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

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood snorts at that, the pan in front of him sizzling as he tilts it a bit to make sure the eggs he's cooking right now don't stick. Not only does he have a tail, but a pair of horns with the right one broken off...and if Bakugo is very perceptive, he may notice the peeking glint of metal at his left ankle. A prosthetic.]

Hardly. If you want somethin' from me, kid, better get it now, cause I don't do this every day.

[nitrotempered]

[ Perceives, though, he is looking for scars that are telling him if this guy is a fighter or not. ]

What, you turning over a new leaf for the day old man? Sounds lame, [ Says the teen, in the most punk ass way ever. Shoving his hands into his pockets and stepping into the kitchen with a slight punk ass slouch. ] but you better be a good cook if you're trying to show up for something.

[lupusxylem]

Oi, watch who you're callin' old man, you lil' shit. S'like you don't want breakfast.

[Now Wolfwood turns to look at Bakugo...and this man sure is fucking scarred!! He has a massive burn scar over his right eye, one that disappears down his neck into his collar. That's one of the new ones too, not even scratching the surface of all of the many other scars that litter his body.]

[nitrotempered]

[ Damn, fine, Bakugo gives him some street cred. ]

EHHH? [ Loud and annoying - hopefully, he didn't wake up anyone with that noise. ] You actin' like I'm a helpless little boy who can't find his way around a kitchen - well news to you, OLD MAN, this guy [ He means himself... ] can cook better than you could!

[lupusxylem]

[Bakugo YOU'RE the one who came in here with an attitude, but alright...Wolfwood knows a kindred spirit when he sees one. He sighs and tilts his head to one side, tipping his skillet over to let the eggs slide off onto a waiting plate with toast nearby.]

Well why don't you put your money where your mouth is? I could use the help.

[nitrotempered]

[ YOU ARE RIGHT Wolfwood, he's just grumpy because he thinks if he's cooking that Bakugo will have to OWE him because he thinks people are like that. ]

Fine, I will. [ Which.. This was the outcome he wanted: helping. The end. ] But not because you asked ... [ He has to make that a point walking over to where the kitchen appliances are - which are? How updated is this Kitchen? He's looking around and scoping out what is offered here. ]

[lupusxylem]

[For Bakugo's benefit, everything here is like...there are appliances, but they are not modern. They're old timey and very much outdated (except for a coffee machine, thanks Mizuki), but it'll get the job done. It's just probably going to be slower and more annoying to work with than anything he would have had back home, sorry about that.

Wolfwood, meanwhile, is cracking another egg with one hand into the pan.]

Sure, I get it.

[nitrotempered]

What the hell is all this? [ Bakugo lifts up the old toaster and gives it a little wiggle, ] We living in the stone ages or something? Why is the coffee machine the only thing that isn't outdated? You old folks should lay off the caffeine, you know...

[lupusxylem]

[Boy if you keep calling him old-]

How long you been here, again? Everythin' here is like this. If you're from modern Earth or whatever, don't expect to have a workin' cellphone.

The only reason we have the coffee machine is 'cause squirt bought that for the Inn a long time ago. Long before I got here.

[nitrotempered]

What are you dumb too? [ That confirms one thing to Bakugo... That apparently showing up here, or coming to this area was an affair in of itself. ] I just got here, obviously.

[ The attitude is strong with this one; he sets the toaster back down and moves to the coffee. ] How the hell do you buy something from the future when everything else here is old as heck?

[ He is looking for bread, hell, if he can find some he'll shove it in the toaster. He wants a sandwich for breakfast - he needs a lot of protein to boot. ]

[lupusxylem]

Got a fuckin' mouth on you, don'tcha?

[Wolfwood huffs, rolling his eyes.]

It's magic. Don't ask me how it works, just that it does. If you want more info on that, go talk to the shopkeeper.

[For Bakugo's benefit, the kitchen is stocked with the usual necessities, so he shouldn't have too much trouble finding things.]

[nitrotempered]

What the fuck? [ Bakugo gives the other the most - what the fuck? Look ever. ] Damn, gramps you already getting dementia?

[ He is asking out of concern, ]

Fine... [ He's fiddling around, has bread in the toaster. I look around to see if there is flour for pancakes. Fruit to add to it - anything else mildly delicious- looking to make something filling for breakfast. Bakugo would prefer his protein shake, but what they have will gotta make do. ] After Breakfast.

[lupusxylem]

[For that, Bakugo gets slapped with Wolfwood's tail. No warning, no explanation, just a whack across his knees. It's easy enough to explain as an involuntary accident, but how should he know? He's soooo olddddddd.]

Just make sure you don't burn the toast. I ain't gonna get blamed for smokin' in the Inn again.

[nitrotempered]

[ The wee boy loses his balance but finds it easy to fall back on his feet from the incidental whacking - ]

WHAT THE HELL, GRAMPS, [ Sorry Wolfwood, looks like it's sticking for now. ] WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?

[ The toast is cooking and Bakugo is grabbing a box of flour of pancakes looking at the other with a menacing look - ] YOU WANNA GO OLD MAN? I'LL COOK SOMETHING RIGHT NOW THAT'LL BLOW YOUR STUPID EGGS AWAY IF YOU DONT WATCH YOURSELF.

[lupusxylem]

My problem is that you're a disrespectful little punk. You remind me too much of me when I was your age, and that's a bad thing.

[I mean, at least he's self aware.

Anyway Wolfwood shows no remorse for the tail-whacking, nor does he seem bothered by Bakugo challenging him. His therapy is clearly working (for now) as he finishes up with the egg he was frying, depositing it onto a piece of toast.]

Look, you just got here, right? If you keep mouthin' off like that to everyone who looks at you funny, you are going to get your ass beat. And I say that knowing that half the people here are, like, too goodie two-shoes for their own good.

[...]

But if you think you can make better eggs than me, then you're gonna be disappointed. Wanna put your money where your mouth is?

[nitrotempered]

AS IF YOU'D EVER BE ANYTHING LIKE ME!! I'm one of a kind. [ He really said that out loud; unfortunately, he is a bit dumbfounded that Wolfwood basically said: Hey, you remind me of me when I was young. What is someone his age supposed to even say to something like that? He hates the attempt at vulnerability that Wolfwood is trying to take with him and denies it by acting as if he himself is better as a person. Rather, has to act that way or else he has nothing. ]

Not my problem if everyone wants to be the same copy-pasted boring mess - that's on them. I don't need anything from anyone - ever, anyway. [ Meaning, he doesn't need anyone to like him to continue being the person that he is. Which, Wolfwood doesn't know that this means a Hero, but, that's what he is at heart. ]

Tch, [ He moves closer, trying to find a few eggs and a pan to cook his own breakfast with. ] wanna fucking bet then?

[lupusxylem]

[It's only because he was this kid that Wolfwood knows what Bakugo's angle is, here. He's trying to convince the world- and himself- that he's something. He's big, he's loud, he's here.

I'm here.

So, he can't completely fault him for that. But, at the same time, he isn't just going to back down from a direct challenge either.]

I sure do.

[He nods towards the stove.]

It's simple. We both fry an egg. Cook it however you want, season it however you want, but just one egg. Then we pull somebody to come try both and tell us who's is better.

cw: season 7 spoilers

[nitrotempered]

[ Even now more then ever, because he's got something to prove. ]

[ Desperate almost to prove, he didn't just die for nothing - right? Didn't just die, pathetically - huh? ]

The problem there is you've been here way longer, [ He crosses his arm, ready to commit to this, but his point still stands. ] how am I going to know this shit isn't rigged? No, we make 3 eggs each and feed 6 mouths.

There even 6 people in this shoddy place?

[lupusxylem]

Way more than six.

[Unfortunately.]

But fine, whatever. I'll even let you pick the people, if you want. Make it more "fair" and all.

[He says as he walks towards the fridge to pull out the full egg carton, since they're cooking so many now.]

[nitrotempered]

[ Idk why I thought 6 people for 3 eggs maybe 3/14 me was cooking something but now we have to make 12 eggs for 6 people we are going to be normal about this.

Unfortunately Mun rolled a fucking 6, so likely what happens instead of the best eggs in the world. Bakugo has no idea where any of the shit is in the kitchen and ends up with some normal ass cooked eggs.

He's so serious about these eggs, though. 6 eggs, he's ready to forcibly make 6 random people eat his 6 eggs and the Gramps eggs - is Wolfwood done with his eggs? ]

READY TO LOSE???

[lupusxylem]

[It's fine they're just making Lots of Eggs.

Wolfwood, meanwhile, does not get the luxury of me rolling for him. Why? Because his eggs were always just going to be Fine. They're technically sound and taste like Egg. But there's really nothing fancy about them. No fancy plating, no garnishes, no special spices other than salt and pepper. It is not offensive, but it would get you kicked out of culinary school for being boring as hell.

But yep, his are done. All cooked sunny-side with fully cooked whites and soft yolk in the middle.]

Tch. Yeah, sure. We'll see what they say.

[nitrotempered]

[ Bakugo's are prettier even if they just taste like eggs - it looks like what they both have here is just EGGS. EGG 1 AND EGG 2. ]

Give me two seconds... [ And so Bakugo takes a whole 12 plates of Eggs to go find people to torment with. ] Gramps...

[lupusxylem]

[Don't mind him he's just going to eat breakfast finally while he waits.]