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

[yesdoubt]

[Momo is the last person who's ever going to care about being naked around someone he knows, really, considering the number of questionable photos he has on his phone. As solid as Momo's build is, Riku definitely gets a good squeezing in return, because what's the point of muscles if you can't use them to squeeze your juniors within an inch of their life?

Hopefully not literally, considering Riku's condition, but he's not entirely thinking about that right now.]

Of course I'm warm, you're warm too, you've been sitting in the bath, silly! [He's into joking mother mode already at the sight of one of his actual younger juniors.] Now you've made me worry. If I missed one of my youngest juniors showing up, who else could I have missed out on...are there more of you wandering around with only the Coven's explanation...?

[It's clear from his vaguely pouting tone that he's not that serious, but still, he would've liked to help people be Less Confused considering he had a confusing enough arrival himself.]

[doublesharp]

I know, but I haven't hugged anyone for so long! I mean... I guess it hasn't been that long, but it sure feels like it! I'm really happy to see you!

[Of course, part of him would rather have Momo home safe and sound... but even though it's a little selfish, Riku can't help but be overjoyed to see a familiar, smiling face. All at once, so many of his worries are already put at ease.]

I don't think so. I haven't seen anyone since I got here a few days ago... But that only makes me even happier that we've run into each other!

[Squeeze, squeeze. It's like they've met by fate... or something! Something like that. A vague explanation is good enough for the time being. He can think about all of the details later... It's far more pleasant to bask in the company of a dear friend and smile wholeheartedly.]

Do you know if anyone else is here?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo gives a happy little giggle when Riku says he's happy to see him, and gives him a particularly strong squeeze. He'll probably let go eventually, but it remains to be seen how long that eventually is going to take. Riku might have to cave first.

The question of others here does make him take one hand off Riku to count off his fingers, though.] I caught Yuki and Ryuu coming out of the mirrors...and Mitsuki contacted me when I was doing a radio show the day after everyone started showing up. And now there's you too. Four all at once is pretty wild, since I'd already been here for three months without anyone from home showing up!

[He says it brightly, but considering it's Momo and he's not exactly shy about how much he loves company and people and so on and so forth, it's probably not hard to imagine that he took that span of time rather worse than he's implying.]

[doublesharp]

[Riku may not directly pull away, but he does sound a little exasperated as he laughs fondly at the squeeze. The mention of the other idols, however, does startle him enough to pull back a little bit.]

Wait, really?! I haven't seen anyone! I'll have to find them and let them know I'm okay! But...

[He probably shouldn't, but he furrows his brows in concern anyway. It's kind of hard to help.]

Three months? All on your own?

[He's sure that Momo has made tons of friends - it's Momo, after all. But not having Yuki around in particular must have been hard...]

Um... If it makes you feel any better, I saw you the day before I showed up here. But I don't really know how that works...

[yesdoubt]

[Momo grins encouragingly, like it's fine that he's been here that long, but also this is Momo and lying about how he feels about things is basically his m.o. Considering Yuki's reactions to loss, though, ensuring how things back home worked while he was here was actually one of the first things he confirmed upon arriving here.]

I've heard things kinda...pause? Or something, while I'm here. Or I go back to the same time I left or something like that. But it's nice to have confirmation...what's the last thing that happened before you came here?

[He's curious, now - he came from when things were ramping up towards Black or White, but he does know Yuki arrived in a performance outfit while Momo arrived in civvies, which implies Yuki's from at least a minimally different point in time than he is. If Riku's from any earlier or any later than him, it'd be basically complete confirmation what he was told about time passage was true.]

[doublesharp]

[Well... If Momo isn't saying anything about being on his own, that must mean he doesn't want to elaborate. The needle of Riku's perceptive to denseness scale falls a little toward the former, but Momo looks fine even though Riku has his doubts that being without Yuki and the others was that easy. On the other hand, pushing him to talk about sad things would just make both of them depressed, so...]

Pause? So then nobody knows that I'm gone either! If any of us disappeared without a trace, it would cause a huge scandal...

[He looks relieved, but the worry and confusion that were present on his face before are still hidden underneath it. As Iori reminds him far too often, he really does wear his heart on his sleeve.]

Um... Well, we played the brass band for your rooftop concert not long ago! Do you remember that?

[yesdoubt]

[[Continued to overflow...]]