Quest 261
They do say history repeats itself, don't they?
This isn't the first time something has happened to the barrier. It was a little over a year ago, now, the first time I recall it happening; it was December, and Sam had been in the hospital, and the animals came off the carousel and started to lead the way out of the City. The barrier started coming down in bits and patches, and people saw all sorts of things through the holes--mostly visions of home, bu some people saw other things, too. Horrible things. And there was a man, one who claimed to be an architect, who arrived and said he'd done this to set us free and encouraged us to leave while we had the chance, but it turned out to all be a trick, and people who tried to escape only found themselves--trapped, instead.
And something happened to it just a few months ago, when we were all on that horrible train, didn't it? I remember looking out the windows and seeing things there, and there were monsters that jumped at the windows. Something went wrong with the Network devices then, too--they didn't seem to work properly while we were underground, and people had trouble calling out. And there was something wrong with the barrier then, too.
This isn't the first time harpies have come here, either, though I've never been here to see them myself. I've heard word of them, though. A cat, a harpy, and Adrastus all came to call a long time ago, and the clock stopped ticking then, too. I wonder if the barrier came down back then? There aren't many people around who would remember it, if it did; still, it'd be a useful thing to know, either way.
Adrastus has come several times, himself. I was expecting him this time of year last year, wasn't I? I always expect him when things like this happen. Last year we were waiting for an angel of death, and I thought he might be the one to come, and he did. I saw him, just for a minute, and gave him the lemon cake I'd saved for him. And then no angel ever came at all. That was this time of year, wasn't it? Which makes Spartacus a year old now, already.
The trouble always comes first, and then a stranger arrives. That architect, the shepherdess. Adrastus and his mother. We've had the harpies for two days now; if a stranger does arrive, it'll be soon. And they'll tell us we're all free to go, and we'll be left to decide, as always, if they're really telling the truth or if it's all just another trick to make us miserable and leave us as trapped as we were before.
The Carousel opens; that's how they got rid of the shepherdess last year. It opened into cogs and gears and they drove all the sheep into the hole it left behind, and the wool came back out of the mountain like an explosion. And the Carousel has something to do with the clock, and if the clock has something to do with the barrier, then the Carousel might be the way to find it. It's all tied together somehow, it has to be, and there must be a way to fix it all. The deities haven't spoken about it, and there's no telling if they will. They have before, but that doesn't mean they will again.
But what matters is staying safe until we figure out how to manage this. It seems as though the harpies are keeping their distance from the city proper today, doesn't it? There are more of them, one can see them flying about in clusters, but for some reason they aren't as quick to come swooping in as they were before. I'm not certain why that might be, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take advantage of it while it lasts. So.
FOR ANYONE IN NEED OF REFUGE FOR THE DURATION:
Anyone is welcome to take shelter at the Warehouse for the time being. We're well stocked with provisions and have plenty of room for anyone in need of a safe place to stay in the midst of this chaos. If the Warehouse is too far to go, please feel free to call me and we'll find a way to bring you here safely; if it's still too much of a problem, I know we're not the only ones offering shelter in the midst of this, so there are plenty of options.
If there's one thing I've learned from history, it's that we all need to pull together in times like this. And if there's a second thing I've learned, it's that things always get better, if one can just hold out long enough to see it through.
[OOC: Yup, she's cursed today; her horoscope for the day is "Today is a reflection of the past, but that doesn’t mean you’re trapped in a loop. If you don’t like where you are, perform acts of kindness to improve your karmic balance. Things should pick up soon!". Hence the tl;dr. Enjoy this blast from the City's past? >>]
This isn't the first time something has happened to the barrier. It was a little over a year ago, now, the first time I recall it happening; it was December, and Sam had been in the hospital, and the animals came off the carousel and started to lead the way out of the City. The barrier started coming down in bits and patches, and people saw all sorts of things through the holes--mostly visions of home, bu some people saw other things, too. Horrible things. And there was a man, one who claimed to be an architect, who arrived and said he'd done this to set us free and encouraged us to leave while we had the chance, but it turned out to all be a trick, and people who tried to escape only found themselves--trapped, instead.
And something happened to it just a few months ago, when we were all on that horrible train, didn't it? I remember looking out the windows and seeing things there, and there were monsters that jumped at the windows. Something went wrong with the Network devices then, too--they didn't seem to work properly while we were underground, and people had trouble calling out. And there was something wrong with the barrier then, too.
This isn't the first time harpies have come here, either, though I've never been here to see them myself. I've heard word of them, though. A cat, a harpy, and Adrastus all came to call a long time ago, and the clock stopped ticking then, too. I wonder if the barrier came down back then? There aren't many people around who would remember it, if it did; still, it'd be a useful thing to know, either way.
Adrastus has come several times, himself. I was expecting him this time of year last year, wasn't I? I always expect him when things like this happen. Last year we were waiting for an angel of death, and I thought he might be the one to come, and he did. I saw him, just for a minute, and gave him the lemon cake I'd saved for him. And then no angel ever came at all. That was this time of year, wasn't it? Which makes Spartacus a year old now, already.
The trouble always comes first, and then a stranger arrives. That architect, the shepherdess. Adrastus and his mother. We've had the harpies for two days now; if a stranger does arrive, it'll be soon. And they'll tell us we're all free to go, and we'll be left to decide, as always, if they're really telling the truth or if it's all just another trick to make us miserable and leave us as trapped as we were before.
The Carousel opens; that's how they got rid of the shepherdess last year. It opened into cogs and gears and they drove all the sheep into the hole it left behind, and the wool came back out of the mountain like an explosion. And the Carousel has something to do with the clock, and if the clock has something to do with the barrier, then the Carousel might be the way to find it. It's all tied together somehow, it has to be, and there must be a way to fix it all. The deities haven't spoken about it, and there's no telling if they will. They have before, but that doesn't mean they will again.
But what matters is staying safe until we figure out how to manage this. It seems as though the harpies are keeping their distance from the city proper today, doesn't it? There are more of them, one can see them flying about in clusters, but for some reason they aren't as quick to come swooping in as they were before. I'm not certain why that might be, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take advantage of it while it lasts. So.
FOR ANYONE IN NEED OF REFUGE FOR THE DURATION:
Anyone is welcome to take shelter at the Warehouse for the time being. We're well stocked with provisions and have plenty of room for anyone in need of a safe place to stay in the midst of this chaos. If the Warehouse is too far to go, please feel free to call me and we'll find a way to bring you here safely; if it's still too much of a problem, I know we're not the only ones offering shelter in the midst of this, so there are plenty of options.
If there's one thing I've learned from history, it's that we all need to pull together in times like this. And if there's a second thing I've learned, it's that things always get better, if one can just hold out long enough to see it through.
[OOC: Yup, she's cursed today; her horoscope for the day is "Today is a reflection of the past, but that doesn’t mean you’re trapped in a loop. If you don’t like where you are, perform acts of kindness to improve your karmic balance. Things should pick up soon!". Hence the tl;dr. Enjoy this blast from the City's past? >>]