Avaritia Arrival Log

[cancrymods]

AVARITIA

It's Vegas, baby! Oh wait, I already made that joke on the location page... With Esme's iron-fisted reign brought to an end and the Executors given time to take a very well-earned break, it finally comes down to descend to the next layer of Purgatory. Thankfully, with this being the group as a whole's second descent, things are a little less nerve-wracking this time around... maybe. Hopefully. ... Probably. Welcome to Avaritia. Feel free to use this arrival log to chronicle your initial misadventures in the Greed Layer of Purgatory. As noted in the location page, several locations will require further investigation if you'd like to get some information on them, so get investigating! Drop a comment down to the Investigation Request subheader if you'd like to explore. Get out there and have fun!

Comments

[phantasmagorial]

[ When the Executors make their way down the stairs and the sheet of rain covers the group, Rei reacts like... well, someone who's never so much as seen rain before. She jumps a bit but once she realizes what's going on, she tilts her head up to the unseen sky above Avaritia with an awed look on her face. ]

So this is rain...?

[ She seems quite taken with it, given that she then starts walking around the city with no umbrella or anything, mother of god. It doesn't take long for her to start looking like a drowned rat with her hair absolutely plastered to her face but she's splashing and dancing her way through puddles with a beaming smile on her face so...

Her explorations take her up and down the city, but of course with her being 1) underage and 2) broke, there's not very much she can actually get up to here. She explores the stalls with some interest since window shopping's free even in Avaritia and eventually she gets the bright idea to bring some things down from Invidia to try and barter away, but...

Well, Executors with a nose for trouble will eventually find Rei sat at a makeshift table opposite a Specter who's cheerfully rolling some dice and explaining the rules of a game to Rei, who's nodding along. ]

So, I just have to put my belongings down as a bet, guess the number on the dice... and if it's closer then your number, I win?

[ I don't even have to tell you that this is definitely a scam, but even if I didn't, the gleam in the gambling Specter's eyes would give it away. Please save this gullible girl. ]

rei-n

[daughterofthemark]

[Veil runs into Rei again somewhere around nowhere in particular.]

My goodness!

[...and just... joins her. Splash! Those! Puddles!]

[phantasmagorial]

[ That sets Rei off laughing, of course. ]

I never thought we'd find rain on the layer down here. I didn't even know it could rain in Purgatory!

[daughterofthemark]

One never knows what to expect here! It truly is a wondrous place.

[Twirling around! Not looking where she's going! Watch out!]

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei's twirling around too – don't call her out but it looks a bit like she's copying some of that idol choreography they'd been practicing. ]

I really never thought I'd hear anyone call this place wondrous. But... it's definitely pretty in its own way.

[curiositydies]

[ He's not at all the parental type, but he's certainly a loyal one. And if nothing else, he pays back what he owes to gifts freely given, especially if it involves power to transcend his own limits. ]

My, what a fascinating little game you have there! I'd try it myself, but I see you're already occupied. [ He's gone from dour to viciously cheerful, holding himself with confidence. He could probably just steer Rei away from this clearly rigged game, but this is a teaching opportunity as well as a way to pocket a bit more of this level's currency. ] But I just don't feel the stakes are high enough. If you're willing to raise your stake in it, I'm willing to add a little bit more for your trouble and make it very worth your while.

[ He leans over with a razor-sharp smile, letting the clink of nova make his point. ] What do you say?

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei starts a bit to hear him approach and she looks up at him with confusion written all over her face. ] Frost? But why...?

[ Of course, Rei's confusion is nothing compared to the Specter she's been betting against but theirs is tempered with a little caution. They stare Frost down for a moment, weighing concern against greed before giving a slow nod and shoving forth another stack of novas to add to their total. Rei's eyes widen. ]

B–but that's so much money...!

[curiositydies]

Oh, everything has its price. The bigger the better, hmm? [ He says it casually, watching the Specter's face. As promised, he adds a small stack of his own to the pile, which is growing quite substantial. ]

Well, that all seems in order! [ He smiles, pleasantly, though he's now focused on the dice and how the Spectre is rolling them. ] Why don't we begin? The rules are simple enough, I'm sure.

[schardynfreude]

It most certainly is rain! [Are we dancing in the rain? We definitely are. His footwork is a little loose and fancy-free, and he absolutely uses his umbrella as a prop. Kicks up a little splash of puddle! (Much to the annoyance of passers-by.)] Had you never seen rain before, my dear?

[phantasmagorial]

[ You'd think with how anxious and brimming with stagefright she was in Invidia, she'd be a little more bothered about making such a show of themselves to passers-by but it seems like the novelty and the excitement of dancing around in the rain has put those worries to bed for now. ]

No, never! Or if I have, then I don't remember it. I didn't even know it could rain in Purgatory.

[schardynfreude]

Of all the strange things we've seen so far, it's rain that gets the most reaction out of you. Quite normal in the world of the living. Depending on where one lives, of course.

[He bends low and offers a hand.] May I have this dance?

[phantasmagorial]

[ She tries to put on a Very Serious expression in response, but she's giggling too much and a smile breaks through anyway as she takes his hand. ]

Y–yes, if you insist!

[schardynfreude]

I most certainly do.

[Who's gonna get a twirl, REI IS, she's gonna get MEGA twirled and they will dance in puddles to funky jazz on a rainy street corner and nothing and no one will stop them.]

[mementomoritz]

It is! [Medic is, at least, wearing a raincoat and boots, but she's equally delighted at the sight of it.]

I wonder if the weather ever changes in this layer, or if it's always raining the same way it's always dry in the other two?

[phantasmagorial]

I suppose there's no way of knowing for sure... even with all I knew about Purgatory, I didn't think it could rain here at all. I end up being surprised by things down here every day.

[ There's an air of wonder to her voice as she says that – that here, even in the land of the dead, there could ever be surprises like this. ]

[mementomoritz]

The world is amazing. [It's said with a deep fondness and warmth. Behind all her gleeful curiosity, her desire to see more and pry into everything, this is the core of those feelings: genuine love for existence, in all its' complexities.] I think you could live forever and still learn something new, every day.

[phantasmagorial]

... When you put it like that, being down here doesn't seem half as bad.

[ Down here, in Avaritia. In Purgatory. Dead. Maybe it's naive of her, but Medic makes it sound so much warmer and gentler than Rei is used to thinking of it. ]

The things we're discovering about ourselves and each other aren't always good... but they're definitely new.

[mementomoritz]

I guess it's got good and bad to it, like most things. [She smiles, tilting her face up towards the clouded sky and looking deep into the rain.] Death is a lot like life that way, I think! Maybe it shouldn't have surprised me- a lot of what happens to the body after death is just new life coming out of it, one way or another. So maybe the soul does the same thing, letting us make new lives here.

[A beat of silence, and then:]

...wow, I really can't see anything like this. My glasses have so much water on them.

[Looking dramatically up into the sky was a huge mistake. Everything is blurry. Send help.]

[phantasmagorial]

[ Oh, that's so out of left field after that lovely dramatic moment, that Rei can't stop herself from laughing. ]

H–here, let me– [ She pats herself down for a second, like she might have a handkerchief or something, then realizes; ] No, wait– I'm completely soaked too!

[ And she dissolves into giggles. ]

[mementomoritz]

[Rei's laughter sets Medic off, too, giggling helplessly.]

Pfft- I need windshield wipers, but tiny ones- [She swipes a finger back and forth across the right lens and succeeds only in making things even blurrier, still laughing.]

[phantasmagorial]

[ Still giggling: ] M–maybe we can find some here? It seems like the kind of thing you'd be able to find in a tacky souvenir place... Oh, but I don't even want to imagine how much they'd try to charge us for it.

[ Capitalism ! ]

Maybe we should just find somewhere that sells handkerchiefs. Surely they'd be cheaper?

[mementomoritz]

Maybe I should try to give myself the ability to echolocate. Then I wouldn't need to see!

Rain

[pride_of_amarcia]

[Rei, it's not super long before you run into an also-soaked Brainiac, who looks really happy as she walks around.]

... Wait, was I going this way?

[... Brainiac, it seems, got herself lost. At least she's kinda found now???]

[phantasmagorial]

It's easy to get turned around down here, isn't it?

[ Not that Rei seems to mind. ]

At least it's not too hard to pick out a landmark to head for.

[pride_of_amarcia]

Yeah, you're not wrong there!

It's kinda fun to just move around, though, too...

[Her scarf is actually tighter around her neck as if doing more to keep her warm.]

Maybe I should grab one of those umbrellas or something?