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

code

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Mephisto stops stabbing the snake, and just picks it up with the blade and tosses it somewhere nebulously. ]

So, like me~? I wonder if I'm the bad omen that brought them here, then? Haha!! Wouldn't that be hilarious?? Show up somewhere new, there's things trying to kill you! You should be used to that by now, right? Come on, now, we're just doing something you're most comfortable with! Why not make sure we finish you off?!

[ Mephisto is smiling, but... his eyes look a bit dead. Till probably knows that sort of distant look, surely. It's not too uncommon to one he had- ]

Oh, where are my manners! Introductions are important, especially in a hellhole, right? I'm Mephisto! What about you, friend? Or, I should hope that would be alright to call you~? If not, I'm more than happy to make you my enemy.

[Ohhh my god why did you have to be a freak. You were absolutely giving off Luka vibes and he HATES that he was correct.

Till is careful to stay put, not wanting to just try walking off, lest Mephisto decides to try stabbing him next. Maybe he'll learn to stop talking to people, but mostly he's just getting a bit unlucky.

He recognizes those eyes. It hurts to look at them, in a distinctly personal way.

Subconsciously, Till pulls his scarf up a little, partially over his mouth.]

...Till. My name is Till.

[He doesn't comment on the friend thing, please don't be his friend actually, but he knows better than to SAY THAT-]

[ Mephisto starts to stagger over to where Till is now. Till can... definitely tell that he'd easily be able to outrun this kid, though. That crutch, although unsettling in appearance, is not just for show. There's something weird about the way he walks. And, actually, if Till looks closer at where the snakes had tried to bite into his legs, he'll notice that there doesn't really seem to be anything through those holes.

He's 14. He's not used to his prosthetics. ]

Oh, it's so a pleasure, Till. You know, you should really be careful out here! You never know what sort of horrid, awful things you'll meet!

[ This is probably a threat, which becomes more apparent the closer he gets. There's a moment where Till might even think that he's going to jam that blade into his foot. He's free to jump back, and he'll definitely see Mephisto try to do this-...

Or... wait... no. It's another snake. Mephisto's blade skews off this one with a "tch" from the boy himself before he just decides to step on it with one of his false legs. ]

What pests.

[Till is quite perceptive. Perceptive enough to clock the weirdness in Mephisto's gait, and the way it looks like the snake bite from before didn't really affect him at all. Coupling that with the crutch...it's easy to hazard a guess as to what he's seeing, here.

He feels like he should move away. The closer the boy gets, the faster his heart races, and he feels this sense like he's in danger despite the fact that Mephisto hasn't directly tried to hurt, or even be aggressive towards him yet. It's that same feeling he gets when he looks at Luka basically ever, just.

Freak. Freak-

So yes, when he suddenly jabs at the ground with the blade, Till does jump back as he automatically assumes he's being stabbed at. He's breathing faster, now.

Fuck.]

I-

[He grimaces, then glances away...but only for a second. He doesn't want to take his eyes off of him for long.]

I want to know what's out here. I don't want to be caught off guard.

Hm? With how jumpy you are, I'm not so sure that's such a good idea, you know~? Especially not if you're going to get so skittish around little things like these.

[ Mephisto grinds his leg into the snake the best he can without any real control of his foot, but it's hard to really do any damage to it. If only these were made out of Originium. That would've made his life so much easier.

After, he starts laughing. ] Just kidding! I know it's me that's got you all on edge!!! But, that's even sadder! I'm just a kid, y'know! One with no~othing here or to his name or anything like that! Do you think you'd stand a chance against a real monster? Ты жалок.

[ He kicks the snake away and closes the distance, reaching his hand out to take Till's with a smile that teeters between sweet and sociopathic. ]

I'll come with you, then. I don't have anything to lose, either.

[This kid...he may be "just a kid", but he's sharp. Dangerous. Till can tell because he knows people like him, and he knows how they operate. They're difficult to predict, and that's what he hates about them the most. He really doesn't know how to deal with them, and it's why to this day he feels like Mizi hauling off and kicking Luka's ass on stage was more than even he would have ever been able to accomplish.

Knowing that he's up against him next, whenever that ends up being, still makes his stomach churn.

Before Till can think to move away, Mephisto is already at his side and reaching for his hand. Normally, where Till might have avoided the touch, he's too stiff to do anything but let it happen, his brain working a mile a minute to try to figure a way out of this but coming up empty.

At least, if nothing else, he isn't on his bad side.]

M...m'pretty sure it's all just more of these.

[He says in an undertone, indicating the snakes squirming around them.]

[ Mephisto is not the hand-holding sort normally. Eno was, but these days the only person he would ever be physical with was Faust. Maybe FrostNova on the rare occasion. This is just a precaution, to stay close to Till so he can keep an eye out for more of these constructed beasts. Mephisto's got excellent eyesight for this, after all. The other reason... well, the other reason was just because he likes to see this man so freaked out. It's fun, isn't it? That he can still unsettle strangers who have no idea what he's capable of.

He lost everything. But at least he can still pin people under his thumb with fear. If there's nothing else, at least he'll always have that. ]

Here in this town, maybe. [ His voice suddenly dropped to something very serious. Not the chipper, fake tone from before. ] Out in those woods, I've seen big shadows. There's something else out there.

[Till is, unfortunately, allergic to freaks. He will ALWAYS be like this around them. Be they Luka, or Ivan, or Mephisto. He's the perfect kind of target for these types, like...his life is full of them, it would seem.

The way his attitude keeps shifting on a dime just makes him that much more unpredictable to be around. It's forcing Till to exercise a huge amount of attention to keep an eye on this guy...]

If they're in the woods, then maybe they'll stay there. Otherwise...there's no reason they wouldn't have just already come into town.

What's this? You can't say something brave and then back out when something scary gets brought up! Idiot...

[ ...What is he doing? Just being Mephisto sees his life as disposable, doesn't mean he should be doing this. It's been fun teasing Till, but he's got no part in this. Maybe...

...

Maybe Mephisto is just so scared of being alone. ]

But alright, whatever. We can find somewhere that you can at least see if one of these things come at you. Maybe inside somewhere??

[Mephisto please point to where Till said something brave because he's pretty sure you're making that up--

Yes, Till has (and kindof still does) want to just go into the Forest to see what's out there despite peoples' warnings against the latter, but he hasn't yet managed to muster the courage to do so. Which, in the end, is cowardly in and of itself. How else is he supposed to know if he doesn't go see for himself? Does he really believe what he's being told, here?

Ugh.]

Yeah....sure. There's plenty enough of these buildings close to the edge of the woods.

[ Mephisto sees "I want to know what's out here" as a brave thing. Entering the unknown and all that!! It's better than hiding or something like that. ]

Oh, fantastic. Then you shouldn't need my help finding one, right, старик? I'll go out there, and hey, if I find something fun, I promise you'll be the first to see it. [ So, you know, if he comes back with a giant actual-vampire-bat, you've been warned! ] Your legs still work, get moving, come on. [ Chop chop!!! Unless you have some qualms about letting a 14 year old disabled kid out in the forest alone- ]

[Boy you're lucky he can't speak Russian-

Also yes, actually! As much as this kid is freaking him out, he also doesn't, like. Want to abandon him to potentially die out there. He's just a kid after all, sharp tongue notwithstanding.]

You're going by yourself?

Is that a real question? Idiot. [ Not even in Russian this time. Just wholeass calling this man stupid.

He lets go of Till and starts his limping towards the treeline. ] You've gotten boring, anyway. You're not Infected, either, and that's no fun.

Haah? Why would I want to be infected with something?

[Lol lmao-]

If you go out there by yourself and get yourself killed, they're all gonna think it's my fault for letting you. You're just a kid.

"Want" to be. Are you implying any sort of infection is desired?? [ Why won't this dumbass just take the hint and leave?? ]

Do you hear yourself right now? Do you think anyone is going to fault you for not being out here with these pests going around? Use your head for once, okay? You did your best to convince me to come with you, or "I tried to tell him to come inside, but he simply would not listen", or, better yet, realize no one is even gonna notice!

[Till grits his teeth, the sound of them grinding audible between his ears.]

It ain't just 'bout what other people might think.

[But he doesn't want to outright say "I'd feel guilty about letting you die out there". Like wow! How MANY people have died before him now huh????

He doesn't want that happening again, even if it's for a snot-nosed kid who would probably gladly let him die in the dirt somewhere.]

I want to leave this place. Trust me. I've tried.

But there's...something out there. It's keeping us all in.

[ He teeters on his feet for a moment, trying to think about what to do or say. He just wants this person to leave him alone now. Before, when he thought Till was wanting to go and see what other dangers there were, he thought it would be best to tag along, if just because he seems to have a sharper eye for these snakes than Till. But now, he's just being hopelessly heroic. And for who? Mephisto?

What an idiot. The chipper and condescending tone is completely gone. There's just the flat, dead-sounding one in its place. ]

I don't trust you. I think you didn't try hard enough.

I'm going out there. If you come with me, I'll use you as food for these pests.

[He doesn't know what to do, now.

He wants to leave. Make no mistake, he's been trying to think of a way to slip out of Mephisto's grasp this entire time, and maybe if he just got bored and left that would have been fine...but now he's going to charge into the forest and probably die to some giant snake, and Till mentally isn't sure he's able to cope with that sort of thing.

He watches Mephisto for a moment, his expression tense and unreadable.]

Then let me show you what I've seen. I don't expect you to trust me, because I don't trust anybody here.

It's something you have to see with your own eyes to believe it.

[ ...

Alright. He supposes that'll work. Win-win all around, really. ]

Stick close to me, then. I seem to have a knack for finding these pests.

[Till is definitely going to be wondering, as he walks into the dark woods with Mephisto, if this was a good idea after all. No time to take it back now.

He starts forward, and though he will stay close to Mephisto's side, he's also obviously leading the way in a way that suggests he has walked down this path before.

It's silent as they go, for what it's worth.]

[ The silence is appreciated. Though he doesn't hold onto Till's hand anymore in a threatening and unsettling way anymore, he does still opt to hold onto the hem of Till's shirt, pinching it and helping it keep him somewhat more stabilized. From the hollow "thunks" Mephisto makes with every footstep, Till can probably deduce that both his legs are fucked up somehow. The long socks of his are covering up the prosthetics, though. Regardless, it means they're not going to go very fast. This seems to be able the fastest he can move, actually, since if Till ever tries to speed up, he'll just get a tug against his shirt to pull him back.

He's still diligent about the snakes in the grass, too. He's keeping his word and adjusting himself as needed to keep himself between Till and them, doing various things to stop them. Stomping on them, flinging them with his crutch, or just outright tugging on Till. ]

[Till doesn't know what to make of the way Mephisto is holding on to the edge of his shirt, but he doesn't stop him. The duality of his moods is so strange to him...one moment he's off his hinges, and the next he's silent and holding onto him like his true age. But, it's not like Till can't judge whatever behavior he's exhibiting. He's seen...much worse, admittedly.

So. They'll walk in silence, with Till walking as slowly as he needs to so that Mephisto isn't left behind. It does mean that their walk is going to be very slow, like definitely hours (to them) of walking, but it was always going to be. Hours of walking in silence through the dark, foreboding trees, with snakes trying to attack them at every turn. By some miracle, neither of them get bitten, though they do experience a few close calls...it's hard not to, in a forest this dense and thick.

But eventually...eventually. The Fog Wall looms, as it was always going to.]

...

[ Mephisto frowns at it. It's almost like... how in video games, when you're not supposed to go to the next area, they just put a barrier like this. Not that Mephisto has ever played a video game, but he at least is roughly familiar with the concept. It doesn't look like it's stopping them necessarily, but reaching out and touching it immediately makes him reel back when he feels something trying to creep in his head. Hate that, thanks. ]

Is it... a dome...? Are we stuck here?

Edited 2025-03-12 04:11 (UTC)

A dome...a wall. It's the same no matter what you call it.

[And he doesn't have to explain what happens when you try to brute force through it. Mephisto just now felt it for himself, he could tell by the way he flinched back the moment his fingertips made contact with the black fog.]

We can't go anywhere. At least not this way.

[ Mephisto just stares at the fog for a very, very long time in silence. He's definitely thinking, though with those dead eyes of his, it's hard to tell what's really on his mind. It's sort of reeling with a lot of information, but the main things seem to be, one, that there's definitely Rhodes operators, considering the first person he'd met here was Flamebringer, two, that they're trapped here, and three, this is not his world and he's stuck with people he doesn't know and likely will hate him because of... well, just how he is. ]

........Ehe...

[ Mephisto's hand drops from Till to cover half of his face, a deranged sort of smile on his face. It's not... great! That's for sure. ]

Ehehehahahahahaha!!!

[ He wants to cry. He doesn't. He thinks that he might have forgotten how to a long time ago. Instead, he makes very dramatic gestures with his hand. ]

Of course! What's a bird useful for except to be caged?! [ This isn't towards Till, but rather, the Forest. He'd heard there's something out there that's keeping them here, after all. ] If you truly wished for this to be Hell, though, I'm afraid you've missed the mark~! I've already been there~! I very politely refuse to play in your boring games okay~?

[ He laughs again, but eventually just drops his head down, his tone falling flat. ]

...Я так устал.

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