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

[yesdoubt]

[Momo nods along with Onni's summation of the situation people that come here with magic face. Assuming they're lucky enough to become a Witch, there then comes the question of whether they can adapt to a new system or whether they hold onto the old one so tightly it's hard to pick up the new one.]

Magic's just a storybook thing in my world, so nobody does it, it just shows up in fantasy fiction all the time. I've had a while here to adapt by now, but it's also...I kind of think of it as coming in as a blank slate. I didn't have any expectations of how it should go, so I found it easy to learn, in a way.

[It's still a lot to learn and was definitely overwhelming to begin with, but now he's more used to it and feels pretty comfortable with how things have gone.]

[scowlish]

That's interesting. I'm curious though, even if it was just in storybooks or fantasy fiction, did you use a particular method from the stories you read? I think, if I grew up in a world like that, then the way that the people in the books and songs and poetry I was familiar with would probably influence me a little.

[Onni is rubbing at his hands a little, massaging some warmth and flexibility back into the joints before he crouches down again, taking a breath, and allowing some silence for Momo to reply before he starts up with his chant again.

This time he takes it a little more slowly, focusing hard, his brow furrowed, as he tries to keep the flow of magic more even and moderate. It's a type of magic he's done before, this sort of consistent and lower-power flow, but he'd had much better focus at that time, being able to call on his gods. Here, the restraint is a bit more difficult than simply throwing his all into it.]

[yesdoubt]

Nah, I think there'd be too many of them to even narrow down to picking one! [Momo would probably wave a hand if he wasn't otherwise occupied, so instead he ends up giving a slight laugh as if he's overwhelmed by even the idea of trying to pick a technique from all the magic media back home.] In my case, I tried a few techniques to start with, but found that stuff with my body seemed to work best as a focus. Like I've done dances as casting for certain area of effect spells where time isn't really an issue.

[It's not practical for any spellcasting that needs to be quick, but for things like concealing areas with his illusion magic, he finds it's a solid way to define the area of the spell and "weave" the magic around that area, so to speak. After making that remark, though, he won't interrupt once Onni starts the chant.]

[scowlish]

[The chanting comes naturally enough to him now, even in this foreign place, that he can listen to Momo even while he does it, though he can't respond at first. It's interesting to listen to the thoughts of someone who'd never practiced magic, who never had a technique to adapt. Even the new trainees at home had had their technique picked out for them, honed over several generations of mages who had perfected it.

Slowly, he lets his chant peter out, and experiments with keeping the magic flowing without saying the words. There's a faltering sputter about how it happens, the magic wanting to stop up the moment he stops speaking out of pure instinct, but with his brows furrowed, he focuses hard and manages to get it flowing again. After a few moments of maintaining it, he tries speaking something that isn't a chant.]

Dancing? That's interesting. I've never heard of something like that. Sometimes, I'll move my hands along with the chant, but it's the only way people in my country do magic. The Icelanders use runes, but I don't know much about that.

[While he speaks, the magic coming from his hands starts and stops a few times, but eventually settles into a steady flow again as he chants the words in his mind. That might be useful later.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo watches the process, visibly a bit curious about how Onni will go without the chant focusing things. He gives a bright grin when the other man succeeds in keeping his magic going without it, though, because while the chant is something he finds cool, it's handy to be able to be flexible about magic focuses.]

I figured some kind of motion might work as a focus for me, since I've always been really into physical stuff. And I'm a performer back home, so dancing was my first thought.

[That said, he does pick up on one part of what Onni said, and pursues it as soon as he's done explaining how he landed on dancing as a focus.] Iceland exists in your world, then? Where are you from yourself?

[scowlish]

[It's a little shaky still, without the chant, but Onni thinks it will be helpful to be able to do it without speaking aloud. More stealthy, like using a bow instead of a gun.]

That makes sense. I think channeling magic always works better when you do something that's familiar for you, something you can do by muscle memory, without thinking. It's a good idea.

[Furrowing his brows a little, he whispers a few words of a chant under his breath to get his focus back, then falls silent again.]

Ah, yeah. It does. I'm from Finland, myself. We had Norway, Sweden, and Denmark besides those. I don't know what's going on in the rest of the world.

[yesdoubt]

[Momo nods along as if to say he recognises the names - though with Onni talking about magic as a fact of life, he's guessing this is another case of someone coming from an Earth that's unlike his own.]

Your version of Earth is probably different to mine if you have magic, but I've been around those countries for work a few times! I never get to stay long, though. I'm from Japan, but that probably doesn't say much if you're...are you just out of contact with the rest of the world or is it something bigger going on than that?

[The last person he saw from a magical Earth was involved in high-powered magical war, so his ability to disbelieve a lot of awfulness that could break out on a magical Earth has gone out the window.]

[scowlish]

I imagine it is, if you know places other than those countries. Though I suppose that people in other parts of the world might have survived too, especially if they were on an island.

[For a second, he pauses, regaining his focus, his mouth moving in a silent chant, brows furrowed. After a moment, he steadies himself again and exhales a soft sigh.]

I suppose that makes it obvious. There's a bad disease where I come from, called the Rash. It's similar to the Cwyld in that it corrupts people's souls, with the victims becoming mindless monsters. We live mostly in walled cities, and places like Iceland, surrounded by water on all sides, are the places that did the best. I suppose there are probably other pockets of survivors, but I can't say for sure because we have no way of contacting them.

[yesdoubt]

[Talking about "might have survived" means Momo is immediately thinking doomsday scenario of some sort, so it does make it a bit obvious. Still, he manages to keep a composed face for the explanation, besides his mouth tugging downwards a bit. As a horror movie connoisseur, it sounds a bit too much like a few of those he's seen, but he doesn't want to know what actually living it would be like.]

So that's why you had a mask against things like these spores already prepared? [That had certainly stood out when Onni arrived, and that tale certainly explains why he has it.] I guess Japan might've done okay since we're all islands, but I don't wanna know how many people would've died first with how many we've got.

[Population density is decidedly not an advantage in a sickness situation.] That's a hell of a situation, though. My Earth sure isn't perfect, but all the problems are a lot more...you know, mundane.

[scowlish]

[At the point that they are back home, it's more than 90 years removed from that apocalypse - his grandmother was born in the midst of it, and so the way that things are is all he's known, it's normal.]

Yes. It mostly spreads with bodily fluids, so this keeps that out. It's a pretty standard piece of equipment for the non-Immune where I come from.

[That bit about Japan and how it would have done has him lifting his gaze a little even while he manages to keep his magic going, mouthing the words of a chant silently until it becomes even again.]

I imagine if they're all islands and not inclined to open borders they'd have done quite well. Most of the people in Iceland, for instance, died from famine rather than actual infection. Anyway, mundane problems are better than the ones we had. But I don't know anything about Japan. What is it like?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo doesn't really consider dying from something else much of an improvement, but he'd rather not think about that for too long either. Getting to talk about home is an easy way to maybe brighten the mood a bit, so he takes the opportunity, a small smile on his face.]

I live in the capital, so it's always really busy and bustling there, since we have so many people in what's kind of a small country. But it's kind of...old and new, in a way? Old shrines and stuff in the same space as really advanced modern buildings, or you can get on a bullet train in the big cities and then go to a town and get boated through a canal or something. There's a lot of variety, so even though I travel a lot for work, it always feels nice to come back home.

[He's a simple guy where his tastes are concerned and might have taken a while to leave the country if he hadn't landed in fame.]

[scowlish]

[Frankly, Onni feels the same way. While dying from the Rash is the worst possible death to have because of the corruption of the soul that comes with it, all the other ways that a person might die are terrible to consider.

Listening to Momo talk about his home is interesting and a little soothing, actually. The way he describes it sounds nice, and the talk of the little shrines really piques his interest. He isn't sure what a bullet train might be, though the rest of it is familiar enough to put pleasant images in his head.]

It sounds nice. I'd be interested in looking at the shrines, and I've never seen a city that was intact and populated and not in complete ruins. Most of the villages where I live are pretty rustic, more than here even, and we don't have much electricity in Finland, though they have it in Sweden and a few other places.

[yesdoubt]

Maybe I could show you some pictures? I had my phone with me when I came here, it can store photos like the Watches can. [Taking a potshot that he needs to clarify that since that sounds a whole lot like the apocalypse might've booted Onni's world back rather a lot technology-wise.]

We definitely have electricity even in the more rural places, but our cities are super packed and dense so they sound like they'd be a pretty big culture shock compared to what you're used to. Much bigger and more intense than any of the cities here.

[scowlish]

Oh, sure.

[He is pretty curious about what a place like Momo has described might look like. And once Momo explains that he had a phone with him that can store pictures like the Watches, it makes sense. Onni has had a bit of a time adjusting to having a Watch where he can talk to other people more easily than a radio, but he's getting used to it by now.

The last bit is interesting, and he makes a soft 'mhm' in his throat.]

It sounds a bit like Mora, in Sweden. I stayed there with my cousin's friend's family for a while. Or maybe Reykjavík. That's in Iceland. Those places are pretty dense and packed with too many people, so I might not be too thrown off. Then again, people are noisy and disruptive. I might prefer to stay somewhere more rural, near the forest.

[yesdoubt]

I'll stick a pin in that for when we're done here, then! [He needs hands for this work first, but he's sure there'll be an opportunity for a break at some point and maybe he can do it then.

As it is, it's nice to hear what places still exist in Onni's world, and he nods knowingly when he mentions Reykjavík.]

Yeah, I know Reykjavík, it's still the capital of Iceland in my world. It's a lot smaller than Tokyo even in my world, though, so you might still be surprised.

[Orders of magnitude smaller, even in a world that didn't have some kind of apocalypse, so he wonders how big it is in a world like Onni's.] We've got our rural spots too, they're pretty nice but you'll get a lot more curiosity from the locals, since a lot of the people out in the really rural areas don't see foreigners that often.