❪ event ❫ THE DESCENT: PART TWO.

[natha]

JULY 16th: THE MORNING AFTER     In the early morning, your characters' phones will buzz with a text from an Unknown ID. It contains an audio file as well as its transcription: DARMA'S MESSAGE It worked. By the miracles of all universes, you survived. It was not ideal by any means, but it was all we can muster with limited time. We hope you can forgive us for your injuries and headaches, and we thank you for working together and helping one another. But now, your journey is just beginning. You must head east to find the Outpost. That shall serve as a fine rest stop. However, there will be danger ahead yet. The beasts you encountered in the simulations are now very real. They will attack, as you are seen as meat. Please exercise caution, Refugee. This shall be my last message for some time. The Moons are protected, but I must rest... I leave the rest to you. INTO THE WOODS     Head east, Darma said— and so you do. That seems to be all you can do. Traversing through woods is not a simple task. Hopefully you have taken advantage of the camouflage outfits offered prior to the start of this great migration. Naturally, for those of you who have done the training modules, some things will be a bit familiar. Some wildlife will mimic what you've seen there. Nevertheless, it'll be crucial for one to keep on guard. While Sael selected the Outlook as the ideal place for landing due to its direct removal from Olympian or Wyver soil, it doesn't come without its own dangers as you venture east. Perhaps it's time to face your fears. PROMPT A. There are many creatures roaming around these parts. Some will blend straight in with the woods, others will be bold and loud. While traveling as a party of about 180, it's quite easy to become targets. Fortunately, that also means strength in numbers. Maybe you've got someone's back on this, perhaps they have yours. Either way, what's quicker way to bond than to face a couple of questionable beasts? Maybe you've ran into a Arache (CW link: arachnophobia), a creature known for mimicking voices, even ones they haven't heard. They weasel their way into your subconscious and pick out voices from your memories, luring their victims deeper into the strange woods with the voices of their loved ones. Sometimes, it's a cry for help; other times, it's a replay of a striking memory. Once its victim steps into its large, barely-visible web, the Arache will store them or start its feast. Or, perhaps, you may encounter a Ditz Moth, as large as a rabbit who are relatively easy to kill, but they leave an awful scent on you the moment they flee or die. Be sure to mask this scent immediately, whether by covering yourself in fresh flowers or soaking in river water for an hour, because it's been known to cause extreme confusion. You'll end up dizzy, you'll confuse your friends for enemies, or enemies as loved ones. Or, you run into something else entirely! The forest is the home for many creatures from many worlds; who knows what you may encounter? PROMPT B. You've been traveling for a fair distance. While this is by no means a desert, the sun begins to settle, leaving an unprecedented heat. Perhaps it's the contrast against the night, but you find it almost unbearable. Lucky for you, the goddess of fortune is smiling upon you. At a distance is a clean lake. One full of lush scenery, and large trees canopying the immediate area. There is lots of shade, and maybe this is just the break you need. Or alternatively, the rations were sparse last night. It barely covered a meal each. Fortunately, this area seems full of wildlife one can hunt. Perhaps, that three-headed rabbit in the distance? Maybe that frog that smells a bit like lavender and vanilla? Additionally, for those who find themselves more inclined to leaving it up to fate— ENTER: OLYMPIA'S WEST OUTPOST     After a full day of travelling, you finally make it to the West Outpost as Darma instructed. You can tell by the way the trail gets neater, flatter. There are some small shops all along the sides of the road, offering trinkets, precious stones, and food. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have the money to purchase anything. The only thing you can do is watch wearily as you approach the West Outpost Gate. Near the gate, you're expected to form a line. The guardsmen seem to be inspecting every person entering. When it's finally your turn, the guardsman seem to know exactly what group you are. He immediately calls you Refugees, then proceeds to open a folder specifically labeled Refugee Group D. You might assume the "D" stands for Darma. He seems to be happy to see your arrival — Anyway, we've been expecting you. You're in luck! You refugees arrived the day after Thesa's blessing, y'know? That meteor shower was a sight to behold! What's your name? Oh, there you are— here, take take this. It's your passport. Gonna need that to get to Olympia. Your sponsors paid for your inns for tonight, so get yourself a room. You're at the last leg before the Capital. Keep your head up, all right? It seems now you are an official Olympian citizen with this passport. As you walk around, there will be an old man about. He sees you holding your bags and passports and approaches you. He has seen the fiasco in the skies from the day before. Naturally, he believes it to be a divine sign, and you the product of that. Which translates to free food. It must be relieving to eat (relatively) normal food after so long. There's also a very special visitor at the Outpost today: a woman by the name of Lysa, who happens to be a renowned healer in Olympia. Following the strange meteor shower, she’s come out of the city and into the outskirts to see it all for herself, this divine phenomenon brought upon by Thesa. While she has no explanation for the sudden occurrence, she stays, because she can sense that her services are needed. Healthy characters will taken by the hand and brought to a wounded fellow refugee. Lysa will then urge them to stay by that refugee’s side, to care for them. Please, do not go. I need a little of your compassion and patience. PROMPT A. If the wounded party has lethal injuries, Lysa will give the healthy character a vial of Screaming Draught to feed to them. It's a strong healing potion known for its ability to regenerate cells. It can close up almost any sort of wound, no matter how large, and can even regenerate limbs. However, its ability comes at a costly price. Seconds after taken, the wounded character will experience an excruciating, constant pain as the healing takes place. Some who have taken the potion may even start to become delirious, seeing hallucinations. If asked about this effect, Lysa looks solemn, remarking that her clinic is too far away and she does not have anything gentler on the body on hand. She urges your character to help the suffering one through this, giving them their comfort and any kind of support. PROMPT B. If the wounded party has smaller injuries, Lysa will give your character a vial of some basic Proliferation Elixir, a weaker healing potion with less devastating side effects. It can heal cuts, bruises and minor fractures. Characters who take it will experience side effects such as dizziness, nausea and a persistent chill. They are still in need of attention, and Lysa will urge the healthy characters to tend to them. Warm them up. Feed them something nice. Keep them from wandering around when they should be resting. Show any kind of care and you'll make Lysa a happy woman. Characters who answer Lysa's pleas will be given a small vial of Proliferation Elixir as a token of gratitude. It's good for one-time use. NIGHTFALL AT THE WEST OUTPOST     As dusk approaches, bustling Outpost quiets down as the flea shops pack up their things to go home. But it seems this outpost is not one that simply sleeps at night. Thesa is high on the skies when the Outpost square lights up. There's music, dancing, and laughter. They seem to encourage you to join them as well. "This celebration is for you! Come, join us!" Perhaps their enthusiasm is infectious enough for you to succumb to it; perhaps you don't understand at all why they're this happy after the hell you went through to get here. It's not like you can tell them what the "meteor shower" actually had been. At least they offer free alcoholic drinks and a great feast similar to those you remember from home. You may find that the drinks are far stronger than any alcohol you've ever had, but it taste like a typical cocktail, or whiskey/scotch/vodka/your flavor drink. Nothing particularly special until you make your way back to the inn. Let's hope you won't walk into the wrong room. FINAL OOC NOTE     This is PART TWO of our three-part intro event. PART THREE will be up on JULY 22ND, at 6 PM EST. In the event of CAPTCHA, we will be providing an overflow. In the event of a second CAPTCHA, players are advised to move threads to an overflow post on their character journals. These threads remain eligible for AC, AC Rewards, and REP. The NETWORK is still down. Characters may still message each other's personal IC inboxes. REMEMBER TO USE COMMUNITY TAGS. RECOMMENDED LISTENING: Nocturn OOC PLOTTING may be continued here. PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE (coming soon) QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[sparsity]

[ Though he'd prefer to be more towards the front, Mikazuki is well aware of the disparity of his capabilities here. But he also refuses to be herded into the middle like something to protect, so he figures he'll stick to the outskirts, letting his awareness and strong senses single out threats like beacons.

Whether it's coincidence or something a little less so that's made him draw close to Hibiki isn't immediately apparent. Only that he notices when she stops, fear draining her color from her. ]

Song? [ He hadn't heard anything, not enough to run towards. Which she does, of course. ] — damn.

[ Something's off. They can't get separated here.

Looks like you're getting a +1. ]

[armedwithhands]

[+1 or not, as it is she's far too desperate to reach the source of whatever it is she's hearing to even notice Mikazuki on her heels. She's near-panicked by the looks of things, shoving branches and limbs aside, stumbling over obstacles here and there.]

Hold on! Just wait--! [She reaches for the cord around her neck, snatching her pendant out from under her shirt.] DON'T SING THAT SONG!

[That's the last thing she calls out before she feels the ground give out beneath her and she drops for... awhile. Until she lands hard on something giving and elastic. As clarity comes back she realizes a few things.

She's stuck to something, unable to even lift her head. The second, to her horror is the large shape of something large moving forward her. And the third, to even greater horror....

Is the small sparkle of her relic pendant, glimmering somewhere below her. Close by, but too far out of her reach.]

K... Kanade...?

[sparsity]

[ She's faster than he anticipated, though Mikazuki knows the effects of fear and how they burn into someone's energy, their output. There's a moment where he even loses sight of her as he ducks through the dense foliage, careful to avoid missteps against the rocks and roots hidden by leaf litter.

His hand tightens around the grip of his gun that he'd pulled from his coat on instinct. Only her exclamation veers him back on course, something that echoes through the trees even when it makes no sense. There is no song. But there is a sort of whisper that mingles with the sound of his breath in his ears. Something too familiar and easy to not stick there — Hey, Mika. I want you to do something... —

Mikazuki swivels and fires off a shot at the darkness. It hits nothing that he can see, wasted on a shadow. Hissing a curse from between his teeth, he tears himself away to come up on the crack in the ground, a ravine carved out of soft dirt. He sees something twinkling down there, something like a fearful murmur. ]

Hey! You alive?

[armedwithhands]

[It's too far away.

Hibiki's arm is stretched out as far as it can go, reached down through the thick strands of webbing to grasp uselessly at the small crystal just beyond the reach of her fingertips. Her sole lifeline that might as well be on another planet right now, a million miles away even if it's only one more centimeter.

She's not panicked yet, but only just... and even that resolve is running out. She kicks against the stuff holding her in place, fights and thrashes for any freedom that could let her cross that final short distance to her Gungnir. Tears sting at her eyes and not just from the pain of her hair being pulled by the sticky strands of web.

Because somehow, as if memory and simple primal instinct have mixed, she knows what this is. She knows what she's trapped in and she knows what the thing she can feel coming toward her is. The shadow that she can't lift her head enough to see. And it terrifies her.]

No. No, no, no.... [Not now. Not like this. Not here. Not without anybody to at least tell the people she loves what had happened. She'd been so stupid. She'd failed them all.... She squeezes her eyes shut as the shadow falls over her, fearful to see what's coming.

Miku--!

The sharp crack of a gunshot breaks her out of her despairing thoughts and her eyes snap open to see somebody up above, looking down at her.]

Mikazuki! [Her struggles begin anew, renewed by a surge of hope and panic at once.] I'm stuck, I can't get out!

[And, with a hiss that curdles Hibiki's blood, the Arache lurches forward to cover its prey from the interloper up above and raises its forelegs threateningly. And, finally seeing what it is she's sharing this pit with, Hibiki screams.]

[sparsity]

[ That lumbering shadow obscuring her from view sends a strange, chilly zip racing up his spine. He knows the outline, but the sight of it feels all wrong. Her screaming is what whips his arm up on impulse, searing through the dissonance twice as fast as it had come. Even narrowing his eyes yields a poor target, but there — he sees them, glassy clusters reflecting what little light there is.

Mikazuki pulls the trigger and blows one of its eyes clean out, murky liquid splattering from the impact. It rears back, bellowing out a shrill, aggressive noise, and Mikazuki fires again in retaliation, another eyeball liquefying and sending it further back. Unfortunately it has several more.

Bracing on the edge, bits of dirt and rock crumbling beneath his feet, he tries to scan for a way down that won't end up with him stuck too. ]

Open your eyes and tell me what's in front of you!

[ Where does he need to aim to land? ]

[armedwithhands]

[The sharp report of gunfire snaps her back out of the beginnings of panic. It's familiar but still startling, as if the way the spider creature rears back away from her bleeding from an ugly wound where one eye should be.

There's a faint stab of pity for the creature somewhere deep down underneath the urgency and fear rushing through her veins and she lifts her head as much as she can. Two years of desperate situations helps her clear her head, focusing on the meaning behind his words. He's planning to jump down here? She wants to protest, to tell him that it's too dangerous but she also knows it's the only way out. She has no choice but to trust him.]

Th-there! [She manages to raise a hand just enough to point, towards a gap in the stickier strands.] There's less of this web stuff right there!

[sparsity]

[ As soon as she's confirming a viable spot for him, Mikazuki drops down into the crevice, letting his body scrape the side until he can angle himself to get in between the webbing. A large segment of tree roots keeps him sheltered as he ducks beneath it and follows the line to where the web thickens enough to hold Hibiki captive. Without stowing his gun, Mikazuki reaches up to touch the web. It flexes and shimmers, vibrating. It sticks to his skin with alarming pressure, too, making him have to wrench his hand free. ]

I can't tear you out.

[ Not without getting himself stuck. He'll have to find another way. Though the vibrations seem to invite the Arachne right back into the fray, angrier now for having been injured. It appears again as a shadow, teeth cracking and legs spreading through the space.

Then, he hears it again. Something much stronger than a whisper, its voice attempting to grip him. He raises his gun, expression darkening. ]

...that's a nasty trick.

[armedwithhands]

[She keeps one eye on the spider as it retreats from Mikazuki's gunfire, gritting her teeth as she tries to pull on the webs again. It's just no good, she can't get any kind of leverage to pull herself free like this.

Something only confirmed when Mikazuki has to forcibly pull his hand free from a simple touch.]

M-my Gungnir, th-the pendant, I need it! [Her voice is shaky even to her ears. It's not the first time her life's been in danger, not by a long shot, but there's something uniquely terrifying about being trapped while a monster lurks just where she can't see.

Speaking of which, she feels it coming back in, footsteps vibrating through the web. Her eyes swing backwards just enough to see the monster coming back... when she hears something coming from it. It's....]

Th-that's... that's her. That thing's using Kanade's voice?

[sparsity]

It's using Orga's too.

[ Mikazuki doesn't know who Kanade is, but if he's hearing the voice of someone meant to dampen his fighting instincts, then this thing has gotten it all wrong. It's convincing, but not enough to put him down. His insides lurch as the space fills with the monster again. But she'd directed him at something else — Gungnir? Gaze shooting backwards, he scans around her, zeroing in on the small red glimmer beneath Hibiki's position. ]

Is that it — [ More said aloud to himself to get himself on track for what he has to do. A process that's catapulted forward as the Arachne lunges at him, mandibles striking and cracking. ] ...okay, this way.

[ Backwards is where he has to go anyway, and he's going to cut corners by raising his arm to block, rather than his gun. With a shrill hiss, familiar voices pitching through the noise, the Arachne drives its forelegs at him. Mikazuki uses his arm to catch one of them, tip embedding into muscle and knocking him flat on his back with enough force to make him skid back in a puff of damp dirt. He grunts with the force, but even with his arm bleeding and locked against the leg of a giant fucking spider, he flashes a grin, holding steady. ]

Got you.

[ Mikazuki lashes his free arm aside to grab at the pendant, turning to throw it up at Hibiki. ]