MINI-EVENT: RETURN FROM THE MOUNTAINS

[sticksandbonesmods]

You are tired.

Without the truck to come get you — where did those people go? Were they even real? — you have to walk, hike up to the mountain peak, only to go back down. Did no one tell you that just the base of the mountains to the Grove itself is a seven-day walk? Perhaps someone would have, if they were here to tell you.

As all of you escape Roseroot, leaving behind the horrors slaughtered en masse, poor Astrid is suddenly blinded, his eyes turning completely black as something whispers in his mind. “Please. Please, you have to help them. You have to help them. Please, please, you have to—” As quick as it came, he regains his vision, his eyes clearing back up, and the message cuts off. Whether he shares this information or not with the rest of you… that’s up to him.

Either way, to get over the mountains, you have to hike. The winged, the flighted ones, those who can float, they might be able to take people up to the peak faster, but the blizzards rage atop it. Is flying really safe? You have only a few supplies between all of you — do you look for firewood and rest along the path? Do you traverse the mazelike caverns and hope one of you spits you out at a higher peak? Do you take shelter underneath the crystals growing on the mountainside?

If you look at those crystals for too long, they seem to reflect your nightmares back at you, but sleeping beneath them gives an incredible sense of calm.

At the mountain peak is the scene of something nightmarish itself — a group of people, some humanoid, one shadowy, a few monstrous, all collapsed. Each of them sleeps beneath the bulk of a golden dragon, tucked up underneath their bulk for warmth, while the unconscious dragon itself is mostly-buried under the snow. In the air float three charms, one of the sun, one of the moon, and one of half a sun. And just under those, maintaining some sort of magic — though even the magically-inclined may struggle to tell what exactly it is — is a leucistic deer-centaur holding a staff with a dreamcatcher head, wearing furs and leathers and braving the blizzard in his unconscious state solely to keep whatever this magic field around the peak is running.

As soon as you step further into this field, your memories come back en masse. These people are yours. They are your Guardians, your friends, your almost-family, and they disappeared one day, and you did not remember them. When you go to wake one of them up, your mind is pulled into theirs, a fragmented web of memories spanning before you.

Do you fix them? Or do you leave them here forever to suffer with a fragmented mind?

Spark Notes

out of character

Per the plotting, please remember that it is ONE character per player for the NPCs minus the Lord of the Mountains — meaning for example that Amity cannot have White Lily fix Ydalir, Sidney fix Callan, and Mafuyu fix Heimr. However, players are free to select what NPC they want to help, even if multiple players are currently helping that NPC. Guess comments will be screened and replied to as they come in to avoid cheating when someone gets one right, and all will be unscreened at the end of the event. :)

If everyone lumps into a few NPCs and others don't have interaction, I will lift the rule saying one character per player in the Discord and make an announcement.

Participation in an NPC thread will be good for Bonus AC regardless of length. Please do not use these for main AC. You can get main AC off your toplevels on this event if you choose to do so.

Please refrain from general threading with the NPCs on this post; bar Lord of the Mountains, other NPCs should be threaded with on NPC Contact if it's irrelevant to the event proper. In the case of LotM, he is the exception to every rule — everyone is free to try solving his memories regardless of if you have another character solving another NPC's memory puzzle, and general threading with him is allowed.

I maintain the right to cut a threading-thread short at any time; this is to avoid overwhelm and flooding the post with irrelevant details to the event. Guess threads will not be cut until all guesses are correct at minimum. (This is more in defense of my wordiness than a slight at you guys, I know how I get so this is a rule that exists to protect Me lmao.)

code

Comments

QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

Re: QUESTIONS

[ichoosefight]

When exactly does the event end?

HEIMR

[sticksandbonesmods]

Heimr has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

They're back. They shouldn't be back, and yet this lonely heart wants to see them again...

Dom takes control, and he allows it. He tried to attack a holy spirit- it is for the best.

The stars fall from the sky. Something is wrong. Something is beautiful. Something is taking root in his mind.

A warm meal is the purest form of love. And how lucky is he, to have so many sons to love once more.

A plague erupts across the land. A wife goes quick, a son goes quicker.

He is not the man he started as. Not in any sense of the word, save memories. And that is okay, because he is still loved, regardless.

Something convinces him his son is alive. Something convinces him his son is dying. The divine makes an offer: a name, for a life. But his will is strong, and it was a faulty deal to begin with. Now only smoke and spite and love remains.

Friends and family can only watch as he walks around holding a child that isn't there. He worsens day by day.

The forest has never liked people in it, but it seems welcoming somehow. Maybe it's the family that already lives here? Regardless, a midway point between Roseroot and Haven would be... not necessary, but close.

The town has never been more quiet.

Re: HEIMR

[charlastan]

9 5 8 3 7 2 10 1 6 4?

LORD OF THE MOUNTAINS

[sticksandbonesmods]

The Lord of the Mountain has 8 memories, and an additional bonus for solving the puzzle. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

Crystals begin to form across the mountainside in bulk.

He could not leave his post forevermore.

The Fallen Sun's young daughter approached and struck a deal with him.

He was given a staff as by his ancestors who walked before him.

A caravan of humans from the north passed through the mountains.

Softhearted, he could not stand to see others suffer, so he turned his back to duties.

He began to weave netting to catch stray dreams and memories of people that wandered through the mountains, wanting to ward off their nightmares and ensure they didn't forget anything when they left.

He was told to watch over the land of ice and stone.

[astralprojection]

1. He was given a staff as by his ancestors who walked before him.

2. He was told to watch over the land of ice and stone.

3. Crystals begin to form across the mountainside in bulk.

4. He could not leave his post forevermore.

5. Softhearted, he could not stand to see others suffer, so he turned his back to duties.

6. He began to weave netting to catch stray dreams and memories of people that wandered through the mountains, wanting to ward off their nightmares and ensure they didn't forget anything when they left.

7. The Fallen Sun's young daughter approached and struck a deal with him.

8. A caravan of humans from the north passed through the mountains.

Re: LORD OF THE MOUNTAINS

[ichoosefight]

#4 #8 #2 #1 #7 #3 #6 #5

ZAHLIYA

[sticksandbonesmods]

Zahliya has 8 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

When Moder crushed his skull, he found himself wondering if he was doomed to a life of solitude. The other Guardians were Corrupted, and he was the sole immune one. Why was he alone in this world?

Why does he resent his own existence?

When humans went extinct, he found himself lonely.

Humans are fun to him. Humans always brought him trinkets as offerings when he was a statue.

He wonders if he should be this bitter over his circumstances. Is he not "important"? Is he not "necessary" and "needed"?

He missed humans.

He wished he could talk to them.

All he knew was that he had a duty to perform, though he could not discern where that duty came from.

[unheiring]

[Luca's touch is predictably gentle as he approaches Zahliya and takes his hands. He forces flame to his palms, as if this might somehow wake him. It had worked before, right? But when he fails, he takes a different tack.

Yes, something in the back of his mind does whisper in a sinister tone: alter them, change them, make him love you once more, but he shoves the thought back with as much force as he possibly can. Whatever was between them (bitterness, hate, betrayal) was Luca's to shoulder. Difficult though it may be, it was what he had wrought.

Carefully, he begins to sift through those memories, trying to shift them into the right position.]

1. Humans are fun to him. Humans always brought him trinkets as offerings when he was a statue.

2. He wished he could talk to them.

3. When humans went extinct, he found himself lonely.

4. All he knew was that he had a duty to perform, though he could not discern where that duty came from.

5. He missed humans.

6. When Moder crushed his skull, he found himself wondering if he was doomed to a life of solitude. The other Guardians were Corrupted, and he was the sole immune one. Why was he alone in this world?

7. He wonders if he should be this bitter over his circumstances. Is he not "important"? Is he not "necessary" and "needed"?

8. Why does he resent his own existence?

ZONARI

[sticksandbonesmods]

Zonari has 9 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

Humans were not very interesting to her. Their brains don't follow logic, and their instincts border between banal and sharp. She can't get over her dislike of them.

She clings to each memory and tears it apart with her fingers to learn more. Human, animal, deity, construct, or otherwise.

Something blooms within her. Could humans be worthwhile?

To know her own hatred was to experiment on her own mind and shred the threads of her creation to learn. To know his love was to experiment on his mind and find out what made him love.

Humans are something fascinating. She dreams of pulling their brains apart like spider's silk and seeing what memories stick to her fingers and which ones fall through the cracks.

Curiosity filled her mind.

Something awoke in her when she met the being meant to be her sibling, the one who was pre-programmed with love instead of hate like her.

To understand the brain was to understand others; to understand memories was a way to tame them.

She worked, tirelessly, to unlock the secrets of the psyche.

[cryopathy]

[to say kiera is surprised to see zonari huddled up with everyone else from town would be an understatement. they're still pissed at her, likely will be until she acknowledges that it was fucked up of her to just sit there laughing -- something she'll probably never do, but luca and some other idiots have done permanent damage to kiera's skepticism, so they still hold out a tiny bit of hope.

even so, they're well aware that the ladygarg is not generally trusted in town, and they're not quite so petty as to leave her up here to potentially die. as they sift through memories, they try not to give zonari more credit than she's due.

that is, they don't get too optimistic about how she feels about them.]

1. Humans were not very interesting to her. Their brains don't follow logic, and their instincts border between banal and sharp. She can't get over her dislike of them.

2. Something awoke in her when she met the being meant to be her sibling, the one who was pre-programmed with love instead of hate like her.

3. Curiosity filled her mind.

4. To understand the brain was to understand others; to understand memories was a way to tame them.

5. To know her own hatred was to experiment on her own mind and shred the threads of her creation to learn. To know his love was to experiment on his mind and find out what made him love.

6. She worked, tirelessly, to unlock the secrets of the psyche.

7. Something blooms within her. Could humans be worthwhile?

8. Humans are something fascinating. She dreams of pulling their brains apart like spider's silk and seeing what memories stick to her fingers and which ones fall through the cracks.

9. She clings to each memory and tears it apart with her fingers to learn more. Human, animal, deity, construct, or otherwise.

MODER

[sticksandbonesmods]

Moder has 8 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

She was within the arms of a goddess, cradled lovingly like a mother to their own children. The voice the goddess spoke with did not make much sense to her; she could not understand language.

The humans were wiped out. She waited for them to return.

A woman wielding the power of memory destroyed her mind, and allowed the rot to creep in.

Her appreciation for humans began to grow.

A mother lost her son one day. She did not know what to do with this human boy. She thought she might simply eat him, but when she lifted him up, he laughed like how her mother used to, and so she simply carried him back to the settlement where he belonged.

She did not like humans. They were loud, they were destructive, and they had no respect for the forest. She could not understand why they were so awful.

All she felt was guilt for her actions.

The stars fell from the sky, and humanity was wiped out. Moder's family, too, had died, and so she sat alone in the woods for eons.

[lupusxylem]

[It's so weird, but maybe very fitting, that one of the Guardians Wolfwood would feel the closest kinship with is one of the outwardly most scary, most misunderstood. Moder, the gentle giant, needs their help.

He's not sure if he's even got the braincells to solve something like this, but...he can damn well try, can't he?]

Alright...

1) She was within the arms of a goddess, cradled lovingly like a mother to their own children. The voice the goddess spoke with did not make much sense to her; she could not understand language.

2) She did not like humans. They were loud, they were destructive, and they had no respect for the forest. She could not understand why they were so awful.

3) A mother lost her son one day. She did not know what to do with this human boy. She thought she might simply eat him, but when she lifted him up, he laughed like how her mother used to, and so she simply carried him back to the settlement where he belonged.

4) Her appreciation for humans began to grow.

5) A woman wielding the power of memory destroyed her mind, and allowed the rot to creep in.

6) The stars fell from the sky, and humanity was wiped out. Moder's family, too, had died, and so she sat alone in the woods for eons.

7) All she felt was guilt for her actions.

8) The humans were wiped out. She waited for them to return.

YDALIR

[sticksandbonesmods]

Ydalir has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

Well, it isn't like she ever asked to be a person, now is it?

Her identity feels loosey-goosey to her. People describe her as a bit listless, but kindly. Unfocused on goals, but interesting. A nice lady, but "with something missing".

She wonders when this feeling of "not being real" will stop.

Someone asked Olivia once, "Don't you want to be someone? Something more? Don't you have dreams?" At the time, she laughed. "No, not really. I don't have any goals besides trading magical items."

She never feels like being much else. Identity is hard to pin down.

She is many things. She is someone who trades goods. She is someone who does magic. She is someone who can reach into the space between worlds and pull items from it.

Questions like that were often considered, but she found no need for them to have an answer.

She wants what most people want. Security, happiness, a world that doesn't have pain in it... a feeling of usefulness.

What does she feel a strong pull toward? People? Animals? Surely, yes, but everyone normal feels that pull, and Olivia would describe herself as at least moderately normal, if not quirky.

To her, it's more convenient not to have an identity at all.

Lil guy is gonna try his hand

[moonwhispers]

1. She is many things. She is someone who trades goods. She is someone who does magic. She is someone who can reach into the space between worlds and pull items from it.
2. She wants what most people want. Security, happiness, a world that doesn't have pain in it... a feeling of usefulness.
3. What does she feel a strong pull toward? People? Animals? Surely, yes, but everyone normal feels that pull, and Olivia would describe herself as at least moderately normal, if not quirky.
4. Someone asked Olivia once, "Don't you want to be someone? Something more? Don't you have dreams?" At the time, she laughed. "No, not really. I don't have any goals besides trading magical items."
5. Her identity feels loosey-goosey to her. People describe her as a bit listless, but kindly. Unfocused on goals, but interesting. A nice lady, but "with something missing".
6. Well, it isn't like she ever asked to be a person, now is it?
7. Questions like that were often considered, but she found no need for them to have an answer
8. She never feels like being much else. Identity is hard to pin down.
9. To her, it's more convenient not to have an identity at all.
10. She wonders when this feeling of "not being real" will stop.

RENARD

[sticksandbonesmods]

Renard has 8 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

He spent a lot of his free time with Aldric. He often wondered if he should, considering he was only a roving craftsman and Aldric was a family man with a store. Those thoughts never stopped love from blooming.

He took what he could from Olivia and ran into the forest.

His favourite things were small things. The daintier, the better. The cuter the thing he could create, the happier it made him.

Nothing he'd truly wanted would come to fruition anyway.

No matter what he was doing or would do, his love for bringing things to life remains.

He kept fighting to live for eons, even as he became creation itself.

He spent his days making things. Trinkets, like necklaces and bracelets and little glass objects. Weapons, like swords and a spear whose tip wasn't at all sharp since he couldn't bear to see it used. Shoes, when he once got into the idea of selling them as a lad.

The most important thing to him had always been his ability to create.

Re: RENARD

[ghostharasser]

8, 7, 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5

SINANN

[sticksandbonesmods]

Sinann has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing. As a reminder, Sinann's pronouns are it/its.

It lived a simple life.

It dreamed of having a human form so it could interact with people. So it could be more helpful, and experience things everyone else got to experience.

It did not have legs like the others. It could not go on land, and its size meant that the river was too small for it too.

Its favourite things were swimming, eating, and bioluminescent corals - though it did not know how to describe that last thing.

It never felt very capable.

When it slept, it dreamed of being something more important than it was. The blood of a Guardian flowed through it, and that meant it had something to latch onto, didn't it?

Despite its feelings, it kept trying its best to be helpful to others. When Callan lost Terho, it tried to find the location of his grave for mourning. When a child of the Grove got lost in the woods, it would chirp at Moder until she brought them back.

...it was hard to walk, though. When it first stepped out of the river, it faceplanted in front of everyone, and it took at least two people to help it learn to balance.

At least it felt much more like it deserved the "helpful" title now that it could move on its own.

It was always considered "helpful" by everyone, despite not feeling that way about itself.

[outofsynth]

1, 4, 10, 5, 3, 7, 6, 2, 9, 8

CALLAN (cws: gore, brief teeth horror, cannibalism)

[sticksandbonesmods]

Callan has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

He set to work. He laid out various skulls and bones from the bottom of the lake, added some skin from rotting corpses of humans and animals that had a texture he liked, and formed all of this into the shape of giant lizard.

In his mind, humans liked such things like more fish, or an even bigger lake, or a pet crocodile, or a single tree frog.

When his daughter was born, she had a few extra eyes and was three times the height of any existing crocodiles here, but he thought she was cool all the same.

He knows the things he likes include being very small, being very large, and eating humans. Humans didn't like it when he did that.

He knew what he wanted.

He wanted to have cool things. Things like skulls, and corpses in the lake, and a necklace of human teeth.

It wasn't like he liked humans or anything... but he definitely wanted them to look at him and feel awe.

He named her "Iv'utli", after a word he made up in his head that meant "very cool lizard".

What is a cool thing that would make humans jealous, he wondered?

One day, he was bored.

[mooninthewater]

Yes, hi, hello! There's a Mizuki here. This all feels weirdly familiar! Mostly because it feels like something right out of a psychological horror puzzle game. How fun. He can definitely try to put these things together. He thinks he subjected people to something like this once upon a time...? Haha, he doesn't remember it all that well, though. Anyway, he supposes he could brute force this. What's the worst that could happen? He messes up the order of some memories and changes everything forever? Surely not. Then the fate of someone wouldn't ever be in Mizuki's hands, of all people. He's not all that smart, after all.

One day, he was bored.

He wanted to have cool things. Things like skulls, and corpses in the lake, and a necklace of human teeth.

What is a cool thing that would make humans jealous, he wondered?

He knows the things he likes include being very small, being very large, and eating humans. Humans didn't like it when he did that.

In his mind, humans liked such things like more fish, or an even bigger lake, or a pet crocodile, or a single tree frog.

It wasn't like he liked humans or anything... but he definitely wanted them to look at him and feel awe.

He knew what he wanted.

He set to work. He laid out various skulls and bones from the bottom of the lake, added some skin from rotting corpses of humans and animals that had a texture he liked, and formed all of this into the shape of giant lizard.

When his daughter was born, she had a few extra eyes and was three times the height of any existing crocodiles here, but he thought she was cool all the same.

He named her "Iv'utli", after a word he made up in his head that meant "very cool lizard".

AURORA/FREYR

[sticksandbonesmods]

Aurora has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

The skies were the freest domain anybody can know. She loved the way the breeze felt in her feathers as she flew. She loved to dodge through the snowfall.

She abandoned the skies and began to walk. Unfortunately, she was still too large, and her being on the ground scared humans even more. They thought she wanted to hunt them.

Humans were quite terrified of her. She knew it was because she was a large bird, and once she plucked a fish the size of six humans from the ocean... but she did not think she was that scary, was she?

Sehul said that humans were scared of that which they didn't know. Humans were scared of them too, they said, but she couldn't bring herself to believe their words. To her perceptions, humans rather liked Sehul.

She sang, but no one liked her voice. She laid down on the earth and did a cartwheel, but her bulk made it so that she nearly crushed many people to death. Being "silly" made people look at her funny.

Nothing worked the way she wanted it to.

She just wanted to be liked. Why did people hate her so much?

She loved to race Sehul and watch the dragon's leathery wings catch on the air.

In her tailfeathers, rainbows were cast over the skies. She always hoped that humans liked them.

Is a giant shadow moving over the land at breakneck pace scary?

gotta help birdmom

[kingincognito]

1. The skies were the freest domain anybody can know. She loved the way the breeze felt in her feathers as she flew. She loved to dodge through the snowfall.

2. She loved to race Sehul and watch the dragon's leathery wings catch on the air.

3. In her tailfeathers, rainbows were cast over the skies. She always hoped that humans liked them.

4. Humans were quite terrified of her. She knew it was because she was a large bird, and once she plucked a fish the size of six humans from the ocean... but she did not think she was that scary, was she?

5. Sehul said that humans were scared of that which they didn't know. Humans were scared of them too, they said, but she couldn't bring herself to believe their words. To her perceptions, humans rather liked Sehul.

6. Is a giant shadow moving over the land at breakneck pace scary?

7. She abandoned the skies and began to walk. Unfortunately, she was still too large, and her being on the ground scared humans even more. They thought she wanted to hunt them.

8. She sang, but no one liked her voice. She laid down on the earth and did a cartwheel, but her bulk made it so that she nearly crushed many people to death. Being "silly" made people look at her funny.

9. Nothing worked the way she wanted it to.

10. She just wanted to be liked. Why did people hate her so much?

SEHUL

[sticksandbonesmods]

Sehul has 10 memories. Please put them in a numbered list order when guessing.

When they were too large to fit in the house, they mostly lived on the clouds making up the Goddess' domain, generally being lazy and sleeping all day. At least they had mellowed out.

Beiwe lifted them up in her arms and asked them if they would like to learn to fight.

Their favourite thing was when Ourania wore long gowns that dragged on the floor. Sehul would sit on them as a pup and make the Goddess drag them everywhere.

Sehul was very good at being a dragon.

They sort of wanted to be a pet, but they supposed they had to grow up eventually too.

No one told Sehul they would get large, though. This was the worst! Being large meant they couldn't fit under the table, because they were now the size of it. Being large meant no getting dragged everywhere.

Dragons are a bit like cats, in that they don't really care what you want or what you say, and they love to steal things and knock things over.

They used to be very small, and could fit under Beiwe's dining table. They skittered underneath it to bite her legs and chew on Ourania's dress.

They flopped over in the backyard, belly-up, and let the sun warm their scales. They were deep in thought.

They don't remember becoming the pinnacle of maturity for the others. Is this what "getting old" means...?

Re: SEHUL

[ichoosefight]

#4 #7 #8 #3 #6 #1 #9 #10 #2 #5

(frozen comment) COMMENT IN CASE I NEED THIS SPACE FOR SOMETHING LATER

[sticksandbonesmods]

put your toplevels below thanks

[astralprojection]

[If you've been traveling alongside Astrid, you might see his eyes turn pitch black as he grasps at his head, doubling over for a moment as a voice whispers out in his mind.

“Please. Please, you have to help them. You have to help them. Please, please, you have to—”

And then he's quickly standing back upright as the voice subsides, eyes fading back into his normal shade, and he looks at those around him with an alarmed expression.]

Heyyy, so. I think there might be people here we have to save?

[unheiring]

[Look, Luca hears you, Astrid, and he is very worried about this but...

His first priority is reaching for Astrid's hand, pulling him closer as he looks over the poor guy.]

First things first. Are you alright?

[Visions might be normal for the guy but uhhh... That was alarming and he's worried about his buddy :(]

mountainside

[cryopathy]

[should anyone choose to brave the mountainside blizzard, kiera offers to carve a path. they can use their power over water and air -- ice, snow -- both to part the banked snow to make a sturdy path and to keep the falling flurries from actually hitting their tiny party, like an invisible forcefield. the caveat being they can only keep one or two safe at a time, and only travel at night, when it's colder, but the sunlight doesn't get enhanced against their skin by the snow.]


i. [to anyone who takes them up on their offer, they don't wait very long from the start of the hike to take stock of their travelmate's clothes.]

If you're cold, you can borrow my fur. [the black fur ruff always draped around their shoulders isn't terribly big; it only goes to their elbow on one side and their waist on the other, but it's fur nonetheless.]


ii. [should her companion need to shelter from the cold, or should night become day along the way, kiera beelines for the nearest cave she can find. though it gets them both out of the blizzard, she knows this is still incredibly cold for a human. assuming any wood is available to burn, she braves using her amulet of shared strength to light a fire at the mouth of the cave. after that, she seems to war with herself for a few minutes before heaving a weary sigh and turning to her accomplice.]

Don't make a big deal of this, alright?

[when next her comrade blinks, the humanoid form of kiera is replaced instantly with that of an odd-eyed white wolf. it lies down relatively near the fire and looks expectantly at them. all that fluff would surely help keep someone warm, even against cool rock, wouldn't it?]

ii

[unheiring]

[Luca's teeth are absolutely chattering, fire not withstanding. It was smart of them to make use of the amulet, considering the fact that it feels like his own limbs are far too cold to even move. It certainly does help, but he still feels so painfully, miserably cold.

Still, that doesn't mean he can't laugh, faintly, at the sight of Kiera as they shift and curl up.]

I-it's been awhile since we c-cuddled, hasn't it? [He doesn't think twice about shifting closer, laying his head against her furry belly.] M-might be better than dealing with your bony elbows.

[eidxiety]

i. open - camping! camping! camping!

[Finally, something familiar to him! Camping is easy, all you have to do is many tasks and also build a shelter out of nothing. In this case, Ain opts to crawl far into one of the caves and light a little campfire to keep warm. He didn't bring a sleeping bag or tarp with him, so he supposes this will be as good as it gets. Just a boy and his coat, and also the flicker of magical fire on the mountainside. It's a good thing him and sixty other people here can just Make Fire, huh?

Ain sits close to the fire, the tip of his dragon tail wagging.]

Let's play 20 questions~. That's a fun campfire game, right? Haha~.

ii. closed - wolfwood come closer i am a normal ain

[So like, they have a bit until they get off the mountain, and Ain could wait to be a freak until they're back home, but then Wolfwood would be free to go wherever he wants to escape... that just won't do! Anyway, get cornered in a cave idiot.

For what it's worth, Ain does look sort of upset, so certainly this is something absolutely tragic and not stupid.]

I've told you I wanted to marry you three different times. Why haven't you asked me yet?

[nevermind. also girl PROPOSE YOURSELF??]

[lupusxylem]

[Ain COULD wait to be a freak...but when has something like being in a cave, or being stuck on a blizzardy mountain, ever stopped him before? If anything, these elements make for prime freak-behavior time.

As they share the cave and try to warm up even just a little bit, Wolfwood can sense Ain scooting up over to him before he actually sees him approach, leaning back with his arms folded behind his head and his eyes closed. This is the part where- if he was wearing a hat- he would have had it tipped down over his face.

He opens one eye, glancing over at Ain with a slight raised brow.]

Has it been three?

Open, before they reach the peak

[lupusxylem]

[It's been a long time since Wolfwood has traveled for this long, this far, solely on foot. It would maybe be weirdly nostalgic if it wasn't just so hard for him to do, right now. Given his prosthetic naturally slows him down, Wolfwood is well aware that he's slower than everyone else, taking up the near dead-rear of the pack as they climb. He could fly since he'd been granted that gift, but...it's not something he's really figured out yet, and he isn't sure he wants to risk it at this altitude when he doesn't know what he's doing. Everyone will just have to put up with Wolfwood being the straggler, as humiliating as it is. Fairly often he has to stop and fall behind, letting the rest of the group overtake him for a bit as he stops to catch his breath. Probably don't help that you won't kick that smoking habit-

Later on, when they set up camp, Wolfwood wanders to the crystals and gives one an experimental kick with his good foot to make sure it won't collapse on his head or something before he sits underneath it, rummaging in his blazer pockets for the last of the cigarettes he brought.

Of course, the moment he pulls out the carton, he finds that the rest are ruined, damp from the blizzard that they'd been pummeled with on their way to the peak.]

Great....god damn it.

camping :) hi they haven't been gay in a bit

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer is out here Going Through It because he got Till fucking murdered so uh, oops. Mark him down as having failed two of his friends in this place! That feels cool and good, we're not thinking about emotions rn.

As it turns out, his own cigarettes are dry (and Flamebringer isn't exactly cold, considering the snow melts whenever it comes close to him) and so when he sits down next to Wolfwood, he shoves his own in his mouth, lights it, takes a puff... and passes it to Wolfwood to take. They're not sharing, judging by the way he pulls out a second after that and does the same, but he wanted to be gay real quick ok.]

Should try being a walking furnace. Keeps your stuff dry.

[Flamebringer also has the boon of a leather jacket. He's just... wet. Soaked, really, but he'll dry quickly as he flicks a campfire to life in front of them.]

[kingincognito]

i. foot of the mountain

[ Any mountain is a daunting prospect to cross. He has been to the blighted Northern Territories, has seen just how easily crumbling paths might give way or larger stones might be dislodged. And that's without snow making visibility difficult.

Joshua looks up toward where he imagines the peak to be, a raging blizzard partially obscuring it from vision. Their journey will only be made more difficult because of it, and he has no doubt that there are those among them who may not be able to make it easily. Not only are they ill-equipped for such weather, but not everyone might be capable of hiking such a distance. ]

Do we have an extra cart? I could carry those of us incapable or unwilling to hike, and keep them warm besides.

[ With the wings he has on his back right now? Surely not. No, he means with the wings of the Phoenix, broad and fiery and warm.

But not everyone knows that. ]


ii. camp

[ It is an eerie sight, these crystals. With the wind howling outside of their temporary shelter, it's an odd mix of comfort and unease: in a way, like riding out a storm inside your bedroom, with the full knowledge that the wind may blow out a window at any time.

So long as he doesn't look at the crystals, it is like ignoring that that bedroom window exists.

The light from the fireball he'd summoned as both a source of light and an extra source of warmth refracts through the crystals, dancing along the ground like tiny sprites in celebration, and that is what he focuses on. Until someone approaches, at any rate, at which point he smiles and gestures to a spot beside him. ]

Would you like to sit? My fire keeps it quite warm around me.

i.

[moonwhispers]

[ Faust is no stranger to harsh cold and tretcherous terain. He and Mephisto both spent a good long while surviving the tundra that coated northern Ursus. Normally he wouldn't doubt that they could manage it, but Mephisto's prosthetics... well the pain they cause him aside they wouldn't have the precision they'd need if the paths got too narrow.

Once a cart is procured for Joshua to ferry people up, Faust picks Mephisto right up and approaches the man. He recognizes him from before. He's the one that tried to map exits in the town. Here he is again trying to help others to his own detriment.

Maybe it's not complete trust yet, but the consistency counts for something. He can at least trust that Joshua cares for those around him.

... He knows Mephisto is going to hate this idea. ]

Joshua.

[ His expression is cautious, knowing he could refuse ]

Can you take him up the mountain for me?

[itisa]

[ I ]

[...Is it wise, to be hiking up the mountain? Sure, they can't stay in the city of horrors, but most everyone is worse for wear, and there's a blizzard raging at the summit... and that's, supposedly, not even the halfway point.

He could teleport, but what good would that do? Then he'd just be alone. At the peak. In a blizzard. Could he take others? Maybe - but was it worth trying? Were there limitations?

For now, he hikes with the bulk of the group... somewhat. He does seem to be walking on top of the snow, and isn't leaving behind any footprints or making the tell-tale crunching noise of steps, so there's something afoot... but he's not exactly dressed for the weather, either, so surely no one can blame him for not tromping through the snow and mud.]

[ II ]

[Walking isn't even the worst of it. Setting up camp in the snow, the cold, the wind... that's what could prove dangerous, at least for anyone who's somewhat close to normal, anyway - and he certainly hasn't gotten a good read on that, yet. Sure, a weak soul leaving its mortal coil from exposure to the elements would be a meal... it wouldn't exactly be a satisfying one, and he's not at home, so he could be forgiven for not performing his Jeoseung Saja duties right now. Even if he's dressed like one (apologies to anyone who 1) knows what they are and/or 2) met his monsters in Roseroot...) at the moment. It's warmer and more sensible than any human-fashion guise.

So if he's not reaping souls... apparently, he's busy saving them. Imagine that. At least at one of the many little camps set up he can put his skills to good use retrieving firewood for warmth and hunting small woodland creatures for food when supplies run thin.]

II

[love_swan]

[ Aira has always been someone described as fragile by others, both in body and in emotions. It's not surprising that he had to be carried up the mountain, and its less surprising that he did not leave that horror show unscathed. His clothes still have dried blood coating them since he simply hadn't had anything to exchange it with.

But despite having been sat at a fire and expected to stay there while the others in his group dealt with the harsh conditions, Aira struggled up to his feet at seeing Mystery. ]

Mystery-san!

[ Oh, get ready for a hug. Lil guy incoming. ]

Are you alright? I didn't see you at all in there--

[ Even if Mystery looks a little different, that clearly hasn't deterred him. ]