EVENT ★ WILL O' WISP

[futurologists]

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!

Comments

[ofobedience]

[He follows the direction of her hand, glad to feel the unsteady surface beneath his feet shift toward something more solid, more stable. It helps to settle something in him, just a little, even as her question rolls through his mind-- it seems funny, almost, to focus in on such a thing. Though he realises that the seeming absurdity of it is more a reflection of the kind of person - the kind of thing - he is in comparison with her. Food has never been a primary concern of his, and if Zollner is to be believed (that face pointed and cruel so familiar so much like Mother-- don't), he doesn't even really need it.

He shrugs, sending her shifting gently in his arms as he does so.]

Again, I wouldn't know. Though I would suspect it has something to do with genetic engineering.

[Just like him.]

[grunehexe]

[Genetic engineering...

Sieglinde was not as up to date on scientific terms as her actual prowess allowed, having been raised to believe what she did was magic, not science. But she'd been studying from a book that Doctor Wells had left her before ALASTAIR had returned him to his own.

She knew now, what "genes" were. Could wrap her mind around what it might been to engineer them.

But those were thoughts for another day, and he claimed not to know much about it... so instead, she returned her focus to the task at hand. Showing this Giovanni around their newest "base" in the village of Pu'ulai, pointing out where he could find water, and food...

Sieglinde couldn't do anything to fix that he'd been recruited by ALASTAIR in the first place, but... she could at least impart what knowledge she knew.]