duologs | 5.0 July Event Log

Entry tags:

5.0 July Event Log

Love, Peace, and Maintenance

Given the extent of glitching last month and server overload from Guild Wars participation, players will find maintenance messages pop up constantly whenever they attempt to log onto Duocaeli. They will be able to access the server only sporadically, and find themselves booted out after a few hours.

Unfortunately, their inability to access the game will not stop regular side effects from occurring—even with ongoing maintenance: their devices will start to ping them, prompting and sending them friendly reminders to log in, eagerly informing them of outdated events in Duocaeli. Characters will gradually experience intense nausea, dizziness, and amnesia; they may even log in while they're sleeping! (Only to be booted out again by maintenance hell.)

Thankfully, there’s plenty to do in the OFF world, it seems…

The Grand Re-Opening

After months of repairs, PR management (due to that one unfortunate scandal involving the whipped cream), and a viral social media campaign, Baelial World is finally ready to welcome the public back into its master’s arms. It owes all of its success to their loving fans, including all the volunteers who helped advertise last month. Bigger and better than ever, Crane City’s self-dubbed #1 tourist hotspot is running a ‘Free Admission for All Who Come First (HEH)’ for all returning and new visitors.

1. The Jewel of Crane City Tourism
Nestled on the outskirts of the city, Baelial World is said to be a destination that requires three days to fully explore, each day devoted to a separate attraction:

> zoo/aquarium
Its zoo and aquarium, Free! Baelial ⭐, is located furthest from the entrance, and holds a menagerie of countless aquatic and land animals, all at home in their own complex habitats. Public and private tours are held daily, and you can even sign up for the immersive experience, which includes direct access to whichever enclosure you wish (Baelial World is not liable for any injuries sustained) and being fed treats by other visitors. There are also performances (dolphins, seals, lions, mermaids*) on a rotating monthly schedule. (*The mermaid can be you.) Some of these animals look familiar?

Your tour guide will launch into an excited, if not slightly lengthy, conversation about their origins, all places where you've definitely never been. The owner of Baelial World is a known explorer and zoologist, and all of their exploits can be read about in their book, Wrestling My Way Up the Food Chain, copies of which are located in the local gift shop.

> baechella
Located closest to the entrance is Baechella, a festival venue constantly booked by overseas and local acts, including music, theater and performance, and even educational events. The immense stadium is accompanied by the neighboring park, where festival goers can often be found picnicking and sunbathing.

This month is the Waterbomb festival, where attendees are encouraged to spray each other and performers with Baelial-themed water guns and hoses. Make sure to pack your swimsuits, or purchase a pair from the shops nearby.

> baelial world (park)
Last, but not least, is the amusement park that comprises the majority of the area, and of which the attraction itself is often referred to: Baelial World. Called the “gothic nightmare of your dreams”, the park is the domain of its lord Baelial, a figure all employees refer to as Master. Rides include but are not limited to several rollercoasters (including one that operates entirely in the dark and another over water), pendulum rides, carousels, escape rooms, love boats, funhouses, and the World’s Tallest Ferris Wheel. Guests are also encouraged to rent costumes, take carriage rides, and participate in brief matchmaking sessions. Baelial may be the master of darkness, but they also believe in ~love~. Gift shops include a variety of items, some skewing to the more risqué, others perfectly appropriate for children, and restaurants carry alcohol along with gothic-themed cuisine.

2. Danger After Dark
Though speaking of nightmares, it seems like after the sun has set, everything takes a turn of the desolate. The attractions of Baelial World shift menacingly with the last retreat of light, and it can suddenly be a bit difficult to discern fact from horrible fiction. All the exit signs disappear and the amusement park wristbands all suddenly shift, turning into manacles adorning characters’ wrists. That doesn’t bode well for hope of escape, now does it?

Normal visitors (AKA, not player characters) don't tend to stay at night anyway, but those that linger don't seem to notice anything amiss. Seems this bit of weirdness is just for Dodo residents?

> zoo/aquarium
When you really stop to think about it, zoos and aquariums can come off a bit inhumane, can’t they? Wandering into this area will reveal to visitors that the animals have all been replaced with skeletal versions of themselves—and they’re not eager to be left in their cages alone. Wandering too close to their habitats in an attempt to help will instead be repaid by the skeletons trying to drag the character inside. If they are successfully brought inside the entrapment, they might see some of their limbs turning similarly bare, leaving only bones and tendons before their eyes.

Try not to get trapped in. Who knows if there’ll be anyone left to set you free?

> baechella
It looks like there’s a sudden shortage on performers for the stage—which is where you come in. Hopefully you’re not prone to bouts of stage fright. Does it make it better or worse when you’re suddenly whisked off to wear a costume that can only be called a fashion nightmare? Best put on that clown nose and do your most impressive little jig, though, because all those water guns from the Waterbomb festival have suddenly been filled with something… red?

It seems like most of them are harmless, filled mostly with tomatoes, but every now and then the spray suddenly reeks of something a little more like iron. Ah.

> baelial world (park)
As you search for an escape, it feels like you’re being watched in every corner of the park. Is that the security cameras, or is that the wisps of shadow and darkness that you keep catching out of the corner of your eye? Maybe it’s a test of courage event when you constantly feel cold hands falling upon your shoulder, or the sudden chill that washes over you when you walk into a room. The music playing slows and changes its key, turning discordant and disorienting the longer you’re stuck here. The park invites you to extend your stay, even if it means there might be the occasional shadow trying to stuff you into a mascot suit. Teehee!

3. Dungeon Crawl - Heed Thy Master
A major attraction for the season at Baelial World is a massive haunted house – supposedly an actual manor from early in Crane City's history, it's been repurposed as a fun exhibit for all ages! The House of Bae is a giant, gothic-style mansion, and while the dimly glowing sconces and bats flying from all windows aren't exactly welcoming, it sure is fun, judging from the screams!

Except that adventurers that pass the threshold into the manor will find themselves violently glitching, suddenly there as their ON world selves. Seems that they're logged in now? There's no warping out, though – it's dungeon time!

Chamber 1: A Little Taste
There's a constant veil of darkness outside all the windows and doors, and passing through the ornate, gothic doors leads to an oppressive, silent mansion. Everything inside feels at once untouched and aged… but there are still creatures inside, thriving in the dark spaces. These shadow hounds(?) protect the family's villa with a (literally) paralyzing bark, and an oddly venomous bite – those afflicted will grow pale and cold, shivering, starving, and thirsting no matter what comforts they're given. …Well, until they drink blood! That'll fix it. Vampiric adventurers may find their teeth growing a little pointy to accommodate.

The hounds cannot be harmed physically, but can be driven off by any element except Darkness. Vampirism will cause sensitivity and pain to light, fire, and healing (even if you're the one using them).

Chamber 2: Mirror, Mirror
After being chased by hounds, weary travelers will happen upon the heart of the giant manor: a massive bedroom, both luxurious and strange in how everything is made of rubies and bones.

Everything, except two enormous mirrors on the far wall. Both are plainly magical, standing out against the dark and gloom, and offering travelers a choice in a whispery voice.

"Choose a value: Peace, or Justice?"

Silver Mirror: The leftside mirror is made of wrought silver in delicate whorls, with emeralds in its frame. Instead of a reflection, there is a familiar, shadowy figure that promises peace. This can be any person, place, or thing that inspires serenity and safety in a character.

Gold Mirror: The rightside mirror is made of luminous gold, so brilliant it fights the darkness of the manor. Instead of a reflection, there is a familiar, shadowy figure that promises justice. This can be any person, place, or thing that inspires resolve and good will in a character.

Both offers feel genuine, though characters that choose differently from their thread partner may feel argumentative and defensive. Stepping through a mirror of choice will allow characters to exit the manor, but before that—the roof of the bedroom is ripped asunder, a howling storm of darkness descending as the master of Baelial World finally pays a visit.

BOSS: MASTER
HP: 69420
Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Weakness: Random
Resistance: Light, Dark

Attacks

It's Love: The Master's energy attacks leave physical burns, but worse still, they have a chance to cause the Charm status effect. Charmed characters will fall in love with the Master, and will attack their allies – this can only be dispelled by sharing mana.
Redacted: The Master plunges blades down into the room, and every cut is bloodless. Yet it urges something else to come out instead, as wounded characters will begin to act on their impulses, unrestrained compared to whatever composure or facade they tend to put up usually. The more injured, the more feral a person gets!
Have You Considered… Polyamory?: This is a beam of darkness that makes you really horny. I don't know what else to say.

The boss can be driven away by either attacking them, or just generally being so chaste and boring that they leave to harass someone more fun. Wow? Congrats?

OOC Notes

July's OOC Event Plotting Post is also here for your reference!

duocaeli

duologs

duolingos FAQ & Game Info / Calendar / Locations / Mechanics
Taken / Applications / Hiatus & Drops

FULL NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. Baechella (day)
[After getting all but shoved into the nearest shop by an enthusiastic staff member, Roland emerges in a loose swim shirt, shorts, and flip flops. Armed with a small Baelial-themed water gun in one hand, he stands in a daze off to the side of the venue, watching the spray of water here and there—until someone shoots him in the side of the face.

Jolting from the shock of the spray, he splutters, then snaps his head in the offending direction—at you, whether you were the cause or just happened to be nearby.]

B. Park (day)
[Back in the comfort of his usual OFF attire of dress shirt and slacks on another day, Roland stares up at the World's Tallest Ferris Wheel with wistful eyes. Next to him, the line for the ride swells by the second. The staring persists for another half-minute before he ducks his head, eyes closed, and raises a hand to his temple to ride out the memory and wave of dizziness on which it rides.]

C. Park (night)
[The manacle clinks against the discordant music in the distance. Phantom hands ghost over his shoulders and Roland pays them no mind as he presses onward, striding down the open walkway with purpose. He only grinds to a halt when a shadow catches in his periphery, head halfway angled toward his fellow parkgoer.]

Did you see that?

[It's difficult to tell sometimes, what is and isn't real.]

[ Ah, yes, Cal knows all about that thousand yard stare, even if he doesn't know the particular cause of this one. A wave of empathy courses through him as BD-1—a dog in the OFF world, who Cal smuggled into the park in a backpack—whines softly in his ear. Wordlessly, Cal reaches up and pats Beedee on the head.

To Roland, he says: ] You okay?

[ That bowed head and hand against his temple is concerning. ]

[The familiar voice beckons him back to the moment. It takes another second for the dizziness to pass, and then Roland lowers his hand and raises his head in Cal's direction.]

Cal.

[He smiles smally. A silvery glimmer lines his side, cutting diagonally across his torso. The words are obscured by his arm as he follows the placement of Cal's hand.]

I'm fine. Is that . . . ?

QUESTIONS

no subject

B.

no subject

C!

no subject

A

no subject

c

no subject

no subject

1-B

no subject

1a

no subject