A much deserved vacation day!

[itookashot]

Who: The Free Cities Summoned
What: Beach Party Episode, aka the Summoned take a break and enjoy the new portal
When: June 6thish, post Nocwich weekend. We can timey wimey it folks.
Where: Aquila!



[ooc: these are just suggested prompts, please feel free to roll with any ideas you have! Thanks to Hannah for sharing the code. Descriptions about Aquila are taken from the settings page here and credited to the mods. A player-made Pinterest mood board was created here for inspiration, but keep the world of Abraxas in mind for the reality.]

The Aquila Portal / Time to Go!

An invite shows up on the network from Jesper Fahey to the Free Cities Summoned stating the following:

Hey everyone, I managed to score funds from our money makers to have a group outing through the Aquila portal. We deserve it, don't you think? We did vote it into being after all. So get out your beach day clothes (or lack thereof) and meet at 9 AM tomorrow. If you come later, I'll let the portal people know the list allowed. They've got chairs and such to rent there, so don't worry if you don't have anything helpful.

Let's party like we're in the Horizon! If you need some extra cash while there I know the people to beg.

PS - No arguing, Crows. (That means you Kaz.)

True to his word, Jesper will be waiting at the newly opened portal to mark the Summoned so they're allowed to get through with the money he's collected. He'll smile and wink at them as they go through. He is dressed casually himself for this outing and in high spirits. Summoned can meet up here and go through together if they'd like or maybe be persuaded if they're not really sure about it.

Welcome to Aquila!

Aquila is the world's fastest-growing economy and the scenery in Aquila is also considered some of the most beautiful, with both the mountains and beaches of Andromeda Bay nearby, making it a popular destination for vacationers.

The beach may be exciting, but it isn't the only part of Aquila to enjoy! The massive public market takes up most of the city's center. Anything you might want can be found here. Countless booths and stalls and carts fill the town's center, and traders from all across the nation congregate to offer their wares. From raw materials such as fabrics, dyes, exotic wood and stones, to finely crafted artisan everything. Furniture, clothing, foodstuffs, weapons, art, magical oddities, it's all here. The market opens at sun-up and shuts down sometime after sunset - plenty of sellers will linger, hoping for one last sale of the day.

Art and fashion thrive in Aquila. Studios and galleries of art are scattered all over the city and artists sketching or painting out on the streets or on the nearby beaches are a common sight. This is the time to go looking for new clothes as seamstresses and tailors are all looking to outdo themselves and create the next big fashion statement.

But if it's the beach fun you're looking for ....

Fun in the Sun!

It's more crowded than usual in Aquila thanks to the emergence of the portal, but the Summoned will manage to camp out their own area on the right side of the beach and have freedom to enjoy themselves alone. Nearby one of the entrances of the beach is a local business called The Wave Palace. There people can buy or rent chairs, cloth to sit on, hats, and other beach items to feel more comfortable.

Once settled onto their spot on the beach, the Summoned can enjoy a full day of various activities to either relax or be active. They can swim or race to see who is the better swimmer, do the same on a sand race, and head up to a popular nearby cliff that is perfect to jump off of. Challenge each other to the perfect dive or laugh if someone ends up belly-flopping.

Anyone can lounge comfortably in the sun or maybe they want to get creative and build sandcastles. They can rent bowls and sticks and other instruments at the shop to gather sand correctly. Maybe your castle is remarkably impressive or dismal at best, but the point is to have fun. If you're feeling mischievous you can bury a friend in sand, or even a stranger if you want to test fate. You can find rocks or shells to collect and bring home as a reminder of the trip here.



There is a bar down the beach called The Wave Crash Pub where people can sit and listen to live music or carry drinks back to their chair. At some point in the day, someone suggests playing a game of volleyball or something similar, and a net and ball can be found to set it up. Test your might against each other and no cheating! (Just kidding, cheat away.)



As the day comes to a close, stay long enough to watch the sunset together or do some night swimming to cool off. When it's time to go home, don't forget to either return your rented items or decide to buy it. See if you can convince a friend to get a keepsake or ask their opinion of one on the way out. Hope you all had fun in this beach day episode!

Comments

[theidlemaiden]

[ Hilda shrugs. ]

Are you really asking me?

[ Aside from not being a local, she's probably the least likely to know where volleyball came from. She isn't even entirely sure she listened to the rules properly when they had been explained to her in the first place. And if that's the case this game with Steve is probably going to prove to be interesting.

She dips under the netting to stand on the other side doing some half-hearted stretches that she had seen others doing before they started their games. ]

Most of the locals I've seen seem to like it though, so it must not be a very new thing. Is it really popular where you're from?

[assembles]

I don't know about really popular, but usually if people are gathered on the beach at least a few people are going to set up a net and play.

[ Steve hadn't really expected an answer from Hilda on that question, and was more thinking out loud, but he isn't going to dwell on it too much. It's probably not that strange that a similar game would develop on some other planet. There are only so many ways to manipulate a ball.

He tosses the ball up overhead and catches it a few times, getting used to its weight and how it travels through the air. He doesn't expect Hilda to know the rules perfectly and he doesn't particularly care; they can just do their own thing.

He is pleased to see her stretching, though, as he always makes a point of that at the start of their sessions. He drops the ball into the sand for a moment so that he can follow suit, still wanting to set a good example. ]

There's an indoor version too. Back home, anyway. A lot of people play it in school, but also recreationally like this. There's professional players too.

[ Are sports a thing in Fodlan? ]

[theidlemaiden]

Professional players like...they do this for a job?

[ When she stops to think about it, it makes sense. People in Fodlan did hard labor (funny that she was attributing volleyball to hard labor already and they hadn't even started playing) to earn a living, but she knew few people that did any of that for fun. Or maybe they did it enjoy it and her noble upbringing was showing.

Not that Steve had asked this either, but she's already quick to toss the idea into the bucket of jobs that she would never consider. It sounded like far too much exercise for her tastes and she was only doing this as a bold sacrifice for the greater good. The greater good being future Hilda. ]

I don't think we even have anything remotely similar. Jousting and competitions to show off how skilled somebody is might be the closest thing that we have. Did people go and watch the professionals play too?

[assembles]

[ Steve nods, unsurprised to find that this is kind of an odd concept for Hilda. People getting paid to play what was originally a recreational sport is pretty odd if you think about it too hard, but those athletes are the best of the best and people enjoy watching it. That's enough to make it a lucrative business.

It's not like Steve hasn't enjoyed his fair share of ball games in his time. ]

That's right. [ He draws his arms back down and then starts to do some lunges in the sand, followed by some gentle twists from the waist to either side. ] Jousting's not a bad comparison, actually. People do watch, both live at the stadiums and on television all over the world.

[ He pauses then, wondering if he'll need to explain TV too. It depends on how much time Hilda's spent in other people's Horizon domains. He eyes her through the net. ]

Do you know what TV is? Sam has one in his domain, but I'm not sure if you checked it out when you were there.

[theidlemaiden]

[ Grabbing a hold of her ankle to stretch her quad, Hilda wobbles a little bit, unsteady in the sand in her attempt to find balance. She manages to find it and a triumphant little smile curves onto her face.

Recognition sparks in her eyes at the mention of a television. The same can't be said about stadiums, but she figures it has to be a place to watch something if what Steve said is any indication. ]

He had one playing during Thanksgiving! [ At the time she had asked how they stuffed tiny people into the television and had quickly learned that wasn't the case. ] As convenient as it would be to watch that from the comfort of my bed, it'd be such a shame to miss out on the atmosphere. It seems so exciting!

[ She hops to the other foot. ]

Did you go to a lot of them? Sporting events I mean.