GAME ITINERARY | JANUARY 2016

[ironwood]

Hello chelonauts, here is a fresh new itinerary post! Previous months can be found under this tag.

Here's what we've got lined up for January 2016 (2017 in-game, remember; thanks to the year-long Dreaming timeskip, Keeliai is a year ahead!):

Weather

Foggy. … Again, that is. The fog from running aground lasts for the first half of this month as well, although after landfall the weather does change significantly (more details about the change in weather will be in the landfall post!) As in December, the fog has a negative effect on the use of magic and advanced technology, and if anything it's gotten thicker due to the cloud-bank advancing in front of the swell that will carry the turtle over the reef.

Kedan/Foreigner Relations

Thanks to the team-work performed in moving the turtle, relations between the kedan and the Foreigners are still at a high. The weather has made it difficult to get out and about so it isn't as if the Foreigners have been invited to parties or anything of the like, but the majority of responses toward Foreigners these days is no different to how other kedan might be treated. There are some variations, of course, just like some affluent kedan might react to gangs, but on the whole things are positive.

Local Events

VOYAGE OF THE STEAMPUNK SUBMARINE

It isn't precisely an event, but the College has finally got their submarine working and they're very excited. It's easy to tell, because they corner practically anyone who goes past and asks if they're coming to the maiden voyage, due to begin on the 10th and continue for two days. Though the submarine has been tested in some of the deepest canals, it hasn't yet been out to sea.

The voyage begins at the same canal and travels out through the watercourses to the sea. College students are quite willing to distribute or draw maps, for those who want to follow the submarine's progress (and possibly even to those who don't).

For the most part the city doesn't take any notice, and many, if asked, won't realize that the submarine is even being tested. When the submarine returns, however, it brings news. Thanks to tracking the deepsea currents near the Angbar Shoal, the pilots have detected a high swell coming their way -- one large enough to lift the turtle off the reef.

It's not very long to prepare, but hopefully it's long enough.

Log Note: The voyage will not have a mod-posted event log, but will begin on the 10th and end on the 12th.

LANDFALL

With the second part of the turtle move imminent, and no foreseeable problems to interrupt it this time, most of the kedan seem to be awaiting the landfall with a mix of eagerness and relief. Cartographers are predicting the tidal surge will carry them to the southwestern tip of the continent, and the Foreigners may even have kedan outright asking them if there's anything they can do to help with the anchoring.

Log Note: Landfall will have a mod-posted event log, as well as a full OOC writeup, around the middle of the month.

NPCs & Families

Contrast to last month, communication between the families is heightened, though there doesn't appear to be a corresponding uptick in physical messages being sent.

TU YUNXU

Thanks to Yunxu's public broadcast, it's now common knowledge that the Snakes want as much of the salt harvested from the fog as they can politely get their hands on. No one seems to know why, and even the lowest Snake is tight-lipped when asked.

Otherwise, the continuing foggy weather doesn't deter the Snake presence in the city.

ZANRU/XUIYU

The Metalworkers, it seems, found a secondary project. For the first couple of weeks of this month squads of them are out in the city, making additions to the relatively new basic radio infrastructure. While none of them are happy with the fog, they're seeing it as an obstacle and it's only made them more driven.

They're also investigating rumours of damp, especially in buildings which needed repairing after the shellquake.

Xuiyu is the most visible of these squads; although she doesn't lead any of them, she's liable to show up to lend a hand at any given time. She's also been seen with people from the College. Sitting at a desk, as she predicted, doesn't mesh well with her.

HEOJIN

The Woodsmen are still being careful about safety, but for the first part of the month they're more relaxed. The fog is still helping as well as hindering, and there are reports of some truly record-making crops in this experimental greenhouse of theirs. Small wagers aren't uncommon.

Heojin still regularly accompanies the vendors into the city, and while he does make himself visible at least half the time he also vanishes without a trace.

MILYN

Milyn seems very excited about the upcoming landfall, despite not knowing anything more than her fellow kedan about what they might find there. Her supplies have been running low due to the fog, where she hasn't ventured much beyond her apothecary and her most vital house calls. Although she welcomes any who come to visit her at her business-slash-home, she knows that such visits aren't common, and she isn't making it a point to seek any of the Foreigners out this month, either.

Those who are paying particular attention to the comings and goings might notice that Meisheng has been seen in the Healer's company from time to time. While she never makes an overt showing of it, she doesn't hide it either.

AROYAN

Aroyan is busy this month, handling issues that are arising from people trying to stockpile distilled salt, especially once the Snakes get involved. As the Merchant's Guild public representative, and facing the added complication of this having no real precedent, he's trying to keep the market, and therefore the overall economic stance, of Keeliai balanced. He knows well that a frantic surge over something with such a limited supply will create a boom-and-bust scenario, and that's bad for business in the long term.

Economy

Most produce is still preserved, and in ways less wild than last month thanks to the Merchants' Guild crackdown on ethical sale of new preservative techniques.

Salt distilled from the fog is also soaringly popular, to the point where it can go for exorbitant amounts on the black market, despite the Guild's attempts to regulate it. It's easy to get with the right basic equipment, but people are stockpiling, especially when news of the swell arrives -- the salt might be useful someday, after all, and there's no telling whether they'll ever see this kind of fog again.

The sparklers from last month are also still available for sale.

Crime

Believe it or not, crime is on a downturn this month. The fog is still a thing, and it's just as creepy as it was when it descended on the city, and apparently that's enough of a deterrence. There are still some minor scuffles here and there, some childish pranks and the occasional breaking and entering, but on the whole both kedan and Foreigners will be able to walk safely through the city this month.

Technology

One thing the Metalworkers have been continuing work on are the intercity radio towers they began developing in anticipation of the Justicar's arrival, in case it turned into war. Though the towers are still mobile, they're less so, and while self-contained it's notable that they're usually set up near a cluster of consoles.

The College is still enthusiastic about their research, but they're calmer now and have apparently been taking some advice from the Metalworkers in terms of safety procedures. Mid-month they're going to experience some wild success with the maiden voyage of their new prototype steampunk submarine.

OOC Information

STATE OF THE SHELL

We are in the process of changing over the core posts to their new formatting and location, and are about 60% done at this point. We're planning on doing the switch-over all at once, so for the time being, everything is remaining in place. The changes outlined on the State of the Shell post, with the exception of the app changes, have gone into effect as of today, January 1st. If there's something you're not sure whether has been changed or not, please don't hesitate to ask us.

So that's our outline for the month of January! If you have any questions about these happenings, please use the Questions comment below. Otherwise, this post is free space for monthly OOC plotting.