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.)

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Comments

[menophesto]

[ Mephisto had... uh, mostly been dissociating, if he's being honest. Facing the things that traumatized him to begin with was hard enough as it were, but being separated from those he cared about and being unable to find at least one of said people here was... rough, to put it gently. His mind is buzzing like a machine - a constant source of noise that isn't providing anything at all. He hardly reacts when Faust lifts him, though it's at least registered.

...

Until Faust starts speaking to Joshua, anyway. Hi, you're going to just pawn him off like that? How about no. How about fuck no-

Mephisto suddenly starts to squirm to be let go. ] I'm fine! What are you doing?! I don't need help! [ 'Why are you leaving again???' ]

[kingincognito]

[ Ah. It's Faust again. And... the person that must have been with Faust the last time they met. Joshua recognizes him from their town meetings. Mephisto, was it? That seems correct.

And boy, does he seem stubborn. Joshua smiles, looking to Mephisto first, then to Faust. ]

I would be happy to, if needed. I do not wish to leave anyone behind in this place.

[ And then, to Mephisto: ]

So, if I were to give you a physical examination, I would find that you are hale and whole and fully capable of traversing a snow-covered mountain in blizzard conditions?

[moonwhispers]

[ He really should have expected the protesting. It didn't quite register how that must have sounded at first, and he certainly didn't get the chance to elaborate. He knows Mephisto well enough to hear the real concern behind those protests, and while he does let Mephisto's feet hit the ground again, he doesn't fully let go, his arms wrapping around the other boy in a hug. ]

I promise I'm not going to leave you. I just don't want you to lose your footing on the mountain.

[ His tone is soft, attempting to soothe the fear he knows is there. A hand shifts to Mephisto's hair, smoothing it down as he holds him close. Faust would do anything if it meant that Mephisto had a better chance to survive. They both know this well. ]

I know you probably could manage, I just don't want to risk it. It's dangerous up there.

[menophesto]

[ He whips his head to Joshua, his expression very cold, and his voice incredibly sharp and harsh - worse than the environment of the the cold mountaintops even. ] We don't need your help.

[ Maybe... maybe if he knew Joshua, he'd be a little less guarded and a little less harsh, but he's clinging onto Faust like Joshua had personally cut off his legs. His voice to Faust is so soft and worried, though. ] Do you really expect... anyone to not just leave us behind? How are you so trusting to these people you just met? Especially with our lack of food and resources we've had to deal with, you think it's not just easier for them to "accidentally" forget me on the top of a mountain?

[kingincognito]

[ Like an injured, cornered animal, Joshua thinks to himself. Mephisto is clearly someone with a lot of pride, and it wouldn't do to force the issue.

But if he's expected to cower in the face of such a snapping reply, Mephisto will be sorely disappointed. Joshua stands, unmoved, unflinching by the words. Though he doesn't speak, he certainly doesn't back down or retreat, simply watching the conversation between the two with one raised eyebrow. ]

[moonwhispers]

I would sooner carry you down on my back than have you left somewhere. You won't be left behind no matter what happens.

[ That much is firm and certain. It would be better if he could go with Mephisto to ease his fears, but... he glances to the cart. Someone else could need the help more than he does. The way he speaks to Mephisto is gentle and patient. ]

... I wouldn't say I trust many people here yet. But I know this one has a record of helping others. He was trying to map exits in that town so people could escape, and asked if there were any injured when he ran across me. Someone who would risk his own life like that is not likely to abandon you either.

[ He reminds Faust of the other crossbowmen in a way, though he doesn't have the tight bond with him like he did them. A similar understanding, he supposed.

He looks to Joshua again, faintly apologetic for the situation, but only faintly. Mephisto had several valid reasons to be scared even if this specific case was likely safe. ]

How many people are you taking up?