WELCOME TO NOTT!

[abraxasmods]

WELCOME TO NOTT!

Welcome to Nott! A blend of old world Thorne and new world industrialism, densely packed wooden buildings surround a section of ancient stone architecture at the lake’s edge. The city rises up against the horizon and is easily seen from a distance, lacking any farmland or outposts around it to distract the eye.

The city gates are wide open. Whatever may be happening back at the Thornean capitol, there’s no obvious hint of it here. Busy citizens are going about their day, guards in local uniform patrol the streets with little urgency, and no alarm bells or horns are sounding. It appears,at least on the surface, as though no one is concerned about escaped prisoners here.

But it certainly is a bustling place! Sounds and smells assault the senses right from the gate. The streets are filled with vendors and panhandlers and criers shouting out deals and directions and soliciting money, hawking food and services and shops. There seems to be a tavern or a public house on almost every corner. A cool wind comes off the lake and the scent of the fish market carries through the city. People are everywhere and no one seems to notice or care that much about strangers - aside from wanting their coin.

It’s the perfect place to hide out from Thorne while staying within Thorne’s borders.

Within a few hours of arrival a city guard will approach each escapee from Thorne - regardless of what their standing was back at the castle - to politely inform them that Lord of Representatives Lyle Vela would be happy to receive them at the House of the Lords at any time today. Each character will be given a handwritten invitation marked with an official seal that gives directions to the House of the Lords, a sprawling Old Nott building on the lake that overlooks the city. The invitation is of course optional and there are no repercussions for declining.

Comments

Julie Lawry | The Stand | The Wheel of Fortune

[princessvegas]

[ It had taken nearly a week on horseback for the group to reach Nott. By virtue of being the only one with experience riding a horse when they decided to take them, Julie had sort of assumed a leadership role in this expedition. After tasking Nadine and Lloyd (as well as Susan and Eponine, courtesy of Nadine) with stealing as much gold off the frozen Thorneans as they could, Julie had sprinted to the stables and came back with three horses.

Honestly, it had been quite a while since she was on a horse. Several years, at least. But she'd had an uncle with a ramshackle little farm, and she used to spend time there while her parents worked, so she'd learned to ride before she could drive. When she brought back the horses, she told everyone their names as marked on their stalls, with a kind of respect that she doesn't have for most humans -- she put Lloyd and Nadine on a cream mare named Pearl, Susan and Eponine on a chestnut colt named Spider, and for herself, a big black stallion called Baron. She and Susan, with varying levels of frustration, coached Lloyd through riding a horse.

And so they set off in search of Nott.

For several days, they rode from dawn to dusk and slept on the forest floor, at night. Courtesy of Flagg, the former prisoners had their uniforms transformed into acceptable clothes, so that when they stumbled on the occasional village, they were able to barter for food without being pegged as escapees.

When they finally reached Nott, they found a tavern fairly quickly, mostly out of desperation, and paid for three rooms. Flagg and Nadine to one, Susan and Eponine to another, and Julie and Lloyd in the third. They would still need to find ways to make money, but now they had beds and baths and warm meals twice a day. ]

01 | The First Night [closed to LLoyd]

[ They arrived in the late afternoon and spread out to their separate rooms, eager to get away from each other. Julie had snagged a bottle of wine off a table in the tavern downstairs, then commandeered the bathroom and soaked for hours in the tub, scrubbing herself free of the grime of imprisonment and travel. When she emerges, naked and hair damp, she stands in front of the mirror in the firelight, closely examining the half-inch or so of root that's now showing; as it turns out, her natural color is a gingery red that she has to bleach out to go pink. She makes a face and mutters to herself. ]

I gotta get somethin' done with this.

[ But there's nothing she can really do about it right now, so she tousles her hair and grabs the wine before climbing into bed, swigging off the bottle. She stares at the wall for a moment, like she would if there was a television there, then looks over at Lloyd, offering him the bottle. ]

Hey. I want you to teach me how to go to the Horizon.


02 | Coast

[ Julie has never in her life seen the ocean before arriving in Nott. The closest she'd ever gotten was the Pratt County Lake, a tiny, pathetic thing barely deep enough to swim in. So it's with a quiet sense of awe that she sits and watches the waves roll in and out, absently eating some bread she took from the tavern. It's shocking, how vast it is, and how loud, but it's beautiful and fascinating.

She eventually walks down the beach itself, holding her shoes in one hand and holding up her skirt with the other. Seagulls fly out of her way as she strolls in the surf, breeze blows her hair around, and she stops to pick up a shell every now and then. ]


03 | Horizon

[ The first time Julie returns to the Horizon is like walking back into home after a long vacation. Her domain is a gorgeous nightclub, with a huge staffed bar and a light up dance floor. The music is a perfect volume, loud enough to party but not so loud that you can't sit and have a conversation in a booth. Fancy drinks flow freely, colored lights flash in patterns, and people she's never seen before crowd the dance floor.

But when you turn away from the bar and the lights, the room gradually fades to darkness and emptiness, like an abandoned warehouse in a horror movie. Go far enough into the blackness, and there's the sound of creaking metal and industrial fan blades slowly turning. It's haunting, really.

The side you choose to visit really says more about you than Julie. But she'll meet you either way. ]


04 | Wildcard

[ Anything you want, or contact me at sarahwand or bitchcraft#2753 to plot. ]

coast

[restoral]

[ Bucky is no fisherman, but he's trying to get work in a place where that's definitely the most plentiful work, so he's spent a lot of the day watching people and trying to figure out how he can offer his strength without worrying about the complete lack of skill.

After a full afternoon of unloading boats, he lets himself wander onto the beach with his seemingly-too-big-dinner so he can watch the water and try to plan his next move. He hasn't recognized too many people around Nott yet, but he does pay attention and it's hard to miss pink hair. ]

Hey!

[ He waves a sort of local bread roll at her. ]

You hungry?

[ It's hard to imagine that everyone who fled the castle will be able to unload fishing boats so easily and he's not above sharing what he's got with the others who've fled. ]

[princessvegas]

[ Julie is quite surprised that anyone is calling to her. She's not sure how many Thorne refugees are hiding in Nott, and she only really knows a few people who weren't other prisoners. So she pauses for a moment, as if to process the fact that someone is actually speaking to her.

And then she just heads over to him. She doesn't really see a reason not to. Not much scares you after you walk hundreds of miles to get to a city where you don't know anyone. ]

Did you come from the castle too, or do you just really wanna get rid of some bread?

[restoral]

Well I did come from the castle, but I'm also worried about this going to my thighs.

[ He grins up at her, a little stiff but clearly in good spirits all things considered. Between The War and being a super soldier, the trek here hadn't been bad. He's more worried about the people he's been separated from than his own ability to get by. After all, it's not the first time he's had to flee and live a little under the radar and this time there's only one government potentially chasing him. ]

I'm not really sure how many of us wound up here, but I've seen a few familiar faces. Or haircuts in your case.

[princessvegas]

Ah, I getcha. Fatten everyone up and no one'll notice your chub rub.

[ She actually rode a horse to Nott, so she doesn't think it was bad getting here at all. The whole 'walk across several states' thing was long before she ever got stranded in Abraxas.

She swaps her sandals to the hand holding her skirt, and takes the bread from him. ]

I'm not gonna ruin my hair just because some Renn Faire jackass thinks it's funny to bring people here. But one'a my people is workin' on how to use magic keep it up. Or... y'know, change it. Just in case.

[restoral]

[ Bucky can't help laughing gently, both at the joke and her attitude. It feels like they've all been having to look over their shoulders since they got here, but it's refreshing to hear that sort of fuck it quality. ]

And here I am just covering my metal arm with a sleeve and a glove like a chump. If your friend could do anything to help me hide that, I'd be happy to trade some labor or food or something for it. The one-glove look gets me weirder questions here than it ever did in New York.

[princessvegas]

Why're you coverin' it? That sounds cool as shit. Terminator arm like that, you could be king of Thorne if you wanted to.

[ She grins and cocks her head at him, tearing off a piece of the bread to pop into her mouth. ]

I'm Julie Lawry.

01 | first night

[jealousbitch]

[ If he ever has to ride another horse again, he might drown himself instead so he doesn't have to deal with it. Staying on a horse was intimidating enough, but making sure Nadine didn't fall off, too? He's pretty sure he stayed tense the entire time. Sleeping on the ground hadn't helped much either.

The one thing he hadn't been expecting was the all-over aching that would come from days on end spent on the back of a horse. His whole ass feels like one giant bruise, and his back feels like it's on fire. While Julie's first order of business had been to immediately hog the bathroom, Lloyd's had simply been to collapse on the bed. Grime status be damned, he's fucking tired and is looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in almost a week.

When she finally emerges from the bathroom, he's at least shifted to one side of the bed instead of taking up the entire middle. Propping himself up on his elbow, he watches her with appreciation- damn, she's got a fine body- as she examines herself in the mirror and moves over to the bed. ]

Don't look as bad as you think it does.

[ Even without her ability to primp as she normally does, she's still miles above all the other boring women he's seen around. He does love her vibrant, pink hair, though.

He takes the bottle with a grateful hum of thanks, taking a long and well-deserved swig. He keeps a loose hold on the neck of the bottle, but it's within easy reach for her. ]

Yeah, I can do that. Just uh. Don't think too much coming back about maaaaybe not remembering shit?

[princessvegas]

[ Julie had absolutely not made the experience better by being continuously annoyed and impatient with him throughout the whole ride. But honestly, in her defense, it's ridiculous that he doesn't know how to ride a horse. If she could learn as a young girl, then Lloyd should certainly be able to pick it right up.

Touch and attention starved, she shifts to curl up against him, arms wrapped around his neck and her legs tangled around his. It's the most affectionate she's been since before he brought her to live with him, but she's carrying the weight of imprisonment on top of her abandonment trauma. ]

What does that mean? If I go there, I'll lose my memory?

[jealousbitch]

[ Getting on the horse had been the easy part, balancing and not squirming every time the horse shifted under him was another problem entirely. He's pretty sure his balls are just mutilated by now. Thanks, ya fuckin' horse.

Her arms wrap around his neck and he adjusts himself so they can just lay there, the wine bottle gripped carefully so he doesn't spill. It's a precious commodity tonight and they're both going to need it. His free hand wraps around her back, running up and down her spine. While he hadn't exactly had an empty bed at the castle, it didn't really count because it was Nadine and it was mostly just a comfort thing. They were both kind of pathetic. ]

We did the first time. Remembered everything when we came back about bein' there, but even if you do, you're not gonna be alone. I never brought anyone there, so I dunno what happens. If we get split up, I'm still gonna find you.

[princessvegas]

[ Look, Julie and Susan do not have the necessary experience to help him sit in a way that doesn't mangle his dangles. They tried, they made sure he had at least some semblance of the correct posture, but there are limitations.

This is the most physical contact Julie has had with anyone since she beat Eponine's face in, and she leans into it as she rolls that thought around in her head. She decides that temporary amnesia is acceptable. ]

So what do we gotta do? Should I get dressed?

[jealousbitch]

[ Absolutely no respect around here. He tried and hated it the entire fucking time. If he has to do it again, he'll fucking walk if he has to.

He'll give her whatever she needs. He missed her company, especially when she was so close and yet so unreachable. ]

Nah, you don't have to get dressed. Here's just fine. I think.

[ This is a first, but if he concentrates enough, it should work. Closing his eyes, he rests his forehead against Julie's and focuses as hard as he can about going to the Horizon and taking her with him. At first, he doesn't think it works, but when he opens his eyes, he's back.

Holy shit, it actually worked. ]

Jules?

[princessvegas]

[ Julie watches his face closely, feeling like she needs to imitate him, and closes her eyes too.

When she opens them again, she's sitting on a stool, in front of what appears to be a dead slot machine. She gently touches the lever; she's never seen a real slot machine before. Black rabbits run around her feet as she slides off the stool, peering around the room curiously. Neon lights make her gold dress glitter in shades of electric blue and acid green, and she fiddles with the Wheel of Fortune pendant hanging from her necklace.

She can hear someone calling her, and she tries to follow the voice through the maze of slot machines and card tables. ]

Hello?

Coast

[gardienne]

[There's something about the sea. So often it's drawn lonely souls to it, and even here, there's no exception. Eponine's drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the undulating waves and the salty, rocky beach. She's too scared to edge close to the water: it reminds her of that night in the Seine, and though she knows that her life is better now, she's still worried about what she'd do.

She spends her time further up, letting her feet sink into the sand, letting it squeeze through her fingers and cling to the rough fabric of the dress she had stolen from the town. When she sees Julie, though, she stops dead in her tracks. Considering they escaped together, Eponine's done well to avoid being alone with her. But here they both are.
Eponine purses her lips. The bruises on her face have mostly healed now, but her nose is still crooked, and the terror of being left again in the solitary cell still visits her nightmares. And it's all Julie's fault. She can't help herself.]

Such an ugly dress on such an ugly woman. You suit it, Miss Julie, truly you do.

[princessvegas]

[ Julie, on the other hand, deeply enjoys walking through the waves as they rush up the shore and then ebb back out. She can swim, and it's only because they don't seem to have swimsuits here that she's not out in the water. Eponine speaks and Julie looks up from the surf, her face immediately falling into an expression of pure disgust.

Water flows around her ankles and seagulls squawk in the distance. ]

If it weren't for me, your rancid frog ass would still be back in Thorne. So shut the fuck up before I put you in the water and hold you under 'til the bubbles stop.

[gardienne]

You?

[Eponine laughs loudly and bitterly.]

All you did was have me locked away again. You know they starved me in there, don’t you? You fought me for my bun that you stole and then the guards find it funny to starve me? You nearly killed me. What should Nadine have said to you then, when you killed her favourite?

[Eponine spits hard on the sand.]

I hoped your horse would buck and dash you beneath its paws. Any creature with more sense would have.

[princessvegas]

Bitch, who the fuck do you think got that horse you rode in? Nadine? She don't even know how to ride, let alone tack a horse up. You'da never got outta Thorne without me. And it ain't my fault that you don't know how to stay outta trouble.

[ When Eponine calls herself Nadine's "favorite", Julie cracks up with cruel laughter that she seems to be genuinely enjoying. ]

Her favorite? Sorry to be the one to burst your bubble, but Nadine would forget you even existed if Flagg told her to. She'd murder you in cold blood if he even hinted at it. Ask her what happened in Boulder, if you don't believe me. Ask her what she did. Now fuck off before I see fit to break your nose again.

[gardienne]

Susan got it. Susan did. She said - she promised she would. So don't you take the charm for somat that you didn't do. That is an idiot as well as a horror.

[But it's Julie's words that come next that shut Eponine up. She comes closer. She shakes her head, unsure at first, but then defiantly.]

No. No, she wouldn't. She wouldn't forget me. She wouldn't kill me. She is an angel, a good person, and I shan't have you speaking ill of her.You are a lying bitch if you think so. And worse if you say so.

[All the while, Eponine's been coming closer to Julie. She bends to pick up a handful of sand, her only defence, and throws it hard at Julie.]

You ought to be caned for all you have done, you know? Not sand in your eyes.

[princessvegas]

Susan rode it, sure, but I'm the one who was in the stables. You don't know jack shit about anything, so you should stop talkin' outta the side of your neck.

[ Julie's smile is mean, so mean and so sadistic, and she shrugs. ] Like I said, ask her 'bout Boulder. She puts on a real nice show, but she ain't no better than the rest of us. Worse, probably -- I know I never blew up a buncha people.

[ The sand comes at her and she dodges it easily, jumping to the side, but her face immediately gets hard again when she looks back at Eponine. Her voice lowers to a dangerous silky smooth, like a tiger coiling its muscles to pounce. ]

I already fucked you up once, whore. There ain't any guards here to save your ass this time.

coast

[hardcase]

[ Flagg stands - or rather, hovers a few inches off the ground - at the water's edge. Further down the coast, small waves crash against the shore. Around him they try to rise and then, weak and unstable, they waver and die before they reach the shore.

Flagg's using his telepathy to hold them back. Waves aren't alive but they're still moving, organic things and it's fun to crush them. ]

You've done well, for your first time in a world so unlike your own. [ He doesn't turn to face her, but she's the only one he could be addressing. ] My own world was closer to this one than to yours, but it was already dying when I was born.

[princessvegas]

[ She approaches silently, respectfully, and sits on a driftwood log that's close enough to converse without getting her dress soaked. It's not like she has a massive wardrobe to go change into. Watching the waves, she chews the inside of her cheek for a moment, head bowing in thanks for the compliment. ]

I never knew there was anywhere else out there. What happens when the world dies? I thought I knew, thought Trips was the end, but then you saved us.

[ Y'know, before the whole "nuclear explosion" thing. ]

[hardcase]

When the world dies, you die with it or you find another, my dear. [ Most people, for lack of options, end up with the first one. People who can travel between worlds are few and far between, and the ones who can choose to do so are fewer still. ]

But it takes a long, long time for a world to truly die. There'll always be a couple maggots writhing on the corpse until it's picked clean.

[ He means everyone in Boulder because fuck them for ruining his city, they can have their miserable little ball of plague-ridden dirt for all he cares. ]

[princessvegas]

What was your world like? [ She pauses for a moment, then hastily adds on, in case he thinks she's being rude. ] I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't think I should know.

[ She digs her toes into the sand and chews the inside of her lip, nodding. Frankly, it was more than just the people in Boulder. Is more than just them, and she knows that he knows that, but it makes her stomach turn angrily all the same. ]

And what about this world? Who do you see being left?

[hardcase]

Shit, for the most part. I don't s'pose you've met a man named Roland Deschain, have you?

[ It's easier to explain his own world if he can point to Roland and say 'that fucker lives there'. ]

This world? Maybe no one. They're toying with some nasty shit, I can tell you that. [ The Singularity, he means. Maybe it's the Tower, maybe it isn't, either way Flagg intends to either take it for himself or see what happens when it gets knocked over. ] But there are other worlds than this for us, if that happens.

[princessvegas]

[ She shakes her head a little -- she's never met anyone named Roland. Honestly, she's kind of surprised that anyone Flagg knows from the before times is here. Or maybe she's just surprised at the idea that there might be anyone else like him out there. If they're both from the same world, does that mean they have similar powers? It seems like a reasonable conclusion to her.

She doesn't ask. ]

Do you know what it is, then? The Singularity?