taxonomites | Weather / Adventure Zone

It's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago the city was deep in bone-chilling snow. The city is in the grips of a pleasant spring: warm days, cool nights, crisp winds and all the flowers blooming. The trees boast tender green leaves and the sky is bright blue with puffy, fast-moving clouds.

Since the collapse of the ~~Matterhorn~~ Ice Queen's Lair, the northern section of the city has been shrouded in the same gray, impenetrable fog that had originally obscured the zone.

Today it is blown away by the stiff spring wind. The land to the north of the bridge is hills rising to mountains, forested, filled with clear lakes and rushing streams.

Near the bridge, there is a cabin that serves as a trading post, and is the only immediately visible structure or sign of human habitation.

The leather-faced Extra inside the crammed store is happy to sell you gold-panning equipment, backpacks, tents, fishing or trapping gear... he might even, maybe, have a huntin' rifle available. If you ask nice.

He also warns of bear in the high country, of caves he calls 'Indian burial grounds!' with spooky paintings on the walls, and says that sure enough, there's one of them wendy-gos around somewhere, yessir. You know. One of them Bigfoot things. Still, it's the best time of year to see the high country, wildflowers bloomin' an' all.

Y'all be careful goin' in now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Huh. It looks... sort of a little bit like home out there," Madelyne says on video to everyone. "Sort of a wild frontier western gold rush going on out there. Anyone heading over there, let me know. I'd be interested in maybe taking a hike."

"Holy crap, I'm totally going in. Although I guess I probably shouldn't wear my flip-flops.

"So you're from the mountains?"

"I'm from near mountains, at least. I don't know if you know where Alaska is... some people here do and some don't," Maddy says in reply.

"Alaska? Yeah, sure. Freakin' cold, highest suicide rate in the US of A, giant cabbages. Always meant to visit, never got up there," Jeremy says blithely.

"So you're from up there? Jeez. The blizzard from hell must have been just another day at the office, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm from up there. The blizzard was ... well, that was pretty bad. Usually there aren't ice queens at home, either." Madelyne gives him a small smile, as if almost embarrassed.

"I'd hope not. You were the one who took her down, right? I caught, like, some of it, but I was staying inside. You were all like BOOM BRAAAAAAGH GREEN FIRE AND THERE WAS SNOW AND it was like The Grid but two chicks, uh women, rather than Nova and Agent Jones. Super badass, though. Two thumbs up."

"Thanks. I ... I come from a place where there are a lot of extremely badass people, so I have a lot to live up to," she says with a small grin on her face.

"Oh yeah? I didn't know Alaska was that dangerous," Jeremy grins. "Ninja Polar Bears fighting off Eskimo pirates with machine guns that fire icicles, by the light of the midnight sun?"

"Alaska? No, not specifically. Home, though, is full of people like Logan. You may have met him - short hairy guy with claws?"

Madelyne gives a small smile.

"Aw man. There go my polar bear fantasies. Let a guy down gently, won't you?"

His amusement fades at the mention of Logan. "....uh. Yeah. I ... know who he is. Um. I guess I get what you mean."

Madelyne notes the reaction and gives a gentle smile, "We're not all like Logan. He can be hard to take."

Jeremy puffs up his cheeks with air, lets out a breath.

"I, uh... Yeah. Guess so. He wake on the wrong side of Canada, or something?"

"Canada and everywhere else. I don't know many people who have had as hard of a life as he has," she offers. Jeremy doesn't understand what that says coming from Madelyne but the comment is obviously genuine.

"I guess," Jeremy says with a little shrug. He's not going to argue.

"So you spent most of your life in Alaska, or...?"

It's not quite a field of poppies, it's more of a meadow with some poppies in it. No matter: it's close enough and so has a napping Ozian near the center of it.

The grass is tall enough so that as one approaches the only thing disrupting it is a booted foot perched on a bent knee. Closer inspection will give you Glitch sprawled on a flannel blanket, his satchel of Scientific Gizmos to his left, a bottle of iced tea to his right, and a straw hat covering his face.

There may also be snoring.

Weather / Adventure Zone

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