EVENT #23: CROSSROADS - IC LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #23 - Crossroads

OOC Event Log

For the past few weeks, you've been stranded in a foreign territory or have had others stranded with you. Officials have assured everyone that the situation is temporary. They've been working hard to secure negotiations that would return everyone home...if that's what you want, of course. For anybody who wishes to stay in their new territory, authorities have promised that this is entirely possible. No one will be forced to go back if they don't want to.

The letter that arrives in the second week of February will say as much. It'll also emphasize that you must go to the exchange and that every Summoned has to be accounted for, or else the exchange may fall through. Even if you don't plan on returning - or you were never sent somewhere else to begin with - you'll still have to come.

The meeting will be held on neutral ground near the Singularity's now expanded crater but at a safe enough distance away. On FEBRUARY 18, portals will open to take you there.

While we will detail the incident leading up to characters fleeing, the majority of the event will be focused on characters surviving in their respective scenarios.

Remember: once you've chosen a SCENARIO for your character, they'll be rescued by the minor territory assigned to that scenario and will stay in that territory for the duration of March.

At the Exchange

The air of late winter is crisp even in the barren landscape around the crater. The Singularity stands tall and silent to the natives, but the Summoned will feel an electricity in the air. It might be magic seeping out from the cracked ground or it might be the tension that weaves the three mightiest nations closer together. The last time all three met here was for the Peace Summit three years ago. Now they meet again on the brink of war.

The territories have assured you that they anticipate everything to go smoothly. As you arrive, there is an attempt to cultivate a friendly atmosphere: Thorne has brought warm fur cloaks for anyone accidentally in the Free Cities who may be without, the Free Cities steps forward to announce compensation for any Summoned who were employed and could not attend to their job or business under the circumstances, and Solvunn declares it will be hosting an evening feast once all the Summoned have been returned to their rightful places. You even see Thornean mages and Free Cities officials chatting diplomatically, if superficially.

But as the exchange gets underway, the atmosphere begins to shift...and suddenly, nothing is as it seems.

Chaos Erupts

As a Summoned, you feel an electricity in the air. It might be magic seeping out from the cracked ground or it might be the tension that weaves the three mightiest nations.

Stillness falls across the gathering as each side waits for the other to make the first offering. An introduction that necessitates negotiation.

It never comes.

A flash from the north blinds you. Thunder drowns out all sound. The sharp scent of practiced magic rises into the air. Gunfire cracks in response. As explosions erupt around you, the facsimile of diplomacy tears like wet paper. Shouts are barely audible as soldiers, guards, and village elders rush forward.

You find yourself pulled between forces. Are they trying to hurt you, save you, or something else? A Thornean guard pushes you to the side. You can't tell if you were deliberately shoved into the line of fire or if it was an accident in the chaos. Someone else grabs you: a hooded Elder bearing the symbols of the Old Gods and urging you to come with them to safety. They can protect you from these dangerous nations, the Elder insists. The Gods have spoken.

As mayhem bleeds into the ground, the crater begins to shift and grow, reaching out to feed. The earth trembles. The soldiers, guards, and Elders notice too late as the crater expands far quicker than anyone could expect. It shatters stone, uproots trees, and swallows whole the natives who cannot withstand its powerful energy. They disintegrate in front of your eyes. Others cry out warnings and begin to flee - but they can't outrun the Singularity.

You are different. If you are one of the older Summoned, you'll remember being able to enter the Singularity's crater. In the past, it's dragged you into the Horizon...but not this time. Instead, you feel lulled by the crater's encroaching borders. You wonder if your best chance at surviving is to step into the crater where no native of Abraxas can reach you. Some of you might run toward it as a result of this conclusion. But, you may also have your doubts. If you try to flee with the rest, you'll find that you, too, cannot outrun the Singularity. As its reach extends across the entire swathe of neutral territory, you are inevitably sucked into its embrace and flung into a whirlwind.

On the Run

As you are teleported through a whirling vortex, you glimpse flashes of your domain in the Horizon. Indeed, for a few moments, it appears as though the domain itself has emerged and is now in the real world with you. Then you blink, and the sight vanishes, leaving you discombobulated.

Once you've gathered your wits, you realize you're nowhere near the original exchange site. If you attempt to use your powers, the effects are unintended: your fire spell causes rain to fall instead, or perhaps you accidentally summon a broomstick instead of your sword. It might last for a couple of hours or it might last for longer. The more powerful the ability, the longer it seems to take for it to start working correctly.

Regardless, you'll need to find each other somehow. Luckily, the Network is still working, so you can communicate with one another at a distance.

Northern Mountains

Though spring is on its way, the mountains are a tundra. Temperatures are frosty, but not as icy as they would've been a month ago. Maybe you've brought some warm clothes with you or the others have a spare cloak they've packed. You might've even brought a snack or some warming potions. Anything will help as you gather your bearings and try to determine where to go next.

If you were unlucky enough to have been one of the victims of Josselyn Creed's cult, you may recognize these ridges. Of course, everything rather looks the same when it's snowy and full of trees, but it's certainly possible to discern that you've been in these mountains before.

Characters in this scenario will go to NOCWICH.

Threats

◎ Revenant

A hoarfrost revenant has lived on these peaks for centuries. 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 announce his coming. His touch brings instant death, made clear by the frozen carcasses of animals left in his path.

With your arrival, he is now prowling in search of you...but if you encountered him before on these mountains, you'll notice that something's different this time: he does not attack. Instead, he will stand and watch - and if you, too, watch him for too long, you'll begin to grow warm. You'll then subsequently be overcome with the urge to remove your stifling layers of clothing despite the plummeting temperatures. Best hope someone not under his sway snaps you out of it.

◎ Whiteout

In the morning, you might be eager to get moving again. Perhaps you've been assigned foraging duties or you need to search for more firewood. As you leave your makeshift shelter, you realize the wind is whipping. Soon, a thick blizzard swirls around you, blanketing your surroundings in white. In the distance, you hear eerie howls...and you're not sure where you are anymore.

Be careful you don't trip and fall. With some concentration, you should still be able to find your way back home with the limited visibility...or, you might get lucky and somebody will come to your aid.

Resources

Though the mountains are dangerous, they also have what you need - if you know where to look. Snow hares can be hunted for food and any rations you might've had on your person can be shared among each other. Thick evergreen branches can be used for roofing. Alternatively, you can hunker down in a cave instead.

Most significantly, you can trek to an abandoned cabin containing some prechopped firewood that you can take, as well as an iron pot hanging over the cold hearth. Don't linger in the cabin too long, however. The more you stay, the more it feels like something is watching you. In the shadows, you spot two red eyes flickering in and out. You can't tell what this strange creature is, nor will it stop you from retrieving the few things you need, but eventually, the cabin's door will slowly open on its own, sending a clear message: it's time to leave.

Living Forest

Contrary to its name, the Living Forest is filled with seemingly dead trees. Like the Duskwoods, not much light penetrates, casting your surroundings in a dark gloom. Unlike the Duskwoods, it contains no giant mushrooms. Instead, the ground itself is covered in a thick moss, making every step you take feel as though you're walking upon a layer of marshmallows. Hidden in the moss itself are small vipers waiting to strike, each bite containing a venom that numbs the affected limb for several hours. Hazards are made all the more difficult to see due to the lack of light. While not pitch-black, the forest is gloomy and shrouded in a dark haze.

Those who've been to the Feywilds might not recognize where they are at first, but as you travel, you might notice something familiar: bright green and blue pear-shaped cocoons. Dozens of them hang from branches above you and will soon give birth to the aggressive spindled pear moths. As you study them, they begin to twitch, as if close to hatching. Maybe you shouldn't stay in this area too long...

Characters in this scenario will go to THE FEYWILDS.

Threats

◎ Strange Travelers

As you explore the murky woods, some of the trees shift oddly. You realize they aren't trees at all. Instead, they are figures on stilts, wandering in an endless circle. They do not speak. They are utterly silent.

One of them is holding a human-like infant. The child is also silent. While they won't actively threaten you, they have defended their territory with blinking mines stuck to trees and laid along the ground. The smooth steel and oddly modern lights imply a technology that far exceeds what should exist in Abraxas. Further, the mines don't seem to be powered by any magic at all.

Walk too close to a mine and you'll set it off, releasing a gas that knocks you unconscious. When you wake up, you'll have been dumped someplace far from where you were and must reorient yourself - if you can. Your belongings are untouched and you have no injuries beyond a few bruises or scrapes. It seems these Travelers aren't seeking to harm anyone unnecessarily, but they clearly want to be left alone.

◎ Flytraps

Massive Venus flytrap plants are one of the few plants that appear to flourish in these forests. The plant is difficult to spot in the dim light. Its vines will lash your ankles and trip you, then drag you toward its gaping maw. Its mouth is lined with sharp teeth and a corrosive spit that will burn your skin, eventually dissolving you into a paste. They're most prone to attack if you're carrying something that smells tasty: rations, freshly hunted meat, or foraged mushrooms.

Fortunately, the plants aren't too difficult to kill. A burst of magic or a few slashes from a sharp blade will release you. Still, in a situation such as this, even a twisted ankle or an infected cut could make a difference in your survival. Try to avoid the plants where possible.

Resources

As you explore the Living Forest, you might stumble across an abandoned garden that hasn't been harvested and is in full bloom as if it's spring. A variety of vegetables such as carrots, onions, and cabbages can be found, as well as some herbs for wounds and potions. The area shimmers with Seelie Magic. When you examine the crops closer, you realize that some of the garden is beginning to wilt and rot as the magic fades before your very eyes. A sign of what lies in the Feywilds, it would seem that all things Fey have left this realm altogether, leaving behind only remnants of their diminishing spells.

You can freely harvest the garden. None of the crops appear to be dangerous and the garden looks truly abandoned. However, you'll need to work quickly. The magic won't last until sunrise, so take what you can - you won't have the opportunity to return. Of course, don't overburden yourself, either, or attract predators with what you're carrying.

Open Ocean

Your arrival in the ocean will be more of a shock than the others as you splash into the water. Curiously, though it's still winter, the water isn't as cold as you might expect. It's almost unnaturally warm. As you struggle to stay afloat, the current begins to push you toward something floating in the distance: a large raft covered in moss. It resembles a small land mass, floating in the open sea, with a small curve like a hill or a hump...or the shell of a turtle.

It's possible a few of your fellow Summoned have already found refuge atop the creature's back or you might be among the first. Regardless, you'll want to help search for the others...and the island itself appears to be searching with you. Summoned who have been around a while might remember the Sea Giants who have come to your aid more than once. This may be yet another friendly Sea Giant - not quite the turtle some of you previously met, but perhaps a relative or a friend.

While the creature will try its best to keep you afloat, stormy winds and tall waves will still violently rock the living raft and may sweep away those who aren't careful. Make sure you hang on tight to the vines growing along the surface.

Characters in this scenario will go to THE NETHER.

Threats

◎ Leviathan Attack

Though leviathans are a predictable threat in the ocean, it doesn't make them any less dangerous. Appearing in all shapes and sizes, the one that rises from the water in the dead of night is difficult to discern: you glimpse massive teeth and glowing yellow eyes that, from a distance, resembles the blinking signal of a lighthouse. The leviathan will attack the creature who serves as your raft, who will struggle to defend itself.

You can help in any manner you wish. Attacking the leviathan or casting wards will aid the friendly turtle. While the leviathan is not easy to deter, it can be driven away if faced with enough aggression and will eventually leave in search of easier prey. Don't lose anyone overboard. Any Summoned who falls into the water while the leviathan is attacking will be swallowed up. Avoid its thrashing tail spikes, too.

◎ Aggressive Seabirds

More of a nuisance than a threat, seabirds are a constant menace, squawking day and night and attempting to steal rations, clothes, and other supplies that might be left unattended on the raft. These birds are quick and massive, swooping in and disappearing in an instant. They won't attack without provocation, but anyone trying to take back their belongings will find themselves assaulted by beating wings and sharp talons.

You can chase them off with rocks, sharp objects, or small spells. Supplies can also be warded, but with many people's magic working oddly, the wards might not last as long as they should or may backfire if struck too often by the birds. It may be a good idea to touch up the wards or assign someone to guard your things the old-fashioned way.

Resources

After a rough night, you'll awaken to discover that your raft has brought you to a small island. It's unclear where this island is from or whether anyone has ever mapped it, but nonetheless, the island exists. More importantly, it contains crabs and mussels that can be dug up. You can also find, inexplicably, some coconuts. Possibly bespelled by a Thornean mage who washed ashore in the past, these coconut trees have continued to flourish for decades, if not centuries.

You won't be able to spend long on the island. As the tide rises, more and more of the island begins to disappear. Soon, the water will swallow it up altogether and you'll be forced to board the creature's back again with your findings. Don't get greedy. If you linger too long, your efforts might be washed away with the tide.

Rescue

As your resources dwindle and your situation grows more dire, a glimmer will shine in the distance. You peer at it, curious and, perhaps, a bit anxious. Is it another threat? Is it a rescue? Or is it something else altogether?

Please wait for the WRAP-UP before proceeding to write your character being rescued. Full details will be provided on the Wrap-Up that will help inform what your character will be doing in March, including which NPCs your character will be seeing and the exact manner in which your character will be rescued.

---

Comments

jaskier | from solvunn to the feywilds

[cointosser]

[closed] for geralt

[cointosser]

[Later, and for years to come, Jaskier thinks, he will blame this whole situation on his mind being preoccupied by the Solvunn elder, the memory of his wrinkled hands and panicked face, as he tried to lead Jaskier to safety. It seemed his intention, at least.

Right before he turned into nothing but smoke and memory, half a second before Jaskier was pushed into the crater.

He won't forget that face. That expression. Jaskier had spent all of his time in Solvunn with unchecked suspicion, but in a panicked moment, where magic was cracking the air and weapons were firing, one of the Solvunnites had attempted to save him.

The forest is nearly the opposite of Brokilon in every way possible. Devoid of life beyond the most pissed off snakes he's ever encountered, and if Mog hadn't leapt upon the one that almost bit through Jaskier's boot, he may have as well been dead. While Mog munches upon his newly hunted prey, Jaskier sits on a dead stump and runs his fingers through his hair. His magic still sparks at the tip of his fingers, but here? Something about this place makes him afraid to reach for until -- at least until he's on the bring of starvation, dying for a drink of water.

There's some envy for Mog. The little bastard can just eat a venomous snake and be fine.

The forest puts a heavy challenge whether a man can talk himself into insanity, considering though Jaskier is alone (besides the gryphon in his bag), he's alone. At some point, his feet are too sore to keep going, so Jaskier sets his lute down and leans against a tree trunk --

It moves.

He screams, a burst of magic coming out of his hand. Reaching for his vines, the vines that have protected him, that have done so so many times before. And they come, but they wrap around his ankles, jerking him back as the tree trunk -- no, no tree, but stilts -- step away, and Jaskier, in his panic, feels himself transform. Wings, feather, tiny clawed feet -- small enough to escape the vines' hold and flutter backwards, right onto a round metal disk that his claws click on. He sees the red light before darkness swallows him with a shrill sandpiper shriek.

Perhaps to most passing, it's a sight that can mostly be ignored: elsewhere in the forest is a fainted bird, laying on its back, with a toy gryphon curled up around it, a paw on the bird's tail like he means to eat him eventually. The only thing out of place is the lute, still in its case, nearby, sinking into mud.]

[gynvael]

[ Geralt is making an attempt to find Jaskier, but he is utterly unfamiliar with these woods. They are not the Duskwoods, though they bear some faint resemblance and a hum of magic that tells him they must be near the Feywilds. A danger in and of itself. And of course, Jaskier is of no help with navigation, meaning Geralt is left to simply...

Walk. To find his friend. Who he has explicitly told not to go wandering about and already knows his advice will not be heeded.

At least he can trust Ciri will be all right. Yen, too. This is one of those situations where he finds his concern lies with the bard more than it does with his daughter, if only because, unlike Ciri, he has not trained Jaskier to hunt and track through all manner of terrain. He sniffs the air, but cannot catch the scent of his friend through the thick damp moss. What he can smell is the more pungent odour of a small beast. Mog.

Hm.

He lifts the underbrush, ducking beneath it. Another few miles, he sees it: the feathered gryphon with his equally feathery master. He peers at the bird. Its tiny heartbeat is steady. Geralt crouches down and gently prods the sandpiper with a finger. ]

Jaskier.

[cointosser]

[Jaskier wakes into a foggy world, where his eyes are slits that can barely focus and his whole being is like one large, beating bruise, following the rhythm of his heart with its waves of soreness. Not outright pain, but soreness, like he's been rubbed raw after weeks on a horse, but the horse was stomping him into the mud.

He hears his names, and attempts to sit up like a man. However, he doesn't remember not being a man when he fainted, and the movements the sandpiper makes are incongruous and awkward, stumbling on his tiny clawed feet, attempting to catch himself on a wing before Geralt's hand stops him from falling into the mud.

He chirps in answer.

I'm alive, you lug, but not all the better for it! is what the chirp says, but it manages to sound indignant enough. He finally opens his beady eyes to see Mog staring at him, pupils wide, like he does before he pounces upon a rabbit.

Another squawk, and Jaskier flaps hurriedly to land on Geralt's hand.] You found me. Thank the fucking gods. I think Mog was about to start turning me into his next raw bone. [The little sandpiper loafs on his palm, unable to stay standing as he gathers his bearing.] You're still alone?

[gynvael]

[ He scoops up his miniature friend. Relief settles over him when Jaskier answers. Seems something must've knocked the bard unconscious, though he can't see what that could have been. And when he examines the little bird, it does not seem to bear any visible injuries. Had Jaskier flown into a tree?

Possible.

Geralt stands up with the sandpiper still in his palm. Then he bends down and scoops up Mog, too, tucking him under one arm. ]

Mm-hm. Ciri and Yen are all right. [ He simply hasn't located them yet, and has instructed them not to stray too far until he can track them down. ] These woods, do they remind you of someplace?

[ The Feywilds, is what he's thinking. The dark canopy of trees...those venomously bright cocoons. That is a concern. He can survive in any wilderness, but from everything he has learnt of the Fey, they do not like strangers encroaching on their territory, and he is not entirely certain they will be allowed to explain themselves. ]

[closed] alucard

[cointosser]

[Jaskier has done his share of fucking wandering around this godsforsaken forest, mostly spending his time avoiding snakes (awful) and making sure Mog doesn't run off too far and get himself hurt (which, thankfully, the old boy's trained enough he doesn't wander, doesn't chase anything cracking twigs nearby, and it's as much of a coward as he used to be). He hefts his lute up a little higher, stopping by the truck of a tree with some sort of... green cocoon hanging above his head.

With Alucard's presence, it's much less stressful. Suffice to say when he ran into the dhampir, he was pelted with a relieved embrace and a kiss on the cheek. Jaskier can keep himself alive if living is the only necessary skill needed, rather than fending off some giant... thing. That wants to kill him.

And in a forest like this? There must be something.

But now he's peering at a cocoon, pondering.] Don't these look familiar? [In drawing on his memories, Jaskier is not paying attention to the cluster of broad ferns nearby. Why would he? They're in a bloody forest, and he has control of plants (mostly). But this cocoon?

He's trying to recall where he's seen it before, unaware of the vine snaking towards his boot.] Aren't these those bloody moths? The poisonous ones? Please tell me I'm wrong.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard had immediately buried his face into Jaskier's shoulder upon reunion. He did tear up and there was no shame (and okay, some amount of amusement) in using his friend's coat as a towel to dry them up. It was far too long apart. Alucard had a lot of emotions. He was entitlted.

He doesn't like the fog. Alucard had hoped they could find the strange fae garden he had located with Thancred. Jaskier's magic was perfectly suited to some kind of restoration, but--

--his eyes go to the cocoon. Alucard squints, frowning.]

I think you're right. Better to step awa- [Shit. Alucard's eye catches movement.]

Julian, your left foot. Move it. Quickly.

[cointosser]

[Absolutely no shame in the moment, especially when Jaskier was unsure, at first, if this forest was even real. It didn't feel like his, of course, but the Horizon has been less trustworthy than he'd like, and ever since he was a god, things sort of melded together --]

Why are you saying it like that?

[Jaskier's first instinct is to talk in most circumstances, unfortunately. But he does catch hold of his current thoughts and steps back -- mostly a hop backwards -- as a vine begins reaching for the place his boot had been nary a second ago.]

Oh, no. [He stumbles back and runs into Alucard's side, plucking up Mog off the ground, who gives a startled noise.] Ooooh, no. I'm getting a bad feeling. A terrible one, actually, like we've walked into the proverbial hornets' nest.

[He should've known this fucking forest was evil. Look at it!]

[cryptsleeper]

Your feeling is doubtlessly correct.

[Alucard trusts Jaskier's assessment of the situation implicitly. They're not in a good space physically, and Alucard knows he's underarmed. He reaches for the sad little dagger he acquired in Thorne to defend himself in case of an emergency, but it isn't a sword. It isn't what they need right now. They need distance between them and whatever plant based nonsense is about to happen.

He moves so that his back is pressed to Jaskier's, refusing to allow for any surprises.]

How's your magic?

[cointosser]

I hate being right.

[No, actually, he loves being right, but it seems as of late what he's been right about is Things Going Poorly, and it keeps happening, and it's all very frustrating because it's also never Yennefer who sees him being Right, because she's so convinced he's always wrong.

He's not thinking of Yennefer now (mostly. It would be lovely for her to burn this horrid forest to the ground.)]

I haven't been -- this place isn't right. [He's stating the obvious.] Right, doing, not talking --

[Jaskier reaches out, both with his hands and with his magic, and grabs hold of the vine. Taking control, contorting it so it begins to roll up and slide back to where it came from.

The forest seems to take a breath and hold it, where even the birds grow quiet. Jaskier's heart does the opposite. That is not a good sign.

The vine doesn't so much break out of his hold, as it slides back to its base, slithering across the ground like a snake going backwards. However, it is this bulbous, oversized host plant it returns to, which slowly begins to turn their way -- and bloom, into five petals that are, bizarrely and horribly, lined with what can only be described as --]

Teeth. Those are teeth.

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard knows that Jaskier's declaration is an absolute lie. The man loves being right. He could write an entire series of songs about being right and how good it feels. But that thought and what kind of a concert that would be like is far from Alucard's mind, because there are much more important things to focus on.

Namely the fact that the forest is too quiet and the vine is moving wrong. So very wrong, because--

--Oh good, the flowers have teeth. Of course they do, why would anything be easy here?

Out of instinct, the dhampir moves with the tiny dagger he has drawn out, immediately putting himself between the plant and the bard.]

They are. Let me distract the toothy part while you get a few steps ahead and out of range?

[Alucard's tone is far too casual, treating this as given.]