EVENT #12: INVOCATION - COORDINATION POST (PART 2)

[abraxasmods]

Event #12 - COORDINATION ( 2 )

go to the OOC Plotting Post or IC Event Log

---

This post is for coordination while the event is ongoing, to prevent the IC Event Log from being overrun by OOC mod and player communications. The comments section will contain applicable comments and forms for you to reply to as needed.

Use this post to:

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

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 / Randomization

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

You can also use this section to request a randomized mod roll.

Contact Us

<b>Player Name:</b> <b>Character Name:</b> <b>Request:</b> (Describe what you'd like to do. Provide links if applicable.)

Interactions

Several interactions are available. For Part 2, there are fewer mysteries to uncover, but plenty to interact with to see what happens. You can interact with something as many times as you want, as long as there's a reasonable explanation for your character making their second attempt. Note that interactions might carry IC consequences, though we'll try to telegraph when characters are at high risk of triggering something. To interact, fill out the form, then comment under the corresponding item.

Interact

<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)

IC Exchanges

Use this option if you have an interaction you'd like to play out, but setting up a standard IC thread would be impracticable. For example, 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)

Notable Actions

Submit any 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, for example if your character snores loudly every night.)

Comments

steve and nero, then opening up to retrieval/negotiation team efforts

[ofthesword]

Where & when: Week 4, starting in the altar room and working outward.
Purpose: As an extension of the conversation in this thread, Steve and Nero volunteer to take a native out of the cavern through a secret tunnel, led by the dissenting acolyte. Eventually this will congregate them together with the Spared teams that will be working on negotiating the release of the other Lost, as well as providing distractions for an infiltration team that will attempt to use the same tunnel Nero and Steve left through to get inside.
Notes: For all participating characters, please feel free to use this top post to post smaller off-shoot threads for negotiation/infiltration as needed!

THREAD START
[Nero's in a far worse state than anyone should be who's offering to climb through a tunnel, but it's far from his first at this point. However, he's doing... better. Almost. The wound he got from trapping that goddamn thing weeks ago that was once festering, enflamed -- but probably that's not as bad as the fact it was full of vines thick with thorns, that constantly micro-cut his skin over and over as it tries to heal itself back -- is no longer weeping pus and blood. It's not closed up, but the skin around it's healed and pink, and he no longer has to hold his side as he walks. He's pale, and his white hair's turned brown from the lack of anything but a trickle of water, but he's still alive.

All he has left, at this point, is the hope that Geralt is right.

Goddamn. He better be right.

Besides, he's willing to bet he's the only idiot stupid enough -- and with the ability -- to fly. If they can even get a glimpse of where they are right now... he bets someone still down there's got the geographic knowledge he's lacking.

Separate from the others, Nero grabs Steve after the discussion, and the agreement of who will go. He leads him to the side, while the acolyte makes her preparations.] Look, I've got an idea if we make it topside. Let me go first. I need you tip-top for the stupid shit I'm gonna do, but -- I think I can get a clue as to where we are if we both make it.

[The problem is their third: a volunteer Nero suggested with a broken foot and lesions across her arms and shoulders. The same woman he saved from drowning when the cavern first broke apart. The one time starvation might've provided benefit is she isn't big. Far from it.] You think you can carry her through?

[assembles]

[ All of them are looking worse for the wear at this point, and that in and of itself is an understatement. Steve's hair has also darkened after weeks without a bath, trapped in the dark and covered in various layers of dirt, blood, and muddy seawater.

To say nothing of the thorny wounds peppered all over.

But they've taken the one acolyte up on her offer, and that means that the two of them have been picked to make it up to the surface. If this turns out to be some sort of ploy, Steve's pretty sure he and Nero have what it takes to make the acolyte regret it. If not, then they'll be able to see where they're located on the island and hopefully direct the people on their way to get them with some more helpful information.

Steve's readying himself for whatever comes next when Nero swings over, snatching his arm and dragging him out of his thoughts.

He has an idea? Something stupid? Steve frowns, but at this point he trusts Nero enough and knows that he's aware of his own capabilities and what he can pull off. He'd been able to act as bait for that monster without it going terribly wrong, so Steve won't press for details. Not when they need to get moving. ]

All right, you first. I won't be far beyond you if I can manage it.

[ They're supposed to go one at a time, but looking at the woman who'll be coming with them, who's been looking worse and worse this past week, the acolyte is going to have to understand that she can't go alone. ]

Yeah, I can carry her. [ When she realizes that they're talking about her, she glances over. There are dark circles under her eyes, and her face is far more sunken than it was at the start of all this. They must all look pretty awful, but some of them are pushing through the pain and exhaustion better than others. ]

You're gonna be all right. [ He doesn't smile, but his voice and the look he gives her are earnest enough. ] Help's on the way.

[ofthesword]

Great. [Nero, at least, gives her a thumbs up.] We've got you.

[No argument makes this way easier. Besides, he's got enough strength, at least, to grow some claws to help his way out.

As the acolyte warned, it's a hell of a quiet affair. The two of them -- especially with Nero's tail -- aren't exactly subtle, but Nero holds it tight in his hand as they break away from the group. To her credit, the tunnel is fucking hard to find, and he suspects they were using that same magic in the crystal he gifted to Jack (that fucker better still be alive) to cover the entrance.

One by one. It's a tight squeeze. Nero's arms ripple to scales and claws when he's out of sight, following it up. Wings, he can explain, and he'd already needed them for trapping that hedgehog motherfucker. But he doesn't need more questions beyond those.

He steels himself just in case. There's always gonna be a chance, whether they're at the threshold of desperation or not, that they're fucking with the people stuck in the altar room. They can't be trusted. But when he finally crawls out, sticking his head out of a hole in the ground, there's... plants. Foliage. Not green; in fact, they look like they're rotting all around him. It stinks, but it still doesn't stink as bad as the pit.

It's fresh air.]

Shit.

Even Nero needs a minute to take it in. Air. Room to stretch without stepping in someone's organs. He crawls out, his tail lashing through the plants, smacking against a dead tree. What looks like it might have once been a dense, rich forest is now a shadow of its former self, rotten and greyed out.

He peers back down towards the hole, planting his tail deep in the mud for leverage.] Steve, help her up! I'll pull 'er out.

[assembles]

[ When they're successfully able to move past the other acolytes to the secret path out, Steve feels like he can at least release one of the breaths he'd been holding. As the tunnel narrows, he gestures for the injured woman to come over and heaves her up into his arms without making much of a sound. Now isn't the time for it and she thankfully isn't so prideful to refuse his help.

They follow at a distance after Nero, with the acolyte between them so that she can keep an eye on both of them. So far so good, and when Steve hears Nero climbing up and out ahead of them, to say nothing of the beam of daylight streaming down through the opening, he can hardly believe it.

The acolyte climbs up next, and while Steve can't see her after that, he assumes she's keeping a wary eye out. ]

Got it. [ He steps up to the opening and gives the woman a boost up, asking her to tuck her legs in just in case so that she doesn't end up scraping against the cave wall too much as Nero grabs her from above. ] Up you go. [ He holds her up by the waist so that Nero can grab for her arms and pull her out the rest of the way. ]

[ofthesword]

[Nero's not real interested in whatever the acolyte does now. What matters is they got someone out -- a quiet woman who hisses the first time the sunlight hits her, like she's preparing for it to burn. He gets it. He's never gone this long without it himself, and if he didn't have other people to worry about, he'd simply sit here and take it in. Bask. Find some slice of quiet.

But instead, he pulls a woman out of a hole in the earth and keeps her standing with his arm curled up with hers, the same shade of brown from mud, and dried blood, and everything else coming from the dead bodies and their own.

He unplugs his tail, backing them to give Steve room.] Come on up, man. It's like bein' born again.

[There's almost a lightness to the words. Almost. It just... it feels good, that's all.]

[assembles]

[ The sudden burst of light hitting eyes that haven't been exposed to it in weeks — yeah, it's gonna hurt. Steve's prepared for that, and even the beam that manages to reach all the way down into the tunnel has him squinting. That's not about to deter him, though, and when Nero calls down to him, he clears his throat and nods. ]

Right.

[ Like being born again. There's something almost poetic in that, and in the way Nero says it. Like he's finally had a heavy weight removed from his chest.

Steve climbs up, eyes half-closed as he feels his way with the last few makeshift handholds. The warmth of the sun has him carefully opening one eye, then the other, as he makes it to flat solid ground, on his knees for a few seconds as he adjusts.

They actually made it. He takes a look around before letting his gaze settle on the acolyte woman. She's eyeing them carefully. ]

Thank you. For keeping your word.

[ If she was thinking of betraying them, maybe she'll think twice now, after hearing that. ]

[ofthesword]

[Hey, if he doesn't get it, he doesn't get it. Luckily Nero's eyes adjust fast, even if there's that whining, piercing promise of a headache in the back of his skull. Though -- fuck, when in the last few weeks has he not had some pain he's never really meant to have?

He's not ever going to be a fan of these assholes. But he can, at least, respect someone who keeps their word.

Like Steve said.]

And I really recommend not changin' your mind on keeping it at the last moment. [He cracks his fingers, walking a bit away from them once he's made sure their friend can walk on her own (and she, too, is taking it all in -- the sky, the sun, and the dead plants littered around them), looking for a little space. He doesn't need much. Not like a plane taking off.

He turns back to Steve, ignoring the acolyte now. Now that they're outside, the first thing is figuring out where they fuck they are.] I'm gonna fly up and look around. [Steve's been upfront about his own weird shit, and Nero needed those wings when he was making sure he didn't get trapped in that tunnel with the Hedgehog.] Normally I'd never ask, but considering how well we've been feeling... look, just catch my ass if I look like I'm gonna die, all right?

[Even if Nero still feels like shit, he's still Nero, at the end of the day. So he doesn't wait for a response before the two glowing, blue wings appear from nowhere, folded over his back, then snapping open to pull him into the air --

And it doesn't last. He lifts up, and up, over the trees, getting in a good look at the island they're on -- and then the wings fizzle out, disappearing to nothing, and he falls.

With a yell.]

[assembles]

[ Since the acolyte doesn't seem to be questioning her decision and the other captive is taking a moment to catch her breath after everything, that leaves Nero to get to his plan. Which turns out to involve him trying to fly.

Sure, Steve had heard about the wings when they made their plan to catch that monster in the tunnel. He hadn't really had the chance to see them, but he'd known about them in theory. The fact that Nero's immediately going to try and spread those wings to fly after they just got out here is a choice, but 1) he doesn't really give Steve a chance to protest, and 2) they are in a desperation situation and need as much information about their circumstances as they can get. ]

Can do.

[ But then Nero's off, wings spreading as he rockets up past the trees. It's an impressive things to watch, though Steve's seen Thor do it enough times that he's not all that perturbed by it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like their powers have returned completely. That or something else happened, maybe he clipped a tree, but what matters is that Nero is now hurtling back toward the ground. ]

Shit—

[ Steve races forward, eyes locking on Nero's falling body as he calculates where he needs to be to safely catch him. He manages to get into position just in time, but all of Nero's weight catapulting into his arms sends him falling to the hard ground. If his full strength was back, maybe that wouldn't have been the case, but they both end up in a messy pile of limbs, wings, and a tail.

Steve takes a moment to catch his breath, but then asks: ] You all right?

[ofthesword]

[That landing is sure to leave a mark. A lot of marks. Actually, he's pretty fucking sure he really regrets this, because the moment his body crashes into Steve's arms, it's like all of him jostles like shaken jell-o, bruised on every stretch of open skin.

For a second, he sort of just lays there. On top of him.

Tail flopping.

He only gets up because the thought the tail might slice through Steve's skin when they need him in good, working order pops into his head. He grabs it with a hand, bringing it to the front, hauling off of him with the other. Then he offers Boy Scout a hand up.]

Yeah. Thanks. [He bends over at the knee, hands on his legs, catching his breath. Sweat trickles down his brow, over his cheeks, face flushed.

Do not throw up. You do not throw up.

And... he's. Good.]

Nice catch. [He rolls his shoulder with a groan and a wince.] Bad news is I feel like total shit. Good news is, I already did -- and I think I see a beach where we can head down. Something is heading this way. Something big. Like a... okay, hear me out, but I think it's a turtle.

[assembles]

[ Given how catastrophic that could have been, the fact that the two of them are back on their feet within moments is pretty impressive. It wouldn't have been the case if both of them weren't more than human in one way or another, but that's part of why they're the two who were picked to make the trip out here. ]

Yeah, don't mention it. [ He gives Nero a quick nod, dusting himself off, though confusion immediately floods his face at the mention of... ] Wait, what? A turtle?

[ A turtle large enough that Nero had seen it with that brief glimpse he got above the trees. Steve's brow knits as he puts two and two together. ] That one that washed up in Thorne, maybe? [ Natasha had mentioned something to him about how she'd volunteered to distract the birds away from the massive turtle, with others working to push it back into the sea. ]

Well, let's hope it's friendly. Let me also see if I can send a message out. If we're lucky, the rescue team should already be on the way. [ His eyes lose focus for a moment as he delivers the message, though if Nero starts heading in a direction Steve will follow on semi-autopilot (after telling the two others with them what they're doing). ]

[ofthesword]

[He makes a circle with his hands and expands it as if to signal big fuckin' turtle. Which normally he would just be like, whoa, hey, a turtle, this turtle seemed to have, uh. People on it.

He tips his head.]

Wait, the one from the ship? Admiral Chuck?

[Was he that big? Nah, no way. But he can't help but think... there's gotta be a connection between two weird-ass turtles, right? Or is Abraxas just full of 'em?]

Yeah, go for it. [Nero checks on their escapee friend, offering her an arm as they start testing the ground past the exit. The acolyte's on their own, for all he cares. Until they get down from here, they're still as stuck as he is. But the woman is wounded, and he still has enough in him (thanks to the balance of having a tail) to test the ground before she starts following him, slowly down an incline. He only had a glimpse, but he's got a feel for how far the beach is, and the route they can take. With all the foliage dead, it's a hell of a lot easier to get through.]

There's a beach down a bit. Should be the best place we can meet up with... whoever. [Himeka promised she was coming, and he can trust her, at least.] And I've gotta see this turtle, man.

[assembles]

Yeah, sure.

[ Steve sounds a little bit distracted, especially as replies begin pouring in. He doesn't completely lose sight of where they're going or what they're doing, though, and does manage to do a decent job of multitasking. When all he has to do is think the messages, it's actually easier than texting. Now that he's used to it. ]

No, not... that was the one on the ship, right? No, there was a massive one that washed up somewhere in Thorne. We got a jellyfish in the Free Cities.

[ Thankfully, the terrain is not too harsh, and with the sun on his face and something approaching fresh air (better than the musty, stale air down in that pit, anyway), he's starting to feel marginally better. ]

Anyway, it sounds like they're not too far off. [ There's a pause before he lets out a scoff from somewhere in the back of his throat. It's not quite disbelief, but... ] We're doing it. [ They're almost home free. For a relative idea of home, that is. Hell, he'll take it. ]

[ofthesword]

[Nero, inexplicably, looks almost sheepish for a moment.] You guys got a giant turtle?

[That sucks. Why didn't Solvunn get a turtle? Instead of the stupid, shitty, screaming shark? Turtles are way cooler. And the reason he's sheepish is remembering his whole plan for the shark had been punching it in the uvula, only for the fucking thing to sneeze him out like a wayward booger.

Nero helps the survivor down a little ledge of rock, pausing to turn back to Steve.

He huffs, too.] Yeah. Surviving. S'what the Boy Scouts are all about, right?

wrapping here!

[assembles]

[ Nero is lucky in that Steve is still a few steps behind him, meaning he doesn't quite pick up on that sheepish reaction. ]

No, not me. I'm in the Free Cities, so I had to deal with getting stung by the jellyfish. [ Not that it had been a huge deal, especially with the gloves they'd been provided, and even then it wouldn't have bothered him too much.

He follows the two of them down the rock, drawing in a breath as he realizes he can smell the sea. More than that, he can smell something other than must and decay and rot. That surreal feeling persists, but he nods to Nero. ]

See? Maybe being a Boy Scout isn't so bad after all.

[ They continue onward. ]