EVENT ★ GILLIGAN'S ISLAND

[futurologists]

MAROONED Three days after the eruptions wrecked their havoc, a storm begins. It's not so different from the storm the recruits first encountered upon arrival, but this storm seems oddly and peculiarly driven. In some places of the islands it's nothing but pattering rain, but in other places it's strong enough to lift a fully grown human off his or her feet. And that's just what it does. It sweeps up recruits here and there -- not all of them, and there is no apparent method to who it takes and who it leaves. Some stay on the Nalawi islands, some are simply swept up into the sky. Here and there the storm grabs a Nalawi as well, but these victims are always dropped again. Sometimes out over the water, sometimes crashing down into land. They do not generally survive this. The recruits stolen by the storm aren't aloft for long. They emerge eventually from the tumbling, buffeting, blinding winds, spewed out onto the beach of a strange new island. This island, to anyone paying any attention to their surroundings, is a recent addition to the surface of the ocean. In fact, flying in the face of physics and statistical likelihood (much in the way the storm had), it seems to have recently been on the seafloor. This island was clearly once inhabited, although it's been a long, long time since then. Uniform structures can be found arranged in streets and avenues, now all thoroughly caked in barnacles, coral, seaweed, and other assorted debris of the sea. Here and there can even be found dead fish, suffocated when the water began to drain away and turn to open air. Most of them are horrifying, the things that tend to keep to the dark depths of the water. Toward the center of this empty, silent, sea-claimed city a giant sea serpent threads around and through several buildings. It's just as dead as the rest of them, its huge, pale eyes staring at nothing. There are a few things here that aren't quite dead, though. Sometimes something armored, dull red, and hungry crawls out of some dark place. These creatures can't really be compared to anything on the surface, but they are each about the length of a human, with three sets of sharpened limbs held up off the ground, used for stabbing forward to pierce its prey, and one set of pinchers below that. The pinchers might anchor prey in place for easier stabbing, but they also create a tiny sonic boom when clacked. Standing too close to this can leave you dazed and momentarily helpless. These creatures aren't fazed by the lack of water around them, they're just hungry and ready to feed on anything nearby -- even each other. The danger they present to recruits is at least slightly mitigated by an unknown force, though. If a recruit finds themselves unable to handle one of the creatures or overwhelmed by it, the storm itself will lash out at the thing. This isn't a very precise defense, but it is generally enough to pick up one or both of the contestants and separate them. Nothing here looks anything like what can be found on the Nalawi islands, except perhaps the flora. It's difficult to tell. What trees have been left are waterlogged, petrified mockeries, it's unclear what they may have looked like while this island still lived. The buildings are all very inorganic, made of processed material and with the obvious aid of machinery. Whoever lived here was actually very proficient with machinery, it seems. Within the buildings, some residential and some commercial, can be found the rusted, now-useless remains of a technologically advanced society. Personal belongings can also be found, waterlogged and largely ruined, and all in an upset as if they had gone through frequent and destructive earthquakes. Still, they can tell the story of mundane, day-to-day lives here for anyone who cares to look. Food is going to be a little tricky to come by unless you're a fan of seafood; fishing will be possible for anyone who opts to brave the edge of the storm, and of course there are the bizarre delicacies so thoughtfully raised up from the seafloor, dead among the streets and buildings. Recruits would do well to be careful with those, though. There is a particular kind of seaweed that, while it looks perfectly innocuous, will cause vivid hallucinations an hour after ingesting, for 10 minutes to three hours, depending on how much was ingested. Above all else, though, is the eerie silence. The storm rages on, but although it completely surrounds the island, it keeps to the perimeter. Even the rain stays off of the island, though the sun is obscured by the heavy, ominous clouds. Thunder rumbles now and then, punctuated by lightning flashes, but there isn't a single sound on this gray, dreary, dead island that wasn't made by an ALASTAIR recruit. OOC INFO Recruits will ICly be here for one week, and OOCly the log will last for two. The storm will prevent any travel off of the island. Should anyone feel brave enough to try risking a trip into it, they will find it still possesses that ability to literally sweep recruits off their feet. It might also be due to this mysterious storm that no one on the island can seem to reach out to anyone on the Nalawi islands via jewelry network, nor to any of the NPC recruits they'd met at Oska. Players who signed up for plot slots will be receiving additional information, which we ask they share with the rest of the characters. You may sign up here for information that can be found while exploring the island, as well. Please direct any questions to the OOC write up.

Comments

[healplz]

[ It takes him a second to realize what she means, then he's further puzzled. His magic works just fine through clothing. But, well, if hers doesn't, it's not like he's going to turn her away for it. ]

Ah — yes, right...

[ He shifts with some concentration and a wince, and shrugs off the shoulder of his robes on the side in question. He leaves it half off and draped off his other shoulder, arm and half his chest left bare. He even leans to the side, to leave the way to the torn flesh more open for her.

He doesn't mean to sound so weary when he asks: ] Anything else you need? [ It's unavoidable, though. ]

[defenceless]

[and she's suddenly guilty for requesting it, but this isn't a situation where she can worry about that.]

No. Thank you.

[sucking in a gasp of air, rin leans forward and presses the palms of her hands gently to his bare skin. blood will dirty them; she also can't worry about that, now. her fingers seem to shift until they've settled in an appropriate position for the healing, and then rin's eyes close. the slow and steady, gradual rise of magical energy to the surface is more felt than seen, her palms warming and tingling with a light healing spell.

but, soon there is a glow—white and full of the essence of recovery.

his skin mends by itself, injured tissue knitting back together until the flow of blood has abated.]

[healplz]

[ It's slower-going than his magic, too. It's the first thing Ashraf notices, along with an awful but unavoidable snag of annoyance. He would have had this thing healed over already. But then again, he's lost his all magic, and the best he can do is sit here and slowly bleed out. Rin is doing considerably better than that, and could probably do better still at her own full strength. He reminds himself to be grateful — which comes more easily as the pain begins to fade.

Ashraf tips his head back against the wall, letting out a long, slow breath between his clenched teeth as his torn nerves finally stop screaming. Has pain always been so... painful? ]

Thank you. [ He swallows thickly and takes a moment more, giving the magic still more time to set in and abate the pain. When he drops his head again to look over Rin, it's with a warm, grateful smile. ] Thank you, that's much better.

[defenceless]

[come on, ashraf, you can't be a rude jerk to her too when she's just trying to heal you. it's true her magic would be faster, more thorough, and act over a greater area at once if she was at full strength or she allowed herself to expend energy without reservation.

unfortunately, she can't justify that. if her magic could help just one recruit like ashraf, that's the purpose it will be dedicated to.

satisfied with the healed cut, rin removes her bloodied hands after encouraging a bit more numbness past his skin. that will really deal with any remaining pain, but she's sure to give him practical advice when she pulls back. proof of her status as a walking first aid kit of sorts, she already begins to scrub her hands clean with some dingy cloth at her waist.]

It will still hurt a little from time to time, I bet. Your body has to have time to adjust on its own. ... I'm not a miracle worker.

[healplz]

[ He nods, trying not to think about how foreign this is. Him, being healed. Him, being incompletely healed, and given advice on how to handle the remaining injury. It's almost surreal, and certainly new to him, as his otherwise completely unscarred skin suggests.

But it does feel better, relievingly so. ]

I wouldn't expect it from you. [ Miracles are his domain, just... not at the moment. ] But this is good, I'm pretty sure I can live with this.

[ He shifts, using the wall to push himself slowly up to his feet. ]

[defenceless]

[she rises with him, her hands free of most of the blood—and willing to lend an arm to catch him, if he needs it. rin watches him past blue eyes, studying him carefully for any sign of major discomfort. there's always a chance for things to go wrong.]

You can live with it.

[doubtful as everything else around them may be, rin speaks with confidence that her treatment is effective.]

What was that all about, anyway? "I wouldn't expect it from you"? Are you a better healer than I am, or something?

[healplz]

[ He's up successfully, and without pain. That's nice. He traces a finger over the remains of the wound at his side thoughtfully, before slowly pulling his robes back on properly. ]

I just mean I wouldn't expect it from anyone. [ And is he a better healer? Probably, he thinks, but there's no reason for full honesty. His answer is tired and dutifully diplomatic. ] And I'm not sure. I haven't seen you healing at full strength, after all.

[defenceless]

[yeah, that's a good thing. cover yourself up, ashraf. she flusters again once she somehow remembers he had clothes to put back on properly, and her gaze darts away from his healed skin for his privacy, too quick, when previously she'd been especially checking there for any splits.]

That's right, you haven't... [she mumbles, talking more to the dirt.

even at full full strength, though, she's no blessed-by-god miracle worker. healing isn't a special talent of hers, it's standard magecraft for a student.]

Listen, call me if you need any more help. Be careful from here on out. I don't want to lose anyone here. People will know you're missing.