paixaorpg | Foundation Day Festival: At the Entrance

Character(s): everyone entering the festival by the gate
Content: weapons confiscation, greetings, etc.
Setting: Joco da Crianca Fairgrounds, entrance
Time: all day~
Warnings: Multithreaded posting format (please include time of day and sub-location in your comment's subject line)

For the festival, the Jogo da Crianca fairgrounds have been ringed by a modular eight-foot-tall iron-bar fence. Signs all around the vicinity point to the entrance, which is the only large gap in the fence. Because this is Paixao, there is a line to get in, but it moves quickly.

At the front of the line is a small security team; as people enter, they are asked to check their weapons or dangerous items with festival staff. Once unarmed, they are given a receipt to pick up their items on the way out, as well as one complimentary raffle ticket, and are allowed to proceed into the fairgrounds.

Just inside the entrance are two tents, one labeled "SECURITY / LOST AND FOUND," and the other labeled with "FIRST AID" and a large red cross.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I AM NOT OFFENDED, Death replied simply, pulling his scythe from seemingly nowhere, the blue-edged blade humming softly in the morning light. I AM SIMPLY MAKING A POINT. He tucked the scythe away again, seemingly into nowhere. IF THEY DO NOT KNOW I HAVE IT, THEY CAN NOT TAKE IT FROM ME.

INTERESTING, he commented. ALL OF THE WIZARDS I KNOW HAVE HAD YEARS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING. YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. It was not an insult, but a mere statement of fact. I AM CURIOUS AS TO HOW YOU BECAME A WIZARD WITHOUT THAT BENEFIT.

"Point taken." Kit shrugged. "It makes sense."

He nodded, listening to Death talk. "Well, mostly we learn on the job. We tend to get a small break from when we take our Oath, but not very long... in most of the instances I've seen, you get less than a week. You're thrown into your Ordeal, which is basically..." He had a feeling it would get to this. "Basically where we're thrown against our version of Death. The Lone Power. Most of what wizards do is try to help slow down the heat-death of the universe. And so we're tested. Not all of us make it out alive."

IS THAT SO, Death replied. As interesting as it was to hear about the wizards of another world and their training, he had to wonder about their ultimate goal. AND IS THE DEATH IN YOUR WORLD A MALEVOLENT ENTITY OR SIMPLY AN INEVITABLE OCCURRENCE? He wouldn't have been surprised to receive either answer at this point.

"Oh, He's malevolent all right." Kit kicked at the ground gently. "He likes to mess with sentient species and try to make them accept painful deaths... a good portion of the species fall for it. He's a trickster and a deceiver. The Father of Lies, too. He's got lots of titles... almost none of them are good."

Christopher was no longer speaking Death's language, and he was finding it difficult to comprehend. YOU ARE TELLING ME THIS ENTITY NOT ONLY CREATED THE IDEA OF DEATH, BUT ENFORCES AND CAUSES IT AS WELL? This fell far outside his bounds. Contrary to popular (and misguided) belief, Death did not kill people; rather, he simply helped them to cross over after they had been killed by something else. Only in rare circumstances would he cause anything to cease living - a scythe that could cut the very soul out of a body was not just for show, after all. But to be the cause of death instead of just a part of its cycle, and to do it on a consistant basis...that was unthinkable.

And suddenly, Death understood. SO YOU ARE FIGHTING A GOD, THEN.

"Yeah. That's pretty much what He does." Kit sighed.

And then, when Death spoke again, he knew that he had gotten through. "Yes. In essence... that's what the Lone Power is. A god."

Death had no sense of tact, only of truth. Fighting a god was often suicide for anything mortal and, depending on the god, for some things that weren't. YOU ARE EITHER VERY BRAVE OR VERY FOOLISH.

Needless to say, conversations with Death often got rather awkward because of this.

GOOD LUCK, he continued, distractedly flipping open his journal, seemingly oblivious to the potential implications of his previous statement.

After several moments, he flipped the journal shut and looked at his companion. CHRISTOPHER. I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU ON A RATHER SERIOUS MATTER.

"Something like that, yeah. Not sure which, but at least we've got to try." Kit waited patiently while Death flipped through his journal and didn't ask. It was probably none of his business, anyway, and a wizard knew when not to pry.

"Thanks, and... yeah?" He tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

I AM TO MEET A COMPANION OF MINE HERE TO DISCUSS MATTERS THAT AFFECT EVERYONE IN THIS CITY, Death replied, well aware of the implications of his words and wondering if his companion had even been in the city for that long.

He hated to turn this power on anybody he liked, but unsure times called for very decisive measures. When he next spoke, his voice had a certain tone that had not been present before, one expecting the absolute truth in a question's answer and complete obedience in response to any command. For all this power, the question in itself was quite simple. CAN I TRUST YOU?

Kit recognized the tone a little, he thought, and knew that he had to answer truthfully, which he always tried to do anyway. He nodded. "Yeah. You can trust me. I try not to lie, anyway. So you can trust me."

GOOD, Death replied. I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. They had reached the weapons check, after all, and Death was not about to discuss something so sensitive in front of strange - and to him, lifeless - faces. He waited mutely as the security glanced at him and, seemingly unperturbed, okayed him to enter the festival. He received his raffle ticket and stepped through the entrance, turning and waiting patiently for his companion to go through the same process.

Kit smiled, and held out his hands, showing that he didn't have any weapons. The guard nodded to him, and waved him through. Kit picked up his raffle ticket and looked at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was for. Then he decided it didn't matter, tucked it into his pocket, and went through the entrance, walking over to near where Death was.

Foundation Day Festival: At the Entrance

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