EVENT #12: INVOCATION - COORDINATION POST (PART 1)

[abraxasmods]

Event #12 - COORDINATION (1)

go to the OOC Plotting Post or IC Event Log

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This post is for coordination to prevent the IC Event Log from being overrun by OOC mod and player communications. Forms and instructions are available in this post.

Use this post to:

◎ Coordinate event plots with the mods
◎ Request a mod dice roll
◎ Submit noticeable actions
◎ Write rapid IC exchanges
◎ Investigate a plot point or track ongoing investigations

If you have any questions, see the Questions thread on the OOC Plotting Post.

Available Forms

For details on each form, see the sections below.
Be sure to reply under your assigned category if applicable.

Mod Communications

If you have an idea related to the event plot, communicate and coordinate with us here. This includes NPC meetings, requesting resources, destroying the environment, or anything else that may require mod permission. If we can't accommodate a request for any reason, we'll do our best to offer an alternative!

Contact Us

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Request:</b> (Describe what you'd like to do)

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Request here

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Action:</b> (Describe what your character is attempting to do and how) <b>Thread:</b> <a href="urlhere">Thread</a> (Link to the thread where this is taking place) <b>Notes:</b> (Anything else)

Notable Actions

Submit notable actions that are likely to gain attention from other players, such as fights or disturbances.

Submit a notable action

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>When:</b> (Approximately when is this incident taking place?) <b>Where:</b> (Where is this incident taking place?) <b>What:</b> (Describe the incident) <b>Link:</b> <a href="urlhere">Thread</a> (If applicable. Actions can be submitted without a thread if they're minor, such as if your character snores loudly every night.)

IC Exchanges

Use this option for interactions you'd like to play out, but setting up a standard IC thread would be impracticable. For instance, if your character wants to speak to several people about an event they witnessed together, you might want to do an IC exchange.

Treat this like an informal IC network thread done in person, where character reactions, snippets of dialogue, and other details can be quickly played out and concluded in-game without committing to a full log thread. Exchanges are game canon and can count towards Activity Check under the category of a Network thread.

Start an IC exchange

Using the provided form is optional. Begin a thread freeform if you prefer.

<b>Where & when:</b> (Where and when is this exchange taking place?) <b>Purpose:</b> (What's the reason for this exchange?) <b>THREAD START</b> (Write the scenario, your character's actions, and any dialogue as usual)

Investigations

Several investigation paths are available for characters to interact with. Each assignment group will have their own set of investigation paths. You can investigate something as many times as you want, as long as there's a reasonable explanation for your character making their second attempt. Interacting with investigations might carry IC consequences. We'll try to telegraph when characters are at high risk of triggering something major. To investigate, fill out the form, then comment under the item you're investigating.

Interact with an Investigation

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Other characters involved:</b> <b>Action:</b> (Describe what your character is attempting to do and how. If multiple characters are taking action, include their actions.) <b>Thread:</b> <a href="urlhere">Thread</a> (Link to a top level or any other relevant threads. This is so we can review what the characters involved have been doing to best flavor the investigation outcome for you!) <b>Notes:</b> (Anything else)

Comments

TRACKING LEADS

[abraxasmods]

[ushiri]

Player Name: Jay
Character Name: Kyle
Other characters involved: N/A

Action: Kyle is going to request a portal to a mountainous region, if they can choose he'd try to search the mountains to the south on the border with Solvunn since there's been rumors of people going missing from the faction for some time now. He's going by himself to cover more ground with the intention of using the Gray Space to scout and get to difficult to reach places. He will initially stick with his guard, but if he finds a trail of something strange and out of reach on foot, he will absolutely ditch them to chase the lead.
Thread: Thread talking to Wilhelm about a cave. Since it's solo I'll thread out the aftermath with someone else, if that's okay!
Notes: Wards will stand out and stop him in the Gray Space, but wherever they aren't around he's going to be moving through solid objects to ignore physics and get to places that would otherwise be unreachable. Totally cool with him ending up injured by something and needing to limp back.

[abraxasmods]

Kyle would be allowed to visit the mountainous area that borders Solvunn. He needs to stay within Thorne's borders, but Thorne's wards outside of their own cities will allow him to use Gray Space to travel short distances and go or down up heights that normally might require some effort climbing. The guard will be less strict of Kyle is traveling with another Summoned as opposed to alone, but there's a sense that any guards who accompany the Summoned know they'll be in deep trouble if they return without their special charges.

As Kyle is walking, a dead bird will fall out of the tree. His travel companion, if they were there for this quest, may recognize it as a flamewing spoonce, found in the forests and mountains around Thorne and seen only in the city during migratory periods at spring. You may decide if it lands at his feet or on his head.

He can stop to examine the bird and the tree it came from, or choose to continue onward. Let us know what he'll be doing should he take a look at the tree or the bird.

[ushiri]

He will be with the guard during this, it'll land at their feet. He'll leave the guard to inspect the bird and use the Gray Space to zip up the tree, popping back out into real space on sturdy branches to inspect and look around up there, moving on if they find nothing of interest here.

[abraxasmods]

The bird is desiccated, as if it's been drained of its life force. Its normally vibrant plumes are dull, and some of its feathers have fallen out. At the top of the tree, Kyle will find deadened leaves that are equally sucked empty of both life and color. The bark and wood is also deadened, turning black.

[thedevilwhorose]

Player Name: Heather
Character Name: Lucifer
Other characters involved: Robin, Kol

Action: Week 2 Lucifer would like to go alone, but can't go investigate Lake Circinus itself. His reasoning behind this is from Viktor's network info of the trackers pointing somewhere to the north of Cadens, though without an idea of east/west yet. Kyle's already been through the mountains further south of Thorne, so the next big "chunk" up is the lake.

While the full lake in general might be interesting, never know what skeletons a like hides, he'd like to try and get the direct route east from Nott to across the way fully towards the shore closest to the Singularity side. Not only because Nott has the docks there but because of Nott's previous rumors of missing people, and the knowledge that there are natives currently with the kidnapped Summoned.

-I'm not sure if they can take a boat, or if it's frozen this time of year
-I do not actually know how big that lake is nor how much time it would take to cross it, and I assume they'd still have a guard accompanying them for the awkward trip.
-I'm guessing that shoreline closest to the Singularity might be just barely in Thorne's territory.

Thread:
Lucifer started with Robin

Notes: +2 people because they're expendable, maybe they can swim

[abraxasmods]

1. Yes, the lake is still partially frozen. Boats can move on the water, but there are also patches of ice.

2. Crossing the lake from Nott to the Singularity shore will take an average of one day each way. Smaller boats may take longer. Soldiers and guards would be stationed around the lake, and the group will have a guard of their own for protection.

3. The shoreline is indeed the edge of Thorne's territory.

While Thorne would be hesitant to let them go far, they can travel about halfway across the lake and stop roughly in the middle of it. From here, they can overhear fishermen whisper about something in the waters stealing their catch.

If you wish, Lucifer or his companions may bribe a fisherman to go further. It'll require a large bribe, but fishermen in Nott are desperate and it would be possible to bluff a bribe. They can watch the fisherman travel across the lake. Along his journey, the thin ice will crack and a large tentacled creature full of teeth will attack. The fisherman will be eaten alive in a gory scene.

While it's distracted with its meal, the group might want to take advantage and leave before it gives chase.

Asking local experts will reveal this creature is a dosarak which hails from deep in the ocean. The creature being found in a freshwater lake is unprecedented. Since the waters are not its natural habitat, the creature will perish eventually on its own.

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer's first attempt at a bribe would literally be to try and offer Robin as a bride, much to her Extreme Consternation:

Lucifer: "she's young, energetic -"
Robin: *going to fucking cut you*
Lucifer: *locks an arm around her neck* "great arcana, if you're about the right match"

He'd offer a second option to give the poor man a choice of what speaks to him more, pointing at Kol:

"That right there is a man that screams decadence, with funds to back it if it's coin you're after. We can settle the price afterwards, with hazard pay, of course."

- A followup question for around town is if they've had this problem for a bit now, or if it's recent (within the last week or so). In an effort to find out if this is an unrelated problem they stumbled upon, or perhaps a temporary solution to block/hide something.

[abraxasmods]

The fisherman will be insulted by Lucifer's first offer and declare he has a family. He may require someone to smooth the situation over. If they're unwilling or unable to, they must find another fisherman and try a different tactic on their new target. Fortunately, there are many fishermen in the area.

Any fisherman they pick will want some proof of gold or silver. Wine, butter, or sugar will suffice, as well, since they're valuable staples for the fishermen. They can choose to pay him a small amount as a gesture of good faith, and promise him the rest.

Asking about the odd phenomenon, they'll discover that it's only occurred within the last 2-3 weeks.

[funbreaker]

Player Name: Court
Character Name: Thancred Waters
Other characters involved: Stephen Strange

Action: Working off of the map recovered from this investigation, Thancred will also be coordinating with Stephen to see if any of the locations on the map might line up with / be near to one of the thaumametor locations. If so, they would request a portal from Thorne to go investigate that area. (They'd be particularly interested about the location where they found the undead rat during Event #10.)
Thread: No thread started yet (and let me know if there needs to be one started), but please note the link above! I wanted to make sure this would lead anywhere before doing a starter.

[abraxasmods]

Unfortunately, the coordinates don't line up quite accurately with any of the thaumametors. It does suggest that the abductors aren't aware of the thaumametors or otherwise don't have any interest in them.

However, because the thaumametors are so spread out across Thorne, one of the coordinates is in the general area of one located in Borrel. They can try their chances regardless, since there have been few leads in Borrel thus far.

If they want to check on the thaumametor while they are there, Stephen's watch will spin as they draw closer like it is unable to sync with the closest node. If they remember where they placed it, they will find that it is askew and pointing in the wrong direction. Intentionally or otherwise, the device as been moved. If they examine the area they will find scattered footprints in the earth. The footprints lack any defining features of normal human feet like toes or a sole and are missing treads that shoes would have. They are almost perfectly smooth.

They can also examine the coordinates themselves. They won't find anything relevant to the investigation at hand, but it'll confirm that the man who has the map isn't directly involved in the disappearances and was only paid for a task.

[northerndragon]

Player Name: Elizabeth
Character Name: Jon Snow
Other characters involved: Rhy Maresh (Lena)

Action: LOOKING FOR MAT; or, TWO NICE FELLOWS ARE WORRIED

Mat disappeared on his favorite hunting trail, and was with Hornet at the time. Upon getting the results of the Mat location spell, Jon approached Rhy and asked if he wanted to come along to check it out. He is aware that Rhy and Mat are close.

Jon and Rhy would go to check out the location indicated by the location spell (the abduction site). They would try to comb over it pretty thoroughly, and also talk to people who might have been in the vicinity, castle staff who might have checked hunting equipment out to Mat and Hornet, grooms in the stable to see if horses are missing, and so on. (If they learn that Hornet was also taken at the same time, this would likely be how.)

Notes: While Jon is a lv 1 influence bean and probably seen around town by those who have noticed him at all as something like "I know his face, and he seems like an ok dude," Rhy is a lv 3: much better-known and more sociable, an intelligent, kind, friendly, and charming person who is currently experiencing considerable concern and distress. If there is social grease to apply here, then Rhy may be able to apply it, or someone may simply wish to help him because they know and like him.

If there is anyone requiring enroughening at this stage in the process, it is likely to be Jon's territory: he has a much hotter temper than his amiable-but-brooding demeanor suggests, and is prone to flares of sudden intense violence. Jon is also capable of hunter/ranger-type tracking and scene analysis, as mentioned in another investigation. He's decent at this, with experience since early childhood and far better than most of his peers, but he's still only 25ish, and only human, and hunting has been a hobby/pastime (this is to say, he might miss things while working with Rhy that he would not have missed with Galadriel, but they would still try their best).

[abraxasmods]

While speaking to the stable workers, they'll tell Jon and Rhy that one of the missing horses was just returned by two other Summoned. He'll give them their names in case Rhy or Jon want to ask what was found.

Exploring the more immediate area where Mat and Hornet were last seen, they'll notice no unusual signs except that of a physical disturbance. However, there is a set of tracks that will lead them to the area where the horse was originally found. There, they can observe the same withered vegetation and a desiccated rabbit under a bush nearby. This suggests that the Acolytes needed to bring their victims to a specified location before whisking them away rather than abducting them directly where they were attacked. It's possible their method of transportation was limited to certain areas.

They can bring the rabbit back if they wish to examine it further.

[northerndragon]

First: sorry I'm pokey, got a bit sick the last few days. I think anything major can be wrapped up pretty quickly, though.

Second: they brought the rabbit back.

Jon is doing several things with the black goo found in the other investigation. First, he will use a stick and apply a dab of the black goo to both the desiccated rabbit and a more normal dead one, to see what happens. He will not use much. After that, he would turn the rabbit over to castle mages (iirc this is where people have turned over other, similar animals that they've found).

Also, as Lucifer suggested, Jon will take the black goo to the Winking Cauldron and have Millie take a look at it. The focus of his questions would be on the content (he knows it's herbs and blood, at this point) and whether or not she can reverse engineer it or has ever seen anything like it, what it would be for if she has, etc. He will explain anything about the overall situation that she asks about.

[abraxasmods]

Putting the black goo on the desiccated rabbit will give no results. Putting it on a normal one will cause it to begin to show advanced signs of rot not previously seen moments ago.

Millie will spend some time with the substance. Unfortunately, she will not be able to understand much about it, though she can tell him that the blood involved is likely human blood rather than animal blood if he's found it connected to these strange occurrences. She suggests its ingredients must come from another location outside of Thorne.

[widows_kiss]

Player Name: Rynn
Character Name: Natasha
Other characters involved: Lenore

Action: Jayce sent Natasha a tip after investigating the wood shipments that had rotted in the Free Cities, letting her know the shipments from Solvunn might be suspect. He suggested finding someone with enhanced senses to investigate the grain shipments Thorne had received. She nabbed Lenore, since one of his suggestions had been a vampire, and they're going to see if they can track it down and see if its in the same state. So they'd be trying to A. track down where the grain shipments went and B. see if they get permission to inspect it for a similar sort of rot.

As a player, I'm not sure where to send them to find out about the shipments, but that's probably something Natasha would have kept an ear out for, considering Nott not getting the help it needed and the people going missing has been on her radar since she overheard things about it at the negotiations. She would use the report from Free Cities only to someone in charge or higher level because she doesn't want this to cause a panic if it turns out to be a dead end (or cast suspicion on her for having ties to FC), but if she can find one of the ones she overheard expressing frustration with Nott not getting the resources it needed from the castle or a guard she might be friendly with, she might start with that, or go to Ambrose or one of his mages as a later resort, should no one else be able to help her (but she knows she isn't well known here yet and kinda likes it that way right now, so she'd push that off unless there are no other places to prod or bribe for information on this)

Thread: Thread Starting out here. The only other relevant link is Jayce's message linked above.
Notes: Both Natasha and Lenore have considerable experience with manipulation and coercion and are likely to use whatever tools they have at their disposal, adapting their efforts depending on who they're trying to get information from.

[abraxasmods]

The easiest place to examine the grain shipments is right at home. Thorne's kitchen is extensive since they take great pride in their cuisine, and Castle Thorne takes priority when it comes to rations. A lot of the much needed grain would have went to the castle.

They can bribe a cook on duty during off hours to leave her station and take a look. Natasha and Lenore can examine the grain. Notably, they won't find any sign of the same type of rot or other suspicious occurrences. While they can't directly check the storage in Borrel's military base for security reasons, soldiers would also have few complaints about the food they were served and didn't notice anything strange.

Nott would be the last to receive any of the grain, so it's possible they may have the lowest quality supplies. Some of the residents would admit that the grain they received was poor, but not inedible. Strangely, the supply around Thorne appears to be fine.

However, one sheepherder claims he received a shipment for his flock that was stolen - or so he thought. The next day, it'd been replaced with a different supply. Since he had the grain he needed, he didn't question it but he admits it seems someone took the original sack of grain away. He doesn't know what the reason could be.

[funbreaker]

Player Name: Court
Character Name: Thancred Waters
Other characters involved: Galadriel, Jon Snow

Action: So! Thancred is going to request another portal based on information he got from Sylvain. Basically, following the ascension ritual Sylvain is seeing visions of the mountainous area from one of the past events (this one!). Thancred and Sylvain got stuck in this area in the Horizon together (here), but now that Sylvain's getting visions of it, Thancred's wondering if there's more to it. He'd approach Thorne officials to determine if there is anywhere in Thorne that might resemble this mountainous area (he'll do his best to describe it) and would ask if he could get a portal to such a place to investigate. He'd be bringing Jon and Galadriel as backup since it's probably not going to be the easiest to navigate place, or so he would guess.
Thread: Thread of Sylvain passing on this info.

[abraxasmods]

The description unfortunately fits the entirety of the snowy mountain range that runs along the western edge of Thorne. None would have the unusual marble hands, however he can consider trying his luck and going there. Thorne would allow him to go with two guards since the area is quite dangerous, but they'll request that he return before dark.

Exploring the mountains, there will be little evidence of any vanishings or unusual activity. They might run into any number of dangerous mountain wildlife if you like. While the amount of evidence is lacking, this may imply that the location Sylvain witnessed doesn't exist in an area that characters can yet access. It also suggests the Acolytes didn't go deep into the northern mountains, possibly due to the dangerous conditions or because it isn't terrain that they're familiar with.

[ushiri]

Player Name: Jay, Heather
Character Name: Kyle
Other characters involved: Lucifer

Action: Lucifer and Kyle are going to request a portal near the northeast border of Thorne, the wooded area near the Singularity, the coast, and that tiny bit of mountain. A lot of the tracker info has been pointing north-ish, so they want to see if there's anything to find there. They will be looking for: strange or dying fungus, the altered Arcana symbol found earlier, creatures that are in the wrong biome, and just general signs of humanoids moving through. They'd also like to try to get a look at that little wooded island just north of the border. This would probably be around the same time people are leaving to meet up with Solvunn folks.
Thread: Thread incoming after approval!
Notes: They will absolutely ditch their guards again if they have to in order to get a better look at things, though Kyle may request at least 2-3 so they aren't leaving one dude by himself.

They will also inquire about the little island itself, and if it's considered neutral territory. If allowed, he'd ask they be let through the border wards to explore it.

[abraxasmods]

They won't be given permission to go beyond the edge of Thorne's borders, but they can visit as far as the coastline. At first glance, the area will appear undisturbed. If they look at just the right angle, though, they may catch a glimpse of something hidden in the corner of their eyes. An illusory spell looks to lie over the entire area.

If neither of them are skilled in magic, they might need return to the castle to find help. They can ask either other characters or one of the mages from the Castle. Mages familiar with Academic Magic will notice that this spell was not cast using that type of magic so dispelling it might take a bit of trial and error.

Regarding the island, not much is known about it. It being neutral territory makes it politically fraught for any one faction to cross into without proper communication as the others might see it as an attempt to expand. Since it has no resources to exploit other than some trees, none of the factions find the effort worth it. As far as anyone knows, the island is untouched and left to nature.

[ushiri]

Ahhh neat! Will check in with other characters + start our thread, just to clarify to make sure I'm reading right - is the illusion off the coast/by the island or is it the area within Thorne's borders?

[itookashot]

Player Name: Dee
Character Name: Jesper
Other characters involved: None (Julie supplied the image)

Action: Jesper will go to the military with this photo. He doesn't want to hear an art critic. He'll point out the vines for legs and the face, and the wood on the back. Julie also said "It moves on its hands and with the vines to drag it. It can be burned at least enough to make it turn tail." He asks if they've heard of anything like this beast before and insists it's important. He has a good relationship with the military post-supply run, or at least polite terms.

After that, he will see if there are non-Summoned hunters around that are willing to look at the photo as well. He will bribe them if need be but also see if he can tug at the 'hunters stick together' energy if it's possible lol.

Thread: It is inspired bythis convo.

[abraxasmods]

Jesper will have to spend a notable amount of time going from unit to unit, barrack to barrack as soldiers carry on with their business while answering. They'll each pause to take a look, some hastily and others with more care. The answer though is always the same: it's completely unfamiliar.

Reactions from local hunters are equally varied. A number are displeased by Jesper's sense of community sentiment since they see the Summoned hunters as infringing on their territory and work. Bribes will help reduce negative feelings. They'll confirm the same thing, which is they've never seen this creature before.

This might suggest the creature is a new creation, exclusive to an area that the natives don't have access to, or both.

[itookashot]

Thank you mods!