Event This Can't Be Happening Part 3

[Ialari Pythone]

Morning of the 15th Day of Fall, 522 AV

6th Bell

Ialari’s eyes lazily fluttered open as her senses were quickly filled with the sounds and scents of the sea. She heard the birds singing and in some cases talking; an oddity that she still had a difficult time wrapping her mind around. There was the sound of the water licking away at the pilings of the rancho she was in. The salty smell of the sea filled her nose and the breeze that blew in carried all of it. Slowly she allowed herself to awaken further as she stretched her arms and legs. It was then that the feeling of familiarity began to set in. She quickly sat up, swung her legs around to the side of the bed and stood up. Quickly she moved into the kitchen area of the rancho and looked on the counter. There sat the full bowl of fresh, clean water, folded cloth, a bundle of five banannas and a half bottle of rum. She glanced over to where she’d set up the pillows the night before. They were back to their original positions.

Immediately she rushed out onto the deck to where she’d left the bottle of rum and bananna peel sitting on the railing. They were not there. Waiting a moment, she turned and looked at the neighboring rancho and to the piling where she saw the same blue crab climbing.

“This can’t be happening…” She muttered as she turned around and went back inside.

She went to the bedroom area and picked up her journal. Flipping to the last entry she saw that her observations of the bird were still not there. Throwing on her scant clothing, she left her pouch but grabbed her dagger before heading out for the Commons. Just as she was leaving, she grabbed the bottle of rum. As she stepped outside, she threw it into the sea and made her way down the beach.

Approaching the bungalows, Ialari stopped when she saw the bird on the railing eating its morning meal.

“No...this IS happening.” She said flatly as she left the bird to its meal, again, before quickly leaving.

She walked quickly although not quite running as she came to Protea Inn. She immediately looked up at the parrot in the feeder.

“Hey bird!” She shouted. “Piss off!”

As she left the bird and hurried to the Commons, she heard it yell back at her. “A good day to you too!”

Next she passed the Veronica; the ship looking just the same as the previous two times she’d saw it.

The Commons was also just as it was before. The exact same handful of people were milling about including Kajun. He was sitting in the same spot, looking the same with the same open book on his lap.

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[Ialari Pythone]

She quickly walked up to him and said without warning and with great concern in her voice, “Kajun, I need to talk to you, but not here.”
Kajun looked up from his book with a worried look on his face. He closed his book and placed it in the bag hanging from a strap slung over his shoulder. Ialari grabbed his arm and pulled him with her as he reached for his staff.

“Ialari, what is this about?” He asked as she led him away from the Commons and back to the dock.

“I know this doesn’t make any sense but I think I’m repeating the same day over and over again. This is the third time.” Ialari said growing worry in her voice.

As they stood on the dock, Kajun raised an eyebrow and said, “This isn’t an attempt at a joke is it?”

Ialari replied in frustration, “No! I’m serious. I’ve woken three mornings now and everything that I did the day before seems to have...I don’t know...reset? The same bundle of banannas and same half-full bottle of rum sit in the same spot on the counter. The same blue crab crawls up the same piling. The same big, black bird perches on a railing of a bungalo eating the same chunk of whatever. The same parrot eats seeds from a feeder outside the Protea. You are sitting in the same spot in the Commons as you have the last two days…” She stopped to take a breath, a tinge of fear setting in.

Kajun took in all that she said or at least tried to keep up with it all before rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He didn’t know Ialari to lie, at least not about such mundane things. She was also not much for telling jokes. He knew her to be quite intelligent and rather knowledgeable about things that were...not normal. He could hear the fear in her voice.

“Ialari, be calm. Please, give me your hand.” Kajun held out his own hand to her.

Ialari nervously placed her hand in his. Kajun closed his eyes in concentration. As he did, Ialari’s memories merged with his own. The Verusk’s unique ability to share the memories of those they touch allowed him to see what Ialari had saw the past couple of days. A few breaths later, he opened his eyes and let go of Ialari’s hand.

“I see.” He said with a hint of confusion in his voice. “This is definitely not an attempt at a joke.” He paused before continuing. “I wish I knew what to do about this but I have never heard of something like this before and there hasn’t been mention of this happening to anyone else in the settlement. Perhaps there is someone else here in Syka who may know something or at least have some ideas.”

Ialari fought back panic. “Maybe but I don’t think I have time to convince everyone I talk to that I’m not crazy and that this is actually happening.”

Kajun nodded slowly. “Indeed. Perhaps you should try a few things on your own. If you are in some sort of loop, maybe there is a way to break it.” He paused for a moment as he thought. “Try doing this differently than you did before. Maybe one of those things will break the loop. You’ve already done a few small things but it might be that you need to do something more drastic. I wish I had more of a definitive answer.”

Ialari laid her hand on Kajun’s shoulder and said, “You’ve already helped. If this continues, I know I can at least get you to believe me. That is a start. You’ve also given me an idea or two on what to try next.”

Kajun smiled. “I will ask the other Verusk, maybe they will have an idea. We can meet up later today hopefully with some answers.”

Ialari nodded and left Kajun to go an attempt something she should have tried the first time she noticed something was wrong. She would return to her Dominion and attempt to reach out to one of the gods who had marked her. If the physical world was altered in some way, entering the Ukalas might offer a better way of communicating. Dira, Tanroa, Izurdin or Caiyha surely would have an answer. She ran back to the rancho where she would access a door and enter her Dominion.

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