PHASE I [ day one ] Now, hopefully you’re not the type who takes their sweet time waking up. You’ve once again been dumped into a random part of the jungle but there’s really no opportunity for you to relax. You’ll quickly find that you’ve been lumped into two groups: the Unlucky and the Extremely Unlucky.
For the Unlucky, you’re going to feel your equilibrium just about ready to go as soon as you open your eyes. You’ve barely been caught on the edge of a cliff, resting on the slope and the slightest movement could send you careening over the edge. Get it together, grab the edge before you end up with the others—
The Extremely Unlucky have been dumped unceremoniously right into a pit of quicksand. The more they struggle, the more they sink, and they can feel the thrum of energy in their veins of what appears to be the very ground itself welcoming them into its embrace. What’s that? You’re not ready to go yet? Well better hope that the Unlucky get it together in time to save you.
PHASE II [ day one ] Occidi still remains nowhere to be found, but those of the earth affiliation will find themselves imbued with a natural sense of direction and where to go. It’s as if the very ground beneath their feet has been marked with an unseen path and they automatically know to follow it in a certain direction. But where are they going? Who knows.
Those brave enough to follow will find themselves led to a hole in the wall – literally a giant carved out tunnel into the face of a cliff side. Just be careful, it’s rather dark inside. Anyone who wanders in will find themselves going up, down, apparently in spirals and it’s hard to say whether you’re below or above sea level anymore. Yet it’s hard to mind since the walls of the place are lined with beautiful, reflective crystals that gently emit their own light. It’s a natural wonder—
Up until you touch one of them anyway. Coming into contact with one of the crystals will lead to its intense amplification of the vibration. It shakes. It shakes and shakes and shakes violently and – what’s that sound? The sound of the tunnel collapsing behind you? Ah. Better run then.
Try to avoid any of the holes or unstable ground or cliffs. Who knew spelunking could be so dangerous?
PHASE III [ day two ] Occidi is finally seen again out in the forest and it’s made clear that the invisible path that the travelers were drawn to was meant to lead to her. She nods once in acknowledgment of your progress and then turns and continues to walk. She will not answer questions if called out to. It will not take long for it to sink in that the entire forest is quiet, there is nothing stirring in this part.
At least, until characters look too long as the trees. Then, it all begins to slowly come alive. The leaves shake gently as the trees wake up out of their slumber, their roots stretching gently out of the ground as they rouse, and the groan of their trunks as they move slowly in response to Occidi’s presence.
They do not answer questions, but they speak freely. They whisper, “All will return to Occidi” and “The Bridge has come back to us”. They inquire, “But where are your families?” and “What are you?” Yet they continue to muse to themselves, mumbling at passersby without answering their responding questions.
Walk quickly. Those who dawdle for too long, looking to make conversation with the trees or otherwise, will begin to suffer from hallucinations of seeing their families within the forest, gravely injured. The hallucinations stumble and grab onto each character, begging them, “Don’t leave me.”
And you really don't want to stay in that forest when night falls, or you probably won't ever come back out -- but there will be one more moving, whispering tree amongst the forest.
There are hints that there are people living here, but it is impossible to find them amongst the moving, writhing branches and ushering trees; you may catch a glimpse of wide eyes from a greenish face beneath leafy hair if you look, but they'll disappear quickly soon afterwards, protected by the trees. It seems they've heard about a little happening in the jungle and they're not all too willing to chat now.
PHASE IV [ day three ] Finally, finally Occidi will come to a stop deep in the forested areas. Here, there are buildings made out of tree branches, perfectly built so as to not harm the trees or their surroundings. It's clearly a central village area, though there are still no people to be found, and the village itself is a bit of a mess; with scraps of metal scattered around the clearing, and burn marks on the trees.
Occidi won't answer any questions as to that, merely saying “Mine once lived here. But look at what was done to the others…. Not even the help of others could salvage what happened here.” Her normally level and tempered voice carries a string of anger.
Without another word, she disappears, leaving all here in the area. There are heaps of sheet metal scattered amongst the debris. After enough digging, one will be found bearing the emblem of CERES.
On the other hand, poking around the village itself might yield something interesting; deeper into the jungle, in an old, building made next to a giant tree, there appears to be a shrine of some sort. There is nothing odd about that, of course. But the shrine is covered in what was once old blood, and there are crude knives stacked on the shelves around it.
But there's nobody here to answer any questions about that.
Welcome to your new home.
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Welcome to Cerealia's October event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last for the month of October, or IC 3/15 to 3/30. This log will last from 10/15 to 10/22 or IC 3/22 to 3/26. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here.
There are 36 characters with the element of earth.
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no subject
[ he's really, really tired of this "suddenly appearing in x situation" schtick, he has to say. Firstly, because it totally disrupts his daily life - and secondly, because it's always putting him in the middle of some kind of mortal danger. Case in point: one second ago, he was getting up and getting ready to make breakfast, and now, he's falling off the edge of some cliff. ]
What--?!
[ Zara barely has time to react, and, subsequently, barely has time to keep himself from falling off the cliff; he barely scrabbles onto the edge, and finds himself dangling quite perilously. Unfortunately, being a butler/doctor/rabbit doesn't exactly lend itself to much physical strength. He's trying very hard, but not having much success pulling himself all the way up. ]
Ngh... Is anyone there? Please...!
iii
[ though he's always had good ears, he's never been able to hear the forest so clearly. The dead silence gives way to whispering woods, and then, voices. If he hadn't already been here for so long and experienced far stranger, he'd think he was hallucinating.
Of course, that's exactly what he's doing. Family is all that's ever mattered to him, really, and though he's not family to her in the way he would like, the words of the woods strike fear about Fiona into his heart.
Which is why, when she suddenly comes stumbling out of the woods begging for his help, he's overcome more with absolute relief than surprise. He's been waiting for this - and worrying for this more than he thought possible. Zara is perfectly ready to embrace her and reassure her and comfort her and whatever else she might need of him. Anything at all. ]
It's all right - it's all right, Lady Fiona. I'm here now. You know I'll never leave you. Don't cry...
[ of course, what looks like a tender moment from his eyes looks more like a man crouching down with his arms around the air talking to absolutely nothing and possibly even tearing up. Someone please notice he's gone missing before he stays out here all night. ]
iv
[ Back to the ruins again. Zara won't say no to staying in them; they're waterproof, don't need to be built (for the most part), and will keep people relatively warm and safe. After that ordeal in the woods earlier - one that's shaken him up quite a bit - warm and safe sounds very nice. He walks through the village with a tired appearance, looking for a building that's mostly in one piece and can provide adequate cover.
Eventually, he does find one - a nice, big old building, shaded by a great tree. What could go wrong?
When he walks inside and sees old blood and weapons, he really wonders why he's surprised anymore, but his blood runs cold nonetheless. ]
W... What is this?
iv
It appears to be blood.
[ Pitch's tone is still dry as dust. ]
no subject
Yes, thank you for your input. [ Zara's sassiness is inversely proportional to his energy level. ] I meant this -- structure. An altar...?
no subject
A blood sacrifice of some kind. Used to be all the rage. Mortals thought the gods of their choice liked them better for it.
no subject
... Are you familiar with such things?
*\*@_ I am forever the tagging snail
Something like that.
[ Pitch just smiled his secret smile. ]
The real question is why it bothers you so much?
you're faster than me i guarantee
[ secret smiles don't make him feel better, either, but it won't do him any good to suspect his fellow abductees. More likely than not, this man was in the same situation that he is. He's probably just from an unfamiliar culture. Or something. Yeah. ]
no subject
More like wasteful - this looks very old, you see.
[ Removing one grey hand, he gets very, very close without actual contact. ]
no subject
[ his ears cock in a curious gesture. ]
It certainly doesn't seem to have helped those who lived here previously.
no subject
[ You're getting sideeyes, here, Zara. Because clearly you are now the weird one here. Blood sacrifices may have been common, but they were single use. . ]
I mean, look. No one's been along to freshen it up in a bit.
no subject
The same could be said of the entire village. Something unpleasant happened here; I doubt they left voluntarily. Perhaps this is a remnant of that and not a sacrifice at all.
iii
The naginata is a little concerned though, when he sees the small
er than himrabbit, alone in the woods, talking to no one and embracing nothing.]Are you okay?
[he asks, quieter than Iwatooshi's usual volume. Delusions or not, the moment conveys tenderness. He approaches carefully, getting down on his knee to meet eye level.]
no subject
Ah -- yes, for the moment. As you can see, the young lady is rather distraught at the moment, [ he answers somewhat haltingly, clearing his throat. With all the emotions he's feeling from this reunion, he doesn't really seem like he knows how to face a near-stranger. ] But she'll be fine. I'd like to bring her to camp soon.
no subject
Still, it can't be good for Zara to be prone in the dangerous jungle like this.]
Do you... need any help?
[he asks cautiously, not wanting to break this moment for Zara. After all, it can be hard to let the ones you love go. He figures he will have to question him about it soon, though.]
no subject
His hand pats her back reassuringly as he speaks. Really, she's awfully scared - he feels terrible. ]
Perhaps some water, if you have any with you...?