2025-06-27 - Keebler or Lord of the Rings Elves?

Jaime is all in for traveling off to see unknown worlds with dubious levels of safety involved. He's got on a pair of grey cargo pants, some hiking boots, a long-sleeved black t-shirt, and has a pack slung over his back with some random assorted going-into-the-wilderness stuff like a flashlight, a couple bottles of water, and the like. He makes his way to the portal room and then finds a spot to lean up against the wall out of the way where there don't seem to be any magical runes lit up (don't want to butt-dial the wrong dimension, after all) and waits.

Di yawns as she walks into the control room, not really sure how she made it onto the spelunking list. But everyone and their mother have been going on and on about portals, and as they say, curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

A slow smile drags across her face as she spots Jaime leaning against the wall. "Hey," she greets. She's not nearly as prepared, wearing a pair of black leggings and a strappy sports bra. She had at least thought to wear sneakers. No water bottle. No gear. Exposed arms and belly. Whatever, it'd be fine.

Jack walks in because birds can't drink coffee and travel at the same time. His hands lift in the air seeing the others, and not spilling coffee on himself. "heeey we made it yay. I'm preparing saying that for when we return." The Quebecois has such faith in the trip already. He's in faded black jeans, and an unbuttoned black dress shirt rolled to the elbows over a Dead Kennedys t-shirt. The piano man uniform is this or skinny tie evidently.

"I think we are almost ready. They look," he looks, "Very busy." So much science went into that assessment.

This is what she's here for....right? This is undeniably why Quinn is at the park, part of the project, etc...etc... As such, when she arrives she is prepared in the way only someone who is used to hiking out into the wilderness or crawling through tunnels under the sand can be. The pants she wears are black and loose, the hems tucked into the tops of a pair of very well worn combat boots, plenty of pockets for tucking various things into. Paired with that she's got on a simple grey t-shirt under a heavier button up shirt with long sleeves that have been rolled up to her mid-forearm. Slung on her shoulders is a well worn leather backpack filled with various tools of the trade, including a wide brim hat that's dangling from one of the straps, "Hello!"

Di gives Quinn a wave. She's the only one on this expedition outside of the security escort and medic that she doesn't already know. Her eyes glances down at her outfit, then at her own. She probably could have come better prepared.

When Jean addresses them, Di listens, and nods confirmation that yes, she understands.

The explosion of magic courses through her body as she walks through the portal is met with muttered cursing under her breath in French to the tune of. "Mother fucker, they could have given us a warning about that."

"Hey," Jaime greets Diana with a grin. There's an up-nod and a wave given to both Jack and Quinn as well. When Jean introduces them all though he glances from Jack to Diana and back again. "The Jack?" Apparently he's heard of him. "Nice to meet ya," he adds to the Jack in question. Then his attention is on Jean and their little preliminary intro.

As he moves over to the portal, he takes a look around for a moment and then he takes a step through. Yep, that is one hell of a weird feeling and when he gets through to the other side he says, "I feel like I just ate a very questionable taco." Then he gives a little shake, shaking off that feeling.

Jack greets Quinn warmly, "Ahhh the person we are nice to so we don't get eaten by things. Allo." When Jaime asks if he's him the rebuttle that comes in French first and then English clearing up, "Not if I owe someone money I'm not." The grin goes wry, "You are the one I say nice things to to bring soup? I like you. Don't get eaten."

Jack leaves the coffee cup behind as per the request not to go a littering in foreign worlds. When the thingie activates, and they step through, his hands go up in case- or maybe he's ready to be a bird and bolt. There are even odds. Looking to Diana's exclamation he breaks into Final Countdown for her benefit. "Bada baaa baaa bada ba ba baaaaaa" He can accommodate.

Taking a deep breath though he says "You now that feeling always makes me feel like I'm going to be looking like a lint ball instead of a bird." But they are in- well they're not home. For once, once!, he falls silent in awe.

Quinn lifts her hand to give Diana a return wave, mostly finger wiggles and a flash of a quick smile before she is listening to Jean break it all down. When her name is mentioned as the rep from Magical Studies she gives the others in the party a nod in greeting, but mostly remains silent for the time being.

It's not until they are through the portal with that magical tickle that she points out to Jack, "I don't know that I'm quite the one you need to be nice to to make sure that something doesn't eat you. I think security is far better at the no-eating part....but if you do happen to get close enough to be eaten by something I would say take a sample for the monster fans to fawn over later." She reaches behind her to pat her backpack, "I'm the one you are nice to if you don't want to accidentally read from a cursed book and wake an evil mummy."

Diana might have told Jaime about Jack, but she had yet to get around to telling Jack about Jaime. Luckily, they had an objective to focus on, which with any hope would leave little room for idle chitchat.

"Yeah, and then went on Alpine Escape," she adds onto Jaime's sentiment about tacos as she lifts her eyes to take in the scenery. It is lush, dense with swirling tree branches and foliage plucked right out of one of her romantasy books. "Have you encountered a cursed book?" Di asks Quinn. "You're probably the most useful one here. Jack and I are entertainers. Jaime builds things." If she wasn't already familiar, now she knew. "I guess if we start getting chased, Jack and I would make decent distractions."

"As far as I know, you don't owe me anything," Jaime says with an amused smile. "So I think you're good." The mention of soup has him smirk just a little bit. "I've been known to bring rescue soup from time to time."

But once they are in the other world, his attention is on taking the whole place in, peering into the ruins as they pass them with obvious curiosity, but he's not the one leading the mission so he doesn't stray from the group. "Speaking of birds," he says, "We could probably fly around and scout ahead.." he offers, gesturing to himself and Jack when Jack mentions being a lint ball instead of a bird. "Our shit works here, right?" That's what he'd heard anyway.

Quinn's comment has him chuckling just a little. "I dunno, that sounds like it could make things interesting." Don't let Jaime read from cursed books.

"Oh see this is good news then!" Jack's ultimately easy enough to roll with anything. Looking back to Quinn he says "This is why reading is scary. You are so brave to do this for us. We're going to get you a little clip on cape for your chair." His fingers hold up in a pinch pinch gesture helpfully.

Looking to Diana he says in support, "I do find you very distracting. It's true." Always happy to give nan endorsement. Looking back to Jaime he grins shaking his head, "One way to find out." And with that he turns into a penguin. Looking down at himself he shakes his head and turns into a jackdaw instead. That's the right bird shape.

"I don't know how useful..." Quinn replies with an easy laugh, but she accepts the designation anyways despite the protests before she starts to look around, getting a feel for the area they've found themselves in. Then she falls into step behind Jean and Luis, careful to remain with the group as they begin to pass through the ruins towards what they are hoping is the road.

"Never encountered a cursed book....it's the plot of a few movies, though." She lifts one shoulder faintly in an amused shrug, "But as we have found out all this is real, magic is real....I imagine there is the very real possibility that there are cursed books out there now. Wouldn't you?" The mention of scouting as birds causes her to eye Jaime curiously, then Jack even more so when he turns into the very thing, "Now that is a handy talent."

Di flashes Jack a smile when he calls her distracting. "While you're up there keep an eye out for creatures. I'm pretty sure this is the portal they spotted flying horses," she tells the guys then shakes her head when Jack turns himself into a penguin.

Diana frowns slightly when Quinn confirms she hasn't come across any cursed books (yet). "Huh, interesting to hear that it's actually real and not some kind of elaborate illusion.... or that they are pumping a crap ton of hallucinogens through the vents. But yes, I'd say that is as possible as any of this is. Did year hear about the protestors that crashed the influencer event? I'd love to know your thoughts on their claims."

Jaime's own avian form is a peregrine falcon which he shifts into when Jack becomes a jackdaw, and off he lifts into the air above the treeline, beginning an outward spiral as Jean recommended, seeing if there's anything they can spot through the canopy that might give them an idea where a road might be. It's easy to see the parting in the trees where the river is to the north. And so he looks for a similar spacing in the opposite direction, where trees would have been cleared.

Jack in his bird form is smaller, in greys and black, but at least not a flightless penguin right now. The wings stretch and he looks to Jaime-Falcon with a flash of wings in that 'wanna race?' way. The little head bob might play into it. Jean gets a 'Craaw!' of agreement. He splits into two- birds and takes off forward and to the right. One goes a circle over the top of the trees looking down; less a scouting mission, more of a sight seeing tour.

"Protestors?" Quinn shakes her head a bit, "No...hadn't really heard anything about any protestors crashing that influencer event. What was it they were saying?" She shoots Luis a look when he mentions that they were all coked out of their minds, amusement flickering across her features for a split second before she turns her attention back to Diana in hopes that she'll get the answer to the question that she posed.

As they continue along the path she pauses, and even though Jean had mentioned that the ruins had been picked fairly well through she takes a moment to scuff the toes of her boot against the path. It's a brief pause, then she moves to catch back up the short distance she may have fallen behind.

Diana follows the ground crew down the path, wandering to the sides to admire the rocks, and trees, and the way the sunlight streams through the leaves. So far, no critters.

"Shut up! Really?!" Di gawks at Luis' gossip. "Would explain a thing or two." Di looks back over at Quinn. "Yes, they said Spellbound was unsafe, that we are being lied to, so on and so forth, I was a few drinks in admittedly."

Di does wander off slightly path when she spots fuchsia colored flowers, and picks several to bring back home.

Jaime circles but doesn't see much other than trees and more trees and more trees, valley, hills, and what might be something way off in the distance. << There might be something near the head of the valley. There's.. smoke? Could be camp fires? Could be a town? It's a ways off. >> This, he relays back to Jean directly, and then circles back down to come in for a landing, shifting back into human form and repeats for the group. "Smoke in the way distance. Could be a town. Could be a campfire. Or something just.. caught on fire. But I didn't see a road."

There's a slight roll of her eyes when Diana reveals what exactly the protestors were saying, "So the typical anti-corporation bullshit..." Quinn sighs a bit, eyes flicking briefly once again in Luis' direction at his newest input, "First...of course corporations and big business is unsafe, and of course there are some that absolutely lie, partake of shady practices...I'm not discounting the veracity of what they say in general." There's a brief pause before she continues with providing her opinion of just what they said at the protest, "It is obviously unsafe, life in general is. But the risks are understood and accounted for, and safety is of utmost importance. I have been on digs where all that stands between us and falling to our death is a rickety wooden structure and a rope that is on it's last leg....but the reward? Worth the danger."

Whatever else she was going to add to this is lost as Jaime returns to the group, and she quickly switches train of thought, "How much smoke? A lot...a small amount...multiple..."

"I always wonder if some parents regret this particular vacation. Trying to convince a fire breathing 6 year old to eat a vegetable doesn't sound fun," she laughs as she makes her way back to the path. "Yeah, more or less." She then is quiet long enough to listen to Quinns hot take, and she nods in agreement, then offers her a flower. "Guess there are a couple better rewards today at least." The flower has a fuchsia base, but shimmers golden in the sunlight. It isn't like anything Di has seen before.

Di is back on the path by the time Jaime turns back into a man. "Do you think there are people living in this portals? Was it controlled or moving?"

One of the jackdaws is inspecting the trees looking for interesting things that will not treat him as a very stylish chicken nugget, and the other is being useful. There's a call out of a baleful ca-craw! as he does a couple of circles over the trees. Jaime should have good eyesight in this configuration so maybe he sees it. Getting back to the portal is slightly trickier but he heads back.

One of Jack lands on the rock and the other lands in a way trying to shove the first one off of it. The shoved one transforms back into a person to report, "Good news," he looks down at the other him-bird and flips it off with a grin. "The good news, maybe, is I found a bridge roughly, eeeh that way. So there are beings who have built bridges but something might be over there. Almost caught a branch to teh face on teh way back but I don't think that counts as 'concerning wildlife."

"It didn't seem to be moving," Jaime says with a shake of his head. "There were a couple of plumes that I could see. But they weren't going anywhere as far as I can tell." He wasn't up there a long time, but long enough that they seemed stationary, anyway. "Nice flower," he comments on the bloom passed from Diana to Quinn. He grins over at Luis and says, "I'd be a goat for free snacks, too." Has he done something like that in the past? Perhaps.

"Something had to build that....and the bridge." Quinn offers, motioning back towards the ruins with the newly gifted flower before she tucks it into her hair, then she's starting to follow when they begin to start moving off again, adding to what Jean says about being careful in a bit of a lower near-whisper, "The prime directive."

Diana laughs at Luis's story, then tucks one of the blooms behind Jaime's ear. "Don't worry, didn't forget about you," she winks. "Would you really want free snacks if they're goat pellets? Sure, I'd want to be a goat too if they were passing out cheese and sour straws but those dry pellet things look ick." She makes a face.

"All signs point toward people," Di says quietly. Bridge. Fires. Paths even if they were old.

As for the something Jack's hand wobbles and he says "Eeeh no one really built the tree house we come in through, but I'd like to think that is still an anomaly." Jack chuckles and says "I do not want goat food. Flower's cute." This he does agree to. The self-that-remains-a-bird hops up onto his shoulder as he points 30* that way. "Was this direction, but there were a lot of trees so don't fall into any holes I'm not warning you about."

Jaime flashes a grin at Diana as she tucks a flower behind his ear and says, "Merci. Sometimes it's corn and peas! That's not so bad." He makes no comment on the taste of the pellets. Perhaps he hasn't tried them. Perhaps he's not going to admit that he has. Glancing over at Jack he says, "Yeah but that was.. I mean I guess some sort of machine could be building things here too, but that seems like a less likely explanation than that there's some people that built it, right?"

With his hands in his pockets, he falls in as they make their way through the woods and find their way to the road, "Well, that looks promising. How long you figure it takes a dirt road to completely overgrow?"

Jack gets two flowers, since there are two of them, and with the final one tucked behind her ear, she has free hands again.

Di looks at Jaime skeptically when he comments on the details of the petting zoo offerings. Something to ask about later.

"A machine could," Di agrees as the road comes into sight, introducing more questions than answers given the obvious neglect it's suffered over the decades. "It's just strange that these roads have been abandoned if people are still living here," she muses. "I guess they could have new roads somewhere else, but it makes you wonder why." As far as Jaime's question? Hell if Di knows. "I'd assume a long time."

Quinn's quiet for the rest of the trek to the bridge, and even after they arrive at the road, looking down at the ruts in the road as they begin to head towards where the bridge is.

It's the bridge that seems to get her moving a little more quickly, heading closer towards it before she comes to a complete stop. There's only a moment of hesitation before she starts to carefully move out onto the bridge, going slow enough that if the missing stones mean the bridge isn't as sturdy as hoped she might have some warning before dying. Once she's out a foot or so onto the bridge she comes to another stop before taking a slow breath, and then she seems to focus on something, brows furrowing a bit as she seems to be focusing on something unseen.

Whatever she's watching eventually seems to cause some amusement as she lets out a brief laugh at something as she ventures towards the left side of the bridge, turning like she's watching something pass her. She doesn't seem to notice what the rest of the group is doing while she's staring into space, reaching out towards the center of the bridge again, holding her hand out as though she were touching something.

Jack says to Jaime, "And a guy, he did build that so, it goes back to like 'a person'. I'm with ya." He stands till to accept two flowers in his ear, though the bird on his shoulder snatches one. That one is his and Jack reasons, "Eeeh it'll keep em quiet." He is not above giving himself shit too. "Ah perfection, thank you."

When they find the bridge he says "Ah lucky- er good job me. go us. I don't know about the road. Depends on what the seasons are like, disposition of the trees? Is a very good question. He looks at the road and asks, "Why are you like this?" He pauses and looks to teh others with a shake of his head, "Ya know I didn't expect that to work but it doesn't hurt to ask. I don't know the rules around here." Looking to Quinn he asks curious, "Yooou okay there, Quinn?"

Jaime nods to Jack, "It usually all goes back to somebody messin' with something."

When they get to the bridge he steps out onto it, wandering along the edge and peering over the side into the water curiously. "There's fish in there," is his very astute observation. Though he glances over at Quinn curiously as well. "It's not the flowers.." Because he's got one and he's not zoning out. "No weird poppy action."

Di turns her head toward Quinn, moving closer to the bridge, unable to see whatever it is that Quinn appears to be seeing. She then picks up on Jean, staring into the trees, and suddenly even she's on alert. Something feels off.

"No, it isn't the Wizard of Oz but something we can't see." Obviously. Obviously, it's something only Quinn is seeing. Di looks back toward the brush, thinking she saw a rustling of leaves. But it's probably the wind. Still, she's stepping closer to the others.

Luckily she doesn't try to walk off the bridge into the river! She doesn't respond to Jack and Luis asking if she's okay, though, doesn't even seem to hear the questions, or even notice that Luis has moved closer to her. Instead she seems to be very focused on whatever it is that she's seeing, starting to move back towards the road after a moment, her expression growing curious again as she starts to slide her backpack around off one shoulder so that she can rummage around inside it.

As soon as she's about a step or three from the end of the bridge she's pulled out a notebook with a pen tucked into it, flipping it open to begin taking notes. Blissfully unaware of whatever it is that seems to have caught Jean or Diana's attention.

"It always goes back to someone messing with somethin." Jack echoes back in agreement, though the dialect is off. Efforts were made. Both eyebrows lift watching Quinn wave her hand a bit, maybe for balance or to cast a spell. "We got fish." The jackdaw flies over to perch on the railing and look curious. Jack reminds his bird-self "Don't go eating anything local. We promised and have a show tonight."

"You know," he muses to no one, "If there's a troll collecting I'm mostly plastic right now. I do have a a bouncy ball though. I don't know that's going to help as currency." In case. He's seen movies. "This is really a pretty view. I could do lunch here."

Jaime peers over the edge of the bridge, trying to see under it, but that's not possible from where he is, so he wanders around to the bank and looks underneath. "I don't think we've got trolls," he says as he tries to see what might be down there, but there doesn't seem to be anything hiding under the bridge. "I can be a horse or something, if we want to carry her back." He moves over and waves his hand a little in front of her face. "Quiiii-iiin, come back to us Quinn."

"Picnic would be nice," Di agrees with Jack.

"What about water sprites? Fairies?" She was clearly seeing something that the rest of them couldn't. And Di huffs a little jealous huff, because how cool.... so long as she wasn't being possessed then not so cool.

"Maybe give her another minute or so? Whenever she snaps out of it whatever she's writing down might be helpful."

Jack looks to Jaime and says "Serious? I want to ride around on you now." He pauses to correct that but shakes his head, "I meant that exactly how it sounds. That's great. I can just do birds." He's not lamenting it, but can appreciate when people have a broader array of their talents. Looking to Quinn there's a look of concern and then to Diana and Jean while Luis wrangles Quinn in case hazards. "Well, the good news is we are not being haunted. But it is giving me an idea." A hand reaches out to Diana's arm with a squeeze for the good idea of letting her do her thing. "I'm a check something here."

He pauses and looks around, "Heeey there. Anyone available to maybe answer a question?"

"Try elves and....gnomes?" Quinn offers to Diana instead, dropping herself right into the middle of the conversation without seeming to be aware of the start of their conversation.

The notes are written in quick, neat print, and she gets about halfway down the page before she glances up at Luis, one brow lifting upwards at him. But for those that aren't reading over her shoulder, and aren't aware of what she's writing, she supplies some insight into it, "At some point, I couldn't say when, this was a thriving road...looked like perhaps it was a main thoroughfare, used for trade. If I was pressed....I'd say connecting towns on either side, maybe even farmland. But these were heading....that way." She points towards the south, "Horses, carts...explains the road some. Technology roughly equivalent to generic Hollywood fantasy slop....so what we'd be most familiar with in actual history...Middle Ages?"

Jaime smirks and gives Jack a little wink before he turns his attention back to the others, "I like not being haunted. Unless it's mom. Mom's alright. But she wouldn't be here." When Quinn says elves and gnomes though he raises both brows. "Seriously? Flying horses and elves and gnomes. This place gets better all the time." Even if they haven't seen a flying horse, themselves. Though when Jean suggests that it's time to turn back he says, "Next time.. maybe we should bring ah, horses, or something, to travel further faster." Then he squints, "Can horses even fit through the portal? Can we even get them into the portal room?" These and other questions.

"The Lord of the Rings or cookie kind of elves?" Di asks Quinn, allowing Jack to take her arm, and she instinctively steps a little closer to him, despite his calling out to potential spirits. Jaime's wink gets a look. "You promised not to like him more than me," she reminds him.

She then turns to their guides, who are ushering them back toward the portal. "I'd like to come back," she agrees with Jaime. "And maybe we just need more people who can turn into them. We got you here."

Jack says to Jaime, "Not to be weird, but you'd be surprised sometimes who people bring with them on things." The pianist waves a hand, "A for later discussion surely." Blinking Jack asks, "These like the donut elves because I missed out on that one. Those elves and I need to catch up."

When Diana lets him know he can have her arm now he takes it and then gestures to Jaime, "Do people like me more than you though?" He squints at her warily and then shakes his head "Jaime you tell us you are a horse than to bring a horse. I don't now which it is but if this is you getting us all to ask you back then yes, pretty please, do come, bring soup. See, is very easy."

At the end of this he asks "Quinn was that like getting a vision or like eating the dirt and knowing the land's history? How do you manage this? It's very cool."

"Mmm.....Lord of the Ring elves." Quinn replies with a nod, starting to the road in the direction of the portal, tucking the notebook back into her bag, "I also vote for quicker travel next time." Once everything is carefully packed away she glances at Jack, "It's like stepping through a doorway into the past."