sticksandbones | 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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Some of it? [Why is he asking him this now...?] The snn...akes. I h-haven't seen the snakes before...

[ Keeping him concious, focus on something else other then the pain, being an asshole - normal reasons. Either way, he kind of sits with that answer for a moment. Not something he wanted to hear. ]

Great, had to get stuck in some psychotic place straight out of a movie.

[That might make him laugh some other time. Unfortunately for now he's too busy gritting his teeth and limping along. He's definitely starting to feel worse, and Bakugo might start to notice him putting more of his weight on him.]

Y-yeah... sucks, right?

Sucks less, [ He shifts, trying to ensure Min doesn't fall behind or lose himself in the steps they take. ] because at least you know what a damn movie is.

[ Either way, when they come to the clinic. Bakugo is slamming the door right open as if he lives there - sorry to everyone within the clinic. If Min wants to move around, Bakugo is inclined to shuffle him over to a bed so he can start to get some rest. Or prepare to be seen. Listen, Bakugo is still new to this area. ]

OYE!!! OYE!! Weird Flower Lady, or whatever.. Where are you?

( by talos this can't be happening

but it is. lily rushes in from another patient's room, and- ah. )

Is it a bite, or something else?

[Weirdly, he kind of gets that. It's debatable whether it's more or less funny because of the poison that's now definitely taking hold, but it does prompt a twisted sort of smile. Combined with how blotchy and sweaty he's become it's pretty horrible.

On the plus side it's not exactly difficult to steer him towards the nearest bed. He doesn't lie down, but he does sit down, jumping when Lily rushes in.]

Oh. Lily.

[That doesn't answer her question.]

Yeah, I managed to blast it before it scuttled off. Damn bugger' but the dumbass here got bit all the same... [ A beat, his arms crossing as he starts to take a step back meaning to leave inevitably. ] Is this just it? Do people walk around and get hurt all the time? [ Bakugo seems to stammer, a bit uncertain about the situation at hand. ]

This is... a new phenomenon, but it seems to be inspired by a previous attack that targeted my own house. We do get attacked a lot though, in... often unique ways.

The gems that altered our personalities and made our mental illnesses worse was particularly awful for something that didn't cause bloodshed.

( then, to min as she gets her supplies- )

Where is the bite? I will clean it, and then we're going to have you rest once you take some medicine.

... Bakugo, while I treat the wound, can you make some tea for him, please? The blend in the gold jar on my desk- it helps the pain.

[At this point a lot of what they're saying is going over his head. Min zones out, nodding as though he's listening while they discuss... whatever. It actually takes him a moment to realize Lily's talking directly to him, but at least once it registers he's cooperative. He stops nodding to pull up his trouser leg, hissing sharply as the fabric catches the wound on the back.]

I'm okay. Just need... warm.

I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING ERRAND BOY DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! [ Is what he says but he's already hands in his pockets, shuffling over to the kitchen. Boiling water comes first, so he will set the water into the kettle. Only to move back around to grab the Gold Jar as stated from her desk. Min will see him mumbling and bitching about stuff back and forth as he goes about making him tea. ]

Thank you, Bakugo.

( you aren't her first spicy baby. you won't be the last.

lily cleans the wound first, before disinfecting it- it might sting a bit, but it's likely not even noticeable compared to the other effects of the venom.

bakugo will find that the tea is a lavender and chamomile blend. it smells very nice, actually! )

[It does sting, but likely his shivering is interfering more than any flinching. Min seems distracted, which might make her work easier as long as he keeps still. But he does keep squinting into thin air.]

Kez...? When did you get here?

[ Don't worry, he is still making the tea; it'll be done next, Bakugo reply. He is doing his job!!!

You can hear his grumbling if you listen closely... ]

Stupid dumbasses making me the fucking errand boy; who do they think I AM?

... Can you tell me about Kez, Min-Gi?

( trying to break a hallucination can be harmful. so while bakugo throws his little hissy fit, she needs to keep min present with caution. )

She's right here.

[Though strangely quiet. Min-Gi's brow furrows in confusion when she doesn't speak up for herself.]

She's normally so talkative. I don't...

[It doesn't make sense, but he's in too much pain to try and coax her into being his usual self. It's strange that he would even have to.]

[ After a million years, Bakugo will, infact. Come back with the tea. Placing it promptly on top of a table. He is listening, but also, not really. It isn't his business too. ]

Don't expect me to pour it out for you.

EVENT & TDM 022

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