Welcome to the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises allow you to develop your characters in a setting shared by other authors and their characters. No sign-up is necessary; simply look over the last few pages and hop on in. If you need questions answered or a recap, head over to our discussion thread
and ask; we’re happy to help. There's also a trope page (with location descriptions and other info).
Archipelago is semi-casual — no violence on the central island, but the rest are fair game. Other islands are built on-the-fly by the tropers whose visiting them, but you should probably grab a few others before having your characters head off — there's not much point wandering an island alone, since this is supposed to develop characters by bouncing them off one another and putting them in unusual situations. Be sure to communicate with the tropers you go with so you're on the same general page.
With thanks to, among many others, Gault, who came up with the initial idea, Nrjxll, who wrote the first draft I shameless ripped off, and the various people who contributed to the trope page location descriptions.
[[Current Time: Early Morning]
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL INTRO FOR THIS THREAD
This has made the hub island something of a designated neutral ground for various strange characters and dimensional travelers. A small cluster of buildings has sprung up near the one natural harbor and its dock: a couple of bars, a couple of casinos, several shops, and even the cheap but comfortable Pax Island Hotel. This is not a tourist trap, though, as much as amenities for the visitors that come here for various reasons. The Hotel's entrance leads out to a central square, with a shamelessly cheesy tiki bar calling itself the Big Kahuna and the Pax Island General Store being the most obvious, though not the only, services.
Inland, the island is covered in jungles that rise steeply into a central mountain, covered in ruins that don't seem to exactly match any of the local cultures. Apart from that, though, they're harmless and unrelated to the area's strangeness. The population on the island, humans of mixed origins, are quite used to the strangeness of their island, staffing the amenities and filling newcomers in but otherwise keeping to themselves.
Beyond this hub island, the archipelago grows more mysterious and dangerous. Fogs often cover the ocean, and compasses and other forms of navigation don't always work right. There are at least a half-dozen other islands at any one time, but that's all anyone can say for certain. The docks on the hub island offer numerous boats for visitors to travel to these islands, either under their own control or with the aid of a local sailor. Of course, there's always an element of risk involved with visiting these islands, because you never know quite what you'll find. One rule has proven consistent, though: any truly catastrophic event on an island tends to result in it vanishing into the fog, never to be seen again.
edited 27th Jun '14 6:59:52 PM by KillerClowns
Moon
Kaguya let her hand fall back to her side before turning to face Cyana.
"Don't worry too much about the language thing," she said, "I've been speaking such a language since I've been able to talk and it still trips me up sometimes." She weakly chuckled at this, before moving on.
"I am liking this experience so far, even if it is a bit stranger than what I'm used to," she gestured around her to indicate the moon, "But at the same time, I'm not so sure if I'm comfortable with the possibility of going out where no...um...human, or youkai for that matter, has gone before. I haven't even gotten used to this quite yet, and I've...stepped a little out of my usual boundaries just by accepting your offer to bring me here in the first place." She made some sort of half-frown. "Though I am considering it, because as scary as it sounds it also sounds...really exciting. Maybe after I get used to this, and maybe after you've met Hayate-sama and I've explained what's going on to him. Though he's probably going to talk your ear off first, since I doubt he's seen anything like you. I know I never did before now."
She was silent for a moment or two, before a look up at the Earth reminded her of just what she asked about in the first place. "Anyway, the typhoon." She had to admit she was a little surprised Cyana knew what it was, and even more so to know that she actually called it a typhoon rather than any number of alternate names for the same thing. "It is impressive, I won't argue that. But it's still a storm, and an incredibly destructive one at that." She pointed at it again and motioned at the area around it. "Right now it just looks like it's sitting out in the middle of the ocean, but...I'm worried that there's some islands in its way. To be more specific, I'm worried that it's going to hit the island that we're currently on." She turned back towards Cyana. "I don't know about you, but I can't see any small islands from this distance." She sighed. "I know we can't really do much about it if it is heading in our direction, but I'd still like to know whether or not it's worth worrying about, or how much to worry if it is."
Town Center (Walking to the Hotel)
"That is quite all right," Hayate replied with a shake of his head, "If anything, I was likely the one least affected by that experience. In my five hundred years of existence, I have seen things that make this state of affairs look like a joyous occasion in comparison. Furthermore, my usual occupation requires me to deal heavily in politics, and one does not get far in the field without learning to deal with less-than-pleasant situations."
He turned to watch Howell and Adam again. "So do not worry about me. There are souls here who are considerably less hardened than I, and they can make much more use out of your support."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Moon]
"Then feel free to explore this landing site, or even the Moon first - there aren't any deadlines, unless you have one," Cyana said, "and I'm not surprised you haven't seen anyone like me before, we are very rare in this part of the multiverse."
"And as for the typhoon, I've never been any good at predicting the weather - but I can assure you that the worst that might hit Pax Island is merely some wind and rain, so I wouldn't worry about it too much," she said, smiling.
[Big Kahuna]
"Oh, inside are the Ofuda
that are designed to perform the given task. I keep them in envelopes for safekeeping," Hisami said to Selena, "and as for spontaneous teleportation?"
She felt around inside an interior pocket, and said, "well, I do have spell resistance, and banishment of evil spirits, but I don't know if I have anything that would help. What's you exact problem - are you worried about being teleported, or did it already happen?"
Does Jackson have nothing to say at the moment?
[Big Kahuna]
Jackson was glad he had one of his questions answered. He was also glad that there was a chance that he could turn back into a human even without Mud after all. It seems that the topic had switched into teleportation, which was another one of his concerns.
"It happened to the both of us, although it was at different times." he said, "Me and another friend got here by a gem. Selena's is a different story."
[Town Center-Walking to hotel]
"Um..." Adam said, "I-It's possible...but I don't recommend it." He quickly held onto Howell's shoulders, trying to help him stay up. "Can you try to stay awake for a little longer? We're almost there..."
Nathan sighed with relief. "That's good. Glad you still want to stick around. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow morning."
[Hotel (Lobby)]
Thomas became more irritated. He was so focused into his conversation with Mud, he didn't seem to notice Samuel.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes, pal. You know damn well what I'm referring to." he said, "You are the one who left the number behind after all." He sighed, "I'm at the exact same hotel you so called worked at. Front desk. And I'm not leaving until you get here."
edited 14th May '14 4:50:29 PM by Masterofchaos
[Hotel Lobby]
Samuel grimaced. Whoever had done this work...well, it hurt to call them skilled, considering the mess it was, but they weren't amateurs and they had a pretty impressive level of power at their command. It wasn't somebody he'd want to talk quite so impolitely to.
[Beach - Near Robot]
"Don't think you'd want to. It looked like a nuclear testing site." Forsythe replied. "Was just going to fly by, anyways; unless there was something worth stopping for. Just because you have good radiation shielding doesn't mean you should test it thoroughly."
Nous restons ici.[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Walking to Hotel)]
"Not to worry," Howell said with his eyes shut, "I'm not actually sleepy. I kind of wish I was though, just to try walksleeping. But nuh-uh, I was only wondering." He fell silent for a few moments, continuing to walk with his eyes closed. He paused, frowning as he held his eyes shut even tighter. Finally, he relaxed, shaking his head and declaring, "Nope, it's not happening."
He opened his eyes again, glancing at Adam, "I guess it wouldn't be that hard under the right conditions, huh? What would really be impressive is if somebody managed to fall asleep while walking on their hands." Howell looked off into the distance for a moment, his mouth slowly growing into a lively smile. He withdrew his hat from under his arm and set it on Adam's head, then said, "Spot me?"
Before waiting for a response, he took a step away from Adam, closed his eyes again, and tipped forward into a handstand. He actually held it very well, even with his shoes on, and managed to take a few baby steps forward, though he began angling in an odd direction.
[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, with nothing but static filling the agonizingly long void.
"Hey... listen pal, are you sure you didn't just dial the wrong number?" the voice suggested, finally breaking it's silence. "It sounded as though you needed my help, but now I think you may have mistaken my number for a different one. I haven't had any calls direct from the hotel lately, but if you really do need my services, just say yes. First time is free. Otherwise..." another pause, "...well, I need the line open for other calling customers who are one hundred percent certain that they meant to call me, so I'm afraid I can't entertain some misplaced ranting. Your choice, pal."
They'll turn your world around[Big Kahuna]
"Wait, are you two talking about how you arrived here on this island?" Hisami said, "because if so, I can't help you get back - beyond maybe some advice."
[Beach - Near Robot]
"Then it looks like I am completely useless here!" Takuya said, "I suppose I should get out of your way, and let you work on whatever futuristic work you need to do."
He then walked away, back towards Yuuta and the other group, looking dejected.
Note that this is in-character for him, and shouldn't be taken as anything else.
[ruins entrance > ruins library]
Kunstler went ahead, moving alongside Aseyu. He supposed he was hoping they would find more than books and papers, if only so he would have an excuse to not try and locate lodgings for the night. In a place like rural Daneivis, it was semi-acceptable to be sleeping under the stars, but in a modern place like this, it made you look insane. This was not the kind of night where he wanted reminders of his poverty, and to think about how he was going to present himself to Marla assuming he did find her. Not like this in these rags, with nothing more than two photographs, a pocket watch, and some pilfered trinkets to his name. This was little better than that beaten husk of which Marla was trying so hard to fight back tears upon seeing.
The two reached the library, and he stopped and waited for Joseph to catch up, assuming Aseyu was doing the same.
Sorry it's so short; my paper's done and I'm tired.
edited 7th Jun '14 3:16:47 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."Moon
Kaguya blinked, then looked up at the Earth, then back at Cyana with a somewhat skeptical look on her face.
"Er...that's...really not that comforting," she said, "As far as I know, 'wind and rain' is mostly what a typhoon is outside of the eye. It's just really strong wind and really strong rain, especially towards the center. Though if by that you meant 'just the edge of the storm at worst,' then that makes me feel a little bit better." She sighed. "But in that case...not to be rude or anything, but are you absolutely certain about that? Again, I can't see any islands, let alone the one I'm on, from up here."
Town Center (Walking to Hotel)
"We shall see in that regard," Hayate said before falling back into silence and watching Adam's and Howell's exchange again.
Howell must have been feeling a little better if his current behavior was anything to go by, but there was no real way to determine that through just observation alone. It would be best to wait for a little longer.
Big Kahuna
"That's it, pretty much," Selena said, "And since that's the case then so much for that idea. Just thought I'd ask." She shook her head. "But let me elaborate anyway. Jackson is in a much better position than I am right now as far as getting here unwillingly goes. He's got friends from his home that can take him back there at any time as soon as he gets un-ducked. I wasn't so lucky."
She sighed and looked down at the table. "I open up the front door to my parents' place and get dumped in front of the casino here for no good reason at all. To make things worse, my home's currently suffering from a zombie outbreak and I've got family and friends back there that could use my help. And everyone else I talked to was extremely unhelpful; I was either told to use the boats or simply didn't get a good answer. Before you ask, I can't use the boats because I have no idea where my town is from here, I'm the only one from there who got dumped here so I'm on my own as far as getting back is concerned, and since the place is filled up with zombies anyway security's tight and just walking in is...something of a hassle, to understate it."
She looked back up at Hisami. "So if you have a better idea as to help me get back, I'd very much appreciate it." She then glanced at Jackson briefly. "Though before that, you might as well help Jackson here since you seem to be able to actually do something for him and his problem's probably a little simpler to solve than mine is, anyway."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Moon]
"While I cannot be sure of the typhoon's path," Cyana said, "I can be sure that Pax Island is in no danger. The field that protects its occupants also protects the island itself, and so even if the typhoon were to approach, it would never be worse than some thunderstorms."
"However, as for where it is?" she said, "Pax Island is strange - it is not like a normal place. For example, Tokyo will always be in the same place, and you can always get to it by the same paths on any given day. Pax Island is not like that - it exists wherever it wants or needs to be, and people can arrive and leave by all means of paths, many times differently from day to day. Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, but hopefully it helps a little."
[Big Kahuna]
"Hmmm," Hisami said, thinking. "I can certainly help Jackson, although I wouldn't call reversing transformation magic simple. (I just make it look easy.)"
"And as for getting back, well, these places are strange," she said, "I mostly just know that people can visit these kinds of places from all over the world, and even from different times and universes. The last one we were at had this interdimensional door, which worked similar to what you described, but you could just walk back through it to get home immediately. This interdimensional stuff is not really my area of expertise."
"However... I do know two people here who are experts in these things," she said, "well, sorta. But still, they might be worth talking to."
edited 15th May '14 1:33:10 PM by Sonzai
[Big Kahuna]
"Wait." Jackson said, suddenly nervous, "What do you mean you make it look easy? ...How, exactly, do you turn people back to normal then?"
[Town Center-Walking to Hotel]
Once again, Adam felt lost with Howell's words, and was about to ask what he meant, when he gave him his hat and did a handstand. His eyes widened, and he clapped-Howell's hat gripped in his left hand.
"Wow!" he said, "That's really cool! How do you do that?"
George glanced back, relieved that things were slowly getting better, before returning his attention to the upcoming hotel. "Almost there, everyone. Then you can all get as much rest as you need."
[Hotel (Lobby)]
This was getting nowhere. Thomas knew he had the right number—he dialed it straight off the note after all—but he was still not getting the answers he wanted. So he decided to do a different approach. A more calmer one.
"...Look," he said, "You remember seeing a teenage boy here? Blond, English accent...I'm sure you've written it down somewhere. Haven't you?"
edited 16th May '14 2:19:53 PM by Masterofchaos
Moon
Even though Cyana seemed to know what she was talking about and Kaguya had no reason to doubt her otherwise, she was still rather skeptical about this whole thing. Regardless, this seemed like a good place to let the subject lie.
"Well...if you say so...." she said, after one last glance at the typhoon. "Onto the next subject. I'm not sure if I fully understand it, but it makes sense. If nothing else, it explains why no one ever had a definite answer for just where we wound up." She half-frowned, now wondering if the island could warp off the Earth to appear somewhere else in the universe. She didn't bother voicing this worry; by her own admission, she was just grasping at straws about that, and Cyana was probably going to get fed up at some point if she kept worrying about every single little detail.
Instead, she turned her attention to the nearby moon buggy. Now that the typhoon wasn't as much a concern, she might as well continue exploring this site. She didn't want to just beam over there as it seemed too silly to do so when it wasn't that far away, but at the same time she really didn't want to send herself flying with every step.
She settled on taking one tiny, tentative step forwards. When that didn't send her flying, she took a slightly larger step. In all honesty, she felt like a child who was just learning to walk for the first time, and that brought on an awkward, decidedly embarrassing feeling as seemed to be usual for her at this point. At least no one but Cyana was watching this.
Big Kahuna
"Joy of joys," Selena said once Hisami had finished, with a heavy tone of sarcasm, "As if I wasn't having hard enough of a time leaving." She shook her head. "Though I'm interested in meeting these people. After you've dealt with the more pressing issue here in some manner, of course." She jerked her thumb at Jackson, then looked towards the kitchen. "And once I'm done eating. I'm still waiting on my meal here."
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Pax Island ~ Ruins Entrance]
"True," Aseyu replied to Joseph. "Still, I've always liked libraries. Back at my dormitories, it's my favorite place to relax and find new partners, and the Hosseinis keep quite a collection on Earth. So, shall we see what this one has to offer?"
Aseyu headed inside confidently and skimmed one of the nearest shelves for a while before finally pausing on a tome at random. "Strange," she said. "Some power has been translating everything everyone says, but these books... I can't read a single one of them. Huh." She picked one out at random and began to leaf through it.
edited 16th May '14 3:33:42 PM by KillerClowns
[Moon]
"I do think the astronauts found it useful to bounce around lightly, if you want to give that a try," Cyana said, watching Kaguya.
[Big Kahuna]
"Sounds good," Hisami said, "how about I demonstrate how the Ofuda work to show what I mean."
She then took out a small strip of paper, a little larger than a bookmark, from the envelope labeled 'Water into Vodka', and affixed it to the side of her glass of water. It was ornately written, with complex calligraphic Japanese characters written on it, which strangely were not translated, unlike speech. In addition, it had a gold border, and was glowing slightly in a gold hue.
"Now, once the Ofuda is attached to the object of interest, I just use the incantation to activate it," she said, "活性化"
The glass of water glowed with a weak white light for a moment, before looking ordinary again. Those with good senses of smell could probably realize that the water in the glass was now replaced with strong-smelling vodka.
Hisami took the strip of paper off the glass, placing it back in the envelope. She then took a sip from the glass, and said, "whew! Strong stuff. So, does that explain enough?"
"And if so, do you want me to try to turn you back now?" she said to Jackson.
Note that this is totally not how Ofuda are supposed to work. Even in her universe. :P
edited 16th May '14 4:47:22 PM by Sonzai
[Pax Island ~ Ruins (Library)]
"Yeah... yeah I guess." Joe murmured, squinting at the sight of the building once they grew nearer. It loomed over them ominously, looking unusually large in the moonlight. "...a place this weird ought to have some good reads, right? Doesn't even look much like a library, does it? Or really even... y'know, ruined, for that matter. Maybe it's been renovated or... huh?"
He finally noticed that he couldn't hear the others' footsteps any longer, and managed to tear his gaze away from the building's exterior. He was only able to catch a glimpse of Aseyu as she disappeared inside before he was completely alone.
"Oh. Okay." Joseph sighed. "Why yes, I do talk too much, thanks for noticing. Actually, there's a terribly funny story about that- oh yes, I'll tell you all about it." he said, speaking under his breath and to nobody in particular. Without further ado, he began walking after them, hands in his pockets and tail swaying left to right in leisurely, loose motions. It was almost like taking a stroll through the park.
Once he'd reached the entrance, he slunk in quietly behind the others, giving Adrian a quick, fairly neutral smile as he passed. He spied Aseyu looking over some of the books in the odd library, and sauntered on over.
"Huh. I guess I can add that to the list of questions that'll never get answered while I'm still alive." Joe said, in response to her musings. He glanced down at his hand, eyes scanning up and down, as though there really was a list in his hand. "Yowza, it's getting pretty long now. Lets see, multiple dimensions, multiple universes, how this, how that, why me, why me, uh... why me, how many licks does it take, and here: under subcategory, 'whats the deal with magic, anyway?' " he spoke aloud as he pretended to scrawl out, " 'Language barriers: why some things and not others?' There!" He put away his invisible list, "Now I can go ahead and forget that I ever wondered."
[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Walking on hands to Hotel)]
"Ba- a- alance." Howell said, clearly losing his own. His legs began teetering dangerously forward over his head, and, after unsuccessfully trying to regain his balance by quickly shuffling on his hands in the same direction, he did his best to land relatively gently before opening his eyes again. Unfortunately, he managed to land relatively gently with one foot on top of his tail.
"Ow! Ooch!" he yelped, his eyes now wide open. Carefully relieving the pressure of body-weight-on-foot-on-tail-against-rough-ground, he got to his feet properly and brushed his hands off on his knees. He looked pleased, if a bit dazed, as he walked back to Adam's side, before further explaining his feat.
"Balance, practice, and it helps if the ground is covered with fewer things that poke your hands. Otherwise, the basic principle is just walking upside down, and without your feet touching anything, and using entirely different muscles than with regular walking. Once you grasp that..." he paused, his gaze lowering to the ground thoughtfully. "...it... helps... somehow." He shrugged, "I don't think I'd be able to sleep doing that though."
[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]
"Um, no." the man said. "I haven't been to the hotel today— haven't been there in several days actually— it's kind of an off season. So no, I haven't seen any blonde English kid there, and thus, I haven't written it down." there was another pause, and a clicking noise—perhaps the man's tongue. "Listen, are you certain that you haven't called the wrong person? Because I'm really starting to think that's exactly what you've done here. Who exactly do you think this is?"
Duncan tapped the end of his pen against his teeth, studying some other papers and offering a shrug to Samuel, who seemed to be going ignored.
edited 16th May '14 5:34:27 PM by Ryuhza
They'll turn your world around[Pax Island ~ Ruins (Library)]
Aseyu looked up from her book and, with a wry smile, said, "I can at least answer that 'how many licks does it take'." She licked her lips lasciviously, then added, "unless you're talking about lollipops." Then she sighed and added, "as for the rest... well, let's see how many of them we can get figured out." She took a look around the library. "On the bright side, if it's answers we're looking for, we're certainly in the right place." Then she looked back down at the book. "Such a pity about... the details."
Ruins (Library)
The library looked the same
as it did to the last people who entered.
If they were to look at the chandelier high above them, they might notice that the light it was casting was much different from the light that came from the earlier torches. It was almost electrical in nature, although they probably weren't going to be able to check that from down here. More lights were arranged in a ring around the edges. The light from these was of the same nature of that of the chandelier; if anyone were to take a closer look, they'd find that they bore resemblance to the earliest developed light bulbs.
The painting that hung opposite from the door and the corresponding gap on the floor were still in the same shape as they were earlier. By the looks of things, either no one had come between this set of visitors or the previous, or it was just that nobody was successful in figuring it out. At any rate, the challenge of figuring out the connection between the two, if there was a connection between the two, was still there.
Aseyu would find that the language in the books could best be described as an odd cross between Greek and Chinese, although the resemblance was vague at best. Most of the books would be filled with this odd text, although there were a few diagrams here and there depicting one thing or the other. Notably, some bore resemblance to machinery of some kind.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![ruins library]
Kunstler ignored the lizard's- Joseph's ramblings. He seemed no different from the myriad of boys at Marla's academy that he often had to dissuade from her, only he was... reptilian. And he probably couldn't afford to treat him like one, so... eh.
He headed into the center of the library, mildly perplexed at the amount of light in here. Those weren't candles. Kunstler found himself cursing that Cline wasn't here so they could find out what was up there. And for once, he seemed to have found the one advantage of the thin, worn-out soles on his boots. There was a gap on the floor. A perfectly circular one, to boot, with a matching painting across the way depicting a hole in the floor. Of course.
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."[ruins library]
"Dead gods," Aseyu muttered, "this won't do." She put the book back, and then headed to the painting. "This," she said, "is pretty obviously what we want to happen." She investigate the painting as Esa had
to the same result, then gave it a shove as Friedrich had
. "We seem to have," she said, "some sort mechanism here..."
edited 16th May '14 8:28:53 PM by KillerClowns
Moon
"If I remember correctly, I think they moved in more of a shuffle," Kaguya said as she continued making her way across the lunar surface. She was still taking baby steps, although her strides were steadily getting larger and she had also decided to try walking on tiptoes. "Not that it matters much, since they also had big heavy spacesuits."
She frowned a little. "Not that I don't appreciate not needing a spacesuit, but that extra weight would be really handy right now."
Ruins (Library)
Aseyu's shove only resulted in a quiet, mechanical sounding hum and nothing more. However, while she was attempting to slide it around, she might have felt the edges of a depression that seemed to be built into the painting. In that event, she would find that it appeared to be in an odd, if familiar, shape.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian![Pax Island ~ Ruins (Library)]
Joseph half-suppressed a snort of laughter, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "Well I hope we can find something in the way of answers here." he said, as he began to walk around the building's circular interior. "Just for curiosity's sake if anything. But these could be ancient Atlantean cookbooks for all we know, and even if I had my English/Atlantean dictionary on me, I don't think the answers we'd get out of them would be that helpful. ...I guess that's just the kind of fickle nature of finding answers."
After wandering aimlessly for a bit, he found his way to Aseyu's side again, in front of a painting. At her remark about what the painting depicted, he gave her an odd glance, his lizardy brows scrunching up a bit. "We do?"
He took another look at the painting, then turned around and slowly surveyed the rest of the room. "Ah- I get it. So the library is either more than a library, or they just keep all the really good books somewhere else?" He turned back around and looked at the picture again, murmuring, "Why is it always libraries?"
They'll turn your world around[Big Kahuna]
"Uh..." Jackson said, looking at the glass, "It does answer it a little...but..." he gave her a nervous glance, "I just need to know something really important; are there any side effects to this? Or anything else I need to be aware of?"
[Town Center-Front of hotel]
So all I have to do is balance and practice? Adam thought, But he makes it look so easy! He opened his mouth to say something, when his father made an announcement.
"We're here." he said, "Howell, I already paid for your room earlier. I'll show you where it is when we get inside."
Nathan opened the door for everyone else.
[Hotel (Lobby)]
Thomas suddenly felt dread growing in him. "You're not Mud? You're not the clerk from earlier? Then how...?" He put the phone down and faced Duncan, "Sir, did you give me the right number? Are you sure that was the clerk's phone number?"
Yay, I get to make the 2000th post!
[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]
Duncan drew in a long breath, tapping his pen against his desk, and furrowing his brow thoughtfully.
"Well... actually, I believe that was me, I'm the official desk clerk." he answered, sounding slightly perplexed even as he declared it. "From what I gather, the man he's trying to get ahold of," Duncan gestured at Thomas, "managed to get the drop on me, and then he—using some kind of magic or will warping—changed me into an insect; a moth, according to you. And then he must have posed as the desk clerk and changed someone else into a duck during that time."
He gave a bit of a sideways frown, looking down at his desk and shaking his head. "Eventually—and I don't know how, exactly—I got better, and he left. The rest is a mystery."
Turning his attention towards Thomas, Duncan gave a very slight wince as it became evident that the man he was talking to on the phone was not whom he had rather harshly accused him of being. To answer Thomas's question, he said, "Hey, you read the note yourself. All it said was 'for the angry duck call this'. I don't know whose number it is exactly." He reached for the note, which had been set on the desk. "Looks like an 800 number. Who picked up?"
[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Outside —> Lobby)]
Howell's smile quickly disappeared. He didn't say anything to George, he just nodded his head and reached for his hat, gently taking it back from Adam and setting it on his own head. He pulled the brim down low, then stuffed his hands into his free pockets and walked in through the door. If not for the exposed back of his head and his completely uncovered tail, he'd have been an exemplar model of anonymity.
They'll turn your world around

[Pax Island ~ Ruins Entrance —> Ruins Library]
"Well it can't be too unknown, can it?" Joe said, following Aseyu's lead. "A place like this, on a populated island like this, with people like us coming and going all the time..." he shrugged, "they probably give tours during the day."
Away from the immediate light of the torches, the cool moonlight cast a surreal veil over the ruins. It was a sight he'd always related to paintings or photographs, or scenes in a film, stylish and crisp when illuminated with a bright surrounding light. Finding himself there in person, it was a whole different spectacle. Even with his fairly keen vision, everything was softer in the darkness. It all seemed seemed less real, less important; to know that he could walk up to something and touch it seemed like the strangest thing of all.
"I guess it is a bit of, uh... a different beast at night." he murmured.
Joe began to rub one of his eyes, before quickly switching to scratching at the side of his snout, trying to be casual about it. He wasn't going to be the baggage that needed a nap when the others were trying to explore the ruins. And besides, he wasn't even that tired.
He glanced at Adrian, then at Aseyu, smiling with his mouth closed and pinching his tongue between his teeth until it hurt.
[Pax Island ~ Town Center (Walking to Hotel)]
Howell turned his head towards Adam, staring at him for a moment before shaking it slowly. "That's okay Adam. You probably just sensed what was coming and didn't want to attach yourself to an atomic bomb. Who could blame you? Well, I could blame you, but it wouldn't be right of me."
His eyes fell to the ground, the lids drooping to the point that they were barely open at all. After walking like that for a few seconds, he said, "Hey Adam, here's the most important question you're ever going to be asked within the next three seconds: do you think it's possible for a person to fall asleep while they're walking?"
[Pax Island ~ Hotel (Lobby)]
Duncan shrugged at Samuel, jabbing his pen in Thomas's direction. "It's his business, so his call too." Glancing at the man as he began talking into the phone in a dangerously low voice, he added, "Sounds like he may be just a little busy at the moment."
Aside from heavy amounts of static, there was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds after Thomas had finished speaking. When the man's voice came again, it said, "...Sorry? I don't think I caught all of that. From what I understand, it sounds like you've run afoul of a magical quandary involving the involuntary duckification of one or more persons, is that correct? Someone has been seriously ducked up?" there was a weird crackling that might have been the man chuckling, "Well, by chance or circumstance, you've called the right place. If you give me your location, I can be there in just a few minutes to sort your problem out."
They'll turn your world around