epidemiology | EVENT ★ WILL O' WISP

WELCOME TO NALAWI

When the newest recruits are surrounded and taken away from Oska by the white mist of an opening rift, they’ll find themselves brought somewhere no one meant for them to be.

There is stone all around, and recruits seem to have been transported into some sort of cave network. If the recruit in question has any sort of non-human powers, magic, or abilities, they will find that this has been either severely dampened by an unknown force, or removed altogether.

There isn’t any sunlight to be had anywhere, and some places in this strange, sprawling labyrinth are thrown into deep and complete darkness. In other places a subterranean, luminescent fungus grows on the wall, providing an eerie sort of green-blue light. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around to provide guide or explanation; recruits are free to explore this strange, silent place as they will. It’s no use trying to keep from getting lost, it’s a hopeless maze of unending stone hallways. But at least they have each other in this stifling darkness, right?

Be careful, though. Small clicks sound now and then in the darkness: little shelled insects that scuttle up the walls and across the floor. They seem to feed on the fungus, and are peaceful enough if left alone. If approached, though, they’ll lash out with the stinger on their long tails before rushing away again into the darkness. The stings from these creatures are painful, and temporarily paralyze whatever limb has been struck. It will last for at least an hour before wearing off again.

There is one other creature of note within this stone labyrinth: there is exactly one large cavern in this mess of halls and dead ends, and it contains a woman. She is hard to define, her form is made of living flame that casts dancing shadows from the bars of her cage. She sits peacefully against the far wall of the room, and thick bars of stone, shaped from the ceiling and floor themselves, provide her cell. She can be approached, and will speak if spoken to, but makes no attempt to move or escape.

No matter how ALASTAIR’s newest arrivals spend their time, eventually there is an interruption. Maybe you’re in that single, occupied cavern when she arrives and you spot her, or maybe you’re still lost in the maze and never even found the cavern or saw either creature at all. It doesn’t matter. A tall, cat-like woman with eerie blue light gleaming from her dead eyes arrives in time, and she knows immediately she and her captive are not alone here. She will say nothing, she will allow no time for questions. With one wave of her hand, a fierce wind stirs to life and begins to howl through the maze. It’s strong enough to literally pick you up off your feet and hurdle you through the darkness, and somehow avoids smashing its prizes into any walls. This wind knows exactly where it’s taking its captives, and it knows the way. All at once the recruits will find themselves blasted straight up into the open sky, and into the middle of a powerful hurricane.

This windy, dizzying experience lasts a good ten minutes as recruits are buffeted and spun end-over end in the hurricane as they leave land and travel over the sea, but it does end eventually. They are dumped unceremoniously on the western shore of a new place, the island of Pu’ulai, Nalawi, and the storm dissipates instantly after leaving them there.

Those recruits that have been on Nalawi a little longer are welcome to spot the odd, impossibly brief storm along that western edge and investigate. They’ll find that Pomarr has delivered them a few wayward recruits.

Welcome to Nalawi. Sorry about the local gods.

OOC NOTES

Characters will arrive in these caves first and spend an unspecified amount of time within them. This section of the log is closed to new arrivals only. You may choose to have your character run into the fiery lady (please see the thread below to have an encounter) solo, with another character (or characters), or not at all. Either way, they will eventually be brought to Nalawi proper, where any character in the game may encounter them.

To catch up on the recent goings-on, there's an OOC post here that should answer your questions, accompanied by this IC post. The mission briefing your character received is here, and you can find more information on the island your characters ended up on, Pu'ulai, here.

If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the subthread below!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Beside him, Haise quietly follows his line of sight. The sound is comparatively distant and muddled for him, and he hopes his hearing doesn't remain this way, but he catches sight of the movement just the same. That is, until a wing spreads over him, almost like an awning.

Did he fear heights? Well...

He had just thrown himself out of one of the upper floors of a skyscraper not too long ago, in order to pursue an objective]

I'm fairly accustomed to heights, so I should be fine.

[Although-]

I wonder what those things are.

I can't get a good scent, but if they're anything like cave daemons I once met, we should avoid getting within hailing distance.

[Laedo's got so little magic left in him now that the thought of being drained, even a little, by thirsty daemons is enough to make his hands tighten to fists so tight he gets a little bow-legged in the front.]

Is the far end supportive enough to carry on that way?

Let me give it a try.

[It's a narrow ledge, one he's not too sure about someone so much larger than himself crossing...so the least he can do is gauge it himself. He'd feel a bit more confident about it with his kagune available to him in case he loses his footing, but there's nothing for it.

He carefully steps around his companion, edging along this narrow path until he can hop down to the bridge below that. Well, that wasn't too bad, but how does Laedo get down here? Leaping might not be the best idea from that distance...

After taking a moment to peer around the edge to see what kind of structural support the bridge has, his lips press into a thin line. Narrow columns of stone appear to be all that holds this path up]

It might not be safe for you to use this path...maybe there's a way around it?

[Although he's already down here now. Hm]

I can check what's ahead this way, and double back.

Edited 2016-06-02 05:25 (UTC)

EVENT ★ WILL O' WISP

no subject

(This might be a good place to have them have to split up?)

(sounds like a plan!)