abraxaslogs | EVENT #16: THE ISLAND

Event #16 - The Island

OOC event plotting | wintertide event log

As requested, the Summoned from all three nations will be allowed to revisit the island where the abductions, experiments, and subsquent escape occurred nearly one year ago. Officials will send representatives on this trip: Jolene Sybell of Thorne, Reva Hym of the Free Cities, and Isar Hart of Solvunn. Although they won't be available for private conversations, they're there to lead the expedition and answer any questions you have.

The excursion will take place on DECEMBER 29, after the Singularity and all magic has returned to full strength. A portal will take you directly to the island, where you'll have 48 hours to accomplish what you need. Tents will be set up on the surface for resting.

For the main Wintertide Event Log, click HERE.

The Expedition

CW: Disturbing imagery (text and visual), death, folk and body horror, other dark themes.

At the start of December, officials will inform each Summoned Conclave that their request has been granted. You'll receive a letter detailing the date and time, as well as instructions on where to take the portal. When you step through the portal, you'll land directly on the island.

The expedition carries risks. Representatives have scouted the area beforehand to ensure its relative safety, but considering the cave's collapse and its flooded areas, they can't make promises. You're advised to bring personal weapons and protective equipment and are told to dress warmly. Be sure you can handle some hiking.

You'll see an unusual figure join the expedition. She'll introduce herself as Lorelai. If you're from Solvunn or were one of the Lost, you might recognize her.

◎ All characters are welcome to participate, including new arrivals. You do not need to have taken part in Event 12 to make this trip. However, if your character was not part of Event 12, they'll need to tell officials why they want to join. As long as the explanation is reasonable, such as wanting to help recover bodies, they'll be allowed to go.

◎ To learn more about Lorelai and interact with her, see the Investigations section.

Exploration

Island Surface

Above ground, the island is muddy and wet, and the temperature is cold. Where the ground hasn't turned to a bog, the dirt has hardened from frost. Trees show signs of the same blackened rot that was present during former investigations. The air is thick with a dark presence that leaves a strange grimy sensation over your skin. The more sensitive you are to magic or the Singularity, the stronger the feeling.

Desiccated corpses drained of life, both animal and human, litter the ground. Some animal carcasses - especially birds - are fresher than others, suggesting they died recently. Although many months have passed, it seems time has not been enough to help the island recover.

Follow the faction representatives. After a short trek, you reach the mouth of the cave. Here, a mangled mass of crushed bats and birds lay at the tunnel's mouth. A dried, bloodied residue sticks to the surrounding rock walls with bits of bone on the ground, as if a body was spread into a paste around the area.

Collapsed Cavern (Pit)

To descend into the cave, you'll need to navigate the tunnels. Some of them have collapsed, so be careful of potential rockslides and falling boulders. The worst of the blockage has been removed, but some areas still need you to clear the way by hauling off the rocks. Make sure you don't slip or fall - or worse, cause another collapse.

When you finally reach the pit deep beneath the earth, remnants of the horrors within confront you. The smell of death, rot, and unidentifiable herbs is overwhelming. Scattered at your feet are what's left of the blackened corn that some of you subsisted on. Fungal growths have sprouted in their place, pulsing and glowing.

The bulbous organic growths that once confined its captives have deflated into a gelatinous mass, its digestive fluids having eaten itself from the inside out. Dissolved corpses can be found still trapped under the mass, their skeletal remains rubbery to the touch. Other bodies appear to have succumbed to terrible lesions. Some were consumed so thoroughly that they became bizarre humanoid roots. Others still show signs of having been crushed under a massive beast.

Four disturbing statues are spread out across the area. The melted wax candles - now unlit - suggest they're shrines of some kind. All four shrines are severely damaged. The intestinal mace carried by one is curiously missing.

You might remember exactly what happened here or you can ask a Summoned who was there for details - if they're willing to talk about it.

Underwater

The western end of the island suddenly ends in a series of fresh jagged cliffs, so new that the erosion of water has yet to smooth the edges. A swirling whirlpool appears to have torn a large section of the island into the depths, washing away sins and secrets both...or most of them. Barnacles have formed on the rocky ledges. More disconcerting are the bloated bodies in various states of decay and mutilation that have risen to the surface.

You'll be able to help gather those remains or dive into the water to investigate what lies beneath. Officials - and the Summoned who were here - will be able to tell you that an altar once sat in this area where the terrible rituals took place.

Key Tasks

Hidden Threats

Two major threats have survived the island's collapse:

The bone serpent, a creature whose sharp-spiked legs grabbed many unfortunate victims from the pit. With a substantially decreased territory, the bone serpent has become more aggressive and territorial. It's missing one limb while its other legs show signs of damage or scarring. It attacks wildly, relying on its massive size and strength to overcome its opponents, and hides within the dark depths above. The only warning signs it leaves are the carcasses of its prey. It'll require multiple people to take it down.

The ceiling monster. Its claws and blood are corrosive, and removing its head will disturb the swollen sack on its neck to cause a similar explosion. Due to its ability to respawn when killed, the captive Summoned trapped the beast in a narrow tunnel. With the cave's collapse, it's now loose once more. You're advised to lure it into a trap designed by Free Cities scientists, where the creature can be set ablaze to prevent it from regenerating, ending its reign of terror for good.
Mages have set up a protective barrier to keep the creatures out, but it won't hold forever. Guttural screams and explosions of magic rumble the ground and air after each attempt to break through. You should act quickly to make sure the situation doesn't worsen.

For a general sense of timing, players can assume both threats are properly dispatched 24 hours into the excursion.

Uncovering Remains

Due to the haste of the rescue mission, exacerbated by the rapidly flooding cave, only the living could be extracted at the time. Now, you've returned for the dead. Many of the bodies are in a disturbing state as described above under Collapsed Covern - not just from decay but from something that appears to have been done to them before their deaths.

Few of the bodies can be easily identified and not all of them are on the ground, either. Some are up on the high ledges, which you can reach by climbing up using climbing rope that's provided. Scattered bones or limbs may need reconstruction or to be matched upon return. You can also recover small objects such as jewelry or other innocuous possessions that weren't taken from the captives.

Your task is to collect everything you can. Luckily, you won't need to handle the corpses themselves. Officials will send along attendants who will do the job for you to ensure everything is properly contained. You simply need to direct them to the area.

Purification

Each faction is focused on one of three hazards on the island. Thorne wants to dispel all traces of corrupted magic, Solvunn wishes to cleanse the destroyed shrines to ensure no other dangerous entities remain within, and the Free Cities aims to remove all contaminants. Formally, you're charged with helping your faction with their task, but no one will stop you from pitching in elsewhere.

This assignment will occur at the end of the expedition, once all investigations and exploration are completed.

Dispelling
Thorne will provide a pouch of small jelly-like orbs the size of marbles. The orbs are clear and pre-enchanted. Your job is to place them around the island where they'll begin absorbing unstable magicks. Once absorbed, the orbs will change into different colors. Collect and sort each orb by color. Additionally, you'll need to guard the orbs from curious or hungry critters on the island. Rodents, lizards, and palm-sized beetles may try to snatch what they believe is a tasty berry. Critters who consume a ball will explode into a gory splatter. It's not dangerous, but it can get a bit gooey, so you'll want to avoid bursting too many lizards or beetles.

Cleansing
Solvunn will ask you to perform a cleansing rite used for places of worship fallen under dark forces. You'll be given a pot containing a red substance and brushes made from twigs harvested from the island. You'll paint eye-shaped runes on and around the shrines to call upon the Cardinal God known as Misrklen, Patron of the Unstained. His presence is marked by a distinct fizz or hiss, followed by a popping that grows louder and louder. Solvunn's Elders will perform a chant until the ritual is complete and all of the red substance is absorbed into the ground.

Decontamination
The Free Cities has determined the most thorough way of removing hazards is to burn them. You'll be given a pistol-sized flamethrower and a thick gel to spread on each item to ensure the flames don't spread out of control. Once the gel is consumed, the fire will naturally go out. Main hazards to burn are the deflated organic bulbs, the rotted corn, any odd fungal growths, and parts belonging to defeated monsters. The flamethrowers are prone to overheating, so be sure to give it a few minutes to cool down every once in awhile. Otherwise, you might risk minor burns to your hands.

Investigations

As you explore the cave and its submerged sections, you might be interested in interacting with some of the things in your environment. In particular, the shrines, the mysterious woman named Lorelai, and the submerged altar stands out to you.

Characters can investigate or interact with any of the items provided in whatever way you want: poke it, smash it, try to talk to it or use your abilities on it (within reason!). We'll do our best to make sure every interaction yields something interesting.

See here and here for examples of how investigations and interactions work. The ones available on this log will play out on a smaller scale.

Shrines | Interact

The shrines, as described above, are situated around the pit. Stained with wax and blood, they no longer emit any strange energies or whispering voices. All of the magic contained within is now gone. You might recall that unlocking the shrines unleashed an enormous creature, causing the cave to collapse as it fled. It was last seen disappearing into the ocean, but where is it now? Your answer might lie in the shrines that once trapped it. Though broken and missing pieces, you can attempt to engage with each shrine such as relighting the candles, using magic you possess, or anything you can think of. You can also coordinate with others to test something on all four shrines at the same time.

Lorelai ('Hydnellia') | Interact

Originally called Hydnellia, Lorelai is a former Acolyte who, along with her brother, helped the Summoned escape. The Summoned agreed to let her and her brother return to the Tertiary Settlement where they live in their old home. She is the only non-Summoned survivor of Josselyn's ritual experiments. Lorelai has requested to join the trip to find closure and help recover bodies from her community. She is quiet and polite, and very grateful that she's been given the chance to make a new life. You can speak to her at any point.

The Altar | Interact

Beneath the water lies an altar that's now broken into pieces. To reach it, breathing enchantments will be provided that'll allow you to swim and see beneath the water, as well as protect you from any contaminants. You'll need to dive a distance down, but not too far - about 30 feet. Those held in the room during their captivity might recall a disfigured woman inside the mouth of the altar. What happened to her since is unknown. Perhaps you might try to find out?

A Decision

After the excursion has concluded, the Summoned will be sent home to their respective nations. Conclave representations can call a meeting to discuss the results of their investigations and what steps might be next. They can do this using any method they prefer, whether that be in-person, in the Horizon, or using the Network.

Most importantly, Summoned who were part of the abduction incident, as either the Lost or the Spared, will be asked to decide if they want to raze the island or restore it.

◎ Razing the island will strip it of all growth. This has the benefit of ensuring no corrupted creatures or flora can grow on it again, but will prevent nature from reclaiming it and will leave the area barren for many decades.

◎ Restoring the island will stimulate the regrowth of healthy vegetation and wildlife. This has the benefit of allowing the biome to flourish once more with nature, but may risk the growth of corrupted flora that needs to be removed every so often.

Officials will allow the Summoned affected by this incident to choose, including those who didn't return to the island. You'll be able to accompany officials to execute the decision made. Individuals in each faction can vote to support one of the two choices. The majority vote will be the decision that reflects the Summoned in that faction as a whole. Officials will implement the option with the support of 2 out of 3 factions.

Vote HERE by December 31 at 11:59 ET.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Claude takes a deep breath as he stands outside, and then it's into the cavern's depths once more through that foreboding cave entrance.

He's heard about the flamethrowers the Free Cities brought to make sure nothing harmful remains once they've finished their tasks, and for a fleeting moment it's tempting to ask to retrieve one and get started on that right now. There's parts of the Pit Claude could've done without ever seeing again, but. He's also not one to back down from those who need help, and the victims here who didn't make it out need it most.

As he tugs on the thick gloves he'd packed to make sure they're secure in place while casting a cursory glance around the pit to reacquaint himself with it through eyes which aren't feverish this time, his gaze falls on someone familiar. Giving a wide berth to one of the disintegrated pods, he offers Cal a nod in greeting as he approaches to see if they have the same retrieval mission in mind. ]

Careful if you touch those. We ended up in them upon arrival and the - [ with a point to the gelatinous mush on the ground where it's consumed itself, or so Claude assumes - ] was less than pleasant to have on you. I can't imagine it's improved any since then.

[ As far as dark, dank caverns go, this one has got to be one of the bleakest Cal's ever seen—and he's stumbled on rancor nests. And an oggdo lair. And whatever was going on in the Tomb of Kujet—

Here, the smell is oppressive. Death, rot—Cal is no stranger to it, nor to the sight of corpses and remains, though that doesn't make anything easier to bear. His plan, coming in, was to look around, see if he could turn up something useful or interesting—now, adding to that, he wants to make sure these bodies are put to rest properly.

They can't just be left here like this.

The problem he's contemplating now, however, is the matter of touching things. Though he has a great deal of control over his psychometry, traumatic memories can still overwhelm him—and, if he had to guess, this place is chock-full of traumatic memories.

And there's the... goo. Cal looks up when Claude speaks, the thoughtful line between his eyebrows smoothing over at the familiar face. ]

Hey, Claude. Funny, it doesn't look unpleasant at all. [ It's so, so sarcastic. But he sobers quickly. ]

So you were— [ How to put this? There's no good way. Finally, he lands on: ] —here before?

[ That response is exactly the right one in Claude's mind, and the quick grin he offers Cal hopefully says as much. It fades a little though in response to that question - a valid one, and one he doesn't mind when it's inevitable and part of being here and no longer avoiding addressing it as he has for much of the past year - and becomes devoid of much remaining humor. For all that Claude likes to treat things lightly or enjoys finding a way or two to keep things from becoming too serious (or both), it's hard to do that for too long in a small surrender to the atmosphere of heaviness hanging over them. For now, at least, since there's only so long he can be completely solemn. ]

I was.

[ That's the place to begin, to offer that confirmation for what else he'd offered by way of greeting. A few beats go by while Claude shifts his gaze to the goo before kneeling down to carefully brush some of it away. There's part of a root now revealed beneath it, though whether it's from one of the few trees growing down here or something else is yet to be seen.

Still, leaving that answer so short wasn't really his intent when it's not a door he means to close. Before he reaches in again to attempt moving the root to see what might happen, he looks to Cal again. ]

I can tell you whatever you might want to know about being here, and promise I don't mind if you ask. What all have you heard from others so far?

[ Another good starting point, probably, for what bleak things lie ahead. ]

[ Oh, good, someone with the same kind of sense of humor, even in a place as dank and depressing as this. He likes the cut of your jib, Claude.

As for what he's heard— ]

Not much. Just that a lot of you were kidnapped and kept here. Until you were rescued.

[ Understandably, it's a delicate subject for many people, especially the ones who were trapped down here. He can't blame anyone for wanting to avoid it—after all, he can be pretty avoidant too, which drives Greez and Merrin up the wall.

So he doesn't want to pry too much, even despite Claude's assurances that he's an unlocked datapad. That and, frankly, he isn't sure where to even start. When Claude brushes aside some of the goop, Cal moves over to watch, his brow furrowing at the unveiled root. The root of what? ]

How long were you down here?

That sounds about right. Some of us decided to take advantage of this place collapsing to escape though we ended up on a mountaintop in outright winter once we left. The rescues for all of us were timed just right.

[ The latter of which he'd only heard about later from those who remained as they were the reason they were able to even get out in the first place. While speaking he continues methodically uncovering the root a bit at a time. No verdict yet on where it's originated, but it gives him something to do while filling Cal in on more of what happened here. ]

We were down here about a couple weeks, I want to say, plus maybe another couple weeks before the rescues. It was probably somewhere around a month total of being kidnapped though parts of it are a blur.

[ The root reaches a junction down into the rocks, and Claude can't resist a sigh of relief when that almost certainly means it was something already here. Of course, sighing at all means some kind of explanation has to follow. ]

It was a cult who held us down here, and their goal was to... help us ascend based on their gods' instructions. We were supposedly special and meant to undergo the ritual they forced us through, some of which - [ with a tap of the back of a couple knuckles to the root in front of them - ] involved these sprouting, for lack of a better way to put it.

That long? Kriff.

[ He shakes his head a little—being trapped down here for that amount of time sounds like a nightmare to him. He looks around the pit again, as if to remind himself just how hellish this place looks, and imagines what must've been the harrowing experience of being held here for nearly a month.

It makes even more sense why nobody wants to revisit it.

That was going to be his next question—why?—but Claude is ahead of him there. Cal has run into a few cults in his travels, including, debatably, the Anchorites, and honestly, their reasoning checks out as far as cults usually go. Deranged, but expected. ]

Roots? [ He peers down at the one Claude indicated, visibly confused. ] What was that supposed to do?

[ The amount of time's questioning confirmation just gets a hum from Claude as he keeps his gaze on the root before brushing aside a few more of the smaller rocks to see where if it really does go anywhere else. It disappears again into the ground, so he looks to Cal once more. ]

There was a transformation element I think they were hoping for. We were given something - I'd have to ask others more knowledgeable as to what it was at this point - and it had varying effects. Most of the native Abraxans didn't survive, but the Summoned had all kinds of reactions. All of them were bad, but some of them were far worse than others.

[ To say the least. As some rocks are moved nearby he pauses until the clatter stops and glances further into the pit's dark depths in the meantime. ]

Your guess is as good as mine on the rest, though. Some of the acolytes who didn't express any remorse are still alive and imprisoned, but I don't think we'll get any answers from them. Not to mention their leader, who used to be someone pretty important in Solvunn, was executed for her part in this.

EVENT #16: THE ISLAND - IC INVESTIGATION LOG

— cal

so sorry for the delay, the holidays ate me alive 😭

no worries, i'm right there with you!!

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