❪ event ❫ spirited away

[natha]

PRELUDE     I'll get straight to the point, Thesaens. Dranbu is in dire need of assistance. I have received confirmation that the disappearances we were investigating last month have... escalated. Be cautious as you make your way through Josa Forest. Ideally we could go straight through, but it seems the main entrance to Dranbu is overgrown with thorns and vines, and there's a bit of a glitch with the rail system - the train is having trouble recognizing the Dranbu station as a destination. I've uploaded a homing beacon to your devices with this message. Once enough of you have arrived in Dranbu proper, it should communicate with the train and register it as a stop. With any luck, that will make getting back and forth much easier for you all from now on. Best of luck. Entry to the forest is not only overgrown with vegetation, but seems to be growing at an increasingly alarming rate. Any attempts to clear the vines will be met with even larger ones growing in its place, and it only confirms Nurray's findings as true. The only way in is across the sound from Nadril, entering the forest from its snowy back yard. It doesn't stay cold for long; as one ventures further into the forest, the snow will disappear, as though it was completely out of place in the first place. The red sun's warmth will take its place soon after— and before long, you'll feel too warm for the clothes you came with. That's when you know you've entered the heart of Josa Forest. WITHIN THE FOREST     The forest seems to be thick with a profound presence that can’t be ascertained. While venturing through it, one will feel like there are being watched or followed. This feeling will only intensify as metallic-scented drops of rain begin to fall between the clearings in the trees. Unfortunately, what many don’t realize at this point is that this is how the forest itself eats. How it subsists and lives through the minds of those who eventually get lost in it. Wandering this far in is akin to walking into a lion’s jaw, or rather… straight to its stomach. But, the forest has a way of making one stay. While it swallows someone up, it shows them sinfully beautiful and picturesque sights. Even showing them people or things that are familiar to the lost. All of which will urge them to go in deeper and deeper. But, while the forest begins to prey on the mind of their victim— they will suddenly hear an elegant and alluring voice urging them back. This voice promises them comfort and safety. Promises to be kind and open. Promises she has a place for them where they will never feel displaced or unwanted, or lost. Before they can fully accept, they will find that they are whisked away in Barthala’s embrace. Some will be taken, wiped of all their previous memories and inserted new ones. Others will find they have no prior memories at all of themselves, only urged to go on with regular life. What is prevalent is the forest's desire to turn you. Metamorphosis is a phenomenon that occurs only to certain individuals, and there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some adventurers would find themselves changing by the minute, the hour, or the process may even take days and weeks. The forest toys with you, but it only wants to draw you closer to its core — as though there's a story there it wants you to see and understand. Will you go on anyway, knowing the forest has already has its claws on you? I. ALL ROADS LEAD TO — Exploring the forest is not a perilous experience - Barthala's blessing ensures that paths remain clear of any dangerous obstacles, and keeps anyone who enters the woods from losing their way. However, it will not always lead adventurers where they want to go. Stressed? Your path leads to a meadow, grass drifting gently in the breeze. Tired? You'll find your way to a tree with roots perfectly curved for a nap, the shade a peaceful retreat from the sunlight. The hungry will find streams full of fish or bushes laden with berries, and the curious will come upon elder trees, unique and beautiful. Only those who are truly satisfied with their circumstances, with themselves, can forge their own path, and venture to Barthala's Grotto. II. BARTHALA'S GROTTO — The deity's home is host to an abundance of life. Butterflies drift through the air, brilliantly colored and unbothered by any intruders. Foliage blooms in a rainbow of colors, many plants unique to this area alone. With trees arranged to provide a canopy over the path and small clearing, the scene is something out of a fantasy. Any plant life taken from this area will not survive long, though even in its dead, dried state, it retains a curious beauty. Explorers and creatures finding themselves in this area will suddenly find their clothing to be an unnecessary burden - what could be better than feeling the wonders of nature against bare skin? There is nothing unbecoming about such a natural state, any perverse inclinations are an aspect of personal preference. While the presence of Barthala can be felt here - a warm, comfortable sensation emanating from your core - she is nowhere to be found. Only one will have the opportunity to pass under a veil of willow branches and emerge to the cool air of a clear-as-glass spring. Another nearby grotto is home to a plant with intoxicating effects. Just smelling the leaves is enough to entice most animals, and consuming them has effects on both mind and body. More easily amused, with thoughts that weave deep and distant, along with increased sensory perception can bring the user on a pleasant trip lasting up to five hours. III. INFLUENCES — (18+) Every five days, a weed scattered in patches among the forest underbrush blooms. The flowers are small and white, unremarkable except for how clustered they grow. When their petals fall, after only hours of blossoming, pollen drifts through the air. It clings to clothing, to hair, in the throats of the sensitive animals dwelling in the forest. Even those unaltered by Barthala's magic can be affected. The locals of Dranbu claim the pollen enhances fertility, but in practice, it simply serves as a poignant aphrodisiac. Those affected won't differentiate between the warmth of another or their own, a simple need to experience sexual ecstasy overwhelmingly pervaded. The pollen loses its potency after about three hours, leaving behind only a sweet smell. YOUR NEW (NEW) LIFE    Adapting to an entirely new setting isn’t always so simple. People often say that assimilating oneself to the environment happens fluidly, and before you know it, you’re a part of it. In Dranbu, these words hold an uncanny sense of truth. When you awake, your day begins like it always has. Your daily routine meets largely unchanged, except a few tinier details. Perhaps, you’ve realized your true calling is an occupation within the villages itself. Maybe in farming up strange medical herbs, maybe in acting as a witch doctor for the people, or maybe you find yourself drawn to the arts and you really enjoy sculpting fellow villagers in the nude. Once you commit these tasks, you realize, it feels like what you’ve always done. As if it were natural, as if you’ve done them for years, and maybe you have? At least that’s what your gut is telling you, and slowly your memories will too. At the end of the day, when you return home, you realize you’re not alone. You have a partner who shares the same values and whom you love deeply. Or maybe a spouse whom you’re always arguing with. But, even that will feel as commonplace as the rest of your day. All you know is that the day that might have started off not being yours is entirely yours and yours alone. IV. THE HUNT — Those taken by the forest, animal features adorning their bodies, will find that their palates have changed as well. Carnivores crave raw meat, while herbivores don't mind snacking on a patch of grass or pulling leaves from branches. For most, there's no reason to cook a meal; once prey is captured, instinct says dig right in! It can be a gruesome sight, mangled bodies gorged upon leaving bloodstained faces, but it's natural. As is the hunt itself - any size of game can be found in the forest, and no one will go hungry for long. The magic that dwells here ensures a catch even for the clumsiest predator. Just take care not to stalk one of your own. For a hungry predator, there's no difference between a deer and a deer-like human. THE BOUNDARIES BEYOND     For some, placated is synonymous with bored. While there is a sense of wonder in the beauties of nature that adorn the woods, serene forest life isn't for everyone. Those seeking more adventure can explore the challenging slopes of Waco Mountain. Barthala's influence is weaker on those bluffs than in Josa Forest itself, so thrill chasers won't be disappointed. Lose the path, slip on loose rocks, fall into a stream and spend a night wet and cold, there are many perils that come with traveling a mountain-side. Scattered ruins offer some shelter, their walls carved with images resembling Barthala, a dragon, and three other stranger creatures. While the deity's pacification does not flow as deeply through this region, all are still save from mortal wounds, and the veil cast over their memories will not lessen. If you have made it this far, however, there is no reason to try to return to the main city of Dranbu. Accommodations are always available in the neighboring villages: Phares in the north, and Stroln in the south. These villages are in friendly competition with one another, and will tempt travelers with women and men of their kind in order to draw in business to their hotels. FINAL OOC NOTES     No REP is available for this log. REP will now be primarily available through achieving NPC quests, which will be available on the 19th! Please keep an eye out for that! Dranbu is entirely available for exploration! You may find that most of Wyver and Olympia Flora/Fauna may be found in the forest as well. For more information on your characters' (opt-in) Metamorphosis, please refer to the November Outline! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs ● bestiary taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp ● quest bulletin calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

wAIT NO

[kikoku]

[Yeah, honestly, color Law confused. Turning towards him definitely seems to contradict his assumption of blindness, but then talking about the "air flow" definitely seems to support it. Poor eyesight, maybe? But then surely he wouldn't be able to make out Law in the poor lighting of the cave. Fortunately Law isn't desperate enough to take the rude step of asking outright.]

I don't. If I had to guess, they look like they're probably depicting the local mythology or history.
[Just based on the fact that these sort of things usually are, honestly. But also there's some stuff that looks like monsters and then magic people who could be god/goddesses? Seems to make sense for him.]

Are you interested in that sort of thing?

lasdmkla

[prizeneck]

Nah. [He turns to the engravings on the wall and nods, acknowledging that it does make sense to him. The surface of it is easy to register by the soundwaves, even if with a little wobble here and there.

That Igawa managed to upgrade these before he got here was a blessing, really.] Never seen anything like it.

[Does he sound amused? Because there's a little lilt lacing his words at that particular sentence.] That and I don't know about much of this place in general.

[kikoku]

[How is he looking back at the wall!!! Is this fool blind or not!! Law's inner irritation at Not Knowing because deep down he's just a weird nerd is mounting, and then the joke about seeing only makes it worse. No... surely he was just responding to sound stimuli and then looking back at where he was looking before.... for no reason. This has to stop.]

No, and I'd assume you still haven't seen anything like it.
[Because you CAN'T SEE. CONFESS.]

Anyway, we didn't have access to Dranbu before now, so it's not like any of us know much about it.
[We're all in the dark here... so to speak.]

[prizeneck]

[That annoyance is bubbling enough that a blind man can see it. It's well contained, certainly, but for a person like Mamoru, used to picking up aggression, it's enough for him to sense It makes the corner of Mamoru's lip tug at for a second, and then he

starts chuckling at that, hitting directly at where his brain is ticklish.

I'm so sorry, Law.] Heheheheh, guess not.

[That final bit of information, however, is important. But he's still very amused at the whole interaction so far.] Is this a normal occurrence? Having... "access" to a different place?

[kikoku]

[Well.... that's sort of a confirmation but not REALLY, is it? God. Either this guy's being intentionally obtuse or..... who knows. He'll have to come back to it later.]

As far as I can tell, they've slowly expanded access to the entirety of the Nysa Isles, yes. Before I arrived here, Nadril wasn't accessible either. Though the reasons for that and for this do seem somewhat different.
[In that Nadril forcibly refused contact with the Natha until recently.]

[prizeneck]

[That's actually interesting - the idea he had when he awoke and had some time to think about it is that not everyone would appreciate whatever the Natha had done. He knows that many believe in letting things flow the way they're supposed to occur. An interference of this size would be frowned upon.

Not that Mamoru is complaining... much.] Huh. Are people warming up to the "awakened" or something?

[kikoku]

From what I understand, Nadril was a settlement specifically made by people brought here by the Natha that splintered off. The natives of El Nysa don't know the full extent of the Natha's power or how they brought us here.

[He looks at the wall carvings, then back out towards the wilds outside of the cave.]
I don't know what the issue is with Dranbu here, but I imagine we'll find out eventually. Hopefully without some sort of... death dragon forcing the issue.

[He's glad he wasn't properly here for that, honestly.]

[prizeneck]

[Wait what, did he heard that right or was that the echo in the cavern.] Death dragon?

[kikoku]

That's what I'm told it was, yes. I didn't see it active, but you can still see it frozen in stone overlooking Olympia.

[A pause, as he looks pointedly at Mamoru.]
... Well, most people can see it.

[CONFESS, YOU BASTARD.]

[prizeneck]

Huh, thought that was a statue.

[That had been a living dragon; it was a thought that was a little difficult to lodge in his head.

That last comment, however, got him to do a more amusing double-take. Ah, yeah, it happened, that people would be a little weirded out about the technological aide on his eyes. The "is he" or "is he not" indecision could be very, very awkward.

It's amusing to see it.] Ah, I bet it must be wonderfully colored, then. Wish I could see it.

[Which isn't a lie, actually - the system only creates red lines in the midst of blackness.]

[kikoku]

[It's a shame Mamoru can't see the look of consternation on Law's face. Mamoru can't see the frozen gods, but had some awareness of there being some sort of large statue???? WHAT IS HAPPENING? CAN HE ECHOLOCATE? IS HE SOME SORT OF BAT MAN?

Law is officially fed up.]

I'm leaving. Stay here in the dark if you want.
[He's turning on his heel and heading out of the cave.]

[prizeneck]

[The chuckle echoing in the cave is just a weird as he is, gomen, Law.] Sure, but let me ask ya something first.

[That smirk he's been wearing for a while turns just to a different shade. It's hard to tell what shade it is, except that it's wrong.]

Did you get your sword back yet?

[kikoku]

[Law stops, but only because the phrasing of the question is confusing to him.]

What do you mean back? I never didn't have it.
[It's only after the question where his brow furrows further because how did the guy know he had a sword in the first place??? His grip on Kikoku tightens slightly just in case this is some sort of weird roundabout threat of stealing the sword.]

[prizeneck]

So it came with you? Must be really special, then.

[He lets out an exhale, a mix of a sigh and a silent chuckle. Those footsteps are way too precise to be from an ordinary person who armed himself for safety's sake. That and the sword in specific is too unusual for a person to pick out at random.

Not that Mamoru is looking for a fight, even if the tone of his voice says the opposite - bad habits. He's at a disadvantage here, though, the terrain doesn't help.

Not that that usually stops him. ] Just askin'. Not common to find someone carrying a nodachi.

[kikoku]

[Alright, alright, this guy must have just been fucking with him, then? The whole time? That's far too specific. Clearly he's just a profoundly strange person who can in fact see.]

It's cursed. But it works just fine for the purpose I need it for.
[That is to say, pirate magic. Not that Mamoru could ever possibly guess that.]

[prizeneck]

[Cursed is an interesting thing to say about a sword. But superstition, along with other ritualistic things, isn't foreign in a scene that involves a practice of hundreds of years. Still, the way this guy says it seems a little off than just a mention of mere folklore.]

What's that? [He'll ask about this curse later. Purpose is what he's all about.]

[kikoku]

[Law opens his mouth for a moment, before thinking better of it. He's become somewhat less cagey over his past few months here, but this guy's particularly suspicious and it throws his old guard up.]

I don't see why I should be telling my purposes to a strange man whose name I don't even know.
[Eat me, Schroedinger's Blind Man.]

[prizeneck]

[Mamoru snorts, pushing his shades up the bridge of his nose.] Fair enough. But I think giving you my name won't change your mind, either.

[kikoku]

... No, but if you're going to be difficult and continually refuse to tell me your name, I'll have you know I already have one idiot doing that to me and I'm not in the mood for another.

[That one's only half blind but he makes up for it by being twice as impossible to read. He holds out a hand.]
Trafalgar Law. Now tell me yours.

[This is the most hostile introduction.]

[prizeneck]

Oh, well, in that case, I wouldn't want to imitate any other asshole around here.

[He sounds like he doesn't really give a shit I'm gomen. But still, he's chuckling and meeting that hand with his own.

The most aggressive and the weirdest of introductions.] Hijikata. Mamoru Hijikata.

[kikoku]

[The name sounds to Law like one someone might have in the country of Wano, but he's not dumb enough to think the countries in various worlds would line up so conveniently. In any case, after his hand is shook, he resolves that this guy can clearly see and is just like.... deeply odd? That's the easiest explanation. He refuses to keep being irritated by the ambiguity.]

That's good to know. [He considers Mamoru for another long moment, before deciding to try and set some standards here. The way the man asked about his own sword sure seems to indicate he normally had one, so.]

I'm a doctor, so if you ever get your own sword back and do something stupid, I might be available to put you back together.
[This is almost like an offer of friendship coming from this guy.]

[prizeneck]

A doctor? [Here's him looking actually intrigued. Law had a manifested presence of an obvious swordmaster, but one that did not sit well in the ranks of Senji and Genda and other fighters who preferred the blade. In fact, that slots Law right in with a familiar sense that someone else had given Mamoru.

Needle.] Huh, bet you have your hands full already. I don't plan on needing medical assistance any time soon.

[kikoku]

[Yeah, swordmaster is pushing it he's really just a dude who happens to own a sword.]

I'd imagine most people don't plan on that, but sometimes things happen, especially around here.
[He says withe a vague air of annoyance.]

[prizeneck]

[Here's him tilting his head with an actual intrigued look.]

Is there a habit of people being reckless around here?

[kikoku]

It's less that and more new weird bullshit seems to happen every month. It tends to result in at least a few unexpected injuries.
[Like the time ghosts were running around and some excitable local tried to stake resident vampire Diva.... who was fine but it definitely made Law Extremely Stressed for a hot second.]