epidemiology | EVENT ★ OSKA BURNING

The scene that greets you after the mist of world hopping fades isn’t a pretty one. You may remember Oska from your first, brief trip here — it was a stately, serene place, a grand castle usually wreathed in low lying clouds or gently sunny. Not so today. The damage done to Chantes by the demons and chimeras pales in comparison to what has been done to Oska.

Only one tower of the formerly impressive castle stands upright, the others have been knocked down and torn to rubble, some of which is still smoldering or in flickering flames. Most of the castle has been flattened, entire rooms torn apart and laid to waste. No exterior wall is without gaping holes, as if some army and their immense battering ram had needed a whole collection of entrances to storm this castle. Nothing is untouched, and worst of all, the underground larder seems to have been completely buried in a fall of rocks from the kitchen’s exterior wall. Even if you were able to dig it up, it’s dubious much of the food is unspoiled or intact.

If there is any up side to all of this destruction, it’s that no bodies can be found amid the mess, human or otherwise. Even the livestock are missing. Personal effects can be dug out of the ruins, and it seems very clear that this castle was populated until recently. There remains not one soul to tell what happened, though.

Well, almost not one soul.

The network that usually connects the jewelry is completely nonfunctional. Attempting to access it only brings up one static message, repeating for as long as you care to listen to it:

Something [ SHHKT ] --rrible has happ-- [ The message cuts out frequently, replaced with static. ] The-- [ shhhhhhkt ] came, they destroyed everything and n--

[ The static fades slightly. ]

We’re trapped. You’re on your own. But please, we ne-- [ shhkt ] your help. They’re still here. There’s worse to come. But when you [ SHKT ] --ind them, you can’t kill them. They need to be questioned. We mus-- [ shhhhkt ] know their motivations.

Some of the new recruits… they’re in the dungeons. You need to he-- [ shkt ] them, please. They can still be saved.

SURVIVAL

The dungeons are, of course, the only part of the castle left intact enough to present a challenge to escape. Some newcomers will find themselves lost in a labyrinth of cell-lined corridors, able to wander for hours before stumbling across any hint of daylight. How that’s even possible with most of the castle destroyed is anyone’s guess. Other newcomers might even be locked into the cells, with keys left nearby but just out of reach — or not. Better hope some sort of escape artist happens across you, if you’re one of those unlucky arrivals.

Food isn’t going to be easy to come across. You might try digging out the larder, but not much food can be salvaged from it. Are you going to put in the work to dig up a single shelf of intact loaves of bread, a cold roast chicken locked in a wood stove, and one barrel of apples? Maybe you try scavenging in the small, abandoned village outside the castle. This will uncover some food, but not much. Most of the food out there is either rotted through or missing entirely. You might find enough to last one person two days on your own, but who knows how long you’ll need it to last?

Wherever you find your food, if you find your food, rationing is highly recommended. Water isn’t so simple to find, either. There is a lake not far outside the castle walls, but the water in it tastes rancid, a sign to any right-thinking person that it’s no good to drink. Anyone brave or stupid enough to push through the taste and drink it anyway will find there aren’t actually any adverse effects, but is it worth the risk? Water can otherwise be found in very small amounts, collected by rainfall in buckets, on indented stones, in mislaid pots. It won’t be much, but if you search diligently it’s enough to keep you going.

Shelter will be a little easier to find… at least, at first. No one is using any of the beds in the village, they’re free to pick from as long as you don’t mind the eerie silence. If your character is particularly awful at scavenging, please see the end of this post.

HELL WEEK

Survival aside, that still leaves the question: just what did happen here? Characters are welcome to dig through the ruins for hints at what fate may have befallen Oska. We have provided a thread here to sign up to find belongings or other little signs of life, and try to piece together the picture. But what about that culprit, mentioned in the broadcast? Some characters will be able to stumble across very, very specific clues — riddles and puzzles, purposefully laid to guide the finders toward… something. Who knows what lies at the end of this oddly deliberate trail? You can sign up to find and solve the puzzles here.

Day one in Oska is easy enough to survive, an almost peaceful acclimation to the dismal scene. Things get a little bit tougher from there, though.

On day two the ground begins to shake. It’s just little tremors at first, easy to miss if you’re not standing still. But by mid morning they’re large quakes, enough to break some structures further. The quakes continue through the night and into day three, when they are large and severe enough to throw someone off their feet, tear apart a house, and even open wide chasms in the ground. They come with unpredictable frequency, anything between five minutes to three hours, but they definitely come more closely together as time passes. The village is safer at this point, without quite so many stones to shift and crush you, although those chasms are still a concern.

Come the evening of day three, the quakes stop entirely. A soft rainfall begins to patter down instead — still thirsty? Now is your chance to find some battered coffee tin and gather your drink. The rainfall continues steadily overnight, and by the morning of the fourth day it is a torrential downpour. It never lets up, not even once, and soon the water is more than the ground can handle. Flooding begins at this point, just a few inches deep in some places, more formidable in others. This also lasts for two days, and by the end of the fifth day in Oska most of the village is washed out. You’ll have better luck among the sturdy stones of the castle. Remember that still-standing castle tower? It’s not exactly the most structurally sound thing, but it is definitely out of the water.

The water stops very suddenly at sundown on the fifth day, affording a pretty peaceful, clear night. Come dawn of the sixth day, however, heavy clouds move to obscure the sunrise. They seem to flame around the edges in the light of it, and then in the middles. That’s clearly not sunlight lighting up those clouds by this point. The clouds flash from within as they build more and more heavily, but no lightning has ever been that flickering golden color. At midmorning the first drops begin to fall: not rain this time, but liquid fire. By noon the firestorm is at full strength. It swings between sheets of fire pelting down, and clearing up only to pelt down great fireballs. The rain-drenched village and castle can only fend off the rain for so long. Eventually the water evaporates and anything that can burn will burn. Time your ventures out into the weather very carefully, because the firefall never lets up for long, and that’s the kind of downpour you don’t want to be caught in.

OOC INFO

Is your character awful at survival? Can’t scavenge to save their life, completely out of food and water and about to expire? Wherever they fall asleep, they’ll wake up with a small, inexplicable wrapped bundle left next to their head. Within will be a half an apple, a single leg of chicken, and a very small canteen of water.

~~This log will last for one week, and there will be new information available on the 17th~~. As per our informal poll, this log will last ICly for one week, and OOCly for two. There will be new information available on the 24th. What the setting will be from here will depend on characters' ability to work together to catch whoever is responsible for these events.

You can sign up to find hints about the people who lived here and what may have happened to them here, and puzzles left by the perpetrator leading to the discovery of them on this post. Please direct any questions here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She's surprised to see an actual living creature here after all the desolation, but maybe that's why it seems like a kind of sign to follow it. Besides, animals have much better instincts for finding good places to take shelter in, so she runs after it, hoping it will lead her to cover.

Although it's probably running back to Julius specifically...]

[Yup....it makes some strange rodent noises while running away from danger. Julius knows it's coming his way and it looks like it's got friends.]

Alisha, I apologize if the capybara near you caused trouble. I'll take full responsibility.

[He seems to think capy's up to no good. Julius is staring at it with steel eyes.]

Julius! [She's a little surprised to see him, but a friendly face is better than nothing right now.] No, it wasn't any trouble at all. Actually, I was hoping it would lead me to shelter... Is the capybara your pet, by any chance?

In some ways, yes. In other ways no.

[Just say yes damn it. Julius is reluctant to admit it actually. It's not his to begin with--it just belongs to his squad. He'll take care of it for now if that's what ALASTAIR wants. It seems pretty unfair to leave a capybara out there to fend for itself in these harsh conditions at any rate.]

I'm not its original owner in case you were wondering.

[Sort of yes and sort of no... Yeah that's kind of a confusing answer tbh!! (Besides, it's cute, why wouldn't you want it to be your pet, Julius.) She tries to figure out what he means by that.]

Then... You're taking care of it for someone else?

Correct. The military was taking care of it before me.

[He says so simply.]

Ciel normally fed it and the other soldiers spent a great deal of time making sure it grows properly. I don't have the faintest idea of how to raise a pet.

[Julius will try though. ALISHA HELP??]

[She nods, understanding. That makes a lot more sense then! She gets not having the time or knowledge for taking care of a pet.]

I admit that I know little when it comes to caring for a pet as well, but if you'd like, I could try to help you with it. It sounds like it's used to being cared for by multiple people already, at least.

Perhaps that would be for the best. I would like to request your aid.

[The capybara runs up to Alisha and makes some strange noises. It's like it's howling into the distance.]

[At least it's not a wolf in mouse clothing.]

Oh! Hello there... [She greets it tentatively, kneeling down and hesitantly trying to pet its head. How do you do this tbh.... IT'S CUTE BUT THERE'S A REASON SHE STICKS TO FAWNING.] Does it have a name? I suppose it wouldn't be proper to offer my aid without even knowing its name.

Capy.

It's name is capy. [As if Julius knew what it's name was before...he just made that up now. He sounds so confident that you really wouldn't figure.]

Capy. [She repeats it, waiting for the creature to respond. Julius said it so confidently, so of course she has no reason to doubt!!

... Until the capybara doesn't react in the slightest to its name.]

[The capybara shakes its head furiously and charges at Alisha! Like it's offended. Too bad it's slow enough that Julius manages to stop it midway.]

Calm yourself.

[He's so bad at this.]

[KIND OF ALARMED TBH it's not like she couldn't get out of the way or anything but man... This is going to be even harder than she thought!!]

I wonder if he doesn't like his name...? [Julius what have you done.]

I can't read animals well.

You think that's the cause of his tantrums?

[A mistake. That's what he's done.]

I'm not sure... Perhaps it's acting out because it's readjusting to a new environment? [If she was a capybara, she'd be kind of upset at being home one second and then here another... Or something like that.... Right?!]

Could be. Your guess is as good as any.

It needs to be calmed.

[How awkward. He's not an animal tamer...]]

Would feeding it help?

It might. [She looks at it closely, as if that'll tell if her if it's hungry or not... But she still has no idea.] Finding food for it may be difficult though, let alone finding food for ourselves.

Agreed.

Animals can fend for themselves. Much like humans they can adapt to the weather and even landscapes.

[Capy will be fine.]

Given an animal's natural instincts, perhaps our friend here will find food even before we do. [Lead them to salvation, Capy... Help them get food!!]

Yes, you may be right. Our fellow over here might need to go on a diet soon otherwise.

[SAVE US CAPYBARA...He's the hero we all need.]

No matter how it turns out, I have a feeling he'll be receiving plenty of exercise now that he's here with us. [Shit's always going down man... Capy will have to run for his life who knows how many times!!]

He'll certainly lose some weight. Ciel spoiled this capybara far too much.

[SHE FED HIM SO MUCH IT WAS UNREAL..now he's a fatty. Time to run capy..!]

[She laughs lightly.] Is that so? But in that case, we know he was loved and well-cared for. I hope we can provide him the same support.

[protect the cute animal......]

EVENT ★ OSKA BURNING

3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject