EVENT #16: THE ISLAND - IC INVESTIGATION LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #16 - The Island

OOC event plotting | wintertide event log

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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.

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Comments

[magicalarchaeologist]

It's a tense situation but Istredd is quietly pleased to see how Wilhelm's grasped power over his magic far better than he used to. It's not taking over the space, it's not out of his control. The boy has come a long way. It is just reflecting the fire in his soul though, triggered by what they are experiencing. He was there when Wilhelm was struggling with being possessed by the infection that spread through them.

It's why he doesn't react to the angry response, although he rarely loses his own temper regardless. He wouldn't with Wilhelm or any of his students. All he feels is sympathy.

"I used the machine. It was very cathartic to burn them to ashes." Istredd doubts they'll get the full catharsis they want in this situation, but it still felt good, to aim his anger somewhere. He doesn't know if it was a good idea to encourage Wilhelm back here, but Lucifer seemed very certain.

"Being back here ...." Istredd sighs, which turns out to be a mistake as it means he had to suck in more breath of this place than he really wants to. "It's even more clear how much of a miracle it was that we survived."

[ordinar]

Istredd's comment knocks something loose inside of him, something that has been teetering there ever since he began the descent into the cavern. The recognition that he really scraped by within inches of death shudders through him. This is harder to grasp than his anger, which channels into flames so readily. Harder to name, too, something like gratitude hinged to grief in the way light and shadow are inseparable. His expression shifts, his anger sagging.

Wilhelm isn't sure what he's looking for down here, other than an end. A grave in which to bury all these feelings and memories weighing him down.

"I need something else to burn," he replies after a moment.

His gaze hasn't left the fire, which now he recalls to his hand.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd has a tendency to get distance and seem overly calm and controlled, and he's done the same since getting here. He's been distant and focused, at least on the outside, but internally he's fared not much better than Wilhelm himself, or anyone else. Saying that about their surprise survival is giving some glimpse into his own struggle. He truly did almost die here, after the others escaped, wounded and infected, his breath becoming more struggled by the hour.

They were all more resilient than they probably expected, to survive this. The fact they all did is a miracle, as he said. But all the bodies around them speaks to how few others were lucky; they'd just been here longer.

"The vines are off the ground. Not as damp." They are on the walls instead, and they seem deceptively simple right now, but Istredd and Wilhelm are well-aware that they were alive and strangled people in here. He got caught himself once, but rescued, early on. They definitely should be taken care of.

[ordinar]

Clutching the flame like a weapon, he stalks off in search of the closest vertical slab of rock. There had been a time when the fire burning in his hand, under his skin, out of control, terrified him. Then he learned a much deeper terror: complete helplessness as death stretched its jaws around him. As his mind and body decayed and people dropped like rotted fruit.

The ground is rockier now than it was back then, studded with the debris of the half-collapsed ceiling. Wilhelm stumbles as he picks his way over to the clump of vines he spies ahead, but his fire never wavers. When he stands before the vines, he reaches out and transfers the flame. Seething, he pushes it up the network of vines. Pushes it bigger, until it looks like the rock itself is ablaze. And when he runs out of vines to devour in flame, he burns words instead.

"Fuck you!" he yells, as if the ones he's cussing out can hear him. "Fuck your stupid mushrooms and your stupid gods!"

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd follows Wilhelm and yes, it's to support him and look out for him, but also it's good for Istredd too. Wilhelm is better at letting out his feelings and seeing someone else deal with them is probably good for him to see. Rather than going entirely cold about it. On a secondary level, it's impressive to see how far the boy's come with his control. Now Wilhelm is seeing what controlling the flame can feel like.

Istredd is at hand if the flames get out of Wilhelm's power, but it doesn't happen. He's mastering them. Inwardly, his pride makes this moment a little better than it would have been. He's grim as Wilhelm swears at people who are not dead, although Istredd fully feels they should be. They were outvoted on that, something he's never been happy about, but had to accept. He thinks if the vote was left entirely to people who survived the Pit, it would have gone a different way.

"And the experiments, the altars. Fuck them for that too." His tone may be lower, but it isn't any less angry. He is angry, very angry. "Fuck them for starving us, for putting us in here with monsters." It's illogical! They wanted them to be alive for the rituals, why would they torture them more? Take any chances with their lives? He hates when things don't make sense. "Fuck them for forcing us to make impossible decisions." The escape killed people. Those lives were partly their responsibility.

[ordinar]

He remembers screaming up at the night sky with August after Erik died, pouring out all of his grief and anger, his anxiety and frustration in a wordless rush. It didn't bring his brother back. It didn't take away his new title and all the heavy expectations hanging on it. But for a brief moment, it emptied him — like a fire burning through all the refuse that chokes a forest.

This is a lot like that. As the vines fall away in burning streaks, and smoke needles his eyes, and Istredd hurls his own quiet rage into the fire, Wilhelm feels a weight begin to shift, to slide. (This is the first time, he thinks, he's ever heard his teacher say fuck.)

"Fuck you for treating us like we were—" He struggles for the right word, pushing his palms forward to keep the flames steady even as the mass of vines withers. "Just tools for you to use and throw out! Like our lives didn't fucking matter!"

More of the vines fall, embers scattering as they strike the rock below. His hands shake. His eyes sting.

"Fuck you! Everyone who died down here mattered! Everyone you killed fucking mattered!"

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd's never allowed himself an outlet. It may be his temperament doesn't permit it or he's been trained from childhood to be in control. Mages kill themselves by burning through Chaos, they don't have the option to simply let their power go free. It would kill him, even now, if he tried to do that with his Chaos. But he appreciates it in other people and he does have a temper, when things rub him the wrong way.

The anger he feels for the cultists is on a whole new level. As it should be. But he's feeling it now too, seeing Wilhelm's pain, remembering what the boy went through. How he had to try and stop him from giving into the shrine and cultists, how they brainwashed him. It wasn't enough to starve them and force them to live in constant fear. It was the various types of torture that stays.

Istredd swears much less than the other people from his sphere but he does when it's to underline a point. And seriously, fuck those guys. All the way to hell and back. He approaches Wilhelm as he burns it out of himself and can see when the power turns to pain. He puts a hand on his back, a gentle display of comfort.

"Fuck you for ruining our idea of safety, for making us turn against each other when we were all we had." The illnesses and hallucinations didn't help them keep sane. None of them were fully sane. "And for us still not being fucking over it."

Months later and this is what's really getting to him. He wanted to come here and prove he was fine, but he's not. That's infuriating.

[ordinar]

"And fuck you for...for messing with my head and making me think it was my brother telling me all that crazy shit!"

Of all the wounds he'd borne in those dark, tangled weeks, this one might cut the deepest. His love for his brother is the most steady thing he knows, a north star when everything else fails him. When he started hearing Erik's voice, seeing his hazy image in the dark, he was sure it had to be a sign that he was pointing in the right direction. To have that love twisted into a weapon aimed at himself was an unbearable betrayal.

The fire burns brighter as tears spill down his face.

"Fuck you for this whole fucking mess!"

It's liberating, in a way, to hear that Istredd is not okay either. To know that he is not the only one still carrying this place and all its shadows with him. With the weight of Istredd's hand on his shoulder, Wilhelm watches the last vine wither to ash.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd remembers talking to Wilhelm when he was delirious and trying to convince him it wasn't his brother, and it was terribly cruel that it happened. They haven't spoken about it since because Istredd respects people's privacy and he prefers letting people come to him. But that is more and more seeming like not the best strategy either, when sometimes a gentle nudge is appropriate.

Like now.

"Wilhelm, come here." A year ago, he'd never do this, but it isn't a year ago. Istredd takes the boy by the arm and gently tugs toward him, pulling Wilhelm into a hug if he allows it. He did the same for Kell earlier and it does help him feel better too, when he's adrift and alone. None of them have been very healthy about this situation, so perhaps now is the time they can walk away in a better mindset. There is nothing wrong with needing someone else to hold onto. He isn't concerned about Wilhelm's fire, he trusts his control over it or that he can put it out if he accepts the embrace.

"We're alive. We survived all the things that were done to us."

[ordinar]

Just when his words break down into shapeless screams, all rage and grief and hurt in their rawest forms, Istredd pulls him into his embrace. He doesn't realize it until the moment he buries his face in the mage's shoulder and wraps his arms around him, but this is exactly what he needs. To have someone encompass him, and remind him that he's alive, and he's safe, and this place can't hurt him anymore.

Behind him, his fire still burns without him. With his fingers curled in Istredd's coat, and his shoulders shaking, he sobs against him. For everyone who suffered down here, for everyone who died down here. For his brother, for himself.

[magicalarchaeologist]

There was a time once, when he was young, when he had bad nights, fearful nights, and he wished Stregobor was the type of person to offer comfort. Or any of his teachers. That simply wasn't the way though. They weren't raising children, they were training mages. There is no reason he needs to follow that path and show no comfort for the students and youths in his life. It's the opposite. They get what he didn't.

Istredd wraps his arms around Wilhelm and holds him. He's a large man so it is easy for him to encompass anyone. He lets him cry as much as he wants, rubbing his back soothingly as he does. "We're alive. We didn't die down here, it's over." His voice is in its most gentle tone. "You're not alone, Wilhelm."

Perhaps it was for the best he came after all. While Istredd would want to protect him, shield him, from this place, Lucifer was probably right. Facing it was going to get it out of his system more cathartically.