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]

[Goodbye cigarette...he doesn't seem bothered much though, he's more focused on the guy smoking it.

Wolfwood, obviously, knew about that. He saw the sketches for the engagement ring, so it's been in the back of his mind that the guy had decided to go forward with proposal which like, honestly good for him. Wolfwood sure hasn't been able to reach that point, but god he's trying. Grappling with your unruly emotions is difficult, and he wasn't lying when he said he wasn't sure he knew how to love people properly. He's often not even sure how he managed to get three boyfriends, though they all mean the world to him.

So. Here they are. They've reached an impasse, and Flamebringer asks him if he wants to figure out what they are. What they are now.

Wolfwood sighs, shaking his head with his hands still in his pockets, and takes the initiative himself to move closer, even though Flamebringer was already very much in his space before. Then he tilts his head back, looking at Flamebringer eye-to-eye.]

Not sure I've ever seen you so nervous.

[It's not mocking. It carries more of a teasing lilt than anything.]

We ain't what we were, back then. But I think we can be somethin' different, now. That's fine too.

[He...bonks his forehead into Flamebringer's, very careful to avoid any part of him that's crystalized when he does this, mind.]

I like fuckin' 'round with you. I like beatin' the shit outta each other, and...I like sleepin' with you after. Or any other time, really.

[Wolfwood shrugs one shoulder, his cheeks now dusting a deeper red than before.]

We don't do that same soft, sappy shit...but I like it that way. Don't you?

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Three boyfriends and a Flamebringer*]

Not nervous.

[Said man who is nervous, because emotions make him nervous, not in the same way that Wolfwood might clock from Ain but in a very "I've crossed this territory before and it freaks me out every time I have to do it again" way.

Wolfwood bonks their heads together, and Flamebringer is quick to bonk back, like a cat. He pushes against Wolfwood's forehead receptively, pulling the cigarette from his lips only to exhale the smoke against Wolfwood's.

Gross. You're gross.]

I prefer you when you're a bit of a cock anyway. ...not that I didn't like those sweeter moments back then, but that's not either of us now, is it? If you stop being insufferable now, I'll think I did something wrong.

[Keeping it unlabelled because the "what" they are doesn't fit any category... feels good. It feels like the best option.]

[lupusxylem]

[Three boyfriends and a Flamebringer :)

Yeah. He actually likes the sound of that.

And he likes this, too, he's realizing. Because when Flamebringer pushes against him and exhales smoke against his lips, Wolfwood parts his own to breathe it in deep, the action feeling oddly practiced and easy.

You know what else he'll do? He'll take the opportunity of being as close as they are to close the gap, pressing their lips together for just a brief moment, long enough to feel the warmth of the others' mouth before he draws back and nips at Flamebringer's bottom lip, tugging it before letting go.

WHAT are you GAY for.]

I ain't gonna stop bein' a cock anytime soon, so you'd best get used to it.

[His lips quirk in something of a smile as he pulls back just enough to take a breath of clear air.]

I'll be back to kickin' your ass tomorrow. You get a freebie, today.

[thebladebringstheflame]

[The bite at least gets something of a flustered grunt out of him. Alright, lick the ashes from his mouth while you're at it, why don't you?

He takes a step back as well, the cigarette burnt out to the butt now. Flamebringer isn't one to throw the butts on the ground, and instead incinerates the rest to ash with a small fire in his palm. The ashes fly free on the wind, and then he pivots on his heel, facing away from Wolfwood and jamming his hands into his pockets.]

Come to the tat shop again sometime. Let me add to that piece on your arm.

[If Wolfwood had wanted something to represent his partners, well, wouldn't he want a more permanent reminder of the mark Flamebringer's left on him, too?

Maybe this is sort of like a promise.

He pulls his hand out of his pocket and gives Wolfwood a wave over the shoulder.]

Don't get killed, sheygets. See ya later.

[lupusxylem]

[WOW you two sure are fucking gay for not putting labels on anything. Like my god.

Flamebringer won't be able to see the way Wolfwood's brows raise towards his hairline as he turns to leave. He's adding to the tat, huh? Well...he can't say he hates the idea of that.]

Yeah. Alright.

[He's imagining another flower...that's definitely what he wants to add right? Right-

He watches him as he goes without following, feeling as if a weight he didn't realize existed had been lifted off his shoulders.]

See you.