« 002 ⇢ event001.exe »

[reparator]

Who: Everyone ever.
When: 09/14-09/30 (ooc)
Where: Within ViViD/Entertainment District
What: Hardcore gaming.
Rating/Warning: PG-13

//event001.EXE It's my party and I'll tank if I want to! ( Dates: 09/14 to 09/30 ) Welcome, new players, and old, alike. So, remember getting into the lovely little test drive that you found some new friends in? We hope you've been helping some of them out, it's good to make friends. But! Our lovely scientists have been hard at work, and they've finally released a proper, completed stage to help you all along into the world of Tellus. Or just messed that up too. Unfortunately for most people, with the release of the beta version of this new level of ViViD, the new arrivals will also be shoved right in (with all their received items in a special pouch they can transport out of the game with them) and have to be helped out until they can get to a logout portal, or risk being stuck in there for a while! Yes, friends, YOU will have to go into the game and help the newcomers get out, or risk certain dragony death. On the 14th of September, signs and advertisements will start flashing for those in-game already. Welcome to the world of Cadmus, a vaguely Greek-inspired fantasy-based land, covered in dragons, and we thank those who played in our beta stage. Players, you have done well- but the three guardian dragons (Ismen, Colchi and Nemeus) are still at large, and we need your assistance bringing them down! The adventure is within ViViD, and you'll bring their scales to the Queen, who needs them to survive. Unfortunately, everyone can carry only one scale each because once a group defeats them, the dragons' bodies will vanish, but until this period of the game, they will keep reviving until the queen is healthy enough to help silence them for good. Do not fear, though! The land itself is filled with several mountains, waterfalls, and large castles/castle towns, a beautiful sight to see. Technology is very sparse inside, however, and players will be relying on their own abilities to carry out the mission to completion. Oh, and there may be people who need rescuing... can you get to them in time? And the compulsion to participate will be strong. So, players, will you and your team be able to rescue the poor folk stuck in there , and defeat the dragons, and get the scales to rescue the queen? Well. Time will tell, of course! The situation is simple: For New Arrivals: ✩ New players will be part of the group of folk needing rescuing and escape. New players WON'T leave the game after their arrival briefing, and end up in this little glitch of a system. Those that weren't in the test drive will end up here post-arrival briefing! ✩ Once a character already in the game reaches a newcomer, an escape portal will open up instantly on a point on the map. Both parties can log out from there and enter the colony, or they can band together to keep playing. Note that once they find the portal (they may have to fight some enemies to get to it, but they'll have a map!) they can log in and log out normally. ✩ New Arrivals can escape/log out once they join a party with another newcomer as well if someone in-game hasn't found them, and find an escape portal which will appear in random, dangerous locations where they may have to fight enemies. They'll level up and their options to log out will appear when they find the portal (and they'll be led to it with a map!) But only if they join up with another newcomer! (this info will be revealed to them once they're in the vicinity of another new arrival) ✩ If your newly-arrived character goes solo, well... they'd better be ready to fight a dragon to escape, because that will be the only way they'll get out. If they reach GAME OVER through death, they'll wake up in CERES' Hospital and be inactive for a day. You can log in and log out as many times as needed, and once a group of players has defeated all three dragons, they won't have to fight them again nor will they be compelled to join the game once more (but they can log in and help others who haven't defeated them yet!) For Players Already In The Game: ✩ Compulsion to play will be high, and soon, you'll know why! ✩ Remember the details you have as well. There will be people who appear to look like people your characters know, and the virus will make them act erratically and attack your own. Be wary and be swift! ✩ Helping the new arrivals will allow them to log out easily, much more easily than they would going solo or with another newcomer. Your characters will get information on-screen telling them this, and it'll be nice to follow! ✩ Players already in-game can log in and out any time. During this period of time, the dragons will respawn to fight those who haven't defeated them yet. Getting those scales to the queen is important, so make sure you get through to them! Side Quests : Knights in Seed Buns ( Dates: 09/14 to 09/21 ) Remember those Knight Burgers? Yeah, hah hah ha... players who ate them during Cerealia Welcome Barbecue will be experiencing certain interesting side-effects that can only be fixed by either getting to the hospital- or performing a side quest in the Cadmus Event, to look for the Tree of Asclepius.. This will be pointed on the north of the map, guarded by the Priestess who was in the beta stage. She will however, be different and may attack those who try to steal- she will be more hesitant to let people delegated to fight for their friends take the fruit, but she'll give in once you fight her protector, The Talon. Don't worry, he's harmless... and will participate in a duel to defeat and kill him (he'll respawn after) to hand the fruit to the player from the tree. Players who don't delegate, and are feeling the ill effects and complete the mission while making it to the tree themselves will bypass the battle. This information will all appear on-screen! This side-quest can be played on this log, with newcomers and old players alike! Also feel free to make your own logs through the week for the non-game parts!

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] You're logged in, you have your objective. Your character is exploring the world of Cadmus, meeting friends and enemies alike. The NPCs are kind enough, providing directions. There are even a few minor enemies to battle as you gear up to handle the big bosses. For the new arrivals, they will be waking up immersed in the game straight from being pulled from the nexus code. They won't know they're in a game for the most part, not until the peculiarities start to pile up. Hurry up and start asking questions. Team up where you can and get the hell out as fast as you can. PHASE II [ xxxx ] While immersed and exploring the terrain, familiar faces start to appear, those from your world that you've been thinking of, missing, obsessing over. They seem sweet and cheery enough, a smile on their face as they spit out generic information. At first, it's strange, but then you start to notice their tone becoming more and more hostile. Within moments, your weapon is in their hand, and they're attacking without warning, looking for the fastest way to send you into the dreaded game over by forcing you to fight against your own move set. These corrupted NPCs will continue to appear all over for the next few weeks, the result of a digital virus infecting the game, so beware of sudden death. PHASE III [ xxxx ] The dragons are waiting for you to pluck scales off them, looking harmless enough. You think they're cute and cuddly and might go in for a bit of a petting. Then suddenly, they'll reveal their true forms to you, face delightfully splitting open to show off a black hole of teeth, teeth, and nothing but teeth. It's your choice whether you want to take them on or wet yourself a little, but they'll be coming after you regardless. PHASE IV [ xxxx ] For those suffering from the horrid Knight Burgers, the end of the road is the Tree of Asclepius Quest. Look above for further information. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Congratulations! You've won, and now, your character is able to log out successfully. With great success comes great prizes. As your character remains seated and hooked up to then ViViD console, they'll be approached by a robotic stripper of either sex. Yes, your prize (for completing, other prizes will come up later) is a CERES-sponsored lap dance, complete with a stripper scantily dressed in fabric stamped with the CERES logo on it. Within the nexus code, a delightful tune was recovered to accompany the scintillating gyrations of said stripper. You are now the Drake to their Nikki Minaj. Run while you can. [ You can choose to set your threads in the game or before/after if you'd like. Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ]

//ETC.EXE ✩ Make your own top-level posts on any dates or a range of dates, and plunge into adventure! Open them up to newcomers or all, and post some starters to get going! You can post as many as you want, anywhere and all. ✩ Once dragons are defeated for a player and their party, they won't have to fight them again. They'll respawn for the duration of the event, but they'll be considered defeated by them unless they join a party where a group of players hasn't defeated them. ✩ Players already in the game can log in/log out at their leisure. Players newly arrived to the game will only be able to do so once they've found a portal, after which, they'll be able to log in and out as the others. ✩ At the end of the event, the Queen will be revived and she will destroy the dragon spawn core, freeing everyone from the compulsion of playing. ✩ Credits and Prizes will be rewarded at the end of the gaming period. We'll put up an OOC post then, and ask for whoever feels they accomplished the mission to reply. ✩ Defeat of the dragons if your character managed them all can be handwaved, however, if your character is physically incapable of doing so, please do not say that they did just to get the credits and prizes (15,000 credits per dragon for all players in the party!). ✩ All participants, whether they accomplished the missions or not, will get prizes, so go on and slay some dragons! Also, remember our NPCs? They'll show up at random to help and assist those that need it. If an NPC's help is urgently required, please put in a thread titled "Open to NPCs" and set it at the city center fountain within the game, and they will show up there to reply! ... and Ceres Inc would like to apologize for this glitch in gaming for the New Arrivals, and hope you will continue to help their research.

Comments

[unjustify]

[CYNBEL YOU ARE A SHIT. Luckily Naoi wasn't paying quite enough attention to be able to tell that no, the rock came from the opposite direction, so he'll just accept that as a decent enough explanation for the time being... This is why he's triple dead, because he sometimes forgets that dying outside of the afterlife is A Legit Issue and focuses on other things accordingly...

Once he's close enough, he'll slow to a walk again, crouching down to keep out of the tiny cute dragon's sight.]

Doesn't that dragon know who it's kicking up rocks at? [A NERD IN A HAT. He's so very indignant. Also apparently still somewhat distracted?! He's not really focused on either Cynbel or the dragon, anyway.]

[changeably]

[BETTER THAN GETTING CAUGHT. He doesn't want to end up stuck in one of Naoi's neighbor traps, okay??

But he still feels a little bit bad for getting Naoi hurt, even if he doesn't entirely blame himself, so he lifts a hand towards the spot where he thinks it hit to see if it's bleeding. With Naoi crouching, it's easier to him to reach, too.]

Oh, if it did, I'm not sure it would have cared. It is an awfully rude thing, after all.

[It won't lay down and faint when told to, which is just the most rude thing ever, in Cynbel's opinion.]

[unjustify]

[IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME...

That said, Naoi doesn't seem to be bleeding! Maybe idiots have thicker skin than most. It's definitely scuffed, though, and he gives Cynbel's outstretched hand a vaguely concerned look, like maybe this guy likes poking bruises. He apparently doesn't feel concerned enough to try stopping him, though.]

Hah! Rude things can come in small packages. [Says a rude thing in a small package.] —But that's it, right? One of those dragons that we're supposed to get a scale from?

[Now he's starting to focus a little, and he's looking somewhat serious. He's a gamer, okay, he knows how this fake-out cute boss crap goes. That tiny monstrosity can probably blow up half a planet...]

[changeably]

[DON'T LAUGH, DON'T LAUGH. Cynbel manages to keep it together with only little smirk, despite Naoi's hilariously hypocritical comment. He doesn't even poke the bruise, despite it seeming like a funny idea, just brushes to see if his fingers come away clean. Luckily, they do.]

I believe it is, though it's rather small, for such a prized creature...

[He drops his arm, looking over at the dragon. He's never played a game like this before, but he sure does know by now that nothing in this fake world is as it seems.]

Do you suppose it can breathe fire, or something? It's too small to be much of a fight, otherwise.

[unjustify]

[Rude... Cynbel falls in that category too okay NAOI ISN'T ALONE. But he'll be satisfied with the injury check since no poking or prodding is involved, keeping his attention on the dragon, too.]

Something like that. I don't know if it would be as cliched as fire-breathing, but small bosses are always the ones that end up taking hours and hours to beat. Maybe it has high healing stats or speed rankings? There definitely has to be something making it worth the items it drops!

[Don't mind him as he just casually dips into bizarre descriptors like he's suddenly picked up another language. At least it shouldn't be too difficult to discern what he's rambling about...]

[changeably]

[YES, BUT THAT'S WHY IT'S HYPOCRITICAL. Either way, whatever the do have in common, Cynbel's having a hard time seeing it right now. As Naoi speaks, he tries to pay attention, but he just ends up squinting and frowning in confusion.]

Items? I thought we only needed to get a scale, not its treasure.

[You've totally lost him, Naoi. He knows certain rules of what a dragon is supposed to be, and that is not it. And how can a dragon be a boss when they're solitary??]

Anyway, you mean it won't be easy, don't you? We'll need a proper plan, in that case.

[unjustify]

[WELL that's a good way of condensing what he's said, at least! Good job, friend, you've somehow managed to decode Naoi.]

Basically! It means that we shouldn't underestimate this thing even if it seems like it would be really easy to beat, since it probably has some stupid secret hidden attack that will blast us right to the hospital.

[he doesn't know that for sure yet BUT IT SEEMS PRETTY LEGIT TO HIM.]

[changeably]

[It helps to be able to speak "selfish, round-about speaker" sometimes.]

I wonder if there's a way to get it to use such an attack, without us being the targets? We can hardly plan around it if we haven't even seen it, after all!

[He would really rather not be roasted or shish kebabed changeling, thanks.]

[unjustify]

[They speak the same language...]

Hm... We could try setting up a fake target or something like that. Maybe if we throw some rocks of our own in a different direction, they'll think there's a threat over there.

[changeably]

[Sad but true... There are multiple dinguses of this kind around here.]

Perhaps if we made a scarecrow of some sort, too, it would give it something to attack. That would make it easier to see what we're up against!

[He likes the way you think, Naoi.]

[unjustify]

[THE AVOIDANCE TACTICS: excellent for small nerds who would otherwise be completely mauled by big giant dragons.]

That might take a little too much time, unless you have some straws or sacks and sticks just lying around. [But he's already sort of scouring the area for some rocks, at least. He's got a set of bow and arrows on his back too that he'll definitely use if push comes to shove, but he'd prefer to save them for an actual threat rather than a distraction.]

Oh—! Actually, I see some sticks over there.

[changeably]

[They are tiny, soft-bellied mages in this land of knights and big swords. 8(]

Well, I do have a spare scarf. All of that together should be enough to fool the dragon for a few seconds, at least!

[Which he proceeds to pull out of his bag as he moves towards the sticks. Where the hell did he get that?? It probably came out of an NPC's pocket or something, just don't tell anyone.]

[unjustify]

[THEY ARE... but at least they're resourceful!! Look at them, making a scarecrow with nothing but branches and stolen goods.]

That should be fine! Here— [AND LO he will break off a string from his stupid high fantasy shirt that he's surely wearing, proceeding to tie together two sticks so that they make a sort of person-ish cross shape. It's...

WELL IT'S GONNA HAVE TO DO, basically.]

We can just stick it into the ground and then throw the rocks in that direction so that it'll be easier to notice.

[changeably]

[CLOSE ENOUGH. They'll just have to hope the dragon tracks by movement more than sight. Good job, tiny mage duo.

Cynbel takes the sort-of-scarecrow and sticks it into the ground, making sure it won't fall over. It wobbles when he puts the scarf around the top as a makeshift head, but it manages to stay up.]

Yes, that's sure to get its attention! Let's just make certain we're nowhere near this spot when we do, and it ought to work perfectly.

[He nods, smiling and letting a few of his sharp teeth show through by accident.]

[unjustify]

[THEY'RE BOTH GONNA BE SUPERMURDERED BY A DRAGON IF NOT...

But Naoi will just stand back after making sure the thing doesn't come toppling down, arms crossed over his chest and looking quite pleased with their combined dumb handiwork.]

Good! [A quick glance over is enough for him to catch those bizarrely sharp teeth, but Naoi's seen a lot of freakish things in his time as a citizen of the afterlife. He'll ask about it later, probably, but it's not like Cynbel's appearance isn't weird on a whole...]

To the other side, then.

[AND AWAAAY. He'll pick up a few hefty-sized rocks as he goes.]

I'M SORRY THIS IS LATE...

[changeably]

[Wow, he is totally normal looking for a freaky fairy! But the teeth slip back behind his lips as Naoi turns away and starts to pick up rocks. Cynbel follows his lead, grabbing a few of his own and moving fast.]

How good is your throwing arm? We can't be so far away that the rocks don't go where we need them to, so perhaps settling halfway around would be best.

[And hey, at least Cynbel has a plan B in case of attempted death by dragon, even if he isn't telling Naoi about it just yet.]

NO WORRIES LOKI u are golden

[unjustify]

[YEAH... THE FREAKY FAIRY PART IS KEY THERE. But good job team they are definitely making progress here.]

I have a good throwing arm, so you don't need to worry about that! But halfway would be good enough, probably.

["Probably"... He sure is relatively cavalier about potential death by dragon. When they do reach the halfway point, he'll stop.]

This should be fine, right?

<33

[changeably]

It seems just fine to me! I think I can reach the scarecrow from here.

[He laughs, pretty carefree considering the fact that they're going to deliberately piss off a giant monster lizard. They're a terribly perfect match on that front.]

Shall we start?

[He lifts a rock, definitely smirking now, getting ready to go before Naoi even gets a chance to answer. He's feeling pretty confident, after all their ~super careful~ planning. There's no possible way they can lose now!!]

[unjustify]

[THEY'RE GONNA DIE...

But at least they'll die being relatively sure of themselves?? Or something... Either way, Naoi doesn't need more of a heads up than that because he's flinging his rock as soon as Cynbel says 'start'...]

There we go—!

[AND AWAY IT SAILS... Naoi actually has very good aim and a strong arm despite his appearance, so his own rock does end up landing in the same general area as their scarecrow. Looks like they may need something bigger though, since it wasn't quite large enough to cause a huge rustle in the bushes and the dragon still seems undisturbed...]

[changeably]

[Cynbel's rock is thrown soon after, but it doesn't do much better. It's way too light to do much but rustle a few bits of grass, and even a tiny dragon like this is ignoring them. He makes an disappointed, clucking noise with his tongue, then he looks back to Naoi.]

That was quieter than I expected.

[But how to make Dragon-senpai notice them?? He tosses a rock up and down in his hand, thinking.]

Perhaps if we throw them at the same time, it will make more noise?

[unjustify]

[Nodding thoughtfully at that, he shifts where he stands a little and looks around for a second rock...]

Maybe some bigger ones, too. ...Or if we just get one really big one and throw it together?

[BOULDER-TOSSING.]

[changeably]

[Cynbel hums to himself, considering that. It doesn't sound like a bad idea, so why not?]

We might as well try all of it, until we find what works!

[Precision?? No, screw that. MORE FIREPOWER.]

[unjustify]

[MORE FIREPOWER IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER. So says Naoi, anyway...]

All right! Help me look for something big to throw, then. [And he will immediately start scouting the area!! Luckily their target dragon is a lazy one or they'd probably be making enough ruckus to draw it over just by being morons...]

[changeably]

[Maybe it's sleeping and can't be bothered to get out of bed for this. NEET dragon...]

It can't be too big, if we're going to throw it. Smaller than our heads, at least!

[But he starts to look around anyway, because he agreed to this already and isn't going to be a stick in the mud.]

[unjustify]

We could probably both throw something the size of our heads if we're both throwing it, right? That should be fine...

[He kind of trails off, muttering to himself as he searches through the underbrush like a nerd. Eventually he comes across a fairly hefty-sized rock, probably a little bigger than his head, but he apparently deems that as good enough and POINTS.]

There! That!