Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

[faileas]

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

I. Boaltinn (1st - 3rd) Boaltinn comes around again. A handful of Mirrorbound will remember the holiday from last year, but for others, it will be brand new. In both Residential Districts, bonfires burn in central locations through the night, frequented by the residents celebrating another summer come to Aefenglom. Curiously, while last year the bonfires seemed quite segregated by human or Monster, this year, there is more of a noticeable mix at each, and Mirrorbound are invited to join the games and festivities quite happily. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire. The city has quite a bit to offer for this holiday: shared rose baths at public bathhouses and pleasure establishments that increase feelings of friendliness and talkativeness, poles draped in ribbons meant to be danced around, wrapping a ribbon around the pole to bring good luck for the summer, food stalls whose offerings are meant to be shared, and fortune-telling set up by Divination students of the Coven, who can tell your day is going to go. To see last year's Boaltinn prompts, you can take a glance right here! Much of it, including the bonfires, baths, and entertainments will be similar this year, so feel free to use those in your top levels.

II. An Unusual Arrival (3rd on) A full year from the arrival of the first group of Mirrorbound, the 1st passes quietly, with no one showing up in the mirror-lined halls of the Looking-Glass House. Dates and times are important in most kinds of magic, and this is strange enough that some Witches of the Coven get together on the night of the 3rd to try a probing ritual, attempting to gather some kind of clues that could be useful in prying out the cottage's secrets. Boaltinn is the best time for such things, when the boundaries are thinner, and magic is stronger. Those who are awake that night at 3 am might notice a pulse of harmless silvery light that spreads like ripples on water throughout the whole city, originating at the Looking-Glass House, but nothing further happens, and the Coven receives no answers. Well, nothing happens in the Looking-Glass House. Before long, the reports start coming in: people are emerging from mirrors, regular old mundane mirrors, all over the city. Anything with a particularly reflective surface could be an entry point for someone from another world! Inhabited homes, businesses closed and locked for the night, pools of still water in fountains or the river, these unorthodox Mirrorbound pop up anywhere and everywhere, causing chaos for the City Guard (folks aren't happy to find strangers in their bathrooms at 3 in the morning) and the Coven both. Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. If you are one of these unfortunate arrivals, it's likely a rude awakening for you, to find yourself somewhere inconvenient, somewhere other than where you've been. It only makes sense to be confused. Hopefully someone finds you and explains to you what's happened to you. Resident Mirrorbound will hear a message from Miss Nessie shortly after it begins, a call to arms: "Dears, I'm quite sorry to disturb you, but it seems your fellows are arriving elsewhere than the Looking-Glass House this month! We're trying to track them all down for the usual welcome, but we could use a hand or several! If you could just bring them by the Coven, the usual spot, that would be lovely." She'll give her usual orientation and pass out Watches, but no doubt the Mirrorbound will be more helpful in this regard, with so many arriving.

III. The Goblin Market (All Month) Life goes on in Aefenglom, despite the addition of so many new residents. With the City Guard decidedly busy dealing with the sudden flood of break-ins (or, more accurately, break-outs?), the vendors of the Goblin Market find opportunity to set up their stalls more openly than they have since the crack-downs some months ago. They pop up all over the city, but clustered more often in the Residential Districts and the Harbor District, where there are even fewer law enforcement agents out and about to run them off. These sellers, while not as devoid of morals as those major players of the Black Market, still have very few compunctions when it comes to lying, cheating, fencing stolen goods, and misrepresenting their wares to unsuspecting buyers. It's also the place to find those things that are- not quite legal, shall we say. They won't say a word if you don't. If confronted, they are quick to pack up their things and slip away, however; they know this city and its hiding places a lot better than you do. With a brand new batch of what the natives assume are Mirrorbound, many undergoing rapid transformations into their Monster forms, many of the wares on display are potions: supposed cure-alls for aches and itches, calming draughts for the full moon restlessness, some even claim their brews can halt changes entirely! Some concoctions are meant to increase a Witch's magical ability, or decrease it, or provide them a finer control. They offer potions that they say will eliminate the need for a Bond, or temporary Bonding potions of their own that they claim are more pure, stronger, than the ones offered by the Coven. Claims are only claims, though. A few remedies for the pain of changing or some regular temporary Bonding potions can be found here and there, but for every potion that works, there are twenty more that have less than pleasant side effects. A brew that will cause everything you touch to turn to solid gold for up to an hour; a potion that will invert your sense of direction - trying to turn right will make you turn left, trying to go forward will cause you to walk backward; a potion that will remove all traction from your feet, causing you to slide around as if cobblestone are the slickest ice. Worse, some shadier vendors sell things more sinister, including a potion that gives you the appearance of being moderately to heavily infected by the Cwyld. Even if you don't drink any, the vendors are not at all careful where they're sloshing those bottles around, trying to show them off, and they all activate on skin contact.

IV. A Wilde Hunt (7th - 22nd) All Mirrorbound, temporary or not, are likely to feel it. Monsters are always affected by the full moons, but this month, it is more. Stronger. Instincts rise to the surface as the Sisters emerge full and visible in the night sky, and for many Mirrorbound, they are undergoing rapid transformations into whatever type of Monster they are meant to be. Curiously, the natives get along like they usually do, noticing nothing out of the norm, other than the increased agitation and restlessness from Mirrorbound Monsters. Monsters' aggression fades when the Sisters start to wane, but as the new moons approach on the 22nd, Mirrorbound Witches will notice their magical reserves overfilling, and will find themselves stricken with the overwhelming urge to use it, until casting spells, pushing one's magical limits, is almost a compulsion. Those who are not in proper Witch-Monster Bonds will feel it even stronger, with no stabilizing magic to consume (for Monsters) or avenues to expend magic (for Witches) other than casting spells. (For those who are interested, the Coven does offer temporary Bonding potions which can be used to help alleviate the effects somewhat.) The Coven Witches notice the signs, and they take decisive action on the morning of the 6th, the day before the full moons. So many Mirrorbound, likely to be so heavily affected by the lunar cycle this month, many of them coming into new features and abilities at a breakneck pace, only spells danger for the city. They barricade off a massive chunk of Wilde outside Aefenglom, largely free of Cwyld and totally bereft of farms, homes, and Wilder outposts. They invite anyone who feels the effects of the moons too strongly to control to come out for a Hunt. The hunting grounds will be open nightly to anyone who needs to work off restless energy or overflowing magic; all participants will be warned that their safety cannot be guaranteed from others, but they won't be able to harm bystanders out here. The woods are thick, with the river cutting through them, and full of wildlife. There is room to run and chase prey, or room to play with your developing magic. Play cat and mouse with your friends or Bondmates, or stalk a stranger. If playing games isn't your thing, there is something else to hunt out here as well. With the deep Wilde entering into Winter, this patch of land so close to the city is much warmer, and fearsome Shades have emerged to search for prey. These were once living beings, Monsters, Witches, or animals, who have been overtaken by Cwyld infection long ago, leaving them dead but for the infection, white-eyed and seeking out sources of magic to consume and infect. Anything could become a Shade, but the most common out right now are the ferocious remains of bears, wolves, and nomadic Arachne and Turnskins. If not killed, these Shades threaten the people of the Outer City, when they inevitably escape the barricade. Careful to limit your contact, though; anyone infected upon their return to the gates will be escorted straight to the infirmary.

Welcome to May's Fourth Wall event, An Inauspicious Arrival! The comms are now open to comments from all registered users and will be until June 1st. Current players, if you don't want fourth wall characters tagging your posts, just say so in your text. Fourth wall characters can use this post for their own network top-levels, or this post for log top levels. This event is game canon; threads from this fourth wall can be used as application samples later and current players may use these threads for AC. As always, be courteous to each other! Let the mod team know if there are any problems and we will handle things.

As always, please direct your questions to this thread!

Comments

[chaoticbeauty]

[ He could take her down if he wanted to. She recognizes that and she wasn't sure what she wanted. Her feelings on him were confusing and it was easier to not directly confront them when she was already trying to process what was going on. But, then he's saying her name and her footfalls slow.

Stepping out from behind a tree she had ducked behind, the moonlight dances on her skin as she smirks at him. She doesn't have the same emotional hang-ups about him yet, hasn't faced off with Nilfgaard or learned the truth about her quest for motherhood. The jaded aspects of her personality still hold a hint of softness because she hasn't been totally shattered to her core... yet.

Yenn doesn't move towards him, instead testing the waters between them with as much of a casual air as she can muster. ]

I wasn't expecting you to give up quite so easily.

[gynvael]

[ There she is. That playful little smile he's come to know so well. He missed her. He won't admit it, but does he need to? He always feels so fucking obvious around her. ]

I wasn't expecting you would, either. [ There's a beat and a shift in his gaze. She doesn't look angry with him. If it had been anyone else, Geralt might've let it go, assumed it was in the past. But Yennefer rarely leaves things in the past. He's learned that much.

He's also not of a mind to bring it up. Not right now. He steps forward instead. He can figure it out later. There's so much going on and he just wants a moment with her while he can. He takes in her familiar scent. ] Didn't think I'd see you here.

[chaoticbeauty]

Our paths continue to cross. Across multiple worlds, it would seem. And what can I say... My abilities for evasion aren't quite what they used to be.

[ Her eyes fall to her hands as she flexes them, the lack of power bitter on her tongue. There would be no portals to safety for quite some time. She was as close to how she'd been before the transformation, the negative echoes of her continued failures to ascend quickly out of this mess. They're a long way from Rinde and the aftermath of her attempts to capture the djinn. After that had all gone to shit, she'd agreed to go back to help Tissaia, but the intention hadn't been to become a student again.

Taking another step forward, she finally takes in his appearance changes. An eyebrow arches as she scans him from ears to toes. Hmm. ]

And here I thought you'd been joking when you said you filed down your fangs.

[gynvael]

[ Concern draws his brows together. ] You can't leave.

[ It's not a question. It shouldn't even come as a surprise—why else would she still be here?—but maybe part of him was hoping against the odds. How deeply has her magic been affected? She's powerful. He's not exactly easily influenced by another force, either. The changes pushed upon him should be impossible, but here they are. He doesn't even know where to begin figuring this shit out.

When she steps closer, so does he. He reaches out, meaning to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. ]

Only about the horns. [ His response is wry. It still doesn't completely hide how he feels. He's been changed before. He's not interested in going through another round of it against his will a whole damn century later. ]

[chaoticbeauty]

I can't even create a portal to take me to the other side of that fucking tree.

[ At least this time around, no one's calling her a piglet. Though, she could be vicious enough to herself if given the time and ammunition of her own failings to not reascend in the ranks of power quickly.

For all her bubbling rage, though, he does manage to earn a quick laugh. She doesn't pull away as he reaches out to touch her, violet eyes studying his face intently - her expression turning serious again. ]

I'm going to fix this. All of it. [ She just hadn't found the right person to question... yet. Until then, she'd just keep pushing herself to her limits over and over and over until she either broke down from it or broke through whatever barriers were limiting her power. The need to balance power through a bond had been mentioned, but it wasn't on the top of her list at the moment. It was hard to push herself to the breaking point of her powers if things were limited. ]

[gynvael]

[ Like her, she too drags the smallest smile out of him that registers as a twitch in his lips. It fades soon enough as he gives her a look. ] Let me help you. At least.

[ He's not foolish enough to think he has a solution or that he'll be especial use. Magic has brought them here; only magic can bring them home. But he doesn't want her going at it alone, either. (Ironic, considering that's exactly what he's done so much of his life.)

He shifts his weight, considering what information he's gathered. It isn't much. Everyone he's spoken to seem to know shit all themselves. ]

I can't use my signs. And my heart. [ He pauses. It's disconcerting to think about. ] It's faster.

[chaoticbeauty]

[ Her hand immediately moves to rest over his heart, brows knit in confusion. The anger that had been seething beneath the surface bubbles a little more. ]

And I'm certain they had no actual answers for why the changes have taken hold for you either?

[ They'd given her a potion to create a temporary bond, but she was loath to use it just yet. She wasn't scared about an overload - she welcomed it. Push her limits to an extreme so she'd have the experience. She could handle more than most expected from her lithe frame. They didn't know her history, what she'd gone through before coming here. She sighs, her hand dropping to her side as she looks up at him - a comment on his earlier statement that had gone unanswered after the revelation. ]

I'll help you and you can help me. And hopefully, I'll be able to return us home with minimal delay. [ She doesn't believe it, but she needs something to hold onto and work towards to stay sane. ]

[gynvael]

No. [ He answers simply; unlike her, he's resigned more than anything. He doesn't expect anyone here to be helpful, whether from their own agenda or because they have little understanding themselves.

They're on their own here. Nothing new.

He watches her for a moment. Her hand is warm against his chest, resting just against his heart. That niggling sensation that something is just a bit out of sync doesn't leave him. This conversation, the way she looks at him, it doesn't feel right given the last time they parted. He can't imagine what it is, though. (The idea that they may be out of time with each other doesn't yet cross his mind.)

In the end, he shakes it off a second time. Too many fucking thoughts in his head as it is.

He doesn't believe it, either. But there's no point in speaking that out loud. ] I'll try not to grow any further appendages in the meantime.

[chaoticbeauty]

If I were the vindictive type... [ Her tone carries sarcasm but no malice, fully self-aware enough to know the truth about herself. If they'd been from the same time, she most likely wouldn't still be standing here. ] ... I might wish for you to grow something else as payment for leaving me to wake up alone in Rinde.

[ Her fingers wander, tracing patterns as she talks. ]

But, I won't be cruel. Not here. [ Not when they will more than likely need each other. She should promise to not intentionally let her magic build-up through non-use to see if it fuels her spells... However, she'd be lying to him. ]

We'll find a way out and I'll do what I can to slow down any other transformations before they take hold. [ She wasn't even sure if she could, but she'd certainly try. ]