fh_trips | Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Friday

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graduate backpacking 2010

Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Friday

Wasn't the bright sunshine and very, very pre-industrial fresh air going to be a refreshing change after London Below?

The portal opened up on a riverbank; heavy forest (that looked far more suited to the Antipodes than the Mediterranean, but never mind that) was visible on the opposite side near a handrail-free but sturdy-looking footbridge, and a short walk away from the portal itself stood a small, tribal-looking settlement in a clearing, all surprisingly sophisticated-for-their-time shingled roofs on the huts, what looked like a speaking platform in a central . . . square-ish thing, and scaffold-like watchtowers describing the rough perimeter of the village where it wasn't walled in on one side by a rocky cliff.

If you peered through the trees across the river long enough you might see what looked like horses moving through paths not visible from here -- except horses didn't usually have human hands to hold the weapons that might also be visible to the observant. The village this side of the river was bustling with activity too -- exclusively female activity, and not all that modestly clad at that, unless you counted weaponry everywhere as modest.

It was okay, though; none of them looked inclined to harm you.

Oh, and . . . just ignore the hum of cicadas in the background. It comes and goes ~~and with a little ADR work post-production everyone'll hear you just fine anyway~~.

[OOC: And the Very Special Greece stop of the backpacking trip is go; Gabrielle will be joining you tomorrow.]

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Enjoy the fresh air, because admit it, you never thought you'd see the sunshine again. Boggle at the Amazons, but try not to ogle them too much. Wonder if those are really centaurs on the other side of the river.

Francine was not ogling the Amazons, per se, but she was wondering if she should change into the, um, outfit, just to be polite.

Of course she packed it. Hush. Not every stop on the tour had private sleeping facilities, but some did.

Edited 2010-06-12 01:46 (UTC)

Katchoo was not ogling the Amazons either, but she did look pretty impressed with the whole setup.

"I think I like it here. Unless they're all crazy."

You know. Like that one.

Which one was that, Katchoo? Tell us which of the Amazons you know are crazy. Oh wait, you only know one. ...Unless you count the Baker twins.

"Why would they be crazy?" Francine couldn't see any of them doing anything crazy now, aside from the one mounting a horse in a skirt that was... whoa. "Wow, her leather skirt is even shorter than mine."

The actual Amazon, Francine. Not the figurative scary ones.

"Riding a horse in that skirt?" Katchoo wasn't dumb enough to point, but she jerked her chin in that direction. "God, can you imagine the chafing?"

Hang on a second.

". . . you'd fit right in, in that leather skirt. Rowr."

"Not on a horse!" God, even the word 'chafing' made her wince in sympathy. "But I was kind of wondering if I should wear that while we're here." Maybe if she stayed out of sight of the boys? ...The boys who weren't Tony.

"How is that even a question?" Katchoo asked. "Maybe we can get you to do some kind of tribal dance with 'em too, meeee-ow . . ."

"Tribal...dance?" Francine repeated, looking at her suspiciously.

"It could happen," Katchoo pointed out. "Oooooh, maybe it's a horizontal one."

It took her a second, but... "And maybe I'll just wear my jeans all week, then."

"Tchah, Francine," Katchoo scoffed. "No . . . very well-toned . . . Amazon is going to get away with trying to steal you from me."

Forgive her if she went and proved that she and Gabrielle were, like she and merlin, separated at birth. "Why would they want to do that?"

"Because you're frikkin' gorgeous, maybe?" Katchoo suggested. "Plus you'd fit riiiiiiiiight in with 'em in leather."

Particularly if you gave her a sword, but Katchoo wasn't suggesting that part. Wouldn't do to put anyone's eye out.

"I sure wouldn't be climbing on any horses in it," Francine answered, though she couldn't quite pull off suspicious and grumpy after the compliment.

"Because you're not crazy," Katchoo told her. "See? You proved my point."

"That nobody's gonna steal me away from you?" Francine asked, moving to drape her arms around Katchoo's shoulders from behind.

Katchoo, who was pretty sure nobody would give them crap about it here anyway, leaned back into her and reached up to put her hands over Francine's. "That part too."

"Maybe I should be worried about somebody trying to steal you," Francine teased. "There's some pretty big girls here. That one over there with the hoe looks taller than those blonde muscle twins that kidnapped me."

Dinah would prefer centaurs to monkey-ponys, thanks, so there was a little boggling there, too.

"Wow." And yes! No more semi-claustrophobia!

Jack looked around and stared; this place was sure no city, that's for sure.

...yes, he was staring at the heavily armed Amazons.

['stablishy]

It looks (http://pics.livejournal.com/ancientbschamp/pic/0000tdsf) ~~just like every other village in Gabrielle's Greece~~ . . . probably not a lot like you imagined it would, huh? Or maybe it does. Off to one side, a few younger Amazons are going through weapons drills under Solari's stern guidance; judging from the sounds of hammer on metal, there must be a blacksmith somewhere around here, too. Other Amazons are going about all the standard daily chores of a village like this: tending the horses, carrying water, stationing themselves on the watchtower scaffolds, hauling firewood.

It's kinda dusty, though.

Ordinarily, men aren't allowed in the Amazon village, but Queen Melosa has agreed to relax that rule as a personal favor to Gabrielle. It isn't often that Gabrielle pulls her rank as Amazon Princess, and let's face it, a stern look from Xena to back up the request (guess who got asked to deliver the message personally) helps with that. The guys on the trip might still get looked at askance by the Amazons, though.

There are several guest huts prepared for you. Yes, even the guys -- although yours are a ways off from the main section of the village. Look, just be glad they've lightened up since Gabrielle assumed Terreis's Rite of Caste. Seriously.

No, it's not exactly the Ritz Carlton, or even a Motel 6, but for the standards of this time it's not bad. In lieu of doors, the doorways are hung with strings of hand-carved beads in a sort of curtain, and the sleeping areas -- where the sleeping-pallets are surprisingly more comfortable looking than you'd think they'd be -- are screened off from view of the doorway.

. . . don't ask why some of the framework making up the huts looks like bamboo.

There are candles available for your use, too, after dark. Just please, don't burn down the village.

"This. Rocks." Dinah flopped down on one of the pallets, and then poked at it. "Kinda like a futon," she reported. "And did you see the Amazons drilling? I wonder if they'd let me join them, maybe?" She still had the walking-stick-staff that Aphrodite had given her, the one blessed by Artemis. She could use that in the exercises!

It's a lot like a campfire pit back in Fandom, actually, just with whole roasted animals on spits (rabbits, fowl, the occasional deer) in place of hot dogs and marshmallows. Not to mention a supply of tropical fruit that you'd think wouldn't belong in this geographical location.

Sauna time, the old old old school way. No one will be flogging you with palm leaves here, though. We save that for really, really emo Amazon Princesses who've done something really stupid and are guilting like whoa.

And that's not until next season.

It's not all that different from the Amazon village, actually, although you'll find the buildings a little more rustic, and animals in pens outside the houses -- it's more like a farming village (http://pics.livejournal.com/ancientbschamp/pic/0000s7f3) -- and there's more grass to be found underfoot. Both centaurs and humans live here, and you'll probably even see the Amazons visiting from across the river.

There's a couple of guest huts available here, too, if you find being here weirds you out less than being around the Amazons.

Might want to watch your step, though. Centaur droppings. (You can tell the difference: centaurs don't eat hay.)

Edited 2010-06-12 00:29 (UTC)

Much like the Amazon village's guest huts, only these have crude half-doors (think half of a saloon door from a spaghetti Western, only made of a wood framework and woven with thatch) in place of beaded curtains. The beds are about as comfortable as the ones across the river, and the same disclaimer about not setting the place on fire comes along with your provided candles.

Also a lot like a campfire pit back in Fandom and supplied with much the same foodstuffs as the one across the river.

. . . don't ask the centaurs if eating meat is awkward.

If you just want to hang out in neutral territory.

Or bathe, in which case there are enough conveniently secluded areas surrounded by shrubbery to give you some semblance of privacy. Hope you brought your own toiletries, though. Speaking of which -- if you have to, er, do your business, please don't use the shrubbery near the river.

This week's been kind of nuts and I haven't had a chance to organize this as well as I'd like; tomorrow will be more structured, promise! Thanks to my canonmates for giving me the go-ahead!

I will try and throw you an NPC if you want, but my brain is friiiiiied tonight; NPCage will be available tomorrow for sure. Any questions, ping me here or grab me on AIM or email.

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Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Friday

Arrival!

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Explore the Amazon Village!

Amazon Village: Guest Huts

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Amazon Village: Communal Area

Amazon Village: Sweat Hut

Explore the Centaur Settlement!

Centaur Settlement: Guest Huts

Centaur Settlement: Communal Area

The River

OOC: Very Special Greece