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

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Comments

[unheiring]

[Frustration courses through him for a brief instant. Of course they would make this difficult. Lately, all they've done is sit and fight him, clinging to that childish stubborness. He wants to take them by the shoulders, beg for them to listen.

But he stops before he can. He can't blame them for their fear. They're both familiar with venom black as night, the feeling of losing someone because they didn't try hard enough. How could he ever begrudge her desperation.

The clinic won't help. It may only make things worse, but if it will make Kiera feel better for even a few minutes. he'll allow it. Despite his best instincts, he nods. Unfortunately, he swiftly finds that the movement leaves him unbalanced. His entire body begins to pitch forward, and he can't seem to find the strength to lift his arm to brace himself against the fall.]

[cryopathy]

[despite offering, kiera finds it damn near impossible to make good on their word. especially when luca goes slack and tries to eat shit --

they catch him, just barely, arm tightening around his back. at this point, they don't seem to have a choice in staying or going. given that his legs won't work anymore, they finally allow him to lower to the ground, and they join him.

even now, they sense his irritation, but even worse, they smell the beginnings of fear. just the slightest hint, but -- beasts. out of every emotion, fear has always been the most enticing to kiera. but as it comes off of luca, they find themself repulsed and horrified and... helpless. they can't bring themself to make good on their word. their heart pounds in their chest, in their throat and ears. kiera has never been one to allow panic to rule them, or to pretend like a horrible situation is just a dream or a test of faith. so why do they feel so desperate for a pinch or a miracle?]

Luca. [they hate the way their voice trembles.] You can rest for a moment, but you have to keep speaking to me.

[unheiring]

[The numbness doesn't come, but Luca can't bring himself to argue. As they both settle onto the ground, he can't help but curl closer to them. They've always felt cool to the touch compared to Luca's elevated temperature, but now they feel downright icy. He doubts it's a good sign, but he won't mention it aloud.

His head lolls, resting upon her arm. A sigh leaves him, as he tries to find something to say.]

'm sorry. Didn't mean to get you so worked up.

[cryopathy]

[there's still that voice of reason in the back of their mind, saying that they need to get him help sooner rather than later. that no act of goddess or beast will change what's coming. but... when has kiera ever refused to roll over at their brother's behest? all they can do is try to comfort him.]

Don't apologize. [they immediately sigh hard as soon as the words leave their lips.] No, do, actually. You should never have put yourself between that thing and me. [... and they wilt.] I should never have let you work so soon after envenomation.

[unheiring]

You worry too much. The Phoenix -

[He casts his mind out, expecting to hear another irritated harrumph. Instead, his mind simply echoes back at him, an endless void within his own mind. He grasps again at the connection, but can only feel the faintest flicker of flame.]

Ki - [They'll feel the brief spike of panic, even as he cuts himself off. Whatever happens, he can't tell them. He won't scare them in these final moments. He doesn't want it to be a bleak and hopeless rush for naught. Not when they can enjoy the spring breeze.]

- reminds me of when the snows first melted. When I took you by the hand and showed you the orchards. When we found the first dandelions.

'm sorry I haven't been that boy for so long.

[cryopathy]

[how is it that that breaks them? the sensation of hot tears spilling down one cheek and pooling under their eyepatch is so foreign and uncomfortable and embarrassing, they don't know how to react. not to themself, not to luca.]

Beasts, shut up, Luca. [there's no venom in their words, only something small and pitiful, like the child luca dragged across the estate.] Don't say that. Don't apologize for... being you.

[... they realize that before this moment, they haven't really accepted that this is luca, now. for so long, they've wanted him to be as he was. the innocent child in him is just as dead as the one in their own soul. and maybe it hurts knowing about themself, too... but that's something they can dwell on later, when luca is healed.

kiera knows it's useless. knows it's all but spitting in the face of all the suffering luca has endured over the years since cyrus' death. but they regress, anyway. luca might recall a time when a young kiera believed they were alone, crouched in front of the phoenix's effigy and thanking it for their family.]

Please. He's all I have left. [and echoed words that luca himself won't remember.] I've been faithful to You most of my life and only ever asked You for one thing. I fully intend to keep my word, but I can't if You let him die. Fight this False Beast -- find the strength to heal him.

[unheiring]

[There's no way of knowing if the Phoenix might have been roused by Kiera's words. Whatever bond connected the two had long been obscured by the venom. Though Luca's skin is as warm as ever, it's from the fever, more than anything.]

'n here I thought you hated this me. [He tries to laugh, but it turns into a cough that rattles his entire body. He curls tighter against Kiera afterward, thoroughly exhausted from the effort. He doesn't even realize his eyes have slipped closed.]

forgive you... if you did. Always will. [His hand clutches against whatever part of them he can reach.] Always'll love you.

[cryopathy]

[at his words, they shake their head immediately and firmly.]

Never, Luc. I've never hated you. I -- [he chokes on his own laughter, and she chokes past more tears. they pull him tighter to their body, subconsciously trying to keep him close.] I hate myself. Hate that you had to become this way. That you're not happy anymore. That I couldn't protect you, or Father...

[once more, she shakes her head, but it's softer this time. resigned, like he is.] Don't say that. You're not going anywhere.

Please.

[unheiring]

Hey -

[Luca glances up, eyes slowly opening. His vision is so blurry that he can't see specifics, but he can still make out the purple of her eye through the murk. He does his best to hold her gaze, even as his strength wanes.]

Who says 'm not happy, Ki? Got my sibling back, didn't I? Still - get to see father every day. Can't ever forget his face now, huh? 'n I finally... stole a man from you.

[He cracks a grin, only for it to shatter as he coughs. He tries to lift his hand fast enough to cover up the blood that puddles forth, but Kiera will surely know that it's there.]

But you're right. Not going anywhere. Still got my baby sibling to protect. [Despite his attempt at assurance, Luca's eyes close. His head lolls, coming to rest against her lap once more.]

Won't - leave you again - [With each word, his breath becomes more and more labored. Speaking is exhausting. He simply wants to sleep, but he can't. There's so much more to say, so little time to say it.]

Ki-Kiera A-aurelius.

[He smiles, faint but there all the same. It tries so hard to be reassuring despite the blood smeared on his lips, and the pain pinching his brow. He doesn't want her to be afraid for him, not right now.

It's why he has to hang on.

Just a little longer.

Just a few more breaths. One quivering inhale, a staggered exhale.

And then? Nothing.]

1/2

[cryopathy]

[this is too alike the memory she intruded upon recently. from taking a blow to protect, to poison in his system, to the coughed up blood... except kiera realizes she was right; she doesn't have luca's strength. she can't bring herself to take his cares away, much less to mercy kill him.

no, she allows him to fade in her arms, like a pathetic, weak coward. the moment his last breath shudders, her tears cease to fall.

she waits. waits for the phoenix to make good on its ability, as luca has long insisted it will. she waits.

and waits.]

2/2

[cryopathy]

[her mind is blank, except for the nagging thought that the renovan dead must be properly honored. she can't just leave him here to rot.

if she does, it's only for a few moments, to slip inside her quarters and retrieve the aurelian reserve he gifted her months ago. her perception of time comes and goes, and before she half realizes what she's done, luca's lifeless body lays upon a stack of hay bales pulled from storage, drenched in the wine their father bottled with his own hands.

if the phoenix won't, or can't burn him, she will. she may not have magical flame, but she knows how to use a match.

traditional funerary rites dictate that cremations be observed, but kiera's mind is slipping further away from her. the red of the flames overtakes her vision and her thoughts like blood.

she only remains long enough to confirm that the pyre will take. then she turns and walks directly into the forest path.]