⇨ ATLANTIS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: The morning of D44 and onward.
Where: The ocean realm of Atlantis.
What: The carnival abruptly arrives at an underwater realm, and everyone is transfigured into merpeople just as suddenly.
Warnings: Body horror, I guess.

THE CITY OF ATLANTIS↴ The visit starts without much warning, but at least there is a full week of free time before performances start. In the meantime, your characters will be given ample opportunity to adjust their acts for an underwater audience, get used to their new fishy appendages, or just spend the whole time enjoying the sights and sounds of Atlantis city. King Triton will not be immediately seen, but it's possible to gain an audience with him if you get in contact with the ambassadors of the kingdom. Just, make sure that you're not wasting his time. He's a lot less patient with nonsense than the Ringmaster is. ► FISH FRIDAY: You fell asleep, whether or not that's something you usually do, and the next morning you wake up as one of the merfolk. A few last additions may grow in after you're awake, but for the most part everyone will have a method of swimming and a method of breathing underwater transfigured into them upon waking. Don't worry about your belongings - everything is waterproofed, and technology will work the same underwater as it does above it. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty to get used to, though. ► GREAT BLUE YONDER: The ocean realm where Atlantis resides is enormous, and the depths seem to be unending. Despite the fact that there doesn't seem to be any surface, sun glimmers all the way down to the ocean floor. Atlanteans use creatures like whales and dolphins as rides and beasts of burden, and they can be seen swimming in and out of the city as constantly as roadways filed with cars in earth civilization. Beyond that, there's everything you would expect to see on the ocean floor here - huge reefs of coral, both familiar and exotic, enormous ocean plants, deep ocean trenches, and all kinds of weird critters living in them. There are a mix of mythical and standard ocean creatures, and are likely a combined populations of many oceans worth of beings. ► THE ATLANTEAN MARKET: The Atlantean market (aka the "merket") is a long trench between rows of buildings in the middle of the city, lit with bio-luminescent plants and rocks, and filled with all kinds of weird mer stuff that you can buy. There are a great many individual booths, mostly with hand crafted wares and objects that have been salvaged from various sunken ships. The Ringmaster has already traded a large number of goods to the merfolk here, and has taken the profit to award each worker with 100 Atlantean Gold to spend as they please. One gold is worth roughly five USA dollars, for a comparison of how much that is. There is a top level set up below in which characters can make their purchases, and you can also handwave the purchase of random common, necessary items (food, drink, etc) at your convenience. ► TREASURE HUNTING: Right now, the only major salvage areas are a few left over sunken ships that have mostly been picked over by the merfolk. However, you are welcome to head over to them and explore, and see if fortune smiles on you when it comes to finding anything that hasn't been taken yet. The current options are three similar looking brigantine that all probably came from the same world. Merfolk do not seem to consider them to be anything extraordinary, though magical items and gold have allegedly been found within them. Whether or not anything is left, is the real question. ► LIMELIGHTING: Merfolk are curious and generally socially forward, as a species. This mean that they find the carnival's workers to be a fascinating novelty, and also are unafraid to make that fascination obvious. Given the opportunity, merfolk will demand your character's attention for bombardments of questions and for general socializing, especially if they are particularly unusual for some reason. Don't be surprised if you get invited to stay at total stranger's houses, or dragged off to a merfolk bar to surprise party with their friends. They'll let you say no, reluctantly, but they will also be pleased as punch to get up in your gill. It's also possible to make some money, this way, if you're willing to do street performances, or are willing to sell your "skills" in a more private environment. Yes, there are opportunities to become a fish hooker if you are so inclined. Merfolk may also offer money to take you as arm candy to various public events, escort style. They don't consider this to be a particularly socially inappropriate thing to do, either. You can ask general questions about this setting over on the event post. There are top levels below for buying Atlantean merch, and also for making dolla dolla, if your character is inclined to try.

Comments

[atouts]

The thin silver lining is that Childermass won't directly call him stupid. It's obvious enough that he already realized it and that's all that matters.

"Paper would be amongst the first things to go in a wreck, unfortunately," he points out that much, however. It's just a fact, unrelated to the lack of libraries — at least the book-holding variety — or paper sellers in Atlantis. "Unless they had magic similar to what the Ringmaster has done to the carnival."

Waking up to a trailer full of water and floating loose leaf paper had been the worst part of this thus far, right up until he realized everything had been waterproofed.

[kingsroads]

It was waking up to his box of matches floating in front of his face that made Strange panic, then relax, then grumble because even if the matches weren't waterproofed, surprise, they were surrounded by water so they couldn't really stay lit to begin with. Thanks, Ringmaster.

"I imagine that they've got to have some form of writing or number-keeping system, though." If only to help keep track of things. There were shops, they had to keep ledgers, right? "What would they write on?"

This is apparently an important point of confusion.

[atouts]

Childermass is going to consider the question for a good, long, clearly very serious moment before answering, "On fish."

This isn't a real answer, by the way, he knows that isn't what they write on. It's just such an odd turn in the conversation, so go from dangerous sigils and vampires and tarot cards to 'what do merpeople write on'. If he had to give a real guess, it might be on stone, but ultimately he can only shrug and suggest,

"Or you could ask them. I have no doubt they would be more than happy to tell you."

[kingsroads]

Strange knows it's not a real answer and gives Childermass a sarcastic little eye roll for his troubles. "Somehow, I doubt that. A ledger's no use to you if it keeps swimming to a different store."

He's just rolling with the odd turns in the conversation, talking about writing on fish with the same level of seriousness that they were talking about the sigil.

"The next time I find myself performing, perhaps I'll ask the crowd. I'll be certain to report back with that answer as well." Because he's definitely going to find himself on a street corner performing again. It's far too fun and he got paid, something which didn't really occur to Strange until one of the merfolk tried to press some gold in his hand.

His trailer's going to be decked out with the most useless crap imaginable.

[atouts]

Thankfully Childermass will never, ever have to live with Strange's trailer full of useless crap. Good luck, Lars, you'll need it.

"I imagine you could ask them all sorts of things even without a performance," Childermass points out. As fascinating as he's found the merfolk, they've been way too curious about him and that includes trying to talk an ear off. He can only imagine it's the same for the other carnival workers. "Though you do seem to have found your calling with that..."

Because of course he has. Strange likes being flashy.

[kingsroads]

Strange can't help but grin. Yeah, he knows he's found his calling. Performing like this, using magic, being flashy, chatting with people and learning about this place, about magic here, it's everything Strange likes wrapped up in one obnoxious show-offy package. And, a good chunk of that is things that Childermass would probably hate. The other magician's discomfort is expected.

"I am a carnival magician. If the people want a show, who am I to refuse? It's good business!"

And, as shown by that wide smile on his face, it's also quite fun.

[atouts]

Hate is a strong word for it. Childermass would consider himself disinclined towards that sort of thing, that's all, but he isn't about to judge Strange too much for enjoying himself while he can. After the last world, something that isn't outright terrible and upsetting was probably better for him, anyway, provided one got over the entire 'surprise, you're a merman now' aspect of it.

"Better you than me," is the most honest opinion he can offer on that. "If there's nothing else, perhaps we should start heading back."

As interesting as the reef out here is, they aren't going to find any answers around it.

[kingsroads]

"We should." Because the reef is interesting and served as a good place to have this conversation, but...it's a reef. Not that much here aside from fish.

"If I uncover any information, I'll relay it over to you--a note in your mailbox, perhaps, if we don't run into each other again soon." But Strange knows they're totally going to run into each other again, whether it's swimming through Atlantis or Strange just being a massive creep and mirror-traveling right to where Childermass is. That's how these things work.