sticksandbones | EVENT & TDM 022

EVENT & TDM 022

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

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[ His head hurts. This is... kind of dumb. This is dumb. He drops his head back into his hands, but this time it's to press on his forehead. ]

Okay? Man, it was... [ Hold on. What is 17-13? Computing... ] ...5 years ago. Like, who cares?

[.........oh my god he can Hear so much, suddenly. There are SO many voices that it's actually a little overwhelming at first, nearly prompting him to take off the ring to make it stop-

But then he realizes they're just asking for food, which he woefully does not have. Till looks over at Ain, his expression a little frantic.]

They're hungry...?

[ And of course he opens his mouth to deny his brother the chance to help. Get those flowers to the clinic, is there on his tongue. But Luca wasn't just his. Luca was Joshua's friend as well. To deny his brother a chance of revenge? Something he could never do, even if it meant Joshua had a chance of being injured in turn.

So instead he grunts and nods, closing his mouth into a firm set line. ]

They will come back, but let's see if we can't slow their progression somewhat.

[ The bigger ones will always come back, but the smaller ones they can stop here and now. And maybe, after enough times of being shattered, the bigger ones will begin to slow in their reformation. Give the flowers more time to be harvested. ]

... Can you target the venom?

[ They have venom sacs. Of stone but inside is venom. Liquid venom. What if they merely burn that out but leave the snakes, can they reform it? ]

[ He reaches out with his left hand to find their wrist and gently squeeze it, his thumb pressed into their pulse lightly. ]

If you would rather do it alone...

[ Just as he plucked the bracelet free alone... ]

...

( she holds out her hand. it start to glow softly.

magic, bitch. )

[ Clive giving him a chance gets a nod of thanks in return. The situation is too dangerous for long-winded gratitude, so he won't bother with words. His brother knows enough what this means to him.

But he is of the same mind. If the big ones just keep coming back, the little ones should be their primary target. Eliminate as many as they can, and maybe more can come to gather the flowers unimpeded. But Clive's question makes Joshua pause, brow furrowing.

The venom. The most dangerous part. The snakes regenerate, but does the venom? ]

... the outside may be stone...

[ ... but the inside may be flesh. It's a murmur to himself, at any rate, and he frowns at their quarry. He has no idea if it is true, but the only way to the venom sacs is inside. ]

Buy me an opportunity to make them swallow my fire. But be careful.

[5 years ago. So he's 18 now. Still young, but old enough to fight if he wants to at this point. Though Min kind of hopes he doesn't given some of his earlier admissions.]

You should. Maybe it seems normal to you, but think about it sometime. It's messed up.

[ He grew up as the only human in Ooo, of course it's not normal. Nothing about his life has ever been normal. ]

Maybe. But I don't care. So why's it so important to you?

[ He stops pressing on his forehead to look up at Min-Gi for an answer. He's genuinely asking. Is Min-Gi afraid of him, or not? He can't even tell anymore. Maybe it's all a distraction until Lily gets here, or something. Whatever. He's exhausted. ]

[ Clive just heaves a sigh and rubs his hand over his face. Especially as Will hits him with the sad puppy face. ]

You tossed it at him, he had his arms open. Will...

[ It's not disappointment, just more... please. He drops his hand and turns his attention to the bell, then off in the direction Razlo ran, waiting to see if the two make it back safely. ]

I don't. We didn't have any of these flowers back home.

[ If they did, they were long gone by the time of Clive's birth, eaten away by the blight. He looks around quickly for anymore small snakes - and for the bigger ones to see if they've reformed yet - then quickly kneels down by some, frowning. ]

If you don't either, just take a handful of ones. We can figure it out later.

Here- lavender is this purple one, with the clusters of smaller flowers. The other purple flowers with the larger blooms are foxglove, they're poisonous. Chamomile is the one with white petals and the large yellow center.

( he'll take a few clusters of both, eyeing the other flowers warily. he should have seen if the remaining flowers were poison too... but for now, they've got to be quick. )

Easy enough.

[ He turns his sword and jabs it into the ground for now, switching to Garuda. It seems his fury is keeping the curse at bay and he's going to take advantage of it. He summons a talon and sends it forward towards a snake he sees winding it's way in a direction. It's a small one but it's stone, and it hisses as the talon closes around it. Clive yanks it back towards him, shifting to Titan to catch it in one stone fist.

Then simply hold it, as it lashes against the hold, fangs sparking as it strikes. Clive waits a moment until it opens it's mouth to strike again, then locks it open with a titan thumb jammed into the side of it's jaw.

Then he gives his brother a look, eyebrows raised a little and maybe a cocky little smile on his face. Some of the rage is burning away. ]

Good enough?

My point remains. He deserves to be tar and feathered just for that. A mockery, really. If I’m to be tortured, make it worth my time.

[A pause. He hums.]

I’ve had worse, believe it or not. […]

Guardian… have you looked into the past here? Of the lives we were said to lead?

[ For a moment Joshua worries that his brother is barehanded grabbing a snake with only Garuda's talon, but it's quickly abated as Clive shifts to Titan instead, and he lets out a breath. Clive knows what he's doing.

He waits until Clive has the snake's mouth held open with his thumb, then lifts his hand and sparks the flame at his fingers. His brother's cocky little smile gets one to match in response, and he nods.

Then promptly sends a snake-sized fireball down its throat. ]

Hold its mouth closed. Quickly!

[ As this other man, he didn't get his name, begins to pick clusters, Clive will reach around behind him to the small bags attached to his belt, flicking them open. He'll gently take one of the clusters from - ]

Names Clive.

[ - whoever this is, and a small piece of twine from the bag to quickly and carefully tie the clusters together, before popping them into a bag. ]

... Not very much, to be honest. Just what Pure Vanilla Cookie has confirmed. ... I know of 'her' fate, and where she was kept, but I decided that it was in my best interest to not pry further.

( she knows it's her crying behind the inn door, begging for forgiveness, for release, for the torment to stop. she knows she could dig her fingers into this world and tear, rip into it like a piece of bread, unearth so much-

but she can't. she shouldn't.

if she goes too far- will vanilla finally look at her like a monster, too? she can't. )

Call me Chung!

( the puppy energy has not died at all since their first conversation weeks ago. he is still puppy. just... a puppy with an armful of flowers and a giant... bow that's taller than both of them. )

Shall we head back? ... Or, do you need to get more out of your system?

[ The cocky smile makes him huff a laugh and he waits until his brother directs him, then closes the snake back up. Let's the fire sear through it. Hopefully the heat builds inside of it like a stone oven, and boils the venom.

If not, they may just have a just given a snake some very hot, very potent, venom. ]

... If this doesn't work, it might be worth prying the sac out. See if it returns, and if so, how long.

[ He sighs a little, staring at it as it lashes back and forth in Titans fist. It doesn't seem particularly bothered by the heat, the entire thing is stone, and Clive has a strong urge to simply tighten his hold until stone begins to grind against stone, chip off. He doesn't, though, even as angry as he is. ]

[ The name rings a bell in his head and he pauses to study him for a moment, before nodding. ]

You were at Lily's house.

[ And he hesitates. Just go, he wants to tell the young man, because those flowers are important to the well being of those bitten. But he had a feeling if he says that but obviously stays himself, then the boy will want to stay.

So he grunts for now and motions for him to walk, he'll follow. ]

Ah, yes. It's been a while, and things have been busy...

( so he figures that between everything, he just kind of forgot? he's not offended though.

chung gives a pleased smile that clive is not turning to self-destruction though, and nods. )

... How's your mana, by the way?

[ Busy has been an understatement. There's work on the portal, and dealing with the snakes, and his rage over losing Luca to them. He rubs the bridge of his nose lightly, pausing. ]

Mana?

Mmm... I'm not sure what other worlds call it. What fuels your magic? I just worry, overusing it isn't good for the body! But I know some quick fixes.

[ Joshua is hoping that isn't the case. That's the last thing they need. At least the smaller ones are easier to put down, if need be - he'd rather not have to deal with burns and bites later. ]

It wouldn't hurt to try.

[ As they wait, his eyes flick up at the larger stone guardians, watching for reforming and for even more smaller snakes. They don't need to lose focus and get caught unawares.

But the longer they wait, the less faith Joshua has that they can simply burn it from the inside out. He exhales sharply through his nose, looking back up at his brother. ]

Clive, I don't think it's working.

Oh. Aether. Don't worry, I don't run out.

[ Which sounds odd but that's exactly how his body has been built. His curse isn't brought on by the lack of it, after all. He offers a little, distracted smile.

He really wants to turn around and pummel snacks again, but he'll escort Chung back to the Clinic instead. ]

No, I don't think it is.

[ Or is it? The only way they can find out is by having the thing bite something and seeing whether the venom comes out, or whether all that's released is smoke. He tugs his glove off with his teeth, then takes it to hold it out to the snake. It only takes a few wiggles for the thing to strike, and Clive has to jerk his hand away quickly to avoid it getting his finger.

But it's enough to tell him the venom is still intact, as it drips into the glove. ]

Well, shit. We won't get the sac without pulling it apart, either.

[ So they just made it hot. Wonderful. He lets the thing have his glove as he summons another titan fist, to take hold of the snake with both and pull. It doesn't take much for Titan to pull the snake in half, onyx and amethyst chunks dropping to the ground. There's a stirring nearby from the bigger snacks pulling themselves together and now Clive finally hesitates. ]

Let's go.

[ Because... Joshua. He can't put his brother in danger. ]

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EVENT & TDM 022

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