City Sights, Fantastic Heights (Open - 3 people)

"...gosh!"

August felt a little silly that was the first word he said upon finally reaching the centre of the colony of Erisia. Granted, it was the first time he'd ever been here but he was sure he'd hoped to have said something a bit...well, smarter. But how could he? The streets, even as strangely quiet as they seemed to be today, were more fabulous than anything a simple farmboy could have possibly imagined. Looking around at all the huge buildings, August felt like this town must have knocked on the very door of Heaven itself. And if his grandfather had told him the truth, this wasn't even the highest place in the world!

The possibilities looked simply endless!

And as August stared down the strangely quiet streets, it lead him to a realisation.

"What in the heck do I do now?" he quietly asked himself, as he set himself to strolling down the streets. Most of the shops appeared to be closed, and there were few people around to ask where everyone had gone. Eirini did have more people than this, right...?

And strolling a bit further, he found out why he was right - what looked to be a gigantic wheel towered in the sky. August looked at it with wonder. "I'll be...that's got to be the tallest wheel I've ever seen! What's the thing even supposed to do?" August thoguht to himself. Still, he finally had a goal in mind and so August ran towards it - surely there was someone around here who could tell him what the contraption was supposed to do.

It wasn't long before he found his answer somewhere in the midst of a small crowd. In particular the answer came from two of the tiniest and fluffiest things he'd ever seen. "I kinda wish I could take them home. Lil' Mary'd love 'em." was August's first thought upon seeing the small mascots, but somehow he had a feeling that people wouldn't be happy with that. Of course, then he heard what people were saying, which made him completely lose focus on the mascots and instead stare up at the giant rotating wheel. "Wait...you mean you're supposed to ride on that thing?!" August had to bite his tongue to stop himself from gasping. How high did it go? How did people not fall out of it? How did it stop from rolling down the city and off a cliff somewhere? How did anyone make it go?! There were so many questions - was this what the colonies were like?

August, impatient as he was, just had to wait for a ticket to get on the gigantic thing. There was no way he could pass up the opportunity, and his excitement shone through his eyes.

Ahhh, this new attraction is wondrous. A giant wheel to go into little compartments on it and watch everything from a new perspective. Anyway, might as well be generous when there is something new and enjoyable. I don't want to hog all the fun. I hand 40 VC to the ticket giver and say "4 tickets please" and when he hands them over I give him 20 VC and say, keep up the good work. As I walk away in search of people who want to ride this awesome thing, I noticed someone gawking at it. "Excuse me but do you want to ride it? If so I can give you one of my tickets."

As I say that I show him the ticket concealed in my right hand and sort of halfway give it to him.

Staring up at the great rotating wheel, August couldn't help but gawk as he waited in the line. The questions just would not stop coming, and the more he looked around the more things there were to ask. Just how did people get anything done in this place...?

August's gawking, however, was finally distracted when he heard a voice talking at him. He finally looked across to see who was talking to him. A man with brown hair that put August's own to shame, and in particular, a striking red coat that looked like nothing he'd ever seen before. Was this what fashion was like in the city? He'd have to see if he could find somewhere that had one of those...but then decided it wasn't worth the bother - there was something about his brown traveller's cloak he quite liked.

Anyway, the man was saying something...and as August looked down, he realised what it was. The man was offering a ticket to the giant wheel. "Gosh, really? Are you sure?" he asked, though August figured the halfway offered ticket was enough of permission, and so took it from the man's hands. "I hope all people in the center of the colony are this kind..." he thought to himself as he looked down at the ticket, and then looked back up at the ferris wheel.

"...lookit this thing. Technology sure is something, huh? How can such a huge thing even stay in place?" he asked the red-coated man, casually. "I've been waiting a long time to travel here, but I didn't realise the center of the colony was so fantastic! I can't wait to see what you people come up with next!" August gushed, without really thinking much of whether or not the red-coated man had an answer. As he looked up at the ferris wheel, he still hoped he could pay the man back someday for his generosity. He did his best to commit the red-coated man's features to memory, but he still realised he was missing the most important part. "So, er...what's your name? Just call me August, an honest pleasure to meet you, sir!" he said, holding out a hand for a handshake with the red-coated man.

Hmm, so he is looking at my entire appearance. I think he's from outside the city, I occasionally have those sorts of people at my bar so I can determine them from other people. That and his definitive country appearance which suits him quite well. "Yes I'm quite sure, people's first experiences in the city should be memorable and happy. I have a sort of feeling that you would like feeling your at the top of the world."

"Yeah, it definently is, I even work for one of the main scientists in Parangelia. He says he created cars, which I honestly don't doubt, since he is a genius. Oh, how it stays in one place? Well I think that the main part of it is bolted to the ground. Yeah, new experiences are always invigorating."

"Yeah, you probably won't have to wait too long at that. The birthday for the twin sisters of magic is tomorrow." He is very excited about all of this, I don't think I should disappoint him. "Oh, my name? It's Angatsa, Angatsa Menta, and it's a pleasure to meet you August." I respond to his offered handshake with an actual handshake.

"So, are you okay with 2 other people joining us in it? I kinda want to spread the generosity." As I say that I show him my two other tickets.

"Angatsa?" August wasn't quite sure he was pronouncing the name correctly, but still the man seemed pleasant enough, so it probably wasn't too big of a deal. "Again, a pleasure, sir." Well, it seemed only right to be polite to the big-city folk.

His explanations seemed reasonable and yet at the same time fanciful. Bolted into the ground? How big would the bolts have to be to do that?! If they used small bolts surely it'd rip out of the ground, even if they used thousands! August's mind boggled, so to take it off his mind he listened to some of the other things Angatsa was talking about, especially that the man was from Parangelia.

"You're from Parangelia? I've always wanted to see the Parangelia colony! I mean, one of my grandpa's came from there, he was always talking about how fancy a city it was. I wouldn't know, I mean, I'm just a farmboy from the outskirts of Eirini, but I plan to see it for myself one day. As soon as I figure out how to get there, I guess. But in the meantime, I might even be able to stay for such an even as the Maiden's birthday! Gosh, it's all too exciting!" it was hard for August to maintain his excitement when there was just so much to do in the colony and he hadn't even been there for longer than a few minutes.

When Angatsa mentioned about having a few extra tickets, August nodded. "Sure! I've got no problem meeting more people! Like to know what more city-folk are like. Might even be able to ask where to get some good food around here later. Need to keep up my supplies if I'm gonna be back on the road before too long!" As much as he was trying to calm down a little, August still couldn't help but gush a little. Though he wondered when he'd be able to get on - the line still seemed like it was stretching on forever, but then August was probably just over-excited.

"Actually, the pleasure is all mine. Oh, no, I'm not from Parangelia, I just have a job that requires me going there sometimes. Yes, it is quite the fancy city, but I'm in the thick of it's two most prevelant things. The sciences and the military, which sometimes makes me worry about my lifestyle."

"Well, I already know how to get there but before you even think of going outside Eirini you are going to need a pass. It is quite dangerous outside the colonies so there are ALOT of regulations to go through. Yeah, kinda makes me wonder how I can keep track of all of this." Yeah, these are mighty exciting times to live in, especially with two known magic users ruling the colonies.

"Yeah, that would be a good thing to learn about. But here's the thing, no matter what, everyone is different, remember that and your golden. You want to know where to find good food? Well, I kinda own a bar in the city called "The BradyWine". We have good food and great drinks there, so if you want to you can swing around anytime. Oh, you thinking of travelling some more?"

"Well, I can get you some longlasting stuff for you but it won't taste as good." I can gush with the best of them, and since August likes to talk, I'll talk along with him. Hopefully we can find our other lucky contestants soon or we won't be able to get on it! "2 Free tickets! Two free tickets just by talking to us!"

There had certainly been weirder things that she’d seen in the last few days, maybe it was that she’d spent more time working than normal, or that the word had so much added pressure. Still first the twins, then that whole other thing, the lead up to this day was potholed in the realms of normality alright. That she could remember life had generally limited itself to one act of outstanding strangeness at a time, could it just be because that the 20th was coming up and that meant something more? That’d be stupid, it was just happenstance. So many people coming into the colony from the outside world, some of them would certainly turn out to be on the weird side. You had to be to want to live outside of the colony anyway right? If she got her way then she’d never leave, there was too much chance of never coming back for her, not being safe was paramount to not dying.

In that same breath though, nothing was gained if never ventured. She'd been listening to the two men for a minute or two from a table across from them while she finished a tea. Katherine had been here since early morning checking that nothing had ended up blocking the route and that the overnight cleaners have really put their backs into it, so by now she running low on energy. Still these outsiders, or rather one outsider one stranger seemed a good distraction from that. They were certainly very into what was going on around them, something she’d worked hard for. Certainly she was not above having her ego stroked, so up she got.

The young woman was dressed in a teal blouse, ruffled across the chest and falling over a low cut black waistcoat over a medium length woolen skirt, a dark green that seemed to catch the light with flecks of metallic fibers in the weave. All of these things together did their best to cover her lack of a figure while still being suitable for work. Short blonde hair was the same as it ever was, loose apart from the braid that carried across her forehead, holding it away from her face. Her walk was normal, her eyes brushing over the two but not fixing on them. There were but a few steps between them as the cry went up, reason enough to stop for a moment and flick her eyelashes. A pause maybe long enough to say she was interested, she was certainly not used to this level of philanthropy to being going on in the streets.

Even though he'd already heard what Angatsa planned to do - and while August had no problem with it, he was still somewhat surprised to hear the man shout out about giving away more. Granted, he'd taken a free one himself so who was he to start saying anything. It just felt strange being at what would inevitably end up being the center of attention. He couldn't help but feel just a little shy at the prospect all of a sudden.

After all, he was just an ordinary farmboy. Maybe one day he'd be something special, but for now...just all these people was a little over-whelming, now that their attention was focused on Angatsa and, by extension, August. Still, he put on a smile, scratched his head awkwardly, and just waited to see what would happen.

The waiting wasn't long. As it turned out, one other person did approach them, eventually, a young blonde-haired woman. She didn't say anything...just kinda stood there, expecting something to happen. It probably would. Still...she seemed nothing like the enthusiastic Angatsa. He'd expected city folk would be different, but he couldn't help but be curious about what would be to come, and seeing as she seemed like someone to say hello to, he stuck out his hand towards her. "Hello, miss! I'm...I'm August. Pleased to meet you!" He wasn't quite sure what else to say. Maybe Angatsa was? He'd wait and see for a bit.

Seems that August isn't taking the attention quite well. Oh well, at least it'll be over soon. Wait, that blonde girl is looking at us. Hmmm, maybe she wants in on the free tickets. "Excuse me miss, do you want a ticket?" I guess that's a good enough introduction, now for her response.

You could tell a lot about a person from their shoes. That she worked in an office was evident by her own, from the man named August well she wanted to say a labor of some kind, they were certainly the kind for walking. The other man, older, that was harder to make out, though she had gleamed that he owned a bar, he didn’t seem to dress like she expected a barman to. An odd a pair as they seemed she saw no problem with either of them as she cheerily bobbed her head in answer to the first greeting while taking his hand. Big green eyes flashed up at his and stayed there while he spoke, “I am Katherine, it is lovely to meet you August.” Her smile was warm, friendly and she seemed to relax at once with names out of the way. Her smaller hands retreating to her side as she took a step back. First impressions were hugely important, even with people you would likely never see again. Which is exactly why she seemed thrown somewhat by the once again offer from the older man. It was as if he didn’t care who he was with, only that it was somebody, that seemed odd.

“Thank you sir,” While she could easily buy all the tickets she could ever want, they would be paying for her grace and time, boys were good at that. Looking up skyward she spoke to the both of them in a more playful tone, “I assume it's for the wheel, and it's your first time?” Directed more to August. Her stance was upright, no slouch or dullness to her, like she almost weightless. If they were ready to go then she might have grabbed his hands and pulled him onwards, however since they had to wait for one more. She swayed on her heels and waited for his reply.

August nodded. "Oh yes, miss. First time on this wheel, first time in the city! All my life I've spent as a farmer, but I'm pursuing my calling - travelling around the world!" August decided to tactfully fail to mention that he had no idea how exactly it was that he planned to do this - though really wasn't it just a case of putting one foot in front of the other?

Katherine seemed rather fascinating, especially since she and Angatsa seemed so different. The small world he'd been used to had been much of the same, day after day. He'd only spent a day or two travelling now, but everything and everyone was so radically different, it was a little hard to take note of. Still, everyone had been friendly so far, so at least he had that going for him.

And it even turned out Angatsa even ran a bar! He might go and visit - it'd be the first time in a city bar, so something new to experience. It was hard to even try and keep it all in order. Angatsa still seemed to be shouting out about free tickets, though, and August didn't want to interrupt him. "So, um...what do you do in this town? As, um, a job I mean. I mean, you don't have to answer if it's private, miss, I'm just...there's so much to this town, it's kinda hard to figure out how everyone keeps things working!" August asked, trying to make some conversation. He might not be used to talking to city people, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

"Oh sorry, forgive my rudeness. My name is Angatsa Menta, owner of 'The BrandyWine' bar in this city. Also yes, these tickets are for the the wheel and yes it is our first time going on it. So, would you, Katherine, care to join us in finding another person to accompany us in the high-up sightseeing?"

"... that just sounded a bit too grandiose didn't it? Um, August, it's kinda everyone contributing to each other that keeps things running. Some people do stuff like farming and others do things like sowing, and the cumulative effect keeps this all in tip top shape."

Ok, now that I got a bit of conversational stumbling out of the way now to find that last person.

Traveling the world, that was certainly something. She had entertained the idea, it had a lot of appeal. However it was also amazingly dangerous, unlike Danielle she wasn’t a good fighter. If she had nothing to lose then it might not seem so bad, however, she had a lot to lose. She had a begrudging respect for farmers, they were doing a dangerous job on the outside and they were needed by everyone. They also tended to be somewhat simple in her eyes, working fields didn’t need that much higher function, just problem solving. He seemed nice though and certainly was enjoying himself.

Before she could reply though, Angatsa. So he did have a name and it was eerily similar, odd, yes. Offering him a proper smile now she nodded, “Thank you.” What she thought less of was his explanation of the colony. So while he and his spiky hair turned its attention somewhat away she turned back to August. Two for one, “I keep everything running, not just me. That food gets to the right place, the roads are clear, all the planning that goes into things like this,” Waving a hand towards to ferris wheel, “It has over six thousand nuts and bolts, weighting at over seventy tons and took almost a year to be forged, with several hundred workers.” Stepping around him to stand at his other side she went on, “Everyone knows their job and each of those are designed to keep one part of this running, just like the ferris wheel it all comes together.” Offering a smile she stayed waiting, just being there was enough right? Going about shouting about tickets was covered it seemed.

"Where the hell..?"

As Cyrus stepped out of his house, the first thing that caught his eye was the complete and utter lack of people on the streets. As far as he was aware, there hadn't been any apocalyptic events while he was asleep.

"Was there something going on today?" Cyrus wondered as he rested his chin on his fist. He racked the backside of his brain to remember if today was a holiday, or if there was a public event, or even if there had been an evacuation order and he simply hadn't caught word. After nearly a minute of pondering, Cyrus gave himself a mental facepalm as he remembered that today was the great inauguration of that huge-ass ferris wheel. "That'll teach me not to drink my coffee in the morning." He thought aloud.

Seeing as he had free time to spare today, he made the choice to see what the ferris wheel had to offer. He walked through the crowds, letting out the ocasional "Excuse me" Or "Pardon" when squeezing through groups of people until the wheel was in direct sight.

"Well damn." He muttered as he stood beneath it. Not because of the sheer size of the thing, but because of the sheer amount of time and effort that he realized it must have taken to build. He kept moving forward, but his eyes were set on the ferris wheel.

Unfortunately, as would be the case for anyone who's not looking at where they're going, Cyrus bumped into a figure in his way and fell butt-first on the ground. Looking up at his roadblock, Cyrus saw he bumped into what looked like a well-suited blonde lady, accompanied by a brown-haired man, probably in his twenties, and a dude that looked like the very definition of a countryborn.

Standing up and dustin himself off, Cyrus apologized to the group "Sorry, my bad. Should've been looking where I was going." He started walking towards the beginning of the line, but then he saw that the brown-haired man was holding two tickets instead of one. This caught his attention and forced him to take a step back and look at the man.

"Two tickets? Are you waiting on someone?"

August couldn't help but hang on Katherine's every word, even though it felt like for every question that she managed to answer about the gigantic wheel that spun above them, and the city in which it ran, another question just came up out of nowhere. The way she explained it, it seemed like the city was almost organised like his own farm home - with everyone there knowing their role - except this was on such an immensely larger scale - how could you have so many people working together, keeping everything they had to do in mind? And yet Katherine was being so patient in explaining it, which August couldn't help but be immensely thankful to her for, so he tried to keep a smile even as the ideas whirled around in his brain.

People were so different in this city - you had Katherine whom was somewhat like a teacher, kind and patient in demonstrating how the given system of the world worked, having an interest in such fine details. On the other hand, there was Angatsa - and he fascinated August for a completely different reason, his almost 'wanton' kindness - he seemed like a man whom would give you the shirt off his back without any kind of hesitation - or possibly provocation. What was it that drove him? August made a mental note to visit his bar - the Brandywine, apparently - later. Even if nothing else came of it, at least he'd be able to see what the beer of the city tasted like for a change.

There was so much to think of and so little time...and perhaps that was why August ended up noticing the stranger that talked to Angatsa. Perhaps the fourth person that would finally allow him to see what the world looked like from the top of the wheel? "Oh, hullo, mister! Angatsa, maybe this is the person you're looking to give that ticket to?" August asked - perhaps a little too hopefully for his own good, because the line to get on the ferris wheel seemed to be getting a lot shorter, and it didn't seem like it would be long until they got a chance to go on it themselves, but it would be wrong to just rush on until Angatsa did sell that last ticket - after all, he'd gone to all this effort, surely it was only the right thing to do to wait? The proper city etiquette and all that, hopefully.