epidemiology | EVENT ★ MAT GATHERING

EVENT ★ MAT GATHERING

http://www.joemichael.co.nz/photography/#/luminosity/

The investigations in the sungazing log have lead to a number of discoveries, including trace amounts of solar radiation and seemingly temporary lights in the sky that match no known star charts currently in Chantes. On the 15th, Rick will announce via the verdict over the network: the sun isn’t gone.

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Those of you who actually did your job instead of screwing off (and breaking my shit! Yes, I know all about it), congrats. We've made headway on our dumbass situation.

The sun isn't gone (obviously). There are radiation levels suggesting that it's still there somewhere, but it's weirdly faint. Concerning item number one. Concerning item number two: there are lights in the sky but they're not native stars. They're red in the west in the morning, and in the east in the evening. This suggests a solar cycle that we just can't observe (with a western sunrise apparently). There are no moons visible; supposedly there should be two. Go figure.

The most interesting observations came from the storm, during which the "star" readings went off the charts, dawg. All lit up like Christmas and shit.

Hypothesis: the darkness is not because homeboy made anything "vanish with magic," but because he stuck a big "blanket" between the planet and the sky. The "stars" are likely just holes in his dumb bullshit. So let's get this solution rolling so we can get off this godforsaken rock. This is where you losers come in. I need things . . .

The mystery of the disappearing sun might be clear, but that doesn’t mean the problem’s solved. Now’s the hard part: creating something that will dispel the darkness.

Fortunately, with the right ingredients, science might be able to win the daylight back. All recruits will be encouraged to help with some good, old-fashioned teamwork and fetch quests.

SCAVENGER HUNT

The list is as follows:

Iron ore. Collecting it seems easy enough, but a dangerous serpentine creature capable of breathing electricity known as a Behir lairs nearby. If hungry, it will ambush characters and will not stop unless it succeeds or is slain.
Following the rich iron supply, characters will also find a series of winding underground caves and caverns.

Inside are items such as glowing cave mushrooms that are likely radioactive. Blue mushrooms maintain their coloring due to a rare solute in the cave water, helpful for optimizing fuel. Green mushrooms are useless and if you collect them you should feel bad.
Bat guano. Bats indigenous to the caves also seem to be affected by the contaminated cave water, however -- they’re enormous, blood-sucking, and have developed a mild venom. While one bite won’t kill anyone, the bats have numbers, ultrasonic screeches, and bad tempers.
Plutonic rocks. The source of the odd cave life, an ancient scattering of some massive meteorite resides deep inside the cave. They’ve got rich veins and chunks of crystal, the bigger the better. (We’d tell you what these space oddities are for, but we think it’d blow your minds.)
Cave Minnows. The fish inside the cave lakes are easy to spot since they’re bioluminescent, but only the small, quick ones metabolize the correct oils for this project. The large ones will simply try to drag you into a death roll the -- surprisingly deep -- waters.
Glowworms. See those lights hanging overhead? They’re not bulbs, but bundles of strange, glowing cave worms. Reaching and handling them might be tricky, and keep careful watch of them. They’ll burrow into anything, including your packs, your collected materials, or worst of all, you.
Rock salt. Delicious!
Potassium nitrate. This one is easier to find in Chantes itself: an old woman in town has a giant jar of it that she uses for pickling. Recruits may attempt to wile her out of a cup, or steal from the elderly.
Wildcard. If you don't mind volatile reactions, go ahead and science on your own. Or see anything else that might be useful? Grab it and go.

As a side-mission for the cave items, it seems the 15th is also the only day of the year that the night-blooming cereus plants are open around the cavern entrances. These flowers must be handled very delicately or they’ll wither and die, and local insects of all shapes, sizes, and aggressiveness will be drawn to them, so collectors beware. These flowers will have no bearing on the sun solution, but the goblin church will ask outgoing adventurers to bring some back with them. These items may come into play in February depending on IC actions, but otherwise they make for some pretty decorations!

And finally, a big thanks to

ricksybusiness for submitting their player plot and working with us. You go, Rick Sanchez.

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I'm going to take this stupid list and shove it up that condescending scientist's aaaaaaaaaa - !

[Nico, that's not a very constructive idea. It's cut off as it turns into a shriek as more bats dive at her as she wildly swings her schoolbag over her head. Why is she here? What mistake did she make to end up stuck down here? (The answer to the latter is that she pretended to know what the word "guano" actually meant. She would have bailed immediately had she known.)]

[RIP Nico. She died as she lived, emitting loud and vocal shrieks that may or may not have been construed as music.

—But no, actually, there's not going to be any dying here today on behalf of the ALASTAIR recruits if Riza has any say in the matter. The bats, on the other hand....A series of gunshots ring out as Riza spins on her heel to fire at the pesky critters currently diving at Nico. Two fall to the ground, a third hits the wall.

Unfortunately, there's more incoming.]

Nico, run!

[She'll take care of the bats and follow behind eventually.]

[HOLY CRAP GUNS ARE LOUD and other discoveries from someone who hasn't been around guns being fired before. But she will set aside these revelations in favour of obeying that order to run. She is 100% in favour of this running idea.]

Y-yes! [She holds her bag above her head as though trying to avoid the rain rather than, well, bat attacks, and starts booking it in what is basically a random direction. She just wants to be away from this. She calls out over her shoulder:] Thank youuuuuuu!

[She turns a corner down a side tunnel and...well, that sure is a blood-curdling scream echoing down it shortly after she disappears from sight.

What has actually happened is that her foot hit a pile of bat guano at high speed and slid, eventually winding up on her back in the middle of another pile that has been accumulating over the years and isn't all old. But she sure sounds like she's getting murdered.

~~I'm sorry.~~]

[Oh my god.

Riza's own retreat is somewhat delayed by another bat, this one quite impressive in its size, diving down to grab hold of her jacket in an attempt to tug her off balance. Its close range makes shooting of any kind difficult and she's left to vainly beat at it with her gun, cursing as several more bats swoop down and claw at her.

Of course, as soon as she hears that shrill scream echoing through the passageway—]

Nico!

[Goodbye bats, goodbye her jacket, she's shrugging off her coat and furiously pushing her way through the swarm, legs pumping as fast as she can manage. It only takes a few seconds to catch up, at which point she's frantically sliding to the ground, eyes roving all over for any sight of injury.]

Nico! What happened?

[The bats are still coming behind her but eh, gotta make sure Nico's still alive first.]

[Nico makes it to a sitting position, but getting any farther up on such uncertain footing is going to require putting her hands on the guano-covered floor. Even if the weather means she has mitts on, it's still an intense internal debate which is worse: touching the floor with her hands or staying sitting on it. Right now, "neither" is winning but she can't figure out how to do that.

She looks extremely distressed when she twists a little to look over her shoulder to Riza, to the point of looking on the verge of tears. However, it's not the face of someone in pain so much as the face of someone absolutely disgusted.]

I slipped and - it's all over m - !

[With a gasp, she reaches up to feel at the back of her head, not really thinking about how her mitts are now about as covered as her back. There's a shiver up her spine and her shoulders bunch up in tension as she comes to a wailed realization:]

It's in my hair! I'm going to be sick....

[...She's completely forgotten about the giant terrifying bats right now.]

[Sorry, Nico, the minute Riza figures out that no bones have been broken and that her temporary ward is in one piece, she turns her attention back towards the bats. With her guns low on ammo and the sheer number of bats flying towards them, there's really only one option left to them. (Or Riza, in this case, since the likelihood of Nico managing anything outstanding while covered in bat poop is slim to none.)

Setting everything on fire isn't the ideal solution to everything but it's the only plan she's got right now.]

Nico, stay back!

[Not that....Nico's really moving anywhere, so Riza takes it upon herself to move forward, letting her hands fall into fists at her side as she musters up every inch of will in her body. It's a long second, carrying the weight of what seems like an eternity rather than a single heartbeat, before the magic responds in kind but respond it does, and one by one the bats alight in flame and crash to the ground—followed by Riza, who lets out a shaky exhale before falling to her knees.

Well, now the whole place smells like bat poop and burnt corpses. Lovely.]

[~~The closest Nico would have to something outstanding would be trying to scare the bats off with her megaphone. Riza was right to take matters into her own hands.~~

It's not like Riza's missing much, as Nico's probably keeping on whining and wailing right up until Riza's command stops her short. She has that second of mustering to look confused before everything's on fire, or so it seems. That gets her on her feet before she's even realized that she's moved. Nico's attempts to keep out of the fighting have left her only witnessing a very small amount of magic and only Gilgamesh raining weapons from offscreen was at this level.

The shock means it takes her a couple of seconds to react to Riza sinking to the ground, but when she does notice, she rushes to - okay, well, her first step is a rush that goes squish into more guano, followed by steps that are relatively hurried but with an eye for where she can step in the least amount of guano because she has priorities.]

Riza! Are you -

[OH MY GOSH THOSE BURNT CORPSES STINK she has to recoil her own head to avoid covering her face in the guano on her mitts as she automatically tries to cover her nose. She takes a moment to remove one mitt, gagging as she does so, in order to hold her nose with the clean hand underneath. She hovers around Riza, uncertain of what to do and looking worried, as she continues in a somewhat nasally tone.]

Are you okay?

[Sure hope none of those corpses set the guano on fire, but Nico's stopped paying any attention to the bats in favour of checking on Riza.]

[The putrid smell of burning flesh doesn't even register in her mind, temporary exhaustion and a long-standing relationship with the less pleasant smells of the world pushing it aside to remain at the forefront. It takes her a moment to register Nico's presence nearby; when she does Riza cracks a smile, though it's worn.]

I'm fine, Nico. Just a little tired.

[From expending magic so suddenly and all that jazz. Maybe one day she'll get the hang of this magic business, but for now she'll have to pay the price for being untrained and magically weak-willed.

One look at Nico tells her that they better find some sort of place to wash off soon before they both end up crusted with bat poop and smelling like a mens' bathroom for the better part of the next day. Riza hasn't looked at herself yet but she can safely guess she looks - and smells - no better.]

It sounds like there aren't any more of them coming this way. Since we're both already covered in it, how do you feel about scooping up some of this to carry back with us later?

[If Nico comes out of this smelling like a mens' bathroom, she will lock herself in her bathroom for the rest of the day. And probably cry.

She sighs in relief when Riza responds, although it sounds a little weird with her still plugging her nose. This also means her voice continues to be nasal.]

I feel like I've already picked up more of this stuff than anyone should ever want. And I feel like I should have stayed in bed this morning.

[But, grumpy as she sounds, she crouches down, balances her bag on her lap, and carefully opens her bag, trying not to get any more guano on it as possible as she looks at the containers she'd brought. She really wishes the people of Chantes had invented plastic....

She takes the opportunity of looking down into her bag to say (still nasally):] Thanks. For [saving my life] all of that. I didn't know you could do that. [This that referring to magic, not saving her life.]

[It's true, they could probably scrape off all the shit covering them and have plenty to bring back to town (and Mr. Mysterious-Won't-Show-His-Face-On-The-Network-Man). Nico's small complaint has her huffing out a barely audible laugh.]

I can't disagree. I would have preferred to stay in bed over crawling around in this mess.

[Maybe she'll stay in bed for the next three days in protest! The thought certainly does sound nice, given her ache building up in her muscles after so much running and rock-picking and walking. But they're both already here, fully surrounded by one of the very materials they'd been instructed to find. Might as well get the job over and done with before.

She reaches over to grab one of the containers in Nico's bag, but pauses at the thanks.]

Of course. You're too young and pretty to die, and you've got a lot of fans waiting for you back home.

[She'll do everything in her power to make sure Nico makes it back. As for the magic....she turns her hand around so her palm faces up and wiggles her fingers a bit.]

I only found out I could do magic recently. It seems dangerous to use it too much since I haven't practiced much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ MAT GATHERING

I-A. WELL SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT eventually I'll also get to my old tags

oh my god i can't believe this, yosie why??

I could have had them just talk about Riza's choices of tattoos, but I had a moment of weakness.

your weakness is beautiful and i'm glad you ran with it

nico is not so glad but I am happy you are!

getting to thread with nico always makes me happy

'tis a service I am happy to provide in exchange for me getting Riza threads

/o/

\o\

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