EVENT #12: INVOCATION - IC EVENT LOG (PART 2)

[abraxasmods]

Event #12 - Invocation ( 2 )

Go to the:
OOC plotting post | Event coordination post

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As Week 3 approaches around March 6th, faction officials will begin to reach out to characters for information they've uncovered that hasn't been reported. Although Thorne, the Free Cities, and Solvunn have traditionally been at odds, the three nations have come together under these unique circumstances,, and will continue to cooperate until the Lost have been recovered. With Nocwich open as a base of operations, the Spared will have a neutral location to meet in person without border restrictions.

How events proceed will depend in part on your actions. If you're one of the Spared, you can join a team or stay back to prepare and coordinate. If you're one of the Lost, you can escape or remain behind to help others break free.

NOTES

1. For a rough TIMELINE, the Lost's breaking free and the Spared's coordination efforts will take place 2-3 days into Week 3. Leading into Week 4, the Spared will send out their teams to retrieve the Escape and Holdout Groups. Though there's some narrative wiggle room for who returns and when, characters should only participate in one team or group to keep things organized.
   
   
2. A Coordination Post will be used for communications between mods and players both. You can request dice rolls, start investigations, submit or review notable incidents, and begin in-person network-style threads with each other to quickly play out IC interactions. Review the post for forms and other details to fully participate in this event.


3. The Network will function properly again for the Lost who have escaped. The ones who remain captured will continue to experience disruptions similar to Part 1.

Please don't hesitate to ask us questions or clarification, even if you feel it might be a minor detail. This event contains a lot of information to go over, so we're happy to guide you through anything that requires further explanation. We'd much prefer you ask to avoid any misunderstandings or confusion!

Week 3

By now, several discoveries have been made. You've explored nearly every angle you can. It's time to take what you've learned and do something about the situation, whether you're trapped inside the dark cave or trying to bring your friends home.

Escape | The Lost

CW: Disturbing imagery (text and visual), death, dark and horror-based themes.

The past two weeks have been a harrowing experience, but you're still alive. Though the situation's worsened in some aspects, you've gained advantages in others. You might've formed unexpected allies from the other side, discovered hidden clues, or retrieved weapons and tools.

Moreover, the Acolytes don't seem quite so sure of themselves anymore, do they? Ever since the ritual, they've been watching nervously, as though they aren't confident in what's coming next. Some of you even managed to reveal one of their faces, exposing a weakness.

As you listen to the rattle of chains and scraping of metal on stone, you fear something much worse awaits you. Is it time to strike? Do you work on your own or rally the others? That's up to you, but one thing's evident: you can't sit around much longer.

Players can narrate the commotion and escape how they like, using the details described below. The Acolytes will retaliate and try to stop escape attempts. Killing and attacking them is possible with no need to request a roll, but enough will survive to subdue anyone left behind.

Characters don't need to willingly sacrifice themselves to remain captured. They can also be too injured to leave or fail to make it in time.

The First Domino (Breaking Out)

When the final shrine was unlocked late in Week 2, fleshy pillars rooted themselves into the cavern floor. As your third week in the cave crawls along, the trunk-like pillars begin to move.

A low groan shakes the ceiling above. Rocks fall along with bits and pieces of the bulbous organic prisons attached to the high walls. Chunks of melted flesh from decomposing bodies within the plantlike traps splatter below. Were it not obvious before, it is now: the pillars are legs belonging to a creature. A very large creature.

◎ Unleashed

The creature is not interested in fighting. Instead, it begins to leave. As it does, it takes portions of the ceiling with it, tearing holes above and below. People scurry beneath its feet and are crushed like ants. It does not discriminate between the Acolytes and the natives who are captured.

But it does avoid you and the other Summoned. Either it can't see anyone except you, or it recognizes you and associates you with those who freed it. Regardless, you are spared its destructive path. It lumbers off, dragging thorny vines that whip behind it. Crumpled pieces of the shrines and mangled bodies stick to its massive feet. You can't see where the creature is going, but later you might realize it has vanished into the ocean.

The brief chaos has left you with several openings:

• Seawater spills from unseen crevices above, flowing down the walls. Several Acolytes are dead, reducing their numbers.


• The already weakened cracked wall crumbles further, granting you an easier path to the webbing behind it.


• Equally weakened is the sealed opening where a smaller but deadly creature was previously trapped. A couple of determined hands could free it for a distraction. Beware - it's hungry.


• If the boulder hasn't already been pushed out of the way, the rumbling ground and smashed walls might help you finish the job.

Do you grab a weapon and attack the Acolytes while they're disoriented? Do you help save the injured natives? Are you focused on what lies behind the boulder and cracked wall? Do you free the trapped beast? Decide quickly - this could be your only chance.

◎ Opening the Door

Although the ceiling's been torn open, no open sky is revealed. Climbing up is difficult. You'll have to look elsewhere to escape. Once the boulder is removed and the cracked wall is torn down, you'll notice orange sparks that run between the strange bulb behind the boulder and the dense webbing across the cave.

Are you brave enough to reach into the pulsing bulb? If you do, you'll find thick vines connected to its beating heart. Each time a vine is forcibly pulled away and disconnected, the webbing begins to loosen, forming a small opening - but letting go will close the webbing right up again.

The more vines are disconnected, the larger the opening. It'll take 2-3 of you to make an opening large enough for people to go through... and from how quickly it closes, anyone who volunteers understands that they won't be escaping with the rest.

◎ Escape Routes

Do you trust what lies beyond the webbing? Looking through reveals only the dark abyss. You have no idea what's out there, but it can't be worse than what's in here. Can it?

If you don't trust the webbing and have the strength, you can swim down through an opening in the floor, left behind by the giant earlier. It's filled with cold ocean water. If you make it, you'll see a standard portal hidden in the depths.

Choose your path. Each one will spit you out somewhere a little different, but you'll have the chance to look for and meet up with others who took the other route.

If you're one of the Lost keeping the webbing open, you could try to dive for the underwater portal, but you won't make it. The portal will shatter quickly once the vines are released.

◎ Josselyn Creed | Interact

Josselyn Creed is difficult to spot in the commotion but not impossible. A few of her most faithful protect her. She wears a unique robe compared to the others. Her hood is lowered, revealing her brown hair tied in a bun that may be recognizable to some. Her mask is in place.

While she'll escape in the end, she isn't immune to harm. You can try to stop her and, in the process, perhaps contribute to what happens to her as she flees or afterwards.

◎ The Mysterious Acolyte | Interact

Along with the natives who might need your assistance escaping, there's also the strange pair whom a few interacted with. The Mysterious Acolyte and the Unknown Stranger will appear lost and uncertain in the pandemonium.

Some of you promised to help them escape, but saving them comes with a cost: at least one of you must exchange your place in the Escape Group for both of them. She will not leave without her brother, the Unknown Stranger. Her refusal will cost one of the Summoned their place.

Players can decide how the scenario plays out. At least one character must their place in the Escape Group so that the Unknown Stranger makes it through first. Only then will the Mysterious Acolyte follow.

Characters holding open the webbing and vines are not eligible. A sacrifice can only count for one outcome.

Into the Cold (Escape Group)

The first thing you notice is the biting cold. The sky is beginning to lighten. For once, you can breathe in the fresh air. But where are you, really?

◎ Gathering Your Bearings

Though spring is on its way, the mountains are a tundra. Temperatures are cold, though not as terrible as they'd have been in the dead of winter. Maybe you've stolen some warm clothes off the dead before the escape? Or, if you've been kind to the Abraxan natives who shared the ordeal with you, they'll offer supplies and equipment in return. It isn't much, but it could make all the difference if you're in dire straits.

• If you swam through the WATER PORTAL, it'll spit you up in an open cave. Wet and cold as you are, at least you've found shelter. Keen eyes might spot an unusual trail of glitter. Follow it to a tiny hidden hot spring. Soaking in the shimmering water are a few mischievous but harmless creatures. One was accidentally set loose at the Peace Summit many months ago, showering multiple attendants in a shimmery sheen. Large beast-like prints are nearby, though, so best not to stay long. Still, it's a nice reprieve while you can get it...as long as you don't mind being coated in glitter.


• If you went through the DENSE WEBBING, it'll spit you up on a frozen lake. Cracks will begin to form as more and more land on the surface. You'll need to find solid ground quickly. Take care - a large shadow lurks beneath the thinning ice. If there's too much commotion or excessive movement, it'll realize there's prey above and begin to thrash, disturbing the delicate ice further.

◎ Temporary Relief

Though some healing abilities and magic have returned, the wounds caused by the ritual don't seem to recover properly. They aren't getting worse, but it's troubling. Your mind could remain confused or disturbed. Even those who were successfully cured will discover the lesions heal much slower than other injuries.

As the days wear on, you might feel a strong pull from the Singularity that leads you into the Horizon. This is especially so if you remain under the ritual's influence. If you give in to the urge and find a safe moment to enter, you can go in without as much difficulty as before.

You won't land where you intend, but you might find one of the Spared within. Somehow, the Singularity has brought you together. Something compels you to reach out and make contact. When you do, you'll feel a gentle warmth. You might not know what's happening, but it feels right.

When you depart from the Horizon, effects from the ritual have lessened by a noticeable degree. They'll stay that way for the next day or so, giving you the strength to keep going.

◎ Preparing for the Night

What you do next is entirely up to you. You can organize with your fellow escapees, go off on your own, or try to bring the two groups together. Boars, rabbits, and foxes can be hunted. The surrounding snow can be boiled for safe drinking water.

Even more fortunate, your powers will return - to a degree. Stronger abilities might take longer to return fully, but elemental spells, modest healing, and enhanced senses or traits can be accessed. And you might find that messages on the Network are no longer distorted.

Not all is safe and well: though the first few days are quiet, the mountains aren't without the usual predators. Wolves howl, and large gryphons soar the sky. They're wary of people and are unlikely to attack, but that doesn't mean you should let your guard down. In the wild, you never know. As you enter Week 4, more formidable threats could arise.

Sacrifice (Holdout Group)

Maybe you're one of the unlucky souls, or maybe you chose to sacrifice your place for others. However it came about, both escape paths close, and the Acolytes inside the cavern overwhelm you and the rest once more. Those left behind are a mixture of native Abraxans and the Summoned. The ground is sticky with blood and viscera.

Forcibly, violently, you're led or dragged deeper and deeper down the stone paths to the altar room where the rituals took place. The Acolytes push as many of you in there as they can and seal the door - and if a few limbs are caught in the way, that's just too bad. Someone with you, perhaps one of the natives, ends up with a crushed finger or hand as the doors slam shut.

Not everyone is pushed inside in the end. In the Acolytes' rush to contain the Summoned, a few Abraxan natives are left outside the doors with the remaining Acolytes. When you hear their cries through the sealed barrier, you have to ask yourself if you're truly the lucky ones.

◎ The Altar Room

The altar is built of bone. The husks of now-empty bodies are piled into a macabre amalgamation. It's not meant to house anyone for long. Supplies are limited. Water trickles into a small pond used for the Acolytes' rituals. There are bowls of hardened bread. Sealed crates contain more mushrooms. They're edible, but some might carry psychedelic side effects. If you've succumbed to the ritual, though, you might not consider that a downside.

While not as open or large as the cavern you came from, you can explore the altar room for any potential answers to where you are and how to escape. The entrance is sealed tight. Outside, you can hear the Acolytes - and that might be important for later.

Since the door is magically sealed, nothing can come in or out...except the Bone Serpent, whose legs continue to slink down from above to snatch unsuspecting victims. Blood drips from above, possibly from one of its missing legs.

Now and then, something bangs on the door. Is it the creatures you unleashed before? The beasts that were never contained? You can try to follow the Bone Serpent to see where it leads or maybe even glimpse the creature beyond its thorny limbs, but that's a high risk. The consequences could be dire.

◎ Slow Flood

The destruction seems to have broken what prevented you from using the Network. You can now communicate with the Spared and the Escape Group uninterruped.

Unfortunately, the chaos has also dislodged the structure of the entire cavern. Husks of limbs crumble to the floor. The ground grows moist. Bit by bit, water begins to collect in small puddles. More drips through cracks in the walls and ceilings. The rocky floors offer higher ground, but that'll only last for so long.

As slow as it is, there's no denying the dread that washes over you: the cavern is flooding, and it's seeping through into the altar room. Some of the captured natives look uneasy. Others are too injured to help themselves. You can try to plug the leaks. Though the idea might strike you as morbid, the bodies of the dead can be used to keep some of the water at bay.

◎ Temporary Relief

Wounds caused by the ritual don't seem to recover properly. Your mind could remain confused or disturbed. Even those who were successfully cured will discover the lesions heal much slower than other injuries.

As the days wear on, you might feel a strong pull from the Singularity that leads you into the Horizon. This is especially so if you remain under the ritual's influence. If you give in to the urge and manage to find a safe moment to enter, you can go inside without as much difficulty as before.

You won't land where you intend, but you might find one of the Spared within nonetheless if you wander through. Somehow, the Singularity has brought you together. Something compels you to reach out and make contact. When you do, you'll feel a gentle warmth. You might not know what's happening, exactly, but it feels right.

When you depart from the Horizon, effects from the ritual have lessened by a noticeable degree. They'll stay that way for the next day or so, giving you the strength to keep going.

Coordination | The Spared

You might have compromised a few morals to get what you want - if you had any in the first place - but regardless of how you got here, you and the other Summoned have gathered enough information to proceed. Of course, there are still a few details to iron out. How will you approach the island without compromising the Lost? What spells and resources are required? What needs to be done so that survivors have a safe place to rest and recover once they're home? And what about the ritual inflicted upon them?

Players are encouraged to organize teams, rescue efforts, and tactics with each other. The details outlined below are to provide a starting point and some guidance but are by no means the only options available.

Nocwich

Thanks to a request by one of the Summoned in the Free Cities, Nocwich's doors are opened as a neutral meeting ground for the Spared from all three major nations. Some officials will also be arriving to monitor the situation.

◎ Ritual Details (Sten) | Interact

Sten, one of the Nocwich ambassadors for the Lunae, received a request to help find a cure for the ritual. To do so, he wants to first learn as much about the ritual as he can. Anyone with information can come forward either in person or with a note - anonymous or not. While he'd prefer to put a name to the face, Nocwich won't interfere with the Summoned's desire to protect themselves and their secrets.

Sten will be available in Oleuni Square, in one of the many tents. Pale-haired and scarred, he's warm and friendly to everyone. Due to Luna's connection to Solvunn, he has some knowledge of High Magic, although the traditions of the werewolves are different. While he can't hold long meetings, he'll make time to see everyone who has something important to tell him about the ritual - and if you need a little extra reassurance, he'll offer that, too.

◎ Oleuni Square

Normally a thriving marketplace, Oleuni Square has been repurposed. In the northeastern corner, a collection of tents have been set up. Most are utilitarian but others are covered with homemade blankets to help cover imperfections. The Lunae have come to lend their aid. Volunteers help set up tables and supplies. Others guard the area and the portals. A communal cooking area is available to provide hot meals.

You can make use of the tents for talking strategy, organizing supplies, and other meetings. Nearby inns are available for sleeping free of charge, although one of the inns is closed so that it can be converted into a temporary infirmary. Faction officials and employees are available, as well. You can consult them on tactical advice, resources, and the lay of the land.

Early in Week 3, a few representatives from Ikorr arrive with a supply of their sacred sap. With the sap and the metal ore from the Lunae, you can fashion supplies and potions from raw materials.

The mood around the makeshift camp is somber but hopeful. As one of the Summoned, you'll have control of the situation and can work with a variety of officials and locals to arrange what you need.

Reevaluating Plans

Shortly into Week 3, you'll receive word that some of the Lost have escaped. As details come in bits and pieces, you realize the situation's taken a dramatic turn. More than that, messages from the Lost are no longer disrupted as before. You can read the words clearly again.

Who makes contact first and how the news spreads depends on you. Regardless of how it comes about, your focus can't be solely on breaching the discovered island. Now you also have another group to retrieve - and you don't know where they are, though they at least have some helpful information: the Singularity, the snowy mountains, and a view of the ocean.

Take advantage of the Network's return to reevaluate your plans. You'll need to determine the situation in the island cave as well as the mountains, split into teams, and bring everyone home.

Assigning Roles

Under the circumstances, officials will recommend the Summoned divide into at least two groups: one to search the mountains and one to retrieve the Lost remaining on the island. If you're not the type to rush to the front lines, you can also stay back and help out at home. There's plenty to do here between finding a cure, delegating tasks, and preparing for survivors to return.

◎ Search Team

Reports from the Escape Group tell of snow-capped mountains, Acolytes in pursuit, and other creatures that lurk. Many are injured, though fortunately, abilities have started to return. The area isn't guarded, but the terrain is difficult and temperatures are harsh. Officials will suggest using portals to arrive at the nearest safe point on the mountains before traveling on foot to find the Lost. Others can choose to hunt down the Acolytes who are chasing their friends. Anyone with strong tracking skills would be key, but the team could also use medical assistance in case anyone needs treatment on the spot.

◎ Retrieval Team

Word has it that some of the Acolytes remain on the island along with the trapped captives. The area is tightly guarded and possibly infested with some unknown creatures or those not in their right minds. Officials will suggest negotiating to prevent unwanted casualties but will caution that having a team for infiltration and force is necessary, too. Some distraction could also be helpful, and it would be wise to have some medical assistance in case anyone needs treatment on the spot.

◎ Home Team

Having hands on deck at base is equally vital. Officials will recommend a cure for the ritual be found while the teams are out searching, and standard healing supplies will need preparation, too. Outbound teams could use someone to help bring together lines of communication, updating officials and the Summoned alike about what's going on. And of course, with the Horizon as a place of respite, anyone who can go in to help the Lost seeking healing would be of value.

Week 4

The days have been taxing, but you're beginning to feel a change in the air. Now that resources and information have been pooled, things are moving quickly. Soon, you'll be reunited.

Once you find one another, you'll still need to return home safely - but at least you'll have each other now.

Although players have been divided up until now between Lost and Spared, Week 4 will bring the Spared in contact with the Lost's environments. We'll provide relevant information or redirect each group accordingly so that you don't need to review the entire post for the correct details. If there's anything you're uncertain about from the other group, please ask!

Survival | The Lost

CW: Disturbing imagery (text and imagery), mild gore, body horror, dark and horror-based themes

By now, you've undoubtedly heard from the Spared back home. You're relieved to know rescue is coming, but you probably don't want to sit and wait. With threats to contend with and a dangerous environment, you can take steps to be sure the Spared have help from the other side.

Escape Group

Surviving the elements is only half of it. As the days turn to nights, you realize you're not alone. More than wolves and bears prowl. Something sinister comes...as well as the Acolytes who want their captives back at all cost.

◎ Pursuing Acolytes | Interact

Loyal to the cause, some Acolytes chase the fleeing Lost into the mountains. You might be lulled into safety the first few days, but by Week 4, you sense their presence. The evergreen trees wither, winter shrubs rot, and unexplained husks of wildlife are found. The winds carry a stench in the air that you now identify with the fungal cavern you were held in.

They hunt in pairs or small groups. Their powers seem weaker for reasons unknown, but they remain formidable opponents. You can run, protect others, or go on the offensive.

◎ Hydnellia & Esmond | Interact

If they successfully escape in Week 3, the Mysterious Acolyte and the Unknown Stranger will travel with their rescuers. They'll introduce themselves as Hydnellia & Esmond. Though nervous, Hydnellia is more trusting of anyone who helped them. She's skilled in healing and foraging, while Esmond carries a draught for warmth that could prove useful. Depending on where you stand, you could find their addition helpful or contentious.

◎ Revenant | Interact

Something else stalks the night, scaring even the Acolytes. A hoarfrost revenant has lived on these peaks for centuries. With the sudden arrival of the Lost and Acolytes, he prowls the snow, searching for who's disturbed his sleep.

He cannot be killed. You can only run or chase him away, but he'll soon return. Take care not to stay in one place too long. A rattling chain and blue-flamed lantern announces his coming. His touch brings instant death, made clear by the frozen carcasses of animals left in his path. Best not to fight him.

◎ Rescue

Landmarks such as lakes, cliffs, the Singularity, and more can be used to direct the Search Team to your location.

You might want to warn the Spared about the dangers they'll face when they reach the mountains. Unable to portal to you directly, they'll reach you on foot. You'll need to brave the dangers together one last time to reach the waiting portals below. The trek isn't far, but making that final stretch might feel like an eternity. In the distance, the ground trembles, and the snow begins to form an avalanche.

Players can arrange how the Search Team and the Escape Group meet and decide what threats they'll encounter as they return to the portal.

Details on the avalanche and what characters will face when traveling to the portal will be provided under the Search & Rescue - Search Team section.

Holdout Group

As you huddle in the altar room, you can only hope your sacrifice, intentional or not, was worth it. At least you've been able to communicate with the outside world. The Acolytes are beginning to show signs of unease and budding dissent. At some point, you have to ask, why haven't the unhappy ones left or fled themselves?

Maybe you aren't the only ones trapped anymore. Maybe you're all trapped together now.

◎ The Altar | Interact

Now that you can approach the altar and examine it closely, you see the terrible remnants of twisted figures sunken into the ground beneath it, as though they've fused with the altar itself.

If prodding at the shrines worked, perhaps doing the same with the altar will reveal some answers. A strange energy emanates from its open maw when those afflicted by the ritual come near.

◎ A Promise | Interact

In the final hour, some Acolytes desperately try to resume the rituals on the few remaining Abraxan natives left outside the altar room - many in poor condition. You hear it, though you can only glimpse it through a gap in the sealed doors. Their bodies quickly succumb and sprout more fungal growths while long, spine-like tendrils protrude from their orifices.

You can plead with them to stop, or you can join them in hopes that you will find your divine emancipation. The Acolytes will release anyone who wants to join the ritual from the altar room...but what you step into could carry horrific consequences.

◎ Dissenting Acolytes | Interact

More arguments beyond the sealed doors erupt as water fills the cave and altar room. They accuse each other of being faithless or too blindly loyal. Some say Hydnellia betrayed them. Others say the High Priestess did, perhaps referring to Josselyn.

Toward the middle of Week 4, it grows quiet outside. The arguments stop. One Acolyte approaches the door. She promises to free you and the others and help you find a way out of the cavern together, including overwhelming Josselyn's faithful.

This could be what turns the tide, but things might also go very wrong. You and the others trapped with you must decide if you'll accept the olive branch. Of course, agreeing to trust them doesn't mean you have to follow through. The Acolytes sound desperate and might be a bit too trusting themselves.

◎ Rescue

Unlike the Escape Group, the Spared know where the Holdout Group is. Getting to them will take effort, but you can help by providing information from the inside. After all, the Acolytes won't know when you're using the network. You can even coordinate with each other in secret despite being in the same room.

You might want to warn the Spared about the dangers they face when they reach the cavern areas. The Bone Serpent could pose a problem, along with any crumbling walls and obstacles. A creature might still be trapped in one of the tunnels if no one freed it. As the team approaches, severe quakes shake the entire place. Water flows in faster. It appears ready to collapse at any moment.

You'll need to get off the island to reach the portal on the Thornean peninsula. That'll pose a problem when the boats break from the collapsing island, but an unexpected friend might arrive.

Details on the quake and what characters face when getting off the island will be provided under the Search & Rescue - Retrieval Team section.

Search & Rescue | The Spared

CW: Disturbing imagery (text and visual), dark themes.

After an exhausting month, it finally seems as though things are coming together. By now, you've made decided on your plans, gathered your resources, and chosen the role that suits you best. Not everyone may agree with what you're doing, or maybe there's someone you don't agree with. Nevertheless, your friends are waiting, and you'll push forward with or without support.

Search Team

As part of the Search Team, your goal is to portal from Nocwich to the mountains and locate members of the Escape Group.

You'll need to determine the best place to portal in - close enough to the Lost that the trek is reasonable but safe enough that the portals won't be at risk. Considering the terrain and the condition of many of the Lost, it's likely the distance will be about one day's travel on foot.

◎ Resources & Support

Thorne will send their military for support since their soldiers are used to winter conditions, unlike the Free Cities. The Free Cities will provide portal stones so that mages won't be required to maintain an open portal. The Lunae will offer guides to help navigate the wilderness.

Solvunn's aid is limited to healing supplies, as their efforts are focused on the island due to the heavy use of High Magic there.

You are not limited to only what the factions offer upfront. If there's more you think they can do, you can make a request.

◎ The Acolytes (Escape) | Interact

Though rescuing the Lost is the top priority, you might feel justice or vengeance is long overdue. Some Acolytes are pursuing the captives while others might try to pass as one of the survivors. Those most faithful to the cause will attack you, but not all of them are that steadfast. Some prefer to flee. Others still may surrender, under the right circumstances.

Officials have requested that the Acolytes be brought in alive if possible, but no one will be counting the bodies if you decide to take out a few on your own.

Players can write out attacking, capturing, or killing the Acolytes without using the interaction. However, if you want to take a more specific action in terms of identifying any Acolytes pretending to pass as one of the captured Abraxan natives, negotiating a surrender, or interrogating them on the spot, you can submit an interaction.

◎ Getting to Safety

During the search, you'll encounter the same dangers the Escape Group has faced over the past week. Common predators include wolves, gryphons, and wild boars. Most significantly, a revenant must be avoided or else death is certain. Detailed under the Survival - Escape Group section, the revenant can be interacted with by the Spared once on the mountains.

Keep your friends safe after you meet up with them. You'll have to guide them back to the portals and make sure they can keep up with their injuries. Though you hope the journey is smooth, you know better.

And sure enough, a rumble draws your attention. When you look up, you see it coming down: an avalanche pouring down one of the mountain slopes. Get out of the way quickly or risk being swept up in the landslide. If you're lucky enough to dodge the avalanche, you can help anyone caught in its path.

Retrieval Team

As part of the Retrieval Team, your goal is to infiltrate the island and safely retrieve the members of the Holdout Group. A portal from Nocwich can only take you as far as the peninsula on Thorne's coast, near the island. The rest is on you.

Your team's likely already decided the best method to breach the island and you may have done your best to account for every last detail, but that doesn't mean everything will go as planned. The flooding hasn't stopped. Frequent, violent quakes are now shaking the island, and the structure beneath is rapidly crumbling. Time is of the essence.

◎ Resources & Support

Thorne mages and Solvunn Elders will accompany your team to focus on dispelling the enchantments, while the Free Cities will send some of its soldiers. They'll also provide boats powered with New Magic. Though normally quite noisy, Thorne has stepped in to enchant them to be much more discreet.

You are not limited to only what the factions offer upfront. If there's more you think they can do, you can make a request.

◎ Dispelling Protections | Interact

The illusions that once held the island together are corrupted from the escape. Navigating the constantly shifting landscape is dizzying and confusing. You might experience strange visions brought on by your imagination - terrifying images from home you know shouldn't be there.

Fight through it to find a warded tunnel. You'll need to find a way to break the wards to enter. Should you feel the urge to rush in heedlessly, you might want to observe the pile of dead bats and birds all around you. Their bodies are mangled and crushed. You can only imagine what might happen to you.

◎ The Collapse

Whether you make contact with the Acolytes or the Holdout Group first depends on your approach. You can apprehend what Acolytes you can, negotiate their surrender, or kill them. Whichever tactics you use, once the Holdout Group is released from the altar room, you'll end up in the same situation: the way out is blocked from falling debris. Seawater rapidly fills the cavern.

Your best bet is to follow the water flow into the open ocean. As you do, the cavern begins to collapse in on itself in a swirling whirlpool as the magic which kept the water at bay falters. You'll have to struggle to swim against the current, and a few Acolytes are sucked into the vortex. The boats splinter and break apart, leaving you and many wounded stranded in the ocean.

◎ An Old Friend

Deep waters aren't safe. When a deep rumbling sounds and a massive shadow looms below, you might wonder if this is the end. Instead, the shadow takes on a warm moon-like glow. A familiar figure to some of you from Thorne surfaces. The giant sea turtle waits calmly for you to climb on its shell. You can save any captured Acolytes, or you can let the sea swallow them.

How did the turtle find you? If you have strong psychic abilities or an affinity for communicating with animals, you might sense a connection to a much smaller turtle: Admiral Chuck from The Arcanis. Perhaps a friend is looking out for you from afar after you were kind enough to spend time with him.

The moonlit turtle will carry everyone to shore, where the portal to Nocwich awaits. Then it vanishes into the depths once more.

Home Team

As part of the Home Team, your goal is to support the others and prepare for the return of many survivors.

Two important tasks are healing in the Horizon to aid any of the Lost who are struggling, and finding a cure for the effects of the ritual. You can also assign tasks, transform the inn into an infirmary, and make sure supplies are available.

◎ Ritual Cure | Interact

The answer to a cure is likely found in the contents of Josselyn's house, the mushroom rings, and the odd black substance painted around the abduction sites. Solvunn's Elders and the Lunae, including Sten, will be there to help and provide any information they can.

If you're not the experimental type, you can still help in one of two ways: you can go to Ikorr to retrieve a bloom from their sacred flower located in the Nightbloom or you can go to Luna to collect moon-blessed water from the Lunar Pond. You'll be accompanied through a direct portal by the vampires to Ikorr or the werewolves to Luna.

Researchers and mages from the major nations will also work on the task using the information they've learned - but they'd be grateful for any assistance.

◎ Horizon Healing

As discovered in Week 3, you can continue to use the Horizon to offer to heal those who need it. In moments of calm, anyone connected to the Singularity will feel a familiar pull. The urge to enter the Horizon itches at the back of your mind as the hours go by, even if you're not usually inclined to do so.

If you give in, you could find one of the Lost there. You sense they need your help, or you feel compelled to reach out and touch. A warmth flows between you. Though you may not realize what you've done until afterwards, you'll know it's something unique and powerful.

Forging a stronger link to the Horizon can subtly strengthen the gifts and magic you receive from the Singularity - and a deep healing connection with another Summoned is a part of that.

Return

For the next week or so, Nocwich is the place of refuge. Concerned that the ritual and other unknown effects may have a widespread impact, everyone must remain in Nocwich. This includes the abducted Abraxan natives, the soldiers, mages, and Elders who arrived to help.

Captured Acolytes will be held in the prisons in Nocwich. Their fate is yet to be determined.

Should the Mysterious Acolyte and her brother make it to safety, they'll also be held in Nocwich for now. Nocwich will recognize that they were rescued by some of you, however, and will make sure they're placed in a comfortable - but still guarded - home.

Recovery & Cures

The Square's largest inn serves as a temporary infirmary. The Lost will be brought here to recover and receive the cure for the ritual. Any of the Spared who were injured during the rescue will also be treated.

Healing & Care

Although a few healers and doctors from the factions are in Nocwich, most have stayed home to prepare for when the Summoned and their citizens return. Instead, healers from Luna and Ikorr will look after you with a combination of salves, healing magic, and potions. Ikorr's powerful sap is used in healing concoctions, reserved for the most severe injuries. Overdoing it can cause unwanted side effects, so healers are careful.

If you're lucky, you can get a room to yourself. If not, you might have a roommate. The infirmary is hectic, though you'll receive the best care possible. Visitors are allowed. Nurses caution against overtaxing yourself, but you can finally reunite with everyone you've been separated from over the past four weeks.

Receiving the Cure

After such a harrowing ordeal, you'll be relieved to learn that the cure is effective and painless. It consists of a spoonful of a thick mixture. The aftertaste is bitter and a little sour but not terrible. After a day or two, the psychological effects will fade completely. Physical afflictions will begin to heal again.

If any growths remain, they must be removed. Thankfully, potent sleeping draughts means you won't feel a thing - a blessing that those who sought a cure in the caverns didn't have.

Returning Home

After a week, officials determine that the ritual effects are cured and request that you return home. Their doctors and healers will look after you once you're back. Eventually, they'd like to know the details, but you won't need to talk about it just yet.

◎ Thorne

Your return to Thorne is greeted with a show of fanfare. For many, the castle staff has grown familiar with your presence. They're heartened to see you return. A few may have get-well gifts if they've come to know you.

If you still require significant healing, you'll be taken care of in the Castle's infirmary. Otherwise, you'll be assigned a healer who'll check in on you in your room.

◎ Free Cities

Your return to Cadens is greeted with a buzz in the air. With a city so populated, reactions vary from relief to curiosity to a much less welcome invasion of privacy from local writers. City guards will do their best to make sure you return home or arrive at the hospital with minimal fuss.

If you were injured, doctors will insist you remain overnight at the hospital. If you were severely wounded and remain so, they won't clear you for release until you're fully recovered. Of course, no one can stop you from leaving, but you may want to listen to the doctors.

◎ Solvunn

Your return to Solvunn is greeted with a somber air. Many in the settlement are in the midst of prayer, having devoted themselves to seeking your safe return. Your friends and neighbors are relieved to see you, but they're troubled by the perversion of their traditions, the close involvement of one of their Council members, and the terrible suffering you endured.

Healers and Elders will see you in your home as needed. Offerings will be made to shrines on your behalf, and you won't run out of home-cooked meals for a while. Many will lend a sympathetic ear if you want someone to talk to.

Comments

[a_better_man]

[Mat is quiet a moment as he takes the lace and ties back his mess of hair, getting it out of his face. That's also a relief.]

I'm someone who knows how to hunt. From a tiny village at the edge of civilization, about forty people or so. At the base of mountains on the edge of the woods. Peddlers and traders rarely came. Hunting's how we eat.

[Or at least how he and his family did. They weren't lucky enough to have any land for even a garden, let alone farming. Nor did they have any sheep. Or anything at all, really. He'd been hunting since he could hold a bow and arrow and shoot it with any accuracy.

And there'd been plenty of times when he hadn't a bow, and resorted to whatever the hell he could use. This isn't any different. Funny how a life of abject poverty on the edge of the wilderness had prepared him for this.]

[notoftheblood]

"You are from Apocalypse world." He spoke as his eyes went wide. "At least from before I met you there." Though when Lucifer said to not dare waste his strength he gave him a look like a teenager being told go clean their room. "I wouldn't unless you asked, and even then I don't know if I could trust you..." At least he was honest on this one.

He just didn't like being told not to do something by Lucifer.

"No, father, you did that yourself." He spoke honestly. When Lucifer stepped away, Jack, stepped forward, despite that moody look that felt so wrong on his face. He wanted to keep that same distance. "Dean didn't want us to talk, but we did anyway. So please don't blame them. We aren't home, and you don't need to know what happened to cause this bad blood, but... I can't hold what has not happened yet against you."

He took a breath, looking at the way Lucifer sneered and the sound of that icy whisper. Jack should leave, but he was stubborn. "You can not be blamed for actions you have not yet committed." He could blame Chuck though.

[gynvael]

[ He grips Jaskier in a tight embrace. His arm fucking hurts, and he can't give a shit. Their accidental meeting in the Horizon two weeks ago feels a haze, a dream. He hardly remembers it.

(He recalls the fear heavy in his throat, impossible to swallow, the one that said he might not make it out. That this could be the last Jaskier ever saw of him.)

This. Now. This is solid. Real. Jaskier is warm against him. Smells of blood and snow and pine. And beneath that, the familiar scent of his friend, one he learned to recognize years ago.

A small paw pushes against his leg. Geralt finally releases Jaskier, pulling back to look at the little gryphon peering up at him. He pats it once on the head, a huff escaping him. ]

You look like shit.

[ It's a gentle poke. Nobody looks worse than Geralt; he's well aware. ]

Commander Shepard ✦ Free Cities ✦ Lost/Holdout

[earthborn]

ia. hold the line
The massive creature's distracting appearance is the moment she's been waiting for; Shepard seizes the nearest Acolyte and in a display of biotically-augmented strength, smashes his skull open against the nearest stone surface. The creature is noisomely moving through the crowd, seeking— well, she doesn't know what.

But the chaos is a profound change from the dreadful, creeping despair. She wipes the weeping pus out of her eyes, ignores her wounds, and grins. Time for a fight.

ib. holdout
As soon as she sees the gap start to form, Shepard abandons her assault for the more practical goal. When a quick what do you need me to do turns into the obvious answer, she's quick to put her physical strength into play. Reaching hands, grasping at the slick give of the mycellium webbing, and Shepard pulls with her whole arms and back— and then further, wider, glowing blue as she puts her biotics into the effort.

"Go!" The hole thus created gapes wide onto blackness, an unknown space beyond. If that's reason to hesitate, she doesn't seem to care, "We're not getting a better chance, so move it, people!"

iii. slow flood
The days go by slowly in the sluggishly flooding cavern. For Shepard, the time passes in a grey haze; backlash from using her biotics, the lack of food, and the lingering effects of the ritual are wearing on her. You can only be so tough, for so long.

Anyone looking for her will find Shepard sitting somewhere, trying to conserve her strength, or napping fitfully, somewhere in the increasingly soggy room. She looks up, eyes a little glassy, when you speak. Can you repeat that?

iv. just keep swimming
There's nothing like a dash of cold water to revive you, of course. The rescue team bursting in has Shepard surging, wobbly, to her feet— and then the ceiling comes down the rest of the way. It's sink or swim, and she's never been one to lie down and die.

The open sky has never been such a blessing, even when they only got to it by the most ignoble circumstance imaginable. But there isn't time to admire it for long; there's work to do.

Shepard ignores her weariness, grimly hauling people towards what raised voices insist is safety. It's a... animal? She's not going to be able to make it up out of the water on her own, in any case. Someone better stop her from playing hero before she finally reaches the end of her endurance, and passes out.

v. hospital
Lying in hospital was, is, and always has been, a very special circle of hell. For Shepard in particular; she's never been known for a good patient. But this is a long way from the enforced isolation of a modern hospital setting. The medics bustle, the walls are paper-thin where they aren't just a drawn curtain between cots, and...

Well, it's bed-rest and medicine. For the first few days she's dead to the world, awake only long enough to devour everything that gets within reach before falling into a healing stupor once again. But time passes, and by the end of the week she's spending half her day on the Horizon just to get a change. Save her.

[thedevilwhorose]

Despite Jack's flowery words, Lucifer can make enough conclusion on his own from what little he learned from Michael. It's an elementary-level equation. Angry Weakened Lucifer plus Fully Powered Teenage Nephilim.

The answer?

There's only one answer and Lucifer's never been not stupid.

Lord, this really is Wilhelm Redux Version. All this prove yourself through your actions, not your words. Why--why does he have to go through this a second time? He doesn't have an angel blade here, the easiest way to filet Jack open and take what he needs. But lately all his other plans for power have royally backfired because Thorne Summoned and their faith and...

He knows he could find a way to pull Jack apart he's just not so sure on the viability of that idea in this moment.

So what else good is he? He's already got a gaggle of kids that he doesn't want. Flesh, blood, grace, whatever--he doesn't need it. He doesn't need him. He's got enough stress in his life without this standing his ground in front of him.

"Ohhh," he lulls, "go ahead. Everyone blames me for actions I haven't committed yet, what's one more person to the mix, mmm?"

[princessvegas]

[ If it makes him feel any better, it was equally just the first idea she'd had in response to the Singularity's panic, before it could entirely overwhelm her. She gave it the first name she had, told it to focus so she could come back and talk to Sam for a minute.

But she never gave it anyone else's name. They either searched for the entire group, or for Geralt. Maybe that's why she got his message, saw what happened to him. Sure, she saw it through Ciri's eyes, but she found him.

The look on Julie's face indicates that she isn't happy for him to leave so soon. She knows he can't stay, that other than Ciri, he's probably the most qualified to protect a group in the mountains. But she's scared that, if she lets him go, it will be the last she sees of him.

There's a shimmer in the bottom of her eyes when she nods. ] Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'll be here. Please message someone if y'all find somethin' we can use to get to y'all.

[ She squeezes his hand again, leans to kiss him before she murmurs. ] Come home to me safe, okay? If you die, I'll kill you.

[cointosser]

[The fear still sits with Jaskier now, and he's afraid -- hah -- that it may never leave. He has been so thoroughly eased in his life, never sparing a second thought to Geralt's wellbeing. Not in this way. There was always a surety that, no matter the fight, he would still escape from it.

Not unscathed. Jaskier is realistic. But victorious.

This was worse than the Queen. Worse than his foolish stint in prison. It's -- at this rate, Jaskier's heart may very well burst from catching up to one's lifetime of care.

It's horrid.]

You smell like it. [He only releases his friend because Mog's claws dig into his arm, as if in warning, to remind him that Jaskier is not Geralt's only friend anymore.] You're healing well. Not as bad as many of the others I've seen.

Week 4: nocwich; infirmary

[notoftheblood]

[ Jack had spent his time trying to help others, and it was in doing that, that the boy in his brown cloak heard the whispers. Whispers that lead to him rushing back to the infirmary, a place he had not expected to return but he couldn't keep away after a few days. ]

Excuse me, where is Castiel?

[ He asked a healer, not far off from where Castiel was, he knew he broke his promise. And he looked tired from the few who let him help heal them, but it was worth it.

When the direction was pointed out, he moved over towards where Castiel is lying. He can tell his chosen father is in a bad way before he even comes to stand next to the bed or cot he is laid out on.

Pulling his hood down, he offers a sad smile. His hair messy, and the boy had stubble on his jaw. Something he hadn't taken care of since he left the house. ]

Hey, Castiel. [ He wanted to ask how he was, but it was pretty obvious. ] Is there anyway I can help?

[notoftheblood]

It really was simple math. Honestly, it was more of a shock that it took so long to happen. Jack was kind of dumb just thinking about giving Lucifer another choice. But stupid choices sometimes saved the world.

Dean wouldn't approve.

Castiel wouldn't approve.

And they would all be mad when his deception was made known.

Yet, he didn't plan or expect it to go that far. No, he would return to the free cities soon enough. They might not see one another for a long time after this. When Lucifer spoke, Jack shook his head.

"I won't do that, it's not fair to you." He spoke firmly, the annoyed look vanishing, to a more neutral expression, one that held some sorrow. Everyone with angelic blood had some kind of sorrow. "I know things now I didn't when what happened, happened." He spoke quietly. "I am not asking for anything from you..." He winced then, realizing something important. "Actually. I do need to ask something of you."

[thedevilwhorose]

Idiots, the lot of them. If this was even a month ago he would've soaked it in and held the feather heartbeat for a rainy day. Now he's had far more people that should ever be possible put honest, irrational trust in him throughout the last few weeks and it's pointless. Jack isn't adding to that exact pile but his words about what's fair and trying to sound genuine almost comes off as hope.

To what end?

What's the point?

Every one of them know him and Jack is going to go south one day, so why bother?

He scowls. "What?" he bites out.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt has granted no thought to what may have gone on with the others back home. There was no room for his imagination to run amok. Even after Julie informed him of Josselyn Creed, Solvunn, the old gods, trackers. He absorbed the information, but he's not dealt with any of it. The details have simply sat in the corner of his mind, boxed, untouched.

Even now, he's only inched towards accepting he can finally rest. His mind has not caught up to the idea of being home. That he no longer needs to think about hunting his next meal, finding water, listening for what might be skittering nearby. Keeping an eye on Ciri. It isn't wholly foreign. He's often felt this way, returning from the desert or after a long hunt. Just not nearly to this extent.

He leans forward, shifting his weight as though he can somehow get comfortable. He can't. Every bone aches. ]

I had help. [ Ciri, then Julie. His mutations haven't hurt, either. Once he was free from that dark pit's magic, his wounds started to heal properly again. Most of them. The ones caused by the ritual are slow to recover—but even his arm, stitched and bandaged, is no longer festering.

Speaking of. He looks up. ] Ciri. Is she—?

ib - starting with this one for ME3 flashbacks

[thearchangel]

The only reason he's gotten this far was because he was following her lead. Like the final push on the Collectors, like the final assault on the Citadel - this is the last run. Everything put into this last effort. Vision doubled, energy frayed down to the bone, half of him little more than blood and ruin.

He's still following Shepard.

He would, even if he was dead on his feet. Literally dead. Instead of how he feels now, metaphorically dead. That's all that carries him through. Makes him stop when she does, to try and support - to throw his weight against the gross webbing thing blocking the way. Because she said people need to go.

He isn't "people". He is with her. And when his energy falters, he tries to motion her through instead.

[thedevilwhorose]

He was known as a master manipulator for a reason.

What an odd use of his skills.

"It'll be better for us to get him back to Nocwich for a proper doctor to look him over than anything we have with the Search group." They've got what's in their kits and whatever Jaskier is carrying, plus some form of healing from Hilda--as annoying as she is--but Nocwich is their best bet.

He closes the rest of the distant in a way that isn't going to get Kyle doing whatever blipped ability to retaliate and leans down to throw an arm across Kell's shoulders to draw him up and steady. It's not a hug. It's absolutely not a hug. He'll let him go when he thinks Kell won't wobble over again, which is an... interesting parallel to holding Rhy steady in Thorne. Except he had slammed Rhy into a wall first.

"Come on. Your guilt is going to attract a gryphon."

That's a lie. Or, at least, it's hopefully a lie.

He glances over to Kyle.

[cointosser]

Ease.

[Jaskier's hand is firm on his shoulder, in case Geralt gets some sudden ideas about where he should be, and where he should be going. The answer is simple: absolutely nowhere. Not, unless, Jaskier so wills it. He will ask Sten to commandeer all of Oleuni Square if he must.

Anything to keep this fucking Witcher still, so he may heal.

Though with his wakeful ness, Jaskier does have further places they could be. Limited. And the bard will accompany him, of course, because he doesn't need Geralt drowning in a tub after all of this.

However, he does need a wash. Not because of the stench (all right, that is a good portion of it), but because of the blood and the still-lingering wounds. For curing this... thing that he truly never grasped the entirety of. Perhaps not even a part of it.]

I thought you trusted me? [Jaskier smiles, none-too-gently scooping Mog off the bed to place him back on the floor, where he walks away haughtily as if it were all his idea. Truthfully, Jaskier should probably not have brought him, but on the return to Nocwich from the mountains he needed someone to keep him sane while his companions slept off their journey.] I returned with her first, safe and -- well, relatively sound. She is better off than you, to be sure.

[frontlinetitties]

I dunno...hard to say?

[Will it be almost instant? Will she be able to get out of the hospital straight away and back to some semblance of living her life? It's kind of what she's hoping for...never mind the niggling doubt at the back of her mind that it won't be so easy to bypass the psychological trauma of everything that just happened. This ordeal-- its been a lot. She's still trying to force it to the far edges of herself right now.]

Gotta ask though, seeing as you brought it up...you can feel you blood even when it's outside your body? Can you like...feel yourself inside me right now?

[Eyebrows, eyebrows. Her dodgy sense of humour, at least, remains in tact.]

[frontlinetitties]

[This is hardly her first rodeo of the grotesque. Even prior to coming here, there'd been murder and death and exposure to the horribly mutilated bodies of people she'd just begun to grow fond of. She's had to face up to her own near-helplessness before, her inability to prevent awful dreadful things from befalling people around her. Somehow it doesn't take the edge of, though. Perhaps she's worn down, pushed to the very edge of herself by weeks of deprivation and sickness and injury. Whatever the case, she can't quite ignore her free-bleeding sadness as she carries a corpse - slung over her shoulder, pitifully cold against her bare skin - to the spot Steve has pointed out. Lowers it with as much gentleness as she can on top of the one Steve has already placed there.]

So like, in terms of all around shitty situations that you've ever had the misfortune to get stuck in, how would you rate this? Let's say one is cake-walk, and ten is psychological trauma from which I shall never recover?

[Is it gauche to initiate a conversation like this right now? Is it crass beyond all reason? Maybe. But she's groping around blindly for some way to relieve the mental pressure, and making light of trauma is an in-built defence.]

[cryptsleeper]

Give it a moment or two.

[Oh, that question means that at least part of the blood is working. Alucard sighs, fond and absolutely not surprised that this is where the discussion has ended up. It'd be weirder if it didn't.]

Only if it's being carried in a container or the like for an extended period of time. I can't feel it moving in your system, for example. Not as fun an answer as you were angling for, I know.

[gynvael]

[ Slowly, Geralt nods. He wants to see her, but he imagines she must be sleeping or is being tended to if Jaskier has not brought him to her. He can visit later.

The restless energy occupying his head is outdone by the exhaustion of his body. His limbs are heavy. Objectively, he hasn't got many injuries. Some open sores, now bandaged. A few bruised ribs. The bone-deep gash down his forearm. But he's impossibly tired. Looking back, he isn't certain how he crawled off the ice, dragged a dozen people through the mountains with him, trekked up that fucking ridge. He can hardly recall the half-arsed map he scrawled for Jaskier afterwards.

He breathes in, face in his hands for a long moment. ] I tried to keep her safe.

[ Doesn't feel as though he succeeded. He brought her home, but the things she went through, she should not have. He was there, and—he couldn't stop it. Couldn't protect her from them. ]

[bealufull]

"As if it's the first time I've been tortured," Kaz mutters, rolling his eyes. It's easier to wear that armor now, even if he's trying not to withdraw completely. Yet making it nothing, minimalizing it is better than admitting how bad it is. Physically he's as healed as he's going go be, but the scars that run emotionally are something else entirely.

"The only thing I need that isn't in this room is answers."

His tones are harder then, hating that he knows right now they have very few and with the possibility of a new player in the game - or the one behind it all this time - he isn't sure they'll have them. Not yet anyways.

Despite the roughness of his words, Kaz hand comes to Jesper's cheek, brushing against the sharp line there tenderly. "Have you even slept? Eaten? I know Inej has hardly done both either," he notes, glancing sidelong at her. "It will do us little good if neither of you take care of yourself."

Ignore that he's done none of these things. That isn't important, right?

[frontlinetitties]

Al, come onnnnnn. Sometimes you're no fun at all.

[But her lips are crooked into a teasing smile, and already there's a brightness about her eyes that hadn't been there a few moments before, her skin less leeched of colour.

When she speaks, some of the exhausted rasp has bled out of her voice.]

Thanks, though.

[She says it abruptly, before she winds up losing the nerve to be vulnerable and honest.]

For bringing me the medicine. And for coming for me. It's...fuck.

[She falls silent a moment then, unsure of how to convey the breadth and depth of the gratitude she feels right now.]

[beloyaltome]

[Lenore's a little concerned at the specification that they're present physically, since it leaves open the possibility that they might be absent in other ways. But she lets it go. Aside from Gideon, she doesn't yet know any of Alucard's people--or many people at all outside of Thorne. If he isn't inclined to share, Lenore certainly isn't going to press for details.]

Yes. Physically, at least. Emotionally, it's been an ordeal. I know that I don't have much to complain about, relatively speaking. But ... as you know, my emotions have already been on shaky ground.

Here's... here's hoping to at least a few weeks of relative peace.

[ushiri]

With the acolyte secured, Kahlil watches the other pair. So long as Lucifer doesn't approach him, he doesn't seem to assume any violent intention.

"There are others back in Nocwich researching the ritual," Kahlil adds, confirming they have some idea about what was done to them - hopefully encouraging.

He says nothing about guilt-sensing gryphons, not wanting to test their luck. They still don't know what attracts the wraith creature.

Another glance at Kell, his expression softening.

"Rhy needs you too."

In one piece.

Recovery in Nocwich

[itookashot]

[ Jesper was part of the search team that met up with the escaped people, but they didn't exactly have much time to reconnect. The plan was to get them back to the portal as quickly as possible, especially with all of them looking a few steps away from the grave. He did check to make sure Sylvain and Claude were breathing and okay to get back. When coming back, he then made a pretty ridiculous scene out in the square and ended up on timeout.

So it is on the second day in Nocwich that Jesper is able to visit after licking his emotional wounds and being able to think again. He's not been thinking for weeks, only acting on impulses. He asks where Sylvain is and gets directions, knocking on the door before opening it and peeking his head in. Jesper's clothes are subdued in color and his coat was left in Kaz and Inej's room so he looks more casual. ]

Well you look fantastic.

[ He says with a faint smile. ]

Want some company?

[beloyaltome]

"Oh, the hot springs sound amazing right now," Lenore says, with a little groan. "We should go."

Hilda especially looks like she needs it, though Lenore certainly noticed the supplies she'd been carrying. "Can you take a break for a little while? I'm in need of a break myself, and some company would be greatly appreciated."

She knows how it feels, pushing herself so hard in order to help, especially since she wasn't taken, she hasn't suffered like the captives did. There's a little bit of survivor's guilt in that, but for the most part Lenore's willing to help a little less now that everyone's home safe and there are lots of hands able to assist those who were rescued. She exhausted herself in the rescue itself, when there weren't enough able hands and she'd gone back again and again to help drag people out of the ocean and onto the turtle's shell.

Nocwich, Infirmary

[magicalarchaeologist]

[ Istredd already knew that he was the lucky one in terms of physical injuries. The stabbing did get him very close to losing too much blood and infection, but they were saved just in time. It's more shocking he managed to survive the flooding considering that. He's still feeling stiff and aching, some bruises and cuts slower to heal than others, but he is up and about faster than most. And occasionally scolded for dragging himself around to check on others.

He doesn't regret it. They all survived the pit as best as they could, and made connections through trauma there. Castiel is one of the first people he looks for. In the back of his mind he seems to remember him jumping in the water from the turtle, but Istredd was in and out of consciousness then. They were pretty deep into madness at that point.

He is directed to the right place and knocks on the door, entering just in case Castiel isn't physically well enough to get up. They have only been healing for two days so no one is at their best. ]

Just checking in. How are you?