EVENT ★ THE SICK AND THE DEAD

[futurologists]

THE LAST HURRAH STATE OF WOODHURST Things are bad. There's more infected on the streets every day, ravenous since their would-be victims are all boarded up in their houses. Audentes members who are infected are likely feeling ravenous now, too, and some of them are far gone enough that they might need to be subdued. The city is in a state of panic, and the military has been given permission to use lethal force if necessary to stop people from leaving quarantine; keeping the virus contained is the number one priority of the federal government. As for the local government, all non-essential persons have been given leave until further notice for their own safety. The police department is still running, but they're in a constant war against the infected, forced to retaliate fatally more and more each day. They have no time to focus on any other crimes. Some citizens would be thankful if Audentes ran some "errands" for them — attempting to loot what's left of the stores, for example — or accompanied them outside as protection. Many people have family to see, some of them on the other side of the city, but it's nearly impossible to get there without a bodyguard of some sort. Someone could possibly make some cash this way, but there's something more important to do. MEANWHILE . . . The hospital, formerly chaotic, has devolved into outright bedlam. Theft and fights with the staff are increasingly common, and frenzied people are constantly demanding a cure the doctors don't have. Fortunately, it looks like Audentes does. Science-minded recruits have been hard at work creating a vaccine, which is widely available already, and a cure, which is rolling out slower. Administering the vaccine is risky, as it requires escorting people to the hospital without getting killed, as well as hoping the infected constantly wandering into the hospital have been taken care of. Administering the cure is even more so; it's highly recommended that the infected be unconscious before being given the cure. Even Bristol sufferers have to sleep! If not asleep, knocked out or otherwise sedated will do. It is absolutely not recommended for anyone to go at an angry infected with a syringe, but it's not like anyone's going to stop you... except maybe the infected. Escorts and security guards are necessary at the hospital. The police department has offered their services, with their main priority being the vaccine. Until everyone is vaccinated, the city can't afford to think of a way to safely administer a cure to the infected population, so anyone interested will have to do it themselves. Stock up on syringes at the hospital and get going! DR. PERCY For those more interested in seeking out the source of the virus rather than treating it, it's not difficult to surmise that "Doctor" Percy is hiding out in the sewers. Very deep in the sewers. He's apparently built a subterranean expansion: a series of winding, metallic tunnels with many forks and dead ends. Be careful when exploring, as you might run into one of Percy's robotic bodyguards before finding him. But once he is found, tucked away in a wide cavern . . . It seems he's preparing a hasty exit, with almost everything packed up and his human disguise dropped. Without it, he appears to be an alien of some sort, but not one that Audentes has run into yet. His skin is amber, smooth, and slimy. He has several pairs of wide-set eyes of different sizes, but no nose. His mouth extends far across his face, and below it is a wattle, not unlike that of a turkey. Peeling off him at all times are scales; apparently, he's shedding more than just his disguise. He's completely alone, without another Zymandis agent in sight, and not a particularly good fighter. Subduing or killing him would be easy, especially when it's several against one. When first encountered, he says nothing if spoken to, and only attempts to run. If attacked, he will summon several robot bodyguards -- seven-foot-tall bipedal constructs who only listen to Percy's commands, directed via remote control. They will fight to the death to protect their master, who will use the distraction to again try to run. It looks like the choices are clear: Audentes must choose whether to non-lethally subdue him or kill him. If subdued, what happens to him afterwards is still up in the air. Whatever your decision, it's highly likely you'll meet some resistance from the other members of the team, so get ready to argue. CYOA Each character will only be able to officially do one of the following choices. Confront Percy. Protect citizens. Spread the vaccine/cure. Other. For the sake of tallying, we ask that each individual character submit their choice separately rather than in a group. The Dr. Percy encounter will be open for 48 hours only, after which participants will receive the outcome, which will be based on their choices. The rest will be open for 7 days, will not receive a reply, and will only be used only for tallying purposes. Making a choice is not mandatory, but the choices will affect whether Audentes passes or fails the mission. You may of course thread out other options, but they will not count for the purposes of the pass/fail tally. Again, you may only officially choose one option per character. OOC NOTES Because this log is being posted late in the month, threads are eligible for March or April AC, but not both. Though the encounter with Percy will be a short one, the rest of this log will last two IC weeks. After that, characters will be immediately rifted away from Woodhurst without warning. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE CURE: As the virus is not a degenerative disease, characters will suffer no lasting (physical) trauma caused by it. Side-effects from the cure may include nausea, weakness, vertigo, rash, brain fog, numbness of the face, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue, heart palpitations, or vomiting. This may last for anywhere up to four weeks. THOSE WHO RECEIVE THE VACCINE: Side-effects may include irritability and hunger for anywhere up to four weeks. Questions about Woodhurst can be submitted to this thread. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time. All bounties listed with a 3/25 due date are now closed. There are two open bounties remaining on the Bounty Board, which will need to be turned in by the end of the mission on 8 April. ( 1 2 )

Comments

[armigers]

[ Oh yeah. That probably should have been the first thing Noctis should have done, but he'd been distracted by all the tomatoes. And also thinking the tomatoes were talking to him. Now's a good chance to make a better impression of himself, only Noctis knows he can't tell him the truth about himself. Considering how dire things had been in his home world, he's not sure he trusts anyone here, no matter how nice they seem. He's in a vulnerable position, and if Niflheim caught wind of him being alone and without access to any of the Astrals, they'd execute him without a second thought -and that's if they're being merciful. His worst case scenario is being captured and brought back to their capital, which he can't risk -not when so many people are depending on him.

With all that weighing on his mind, he struggles to think up a fake name -any name. He finally ends up blurting out- ]

Prompto. I'm Prompto. Nice to meet you, I guess.

[ It'd only seem weird if this guy ever runs into Prompto, but Noctis hasn't seen any trace or sign of his best friend anywhere. Besides, it's not a name that's specifically attached to the royal family, so it seems safe enough to stick with that. He should also make a mental note to remember to introduce himself like that to more people. ]

You happen to actually see any infected while hiding down there?

[ Just how long had he been in there anyway? Definitely long enough that the smell has attached itself to him. Talk about brave -or crazy. Or both. Either way, Noctis should get back to the task at hand, unsure of how else he'll get out of this place quicker. ]

[hundredths]

[Ah, for a moment there it almost seems as if this guy's having a very hard time coming up with an answer...was it something Mob said? Or maybe how he said it?? Waiting and staring, Mob tries to think back, but no...he doesn't think he'd done anything very out of the ordinary. Maybe this guy just doesn't like doing introductions very much...

And Mob's just about to apologize, really--maybe assure him that he doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to, for...whatever reason there might be. But Noctis answers just in time, and...oh. Huh.]

Prompto-san...okay. [Well, that's very foreign--which makes sense, since a lot of people in this team apparently come from foreign places anyhow. Mob's going to remember this name for sure. (Sorry future real-Prompto....)

The infected are mentioned, though, and that brings Mob fully back to the present. Right, there is a reason he's been here in a tomato bush for the last half hour or so...]

I saw a lot of them when I first got to this street, yes. It's why I made this bush in the first place...I was going to wait until they went away, in here. [Mob tilts his head slightly.] Are there not so many out there now?

[armigers]

[ Man, is it weird being called Prompto. Prompto-san, rather. He'll have to ask him what that's about later as the second he opens his mouth to answer his question, he hears the tell-tale groaning and shuffling coming from the east. It sounds like there's quite a lot of them there, and while normally, he'd be okay with fighting them on his own (sort of), he doesn't really want to drag this guy into any of it. He doesn't look like he's much of a fighter at all, and rather than risk it, it would better if he doesn't draw any attention to him.

That prompts Noctis to suddenly move into the vegetable patch, swiftly diving in and half-covering Mob with his body as he slaps a hand to his mouth . The smell is a more distinct level of awful from this height, something he can't help inhaling as he tries to shroud the two of them in deeper. Hopefully, it's enough to cover their own scents, at least. ]

-that answer your question?

[ -he whispers as the rustling grows closer and closer until he can see them moving just a few yards away. His other hand moves over own mouth, cupping it and his nose to try and cover up the sounds of his breathing as well as he lies close to the ground. Thankfully, he kept his fatigues from Insomnia on or else he might have stuck out a lot more. As it is, the two of them are practically blending into the shadows while the infected idly drag themselves around looking for a midnight snack. ]

[hundredths]

[--Oh. Well. This sure is a thing now, isn't it? Which is the entirety of Mob's feelings on the matter, here, when Noctis suddenly flings himself into the vegetable patch and all but drags Mob down with him until they're both ducked low between the huge tomato leaves. The reason why becomes apparent as the groaning and shuffling grows audible in the quiet that falls.]

Oh. Yes... [Mumbled very quietly, and just about muffled anyway by Noctis' hand, but Mob's tone remains fairly unaffected otherwise. True, his bright blue hoodie is decidedly not as stealthy as Noctis' fatigues in the least--but the tomato bush has quite a lot of leaves, at least, and the darkening evening helps too. It seems the infected don't notice them in here yet, as they shamble their way into the vicinity.

...And don't...seem to be moving away again, in any particular hurry. That might be a problem. While Mob's perfectly content with staying in the bush awhile longer himself--(the tomato smell is inoffensive at best if you ask him, sorry Noctis, we can't all be huge tomato weenies)--it did seem like his new friend here was somewhat in a hurry. He probably has someplace to go besides here, by the sound of it.

Mob waits a little longer, just in case the infected opt to move off soon after all--but when they don't, he speaks up again at length, trying his best to whisper as quietly as possible too.]

They're not going away. ...Maybe we should distract them somewhere else, with something?

[armigers]

[ He could play decoy, but does he want to? The answer is definitely no. He doesn't want to get eaten, maimed, slobbered on, etc. However, it's unlikely the kid knows how to fight given the fact that his reflexes don't appear to be responding to the imminent threat ahead of them, so he'll have to try and take charge here. ]

I can distract them so you can run. Just keep going as soon as I got their attention. Think you can handle that?

[ Sounds like something he himself should be asked, but he's good at looking like he knows what he's doing. Sort of. His strained expression is anything but comforting; however, he doesn't have the option to really screw up here when doing so means that this kid will be put in danger. That means he's got to go all-out and make sure to take the brunt of whatever impending damage himself. ]

Okay, stay hidden.

[ He doesn't really pause to wait for an answer or comment on his proposed plan because he's worried about being discovered first. Better to lure them away, a plan he enacts by summoning his knives and tossing them so he can warp his way to them, kicking one of the infected from behind into his buddy. The rest of them whip their heads around to face him, expressions laden with some unnerving mixture of anger and starvation before they start to tread closer.

The entire crowd closes in on him, groaning as they claw at his clothes, and Noctis' only recourse at that point is to speed through them with warp strike after warp strike, hoping Mob is making a run for it, otherwise his mana isn't going to last, and it'll be bad news for the two of them. ]