry about that, these shifts're so freaking boring... it's hard to stay awake." He squints at all of you. "Wait... I don't... are you all new people?" *IF THEY CONFIRM* He becomes excited. "Fantastic, I love greeting new arrivals! Okay, ahem.. Hello, my name's Reiji, I'm here to give you one last warning that if you go any farther in, there is a definite possibility you might not leave. Are you sure you want to do this?" *IF YES* He pops out of a door on the left side of the box, walks to the far left wall, and places his hand on it. "And the password is... OPEN SAYS ME." Bright golden lines of magical energy grow from his hand into the wall for a few moments, before the rock wall behind him opens to reveal another stretch of path into the distance. But it is slightly obscured by a strange gold membrane of energy, definitely magical in nature. "Alright, just follow the path ahead until you come out of the cave. Best of luck to you all!" *IS HE COMING* He laughs a little and shakes his head. "No, I still have a few hours on my shift, go on ahead." *IF THEY CONTINUE* Passing through the strange energy is no real issue, it just feels like walking through a wall made of cool wind. *ANYONE WITH MANA* You DO notice your magic feels a little... off, since you walked through the membrane. It's not a BAD feeling either, it just feels a little more "energetic and lively." CAVE EXIT After another 20 minutes or so of walking, you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you think you hear sounds in the distance. *IF THEY ASK* Animal sounds. *IF THEY CONTINUE* It blinds you for a moment as you walk out, but you find yourselves completely surrounded by a borderline jungle of tall, lively trees. The second you emerge, there is an immediate rustling in the branches. - Some of the branches are occupied by birds and squirrels, you spot a raccoon climbing around the trunk of one with a fresh pear in its mouth, and the occasional rabbit hops by. - The trees are filled with fresh wild fruit. Apples, bananas, peaches, cherries, figs, all different kinds. And, some of these trees have rather large rocks underneath that look out of place. - The rocky cave path you were walking on is now a concrete slab path cutting through the massive grove of trees, but you can't quite make out what it leads to. *CONTINUE* As you follow the path, you start hearing more noises beyond just the trees and the animals. You could almost swear you hear voices, but they're so distant you can't make them out. The path eventually leads to a large white stone building, and it has fully functional wood doors on the front of it. *OPEN THE DOORS* You are blasted by a wave of cool refreshing air from inside the building. The inside is a strange facility resembling a tourist rest area. The walls are a pale wooden yellow texture, but there are no windows except for the semi-transparent glass door at the far end. - Right beside the door you came in is a crate of cold plastic bottles of clear liquid, and each one has a RECYCLE symbol pressed into them. - On the left, there are racks of pamphlets, brochures, and maps in a myriad of different languages, with most of the prints in English. - On the right, there are several corkboards covered in fliers about upcoming events, job openings, and other ads with phone numbers. - In the middle is a six foot tall and twenty foot wide circular corkboard with a round map of the planet, covered in thousands of pushpins, with several unused ones in a box below. - On the far wall behind the map is a pair of bathrooms, one on either side of the glass exit door. (INVESTIGATE Roll) You spot a leg sticking out from under the planet display. *APPROACH THE EXIT* *or if INVESTIGATE was successful* You suddenly hear garbled yelling (from behind you) as a human man with greasy black hair and nasty clothing crawls out from under the map display. He's hooting and hollering angrily at all of you about SOMETHING, and he is shambling his way toward you. *IF THEY INTERACT* The man grabs (whomever is closest) and starts shouting at them for waking him up. His breath REEKS of alcohol, so much so you're certain he would breathe fire if he lit a match. He starts rambling about needing coin, then stumbles away, sways to the left, then to the right, and then falls backwards onto the ground, passed out. *AFTER THEY LEAVE* The path out the door leads you directly into another massive patch of trees, but they are far more sparse, shining brighter light on the path ahead of you. This time, the area is occupied by more random animals, some small bodies of water resembling ponds full of fish, and groups of people. Perfectly normal ones, no less, just walking around like nothing is wrong. *TALK TO THEM* Two yellow parakeet people stop to talk, a man with red hair & glasses wearing a blue polo tee and a woman with long brown hair in a similarly blue sundress. "Hey there!" *ASK THEM ANYTHING* They both suddenly smile a bit and snicker toward each other. The woman speaks first. "You're newbies to the island, right?" *IF YES* The man laughs a little. "Hoo boy, you're in for some shell-shock when you head farther in. Just follow that path there and look for the sign marked 'Capitol.' Everything'll make sense once you see it." A pair of parakeet children, a boy in a red tee shirt & blue overalls and a girl in a pink sundress, suddenly run in and grab the two adults' hands, dragging them away excitedly. *CONTINUE* Once you move down the path a bit more, the trees finally part to reveal an almost metropolitan city. There are dozens of people walking, biking, driving, or riding the trolley on freshly paved concrete roads. All along those roads are simplistic power line structures, connecting to the buildings and the local street lights. There is a fairly large sized road sign at the end of your pathway pointing in five directions. RESIDENTIAL, BUSINESS, CAPITOL, GATED, and ESSENTIALS are all pointed out individually. - On your left is a series of neighborhoods, filled to the brim with houses and families alike - On your right is a bustling group of stores and businesses, each with a simple sign to represent what they are for - In the middle is a group of five gold and white buildings topped with pointy glass structures reflecting the sunlight all around in beautiful colorful refractions. - You can't quite see the other two areas the sign point out for you, as they are quite a bit in the distance. (Every place they visit, have them make NOTICE rolls to detect if they are being followed) *When they head to CAPITOL* You are approached (if not straight surrounded) by a group of average looking thugs, but when they make themselves known, the townspeople all start RUNNING. They're all carrying baseball bats, chains, rocks, and other random items. Most of them look young college age, but their faces are obscured by masks, bandanas, and helmets. Except for one. A six foot white ram man steps forward, wearing a black leather jacket, sunglasses, and wielding a white shortsword that is CLEARLY too small for him. "Well hey there strangers, we're the welcome wagon, here to greet-- sorry, here to BEAT you at the door of this, the city of Diadem." He aims his little white sword at your group with a very excited grin. "I CHALLENGE THEE!" Several seconds pass and nothing happens. He clears his throat. "Ahem... I CHALLENGE THEE!" Nothing happens. And his cohorts start snickering a bit. "Okay WHAT THE FUCK?!" He slams his fist with the sword into the pavement, leaving a sizeable crack in the ground. "You know what, fuck it. I'm kicking your ass the old fashioned way!" ----- AFTER THE FIGHT ----- *IF THEY WIN* The attackers lie on the ground, groaning in agony. The ram is in shock, holding his head to keep a bleeding injury from pouring out. "Ugh, my aching head..." (NOTICE ROLL) You suddenly detect the stench of ozone. - Quick as a flash, both your group and your assailants are surrounded by a series of oddly dressed soldiers, their bodies lightly cloaked in silver trails of electricity. Each one is wearing a knee-length black jacket trimmed in inch-wide silver all along the body and at the ends of the sleeves, the letters T.F. emblazoned on the back in identical silver. These coats somewhat hide a silver chestplate & matching bracers, black tact pants leading down into black boots with silver laces, chrome half-masks covering the bottom halves of their faces, and sunglasses that perfectly hide their eyes. The ram man is terrified. "SHIT! Thunder Force!" He suddenly gets up and tries to scramble away. Two agents step up and each grab an arm, and turn to your group, nodding quietly. Their outfits' silver stripes begin to glow and crackle with energy, and all three appear to be teleported away, as do all the other knocked out thugs and costumed people in pairs, leaving behind several scorch marks on the ground leading in the same direction. (IF THEY ASK) They are all leading where the sign indicated ESSENTIALS One of the costumed men stays behind, a black puma man standing at just over six feet with a very short black hair buzzcut and a small scar under his left eye, his coat bearing a silver nametag that reads HARKEN. He approaches your group, removing his sunglasses and looking you all in the eye. "I don't know who you are, but you have helped us contain a significant threat today, and we appreciate your assistance." Your group is suddenly approached by dozens of passerbys, all of whom are really curious and start bombarding you with questions. ----- (RAPPORT Roll)(to quell the audience) (HIGH Roll) Your speech has caused your brand new audience to calm down and listen to what you have to say, and treat every word like a fascination. (LOW roll) Your speech caught everyone's attention, but all it did was make them MORE fascinated and MORE ravenous for your attention. Harken will lean down and mumble to your group "Now it is MY turn to save YOU." He rears back his head. "People of Diadem!" That declaration alone was loud enough to cause everyone to back away a good couple feet. "I apologize sincerely for the commotion, the Marauders paid us yet another visit! But with the help of these valiant heroes, they were soundly defeated AND in record time!" The random people around you slowly but surely start to applaud and cheer for your group, giving you a few moments of (honestly well deserved) glory. You get offered handshakes, a couple people want autographs, the whole ordeal you'd expect. ----- Once the excitement dies down, the people start breaking away, trying to clean some of the mess. HARKEN will approach your group again. "I can only assume you are all new here, otherwise you would not have such... bewildering expressions on your faces." "If you will allow me, I can escort you to our capitol so you may speak with our king. He can explain everything for you much better than I. I need to report this latest Marauder incident to him anyways." ----- *CAPITOL QUARTZ* The capitol itself is actually five different buildings, four of which are surrounding the larger one in the center. Each one is a pale white facility with a golden roof, and each one is tipped with a pointy prism-like glass structure on the top. The main complex building is identical to the buildings around it, but is a bit wider with more prominent doors on the front and a larger staircase leading up to it. *INSIDE* The inside is massive AND immaculate. Several people are walking about in suits, carrying stacks of papers across a spacious marble-lined floor covered with deep red carpets. You only see a few desks and tables out here, but there are several doors all over the place with gold colored nameplates. A fox man with shoulder length black hair in a black & red suit approaches your group curiously, his gold nametag reading NASH. "Hello? Can I help you?" (IF THEY DONT RESPOND) Harken will step forward. "We are here to report a new Marauder incident that just occurred. These brand new immigrants volunteered their efforts to stopping them, keeping damage to a minimum. I thought it prudent for them to meet the King as well. "Oh!" He turns to your group specifically. "Well my name is NASH, I'm the King's Aide. Gimme one sec and I'll see if he can squeeze you in." He trots over to a nearby desk with stacks of paper, pencils, and an old fashioned intercom box. He holds down the speaker button. "Your Majesty, we have some new people in Diadem that want to speak with you?" The voice on the other end is a bit garbled, but you do hear someone say SEND THEM IN PLEASE. He picks up a clipboard and guides you through a pair of double-doors marked KING'S CHAMBERS, down a looong carpeted hallway deep into the building. He takes you to a massive pair of golden colored doors, one of which is open, and guides you inside before closing them behind you with Harken. The office is nothing spectacular, a few file cabinets, a couple couches on the left and right surrounding a decent sized coffee table, one large wooden desk, one chair behind it, and one man sitting in it. Behind the desk sits a deep purple robin man, draped in the finest golden laced draperies you've seen anyone manage to pull off, and whom sticks out a bit compared to the rest of the room and people. He stands and walks around the desk, revealing himself to be just under 5 feet tall, offering to shake each of your hands. "Hello, my name is Akarui, and I am King of the city of Diadem." *IF THEY DONT EXPLAIN* "I'm gonna take a wild guess. You were sent here by your country's government, strapped for war, entered into the literal opposite, got blindided by a bunch of thugs, kicked their asses in short order, and Harken escorted you here personally?" Harken will chime in. "With minimal damage, in record time. One escaped, which is... unfortunate, but the others are under arrest." Akarui will hop onto the desk and sit on it like a chair in front of you all, guiding you to sit on the couches. "I'm sure you have endless questions and I will be happy to answer all of them for you here and now." Harken steps back. "I will excuse myself to return to my duties." His body will begin to crackle with electrical energy before he takes a single step away and is GONE in a flash, only leaving a scorch mark in the floor. Akarui hangs his head. "I wish he wouldn't do that indoors..." ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AS HONESTLY AS YOU CAN *WHAT IS THIS PLACE* "A long time ago, this land mass just spawned in the middle of the ocean, and every country wanted to be the first to find out what happened. Every one of them sent in soldiers, scientists, and volunteers of the highest caliber to the land, but none of them ever came back." "The reason is because of the special magic of this land. I'm sure you saw the golden membrane that surrounds our city as you came in. It's difficult to put into words, but its a type of protective magic, prevented our ancestors from leaving without going through some OBNOXIOUS bullshit prophecy type thing." "So, instead of just dying here, they cultivated the land and make it liveable. Since the first wave didn't come back, they kept sending new ones to find out what happened. Rinse and repeat a few dozen generations, and we became a thriving city with a current population of about... what was it, 10,000 last census?" *THE ATTACKERS* "THAT would be the Marauders. Or at least that's what they're calling themselves. They're just a huge collection of troublemakers that hate not being able to leave. Their logic is since they are stuck here, they may as well make everyone else as miserable as they are." *THUNDER FORCE* "Ah yes, our soldiers in silver. They are the peacekeeping force in this town, our version of the police and military all rolled up into one. Someone found out harnessing lightning magic in our bodies in just the right way gave people a massive speed and strength boost, so those that were gifted for it usually ended up joining them. And thanks to the Marauders, they do recruitment drives every week it seems.." *POWER IN TOWN* "Funny story, THAT was a happy accident. About 10 years ago, our top scientists tried drilling our way out of Diadem. We managed to make a hole straight down through the island, with some severe casualties, but we couldn't exactly escape through it." "Being on an island in the middle of the ocean with our limited resources meant it wasn't a feasible or safe escape plan, so our remaining engineers converted it into an access point for a hydroelectric generator. Took a few years, and it's a bit buggy at times, but it makes living here so much more pleasant." *LEGEND/PROPHECY* "Well... I hesitate to tell you and get your hopes up, but there is an old island legend, predates all of us. Supposedly, you can earn your way out by challenging some 'island guardians' and earning their treasures as keys. But the legend is old, the rules are unclear, and I'd rather not have my citizens jumping headfirst into some hokey magic legend and possibly getting killed over nothing. We're already working on another way out, we just... aren't there yet." *NO OTHER QUESTIONS* "Okay well, before before you go, I'd like to offer you a token of my gratitude for your selfless service." He will reach back and hit a button on his desk on his own intercom. "Nash, please bring in Anais and Garamond." It takes a moment, but the double doors open again, and Nash steps in with a pair of people, a man and woman both dressed in suits. You also notice Nash is walking with a bit of a limp, his hair is ruffled some, and his shirt is wrinkled in the front. The guy is shaking his head a little, and the lady has a kind of 'superiority' judgment in her eyes. Akarui walks back around to his seat. "This is Garamond from the Bank, and Anais from the Realtors Office & HOA. We're gonna transition you from your currency to ours, AND get you a decent place to live so you don't have to worry about either. And since you helped save the people, I'm footing the bill for the first month AND paying for the transaction fees out of pocket." Garamond, a portly Dachsund with slicked back brown hair in a deep blue suit, steps forward first. "Ello there, I would like to ask you to hand me any currency or valuables you have that we can exchange for our own currency." When he sees you literally have a hundred different types of cash, he is a bit ecstatic, and trades each of you a bag of coins. They come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 50, and are all fairly lightweight. When you count it out, you received a bag of 500 of this currency. "Our currency is all coin, and it's called Z (zee). Each coin is filled with sea salt, enchanted with a special type of INFUSION technique that is a trade secret." Anais, a well groomed Sheep woman with curly white hair that feeds into her wool perfectly in a red suit (the one with the grumpy disposition), steps forward after and pulls out a clipboard, speaking in a VERY monotone and irritated tone. "Hello, I represent the HOA and need a few simple questions answered for your new home here in Diadem." - What are your names, ages, and species? - Since your first month is being paid in advance by his Majesty, we do not need a down payment at this time. We collect payment on the first of the month, and if payment is not received within a week of that date, we reserve the right to remove you from your home. Do you understand and accept these terms? She puts down four small color photos. One is a simplistic apartment space, one is a decent style suburban 2 story house, one is a lavish estate home with a spacious yard, and one is a hotel room with a queen size bed. "Okay so, our housing options consist of the following:" - (number) 2 bed 1 bath apartments - (number) 4 bed 2 bath residential home(s) - An upgraded gated community home with as many beds and baths as you would like "Or if you require more time to decide, we can put you in a small group of single hotel rooms with access to a private conference room for tonight, and you can come back to me at the main HOA office in the morning." ----- *IF THEY SELECT GATED* Anais will perk RIGHT the fuck up, her demeanor doing a complete 180. "Well fantastic, I should let you know that there are some special... let's call them 'guidelines' we follow there. Nothing too restrictive, just that you keep your yards trimmed to a certain height, no noise after a certain time of night, your house and fence has a short list of colors you can paint them--" She is interrupted by Akarui with a bit of irritation. "ANAIS... We've been over this. The people can do whatever they want with the houses, the lawns, the fences, I do not care. So long as they don't blow them up or set the yard on fire, it is theirs to do with as they wish." Anais suddenly returns to her prior demeanor of irritation, and simply hands you a fancy looking piece of folded paper before walking away. *IF APARTMENTS OR RESIDENTIAL* Anais will sigh a little. "Are you sure? Given the size of the group, you might be comfortable in a larger home, in our more upright living area?" Akarui will clear his throat, causing her to shut right up, and hand your group a document before stepping away with a scowl. *IF HOTEL* "Very well. Please hand me your map so I may point out where to go and where to find me when you are ready to make your decision. Please understand that *the King's generosity* will only give you one night there." ----- Akarui claps his bird hands together. "And you are officially all set, for now. Feel free to stop by any time if you have questions, concerns, change in circumstances, anything like that. I'm usually busy running the town, so you might have to set up appointments with Nash first, but I'm here to help. Have a fantastic day, and Welcome to Diadem!" He offers each of you one last handshake, and Nash walks you back outside. Nash asks to see your map & approval letter, so he can point out where your new home is. Once he sees both, he points out exactly where your new home(s) can be found, and a VIVID description of how to get there on foot. He shakes each of your hands before walking back inside the building and closing the doors behind him, leaving you to your own decisions from here. OUTSIDE TOWN HALL (NOTICE ROLL) You hear a rustling noise and a raspy voice from behind (lowest roller). (lowest roller) barely spots a group of fuzzy appendages slowly closing in around them from their peripherals. "Ooooh~ Fresh meeeaaat~" *IF ANYONE REACTS* The voice is coming from a large black tarantula man, but his appearance is somewhat obscured by a long brown trenchcoat and matching bowler hat. He raises all six arms at varying degrees and angles. "Don't be alarmed, I'm just here to offer my... special services~" He laughs a sinister chuckle before giving a generous bow. "Call me Striker~ I'm a travelling merchant, here to offer information and wares to you and yours, for a small fee, mhmhm~ Tell me, you all seem a bit out of sorts... I could give you a bit of guidance as a one-time courtesy, for free?~" (GIVE BEST RECOMMENDATION MIXED WITH CREEPY FORESHADOWING) ----- *GET OUT* "Oh, you wish to escape the island? Perhaps free the imprisoned citizens while you're at it? How noble... and fruitless. Every new face always wants to be the hero of the people, but end up in the same place.. a normal everyday citizen with a normal everyday job." He pauses to think for a moment. "I recall a few years ago, they made an attempt at this very task, or at least they LOOKED like they made an attempt..." He suddenly bursts out laughing. "Ah yes, the movie! They recorded themselves and their valiant attempt at a grandiose escape. I believe it is still playing in the Diadem Theater right now..." ----- AFTER HELPING THEM "Wonderful, it's like I'm part of the team~" He snickers and lines his three right arms up, simulating a thumbs up. *YOU NOW HAVE A SHADOWY EXTRA TEAMMATE* *HE WILL BE ON STANDBY IF YOU NEED HIM* "If you require my assistance, just find a shady little spot and call for me with coin at the ready~ I'll be seeing you soon~" He slithers up into a nearby tree and vanishes as quietly as he came.