(MAY CATCHALL) i'm coming back, i will return

[apocalypticist]

WHO: ryo asuka & you!
WHERE: around chroma
WHEN: throughout the month of may!
WHAT: catch-all log for quests & a couple of open prompts.
WARNINGS: will be marked if they come up.



A. bee-lzebub (backdated to the event.)
[ Weird things are happening around town again; Ryo is long used to this song and dance by now, so he tries to get through the day hoping it won't affect him too badly. So far he's lucky—his hair hasn't grown absurdly long, he hasn't lost his voice or become a mermaid—but as he goes to check up on the beehives he keeps in Flavo he discovers a sudden affinity for animals.

...Or rather, an affinity for bees. So now he has several hives' worth of bees following him around like a hivemind of excited puppies. Ryo sighs but accepts that this is just a Thing he's going to have to deal with and moves on with his day.

He quickly finds out that they're awfully protective of him; when your character walks past, they buzz loudly and aggressively. Ryo motions for them to calm down, which... seems to be working, though they're still hovering a little too close to your character. ]

Stop. Just... stop, I don't need your protection. [ He sighs, shaking his head and pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. ]

B. the light princess (also backdated to the event.)
[ Eventually, the bees return to their hives and for a moment Ryo thinks he's gotten off easy; he's quickly proven wrong when he suddenly finds himself afflicted by weightlessness and floats away, carried like a leaf in the wind.

He tries to maneuver himself closer to the buildings so he can grab onto the edge of the roof or something, but that turns out to be rather difficult—the only thing he can do is call for help. ]

Hey! Grab my hand, please— [ He stretches out his hand, reaching for your character. ]

C. rain rain go away
[ Once things have calmed down and Ryo is back to having his feet firmly on the ground, he can be found in the library, scouring the rows of books lining the shelves. Unfortunately for him, one of this long dormant powers decide that this is an appropriate moment to awaken.

It starts with a couple of droplets hitting his head and he looks up to see a dark cloud forming above him, the amount of rain falling from it increasing as it grows in size. He blinks a couple of times at the sight of a raincloud indoors before he hastily starts moving books out of the way to keep them from getting wet.

A little help would be appreciated. ]

Comments

B

[lacrimose]

Ryo?! [Of all the strange princess afflictions Akira's seen across the town so far, seeing one that makes its victim float is new. But Akira doesn't stop to stare for long-- his first instinct is to help Ryo, jumping up to grab his hand. As he lands he's able to pull Ryo back down with him, but it's like holding a feather; his best friend has no weight to him at all.]

I've got you, don't worry.

[apocalypticist]

I'm so relieved you're here. [ He squeezes Akira's hand in a vice-like grip as he's being pulled down, his other hand reaching to grab onto Akira's jacket. ]

Bring me indoors.

[lacrimose]

[Akira holds Ryo's hand equally tightly, one hand on his shoulder to make sure he won't float away again. He's not difficult to hold down, but he's also so light it would be easy to slip up and let him drift off. It would almost be comical, if Ryo didn't sound uncharacteristically shaken.]

The town hall's nearby-- let's head there. [He's not even sure if Ryo can walk considering the laws of gravity don't seem to apply to him right now, but if not, he'll pull him along in that general direction anyway.]

[apocalypticist]

All right. [ Now that he's secure in Akira's grip, his voice becomes more steady, his expression closer to neutral than vaguely panicked. He can't walk, though; maybe he could if he tied something heavy around his waist, but not like this. ]

You might have to find a rope or something later so I don't accidentally float away.

[lacrimose]

Yeah. [Realising he can't walk, he puts an arm around Ryo to keep him close, and to comfort him a little after panicking.]

It should wear off soon, right? You think there's a way we can stop it sooner?

[If it's one of those princess things, maybe there's a clue in the story, like with other cases.]

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo doesn't say anything as he thinks it over, trying to recall anything similar from the fairytales he's come across in the library. ]

...I think there's a way to stop it, but we'd have to find the story in the library.

[lacrimose]

Okay. Let's head there instead -- whatever we need to do, I'm sure we can figure it out.

[If what Dextera told him is true, and if this is one of those kinds of fairy tales, that's all they need.]

[apocalypticist]

Okay. But let's get some rope first so you can tie me to a chair in the library.

[ It's more convenient if he doesn't float to the ceiling or have to hold onto Akira the entire time. ]

QUEST 58

[passio]

[ they’ve made up as much as dextera can ask for from ryo, and with everything going on in the town, he’s not sure they can afford to continue to strain their bonds. the philosopher’s stone quest looked exactly like something that the both of them would be interested in, for the satisfaction of curiosity if nothing else, and so it was dextera who decided to round ryo up.

his arm is in a sling thanks to his idiotic antics a month prior, but he otherwise looks unharmed. ]

What is the Philosopher’s Stone supposed to… look like…?

[apocalypticist]

[ This quest caught Ryo's interest from the moment he saw it; while the concept of being able to transmute lead to gold is something he scoffs at, alchemy is fascinating to him as a part of human history and a precursor to modern chemistry, mingling some legitimate material science with a great deal of occultism.

He arches an eyebrow a little at the sling, but doesn't ask. ]

It's been depicted as a red stone in modern media, but in traditional western alchemy it's an unknown substance sometimes referred to as "the powder" or "the tincture".

[passio]

…it could be anything.

[ in other words.

based on what he knows, though, it seems odd that they would be given the task to find it as opposed to make it, when it’s not something that has any distinct shape. all he can do is trust that the quest intentions will lead them on the right path. ]

But it’s strange…

[ it can’t be a legitimate philosopher’s stone, right? ]

[apocalypticist]

Yeah. Besides, would a quest really lead us to an actual Philosopher's stone? Everyone in town could potentially become the owner of a powerful substance capable of transmuting lead to gold.

[ The quests can be generous, but that seems a little much. You get a philosopher's stone, and you get a philosopher's stone, everyone gets a philosopher's stone. ]

[passio]

[ dextera nods. it’s possible that the town could be so generous because gold doesn’t really have any meaning in this place, but at the same time, the philosopher’s stone must have other miraculous properties that would make it a rarity.

it all becomes clear when a few more minutes of walking leads them to a cauldron, and dextera stops. ]

Oh.

[apocalypticist]

[ Ryo approaches the cauldron somewhat cautiously, gaze flicking over the various alchemical implements next to it. ]

So we're expected to actually create the stone, somehow. [ Without any instructions or a list of ingredients available, from what he can gather. ]

[passio]

But how can we…?

[ the town’s quests have been difficult before, but none of them have yet been set up for failure. there’s either a trick to it that they haven’t figured out, or making a philosopher’s stone is much easier than they ever imagined.

if anyone can manage, he’s sure that ryo can, but he doesn’t want to rely solely on ryo’s encyclopedic knowledge of things to solve this. ]

What goes into one?

[apocalypticist]

I wouldn't know. The stone is just a myth where I come from. [ He knows a lot of things, but his chemistry classes in uni didn't exactly cover the finer points of alchemy. But, being the walking encyclopedia he is, maybe they can at least formulate a starting point. ]

Salt, sulfur, and mercury, maybe. Those are the Three Essentials, the alchemical trinity of principles, that every substance is made out of.

C

[troubadamsel]

[Who would have thought Maribelle's parasol would someday be used for its original intended purpose?

In other words, have a fluffy parasol aimed over your head.]

Er, are you all right...?

[apocalypticist]

[ Thank you, Maribelle—Ryo is grateful for it, even if he won't visibly express it, regarding her with a neutral air. ]

I'm fine. The sudden rain just caught me off guard; I didn't expect it to start raining indoors.

[troubadamsel]

I don't think most people would! Here I thought the current event was over.

[apocalypticist]

I thought so too. [ He idly runs a thumb along the spine of the book he's holding, brows knitting ever so slightly. ] A raincloud seems a little random, after what's been going on recently.

[ Strange weather has very little to do with princesses, after all. ]

[troubadamsel]

It truly does. Has this been going on all day with you? Since you woke up, perhaps/

C

[pyrafect]

[ She had been trying to read up on books about the philosopher's stone when-- ] ...Ryo?

[ She doesn't have an umbrella on hand, but she can take a... desk, yes-- she take a desk and raises it up, positions it between him and the cloud that has formed. ]

What's going on? [ She thought the latest Chroma shenanigan was over? What gives? ]

[apocalypticist]

[ ...Okay then, that's not what he expected but he won't complain—he's shielded from the rain and that's all that matters. ]

I'm not sure. [ He says, orienting his gaze to her, one hand scratching at the back of his head. ] he town must be acting strangely again.

[ He doesn't sound entirely convinced when he says it;he doesn't recall having done this before, or possessing a power like this, but there's this nagging feeling that won't leave him alone. ]

[pyrafect]

I'm not sure of any fairy tale involving a raincloud following someone around...

[ She'll continue to hold the desk up as long as necessary, a thoughtful frown forming upon her lips. ] Maybe... we should move outside? Just for the sake of keeping the inside of this building dry, and its books.

[apocalypticist]

...Good idea. [ Ryo nods, clutching the couple of books he'd grabbed just before Pyra came to the rescue close to his chest.

As the two move toward the exit, chunks of hail begin to fall with the rain as the cloud moves with them. ]