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

[sesa]

[Well. Hearing "Rhodes rats" sure does get his attention, and not in a good way. Though he may not recognize this young voice, he does recognize the vitriol it spews, and although Sesa isn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer...he knows better than to go charging headfirst into the mist with his gun out against such direct threats.

If they're an enemy of Rhodes, then whoever this is would not hesitate to kill him. He knows that much.

That said...Sesa has decided he isn't leaving the doorway, meaning Mephisto has no easy escape route out if he wanted to try to leave. Unfortunately, Mephisto has branded himself as dangerous enough that Sesa would not in good conscience want to just let him slip back into the grove unattended.

The Vouivre's tail lashes, and he strains his eyes a bit. Would he be able to see anything through this fog?]

Calm yourself. Whoever you are, I am not here to fight, nor am I here to hurt you. I am just one individual, after all.

[...]

My name is Sesa. I was investigating the archives because I heard someone shouting.

[menophesto]

Ahhh, yes. That was me. You'll have to forgive me~! I'm sure anyone would be startled running into that глупая сука and her horrific amalgamation of a minion.

[ Ugh, the fact that he's by the door is miserable. Mephisto stops moving, rolling his eyes a moment. ]

Then here, how about this. Tha~ank you for checking up on little ol' me. You're su~uch a hero!

You can leave now~!

[sesa]

[Sesa is quiet...just for a moment.

Then he continues, calmly.]

I said I wasn't here to fight you. ...but can the same be said for you?

[His tail lashes again, whipping at the mist around them.]

If I leave, can I trust you aren't going to leave this building and hurt someone out there?

[menophesto]

[ Flatly: ] You sound like старик Flamebringer.

[ He sighs. ] What will you take as trust? Will you believe me at my word? "Oh yes, a~bsolutely! I'll definitely not hurt anyone!" Does that work for you?

And what will you do if I can't? Kill me?

[sesa]

[Mephisto makes a frustratingly good point. Sesa won't kill him, and the boy likely knows that. Meanwhile, Sesa's too good of a person to just let an enemy of Rhodes run rampant in the Grove, now that he knows this person is a threat of some sort. Because...if they're an enemy of Rhodes, they're an enemy of everyone. The Doctor has a habit of picking fights with some pretty bad folks.

So! He's at an impasse and upset about it. He wishes Elliot were here.]

You could start by showing yourself.

[menophesto]

[ Mephisto stares at Sesa through the mist, intentionally obscuring himself so Sesa cannot do the same. He considers for just a moment... This person doesn't seem near as violent as Ch'en or even how Flamebringer used to be. If Mephisto turns on this guy and actually takes his crutch to his kneecaps, he might just let it happen.

A pushover in Rhodes is a breath of fresh air, actually. Mephisto gives an exaggerated sigh, but after a moment he allows the mist to dissipate. Once it's gone, there's Mephisto, standing there with his crutch and a very sweet (sources needed) smile and a wave. ]

Привет~!

[sesa]

[..........................oh thank god a child.

Okay well. No. He knows too many child soldiers to be TOO relieved seeing a child here, because he knows that looks can be deceiving...even if he imagines whatever Arts Mephisto may have had before have been heavily nerfed. He absolutely doesn't trust that smile given how filthy his mouth has been thus far, and it shows in the way the Vouivre carries himself as he looks down at Mephisto with a slight grimace.]

An enemy of Rhodes. ...were you with Reunion, by chance?

[menophesto]

Does it matter? Either way, an enemy of Rhodes is an enemy of Rhodes, right? [ Not that Reunion is an enemy of Rhodes now. But Mephisto is entirely unaware of this. ] What about you? If I had to guess... [ Mephisto tilts his head from side to side, investigating him. ] Sniper. Artilleryman? Judging by your accent, Sargonian. The wear on your gloves... technician? No... engineer. [ A glance at the gun again, recognizing the firearm to be very much not from Laterano, and very much not the hand cannons from Iberia. Hence, very illegal. ] Huhu... gunsmith. Very little in the way of actual combat experience, though, am I right? That posture, no scars...

Mister Vouivre, how interesting you are.

[sesa]

[As Mephisto takes him apart verbally, bit by bit, Sesa's tail lashes behind him again. Honestly, if he weren't a pacifist, he'd be able to do something with his bulk. He'd just pick up Mephisto by the collar and knock him down a few pegs...but he's right. He's no fighter, he doesn't want to be one, and the only times he has engaged in combat have been out of necessity or going straight feral (hi remember that time Elliot got attacked by monsters during one event one time, he sure does because he ripped one's throat out with his teeth-). Not that Mephisto will ever know that.

His gaze narrows ever so slightly, and though he does reach down to let his hand settle on the grip of his gun, he has no intent of using it. Especially not here.]

I only know you to be Reunion because of your clothing.

[He admits, because otherwise he would have just been guessing blindly. But hey, Sesa's been using that empty head of his for something!]

I was not there for those battles...but I have heard much about you and your compatriots.

[menophesto]

[ The cheer leaves, leaving Mephisto with that very dull, harsh tone of his. ] Then you should also know that I'm no threat.

[ Not without an army of Infected, anyway. And without Sesa having some sort of cut or wound or just the Originium shards themselves on Sesa, there's no real way for Mephisto to tell if he's Infected. ]

Even if I were, it isn't like it would be hard to stop me. Does that bring you comfort?

[sesa]

...not particularly, no.

[But at this point, it's clear that neither of them are interested in putting up any sort of fight. Sesa, for his proclivity to avoid confrontation if at all possible, and Mephisto, for not having the resources to do so.

Still. He looks visibly unsure of the best course of action to take, considering the fact he knows that Mephisto has to be incredibly dangerous. Even if Reunion is no longer a threat now, that's to say nothing of its scattered members that do remain. He doesn't even realize the importance of the boy standing in front of him, either.]

...my name is Sesa. You've already surmised much about me just through observation alone.

May I know yours?

[Maybe, at least, a name will ring a bell.]

[menophesto]

You may not. Introductions are no longer necessary, I believe. We're enemies, that's all you need to know. Besides, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough.

[ With how loud and soft Flamebringer has gotten, he foresees the other Terrans here to know soon enough, anyway... ]

[sesa]

[Ah. Well. Maybe he should have expected that.

Sesa sighs, letting his hands drop to his sides.]

Alright. I won't keep you here, then, if you did intend to leave.

[He looks back at the doorway he's still kindof standing in, both half in and out at this point.

He will say one more thing, though.]

We are all trapped here. I am trying my best to not make enemies. If you consider us to be so, then there's not much more I can do about that beyond trying to prove to you that I do not intend to make your life here worse.

[menophesto]

I came here willingly. I was hoping to read until that ужасная сука showed up here. You're the one keeping me from doing research, you know...

[ He narrows his eyes, his tone dropping dead. ] You can prove that by leaving me the Hell alone, though. The offer to free a few pounds of leg from you is still there, though, if you really are so intent on talking with me.

[sesa]

[Sesa doesn't reply, not this time. He decides it's best to just leave it there and take himself someplace else. So he will, leaving the archives without another word.

He has to hope, at the very least, that Mephisto really is more interested in knowledge than he is trying to enact violence on the innocents here.]