![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
- attack on titan: mikasa ackerman,
- bloodborne: lady maria,
- castlevania: hector,
- fgo: cu chulainn,
- fgo: ozymandias,
- fgo: scathach,
- fgo: wolfgang amadeus mozart,
- fz: arturia pendragon,
- fz: diarmuid ua duibhne,
- fz: iskandar,
- fz: waver velvet,
- hunter x hunter: killua zoldyck,
- idolish7: momo,
- mdzs: jiang cheng,
- monster duchess: leslie,
- original: saori nakagawa,
- star wars: merrin,
- the witcher: geralt of rivia
DARKNESS AND FROST log
A message is sent on the network on the 20th, informing the Mirrorbounds about the developments regarding a quest posted earlier in the month on the board.
Word comes from the Wilders’ headquarters in Dorchacht that there haven’t been that many sightings of the Nuckelavee for a long time. Most assumed that whatever the Mirrorbounds did must have driven the ghastly creatures away for good. Clearly, not a single person missed them. It is a nasty surprise to learn that not only did they not disappear completely, but now, angrier than ever, they pose a threat to Aefenglom as well.
THE NORTHERN OUTPOST ( 21st - 26th )
The Northern Outpost has seen steady development since its establishment, but nothing on a scale that could make it possible to survive an attack of demonic beasts. So it becomes a whirlwind of activity. There are ditches to dig, magical wards and barriers to set up, weapons and armour need inspection and some alchemical supplies are easier found in the surrounding forest rather than back in Aefenglom, but no one should go procuring them alone. But there are more mundane tasks too! With the sudden increase in population, the self-appointed kitchen staff of the Northern Outpost is barely managing to keep all the mouths fed and all the dishes washed (and pesky rodents kept away). All help will be enthusiastically welcomed no matter the level of culinary aptitude. There’s enough work for everyone.
Not far from the Outpost itself, a new structure rises from the ground quickly, incorporating a nearby shallow cave. That’s the Enclosure, the place where researchers who intend to study the Nuckelavee plan to lure one of the creatures. The construction has barely started, and there is much to do before it can hold its captive inside. Engineers, Arachne, Witches adept in Enchantment and Abjuration - all are welcome to lend their hands (as many as they can spare) in this scientific endeavor. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to further or even create a completely new field of study!
Mirrorbounds are encouraged to return and rest within the city, but should you decide to stay for the night, the moods are rather sour and tense. Still, people do try to enjoy the evening break, at least those who get it - night guards work in shifts. Someone makes a bonfire and encourages sharing stories as the night passes to lift morale. A chilling Nuckelavee scream might stop the relaxing and put everyone on edge. But it seems the creatures are refusing to come out just yet.
THE SLUMS 21st - 26th
Sprawling from the Other Side of the Bright Wall, the Outer City grows outward with no particular organisation or order, with buildings’ integrity decreasing the closer they are to the edge of the Wilde. While some of the inhabitants greet the aid provided with gratitude, there are many who treat it with distrust and their own fate at the mercy of yet another incomprehensible danger with blood-chilling apathy. Much work has been done by numerous Mirrorbound to help those living in the Slums but the memory of all those lost to the frost when the city shut its gates and left them to die casts a long shadow on all attempts to defend against this new threat.
Deprived of the comforts of magitech ubiquitous for the citizens of the city proper, the inhabitants of the Slums find their own creative ways to provide life’s necessities to each other. Carrying water has always been a task for younger ones in the families. A worrying number of those that go fetch water from a far away stream do not come home on time. They could have gotten distracted chasing a stray dog, roped in some mischief by other kids, or genuinely lost. With the new threat lurking in the darkness, people get increasingly nervous. What would look like harmless disobedience in quieter times now turns into an emergency. Investigate where the missing children have gone, find them and bring them home if you can.
Not all are happy for the help. There’s a certain figure frequently spoken about and often seen at the scenes of the especially vicious attacks: a man with unkempt hair and ragged clothing prophesying that those very horrors are no accident. That the beasts are a punishment for a terrible offence: accepting the foreign devils - those who came through the Mirrors - into the city. As time passes and the attacks continue, it starts to become obvious those who were in contact with the Mirrorbound are more likely to become targets of the hellish creatures, which lends credence to the madman’s words. Some denizens of the slums are just scared, but some become suspicious of the very presence of any Mirrorbounds in the area. Even those that come to help. Calm downthe fearful, convince the sceptics or find the sower of this panic and make him stop spreading his incendiary message.
Some people have locked themselves in their homes and refuse to go out. You could try to reason with them or simply bring supplies at the door. Or try to convince them to help with building a protective wall around the Slums, sturdy enough to stay. Some of the people who open their doors might show low-level signs of Cwyld infection. They wonder if you’re still willing to help them knowing that?
When the darkness of night emboldens the Nuckelavee to venture further into the Slums proper, a group of Mirrorbounds take to patrolling the streets. But they could use more help. Protect those unfortunate enough to walk the streets at that time, chase away or kill the creatures that dared to come closer, and fight to protect the poor souls they chose to hunt.
NIGHT OF THE HUNT (night between 26th-27th)
Are you prepared for the fight of your life? You better be!
A heavy blizzard rages on the night of the 26th, giving a strange glow to the camp in the darkness as the light is dithered among falling snowflakes. Visibility is low, but some believe that nature itself can be used to help the hunters and defenders. To those who wish to take on this responsibility, several enchanted wands are given, with quick instructions how to use them to direct the winds of the blizzard for a short time. They can be used either to protect the warriors or against the creatures. The wands have only a few charges and will break upon using them up.
Every Mirrorbound and Wilder either present from the start or joining the group through the portal connecting with Aefenglom will be given a quick rundown of the camp, where the protection wards lie, what powers the barriers, and where weapons can be found. There are two sets of barriers around the camp -- the outer one that has multiple holes for the creatures to pour into, and the inner barrier that has to be held at all cost, as it protects people within. The plan is to lure the Nuckelavee for a frontal attack, let them pass through the outer barrier, let the inner barrier stop them, and then— close the barrier behind them, effectively shutting them in a walled ring.
Then they can be exterminated safely. Stun them, kill them, use spells or pointy sticks or guns — and maybe just maybe you can capture one alive. Fortunately, they don’t seem to have any kind of natural resistance towards mundane or magical weapons. They are just tough to kill and incredibly vicious, but limiting their movement should do the trick.
The barriers and wards only last full-strength as long as they are powered so Witches not focused on fighting are encouraged to do a recharging run along the campsite. Anyone needing a breather from the fray or whose focus is better spent on support can also bring ammo, or more weapons to counter the broken (or stolen) ones. Dragging out wounded fighters into the safety of the camp and healing them is also an important task, as neither Mirrorbounds nor Wilders lack in people who would fight to their last breath.
That’s the plan. How does it go in reality, though?
The Nuckelavee attack starts with chilling shrieks all around the Outpost before they emerge from the darkness. Those who have not yet met any of them will have a chance to witness that their aggression and looks are as terrifying as the stories said. They resemble a horse fused with a rider, with sharp teeth and without skin, raw body exposed. The creatures are not infected but are vicious, hardy, and strong, and they hunger for human and Monster flesh alike. Some might pick up weapons thrown at them; others will circle and try to isolate their chosen targets. Should they be angered, while in a furious rage they gain both speed and strength, but they lose focus and lack strategic thinking. So enraging them can break the formation, but it also makes them far more dangerous up close. They are susceptible to both magical and physical attacks alike, and beheading (of either the flayed-open horse head or the screaming man's head) will put them down permanently.
Be mindful of your comrades! It’s easy to lose each other in the blizzard. Nuckelavee don’t bleed red (they don’t bleed much at all), so any red trails on the snow belong to an ally. Don’t let the beasts drag wounded away. Get them to the healers who wait within the camp enclosed with the inner barrier.
During the fight, several crystal devices that strengthen the outer barrier start malfunctioning. That means the outer barrier cannot be closed shut, meaning a change of plans is in order. Several brave volunteers are needed from among Wilders and Mirrorbounds to leave the safety of the inner barrier and take the battle directly to the creatures, while locating and exchanging the malfunctioning crystals. This is an incredibly dangerous job, and everyone willing to undertake it is encouraged not to do so alone. Once the trap is sprung and the outer barrier shut, it would also lock those volunteers out of the safety of the camp -- unless they’re willing to try a teleport spell or wait for someone inside to handle the teleporting for them. The help will come, but until it does, they are on their own and straggling Nuckelavee that did not fall into the trap might still pose a danger to them...
The fight drags for what feels like hours, and the air grows colder and colder. Meanwhile, some of the trapped Nuckelavee figure out that they might get into the camp if they find holes within the barrier -- and one makes its way inside. Through the heavy snow, it might not be obvious at first, but something is happening within the camp… The Nuckelavee that furiously breach the barrier wreak havoc behind the safe line, attacking anyone it sees until it’s killed or subdued.
Eventually, after what feels like an eternity, all of the creatures fall and the dead remain under the snow. Well… most of them. There were attempts to capture one of them alive, and while keeping them alive turns out to be even harder than just catching them (not only Nuckelavee perished that night… some might still want revenge for that, some want to end the threat once and for all), one of them remains. The battle has been won.
THE AFTERMATH (27th and later)
As day breaks over the horizon, the true damage can be seen. One Nuckelavee is thrashing, captured in the closed enclave. It howls and shrieks and won’t be reasoned with. It hates everything and everyone, and seems to be incapable of speech. Wilders have decided they will keep it alive for a week, and not a day longer (that is till 3rd September OOCly). Nuckelavee have proven to be cunning creatures, and the risk of it escaping is just too great.
Aside from that issue, there is still clean-up to be done, and mourning for those who have fallen in battle. The Wilders agree to give the Nuckelavee corpses to those interested in acquiring them for study/experimentation, but otherwise they plan on burning everything that’s left.
The following two evenings, there’s a victory celebration at The Sordid Shield. Everyone still able to stand is welcome, -- and drinks are free! Unfortunately, not everyone is happily drinking; there are those who lost comrades and are mourning the fallen. Others came out alive but require medical attention that on-field healers cannot give. The general mood could be described as grimly triumphant. The unexpected threat has been taken care of, but not without a cost.
OOC NOTES
For those interested in studying the remains or the live Nuckelavee please refer to this space for questions/plans. The results of the research will be distributed at the beginning of September.
For plotting among yourselves, please use this post. General questions about this log can be directed here.
no subject
But there was that horrible nagging feeling, not to leave the girl there. The fae couldn't be sure if it was just a part of her being a fae. That urge to protect the small. But the locals' hostility hadn't endeared the fae into letting Leslie out of her sight.
Mikasa's head tilts, looking over intently. Ears pricking, trembling antenna sniffing the air.]
The ones they've not told us about, the ones they don't know about... [Her eyes slid shut and she sighs, turning to keep trudging through the snow in their search. She didn't like it, they were unlikely to find all of them.
But then she freezes midstep. Head slowly scanning the snow.]
no subject
There can’t be that many more...right? They wouldn’t let their children keep wandering when so many have gone missi — [She stops in the middle of a sentence that she wants to believe is true as she just barely avoids walking straight into Mikasa when the woman suddenly stops.]
What is it?
no subject
...I can smell blood. [Which was not a good sign. If she was alone she might have risked it, wouldn't have even thought about it if she'd been with someone else who could fight. It wasn't a lot of blood, and the air was still. Nothing was struggling at the moment.
But it might have already been too late.] Do you want to go back? [It was a hard choice. If they weren't too late already, then going back would be more time the person bleeding might not have. If they went now then Mikasa wasn't sure what would happen.]
no subject
But the suggestion that they go back snaps Leslie out of it.]
No! I won't get in the way, I promise. If someone is hurt, we have to help them!
no subject
For a second, Mikasa was still. Then her shoulders slumped, relenting. Hands lowering to her blades.]
It could just be an animal... [She really hoped it was. For Leslie's sake.] What magic do you know?
no subject
I mostly have studied abj — [...do non-witches know what the schools mean? Instead, Leslie counts off on her fingers.] Um, I can heal a little, and make barriers, and I can make things a little stronger, and some things with ice.
[And some other things, but she is guessing that Mikasa is asking about things that can be done if they’re in danger specifically.]
no subject
Healing and barriers. That's enough to get a sharp nod, her hands tightening on the sword hilts.]
Stay close.
[Off they went...
Trudging across the frost-covered ground. Hoping for the best, not even remotely prepared for the worst. But when in her life had Mikasa ever been prepared. Nothing had ever gone to plan.
Her antenna twitched occasionally. But the fae didn't say anything, didn't sense anything. It was strange. Still and quiet. Even the air seemed frozen in time as they wandered the faint path that had been worn into the edges of the wilde. She couldn't smell anything like the sweet ichor of the Cywd. Just the faint smell of something uninfected's blood.
But minutes that felt like hours passed in silence. The smell getting stronger. Then finally.
There was a noise.
The faint trickle of water that grew louder the closer they got to the small brook. Mikasa finally pausing, large eyes trying to spot something that might have been hiding with the noise. But there was nothing.]
no subject
She looks around herself, not immediately seeing anything. For a moment, she begins to open one of her hands to make an illusory light ball, but almost immediately closes her hand over it, extinguishing it. If there’s the child out there, a beacon might be helpful to let them know someone is coming and maybe get them to call out for help. If a Nuckelavee is out there....]
Should we be trying to get the attention of the child out here? Or should we be trying to not get the attention of anything else out here more?
no subject
...She really hated being the one in charge of these things.
Mikasa couldn't tell if there was anything else out here, but she couldn't tell if the child was here either.]
Just make sure you're read to defend. [It's low. They didn't have much time, but she'd rather Leslie focus on herself. Less of a risk, it's a grim thought that makes her lips thin. The steam, the sound of the water and the smells it carried made it diffcult.
But there it was, something small moving in the hollow of a tree. Mikasa's body tensing as she took a breath. Normally small didn't mean an issue, but here...with the magic, there was no way of knowing.]
no subject
Mikasa! There’s a kid over there!
[She did not see anything more than Mikasa to indicate that it’s a kid, but it’s something small hiding near where they think a kid should be. What else would it be?
Worried that the child might be hurt, Leslie takes two steps forward, but regardless of whether Mikasa tries to stop her or not, she will stop after that as she realizes: there might be other reasons the child is still hiding when it’s not really that far from their home. Like if the reason for them to hide hasn’t left yet.
There’s a rustle of branches. It’s probably the wind, but Leslie jumps.]
Did you hear that?
no subject
Using the sword to move the branches...
...Nope nothing there. That was a false alarm.
The other though, where Leslie had been indicating. Closer to the river, ducked into the reeds. It was washed out, but there was something moving. Turning at the voice. A few reeds parting as a small hand reached out and there was a child peering up the bank at them.
Then sorry Leslie, but Mikasa can smell blood and is rushing down to check. Even if that makes the kid flinch and go further in.]
[tw: injured child] sorry, genshin impact absorbed me completely for nearly a month
At this point, even Leslie can smell the blood. It's something that has mostly featured in her life recently in a vampire housemate's consumption of animal blood, but she knows it in a human context, too. It only makes her chase after Mikasa more quickly.
The boy in the hollow has pressed himself back into the hole as best he can with his injuries, but those injuries are limiting how much he can retreat. His right arm is wrapped in his coat, obscuring the gash that came from an extremely close brush with death from a Nuckelavee's sword. His pants are in tatters, making it quite obvious that he ran through some mess of brambles from the lines and small cuts on there. These small injuries on his legs aren't the main reason he hasn't been able to leave, though: that goes to the sharp rock that went right through his low quality shoes and into his foot. His nose is also bleeding, his face a little bruised from some form of blunt trauma. It's hard to tell if it's from being attacked or from a fall during his escape from the Nuckelavee.
He is looking at the arriving pair suspiciously. "What do you want? Don't touch me!"
Leslie momentarily froze at the sight of the injuries, but the words shake her out of it as she hovers around behind Mikasa.]
You're injured. You need --
[The boy interrupts her. "Go away before you bring another horse here!" It's hard to know if he believes the rumours of the Mirrorbound connection to the Nuckelavee or if he just thinks that a couple of people standing in the open are going to attract the attention of one to his hiding place.]
Then there's me, on the hell shift
...To some degree she still was.
But they really didn't have time for this. So Mikasa was wading out, reaching for the boy and just flat out tugging him out of his hiding place.]
We're leaving, now.
[And just flinging the boy over her shoulder and starting to walk back. Briskly, but slow enough for Leslie to keep up.]
Ah. My delay is a much more fun one.
Leslie is only a little later in reacting, shaking herself out of her surprise and scurrying after Mikasa.]
Yes!
[Once she’s caught up, she looks over at the struggling boy on the side with the head hanging over Mikasa’s shoulder.]
We’re here to bring you home. It’ll be okay.
[His response is that his yelling turns to words that Leslie certainly doesn’t know. Realizing he’s not about to believe her, she instead moves around to the other side and, after taking a moment to try to aim, grabs his least injured foot so that she can start to heal the worst of his injuries that don’t have a rock stuck in them.
She’s taking Mikasa’s lead of doing it without trying to convince him, which means she has to dodge being kicked in the face as she uses her magic to close up the cuts she can see.]
when you do 11am-7pm, then 7am to 3pm and keep swapping
For someone who was worried about luring something in, you're making a lot of noise. [Her pointed ears were slightly downturned. It didn't do anything to block it out. But she still couldn't smell anything.
At least Leslie's short height meant that he'd struggle to kick...Short people perks?
But Mikasa does slow a little more as she works. Because...it'd be kinda bad if they managed to kill the boy with a healing spell gone wrong. She craned her neck looking back to the girl.]
How bad is it?