[LOCKED] Homeward Bound - Tier 1

[king_in_the_north]

WHO: Robb, Lyanna, Major & Steve
WHERE: Inari Shrine & elsewhere
WHEN: 10 May 2018
OPEN TO: LOCKED to the above
WARNINGS: None yet, but possible violence

---

Robb couldn't have said whether this experience, this sudden lurch from the familiar to the not felt like the last time. His arrival to the village — The first village, perhaps, or whatever version that might have been — remained muddy to him even now, a shadowy blur punctuated by Jon's face and soft words. What Robb did know, however, was that 'alarming' didn't even begin to explain it.

He was standing inside a sort of pavilion, like a shrine, not unlike the one he'd visited with Margaery before, rows of red columns opening up on unfamiliar terrain, the flicker of sun off water in the distance. He was disoriented a moment the way you might be when stepping from a stair you didn't realize was there, but then spied other bodies between the columns and surged forward. Lyanna, and two men he recognized but didn't know well, all of them looking as bewildered as he himself felt.

Comments

[iron_beneath_beauty]

She had been practicing at her harp when everything shifted and changed. It was almost like disappearing for a moment from existence. The feeling of being somewhere, being present and then not. It was frightening in a way she couldn't put to words, similar to facing that empty void that was looming over her in the Tower. For a moment, a brief second, she had been nothing.

She had thought the pavilion was beautiful once, but now it seemed tainted and sour. The running water and bright red of the columns were dulled and foreign to her senses. She felt sick, even as her senses surged to life and adrenaline filled her veins. She reached for her bow, but remembered what she was doing before this.

There was no weapon at hand, just a group of them gathered at the pavilion and uncertain of why they were brought there.

"We need to move." She glanced around at everyone. "The Observers brought us here, we should move before something comes out of the forest."

[super_seal]

Blinking in confusion, Steve slowly turned doing a three-sixty scan of his new environment - both trying to figure out where they are and if there are any immediate threats. A moment ago he'd been fishing along the river banks between the two villages, his homemade fishing stick/spear still in hand. Now... Now he had no idea where he was. The sensation itself wasn't entirely new, but this time didn't include suddenly finding himself underwater in the fountain. He'd yet to decide if that was a good thing or not. Bringing up his free hand, he wiped the lower half of his face, at least it didn't seem like he'd lost time again.

With a nod, he agreed with Lyanna. They were too exposed. The question was where did they go from here. "Anyone have an idea where we might be?"

[majorlyugh]

The last few weeks had been ... an adjustment for Major, to say the least. Turning back into a quasi-zombie wasn't what he'd been expecting while partaking in the latest village feast, but when the food hit his tongue and tasted like nothing more than ash, he knew he was in trouble. A lot of it, especially after asking around and finding out that no one else seemed to have the same problem. He'd thought to try and locate the hottest hot sauce that might've appeared, but the panic had overtaken him before he'd had the chance to do so. Ravi had been there, aware and alert and understanding the possible implications of what they both suspected to be happening.

Ravi had offered up some rat brains in the meanwhile, hoping it would be enough to sustain Major long enough to figure out what to do in a more long-term sense. There was no way Major was going to go ham at the villagers around him; he hadn't done it before and he wasn't going to start now. That left the option of .. wildlife. The kinds that he and the villagers ate anyway, only this time there'd be a different kind of "meat" on Major's menu. The cravings weren't consistent and were more spread apart than they'd been back in Seattle, where the hunger pangs started every week or so, but he wondered how long he could keep up the charade, even with the extended "grace" period.

He'd been working on dressing a squirrel he'd caught earlier that day when his vision had gone black, the world spinning around and underneath him.

When he finally starts to return to himself, he realizes he .. doesn't know where he is. He catches the blurry glimpse of faces, only one of which he knows, and wonders how he's still standing with how much his legs feel like jello. He still has blood on his hands, remnants of the guts he'd just pulled out of the creature still lodged underneath his short fingernails. He wants to wipe it all away on his pants, suddenly wondering whether the smell might attract creatures they'd rather not encounter, before holding his reddened hands in the air as a sign of non-violence and lack of threat.

"For the record," he starts, looking from one person to the next, "I know how this looks. But I swear, I was just cleaning up a squirrel. Out of all the times to be wormholed out of the village .."

[king_in_the_north]

There was very little about Major that suggested he was a threat to any of them, bloodstained hands or no, and Robb simply afforded a glance to the unfortunate state of him before nodding and looking to the others. "No idea whatsoever," he replied to Steve, frowning as he turned, scanning the rows of columns around them.

"There was a temple similar to this one in the other place, the last place," he added, unsure if any of them would remember it or have even ventured far enough out to see it. "It was outside of the second village. But this is different. We're in the mountains here. The other was on the valley floor."

Lyanna looked none the worse for wear, and it would seem the most alarming thing about any of them was the bloodied hands. "At least we're all well," he allowed. "I think I saw some water through the trees there," he added, motioning. "We ought to make sure there aren't any others, you can wash up and we can try to find a safe place to take stock."

[iron_beneath_beauty]

Major's state was a concern, not because she believed that he was any danger to them, but that it will attract various predators. As far as she can see, none of them have weapons and are far from home, deep in the forest. They would need to hurry before a mass of creatures descended on them.

She remembered hearing of the other temple, but as Robb pointed out, this place was different than the one they had known before. "Do we have a map of this area? Any idea how to find our way back from here?"

It was a good plan at least. "I can climb one of the trees and look to see if there are any others around. We should gather some food as well. We'll need it for the trek back." She wasn't exactly pleased at the idea of sleeping in the forest, but they couldn't simply stay here.

[super_seal]

There's no concern from Steve about Major's state either. Remembering their first conversation when Steve arrived, he doubts that Major was the one who even killed the squirrel considering he didn't like to hook a worm to fish. Hoping to reassure the other man, he sent a smile and a nod in his direction.

The temple Robb was referring to, Steve had seen not long after he arrived but hadn't been back since. Similar in structure but the locale was definitely not the same. Neither held any significance to him, although he couldn't dismiss the thought that they may have significance to each other. "Had anything like this happened with the other temple?" Perhaps if people had been brought there, as they had now, they might have some insight into at least some of their questions.

Looking up the mountain, he knew one way to figure out where the villages were was to climb to the highest point. The villages and lake should be easy enough to spot from a decent vantage point. Getting up there without proper equipment however wasn't ideal in the best of situations. And, it took them away from the water, which had to Steve agree was the direction they should head. They'd have better luck of finding food that way as well.

"The lake near the second village has an inlet that branches to the south-west," he says as he nods towards the water. He'd explored the lake but not that far into the inlet beyond the branching, at least not yet. Now he was wishing he had. They could get lucky and find terrain that would lead them back home... Or no where near it. Then he remembered the bracelet on his arm. "What about these things?" He held up his wrist, exposing the bracelet. "Can we contact anyone who's gone exploring already or might have access to a map?"

[king_in_the_north]

"No," Robb replied with a shake of his head, of the other temple. "Not that I was aware of, at any rate. People did experience some visions there, but I never heard of anyone being suddenly magicked to or from the place."

At the mention of the bracelets, Robb's eyes lit up. "I always forget them, I so seldom use mine," he said. "At the least, we ought to try to contact someone. When the group set out to find the plant, the lichen, for the Father and Jude, they sent messages back. Updates, confirming they were well, when they'd found the plant."

He looked down to his wrist now and used his finger to slide through a couple of screens. "There's a message here now that looks to be for us. From a Peter Parker." He glanced up. "Does anyone know him?"

[iron_beneath_beauty]

She felt her heart leap in excitement. While she hadn't known Peter long, she was grateful to hear a familiar name searching for them. Beyond that, their absence was noticed. While she had no doubts that others would be worried for them, the quick response was gratifying.

She quickly typed in her response to Peter, asking him to also tell her brother that she and Robb were safe. "I know him. He is a new arrival." But that hadn't stopped him from showing concern for them. That was enough of an indicator that he had a kind heart.

"I told him that we are safe."

[king_in_the_north]

"Good," Robb replied with a low sigh. "And that's at least some questions answered, as well." Before, he'd not considered the possibility that they might be anywhere but in the same world they had been, but the relief in now understanding they aren't is palpable. After all, none of them really know where the others go when they disappear. Could it be to a place like this?

"Let's get to the water before the blood draws unwanted attention," he added, motioning the others in the direction he'd earlier seen the reflection through the trees.

[super_seal]

Not knowing Peter, Steve minutely shakes his head. Hearing that they can communicate with others in the village is a relief. Not only does it mean that are still in the same world and within communication distance, but he can check in with his sister and best friend to let them know he's okay and make sure they are as well. While Lyanna responds to Peter, Steve sends out a quick message to Mary and Danny.

With a nod at Robb's suggestion Steve starts to head towards the water, but then pauses as he reaches the tree line and turns to the others. "I'm Steve, by the way, Steve McGarrett." Major he knows but while he's seen the Robb and Lyanna in the village he's never had the pleasure of making their acquaintances.

[iron_beneath_beauty]

She had at least seen Major around the village to know him, but Steve was a stranger to her. There was at least someone in this company that she trusted, a sign that she was at least safe enough to let down her guard, if only a little.

"I'm Lyanna," she glanced at the man, pausing to pick up a fallen branch. It was flimsy and damp from recent rains, but it would have to do until she could find something better. Even a minor form of protection was better than none at all.

"Do we have something to hold water in? We will need it for the journey."

[king_in_the_north]

"And I'm Robb Stark," he said with a nod to Steve and Major. "Lyanna is my aunt." As strange as that was, when she was clearly several years younger.

"I've nothing apart from what I've got on," he added with a glance to Lyanna as they trekked the remainder of the distance to the water's edge. The stream before them would have been a good size to begin with, but it was clearly swollen with rainwater, rushing swiftly through the forest.

"Perhaps once we get our bearings, we'll be fortunate enough to be able to follow the stream, or find another to follow. This land seems to have no shortage of them."

[iron_beneath_beauty]

"It would be safer for us to keep a water source close at hand." Though she hoped that if they were to lead a stream, it would be one that would lead them straight back to the village. "The sun will be at its height soon and the walk will be hard for us. I don't want to go thirsty."

They at least all seemed to be experienced in the outdoors. There were no frilly ladies that would melt at the first sign of hardship. They might be able to push themselves as long as possible without needing to rest for long.

"We best hurry though. I want to be a bit further into the forest before the sun hits us."

[super_seal]

"My sister and partner are back at the village, both from other times than my own." Not as far apart as Robb and Lyanna appeared to be, but enough that he understood. He had to wonder if that was done on purpose - both the taking of those familiar and from different times.

Steve too was limited to what he had on him when he was transported and sadly that wasn't much. Combination of growing up on Hawaii and being a SEAL gave him the skills needed to survive in the wilderness. With the impression the others were also comfortable in this setting, he was fairly confident they'd figure something out along the way for both food and water.

"The question is how will we know what's the right stream to follow with there being so many...?" Without some idea where their villages are they could be following streams for a very long time, even if he did agree following them was the best idea. "We could ask those back at the village to light a signal fire."