Event Log: July, Seeing Red & Hot and Cold

[faileas]

Event Log: July, Seeing Red & Hot and Cold

I. Underground (18th on) The Matriarch presents herself around mid-month to announce that the tunnel leading to the city will remain open to Mirrorbound indefinitely. With that said and done, visitors may find residents of the city setting up more permanent signs to point the way, and a guard station just past the curtain of moss that covers the tunnel entrance, manned by friendly enough Monsters who only want to make sure that nothing too important (like scrolls from the library) leaves the city. The atmosphere is overall fairly welcoming, now that the Mirrorbound have earned the Matriarch's approval, but it's also around this time that the locals become rather distracted by a new issue cropping up. Not a new problem, but a problem beginning to escalate. The gray-green protective moss that grows over all the entrances to the great cavern like membranes has sported flashes of a new color in the last several weeks, a bright red algae-like organism that creeps over the stone walls, and attaches itself to the moss sheets. It seemed benign at first, but as it spreads further and thicker, it starts to eat holes in the moss, from small pinholes to holes the size of a fist. The protective moss seems to be fighting back, now trying and failing to consume the patches of what locals are beginning to call Red Death. If you've breathed in the red algae's spores, the moss will wrap around you, creep into your mouth and nose, trying to remove the spores but not trying to absorb you. Trying to protect, perhaps? Mirrorbound are welcomed with open arms to assist if they are brave enough to do so; no doubt providing help with this vital matter could cement their position as allies of the Underground. a. Root of the Issue Removing the algae and healing the moss becomes number one priority around the city. Small groups of both fighters and researchers venture out into the tunnels, the smaller and lesser used ones, to try and track the source of the algae. It seems to first show up growing out of thick veins of Cwyld in the stone walls some miles out from the city, and have grown toward the main cavern. Careful eyes might spot patches of red algae that are much less vibrant, more of a pink color, and seem entirely benign. Maybe the Cwyld has mutated it? But be careful researching. The tunnels are dangerous on a good day, even putting aside the risk of infection, and the risk of the mutated Red Death giving off clouds of spores that threaten to choke and suffocate. The infected creatures out here are much bigger, and hungrier - massive, carnivorous blind armadillos with impenetrable upper shells and soft underbellies, dog-sized bullet ants with a bite that feels like you've been shot, and more rock-burrowing moles, most infected to some degree, will ambush any unaware travelers. With a potential source found, elimination of the Red Death becomes the next step. The people of the Underground have not seen something like this before, and do not entirely know where to start; they're willing to try anything that will not blatantly harm the protective moss as well, and a multi-pronged approach of different solutions may be the answer. b. The Side-Effects Number two priority is battling back the infected creatures that take this opportunity to squeeze and tear through holes in the moss without being eaten, as they normally would be. While many of the citizens are warriors themselves, there are plenty who are not, and the infected blood-sucking bats, fat white venomous wasps, and sharp-fanged earthworms quickly become an issue, spreading minor infections to the locals with their bites and stings. Many hands and weapons are needed to perform pest control. They've set up a pyre in the center of the city, safely surrounded by stone, to drop the infected creature corpses into, and open use in the streets of magic and Monster abilities alike will not be scolded as long as it's meant to be helping with the problem. Just try not to catch any bystanders! So too will people need to be healed of minor, new infections. Those who have been taught by the Coven or the Wilders are considered quite helpful here, but there is another option - moss from The Ruins above-ground can be eaten to act as an antibiotic for the Cwyld, so fetching containers of it to bring down below and distribute is a job that any Mirrorbound can do. The Red Death can be cleared out in multiple ways, including magical herbicides, manual scouring with heat, spells or potions, use of Faun magic to encourage it away from the moss, finding or creating plants or fungi that will kill the algae, discovering small creatures that will actually eat it (the wormipedes will not), purging the Cwyld infection from where the Red Death seems to begin, etc. Feel free to be creative with how your character would tackle the problem, we will be accepting anything short of fire as a partial solution. Just drop us a note in this thread what your character does!

II. The Northern Outpost (17th-22nd) In the thick of winter, this section of the Wilde could be a cool relief from the Juril heat that takes over Aefenglom. Easily reached by teleporter, the Northern Outpost has made strides in setting up as a true outpost, especially with its new importance as the closest location to the tunnel that leads Underground. A few more cabins have been built up in a little mini-settlement, offering a place to shelter and rest from exploration and research. Thankfully, because the snow is manageable but steady outside. They're not surprised by these snowdrifts forming, but around mid-month, it just grows worse. A flock of summer pixies sweep across the land, leaving large swathes of ground around the Outpost cleared of snow as they throw off sparks and heat, and they bring patches of lingering summer with them. They don't stick around for long, moving on quickly as they head toward Aefenglom, apparently drawn toward a real summer. This flash of the opposing season angers something else. Where before there was a winter of normal severity, now blizzards howl and snow piles up waist-high or better, freezing over a chunk of the nearby river and threatening to overwhelm ill-prepared travelers with frigid temperatures and treacherous ice build-up. Bundle and cuddle up, because it's about to be a long winter. It does make reaching the Ruins, a long-abandoned, now fully exorcised settlement just south of the Northern Outpost, more difficult, even if the cold doesn't seem to kill the valuable infection-curing moss that covers its tumbled buildings and broken walls. With the situation Underground threatening to turn dire, something needs to be done up above to keep the path accessible. The culprits behind the blizzards are discovered to be semi-tangible frost elementals, angered by the procession of pixies that threatened, however briefly, to bring an early summer. They can be dealt with in many ways: fighting them (they wield powerful ice magic and flit in and out of being solid, so it isn't easy, but it's possible), appeasing them with wintry offerings or kind words, or other creative solutions. They do not speak, but their otherworldly faces are quite expressive, and once they've been driven away or settled, the blizzards will end, making traversing this area of the Wilde much easier.

III. Aefenglom (18th-22nd) While the Wilde is a winter wonderland, Aefenglom is suffering from a Juril heat wave. The temperatures are high even before the procession of summer pixies reach the city. Like their icy counterparts from Deceuer, these tiny, Fae-adjacent winged beings are semi-sentient, and bring their season with them wherever they go. In shades of red and orange, with fluttering wings of fire, these pixies ride fist-sized fire-scarab beetles that throw off sparks and raise the ambient temperature wherever they fly. In these dry conditions, it could spell disaster. The pixies seem to only have mischief in mind. Their language is long lost to time, but they're delighted to chatter at unsuspecting passers-by while they set fires; these are mostly insults, and they seem to know some crude human hand gestures to go along with them. Needless to say, they are unpleasant little beings, and the Coven regards them as dangerous pests. They can be eliminated if necessary, by dousing them with water or ice, or by trapping them in metal or stone containers. They can also be distracted or appeased with various offerings, opportunities to cause controlled chaos, or with sufficient deference. Separating them from their fire-scarab mounts will also cut their power in half. Just be careful when squashing the beetles: they go up in flames when they die, and instantly burn to a pile of ash. Regardless of how they are dealt with, they need to be dealt with. With the procession comes: lengthened days, the sun remaining high in the sky for longer than it should; a heatwave like Aefenglom has not seen in quite some time that starts to evaporate the River Temese, lowering the water levels and making algae bloom in the water; gardens wilting from the heat, the soil drying out more quickly; and of course, building and market stall fires throughout the city as errant sparks catch wood or fabric. The Coven Witches are out in force trying to do damage control with water and ice spells, and any help is welcome from Witch or Monster. Special classes also turn toward learning these water and ice spells, along with how to enchant umbrellas to cast a perimeter of night-time darkness (for Vampires and other nocturnal Monsters), and how to enchant items into sprinklers - both to beat the heat and provide some wet relief to Merrow and other water-needing Monsters. These items are available already enchanted to anybody who needs them, and citizens languishing under sprinklers become a common sight on the streets. The more pixies are removed or appeased, the quicker the effects will abate, returning to a somewhat warm if otherwise pleasant summer, but the pixie procession will take its leave by the 22nd regardless, forming up and erratically flitting away, following a similar path to the ice pixies back in Deceuer.

Welcome to July's event log! All weather effects in Aefenglom and the Wilde will ease off after the 22nd, and the weather will return to whatever is normal for that area. The Red Death will continue to be an issue for the Underground if not solved - player solutions should be dropped here! It will take a combination to fully clear up the problem but we encourage many different creative solutions. As always, please direct your questions here!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[moustre]

GENERAL

[moustre]

EVENT

[moustre]

RED DEATH SOLUTIONS

[moustre]

[finesseblade]

I'll preface this by saying the Big Ol' Meathead here is not going to be the character to propose this solution, but putting it out there for those who might be more horticulturally inclined: it was mentioned before in previous event posts that the moss at the Outpost is a distant relative of that found below ground. What are the chances the two species could be hybridized, producing a moss with a stronger natural resistance to the Red Death?

Understandably, something like this might take a long time to implement, since you have to grow all that moss, but anything is worth a shot, and perhaps some fauns could help speed the process along?

[yesdoubt]

trundles in here with my papers finally

So as I asked about under the event questions heading and followed up on with posts here and here, Momo's attempt at a solution was organising a targeted purge of the Cwyld veins where the Red Death was originating (and moving back towards the city once those were clear, if possible/necessary - essentially starting where the real bad infection was at the Red Death origin points in the smaller tunnels and then pulling back in closer to where it's A Bit Less Terrible to at least create a decent chonk of uninfected tunnel space to try and prevent a repeat). As well as requesting Mirrorbound help he contacted the Matriarch for local assistance as discussed here to get higher numbers.

The list of characters I was either OOCly informed would be involved or tagged into a connected post (either mine or someone else who wrapped it into their TL) is here (18 Witches including Momo himself and 6 Monsters), if that helps, and Momo is willing to try and see this project on longer-term if he needs to and next time I might actually think to do an actual OOC sign-up post wheezes. In that event, he'd also try to advocate for Coven allowance into the tunnels (even in limited numbers) because that would presumably be a boon to numbers/potential research into other funky infected tunnel business.

Also on the more general level, before he got too into the Project he would've spent the first day and a bit trying to freeze up and scrape away patches of the Red Death (he may have attempted to target-freeze small patches of it from the moss and carefully remove it afterwards, if the moss didn't smack him for it/it didn't do major damage to the moss too. If it reacts badly to cold too then he would've restricted himself to using it on wall patches after a first test attempt on the moss).

[bloodypath]

Dropping this in late, but Hubert would definitely be up to pursuing the pitcher plant sap as a means to help get the infections under control, particularly in regards to individuals and patches growing on the curtain moss.

Maybe if the Wilders are willing to cooperate, he'll get a plant or three sent Underground so their fauns and/or Witches can explore the possibility of cultivating them down there, so they can keep it on hand if this continues to be an issue, or for resurgences if it doesn't.

Yona | Witch |OTA

[darkestbefore]

A. Root of the Issue

[ Yona has spent much of the month down in the Underground. When she's not meeting with the witches and the specialists who study the moss for a living, she is carrying messages and information between the lost city and the Coven above, doing her best to play out the role of diplomat she'd been unexpectedly thrust into. Having come away from her meeting with the Matriarch impressed by what she'd learned and eager to see the people here defended against the approaching Cwyld, there are very few days she's not immersed in her tasks between the two locations.

...Only the worrying concern over the red algae is one thing important enough to derail a few of her days. Venturing out with a joint expedition into the tunnels with both Mirrorbound and Underground guides, she brings what knowledge she has - along with an avid curiosity and an earnest desire to help find a solution, despite the dangers that these caves offer.

Although as a witch - and an archer - she's not quite as independently useful down here as she'd like to be. And with the algae seeming to be driving much of the wildlife out here in the depths of the tunnels mad, there's more than just spores and infection to be on guard for. At least the monster guards coming from the Underground haven't tried to forbid her from coming out here in the first place - even if maybe they should have. ]

( OOC Note: This prompt is open to general investigation tags, fighting infected creatures, or dealing with the algae itself. Feel free to go wild and see where we end up! )

B. The Side-Effects

[ It's not only out in the tunnels that becomes dangerous over the next few days, as those creatures she'd encountered out in the caves start figuring out weaknesses in the moss. Finding their way through the barrier and flinging themselves at the City's defenses.

While Yona is more than happy to lend in a hand - and her bow - with the pest control, it's quickly apparent her magic will be of more use here. When a section off the main square is cleared off and set up as an emergency healing area, she's quick to lend her assistance here with the few healing spells and charms she knows - as well as her more practical knowledge of first aid she's learned along the way - long before coming to these lands.

Although using magic here is easily more tiring than the more mundane methods - something she's discovering quickly as she uses little flares of magic here and there to ease what suffering she can. She might be overdoing it quite a bit, a strain pulling on the temporary Bond she has, as well as her own energy reserves. After a while, it's not so strange to see her swaying on her feet, or bracing a hand against a wall as she tries to catch her breath before stubbornly pushing on. ]

C. Ruining the Infection

[ When she learns of the moss from the Ruins that can act as a natural antibiotic for the Cwyld, Yona is quick to recruit some of her fellow healers - or perhaps just those that want a way to help out - to go and retrieve some, since that will go a lot farther than either their finite magical reserves or mundane first aid.

But teleporting to the Northern Outpost is more than just a shock to the senses - the bitter winter is a sharp contrast to the stifling summer back in the city. Although she manages a trek or two before the worst of the storms hit, a later arrival is right in the midst of a howling blizzard, making any attempt at traveling out of the Outpost treacherous in itself.

Stuck in one of the new cabins, she can only bundle down with whoever has become trapped here with her and hope the storm abates in time for them to retrieve more moss from the Ruins. ]

( OOC Note: Feel free to leave a prompt for one of the earlier expeditions to the Ruins for moss, a traipse through the snow, or end up blizzard-bound in a cabin with her for a while. )

A

[heartmunculus]

[Sieg is new enough that he doesn't know much about the underground city, but when there's a call for help it's hard for him to turn it down. Danger or not, he's never been that concerned with his own life.

As a new witch though, he doesn't know too much about this moss. Standing in front of it and watching it eat away at the moss- he understands why it needs to be stopped.]

Are we taking samples of this?

A

[sonnestark]

[Karin is eager to lend her aid wherever she can during the investigation, and as a steady sword-hand with a wealth of combat experience, joining the tunnel expeditions seems an ideal place for her. She's grateful to have found herself paired with a familiar face, though the further they descend, the more uneasy she becomes. It's been quiet for awhile now, perhaps too much so.]

You've spent much of the month in the Underground already, haven't you?

[She's glad at least one of them is somewhat familiar with the territory.]

Does anyone know how far these tunnels go?

C

[futhark]

[ The healing strain of moss is an incredible discovery and since Caster has been hanging around people he's either Bonded to or simply friends within the Underground, it's almost given that he helps her with her mission.

Another thing that he's almost.... bashful... almost to admit is that— ]

I will protect you, that's what I'm good at. [ He was once a knight, after all. ] But should a healer be needed, I can offer services of a novice

[ This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but yes, he's been studying abjuration ever since he got better in February. After months, and months of discrediting the need to touch the school's teaching. Yona doesn't know it, but still— ]

C.

[gynvael]

[ At least there are cabins around here, which is a damn sight better than burrowing in a cave somewhere and hoping for the best. Geralt expects to be alone: the weather's shit out there. He doubts too many are coming for a nice rest in the blizzard.

Once he's hunkered down, there's not much more to do. He gets a fire started, which has lately been irritating now that he can't just light it with a sign, though discovering matches has been helpful. Drafty, but warm enough.

When the crunch of footsteps in snow comes towards the door, he glances up. The young woman that steps through has red hair, dotted with snow. His own is damp from the same. He eyes her for a moment. Hard to say how someone will react to being stuck in a cabin with someone like him. After a second, he turns back to where he'd been oiling his swords. ]

Nice weather.

C

[exsoldier]

[ Zack had pushed as far down the backwoods road as he could on the way to the ruins, following the map that someone had been kind enough to lend him back at the outpost. He shouldn't have set out on his own, he now realizes, but he'd become accustomed to doing solo missions during his time at SOLDIER. Every now and then he'd been paired up with another First, a Second, or even a Turk, but plenty of times he had to go it alone.

Eventually the storm becomes too much, though. When he can barely see his own hand in front of his face, he realizes that he's got no choice but to find refuge in one of the cabins dotted alongside the road. Really, he's thankful that they exist at all. If it hadn't been for that, he might have been forced to search out a cave or even take shelter in the hollow of a tree.

The cabin door is unlocked, and he bursts inside, the wind howling behind him, and then turns around to shove the door shut before too much of the cold can be allowed inside. ]

Geez!

[ He clicks his tongue, then reaches up to shake as much snow out of his long, spiky hair as he can. It'll be a while before he fully dries off, so he'll have to see if he can figure out how to get a fire started. For now, though, he's distracted enough to not realize he's not alone. ]

Prompto Argentum | FF15 | OTA

[clickclickbang]

Hay + Fire = Bad News

[Prompto was already melting from the summer heat, but then the pixies had to show up. And they had to take an interest in his chocobo. And they just had to let a spark or two fall on the very dry and flammable hay that Prompto uses in Prim's stable.

It's a good thing that A, Primula quick to break out of her stall and get the hell away from the fire and B, Prompto was already coming out to make sure Prim was doing alright in the heat.

There's swearing and Prompto running around getting a bucket and lots of yelling]

Water! Help! Fire! Any Witches around with a water spell?!

Pixie Extermination

[And now it's personal. Once he's got the fire in the stable put out and assessed the damages (he's going to have to hire someone to build a new one probably), Prompto heads out in the city determined to help get these damn pixies to leave the city.

So maybe he's running around and luring them into your traps for them. Or maybe he's dousing them with a bucket of water and probably getting everything else wet. Or maybe he's setting up little poorly-made dolls of straw up for them and letting them set those on fire to get the burning urge out.

He's trying, okay?]

Cooldown

[At some point though, Prompto is going to flop down under one of the sprinklers put out for general use, head tilted back to let the water just wash over him.]

Suddenly I miss the snow.

Wildcard

[Wanna do something else in the city? HMU!]

Pixie Extermination

[thevanguard]

[ Yeah, it's gotten a little personal for Yata, too. Mostly because his heart jumps up somewhere in his throat everytime there's a new burst of fire somewhere nearby and that pisses him off because it's fire. He should be as used to that as breathing.

But ever since his second arrival, ever since those strange little horns started poking up on top of his head - still practically little button nubs but definitely not the feathers he'd been expecting a resurgence of - it's been an inherant response to any kind of flame. Which just means he's in a foul mood.

Making it the perfect time to take his frustration out on these tiny flying assholes.

Although at the moment, he skids to a halt before skidding to a stop and staring over at the blond trying to lure a small cluster of them somewhere. He doesn't know where - and wouldn't normall care, but.... ]

Hey, dude! Uh. Your coattails are on fire...

[ The guy had missed one of the little mischief makers in his herding attempts clearly. ]

Heralia il Gardlanda | Monster (Turnskin) | OTA!

[awryprincess]

[1: The Side-Effects]

[Heralia's only been here a couple weeks, so she only knows a couple things, but one of those things is that this "Underground" is apparently a newer ally of Aefenglom, and the Mirrorbound, and frankly, she sees this as a great opportunity to begin currying favor. So through the teleporter she goes - slogging through the snow, which is never pleasant, and never brings up good memories - and finally into the cave system.

Once she found out about the algae - and how she's actually fairly ill-equipped to handle it, women of the royal family were never allowed to study green magic - she thinks she has some other angle she can go for: People need protection from the beasties in the caves. Heralia is a small woman. She's a bright, and cheerful woman. She does not look like much of a fighter, and many of the people in the city comment as such. She just smiles and continues on.

What actually ends up bothering her are the caves themselves. There's some kind of weird... yearning inside of her, as they move through the more narrow passages. She wants to climb on things, to get up high where she can see for some distance all around, but stuck underground, in narrow caverns, with very few methods of ingress or egress, she starts to feel a bit riled up.

She jumps on rocky outcroppings and climbs the walls whenever and wherever she can as a substitute, and it seems to help. It's on one of those treks where she stops, in the dim light, eyes focused forward, very attentive. She has better low light vision than a human, so a Witch probably doesn't see what she sees yet, but another Monster might.] Wait, wait. There, in the distance.

[And then she's holding a dagger. Was it in her hand a moment ago? No. Where did it come from? Wouldn't you like to know.] We've got com-pany.

[2: The Northern Outpost]

[Hey, so you wanna know how to trigger Heralia - like, legitimately, honestly trigger her? Get her stuck in a cabin with a blizzard outside.

She's pacing. Back and forth, like an agitated cat. Pacing, pacing, energy lined into every one of her muscles and limbs. The smile is gone from her face. She's not feeling great.] Ugh... I can't... I can't stay here any longer. Damn the blizzard, I'm going out there! And I'm going back to Aefenglom!

[This, she announces to whoever is with her. Either try to talk her out of it and distract her... or join her. Up to you!]

[3: Aefenglom]

[She has never been happier to be out of a situation than she was to be out of that cabin. Not a single time. So, right now, she's almost glad to see the fire pixies, and feel the oppressive heat.

But even that has its limits with her. Especially seeing as it's just so draining to even be outside for long, and she's spending too much of whatever currency she has just buying drinks to try to stay hydrated. The river is receding, everyone is crabby, and honestly...

Something needs to be done. The pixies, she knows, are the culprits - it's the talk of the town, for now, and Heralia isn't quite sure what to make of them. Until she tries to talk to one, and just gets a rude gesture.

... And then she kicks it into a nearby wall. Without even realizing someone might be watching. It pzzzzings as it flies, and then crumples in a little ball of bent wings and still form, and is clearly... either knocked out or dead.] ... Nasty little things, aren't they...

[That was more for herself, than anyone else, but... you know.]

[4: Wildcard!]

[For all your Wildcarding needs! Make a prompt, or hit me up Reslari, at Discord Reslari#9561, or on the plotting post!]

1

[turmoiling]

[Jin Guangyao is also not particularly large - as a man or as a snake-monster. But it's becoming clear why naga do so well in the Underground. His snakelike monstrousness still bothers him, if he thinks of it as himself. But as a tool he can use, it's even more handy here than in the forest above; able to slither through tight spaces, sensing the heat signature of other creatures in the darkness, and catching their shapes and locations in a few flickerings of that black forked tongue.

Scouting the areas near where the witches are working to clear the leylines, he's exercising due caution when he spots Heralia, and is about to greet her when she calls out.

Jin Guangyao's head turns in the direction she's looking, and his tongue flickers out, tasting the air. It's not so accurate as sight, but still more than enough to pick up a few forms rummaging along through the rocks further down the tunnel.]

Not so pleasant company, I imagine. Perhaps we should discourage their curiosity. There are a few witches working not far from here, and it really wouldn't do to disturb them.

Kai Gracen | Monster | OTA

[halfbloodhatchling]

A. Underground

[ Kai is fond of solving his problems by shooting at them, and while the red algae can't be defeated that way there are infected creatures and Kai feels fairly comfortable dealing with them. After getting an armadillo creature in the belly Kai lets out a little cry of triumph. ]

Are these things worth anything if we bring in the skins?

[ Surely it's more likely if he's got proof he killed it. ]

B. Underground

[ Even the best Stalker can't avoid injury, and Kai tends to be a bit reckless at the best times. Of course, the best Stalkers - the ones that everyone agrees were great - are dead, so Kai doesn't care that he's got a ways to go, as long as he's still alive.

Alive, and with a nasty cut to his arm that does look like he needs medical attention. ]

Just pull the thorns out and I'll be fine. No magic.

[ Kai glares at the person he's talking to, to get across the severity of that point. ]

C. Aefenglom

[ This place doesn't have the technology that Kai's used to, and that's a problem on a lot of levels. He misses his car, misses the thrum of it under him. He misses being able to go about his daily life without having to deal with magic.

But right now he's been shooting a lot, and that's certainly starting to sound like an issue. He waves one of his pistols around, to emphasize his point. ]

What's a monster got to do to get more bullets?

[ With the pointed ears, fangs, and purple eyes, he certainly looks like he's on his way to being something other than human - although in Kai's case, he never was that. ]

eren jaeger 💥 monster (dragon) | attack on titan

[usurpers]

ғʀᴇᴇ ᴅᴀ ᴘɪxɪᴇs

[ plenty of the coven and the city itself has taken to, if not dousing the firecracker pixies setting off embers for mischief, then to locking them up behind iron bars or stone containers to restrain their chaos in the formidable summer heat. the weather itself felt fantastic and invigorating for a dragon of the same element, eren far from being an exception. his scales are lustrous and brightly colored to resemble sunsets, his horns and talons healthy and glossy like polished blue gems— he's never felt nor looked better, prime with vitality and draconic swagger that was subconsciously made to attract.

perhaps that doesn't help with turning heads, or what he seems to be doing when the imprisoned pixies are left unattended. the dragon's attraction to them becomes blatant in the way tonguing intensifies, his stare fixates, his pupils expand until there's only a ring of iris left and it really does look as if he's studying his next meal.

he breaks locks with a seamless squeeze, he splits cage bars apart like stretching a rubber band, pulls off little doors like paper slits. he's freeing the pixies he's coming across, and rather than stuffing one right into his (watering) mouth . . . he can't seem to bring himself to when they commend him, some with flaring pecks on the cheek, a display of popping fire sparks and happy little dances in the air that he doesn't stop tongue flicking for the crazy amount of ghost pepper spice. that's one way to appease them? but—

you have, at the very least, caught a man red-handed, so what do you do? ]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏssᴇ

[ the summer pixies still go about causing mischief that may or may not quickly escalate into destruction. whether your garden is ablaze or the little buggers set smoke to flowing locks of hair or fur behind you (they particularly enjoy tails just to see the reaction), you've come across some that seem to be pompous and overly provoking. swat at them! douse them, they dare you with their tiny little 🖕 and gesturing for you to spin on top of their— oh, dear that's terribly foul. losing patience with either will get them and their partners to shriek over-dramatically, or, worse—

it brings one (1) seven foot tall dragon to turn the corner completely surrounded by pixies and searching for the source of distress; some perch on his shoulder and braid his hair, other's are just along for the ride— and many snicker as they fold their arms and flutter their pompous wings with pride. they made a very protective new friend. and the friend has come in possession of a posse. ah, he runs. quite fast.

]

ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ

[ feel free to hmu with other planned things here or ideas here! my plurk is liberos and my disco is owlie#3609 for easy contact! ♥ ]

Posse-ish

[stopfen]

[It wasn't Mikasa's garden no. Instead, it was the park they'd spoken in at the start of the month, and it wasn't ablaze. Not yet anyway. Though the weak fairy ring had been broken, the magic the fae had weaved into it was spluttering out giving faint crackles where one of the pixes had burnt through the grass.

That had earned the fae's ire. No she didn't really own this place, but she had claimed this park, put it under her protection. The heat damaging the plants had been enough. Then this horrible little intruder had actively damaged them.

It's a small little racket. The pixie's rambles in a forgotten langue, the fae's increasingly long clicks and hisses. Neither side understands the other properly. Not beyond one provoking and the other being provoked. Then the pixies set fire to a small bush. Starting it's shill shriek that it doesn't even have time to finish. Mikasa moves that quickly, her remaining human hand swinging out to bonk it on the head. Knocking the tiny being to the ground.

Then she'd kicking up dirt over it, smothering it's fire. It's alive and dazed, but it's not going to be doing much for a while...Which was a good thing. Because Mikasa was stood there waving her right hand wincing owowowww.]

Momo | Witch | OTA

[yesdoubt]

[a: attack of the revenge of the infected (underground city + tunnels)]

[Momo had been worried about the red algae last time he was here, but he hadn't gotten the impression anyone knew where it was coming from or what it was doing. He'd figured some of the Mirrorbound more experienced in plant life might take samples and then they could do something about it before it turned sour.

Wishful thinking on the part about them having a reasonable amount of time to do that, apparently. It's going to take some doing to find out how to deal with this, so Momo spends his early time in the Underground either trying to snipe the small Cwyld infected creatures with ice magic (accuracy, temperature and range of the spells may vary, since he's fairly new to elemental magic) or out in the tunnels trying to find a potential source of where the moss is. Out there, he has his knife out and something bubble-like shimmering over the lower half of his face - after some experimenting, he's managed to figure out a barrier that lets him breathe but not take in spores, though it's rather finicky to cast. Either way, he's not going to turn down backup, and if anyone else is out here fighting the infected, he's give them an easy, but somewhat faded grin.]

Heard anything about solutions yet? I'm starting to wonder if I should be freezing the red stuff instead. [It's probably worth a shot, at least.]

--

[b: moss wars]
(i. northern outpost to the town)

[Momo's next idea needs a bit of response time, so he uses the interim period to help out with collecting the healing moss from that old town. Unfortunately, the pixies have been through since he was last up here, and he's starting to almost regret deciding to start with ice and water as his elemental magic options of choice.

Thankfully, he's always been pretty good at appeasement, but he wants to work out something more exact with this lot, so he'll gravitate towards anyone who seems to be having the same problem and needing another head.]

You dealt with the pixies here before or are we going on guesswork about what they like? [These ones seem...less assholish than what he heard about the summer ones, at least.]

(ii. distributing the healing moss)

[Once he's back down in the city again, Momo can be found on and off helping get the healing moss to people who need it. Despite the worrying mood in the city, Momo's smile remains in place and his manner cheerful, trying to keep spirits up despite the fact that none of them really have a good idea of how this is going to turn out.

There's a few different areas to attend to, though, so he may eventually grab the attention of someone else helping out.] You want to help me run some of these further into the city? I dunno if everyone's coming out this far who needs it.

--

[c: cwyld vein purging]

[Eventually, Momo's idea bears some fruit, in the form of organising a mass purge of the cwyld veins around where the "Red Death" seems to have started out. It's a similar process to purging a leyline and he's more than happy to show the relatively simple method to anyone who hasn't seen it before, since it basically amounts to forcing clean magic through the lines to flush out the infection. He's managed to get a message to the Matriarch for some local help, too, and while any Mirrorbound assistance is very welcome, it's also good to know that the locals are ready to learn and help out as well.

If anyone shows up to assist, whether Monsters to back them up against the infected creatures in the tunnels or more Witches to conduct the purging, Momo will wave them over briefly from where he's working on his own part of the purge.] Come to help out? Have you done one of these purges before or do you need a couple pointers on what's going on?

[He'll take a break to help people if he has to, but he'd prefer to keep his focus on the line with as few interruptions to his magic flow as possible.]

--

[d: wildcard]

[[Feel free to hit me up at reviseleviathan, by PM or on the game Discord for other plotting! There's also a network post regarding the cwyld vein purge so any character can find out about it and learn the method - feel free to play with this in your own TLs too if your character would get involved!]]

c

[turmoiling]

Surely the Mirrorbound witches need protection. Or at least that's certainly what the citizens of this realm would say.

[Jin Guangyao replies, slithering closer. He's definitely a lot better at it already -- being sober helps, of course. But with sheathed sword carried in one hand and smooth sinuous slide across the ground, he at least looks supremely calm and confident. Since the last time they spoke, there's also a fairly noticeable gold ribbon tied into his hair.]

Though I really can't help with the magical aspects, I am quite curious about the process as well, I admit. Perhaps you could fil me in as well, if there's time.

izumi tachibana / witch / ota

[currysseur]

— among the leylines / underground tunnels;

So, our magic can fix this?

[ Izumi's face is full of honest curiosity as she looks at the pile of moss and the dark veins in the earth which run towards it. But still, there's some scepticism there from the young woman who currently uses her jacket as a makeshift mask, covering her nose and mouth.

Who can blame her? After all, it was just a couple of weeks ago that the most fantastic thing in her life was a door that refused to open. An infection of moss being cured by magic in these strange veins — leylines, which she's only vaguely heard of as a concept in fantasy stories — is several steps beyond whatever strangeness occurred with that one room in the Mankai dorms. ]

We're not going to hurt anyone, are we?

— out of the frying pan... / aefenglom;

[ The basics of magic are certainly important — just like the basics of acting. Or curries. A good foundation makes all the difference to the end result. Sweat drips down a furrowed brow as Izumi looks over a page of scribbled notes, trying to puzzle out some of her own abbreviations (they made sense at the time!) while the ice in her drink melts under the scorching midday sun. ]

So, if I do this... [ Bright eyes flick from the textbook in front of her to the notes in her hand, alight with eager understanding. ] ... and this...

[ Let's give it a go! She concentrates, and the air around her table grows colder.

Rapidly.

And it doesn't stop. ]

Whoa! [ A swirl of wind whips sharp crystals of ice around, at Izumi, at her drink, at anyone unfortunate enough to be sitting nearby or walking past.

And probably at that tiny little pixie making their way downtown, riding fast... Riding faster. And definitely making some family un-friendly gestures at the witch desperately trying to undo her magic. ]

— wildcard;

[ if you want to do something else, feel free to write your own starter or contact me at isanghae / isanghae#8071. ]

[awryprincess]

Your magic can, aye. I'm little help, there.

[So, here's a Monster that's been a little... pent-up on the trip down here (arboreal cat is quickly finding out she doesn't much like caves, even if she knows this is going to work well in some long con plans), but she's... at least curious as to what's going to happen. She's wearing a scarf over her face.

She isn't very happy about that, either, but as much as the budding cat in her wants to shake it off her head, she knows it's for a good cause.] But I don't think we're going to be hurting anyone! If anything, this helps, right? Unless you're feeling sympathetic to a plant... and one that seems to be destructive.

Juza Hyodo | Turnskin | OTA

[sneaksweet]

III-A.

[These awful little pixies are the worst things he has ever had the misfortune of dealing with in Aefenglom. And it's not like they're just rude, they're sparking flames and fires and now he's chasing one of them down. Does he have a plan for stopping them? Of course he doesn't.

Remember: Only you can prevent pixie fires.]

Watch out!

[The pixie on its scarab beetle is barreling straight towards you, good luck.]

III-B.

[Eventually he'll realize he needs an actual plan when it comes to pixie stopping. As a bear turnskin though, it's not as if he can enchant anything. He can carry around a bucket of water without any problems. It'll run out, but something is much better than nothing.]

Got the container ready?

[He only has so many hands and there are so many of these pixies.]

Styx | Witch | ota

[tothemetal]

underground;

[the call for aid is the first time that Styx has heard of there being an entire underground city around here, and despite the dire situation there's no mistaking the wonder with which he peers around himself as he makes his way through both the city streets and tunnels alike. not for the first time he thinks that it should have been Ymir, not him, who was brought into this world; it was all perfectly aligned with the bassist's knowledge and so he would surely be more useful. if nothing else, he'd have to bring all these stories back with him...whenever that would be.

he feels a little bit more like a hoodlum than usual with a simple bandana wrapped around his lower face, but it's the best he could do on such short notice - ticklish as it was to have the moss exploring his orifices, he's not keen on having it happen again. he really isn't confident enough to try anything magical on this stuff, not when it was so important, but he had hands - and after a little inquiring, he also had a bucket.

physically scraping the algae off and depositing it into his receptacle seemed to work as well as anything else, and it made him feel good to know that he was contributing, even in a small way. when he first comes across some of the pink algae, however, he falters in his works and stares at it with open perplexment.]

Uh...this the same stuff? Looks kinda -

[off. not that he was a botanist.]

outpost;

[Styx has been doing his level best to help with the purging of the cwyld, but he knows that his attempts are inexperienced and clumsy; no matter how many times he tells himself that any bit of magic will help greatly, self doubt gnaws at him as surely as the Red Death eats away at the moss. to calm his heart, and to prove to himself that he is being useful, he's taking frequent breaks to travel to the ruins and bring back the other, slightly different moss for healing in the city. he can more than manage this, and it's a tangible act whose benefit he can immediately see. right now he sorely needs both.

unfortunately, the tantrum of the native elementals makes these quests for self-assurance more than a little difficult. after wading doggedly through snowdrifts that came up to even his mighty waist, the drummer couldn't help but ask after why this particular area seemed so much more brutal than the rest...and ever since his mind has been preoccupied by those creatures. it must have been pretty scary, thinking that their entire world was going to melt away. even with those pixies gone, they were probably still frightened that something awful might happen...

these feelings intersect on his next excursion through the snow, when he catches sight of one of the offending creatures near a tree. Styx doesn't know why - instinct perhaps - but before he can stop himself he finds that he's set his bucket down and formed a snowball in his hands, lobbing the thing directly at the elemental's back.

in the split second between realizing what he's done and the thing making contact with his target the big guy can feel his life flash before his eyes, expecting to die right here and now in immortalization of his greatest act of stupidity; instead he's struck dumb when another snowball comes flying back at him, smashing square into his face.

???

gaping over at the elemental (because who else could have done that?) he's struck dumb when the creature...grins at him?? when it bows down in a universal sign of making another snowball, he realizes that his initial thoughts had been correct: they really did just need something to let them know it was alright to enjoy themselves again. letting out a loud whoop himself, he practically hurls himself into the snow to begin constructing ammunition.

what commences is an exceptionally wholesome and spirited snowball fight - it seems the elementals aren't the only ones who need to let loose right now - right up until his opponent hits him with a snowball that sends his own shot flying wildly off base. he's laughing at the silliness of it all...right up until he notices that it's heading straight for another person whose presence he hadn't spotted until now, too wrapped up in his horsing around.]

Oh, shit! Dude, look out-!

heat wave;

[difficult though it was, Styx has been going above and beyond in trying to master his magic - any type of magic, anything at all. it's even more daunting than he'd expected it to be, and this rolling heat only serves to make matters worse. he always felt his attention wandering in warm weather, even when he had nothing at all to occupy his mind.

but people needed help right now! and he could provide that help!! theoretically, anyway. a lot of the spells discussed in those special classes seemed way out of his weight class, but enchanting sprinklers should be manageable even for him. right? right.

it's how he'd found himself in a random street in the city, anyway, staring down at an umbrella as if it held the secrets of the universe. he'd thought it would be a great thing for people to be able to take their wet relief with them more easily, but now that the time had come for actual casting...despite the heat, he can feel his feet just icing over.

no! he could do this!!! he had to. no improvement without practice, right? and he'd poured over those notes maybe a hundred times now. this was it. he was doing this.

...if you're in the vicinity, the only warning you receive about the oncoming chaos is a loud cry and the sound of an extremely heavy body being knocked on its ass. after that, you and everyone else on the street have maybe a handful of seconds to dodge an umbrella that is shooting through the sky like a dark missile of vengeance, propelled by a powerful jet of water shooting solely from its tip rather than gently sprinkling all around the edges.

well...first attempts are always rough around the edges, right? at least he tried.]

wildcard;

[if you've got another idea you wanna run with, go for it! Styx'll also be working to purge the cwyld, as mentioned, along with fighting the infected animals (barehanded, musclebound freak that he is) and probably being harassed by the fire pixies back home. the stage is yours, the man is everywhere. follow your dreams.]

heat wave

[sneaksweet]

[As a bear turnskin, he doesn't have any magic of his own so when he comes across the pixies starting fires he just douses them with a bucket of water before proceeding to work or where ever it is he's trying to go.

Or that's what he would do, if the umbrella missile didn't startle him into dropping his bucket and running towards the source of the yell.

Can't do much about the magic, but maybe he can help whoever got knocked over?

He'll offer a clawed hand to help Styx up.]

What happened?

howl, witch, ota

[galdorleod]

( 1. stoppage )

[ Fires started breaking out in Aefenglom earlier that day; the Coven asked capable and willing witches to help put out the flames soon afterwards. Howl wanted to help as much as he could, but with less than three weeks of instruction under his belt, and most of it having nothing to do with evocation, he didn't think he'd have much to contribute.

...until he learned that the fires were being started by the summer pixies and their scarabs. The first time he saw one, he chased after her, ignoring the fires she delighted in starting in an effort to catch her. He actually managed to trap her in his cupped palms, but a scalding hot moment later, his hands flew apart and she escaped.

But it was not for naught. The encounter had inspired him to put some real effort into helping with the city's fires situation - in his own way. Howl can be seen milling around the Mirrorbound neighborhoods near the Haven, carrying a bucket. Not a bucket of water or a bucket of sand, but just... a bucket.

He's looking for something very specific: anyone - you, perhaps - trying to do harm to the pixies or their beetle steeds. Should Howl see you doing this, you'll find the thin, newly blond-haired man running towards you at full speed, missing his elaborately embroidered coat, but otherwise dressed as fancy as always. ]

Stop! Stop that! Leave them alone!

( 2. kind kindle )

[ When Howl isn't busy chasing away anyone who tries to hurt the little pixies, he can be seen sitting on the kneeling along the streets outside the Haven's walls. Along the curb, every twenty feet or so, he constructs little shrines to the pixies - much of them made from scraps of grass or paper or wood that were discarded along the sidewalk, but also frayed cloth, wilted flowers, used matchsticks and other random flammable objects.

The shrines themselves are arranged in varying shapes, the pieces piled end-on-end in an alternating fashion. At the center, he places any items too large or oddly-shaped to be used as building blocks. Once he's done, he moves on to the next one, and seems to be enjoying his strange task, humming and beaming as he works.

Perhaps you can guess what he's doing, but if you can't, Howl would be more than happy to explain! And maybe if you're lucky, you'll see a pixie creep down and float around one of the little "shrines" curiously, potentially before Howl is there to see her first! ]

( 3. expert extinguishing! )

[ Saving the pixies isn't working, and appeasing them isn't really working either. Aefenglom is intermittently ablaze, and the poor little pixies are intermittently being killed, no matter what Howl tries to do. The only thing left to try is damage control. And while a witch who's been here less than a month isn't going to have a large repertoire of spells to choose from, he doesn't intend to let that hold him back.

As the sun begins to set on the twenty-first, Howl stands at the entrance to the Haven, dressed in a long witch's robe, with a tome under one arm and a velvet sack handing from his other hand. If and when someone who he suspects to be a Mirrorbound passes, he dons a charming smile and calls out to them. ]

Excuse me! Yes, you! May I beg your assistance with a spell?

3

[wylderrant]

Howl, dearest, of course you can, but I can't guarantee success.

[ It's been a little while, but she's rather happy to see Howl all the same. She sidles up to him, hooves clip-clopping on stone, a broad smile on her face. ]

And can I just add that it's wonderful to see you again? How have you been keeping amidst all of thise... ah... chaos?

[ She had a great time when they were last together. So she's in a very good mood having run into him again. ]

Kaede | Monster | ota

[long_live_the_queen]

II. >Let creepy shadow in [Northern Outpost]

[This blizzard wasn't a very polite one. One day the winter was inconvenient but here, the next a wail of wind picked up and a blast of cold chased everyone inside. And...wasn't letting up, leaving the skies darkened and turning these shelters into isolated cabins that creaked ominously in the wind or under the snow piled on the roof. Even just reaching the next building over was difficult.

But at least one person wasn't letting some perfectly good darkness go to waste.

There's a scratch at the storm shuttered window. And another, and a slightly exasperated, slightly...distorted, voice. Like several voices were trying to speak at once, each one slightly out of time with the others.]

Hey. [Scratch, scratch.] Open the window. I got food.

III-A. Local Monster has an Anger [Aefenglom]

[Kaede, unfortunately, was only really familiar with one method of conflict resolution. The heat was making her especially irritable—more than just a Tuesday irritable—and the constant sun burning her eyes further shortened her temper.

So unsurprisingly, the Chimera was doing a terrible job of not rising to the impish pixies' bait. One had taken to charging at the Monster's foot from atop its fire scarab steed, a metal ladle as its lance. Kaede had largely succeeded in yanking her paw out of the way before impact, keeping the pixie out of worse trouble—but her fraying patience had its limits. On the fourth pass, the Chimera snarled as her only warning before punting the scarab and its rider clear across the street to splat against a brick wall, spitting a cloud of sparks as it went. The scarab smashed into fiery pieces; the pixie was stunned, but regrettably still alive.

The sparks rolled off Kaede's feathers like water on a duck, but the marks of the aegishjalmur on her arms were steadily dimming. A few points had gone dark entirely, the mischief of previous pixies who thought trying to set her tail on fire was funny.

The Chimera rested her weight on that foot a bit gingerly; kicking things with paws was still something she wasn't used to yet. Realizing she had an audience was something she was better at. Marginally.]

What? [The Chimera snapped.]

III-B. Off the counter, pixie

[Later on, her one—one—concession was to use a spray bottle full of water instead of, well, ordinary violence. Just plain water; it did more than enough to make the pixies spit and smolder and shriek expletives—and most importantly, leave her the fuck alone. And not start any fires in this area of the city, so close to Ursula's school. Or torch the mansion's grass that was steadily bleaching to a straw color in the heat.

Kaede saw absolutely no reason not to be generous with the water; sometimes she didn't even turn to look at who or what approached before raising the spray bottle and blasting away. Kaede does glance over after the fact, arm still extended.]

[Wildcard]

[Dealer's choice, etc. Or use this as a quest receptacle; her CR comment was here if you wanted to plan something.]

iii-b

[recklessbelief]

[There is some sputtering for a moment before--]

Hey! Kaede!

[Akko is very decidedly not pixie-shaped nor sized, but she just got a faceful of water just now from Kaede's sharp-shooting. Akko's ears flatten back in aggravation as she tries to wipe the water off her face with her sleeve.]

Watch where you're pointing that thing!