EVENT ★ OSKA BURNING

[futurologists]

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.

Comments

day 2

[hellshaped]

[Earthquakes aren't very fun, particularly when things are collapsing all around you. Though Hellboy has had his fair share of buildings fall on him, he's not exactly keen on repeating the experience. Durable as he is, he still feels pain when a big freakin' wall smashes him to the ground.

So far, though, he's managed to avoid walls and loose stones and whatever else, though the way this pile of rubble is moving suggests that maybe not everyone was so lucky.

Still wary from fighting demons and chimeras, Hellboy cautiously approaches the pile. It could be some horrible thing hiding under there, after all.]

Hello? [he calls, maybe a little stupidly, into the stone.]

[heavyhitter]

[ The movement pauses at the sound of Hellboy's voice, stones going still. Down underneath a few layers of them, Ramir stares in chagrined silence at what she assumes is probably a chunk of rock. It's a little too dark to know for sure, but it feels like a solid guess.

Eventually there comes a voice from below, muffled: ] I was really hoping no one saw that.

[ How embarrassing. ]

[hellshaped]

[Well, that is a normal, human (? probably) voice, at least. Unless the rocks themselves are talking. He has seen stranger things.

Hellboy kicks a few smaller rocks out of the way as he looks for a weakness in the pile, somewhere to start pulling out rubble without risking the entire thing collapsing. It's difficult doing it by eye. He is not an engineer.]

Well, if nobody did, you'd probably be stuck in there forever. Are you alright?

[heavyhitter]

At least I'd suffocate with my pride intact.

[ That's a little lower, more of a mumble. But whatever, time to get over herself and out of these rocks. She gets back to the business of trying to shove upwards. ]

And yeah-- fine. [ a little defensively: ] I'm super badass, so, you know, no problem.

[hellshaped]

'Super badass,' huh... [If he doesn't sound convinced, it's because he isn't. How did you get trapped under rubble if you are super badass, lady!

He can see where the rocks are moving around, so he begins to cautiously remove them from the peak to help her out.]

There's nothing wrong with needing help, by the way. I'm sure your pride is fine.

[heavyhitter]

[ listen!!! it's a long, complicated story, but rest assured it paints her in a great light. ]

Oh, yeah, my pride's doing great.

[ She's managed to gain a little ground down here, pulling herself on top of rocks without accidentally kicking them apart, and as he begins to take rocks away, she finally breaks the surface. Well, a hand does, anyway. ]

That feels like fresh air! [ Her hand gropes around, trying to get purchase. ] Am I right? Are you seeing this or did I bust into another dimension?

[hellshaped]

[Oh, there's a hand. It looks passably human, so he relaxes some -- at least it's not something weird down there that just happens to have a human voice.

He also starts removing rocks a little more carefully now that he knows (thinks) it's a squishy human down there, so. Pros and cons. Once he has a small path worked out, he reaches over to touch her hand with his left.]

Not unless that's a portal of some kind. I see you.

[heavyhitter]

[ Well, that's a small comfort. As soon as she feels the solidity of a hand she's quick to grab onto it and pull. It might be a stronger pull than he's expecting. Not only is she still figuring out her own new strength, but she really wants out of this awful pile of rocks. So she tugs hard to pull herself up, careless with her own efforts as always. ]

Oh my god, finally. When I die do anything with me but bury me, anything.

[hellshaped]

Whoa -- [Eyes wide, Hellboy tips dangerously forward, nearly losing his balance. He hadn't been expecting her to pull at all, let along with such force. Digging his hooves into the ground, he leans back and pulls hard, mostly to avoid falling on top of her and sending the rubble everywhere.]

Hold on, I got you --

[heavyhitter]

[ Oh, good, that's nice of him to avoid toppling over and ruining everything. She's out of the pile in a second, dusting herself, looking pleased — until she notices who it is exactly that's just pulled her out. ]

Oh, shit, it's you! The red guy! [ She stops the dusting to turn to him more fully, looking him over. ] I can't believe you're even alive.

[ She was pretty sure something awful would happen with Koltira, but hey, nice to see she was wrong. ]

[hellshaped]

[The red guy. Charming. Hellboy gives her a bit of a flat look (which isn't that unusual from his normal, neutral looks, to be honest), but elects not to comment. She didn't know his name, after all.]

Hellboy. [Now she does. No excuses! And --] Surprise that I'm alive isn't usually how people greet me.

[heavyhitter]

[ She strives for accuracy in all things. He's red, and a guy, therefore it's a great name. Her bright, loud mood dims a little as she looks him over, a little conflicted. She should probably thank him for saving her life, huh...

First, though: ] Yeah, well, most people probably don't see you off doing really fucking stupid things.

[hellshaped]

[He shrugs a little, his body language pretty clearly miming modesty even as his face remains impassive. This is a joke.]

You'd be surprised. It's kind of my thing.

[heavyhitter]

God, whatever. You wanna get yourself killed, that's totally your business.

[ She looks him over for a few seconds, considering, then steps near enough to thrust out a hand to shake. ]

Thanks, though. You said Hellboy, right? I'm Ramir.

[hellshaped]

Don't mention it. [Handshakes are awful, though. Always awkward. He does his best though, extending a single giant, stone finger for her to shake.]

Ramir. Do you usually find yourself at the bottom of rubble?

[heavyhitter]

[ She doesn't look too bothered to be shaking a single huge finger, and treats it like any other handshake, not letting go again until they've done it right. ]

Oh, yeah, for sure. After any good party. [ She offers a wry smile. ] It's kind of my thing.

[hellshaped]

[He won't say that's not a nice change of pace. People usually at least make a weird embarrassed face.

One corner of Hellboy's mouth turns up: his equivalent of a grin.] No kidding? Hell, we should get together. I'm always getting thrown through walls.

[heavyhitter]

Holy shit, yeah, you could say we'd — [ here's the obligatory pause, the widening smile ] Bring down the house.

[ please appreciate how clever she is, please ]

[hellshaped]

[Oh my god, please. Please. Hellboy's facial expressions are difficult to decipher, but the amused snort sounds humanlike, at least.]

You could say that. Probably not for the best, though, considering... [He gestures around at all the rubble. Considering the houses are already falling down.]

I don't think I got your name.