EVENT & TDM 022

[sticksandbonesmods]

THE SERPENT UNDERNEATH

WAKE UP

Being out in the woods is, for some people, an ordinary day. You may or may not be one of those people — you almost certainly don’t remember going camping, do you? — and yet you emerge from a tent and think to yourself, hm, that’s quite odd! Where is the nearest civilization anyhow? If you’re brave enough, perhaps you set out to seek it, walking toward where you think you hear noise in the far distance. It sounds a bit like cheering. A party? A bonfire? You can’t be certain, not at first.

As you step onto the worn trail, something nearly clocks you right in the head. A nimble dodge to the left and a quick glance at the ground tells you that it’s some kind of tree branch made of… flesh? It’s certainly flesh-textured, though the colour is a deep blue that glows white. It seems to be rapidly rotting into the ground, and as you look up… a giant, several hundred foot tree of a similar eldritch makeup is falling apart before your eyes. Your walk back to civilization will be full of dodging probably-dead flesh tree bits.

Should you make it in one piece, the source of the noise becomes obvious: the people making up this small town are cheering and yelling about something else of eldritch makeup. It seems that some of the creatures who have lived in this civilization’s river for the last year, the Seaborn, have decided to evolve to be capable of flight. Some residents of this town seem extremely enthusiastic with this. Some are wary. Some simply don’t care.

You? Well, that’s for you to decide.

Welcome to the eldritch horror fae woods, dear friend. Enjoy your stay.

A SNAKE IN THE GRASS

While the black fog returns, some paths are left clear, or at least not as impacted as other areas of the woods. Mist fades in and out, and even if you aren’t one for nature, surely exploration can sing its siren song when the size of the town is too small and all the faces look the same. Paths line themselves with daffodils and chamomile flowers, with arctic poppies and clearings of wildflowers- foxglove and lavender especially prominent. They’re lovely, all of them, and bloom far more rapidly than anything else should be this early into spring, this late into winter, but they do.

But something creeps beneath the flowers, and something large digs through the earth, leaving upturned grooves in the dirt and grass, trails of flattened mud and roots with only bushes of camelia on the outskirts left behind. It’s quiet in the forest, not even birds singing. It makes the hiss of tongues all the more noticeable.

If you’re lucky, you might see a purple and grey stone shift in the distance, gone just as quickly as it was there. If you aren’t, you don’t see its much smaller, flower-patterned counterpart strike from the shadows. Snakes are working their way into the Grove, hiding in bushes and under steps, anywhere they can lurk and strike the unsuspecting, and their bite is venomous.

One bite brings excruciating pain, bone-deep cold, an increased frailty of the body and hallucinations. A second bite brings a deep, nightmare-filled sleep. A third bite brings death. All of them scar with a black sun over the bites, a mark of divine wrath — the Fallen Sun sends his regards, and his hate.

Those who perish to the snake bite will awaken in their bed in a few days, feeling nauseous and weakened, but…

'NEATH SERPENT'S GAZE

… This simply isn’t tenable. Between the paranoia and the snake’s stealth, it’s hard to feel safe outside of your home, and maybe inside, despite the fact that once again your homes offer refuge from the forest’s attacks—they hadn’t once upon a red, hot summer, after all. How did they face this last time? It was a flower, wasn’t it? And the new flowers in the forest seem special, if only because of their strong growth compared to the rest of the forest.

But if you go into the woods, two large stone snakes wait, ready to protect the natural gardens. Breaking them does little but slow them down for a time, and their bite is both larger and their venom stronger—the true version, the one that crippled a household in seconds. The severity of the symptoms are worse, murderously so, but survivable if it’s not the third bite.

They block the way, ambush would-be travelers, coil around the flower patches, and will not be stopped. Does this confirm that the flowers could help? Or are they simply protective of their master’s property? Is it play?

Regardless, they wait and watch.

CITIES & BONES

When all the violence of the month ends, and thank goodness for that, you decide to head to bed. For once, you might sleep well — there are no threats of snakes making you wonder if you or your friends might die tomorrow, and the Grove as a whole feels much safer. It’s as if someone or something is guarding over it — different from the Guardian Deities and the Goddesses as a whole.

For the next several days after the snakes disappear, your dreams are strange, as if you’re receiving a vision from another world. A modern city, so different from Aldric’s Grove that you’re not entirely convinced it lies in this dimension, blinks in neon lights behind your eyelids. Between the cacophonous sounds of motorized vehicles rushing by, the din of people talking in a language you don’t understand, and the distant electrical humming from the street lights, perceptive dreamers might hear something else:

The soft clacking of dry bones.

Spark Notes

summary

Wake up: You were apparently camping. You don't recall this. As you head out toward the sound of civilization, bits of giant blue flesh-tree nearly hit you in the head. You'll have to dodge the remaining flesh tree bits as it crumbles while you walk back to town.

A Snake In The Grass: Flowers spring up far too early in the season, and the fog wall returns. Purple and grey-coloured stone snakes begin to attack from the bushes and flowers where they're hidden. One bite brings cold and frailty, a second bite brings nightmares, and a third bite brings death. All bites scar with a mark of the Black Sun.

'Neath Serpent's Gaze: You've heard of a flower that can cure the poison, but to get there, you have to face two far larger stone snakes who are guarding over nature here. Whether they want to play or simply kill isn't clear. You're in danger of death either way.

Cities & Bones: While you sleep after the snakes disappear, you'll have strange dreams that feel like visions and feel watched by something safe and kindly. While your dreams are absorbed in that of a cityscape that feels almost too real, you can sometimes hear the clattering of bones.

out of character

Welcome to March's TDM and Event! Spring is springing and we've got a lot of really cool events coming up in the next few months. The magic system should debut this month as well, which we're very excited about. It is a slow process but the rewards should be well worth it.

updates

Any potential updates, such as characters damaging something important or whatever else, will be put here.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ March Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

[menophesto]

I should hope not! That would be incredibly rude and odd of you if you found your entertainment in running into people. Frankly, if you wanted to stay rude, there are much better hobbies to have.

[menophesto]

[ The anxious tingling up Mephisto's spine forces him to spit: ] Stop it!

[ He hardly realizes he's said it until it's already out. It doesn't matter. It shouldn't matter. These aren't snakes, they're constructs, they're pests, they don't feel. He knows that, he knows that, he knows that, and yet... ]

S...snakes... like music. Try singing... maybe... [ What the fuck is he saying? This is so stupid. They're not snakes! He knows that, but...!!! ]

[menophesto]

I came here willingly. I was hoping to read until that ужасная сука showed up here. You're the one keeping me from doing research, you know...

[ He narrows his eyes, his tone dropping dead. ] You can prove that by leaving me the Hell alone, though. The offer to free a few pounds of leg from you is still there, though, if you really are so intent on talking with me.

[psychokinesia]

[He sees the anger, the hesitation in Wolfwood's eyes, and concludes to himself that this guy really is all talk. Who's stupid enough to pull a gun when they don't even have the guts to use it? He has half a mind to just grab it out of his hand.

Ain must've been pretty desperate here, if he decided to let someone like this call him... that.

He scoffs, pushing back the bitterness that rises to his throat. Not that that part should matter to him at all, of course not.]

Don't talk like you'd know anything about— [and he's punished for his yapping with a whack to the head, enough to force him back a step and out of Wolfwood's space... but his Armor is still up, so Wolfwood gets a mild zap for his efforts. better get used to it this guy is All About the electrocution.

He grips the side of his head with a hand, back to scowling intensely now that Wolfwood has actually struck back. What the fuck!!!]

You...! [he gets a couple seconds to reposition himself before Add comes in swingin]

[foreversembrace]

[Till...isn't exactly super comfortable with Karte being with him by any means, but he's at least determined that he's probably(?) not going to eat him in his sleep or something. The little static shocks are alarming the first few times (sorry if he like, throws you on accident Karte), but eventually he kindof gets used to it...it's not Karte's fault that Till has Issues with unprompted stimuli, especially anything that could be construed as painful.

What a weird fucking thing. He will at least use Karte (once he figures out it can do this) to get things from the Inn without him having to leave and be around people, which is nice. He'll also sit against the wall and watch Karte spin in the middle of his room like "what is wrong with you".

...also fine he guesses you can sleep on him. You saved him from the snakes so this is Till giving back a little, just don't get used to it.]

[lupusxylem]

[I mean Add do you WANT to get your shoulder blown off??? Because Wolfwood will still do that if you push him far enough. Like, you're lucky he's had therapy because otherwise he would probably not have been this kind-

Nevertheless, it doesn't matter. He caught him off guard which is exactly what he'd wanted anyway, and despite the zap that rushes up the nerves in his arm making him wince, he gets a thrill of satisfaction out of it. Yeah, bitch.

But his momentary victory is short lived, because just as he's planning on getting back to his feet, well...he doesn't have the time to.

Add gets a free hit in. Make it a fun one!]

[psychokinesia]

[Maybe??? He WANTS to get hit??? So he can retaliate and still call himself the bigger person??? And Wolfwood did hit first, technically, so he feels no remorse in striking a man while he's still on the ground.

Anyway, what Wolfwood is probably expecting is for him to get closer again... but no, actually. Add stomps down on seemingly nothing, and—did he enjoy that mild zap a second ago? Because the ground erupts with a blinding flash, geysers of energy bursting forth to cut a trail straight from Add to Wolfwood. It's not enough to do serious damage, but it's absolutely intended to hurt. Eat shit, asshole, get zapped for REAL.]

[outofsynth]

Cream is fine.

[Actually, he should get some out. He could probably find that much without Min's help, but since he's making the coffee already it's only polite.]

I'm Min-Gi, by the way.

[outofsynth]

Why would I want to be rude?

[lupusxylem]

[Well Wolfwood rolled a 9 so....get zapped eat shit etc

He does not, in fact, get up in time to avoid getting fucking electrocuted, thanks. The light from the energy envelops Wolfwood completely, making it feel like his brain is on fire for a good few seconds. He'd hazard a guess that he's dying actually if it weren't for the fact that his heart hasn't stopped yet (and trust him, he knows what that feels like). Kindof fucking sucks when you're like "I'm sparing you because I know my boyfriend would hate me if I killed you" and then the guy is like bet /kills you instead"

The things he does because he's gone all soft, or whatever.

Anyway, yeah. It hurts, and by the time the attack ends, Wolfwood is hissing on the ground in pain. His hair and clothing both crackle with electricity, sparks jumping off of him in various places, arcing off the metal of his prosthetic and into the ground.

...yet, even after all of that, he'll finally struggle his way to his feet, glaring daggers in Add's direction. He'd never dropped his gun during all of that, somehow, but he isn't pulling it on Add again either.]

H-haah...hah...you done havin' your tantrum?

[rabbithearted]

[he could, but min-gi being helpful is netting him bonus points.]

Valentine. [valentine is going to have a little coffee with his sugar, apparently. and the cream, after he passes min-gi's mug of coffee over to him. look at him, being polite!]

[menophesto]

...Then you did something wrong. I'm still trying to figure out where to go from there.

[psychokinesia]

[Seeing this guy he just met, who is apparently very close to Ain, writhing on the ground in pain after not even getting a chance to defend himself really... makes Add feel a lot better about himself.

He just smirks, hand on his hip while the other shoots off some more sparks. Dynamo is arranged in a tight array behind his shoulders, almost like wings.]

Oh? Do you still have some fight left in you? Maybe you're not completely worthless after all, if you can handle one percent of my power. Kekekekeke...!

[do not doubt his ability to continue making stupid choices]

[lilyberation]

That is ENOUGH.

( which is their only warning before they both get whacked on the head by... a giant calla lily with a gemstone radiating magic power attached to it?

white lily cookie is mad, y'all. scowling, she takes a step back andsets one hand on her hip while the other still holds the staff. )

Need I remind you you are in a clinic? While we're under attack, no less.

[lupusxylem]

[Oh Add you are SO damn lucky because Wolfwood was about to punch you in the goddamn mouth-

He winces back as Lily whacks him over the head, holding up his forearm to kindof defend himself because he's still electrified over here. Yes, he does still have fight in him as a matter of fact, which is indicated by the way he spits in Add's direction.]

Oh I'll gladly take this outside.

[lilyberation]

Something is very wrong, yes. And until we can find a way to defeat our captor and leave this place, it will continue to be wrong.

( she pauses, having been making the tea as they speak, before handing him a cup gently. )

We survive, and we support each other. We've been empowering the benevolent deities, and we've been healing this land. More is yet to come, I'm sure.

[psychokinesia]

[The bonk knocks his Dynamos out of formation, nooooo his cool and intimidating aura

... but she does have a point, maybe. They should not be doing this in the clinic. But more importantly,]

So you'd rather have a public humiliation? How bold of you, kekek! [knuckle cracks, they are ABSOLUTELY gonna continue this outside if given the chance

Add takes a step to push past them both... and winces hard, hey guess what he forgot he still has an injured leg. Maybe shooting an electric charge through the snake bite was a bad idea, actually.]

[lilyberation]

...

Both of you, sit down.

( said in the tone of a very disappointed mom who's about to get shit done. )

And put those away, honestly.

[outofsynth]

[Min-Gi is being less polite with the look he gives him at the sheer amount of sugar, but at least he refrains from commenting. Just adds the cream and hands it over to Valentine.]

This place takes some getting used to, right?

[Just. Desperate for a topic that will distract from how over-sweet his coffee must be.]

[lupusxylem]

[...]

With all due respect, Miss Lily, this punk needs to be taught a lesson.

[No-]

[psychokinesia]

Call me a punk one more time, I fucking dare you!

[pain or no pain he WILL be the first to punch Wolfwood in the mouth outta the way bitch]

[lilyberation]

You're both injured. And going outside to fight will only leave you vulnerable to attack, and then what will happen?

( she is going to gently pull add back. ... the fact that she's able to despite being a frail mage is probably only because of the blessing, but still- )

cw: suicidal ideation

[foreversembrace]

[Till winces, his expression tightening as if Mephisto reached up and punched him in the face. Mephisto won't see it of course, but...it's kindof hard to grapple with the idea of having done something wrong when he's already riddled with survivor's guilt.

What else could he have done? Even when he tried to let himself die on stage with Ivan...he couldn't even do that right.

...]

I guess. I just don't think they'd want me to feel the way I do, if they were still here.

[lupusxylem]

Tch. I'll be fine. This guy, on the other hand...

[Add has to play dirty to win. Wolfwood gives him a week to survive.]

[sesa]

[Sesa doesn't reply, not this time. He decides it's best to just leave it there and take himself someplace else. So he will, leaving the archives without another word.

He has to hope, at the very least, that Mephisto really is more interested in knowledge than he is trying to enact violence on the innocents here.]