epidemiology | EVENT ★ SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Following the sudden entrapment of a group of ALASTAIR diplomats, it's clear the true threat to Chantes is still afoot. The sun's disappearance may have been what was on the mission tin, but the man behind the plot is still alive and kicking.

On the day the people inside the castle go incommunicado, King Christophe's head is unceremoniously tossed out from one of the towers. The word travels like wildfire from there: the Order of the Chimera's leader, Michel, has taken roost on the throne. But he doesn't seem keen on leaving much to rule — he's been busy littering the city with symbols from his grimoire. And with the king's death, they begin to stir.

If ALASTAIR sent the recruits here to save Chantes, Michel and his rituals are why.

THE DEMONS

All around the city’s landmarks (and a few within the castle), runes have shimmered into existence. Remember those? Bothersome little things that nullify powers. But they’re not nullifying powers this time. These runes shimmer a low, sinister red, even by the bright light of midday. They wait, complacent, not really doing much of anything… that is, unless you try to destroy one of them.

The moment a rune is tampered with in any way it flares brightly, and a thin red mist seeps out into the air. Each entity from the rune is a little bit different and fights in a different way, but all of them are unquestionably demonic. Some of them manifest physical forms and attack with claws and bolts of energy, but many of them are not so blunt. In fact, most of these demons are much more insidious, as recruits will quickly discover.

POSSESSION

Most of these creatures use possession as their main tactic, although their methods vary. Some demons keep themselves invisibly after that initial red leak of mist, choose a target, and begin to whisper in their ear. They’ll promise anything — power, riches, fame. Their words alter what might otherwise be sound judgment, making their target believe that not only are these demons perfectly capable of delivering, but they will impart their gifts just as soon as the recruit takes care of this one little task. Attacking your friend isn’t really so much to ask, right? Just think of the reward, just around the corner!

Some demons spark a frenzy in their target. An unquellable rage rises within them, urging them to lash out at anyone around them. Maybe they see a nemesis from their past transposed over a friend, maybe they’re trapped in an unpleasant memory and trying desperately to fight free of it — whatever it takes, these demons relish provoking an uncontrollable need to fight.

And finally, some of them will outright inhabit the body of their target and control all of their actions and words. The recruit will be fully aware of their actions, but unable to prevent any of it. They can only watch as the entity within them does whatever it takes to disable the friends around them — treachery, outright attack, whatever is needed.

In each case the demons can be exorcised if you happen to be with someone with a knack for it, but otherwise impossible to drive out. The demon will remain in its host until someone else successfully destroys the rune it came from, which will finally kill it. The demons know this, of course, and will focus all effort on stopping any damage to their rune if it seems under threat.

The destruction of runes inside the castle will open a thin breach in the barrier spell over it, allowing those inside to slip out (or those outside to slip in). They’d better move fast, though, as the breach will heal itself again in about 30 seconds. Miss your chance and you’ll have to hunt down and destroy another rune. (NOTE: Characters trapped within the castle may escape with enough time to take part in the possession aspect of the event with the rest of the game.)

Anyone with a sense for magic can easily tell that the longer these runes go without being destroyed, the stronger their energy pulses. Eventually even ordinary folk will feel it. Townsfolk in the area become uneasy and restless, and proximity to intact runes will begin to fill you with a sense of dread and unnamed anxiety. Something is coming. Something that must be stopped before it can be let into the world.

THE SUMMONS

No matter how quickly the recruits move, there always seems to be one more rune to find, one more demon to defeat. And still that energy is building. When the town clock strikes 12 noon, the runes are at full strength, and they begin to launch into a coordinated ritual. A summoning spell, to be exact. The demons disappear, their energy sacrificed to bring forth something even worse.

All over the city portals begin to open and beasts begin to claw out of them. These are chimeras, straight from myth, each one half the size of a building. They have vast wings and three heads a piece, a lion, a goat, and a dragon — plus a live snake for a tail. The tail’s what you should really look out for. A bite from the snake turns the bitten limb into solid stone, which will take either three days or a splash of blood from one of the chimeras to return to flesh and blood.

It can be discovered that these monsters have an odd vulnerability to pure iron. If struck or stabbed by something made of iron their skin blisters and burns — enough of this could prove lethal to it. Or you can murder them the old fashioned way, if you’re good at killing giant monsters.

Attacking them isn’t the only thing to be worried about, though. They’re smashing down buildings and attacking indiscriminately, so some characters might find their time well-spent evacuating citizens rather than partaking in the fight directly. The structural damage might be inevitable, but it’s at least possible to mitigate loss of life.

THE AFTERWORD

A few hours after the final chimera is killed, un-summoned, exploded, whatever its fate might be, recruits will find their ALASTAIR-given jewelry coming to life. It looks like they’re finally breaking their silence. Words scrawl across whatever surface you see them on, written in ornate purple script:

On behalf of this land, thank you for your diligence and hard work. You have ten days to settle your affairs in this world before your return to Oska.

Just that, then the jewelry dies out again. It’s a bit of an underwhelming show of gratitude, but it gets the point across. Say goodbye to any non-recruit friends you’ve made here, get the last word in on any arguments with the locals, settle your bar tabs — or rack them up, as per inclination.

In ten days every ALASTAIR recruit will simply fade away into a white mist from the perspective of the locals. But until then the city is yours, and most importantly, safe.

OOC INFO

Welcome to the concluding log of Chantes! There's been quite a few pieces to it, so here's an overall list of the week's noteworthy plot posts:

Peaceseeking player plot

Loki and Ahad addressing Michel's disappearance

A request from Arthur

Event follow-up with the fate of Michel. Please note that regardless of Michel's end, we will be reading player suggestions and taking them into account for the overall fate of Chantes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... Strong? O- oh, yeah, totally!

[ HAHAhaha.. ha.... hooboy. Following that up with a painfully awkward laugh, Dipper shoots back up to his feet, turning in place to face the rune. ]

Not that it really takes much at all, y'know? Magic and its rituals are a pretty delicate process, so if even one thing goes a little off...

[ He says, like he isn't talking to a girl claiming to be a user of magic. Gotta sound impressive, okay!! ]

Like this—

[ He lifts the hammer, ready to hit the rune. ]

That's true...

[Magic was so very delicate, after all. He was right, and she found herself saying it with a smile, even as inwardly the part of her that was still aware, still her, wished he would go, that he wouldn't attempt it, wouldn't rise the ire of the creature inside her.

But he raises the hammer, and the demon has access to everything she is, her motions and spells both, and the shield springs into existence around herself, encompassing the rune in its field- the reason she was so very close to it in the first place.]

But I cannot let you do that.

What the—?!

[ The shield flares up, and Dipper stumbles back. Blinking dumbly for one moment, his awkward demeanor vanishes entirely in favor for a scowl in the next. ]

... Wait a sec, what gives?! Don't protect that thing!

It is a bit too late for that as well.

[Sieglinde has rarely been grateful for her feet being bound, for the pain of having them broken by hand and folded when she was younger even than she was now. But she's grateful for it now, hoping that in the time it takes her to struggle up, to stand and balance on three-inch heels, he might run away. Might leave before her body did something horrible.

Like pull the knife from beneath her skirts, the jeweled dagger glistening in her hand.]

Which is more deadly, I wonder- a blade or a hammer?

[ Oh. Oh no.

Dipper takes an instinctive step back, grip growing tighter around the worker's hammer in one hand as the other grips at the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulders. He watches her rise to her feet with no ease behind it (and for a second there, he feels sorry for her), but other than the small distance he puts between them, he doesn't run.

But he also doesn't like where this is going. ]

Who... who are you? [ Dipper can't help but ask, because if something is about to go down, he doesn't want to be left entirely in the dark. ] What're you doing this for?! We have to help these people, not do something that might hurt them later on!

[The only thing, Sieglinde realizes, that is preventing the demon from pursuing him, is the fact that her shield spell extends only around her body- and if she moved, the rune would be exposed. That, and the fact that the body it had possessed wasn't good at all for walking, let alone running or rushing.]

I am Sieglinde Sullivan, the Green Witch! Why should I not do as I please now that I have come into this world?

[No, no, she wasn't, she wouldn't do this-]

Now is your chance, mortal, if you wish it- come!

[She spread her arms wide, balancing carefully to make sure she didn't falter- fairly inviting he attempt an attack.]

[ "Mortal"? "Come into this world"...? Dipper's expression narrows at the suspicious wording; obviously whatever he's dealing with here, it isn't human. Fantastic.

Despite her invitation, he doesn't move. Not for the moment, because if she's got that barrier then there's bound to be something more dangerous than the knife at her arsenal. (Not that Dipper wants to take on a knife, either. He's not exactly an experienced fighter.) So, instead: ]

No, I don't want to fight you. I want you to stop—there's no reason to keep protecting that!

[ And clearly there was a good reason for them to be doing so, if she's going as far as this. Well, good only for her; for everyone else? Not so much. ]

[Sieglinde knew that- inwardly, at least, the part of her that was still herself knew that. She wanted nothing to do with that rune, she'd been trying to destroy it herself before the demon had sunk its mental claws in-

And now she stood to protect it, despite her actual intent.]

You speak so very uselessly...

[Her body sighed with a somewhat dramatic shrug of shoulders, waving the knife somewhat casually.]

If you know at all to whom you speak, why bother wasting words on such a suggestion?

[ Another silent pause. It isn't until his shoulders sag with a drawn out sigh that he speaks up again. ]

Alright, fine. Too coward to come after me? [ Dipper raises the hammer, holding it up like one would a baseball bat. The trepidation in his slow moving steps may betray the confidence he forces in his voice, but he presses on; there's only one way this will get solved, after all. Let's just hope this isn't as stupid of an idea as he's feeling it is right now. ] I didn't want to do this, but you're not leaving anyone much of a choice.

[Sieglinde hoped, at least, that the demon regretted its choice of host- even if she had been the only one around at the time, so maybe it had been desperate. To possess a body that turned out to be crippled and barely able to walk...

Unfortunately, it was getting quite a bit of mileage of her spells and disarming looks, and she felt the muscles of her face stretch into a smile, inviting him closer.]

I await your attempt, boy.

[Says the demon in an eleven year old girl's body.]

[ There's another step, and another. Before Dipper presses on too closely to her, however, he suddenly stops, lowering the hammer slightly. ]

... Hey, you're not gonna toss up another one of those barrier things in my face once I get too close, are you? [ It's accusatory, but weirdly casual, given the moment. Yet Dipper is beginning to suspect she isn't about to make any bold first moves, so long as a proper amount of distance is kept between them. ] Because just so you know, that's seriously cheating. This needs to be a fair and square man to—uh, woman fight here.

[ Yeah. ]

EVENT ★ SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

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