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avalaughs2022-09-01 11:50 pm
test drive meme ⚔️️ 23 | FINAL
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ARRIVAL
The re-arrival of characters who were previously not here does not occur in the Bay this month. Instead, re-arrivals can appear at any time or place on the map as long as there is water. The Lady of the Lake is busy dealing with the situation in Atlantis (see the QuestBoard), so her magic isn’t very directed right now. Want to show up in the Red Spring? In someone’s shower? Stuck in the well the minotaur pissed in? Go for it! It’s time to get wet and wild. In fact, you could even show up underwater…
DARLING, IT’S BETTER
After the success at Dinas Emrys, the people of the cursed underwater town return to Camelot’s shores to offer a unique opportunity - to visit the town itself. It has only been seen in the distance before and this is the first time in many years that they have opened their gates to strangers, but all the hard work that the otherworlders have been putting in to fix the Calamity had not gone unnoticed even by them.
A few of the merfolk arrive at Camelot and ask people to put up notices for them. The following day they will be waiting for anyone who wants to make the trip down to the town, which they reveal is called Apkallun, and they will utilise the crown used to get everyone to Dinas Emrys to transform them into merfolk.
Merperson (fish bottom) - Merpeople’s singing voices are able to put people and creatures into a trance.
Cecaelia (octopus bottom) - Cecaelia can normally grant vengeance wishes, but per previous events, wish magic is not currently functioning as it should- so their primary features are the ability to ink and use their tentacles as additional controllable appendages.
Naga (serpent or eel bottom) - Naga have advanced strength and can extend their nails as claws.
The trip to the town is fairly uneventful, unless someone decides to wander off and gets stuck in some kelp or kidnapped by mischievous nymphs hiding along the route. Once there, it’s clear that the arrival of outsiders has been much anticipated by the town. They have put on a grand welcoming for their visitors and although many of the townspeople seem nervous to make eye contact with the strangers the atmosphere is not an unwelcoming one. Everyone is told that they may tour the town at their leisure and move about as they wish, and there is plenty to see.
OUTSKIRTS
It isn’t advised to linger around the areas outside the town, where the light of the lanterns quickly fades out through the water and leaves anyone straying wandering about in a murky darkness. For those more intrepid explorers, though, quick investigation of a noticeboard near the centre of the town will reveal a faded ‘dead or alive’ poster for something called The Wispmera, with a reward of twenty lavender pearls. Enquiring about it will draw laughs and puzzled looks from the townspeople, who will inform the enquirer that no one has ever gone after the creature in all the time the notice has been up. Further pressing will reveal, as they grow quiet and avert their gazes, that this beast will swiftly snatch up children who stray too far outside of the town unaccompanied.
However, all is not as it seems…
Hunting down the creature is no easy task and the descriptions of it are vague. It’s described as a barely-mer shaped thing that haunts the area around half a mile outside of town, occasionally drawing close only to be chased off by the town guard. Some people describe it as glowing, or having a massive head, and of being able to paralyse people from several metres away.
Even reaching the area where the creature is usually seen is fraught with dangers, including carnivorous fish and strong water currents, but persistent hunters will eventually come across the ‘beast’. It has the appearance of a huge jellyfish with poison tendrils wafting delicately though the water around it, but a moment of inspection will allow one to note that this creature also has a mer’s tail, and is simply sitting on a rock in the dark. If one can sneak up on it, it would be easy to kill. This first option would be the easy route to getting the reward and no one in town would fail to be grateful. The second, more risky option would be to engage it in combat, however those tendrils are able to paralyse a person within minutes should they hit. Anyone who is stunned by the creature will find themselves on the edge of the town after they black out, as if someone carefully brought them there.
There is a third option, however. Approaching the creature with no weapons will startle it, but it will not attack. This beast is far from the terrible child-stealing monster that those in the town would paint it as. In fact it has never stolen any children at all! All this poor thing desires is to be left alone, having never done any harm to anybody, and all of the stories about it have simply been passed down over time by frightened people who did not know what they were seeing out in the dark. If the hunter agrees to not kill the creature it will give them five pale blue-coloured pearls in thanks, but this will forgo the reward from the town. Unfortunately, no one is going to believe that you saw the creature at all.
DOWNTOWN
In downtown, around something that looks like it used to be a fountain, a bustling market has been set up with various stands and stalls selling local produce and items. Even the native townsfolk seem to be excited about this as it isn’t a regular occurrence and was thrown together in quite the rush after it was announced that strangers from the land would be coming to visit.
The stalls are offering food and drink, as well as handmade wares. The food is mostly fish-based, but some care has been taken to make choices available for those people who don’t eat fish (though that selection is somewhat limited). Locally made items are made mostly of shells, stones and driftwood as well as glass, and the stall-runners will eagerly push things into people’s hands if they show the slightest interest.
There is one large stall supplying most of the drinks on offer. Rather than being in glasses or bottles, they come in small magical bubbles that you pop into your mouth and break with your teeth and boast a variety of interesting and ‘enlightening’ effects.
- BLUE - a cool flavour almost like plain water, but uniquely fresh. Consuming it will cause the person’s skin to glow faintly for several hours.
- RED - tart with a faintly spicy kick. Drinking this will make you hiccup multi-coloured bubbles when you try to speak and lasts for around ten minutes.
- PURPLE - unexpectedly citrus-flavoured. This one causes the water being ‘exhaled’ from the gills as the person breathes to be dyed several different colours and will last for half an hour.
- ORANGE - tastes like honey and ginger. This one will cause the drinker to speak in rhyming couplets for around an hour.
- GREEN - tastes very much like absinthe. Also acts very much like absinthe. This will just get you very drunk very fast. Good luck.
UPTOWN
Part of the town is clearly far more… ‘polished’ than the rest. The homes are fronted with shining opals and nacre, and although the people there seem friendly enough there is a certain aloofness to them that isn’t found in the bustling marketplace or the streets around it.
But no matter, that isn’t why people have been directed there. The reason for any outsider to be shown the way to this area (unless they found their own way there) is to attend a concert being put on at the theatre in honour of their esteemed guests. There is a buzz about this show, with the performer clearly being someone of some note, and though there are no posters or pictures on the front of the building everyone is urged that they ‘wouldn’t want to miss it’.
The lights go up, and the performer is an ethereal oceanid of exceptional beauty who has been living in the town since she was brought to Avalon as an outsider herself many years ago. Though she doesn’t sing in a language anyone would be able to comprehend the emotion that she sings with could be enough to drive those in the audience to tears. Indeed, several people are seen to be leaving before the show is even finished and once it is over the entire room erupts into raucous applause.
Those otherworlders who attended the performance will be able to see beauty in everything and may find their emotions to be somewhat off-balance, making them more prone to outbursts and also to blurting out the truth to those around them. This effect should wear off after a few days, but any dreams that they have in the meantime will feature the oceanid’s singing in the background.
—-----------
THE RING OF DISP(HELL)
Part 1: Hot in Herre
As the otherworlders passed the test of nobility, the dragons reveal the location of the ring: it is hidden deep in a volcano. They are able to provide a map, but not much information about what can be expected once people get there.
The volcano itself is not one that the otherworlders would be entirely unfamiliar with, but it is not one that many would have had reason to approach before: the northernmost Ash Mountain, a volcano with plume-hidden bluffs nestled between Mab’s Cavern and the Perilous Desert. Though the Elphame traders are not around to offer much in the way of gear or protection this time around the dragons themselves offer to teach people a special spell (Spell: Dragonscale) which they say will protect from the heat and fumes that will need to be dealt with to reach the ring.
It’s recommended to give this spell some practice due to how valuable it will be when going up towards the volcano’s summit and for the trials beyond, but be warned that overuse can cause stiff joints, inability to regulate body temperature, and chronic burping that makes it feel like you just ate a dozen ghost peppers.
There will be plenty of time to gather supplies and kit, though some of the more unscrupulous merchants in Avalon are taking advantage of the rush as well as the lack of traders from Elphame, and are raising their prices. Some of the gear being sold may not quite be up to the task, either…
Part 2: Feeling Magmanimous
Arriving at the volcano is a trial in itself. The dragons will take those willing to go most of the way, but will drop them near the foot of the mountain to let them make their way up on foot. Their reasoning for this, they say, is to ensure that everyone is able to acclimate to the environment on their way up… but it might just be that they have better things to be doing.
With everyone loaded up it doesn’t take long for things to start becoming difficult. The heat rises swiftly around the travelers and there is very little movement in the air to offset it. Foul-smelling gasses rise up from vents and deep, narrow chasms along the edges of what appears to be a lightly-trodden path, if one could say it is a path at all, between slow-moving lava flows. What vegetation there is at the base of the volcano quickly gives way to the occasional tuft of dry grass and sickly-looking tree that has dared try to grow in this location. There is the constant, unsettling sensation of being watched despite the land around them appearing utterly bereft of any fauna.
Going too near to the edge of the path, woefully under-marked as it is, will put all but the most sure-footed in danger of slipping on the loose, shale-like ground beyond and sliding off down towards one of the oozing rivers of molten rock snaking their way down the side of the volcano. ‘Dragonscale’ won’t be enough to keep anyone from injury if they hit it, so watch out for each other!
A half day’s journey is what it takes to reach a mark on the map which seems to show the entrance to a large tunnel system, and though the entrance itself will be a tight squeeze for some it opens up initially into a spacious cavern that is somehow several degrees cooler than outside.
No doubt a few people will want to make up a camp and get some rest here. That’s probably a good idea. Beyond the cavern itself are several dark tunnels, shown on the map as Labrinth y Brenin, and some preparation is advised before heading into those passageways…
Part 3: Turnkey Toasted
When everyone is prepared, the final and most vital part of the expedition can begin. It is advised to take some kind of light source into the tunnels, as once the glow of the base camp is left behind the darkness is almost absolute. It quickly becomes hot and stuffy as progress is made through the winding passages and anyone who decides to lean on one of the walls to take a breather will quickly realize why - the tunnel walls are warm, almost hot, as if molten rock flows not too far behind them.
Occasionally the tunnel opens into small open spaces, like pockets in the mountain, where lava flows slowly in lazy rivers below the path as it precariously bridges over and edges around it. It might be tempting to linger in these spaces, where the pressing sensation of several hundred feet of rock above and around you is not so keen, but lingering for too long will have an unpleasant side-effect.
The fumes rising from the lava in these small caverns can cause powerful hallucinations, driving people to see their worst fears - real or perceived. It will be up to those who remain unaffected to make sure that their companions make it to safer ground, where the effects will wear off after a few minutes. Until then, it will be up to friends and strangers alike to make sure that those who are under the influence of the toxic gasses don’t cause harm to themselves or others.
Finally, hopefully without too much incident, the final cavern is arrived at. This is a large space, refreshingly cool despite several waterfalls of molten rock rolling slowly down the walls, and the ceiling glitters with geode clusters. In the centre of the cavern is a transparent, locked box inside which a simple ring can be seen. Underneath the box is an inscription.
You cannot prove, but you always know:
The apple falls, the wasp stings, a friend comes, the keys turn.
But what does this mean? The number of lava-falls in the cavern match the number of required keys to open the box, but surely the instructions can’t mean what they seem to?
Close examination of the falls will reveal the faint glint of gold behind them - the pieces are indeed behind the molten rock. Though it seems impossible, those who put their hands through the lava with faith that they will not be harmed will find that rather than burning, they only feel a pleasant warmth as the lava-fall parts around their hand and arm and allows them to pluck the key piece from behind it. Without faith… well, why would you stick your hand in lava if you really think your hand will melt off?
Once all the pieces are gathered by the faithful (and brave), the box can be opened and the simple ring is no longer quite so simple-looking. It can be taken without further trial, and the only task that remains is to make it back to base camp without accidentally falling off a bridge.
With the final item retrieved those who ventured out are free to return to Camelot, where they will need to hand the ring over to Merlin so the final preparations can be made to end the Calamity once and for all.
• This is the final "test drive meme," to welcome returning characters and wrap up the journey to get Lancelot's Ring of Dispell. |
no subject
[To be fair, Keith probably hasn't either... but Hijikata doesn't use ice magic very much in general, usually leaving that to his squire when they're fighting together. He's not bad at it, but certainly not as good as Shoto. What's more, while he understands that Keith has plenty of battle experience under his belt he generally prefers to take responsibility for the kill over delegating it to younger comrades-in-arms.
The creature is still staying put, apparently resting... though the next moment it plucks off a string of kelp growing next to the rock it's sitting on and starts weaving or folding it, however with no sense of urgency. It's probably either just playing around or doing some kind of handicraft... or something more sinister, like making an item it can infuse with damaging magic. Who knows?]
no subject
I haven't done it underwater, either, but I'd actually gotten pretty good at ice magic in general before... whatever happened. [He'd disappeared... gotten stuck back in the time freeze... whatever...] So, yeah.
I'll do it.
[He'd need a somewhat better vantage point. Keith tended to operate on sight, so he wanted a spot where he could clearly see his target.]
I'm gonna head over that way to see if I can get a better view. [He nodded towards his left.] Give me about... [Mental calculating...] three minutes.
no subject
Got it. I'll charge as soon as you take it down.
[He's frowning, partly just from his focus on their planned ambush, partly because something feels... off. Something about seeing this thing, whatever it is, apparently doing some crafting, is weird. He can't decide if it's oddly cute or really creepy. Even monsters can have hobbies, right? Maybe it's making a bag to stuff the next dead child into!]
no subject
He was having trouble with focusing on a second element, though... he could use a hand opening a hole in the dirt...]
CW: Murder 💀 (He'll realise that they kind of screwed up afterwards via death magic!)
Hijikata charges, forcefully propelling himself forward with his tentacles. He sees that the creature is simply on the ground rather than having been swallowed up by it, but honestly, it looks like this will be fine. With one strong horizontal slash he severs the long tendrils to avoid being taken out by them, then rams the sword into what he assumes is the creature's heart area - there's a strong glow under its skin there. It stops moving almost immediately, lying still on the lakefloor.]
...
[Hijikata waits, all senses alert, but... this really seems to have been it.]
I think we did it! You can let up the pressure!
[This was so easy?! If only the people of Apkallun had taken heart, they could long have gotten rid of this child reaper!]
Oops!
He carefully made his way over.]
You got it?
1/2
[The dead body slowly lifts up from the ground and floats in the current. Hijikata grabs it (it stands to reason that they'll need to present proof to collect the reward).]
This couldn't have gone better. Let's head back before any of the other dangerous creatures around here notice us.
2/2
Because you abducted a bunch of children. What'd you do with those, eat them?
...
Yeah, right. That's exactly what a kidnapper would say.
[He turns to Keith to explain.]
Its ghost showed up.
[He should have seen that coming - however since he only killed monsters and dangerous animals during his time as a death mage their souls never attempted to talk to him.]
no subject
[That response to whatever it was Keith hadn't heard didn't exactly sound... great.]
no subject
...
She's crying.
[He slows down to a stop to address the ghost again.]
You can't go back in there; your body is dead.
...
[He listens to the apparent silence for a moment before turning to Keith again.]
Okay... looks like there's a chance that we screwed up. Or rather the townsfolk did.
[If Keith could see and hear the completely distressed, bubbling ghost who's all but crying her eyes out he'd probably end up at a similar assessment. Hijikata, used to killing as he is, completely skips the "What have I done" stage to assess the options for their next steps.]
Let's go back to town and ask for proof of the abductions. If it turns out to all have been pure hearsay I say we collect the reward, but spend it on a necromancy for her - at least I'll spend my half.
[He's been on the exorcism track this entire time, so rather than make this his very first attempt at a necromancy he'll rather see if they can contract a lake-dwelling death mage for the job.]
no subject
[They definitely had to figure out a way to fix this one. Damn. Granted, she had certainly looked kind of weird, but were people really that judgmental? Then what had happened to the other missing kids?]
Does she... does she know anything about the other missing kids, then? Or was this a total mess?
[He started moving quickly, reaching over to help with getting the body through the water.]
no subject
[He appreciates Keith's willingness to give his share of the reward, as well as his physical help, especially since they have to navigate some tricky points on the way back to Apkallun. Damn, this was such a blunder... lesson learned: Don't always trust the townspeople blindly when they say there's a monster! The ghost keeps floating alongside them, her sobbing a little more muffled to his death mage ears now.
Once again the trip back takes quite some time, but eventually they arrive back in the outskirts of town (Hijikata haphazardly wrapped the body in seaweed on the way to not immediately scare any faint-hearted citizens in the vicinity). As soon as some people he spoke to earlier spot them, approach, and learn what happened the town guard is called as official witnesses to the important occasion, and before long a small crowd has assembled around the two outworders.]
Is it true?! You slayed the Wispmera?
Yeah.
[Everyone who came here essentially opted in to seeing a dead body, Hijikata reasons, so he unwraps it. Reactions are varied: Some people cheer, others break into tears of relief, others yet look surprised or confused. Exclamations include "Finally we don't have to be afraid to let our children play here anymore!" over "So this is what it looked like this whole time?!" to "It was... a person? It halfway looks like one...".]
Well, there you have it. But frankly, I'd keep the kids within the town limits regardless. We saw all kinds of other dangers out there, some of them not far from here.
[The Wispmera's ghost is hovering at a distance, still looking terribly sad... Hijikata would like to clear her reputation, but chances are he and Keith might not be rewarded if they admit to her being innocent of the abductions.]
no subject
Are you all certain that this was the only thing out there potentially bringing harm to your kids? [At the weird looks he got from the people around them, he continued.] It just seemed like a lot of work for only one creature to do, you know? [Clearly, Hijikata had a reason for not admitting that this creature wasn't actually the killer in question. So, he'd roll with it for now.] We want to make sure maybe that... it didn't have a partner... or something.
no subject
But the one who took our children, that was definitely the Wispmera!
[Hijikata sighs, and the mayor of Apkallun, having been informed of the good news by now, luckily chooses that moment to approach the small assembly. When he sees the Wispmera's body he lets out a small gasp, then beams at its slayers, enthusiastically shakes their hands and asks for their names.]
Sir Keith and Sir Hijikata! With this heroic deed you have earned the lasting gratitude and admiration of the people of Apkallun! While we cannot quite afford new statues at the moment you can rest assured that miniatures in your likeness will be created as souvenirs for those who want to remember you... and, of course, you deserve this reward from all of us!
[He hands Hijikata (probably because he looks older one between the two of them) a polished mussel shell set that has been fashioned into a clasp purse of sorts. The samurai can already feel the pearls rolling around inside like marbles as he accepts it.]
Thank you. If you don't mind I'll go dispose of the body now before it scares any kids.
But more people will want to view it!
Fine, but only for today. After that I want to study it, to be honest with you - I do that with all monsters I slay -, and I don't need it to already be decomposing for that.
[Is he good at pulling excuses out of thin air, or what? Poor Wispmera, but this is probably as good as it gets... as more townspeople arrive and exclaim their shock and surprise Hijikata briefly takes Keith aside.]
I think if we tell them the truth it'll only make things worse - they either won't believe us, or if they do they might turn against us, unreasonable as that'd be. I'll wait this out and then take body and soul to the Lady of the Lake to ask her to liaise me with a lake-based necromancer. If you want you can call it a completed mission at this point; you're not a death mage after all.
[He's still very thankful for Keith having been around for this mess, but he doesn't want to needlessly make him stand by to help a ghost he can't even see or hear.]
no subject
That's a death mage thing. I've seen it a lot in Camelot.
[The explanation actually worked, though, and the person nodded in understanding. Of course... practicing their magic and hopefully bringing an end to the Calamity, right? Keith just agreed with that and said, 'sure,' before Hijikata pulled him aside to speak privately and quietly.]
You think you'll find someone willing to do it who won't report back here that we did something like that?
[Yeah... Keith was concerned about potential backlash over the idea that "heroes" tricked them for the money, and the fact that it might cause problems to interfere with the bigger mission. Hopefully, the Lady of Lake could help them find someone who wouldn't, but who knew for sure, right?]
no subject
I'll ask the Lady to put me in touch with someone unaffiliated, from a different corner of the lake. People down here seem to stick to their own kind for all I can tell.
[The townfolk seem to have all but forgotten them in their excitement, except for the odd person calling over to them to express their gratitude. Are they doing the right thing by not coming clean about the truth? Maybe, maybe not. Ultimately they have no proof of the Wispmera's innocence, so Hijikata remains set on handling the matter in a slightly dodgy manner.]
no subject
Okay... then let's get out of here before they ask too many more questions...
Ready?
no subject
[He sighs as they subtly make their way out of the area (the ghost is floating alongside him too, and he briefly reassures her that he'll get her body once everyone disperses at night).]
Well, this turned into a bit of a shitshow. Next time let's take down an actual monster.
[That's his way of saying that, if nothing else, the teamwork was solid!]
want to end it here?
Heh, yeah. Hopefully, we'll solve this calamity first, but... I'm down for an actual monster next time, too.
Yes! Cheers for seeing this one through post-endgame! ♡
[Granted, they'll probably have other priorities - like finally going home - once the calamity is resolved, but details! For now, if nothing else, they get to kill some time, which means they can actually enjoy the festival a little (maybe it'll even be interesting for the Wispmera, who was always chased away at the edge of town). If Keith is interested in the drinks being sold in the market square it'll be Hijikata's treat.]
Hooray!
Come on... let's go check out the festival.
[And, with that, Keith headed off.]