epidemiology | EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

RETURN TO HQ

After a tough mission, it's time to return to Headquarters for a well-earned rest. Hathaway's medics and healers are there to patch up any lingering injuries (as are any teammates with healing abilities!), everyone's room is tidied up for them, and the entirety of Hathaway HQ is ripe for exploring. Take your time -- you earned it.

Also sharing downtime at HQ are Guilds Horatio, Montague, and Watchman, composed of humanoids of various shapes and sizes. Temporary pop-up shops down in the promenade include a spa where one can get a manicure, pedicure, or other beautifying procedures; a yoga studio; and an imported salt cave for meditation.

After a few days of silent relaxation, members of Guild Ophelia will all receive a text message on their magitek from Imogen -- their Guild Master, if they don't remember. Imogen, while not directly involved in any world-saving affairs, has a rather sizable amount of inheritance that she puts towards the Hathaway cause. Specifically, she uses it to finance Ophelia's endeavors. This sort of makes her in charge, or as much in charge of this rag-tag team as any one person can be.

Hello, Ophelia!

Once again, allow me to congratulate you on your successful mission in Hanabira. I hear the wedding went smashingly. Hathaway's analysts should rift down someone to check in on your success in several years, but the mathematicians are confident your solution has brought peace to the region.

One should never rest on their laurels, however. From what I've seen in magitek messages, this guild is sorely lacking in the ability to work together and trust all guildmates, regardless of who they are. I've spotted more than a few barbs exchanged. Hanabira will be only an exception if you continue to behave this way.

We'll be conducting guild bonding exercises today. While they are not mandatory, I assure you I've procured incentive for you all to participate. It isn't cheap to finance your exploits, and I won't spend my resources on a group of ruffians slinging insults at each other.

Meet by the memorial fountain in one hour, and do try to bring a positive attitude.

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Those who choose to participate will find Imogen, a very prim and graceful elf dressed in elaborately embroidered robes, standing near the fountain. She greets everyone by name -- "nice to see you" and "glad you could make it" -- before directing them to the training rooms on the upper deck.

The training rooms include run-of-the-mill exercise equipment and the training simulation room, both of which are free to use by participants and non-participants alike. A tall, strong-looking man whom some may recognize as their recruiter is making use of the equipment. His name is Khalef, and he is happy to answer questions about the training facilities or anything else about Hathaway.

Between exercises, Imogen is available at the memorial fountain to chat but she's otherwise busy with paperwork.

▸ SECRETS

Two partners sit in a room furnished only with two (very comfy, if it matters) chairs and a table between them. On the table sits -- floats, really -- a colorful orb, softly glowing. It is comfortably warm to the touch.

The instructions automatically flash across the participants' magitek, thanking them for participating and asking them both to answer the following questions with complete honesty to gain the most from this exercise. Then, the first question pops up: What is something you like about your exercise partner?

It seems simple enough. If a participant tells the truth, they will notice the orb's glow brightening, almost as if it is starting to flame. If a participant lies, they will notice the orb's glow dimming. Otherwise, there is no penalty for lying.

The questions slowly get more personal, with the aim of getting the two partners to open up to each other:

If a crystal ball could tell you the future, what would you want to know?

What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

What do you think existed before the universe was created?

What do you think is the worst crime a human could commit?

Do you think jealousy has value in driving people to improve themselves, or is it a purely negative emotion?

If you could start your life over, what would you do differently?

If you were given only one week to live, how would you spend it?

Who had the greatest impact on your life? What was it?

What’s the difference between justice and revenge?

Is it possible to live a normal life and not ever tell a lie?

Do the ends justify the means?

Are some people’s lives worth more than others? Why or why not?

Complete this sentence: "I wish I had someone with whom I could share..."

If a loved one died, but someone created a perfect copy, would they be the same person and would you love them just as much?

If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

( Mod note: the above are just ideas! You can pick and choose, or come up with your own. Whatever is most fun for you! )

If the two partners truthfully answer their questions, the orb will eventually catch fire, although it will curiously still remain only pleasantly warm if anyone attempts to touch it. It will blaze until it burns out, leaving two small marble replicas in its place. When one of the partners grasps it in their hand, they will be able to see through the other partner's eyes for one minute (although they will not be aware of their own surroundings, so you might want to be in a safe area). The other partner will be aware of this and able to sever the link by removing the marble from their person. These items are bound to their owners and cannot be used by others.

If one or both partners lie, the orb will eventually fizzle out entirely, and the magitek will inform them that the exercise was failed due to deceit.

▸ RIFTING

Next, guild members are directed to the rifting pad located on the upper deck. Technicians scurry about in the rifting area, spinning dials and taking readings, as volunteers are directed to stand on the rifting pad and wait. It's just like rifting to a different universe for a mission -- the world goes bright and then, in a flash, you're standing somewhere else -- except the technicians emphatically explain this is not a mission. It's still part of the training exercise, you see!

Participants have been rifted to an unpopulated garden planet, in the middle of a forest clearing. The grass is tall -- nearly 150 cm in height -- and is surrounded on all sides by forest. A notice pops up on your magitek that informs you there is no aggressive local wildlife, but there are aggressive plants: including, unfortunately, your goal for this part of the exercise.

Spread throughout the forest are aggressive willow trees, sentient flora that will lash out with sharp, clawlike branches at anyone who comes too close. The branches have incredible reach, but the trees have no other defense, and are rooted to the spot so they are also unable to maneuver. The goal of the exercise is to gather as many willow seeds as possible, ostensibly without hurting the trees themselves. Willow seeds are around the size of a small marble and have a fluffy attachment that will allow them to blow away on the wind; you can scour the forest in search of them, of course, but the highest concentration is below the willows themselves.

Once participants feel they have gathered enough seeds -- or if they simply want to give up -- they need only speak to the rift technicians via magitek and they will return back to Headquarters immediately.

The participants will each receive a pot of soil and a seed to plant within it. The plant that sprouts from it will be no ordinary plant; it will require no water to sustain itself, but it will require something else: friendship. As the relationship between the two participants strengthens, the plant will grow, its appearance representing how the other participant feels about the plant owner -- pink and red blooms may represent romantic love, whereas bright, multi-colored petals may simply represent a strong friendship or budding blooms may represent... well, a budding friendship. (Of course, there's no "flower guide", so it's up to them to decide how to interpret this.) As the relationship weakens, the plant will wilt and, if the relationship turns sour enough, die. So take care of your relationship and take care of your plant!

▸ COMPOSURE

This exercise completed, participants are free to return to the first deck and go about their business. But on the elevator back down from the rifting pad, the elevator suddenly jerks violently and then stalls. You're stuck! The emergency button doesn't seem to be working, no matter how many times you press it. And for that matter, no messages seem to be going through the magitek, either. You're effectively trapped in here with whomever you stepped aboard -- a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger.

But don't panic -- surely Hathaway hired you for your ingenuity and not just your pretty face, right?

The elevator can be broken out of in a number of ways:

If you brute strength the doors open, you'll find that the elevator is stuck halfway between floors. This means that you must either climb up or down to escape the narrow opening, and, if your partner isn't the athletic type, help them out as well.
If you hack the elevator's control panel (prying the panel door off first, obviously), you may be able to guide it up and down the shaft. Depending on your expertise in this sort of thing, the ride may be jerky and uncomfortable, and there's always a risk of the elevator plummeting down to the bottom if you lose control -- although strangely, there's never any impact if this happens, only the elevator springing back up the shaft after the fall. Either way, you should be able to figure out how to get the doors open.
If you open the access hatch at the top of the elevator, you'll be granted access to the elevator shaft. It's a dimly lit tunnel of cables and wires, and unless you're lucky enough to find a service ladder in the midst of all of it, you'll have to use the cables to climb. It's dangerous -- you could lose your footing at any moment and slam back down onto the elevator below -- but you should be able to find a door eventually. And then it's only a matter of figuring out how to get it open.
Or you could try a combination of these, or something entirely different!

No matter what method you choose, once you find your way onto solid ground, your magitek will light up:

Congratulations! You passed the final exercise. Rest assured, you were never in any real danger, I promise!

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Indeed, if you found yourself falling too far down the shaft, you would have found yourself instantly buffeted by invisible winds to keep your landing soft -- and if you found yourself unable to find a way to escape within two hours, the elevator would automatically start up again.

Those who succeed will receive a flashlight that does not seem to work at first; however, it is capable of taking and storing light from its immediate surroundings, which it can then release into similar light sources or, in the absence of those, floating orbs of light. It is incapable of taking light out of an entire building, for an example, but can darken a room.

▸ OOC NOTES

If you have questions about this log, please direct them to this comment on the plotting post. Questions about the game in general can be directed to the FAQ.

▸ Up now:

Hanabira Bounty Board is still open! Bounties must be turned in by the start of the next mission on 15 April.
Congratulations, Guild Ophelia now has an official uniform! The uniforms may be modified in any way characters like. The FAQ and Headquarters pages have been updated to include the uniform information.

▸ Coming next:

25 March: Mandatory How's My Driving meme. Participation is required to pass March AC.
28 March: April calendar, including news about apps.
01 April: March AC begins, ending on 5 April 23:59 UTC.

▸ Plotting ▸ Hathaway Headquarters ▸ Hanabira Bounty Board ▸ March Calendar

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah... like the Force.

[ Mention of the Force gets him to pause for a moment. That makes Thrawn the third person he's heard use the term. ]

It was like that for malakhim too until recent events. Most malak live far away from humankind.

[ Humanity's presence and their impurities are enough to cause harm to a malak.

Then his question gets a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Perhaps he was wrong to assume that everyone in the multiverse would know how to eat an apple or know what it is even. Nonetheless, he smiles, friendly and kind. He doesn't mind explaining. It wasn't very long ago in his own world that Laphicet learned the joys of eating food anyway... ]

Just bite into the apple and eat your way around the core. You can spit out the seeds if you accidentally take a bite of one in the center.

They are a temperamental species, I have found. [Though his judgment doesn't seem to come with contempt or malice despite its lack of open positivity.] Is it difficult for you to work alongside them?

[His teeth sink into the apple, sharpened incisors puncturing the skin with a crisp snap, and for a moment in spite of the conversation at hand, the Chiss seems briefly distracted by his attempts to process the texture and taste of an entirely unfamiliar fruit.]

I guess it depends who I'm working with. Some are understanding and willing to learn about us. Others don't regard us as people and treat us as nothing more than tools.

[ Mainly humans who work under the Abbey, led by the teachings of the higher ups. Malevolent energy is also obviously an issue for his kind as it's like a toxin, but it's not something he likes to bring up to others of the guild.

He pauses and tilts his head curiously, studying Thrawn's expression. ]

Sweet and tart, right? Do Chiss require food for sustenance?

[ Probably a strange question to ask, but he's being serious. ]

We do, yes. Some would refer to us as human-adjacent, despite our differences in physiology. In most ways I would disagree— but there are some rudimentary functions that we still share.

[He suspects, given the nature of his companion's inquiry, that is likely not the case for the Malakhim.]

It is quite fascinating. Much like a meiloorun in taste, though not texture.

I don't know what a meiloorun is, but... hey! [ Laphicet's curious, excited over such an unfamiliar-sounding fruit. And he likely had more questions about the Chiss. Where he came from, there were only humans, daemons, and malakhim. ] Maybe they have some in the shops, sir—

[ "Sir". The form of address reminds him that he hasn't properly introduced himself or even ask for his ally's name. They didn't have much of a chance for introductions back at the castle.

He shifts awkwardly in his chair, acting almost ashamed he hadn't said anything sooner. ]

Oh right, you can call me Laphicet by the way. [ As if that wasn't obvious enough from the username over the magitek. ] Sorry, I never got your name.

Mitth'raw'nuruodo, [ he exhales, the syllables long and lilting, tinged by an inhuman reverberation that seems to saturate its sound] but most find it easier to simply refer to me as Thrawn.

[Another bite, seemingly breaking the cold, almost elegant aura that pervades his species— and then he lifts the apple in thought.]

You believe they would carry items from my own galaxy?

[ Mitth'raw'nuruodo— he's actually quietly making an attempt to murmur that entire name to himself. Some malakhim had true names that were a mouthful like Ufemew Wexub... but he ultimately settles for the shorter name. ]

Uh... I don't know? Maybe.

[ Probably not. But that's not going to stop Laphicet from checking. He found some familiar objects from his own lands, mainly the food. As for most other items, not so familiar. ]

I still think it's worth looking around, Mr. Thrawn.

Perhaps you are correct.

[He rises to his feet, as though he'd only just considered more closely inspecting what the shops here have to offer. A pause that comes secondary to:]

It occurs to me now that I never had the opportunity to properly thank you for your support during the assault on Empress Nama's castle.

If there is ever an opportunity to return the favor, consider it done.

[ He follows suit, slipping off his seat. Even if they might not find any items from Thrawn's galaxy, he finds most everything here to be rather fascinating to look at and learn about. ]

You're welcome. Hey, your support brought us a long way too. I don't think I would have been able to guide those hostages out on my own.

[ His previous, invisible state at that time would have likely frightened them off. ]

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

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pls feel free to disregard this if it's been too long! rl did in fact murder me

it's ok!! i think we can start wrapping this up too if you feel swamped c: