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4.0 June Event Log
4.0 June Event Log
Air Quality Alert
In the ON world, Avisle's storm has fully cleared as of last month, but something still lingers in its usually beautiful skies. Not enough to obstruct trade, not quite, though those steering their airships may grumble a bit about the turbulence. Ash flutters in the air, clouds are replaced with dark plumes of smoke; it gets harder to breathe in a game where that shouldn't matter, and there's a strangely luminescent sheen in the sky, like oil, or the scales of a beast…
The air pollution will have effects over time, so those that overextend themselves exploring (or are just naturally sensitive to smoke) will find themselves with stinging eyes, chest pains, shortness of breath, etc. Overexposure can cause someone to collapse altogether, so be careful out there! Those aligned with fire or water may be able to soothe symptoms somewhat, both in themselves and others.
1. Guild Wars: GBF Do Not Interact
Despite the air quality warnings, the City is as active as ever, eager to carry out another time-honored tradition. Avisle’s Guild Hub has the honor of hosting Guild Wars this year, an all-month event run by the Interguild Alliance (IGA) to test (and reward!) the mettle of its members across Duocaeli. It has the hype of the Olympics, albeit with less sportsball and more RPG chaos.
Historically, Guild members band together to compete for accolades by demonstrating adventure-worthiness: completing quest board tasks, raiding dungeons, discovering new flora and fauna, etc. Guilds can also resort to ye olde methods of competition, like actual sportsball, epic party games, what-have-you.
This year, in addition to the above there is special focus on assisting a family of gemwalkers who have been separated by the ravaging storms from April.
The winning Guild is determined by overall group effort—whichever team brings in the most gemwalkers, bounty, discoveries, and victories will be crowned champions across the skies, and be rewarded with sweet, sweet loot. Participation perks are also quite generous, and all players are encouraged to join in regardless of skill level or willingness. In fact, the entire city seems quite obsessed with Guild Wars, and anyone caught sitting out will be eventually coerced into activities one way or another.
> Gemwalker Reunion
Only one of the golems has made it to Avisle City to request aid after a long and perilous journey, its core barely intact, and the remaining family members need to be located and brought back to the city. These missing golems will be inert after having sustained damage in the storm and are lost in the smoke, meaning each team will need to invent ways to transport heavy rocks through difficult terrain and smoky conditions. (Yahaha?)
Guild members will be given a device that senses when a missing golem is nearby, however they’ll be left to their own devices to figure out a way back to the City. Their search will take them to two potential locations, so players can tackle whichever is better suited to their strengths (or both!):
1. Windhaven Woodlands: The first of the gemwalkers hasn’t been blown too far from its original home, Aria’s Grove, however a pack of mischievous bloobettes of the woodlands have absorbed pieces of the poor golem into their gelatinous bodies. To make things even more difficult, the pervading smoke makes the woods even darker than usual. Characters will be virtually blind in here, and even the guiding wind that periodically blows through the trees is ashy and unpleasant.
2. Dandelion Fields: One of the golems is trapped high up on one of the floating, miniature islands… While typically one could hitch a ride on a wind whale, the smoke has temporarily beached them all to the ground. To make matters worse, the massive dandelion seeds collect soot and ash en masse, and tend to explode with both when they hit any surface. Whether it's by dealing with the altitude, the whales, or the seeds, characters are on their own to reach the golems above!
2. Dandelion Fields: One of the golems is trapped high up on one of the floating, miniature islands… While typically one could hitch a ride on a wind whale, the smoke has temporarily beached them all to the ground. To make matters worse, the massive dandelion seeds collect soot and ash en masse, and tend to explode with both when they hit any surface. Whether it's by dealing with the altitude, the whales, or the seeds, characters are on their own to reach the golems above!
OOCly, players can opt to thread this out if they'd like, but we'll only be reading submissions filled out here. We'll be choosing a grand 'winner' based on creativity!
> Exploration
Besides the main gemwalker event, there's plenty of other ways to score a win for your guild(s)! Two new locations have been released specifically to celebrate the event:
Starstuff Crater: In the furthest reaches of the isle, the land suddenly gives way to a crater that rivals the size of Avis Isle City itself, apparently from the impact of a falling star long ago. Rising from the bottom of the crater are hundreds of tall earthy spires that house an array of bird species and alien flora from the dissolved starstuff. While smoke rises at the higher points of the crater, cool, clean water pools in the rocky crags at the bottom, and those with an alignment with darkness may notice that their powers are stronger here, nearly uncomfortably so. Meanwhile, those aligned with light may feel ill at ease, and drain of mana more quickly.
Bigge Tunelle: Within the mysterious depths of Windhaven Woodlands is an ancient tree that long ago tumbled to the earth, leaving behind a vast hollowed tunnel. Ever since the locals can remember, the tunnel has had a powerful gust of wind running through it, making it near impossible to traverse the tunnel. That is, if you're on the side where the wind exits. Those wandering close to where the wind enters might find themselves getting sucked into a weightless tunnel experience before being spit out the other side. It's possible to get stuck within the air currents of the tunnel itself; being aligned with wind or earth may make it easier to traverse, but everyone else should be prepared to be billowed by the suction and blown about! Try not to hit anything (or any monsters) on the way down.
Bigge Tunelle: Within the mysterious depths of Windhaven Woodlands is an ancient tree that long ago tumbled to the earth, leaving behind a vast hollowed tunnel. Ever since the locals can remember, the tunnel has had a powerful gust of wind running through it, making it near impossible to traverse the tunnel. That is, if you're on the side where the wind exits. Those wandering close to where the wind enters might find themselves getting sucked into a weightless tunnel experience before being spit out the other side. It's possible to get stuck within the air currents of the tunnel itself; being aligned with wind or earth may make it easier to traverse, but everyone else should be prepared to be billowed by the suction and blown about! Try not to hit anything (or any monsters) on the way down.
Exploring these two areas may lead to new discoveries! Players can submit flora or fauna ideas for all to play with here for Guild Wars rewards. A reminder that smoke will be present in both these locations as well, and may agitate the local ecosystems… and also you?
> Earning EXP
Finally, characters can also earn points for their Guilds by participating in any of our the permanent quests and dungeons that are available! Completing threads or meeting a comment minimum is not required to earn points; we'll just be looking for an honest effort.
2. Dungeon Crawl - Smoke & Mirrors
Not looking to traipse about old dungeons? Raring for the newest content? Those Guildies searching for more still to do will be tasked with discovering the source of all the smoke surrounding Avisle to help ease the overall search for missing Gemwalkers. Directed to the very heart of the haze (where there's smoke, there's fire), they will begin to hear muffled voices–familiar ones.
Guess the Gemwalkers aren’t the only ones about to face some reunions.
Chamber 1: Into the Deep
Yet as you step through the smoke, you might suddenly find yourself sinking into the sand, greeted by the distant call of gulls. Blink once, blink twice - blink as many times as you’d like, but the image of the beach surrounding Crane City does not disappear. Weren’t you just in the ON world? You must’ve been. And yet any attempts to forcefully exit or quit the dungeon ahead of time fail - here you are to stay.
Explore a bit if you’d like, but do your best to keep your footing. Every now and then, the ground trembles beneath your feet as an earthquake reverberates through the area. The seas get choppy, but as you look out into the distance you might see a hand reaching out from beneath the waves. Along with it, the sound of a loved one from your home world calling from you. However, you will be the only person who hears this voice - your partner will not.
Will you be able to make it to the second part of the dungeon? Or will you get carried off by the waves before you even try? Once in the water, you will begin to feel deeply fatigued, yet calm. Maybe it’d be alright to let the waves lull you to sleep…
Chamber 2: An Offer You Can't(?) Refuse
Eventually, one earthquake hits harder than any of the others, falling just short of rupturing the sea open. A large silver serpent slides up from the waves, but rather than a roar or a cry heralding its arrival, there is only a flood of whispers.
Listen to me. Trust me. It’ll be okay. Don’t go. Close your eyes.
Different assurances - if they could be called that - flood your ears, but eventually the Serpent’s ask becomes apparent:
Images flash through your mind - inherently, you know the serpent refers to your guildmates, your false memories, your friends here in Crane City. In Duocaeli. Either. Both. (Neither?) Will you accept the whisper and make a promise to let go of these people who might very well be strangers in favor of the ones you can no longer see?
Those who choose to accept will find themselves slipping down the serpent’s throat. Inside the creature, a crimson red engulfs their vision and they will face a nightmare of betrayal. Their companion in the dungeon will also bear witness to the dream. Yet when they awake, they will have completed the dungeon and are free to take their spoils before leaving.
Those who deny the request will have to fight the Serpent in its element. It’s a strong foe - but there are moments in which it seems to entirely glitch out of existence. When it returns, it comes back weaker, more erratic in its movements. When it attacks the characters fighting it, it does not inflict physical wounds - no, instead it only gives feelings of despondence and guilt, and other emotional weights. It seeks to strip your will before your life.
BOSS: S̵̱̆e̴̝͋ŕ̵̙p̶͎͐ẻ̴͓n̷̯͠t̵̞̕
HP: 1̶͉̾0̴͖̃0̷̤̋0̷͍̕0̵̏ͅ
Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Weakness: Light, Dark, truth
Resistance: Water
Attacks
HP: 1̶͉̾0̴͖̃0̷̤̋0̷͍̕0̵̏ͅ
Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Weakness: Light, Dark, truth
Resistance: Water
Attacks
- Traitor’s Twist: Inflicts emotional scars and wounds that linger for hours afterward.
- Sleeping Sweep: Summons dark clouds of ash that linger both in the air and water - getting caught in one will sap at an individual’s strength and willpower. Inhaling too much will cause them to become passive, even submissive, and more likely to yield to the serpent’s suggestion. Mana transfer can dispel some of this effect.
- Sleeping Sweep: Summons dark clouds of ash that linger both in the air and water - getting caught in one will sap at an individual’s strength and willpower. Inhaling too much will cause them to become passive, even submissive, and more likely to yield to the serpent’s suggestion. Mana transfer can dispel some of this effect.
As always, choice submissions will have an effect on the overall state of the game the following month, and can be submitted here!
OOC Notes
June's OOC Event Plotting Post is also here for your reference! Please visit it for submissions top levels, plotting, and results from May's log!
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duocaeli duologs duolingosTaken / Applications / Hiatus & Drops
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And so she follows dutifully. She's normally more than happy to take point, as a designated Tank, but like. Mister Knives is like three times her size or something so it's probably fine. Regardless, she tips her head as the both of them seem to stop rather abruptly. ]
Um... Mister Knives?
[ Waving her hand in front of him. Come in, Mister Knives...
But her leporine ears perk up at that moment, catching the sound of a voice coming from the waves, too. One that feels familiar, and yet doesn't at the same time... Yes, her voice. But not the same her as Knives' her. ]
Hm? Do you two hear someone...?
no subject
There's something wrong with this place. Even if the ocean isn't where they're intended to go, Vash doesn't think they're going to find the answers by following the intended path. He starts talking even before Nai is finished. ]
I know, it's just --
[ He stops at exactly the same time.
He doesn't hear any words at all. The voice he hears is humming a familiar melody, cascading out across the ocean, like a lullaby. It's a song he sings to his sisters when they're upset or afraid, because it was a song that was sung to him, too.
It's Juni's voice that seems to break the spell. Vash only realizes then that the world seems out of focus, and he quickly blinks the tears out of his eyes before he half-turns back to the two of them.
He can't remember the last time he'd seen his brother so stunned, and Vash finally trudges the few steps back to the other two, suddenly certain that he doesn't want them out of his reach. He puts a hand on Nai's arm, as much to take him out of his reprieve as it is to anchor himself. He knows that it would be foolish to do, but every instinct in him is screaming to run toward that voice and not look back.
He nods in answer to Juni's question, his eyebrows drawing together even more. ]
Do you recognize the voice? [ She couldn't... could she? ]
no subject
Even if Vash doesn't say anything specific to him, Knives can see it in his face. He heard something too. And stranger than that, Juniper also appears to have heard something. Knives watches as her ears twitch and swivel, reacting to... something.
He doesn't jerk his arm away from Vash's grip, instead letting it settle there. Before he can think better of it, he glances back to the rippling waves. ]
It's a trick, though a rather interesting one. Yes, Juniper, why don't you tell us what you heard?
[ That's preferable to asking Vash what he heard, he realizes. Rem Saverem is a landmine of a topic between them. He clearly remembers severing her head in Vash's memories, and the red petals that had poured from her neck instead of blood.
"That's all I wanted too, you know. For the two of you to look out for each other."
Knives tenses under Vash's hand. ]
no subject
I-I don't really recognize the voice...
[ Or rather, she's not sure. Still the voice echoes, causing her ears to twitch incessantly before she lifts her hands up and smoothes them down as if that would help. She knows who the voice sounds like, but she can't be sure, and that in itself wrenches her heart until it feels like it's bleeding. Is that what her voice sounded like? Mom's? Why can't she remember? Why doesn't she know? What if...
What if she's hearing one of the hags again?
Juniper, the voice says, did you have fun playing outside? Did you meet any rabbits? ]
...I think I hear my mother, but I... I don't...
[ ...really remember what she sounds like anymore. ]
no subject
I think we hear someone like that, too. It's okay, Juni. [ Vash says, gentle and reassuring. It's not okay, though, and he knows it. He feels Nai tense under his hand. Rem is a contentious topic between them, but at the moment he thinks his brother is responding to something he can't hear. ] Like Knives said, it's just.. some kind of trick.
[ The singing begins to wind down, slowly moving toward the final notes of the song, and Vash can feel his own heart beating faster as it does. When he looks out across the water, he sees it again, that small shape in the distance. It's clearer now.
It's her hand.
He knows it, because he's seen it in his nightmares for years; her hand reaching up out of the sand and steel wreckage, blackened and burnt so the skin splits when her fingers curl toward him. In a way, the nightmare of Nai severing her head had been the cleaner, kinder one.
For a brief moment, he digs his fingers into Nai's arm, like they're still children and Vash still wants to hide behind him in the face of some novel terror... but it's been a long time since they were children.
His body moves before he can think better of it. Vash lets go of Nai and starts running toward the water. ]
no subject
It doesn't quite make sense, though. Rem didn't birth them. She raised them for a short period of time, and that was that. But Juniper is hearing her biological mother's voice, so shouldn't they as well?
Perhaps regardless of what they hear, it's something that's meant to unnerve them. In that sense, the dungeon has certainly achieved its goal, as Knives can almost feel their combined anxiety sparking around like static energy in the air.
Despite the fact that Vash reassured Juniper, everything he said seems to be thrown completely out the window when he goes from clinging to Knives' arm to suddenly making a break for the water. Knives' eyes fly wide as his face tightens with an ugly mix of anger and betrayal. ]
You fool. What do you think you're doing?!
[ Vash should know better than to fall for this, and yet there he goes. Always, always, always back into her embrace. Knives barely spares Juniper a glance before he takes off after his twin, his feet tearing through the sand as he runs at full tilt to catch up with him before he does something stupid. ]
no subject
She shakes her head with newfound resolve, letting her hands drop back down to her sides, her ears springing back up to their full height. ]
You're right. It's a trick meant to—
[ Annnd then off he goes, Mister Knives taking off after him. She dashes after the twins, too. ]
M-Mister Vash! Don't go!