Player Plot: The Salvation of Geardagas, Part II

[faileas]

Event Log: February, The Salvation of Geardagas: Part II



CW: This plot has a general content warning for kidnapping, torture, experimentation, violence, drug use (incl. aphro), infection/disease and potential death. This is entirely opt-in.

Spirited Away, Part 2 i. Hypothesis One moment, you were free. The next, you wake up in a cold, dark room with eyes on you and the cloying smell of decay all around you. Characters who have been kidnapped are being kept in the lower floor of Alder's estate, which is a labyrinth of rooms and corridors. Without exception, the way out is always either locked or heavily guarded. All kidnapped characters have been infected with the Cwyld (sometimes by proximity to botanical materials, sometimes by being directly exposed to the violent Shades they already have imprisoned) and are being used to further the Evergreen Circle's research into the nature of the plague. The details of these tests is expanded on in the plotting post and, needless to say, their capturers have very little interest in their wellbeing. They're needlessly cruel, often pitting victims against each other and forcing them to infect newer arrivals as they turn up. Subjects are allowed a few hours of sleep at a time and a small meal- assuming that they're not being purposefully deprived of either- and are locked together in cramped cells. ii. Alternative Theory Some characters, however, escape this particular cruelty in favour of something else just as dehumanising. If a member of the inner circle has taken a liking to someone, they'll take them out of the pool of tests subjects and move them into their households. Servitude is ensured by a strong enchantment that scrambles memories and replaces them with the false knowledge that they've been working there all along. These brainwashed servants might also be forced to participate in the torture and testing of the others.

Initiation The night of the initiation party is here. If you've managed to ingratiate yourself with the cult- or at least a member of rank- you'll have already received an elegant envelope with an invitation and all the details. Or maybe you stole one or put together a convincing forgery. Alder's estate is handsome, with a small courtyard lit up with strings of lights and servants at the double doors to greet guests. Inside is just as grand. The hall and ballroom are impressive spaces with vaulted ceilings painted with elaborate star maps and broken up with marble columns that wouldn't look out of place in a palace. Drinks tables are lined up against the walls and there are several smaller drawing rooms off to the side, all of which are full of guests. Throughout the first hour or so, Alder himself flits from person to person, congratulating them and making smalltalk, but he seems different somehow. Excitable. Eager. Of course, there are other ways one might get in; while the front entrance is closely monitored, the side one leading through the kitchens isn’t. In the hustle and bustle, you might slip through unnoticed. i. Cavorting and Cruelty It isn't long before things take a turn. Alder takes to the head of the room and, with his signature voice amplifying enchantment, addresses his audience. He greets everyone and gives a fairly standard speech thanking guests and welcoming initiates to the Evergreen Circle proper- and then it happens. Servants begin to wheel in cages and tanks, all containing individuals infected with the Cwyld at various stages. Some look to have been drugged, others are wide awake, but the regulars seem delighted by their presence. They whisper and titter and applaud. Some of the more docile victims are even taken out to be showed off like animals at a fayre. "Tonight, let us enjoy the fruits of our labour! Witness the progress we've made and share our blessings among yourselves! Fear will only blind you to taking the next step. Indulge, open your minds and take the first step towards your salvation!" What he means by this quickly becomes apparent. While they're not discussing or mocking the imprisoned witches and monsters, the other guests are partaking of vice the party has to offer. The drinks flow freely and there's a manic energy in the air. Those with sharp senses might recognise that some of it has been artificially crafted by enchantments. Furthermore, if you're looking for missing loved ones, you'll no doubt spot them among the "test subjects" or servants. Good luck trying to snap the latter back to reality, though: their memories have been tightly sealed and it might take some work. One of the drawing rooms has been half curtained off and a woman at the door skittishly offers the curious an aphrodisiac-laden draught, though some might have accidentally had some already. Within, guests are draped over every surface in varying states of undress, though there are partitions up to allow for more privacy. What better way is there to spread the Cwyld and strengthen bonds than intimacy? ii. Midnight Show Things reach a fever pitch around midnight. Once more, Alder calls for everyone's attention. "There's one more thing. I know all of you are loyal, true believers- but everyone must be tested," he says, gesturing to several larger bodyguards, "and we have to protect ourselves. There are those who don't understand us and seek to undo our work. Therefore, we need to tie up loose ends." One by one, the least aggressive Cwyld-infected subjects are dragged from their cages and any remaining individuals are brought out, all restrained. One of the bodyguards is carrying a large ceremonial dagger, which he presses to the vampire at the front’s throat. "Rest assured, their deaths with not be in vain: we have learned much and they will make for the perfect offering to the beings who gave us the Cwyld's blessing!" The knife flashes, ready to cut already decaying flesh- - a blood-curdling scream echoes through the room and glass shatters as a Shade breaks free from its prison. It ploughs into the guests, howling with rage as it tears into anyone and everyone that stands in its way, and others soon follow. At some point during the chaos, Alder appears to realise that he’s been caught. He, along with his inner circle, set to work trying to cover up their actions, setting the basement floor alight and using magic to bring down supports to block doorways completely. If you want to gather evidence, it has to be now, else you can focus your efforts on a rescue mission or chasing the cult leader himself down.

[ ooc: More information about the event can be found on the plotting post along with comments for questions, and an IC vote concerning Alder's fate! ]

Comments

[exsoldier]

[ That answer does give Zack cause for concern. He's seen someone rendered near to catatonic due to this sort of experience, and while what had been done to Cloud had been enacted over years rather than weeks, he can still makes a guess at Jaskier's state right now. Which is a whole lot of not good, but if he's got two Bonded to support him through the trauma, that has to count for something.

Not that Geralt seems great at the whole "talk about your feelings" thing. Well, Zack will just have to make a point of reaching out when he's actually well enough to do so.

With the question turned back on him, Zack tenses up for just a moment before he shrugs. ]

This, uhh... [ He glances down at his hands, bunched up in the comforter, and slowly shakes his head. ] Let's just say this isn't my first chocobo race.

[ He's admitted it to enough people now, or at least implied it, that it seems pointless to keep it buried. ]

[gynvael]

[ That's not an answer, either. Not a real one. He studies Zack for a moment. ]

You called it mako. [ When they'd first met, Zack had mentioned—almost too casually. Geralt hadn't pressed for details, though the conversation had stayed with him. Small doses, Zack had said. He can't say it feels like this round of infections qualifies as small doses.

He shifts his weight. There's a twitch in his ears that suggests he's thinking more than he's saying out loud. Quietly, he wonders if Cloud went through something similar. They share the same eyes. ] We called it the Trials.

[ It's funny. He remembers being told they could choose the path or not. As if young boys abandoned on a secluded mountain could ever make a real choice. ]

[exsoldier]

[ There's clarification that Zack could offer, because at first his situation had been voluntary. He'd agreed to receive the mako treatments, knowing what it would do to him, how it would change him. But everything that happened after Nibelheim? Well, that was on a whole different level. Not just mako, but Jenova.

Before he can speak to any of that, though, Geralt says something else. The Trials? Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good. Zack doubts it's quite the same as what he'd been through, but if Geralt is willing to talk about it now, he isn't going to miss this chance.

And so he leans forward slightly in the bed, the sheets shifting as he does so, and then reaches behind him for a pillow to set in his lap, resting his elbows on them. Settling in. ]

Dunno if Jaskier told you, but they pitted us against Shades because they wanted to see what we could do... or how the infection might have changed us. Were your Trials like that?

[gynvael]

[ Jaskier has not, in fact, told him outright—but it isn't hard to gather from what he's seen. There are marks and a pattern of wounds on Jaskier's body that suggests he hasn't simply been exposed and then left alone.

He's been trying not to dwell on it. Revenge is not the goal he's after, even if he feels the itch of it under his claws each time. He just wants to bring Jaskier home.

A small pause hangs in the air. It's not a topic Geralt meant to broach in detail, and it takes a few seconds before he chooses an answer. ]

By the time I came in, they'd developed a methodology. But only a handful of boys ever survived to the end.

[exsoldier]

Boys?

[ Zack's back straightens and he doesn't mask his horror at hearing that, though come to think of it, hadn't it been the same for him? He'd left home for Midgar when he was barely fourteen, and while that had been his choice, it's not like he'd really known what he was getting into.

He's not going to make Geralt get into the gory details, especially if it means facing trauma from his childhood. Zack sighs to himself and slowly shakes his head. ]

People will do whatever it takes to make good soldiers, won't they?

[ There is some relief that Geralt didn't get grabbed and forced to relive something so unpleasant. Chances are he would have taken Jaskier's place if given the option, though. He just seems like that kind of guy.

Zack heaves out a breath, then glances up to meet Geralt's eye. ]

I'm sorry.

[gynvael]

[ Surprise makes him blink once. He hasn't given it conscious thought—but some part of him has just assumed, by default, that Zack had been a boy, too. The man looks young.

Though given his own aging, maybe that doesn't say a hell of a lot. ]

We aren't soldiers. Wars are fought by men, not us.

[ Zack must've been one, though, if that's his first presumption. He catches Zack's gaze, saying nothing for awhile. It's a strange feeling, meeting someone like him and yet not. There's a vague uneasiness in knowing Zack understands him more than he tends to allow.

But it's less of a pain, to not be faced with a dozen prying questions. ]

It was a long time ago.

[exsoldier]

[ Just because it may have been "a long time ago" doesn't really take the edge off of what must have been done to Geralt, in Zack's opinion. He understands the urge to try and downplay it, and he assumes that Geralt has only shared it because it's something they have in common. It's easier to talk about with someone who gets it, at least to some degree.

Geralt implies he's not human, and while he could be employing some dramatics, Zack has to wonder. Neither of them are completely human anymore, having been altered by this place, but... ]

If you're not a man, then what are you?

[ After just a brief pause, he bows his head to rub at the back of his neck. ]

Sorry if that's too forward of a question.

[gynvael]

Witcher. Mutant. Depends on who you ask. [ It's clear which one he prefers.

Though given how things are now, he wonders, too, sometimes. How much of him is a Witcher? He still thinks of himself as one—hard not to, after all this time—and even as a Turnskin, he's not the same as everyone else. Not in the way he looks, not in the way he was raised or trained.

He studies Zack. Killua had been downright upset when Geralt had casually mentioned that the boy wasn't human. (Which, he'll argue, had felt like a pretty fucking obvious statement given his inherited-from-birth claw hand.) He's curious if Zack feels the same way. Perhaps at one point in his life, Geralt had wished he were human, as well. Accepted. But those days have long passed. He's little interest in seeking fellowship amongst those who rarely give two shits about his kind. ]

What are you? Not just a soldier, I'm guessing.

[exsoldier]

[ Witcher? The term doesn't mean anything to Zack, but it obviously has a very specific meaning wherever Geralt is from. There's probably plenty of things like that from Gaia, too; he's just never had reason or occasion to think about it until now.

This is a conversation they've had before, except that was when they barely knew each other and none of this had happened, so they'd held back on the rougher details. There seems to be little reason to do that now, and so after just a pause, Zack relents and nods. ]

A SOLDIER, but... all caps. [ He quirks a tired smile at that. ] It was a special elite force, and we were treated with something called mako, which enhanced our natural abilities. All that, I signed up for. [ He's pretty sure he told Geralt some of this before, but there's no harm in a refresher.

There's a pause where he slowly draws one hand up to rub at the back of his neck. Each movement he makes still takes concerted effort. ] Some of their experiments went way beyond that, though. Once I found that out, it was too late. Things spiraled out of control, and they captured me as one of their test subjects. I was injected with some special cells, something more than just mako. Still don't really know the whole story there, either.

[ But yes, suffice to say he's no normal human. ]

[gynvael]

[ Even as talkative as Zack is, Geralt anticipates not much more than a brief answer on what he really is—something he suspects is not unlike himself. Just...created differently.

Zack gives him nearly the entire story instead. Does he do this with everyone?

At least he knows who to go to for easy answers around here. ]

You don't remember. [ No. He imagines not. He doesn't remember much, either. Geralt considers for a second. ] Your friend. The Bonded one. He's like you.

[exsoldier]

[ No, Zack definitely doesn't do it with everyone, but with all these old wounds split open, and faced with someone who's gone through something similar, he doesn't see much reason to hold back.

There's something kind of freeing about not just holding it inside of him, too. It doesn't make what happened any better, but he finds it easier to talk about than he would have expected. Probably because Geralt isn't really someone he needs to be strong for, unlike some of his friends from home.

Zack shakes his head. He remembers very little in the grand scheme of things, given that it was five years. What he does remember, though, is bad enough.

What Geralt says next causes him to go stiff, back straightening as his eyes (now matching Geralt's in color) go wide. ] Cloud? What makes you say that?

[gynvael]

[ His head tilts. So he's right. ] When we met up north. You had eyes just like him. [ A beat. ] Also, he sent me into the air like a twig.

[ Turnskin strength is significant, but not that significant, and Geralt's twice Cloud's size as a wolf. He's obviously got something else going on. It lines up.

He crosses one ankle over the other; there's context to exactly why Cloud threw him, but Geralt's leaving it up to Zack to fill in the blanks—though it's clear he doesn't hold any grudges about it all. Even if that whole night had been a fucking headache. And not at all what he'd planned. ]

[exsoldier]

[ Mako eyes, of course. It's probably less obvious now, but back when Geralt and Zack first met, his eyes had still been that telltale blue, bearing the same odd glow that Cloud's did. It's not many people who would notice, but Geralt had clearly been looking. Or had reason to notice.

While Zack could try to fill in the blanks, or make assumptions, or even ask Cloud for all the information later, he sees little reason to do all that. ]

Why'd he do that? Was it a full moon thing?

[ It's not like Zack and Geralt didn't have a scuffle of their own, way back when. Feels so long ago now, even if it's not even been a full year yet. ]

[gynvael]

[ Geralt pauses. He's not certain how much Cloud has been hiding from Zack. He hasn't forgotten that Zack has said Cloud had a habit of dodging him during the full moon. Given how the man is as a wolf, he's not too surprised. More wolf than man, really.

Still. He's not here to keep anyone's secrets. ]

I went on a hunt with him. Think he was trying to play afterwards. [ Yeah, he and Zack had their own encounter—but it hadn't been like that with Cloud, who was neither himself nor aggressively feral. Just...a wolf. ] You know if he's usually like that?

[exsoldier]

[ Oh, that explains it. Zack's smile isn't as board as it might have been if he didn't still feel like he'd been hit by a truck, but it's there — and one of the rare times that he's smiled this entire conversation, so that's something. ]

I've interacted with him in wolf form a few times now, yeah. That's... kinda how he is. Wondered if it was just me.

[ No doubt it's a different level of enthusiasm with Zack, if only because they've known each other longer, but he can guess at what Geralt had to contend with. ]

I'm glad he's hunting with you, though. I don't think it's safe for him to venture out alone, so... thanks for that.

[ If it can't be Zack who accompanies Cloud on his hunts, for reasons he still doesn't fully comprehend, he's glad that it's someone as reliable as Geralt. ]

[gynvael]

[ So he does know. At least it's served to cheer Zack up. Geralt supposes, as concerning as it is, there are worst things to become when losing yourself in the change.

Like eating your friend. But let's not go there. ]

Yeah. No shit. He had his eye on someone's livestock. [ Geralt's not entirely certain Cloud wouldn't have gotten his little tail shot off if he hadn't been there. Though he's willing to accompany Cloud another time if that's what it comes down to, he's not going to make any promises about being there. He's got his own bondmates to look after. ]

You said he doesn't want you around. I get it. But you can't keep letting him roam when he's that out of it. You two are bonded.

[exsoldier]

[ From the first time that Zack really met Geralt, it had been clear that he wasn't the sort of person who minced his words. That being said, there's still a moment of shock as what he says sinks in. Zack can't help but feel that he's being scolded, even if Geralt is speaking from a place of practicality.

It's true that Cloud can't go after people's livestock and not expect there to be some kind of retribution. On the other hand, hunting is part of his nature as a wolf, and there's no stopping it.

Zack glances down at his lap, folding his hands over each other as he lets out a long sigh. ]

He made it sound like he was looking for hunting partners, but I know that doesn't always mean he's going to have one. [ He lifts his head then, leveling his gaze on Geralt's. ] You're right. I'll talk to him about it.

[ As Geralt said, this is Zack's responsibility. It doesn't matter how much Cloud might not want his help, he's going to get it. Just as soon as Zack's recovered, anyway. ]

[gynvael]

[ Stubborn bastards have been his company for most of his life, so Geralt's expecting an argument. He's already debating to himself if he wants to bother pressing the point—it's not his business, except when it invariably becomes one. There are only a small handful of Turnskin wolves hunting in those woods. Geralt doesn't need the local farmhands on his ass because another wolf made off with a lamb.

Zack surprises him a little by agreeing. He cocks his head. ]

There's time for that when you're out of here. [ He straightens up. He doesn't want to take up Zack's resting time. Besides, he needs to get back to Jaskier, too. ] Don't let the healers give you too much shit.