epidemiology | EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

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

[Snort.] That's proof right there that you have clearly not known me long enough.

[An obvious admission that Jason has done some DUMB STUFF in his short life. He is going to have to think on this one a bit more though so he doesn't mind the ribbing at his choices.]

Besides, you're supposed to tell something dumb you've done.

So you've done something worse than that. [ He grins. ] Okay. I'll answer for myself.

[ The past ten years of Laphicet's life was sealed off, so he can't remember much of his time while under the service of the Abbey. Sneaking away to read books and getting scolded is a memory he vaguely remembers, although it's not one he'd call the "dumbest"...

He places a hand on his chin, pondering for a moment. He'd considered more of his past actions as "reckless" than dumb. But then again, being reckless is pretty dumb too. ]

Venturing into an active volcano, I guess? I told my friends that if it erupts, we'll just deal with it.

Why did you need to go into an active volcano in the first place?

[He's genuinely curious and NOT just trying to buy time. It's probably not a good sign when you have to actually think about a dumb action you have taken. Not because he didn't have one, but because he was pretty sure most of his life was a series of them. Still, he lands on one that he feels was the dumbest idea but also the one that had the biggest pay off.]

Okay, so, I didn't always know I could use the air to fly. In fact, about a year ago a goddess sealed away all of my memories so for awhile I didn't even know I was a demigod. But, during a field trip to the Grand Canyon, a friend of mine was pushed over the edge. I jumped off after her out of instinct, thinking we were both about to die.

Thankfully it worked out.

...My friends and I had to awaken the four elemental Empyreans. The gods I told you about. They were slumbering underneath the earth and we needed their help.

[ He figures there's no harm telling Jason, knowing how he's a demigod. It actually happened not too long ago. He was rifted back to his world upon returning to Headquarters, but he withheld from mentioning it to anyone.

Still, he's weeding out a few details here and there, but that's the gist of it. Awakening the Empyreans involved sacrificing pure souls and there were casualties by his friends' hands. ]

How was your life like without your memories? And how did you get them back?

[ It sounds almost familiar to Laphicet. Similar to how his will was sealed off. He never truly restored all his memories though. Only bits and pieces and having to learn about himself secondhand. ]

[Jason shakes his head with a chuckle, he figures he needs to explain.]

That's almost the exact opposite of the problem that my friends and I had. We had to put a goddess back to sleep. What is it with gods and sleeping under the earth?

[He knew his was because it was the embodiment of the earth itself, but he decides not to mention that detail just yet.]

It was pretty nerve wracking at first. I think what made it more difficult was that my friends, Leo and Piper, had had their memories messed with too. So they thought they knew me and I thought I was going crazy. But, when we went on a quest together the memories started to sort themselves out for the most part. By the time it was all over with and we sailed to Camp Jupiter I had most of them back and Leo and Piper and I had become friends for real instead of just because of fake memories.

They keep the balance and harmony of the elements, so they aren't called the "elemental" Empyreans for nothing. But they fell into slumber once humans neglected their prayers for them. We needed their help to stop another god.

[ Almost similar to putting said god back to sleep, except they're likely going through ~~a typical JRPG end~~ the route of killing a god. His own fate might be affected by that very act, but he's unaware of any other path they might be able to take to deal with Innominat. ]

So your memories just came back over time? Why did a goddess seal them off in the first place anyway?

[Now that sounds about on par with what he was doing. He nods at Laphicet's question though.]

There's a lot to it...but essentially she needed me to join a camp of Greek Demigods as an exchange of leaders. Before I was sent there, they had no idea that there was even such a group as the Roman Demigods. Juno knew that if we were going to stop Gaea she needed both camps to cooperate. If I had gone their with my memories in tact it was likely we would have killed each other. Without my memories they took me in because I appeared to be a demigod like them. We built a bond and eventually realized what was going on and sought out the Greek camper that had been sent to the Roman camp.

[Jason glances back at the orb, wondering why there hasn't been another question. However, it's apparently been taking in their easy conversation and ability to open up and is reacting: it flares and then dissipates leaving behind two marbles.]

[ It makes him wonder what would have happened if he had his memories from the very beginning. The sealing of his mind wasn't exactly for good intentions though, nothing like joining together two groups for a good cause. ]

So, Greek and Roman Demigods don't ordinarily get along? And why do you need to stop this goddess... Gaea?

[ Then his shoulders tense up for a moment as the orb unexpectedly bursts into flames, causing a brief disruption to his questions.

After it cools, he leans forward to take a closer look at the two marbles and tilts his head, not quite touching their prizes just yet. Doubtful Hathaway would simply give them ordinary marbles. ]

Guess this is our reward for passing the exercise.

Historically, no. But we're working on mending those relationships now. As for Gaea...she was going to wipe out everything having to do with the gods and their offspring. She was angry at the gods for having banished her original children and wanted to destroy them. She was probably, in the process, going to wipe out most of humanity as well.

[Jason glances over at the marbles.]

I guess so. [He smiles.] I didn't doubt we'd pass though. You and I work really well together.

Gaea sounds terrifying...

[ Jason's explanation brings up even more questions, but for now he reaches over, taking a marble in his hand. As soon as he makes contact with it, his perspective changes as he suddenly sees himself sitting on the opposite side of the table.

It feels like he's a little taller too... ]

Woah! I had a feeling this wasn't an ordinary marble...

[Jason blinked, a strange sensation falling over him. It was hard to describe, since it was nothing like being possessed by the eidolons and yet that's the only real thing he has to compare it to. It wasn't quite as invasive though, just that feeling that someone else was there. Though, it was still way worse than someone just looking over his shoulder.]

Weird...are you just seeing what I'm seeing?

Uh... that seems to be it...

[ The realization quickly sinks in that he's looking through Jason's eyes. He doesn't hold the marble much longer, severing the link in an instant as he clumsily drops it back on the table. ]

Sorry, Jason. If I had known it would do that, I would have asked.

[Jason suddenly feels the presence or link dissipate. He looks down at the marble and lets it slip into his pocket, before turning back to Laphicet.]

Hey, it's okay. It just caught me off guard and it's not like we knew what the marbles did.

[There's a pause.] I can actually see where this would come in handy. And we were already a good team, so this can only help in the future, right?

...Yeah.

[ He almost sounds uncertain, not because he disagrees with Jason.

Laphicet sees the world differently, mainly when living beings let their negative emotions run rampant. Then that's when dark energies are visible in the form of a purple and black substance bubbling from people's bodies. The marble might just let Jason see something that he doesn't want him to see...

He lifts the marble back up and slips it into his pouch. ]

I guess we're done here.

[The fire is out and the marbles tell of a 'job well done'. Jason nods, though he senses that Laphicet isn't as thrilled by the marbles as he was originally by completing the exercise. Jason rises from his seat and offers a smile to Laphicet, wanting him to know there are no hard feelings.]

Come on. Let's go get something to eat on the lower levels. I think we earned it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

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do you want to do one more question or just get the marbles?

we can wrap up and get the marbles!

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i think I read the description right...if not whoops.

it's okay- i'm winging it and sort of copying what other people did in their threads, haha..

oh good! we can fumble through it together <3

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hey look we finished it! 8D