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

[abraxasmods]

Event #12 - COORDINATION ( 2 )

go to the OOC Plotting Post or IC Event Log

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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.

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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

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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

IC EXCHANGES

[abraxasmods]

the pit; open to all

[stations]

Where & When: week 3, shortly after the first domino
Purpose: saving the acolyte and her brother, and giving folks a chance to debate with one another about it or stand up for them if they so desire!

THREAD START

( Jack has spent the last couple of days having quiet, side-discussions with the few people he knows here — specifically, the ones he thinks might be sympathetic or at least willing to help back him up. He's been bracing for the opportunity, and when shit starts to hit the fan, he seizes it.

It's not really an official public announcement, it's not a speech, he's no Captain America, but anybody that happens to be within a stone's throw from the cracked wall will hear him speak up — with perhaps surprising confidence considering his reputation of being unobtrusive at best and an idiot at worst. )

Okay, this is it. We're going... and we're taking them with us.

( A native, one wild-eyed young man covered in lesions, bites out an immediate, "The fuck?"

Jack presses on firmly. )

They're coming. If you don't like it, you can- well, let's be real, you could probably kick my ass and there's not much I could do about it, but we don't really have time for that, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't.

( "They're bloody cultists! They're the reason we're in here! They're the reason my brother died, he was torn apart because of them!" )

I don't think they are, and I don't give a shit. I mean- sorry about your brother, I do sort of give a shit about that. I don't know you, or him, so it's in a very... generalized human empathy for a stranger kind of way- but- it doesn't matter. I made a promise. They're coming. You can take it up with them when we're on the other side.

( "But-" )

No more NPC backstory exposition! Who cares! Let's fucking go! Jesus Christ, this was supposed to be a quick exchange.

[frontlinetitties]

I'd shut the fuck up and listen to him if you wanna get out of here!

[There's strain in Gideon's voice from where she's positioned at the destroyed wall, elbow-deep in nasty plant-heart goop as she holds the webbing open. If there's any chance there are people strong-armed into this cult who don't really want to be here, like hell is she prepared to let anyone prevent them from leaving.]

Not everyone joins some shitty cult out of choice!

[magicalarchaeologist]

[ Istredd is injured and exhausted and still holding onto the webbing despite that. ]

Enough!

[ He says sharply, and due to him speaking up a few times and keeping the water and food supply running, people do listen briefly. ]

Get out and escape, Jack and the other Summoned will take responsibility for them. Unless you want to stay in here.

shows up late with pit starbucks (from jack, probably)

[godshattering]

If no one else is going to say it, then I will. Getting them out of here with us is a chance for us to learn about why any of us are here we may not have otherwise. That means no recognizing if this group tries to take others next time, and then what?

[ Look - Claude can be realistic about an additional motive beyond not wanting to leave someone behind. The other points made are all valid, especially not leaving someone behind to face whatever cruelty their peers are going to enact upon them and that they don't know if they can even trust this acolyte and her brother, but. Answers are just as important as all of that. He also says it in a tone which says he's not interested in whatever arguments anyone else might have against that. ]

No one's kicking Jack's ass either unless they want to take on all of us. [ See also: Claude and anyone else rallying behind Jack. ] Focus on getting yourselves out through here and then you can squabble about it later.

[ And with that he turns to Jack next, expression serious and thoroughly ignoring whatever grumbling's going on as people start to advance to leave in the chaos surrounding them all. ]

Get them out with you. Sylvain and I will distract whoever we have to that wants to protest and then make our way out later.

[ofthesword]

You're the one not making it quick! Stop arguing. There's no point. They're getting out, whether you fuckers like it or not.

[Nero's making sure of that. And with the others backing Jack up, it's not gonna be a point of contention for much longer. (Surprise, surprise. Guess the Summoned are a bunch of idiots trying to be heroes, huh?)

Nero goes up to Jack, pausing as he digs something out from between the scales of his tail. (It's gross, all right, but it's all he had.) He's not had a chance to use it, and if he stays here, he won't.

He hands over a crystal he got from the altar. From Hydnellia's insistence, even.

Or should he say -- Lorelei?] Take it. Don't know what it does, but something tells me it'll help keep you out of the limelight. Maybe she'll know what it does.

the pit; Castiel, Steve Rogers, Gideon Nav

[frontlinetitties]

Where & when: week three; after the first domino
Purpose: holding the webbing open for escape/Team Self-Sacrifice

THREAD START
[Gideon would be the first to admit that she does all her best thinking with her biceps, so she takes herself just a little by surprise when the sparks between webbing and gross, bulbus growth catch at her attention. She stares at the pulsating mass for a moment, lips twisted in a grimace.]

Ugh. Yuck. Totally gross and bad--

[But she's plunging her hand in anyway, yanking hard at what she finds. Her eyes go wide as the webbing sags, space opening up around it, and instinctively she finds herself letting go. Immediately the webbing ripples closed again. But this is something, right? This is definitely something.]

Hey! Hey, come and look at this!

[Words meant for whoever's closest to her at the time.]

[assembles]

[ It's complete mayhem in the aftermath of that massive creature escaping. Death and destruction may have followed in its wake, but it hadn't outright attacked them, and now they have a window of opportunity. With the boulder shoved out of the way and the wall cracked open, there must be a way out.

Except there's still the webbing getting in the way. Steve's already looking for some way to tear it apart or maybe even burn it, but then he hears a voice call out and sees Gideon near that pulsing bulb. The one that Henry had sensed before.

He doesn't hesitate, rushing over to her side. She's elbow deep in vines and webbing from the looks of it. The entire cavern shakes again from a distant, massive footstep (that giant thing is still on the move) and Steve braces himself against the wall. ]

What is it?

NETWORK MESSAGE TO THE SPARED

[princessvegas]

[ Sent during this encounter. ]

I found one of them in the Horizon. Some of them have escaped through a portal hidden behind a wall, he says. They're somewhere high in the mountains. Maybe Hayle?

This one is in really bad shape. Still talking to him.

[aquilus]

How many escaped? Do they have any supplies at all?

private

[ushiri]

[ Testing the waters before he approaches her in some days. ]

Their connection seems more stable now?

Are the strange lesions still present?

[nadine_he_loves]

Thank god.

How bad a shape are we talking?

[itookashot]

Portaled into the mountains? For fuck's sake.

[ Escaping only to be killed in the snow. Jesper is this close to a meltdown. ]

There are a lot of mountains according to the map. Can you ask him if he sees the Singularity?

[aquaveiled]

Contact!

[ That is...good news! Bad conditions aside. Physical wounds can be treated, at least.

Though some of them...but really, all they need is one before the pieces start to fall. And portal would make sense that they don't want to leave an easy entrance to where they're keeping prisoners. ]

All signs were pointing north...

That he's even able to enter the Horizon after all of this is amazing. The sooner we can pinpoint where they are the sooner we can retrieve them. And those that remain.

When he's able, can he describe how they made it out? I have a hard time believing their captors let their guard down willingly.

[ Did they have to put up a fight? Does that mean they're in even poorer condition than they would be otherwise? How would this bode for the people left behind? ]

[cointosser]

Fuckity -- A development I don't think any of us were prepared for. Escape.

[Apparently they were just too slow. But maybe -- if anyone could escape, Geralt and Ciri could.]

Are you all right? Do you need assistance? [Not that there is much to fear from others in the Horizon, but there is still some element of danger.] I am organizing the tents in Nocwich, but I can come at your beck and call.

escape; water tunnel cave search.

[gynvael]

Where & when: early in week 3,
Purpose: geralt and aloy are coming to find the people who went through the underwater portal and bring them back. feel free to bump into geralt and aloy together, along the way, separated, whatever you're vibing.

THREAD START

[ His intent is to find the girl—Alicent—but it becomes clear she isn't the only one lost elsewhere on the slopes. He's tracking her down as it is. No reason to leave the rest stumbling in the snow. Once the sun sinks low, who in the hell knows what crawls out at night.

Normally, he'd go at it alone. But he's not exactly whole, and the best he has for a weapon is a sharp pick. Ciri aside, there's only one person he's certain can keep up with him. So. Here he is, trekking across the frozen ground with Aloy.

At least his senses have filtered back: bit by bit, he can see in the night again, catch a scent in the air or a heartbeat in the wind. Between tracks, perhaps the smell of blood—whatever it is, he does catch up to someone. A group, even.

Geralt peers around the corner, white hair matted a muddy grey beneath the hood of his cloak. His face might be familiar after all that time in the fucking hole together. ]

Water tunnels

[chainedqueen]

[Somewhere along the way, she lost Mat, his hand slipping from hers. She had turned a corner and before she could grasp her surroundings, she was kicking through the water, struggling to surface and choking for air. The surface had seemed elusive, but with enough flailing and grasping, she had finally gripped the sides of the pool and heaved herself up.

The fever left her disoriented and the cold made her frantic. Her clothes were sticking to her, freezing against her raw skin. Twists and turns stretched on endlessly. Finally exhausted, hurting and hardly able to breathe from the cold, Alicent sunk to the ground and curled into herself.

Surely Mat realized she was lost. Someone had to be searching for her. Someone must be coming. Someone.]

Closed; Wolf time with Sten

[cryptsleeper]

Player Name: Dia
Character Name: Alucard

When: Early week 4, prior to departure
Where: Nocwich
What: Following up on a few parts of Sten's remarks
Link: Thread

--
[The whole of it is a lot to sort through. Every since it became clear that there was a primary instigator to all of this, Alucard has struggled with the questions of what is the motivation? and what are we missing?. Each informs the other, but the vital thing to bring it into a coherent whole is still out of reach. Sten is thoughtful and direct, without a particular horse in the race beyond getting all involved to safety.

Climate isn't pertinent here, so that much gets set aside. The decomposition element is noted, that might be of some use. Transformation, that feels closer to the truth here. Transformation but to what end? In the case of the were-folk, it is a deeper connection with nature. But here--

--He leans back, the focus seemingly always returning to the matter of god(s).]

If one was to try and use what I'll call the general outline of these rituals and map them onto specific gods, do you have an idea of which deities they might be after? Or perhaps if I'm to think of other angles, why did Solvunn's and Luna's perception of gods split as it has? Was there something unified that then broke, or did things changes simply due to distance and climate?

meeting with Sten

[princessvegas]

Where & when: After the call for information on the ritual is put out
Purpose: Julie has some piping hot goss about it all, but she's still cagey af about authority figures.

THREAD START

[ It's several days before Julie convinces herself that there's time for her to leave the Horizon long enough to do this. But maybe that was just an excuse she was making, she realizes as she exits through the portal into the square. Ugh, still makes her a little queasy every time.

She waited until nightfall in Cadens before she came, even though it's always dark here. It should be near the time that anyone in the square is thinking about packing it in for a rest, she assumes -- she doesn't know exactly how business hours work when it's always the middle of the night. Her goal is simply to be seen by as few people as possible, and to that end, she's forgone color, covered her hair. The soft light of the pendant that gives her access to Nocwich illuminates the tooth she wears on a shorter chain.

Her footsteps are brisk on the cobblestones, but her voice is tentative when she lifts the tent flap a bit and asks, ] Is this where I can tell y'all about the ritual?

The Holdout Crew; OTA

[magicalarchaeologist]

[ Istredd has managed to wrap up his injury from the escape enough to get through it and while he's leaning heavily on one side, blood mixed in with the mud and everything else on his clothing, he is able to somewhat stand. He speaks very quietly, and they're in a small room so it's as private as it can be.]

We should talk about the acolyte who says she's willing to help us get out.

[ He glances over at Castiel since it was something he said first, but he eventually gives up and sits down, wincing as he does, because he doesn't need to stand for this anyway. Istredd looks around at the others.]

I can't use my telepathy that much but I don't think she's the only one who may be having second thoughts. I think we can use it.

Network to Spared - Retrieval Team Formation

[aquaveiled]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure you've seen that our lost friends are escaping on their own! Thanks to Julie for breaking the news and tending to those that she can. We'll get more information as more are able to come forward and find a safe space to reach out to us, but what we do know is that not all were able to make it out.

It looks like several people are already making plans to track those that did escape down, so I am planning on going to find the others.

We're still working our coordinates, but we do know that our suspicions are correct. They're up north on an island near the border of the Free Cities and Thorne. We know that Josselyn Creed is using her connections all over Abraxas to pull this off, but her time is short. We can find them.

We've had the support of our respective nations up until now and can still use that to our advantage. I think a road trip is nigh and I doubt I'm the only one itching to go and retrieve our friends.

Who's in?

Network to Spared -- Search Team

[cointosser]

My friends, first of all, thank you for your help. We truly cannot do this alone to find our lost.

I have been in contact from a Summoned who has managed to escape with a small group of others, and he has provided a general location of where they have ended up. It seems that their escape was interrupted by a portal, and they have been dropped in another location.

[Jaskier then attempts to recreate Geralt's map, though perhaps the strokes have more of a flourish.]

Before you ask, no, he will not provide a more detailed map. He's skilled at survival, not mapmaking.

They are in the mountains north of the Singularity in the general location, as indicated. I will continue to contact him as he is able to provide, but this will, at least, lower the land we must traverse.

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?

network to spared

[assembles]

This message is intended for anyone who's making their way to the island. Hopefully you've already landed.

By negotiating with one of the acolytes having second thoughts, Nero and I have made it above ground. If you've already arrived or you're close, you may have seen him fly briefly above the treeline. I'm hoping you can use that to narrow down our position, but if not I'll do what I can to direct you toward us.

The rest of the captives are still down below, locked up in a room that's filling up with water. If a few of you can sneak your way back the way we came, that's probably our best chance of getting everyone out of here alive. There will likely be some resistance along the way. Plenty of the acolytes are still dedicated to their cause, and there are some monsters down there besides.

altar investigation; castiel, jayden, istredd, urianger

[unwings]

[[ continuation of this thread, concerning this altar investigation ]]

[ a hand, and the hand is connected to an arm, a torso, and look at that, a whole person. a severely disfigured person, who's had fungal branches grow across the upper half of her head, and as Cas pulls her free from the altar, her breathing becomes labored and painful. the expansion of her ribs and rise of her chest falls into sync with the pulsing rhythm of the surrounding vines, and Cas pauses in pulling her free. ]

She may be tied to a, uh, a life force of the altar. You see the pulsing? [ The angel signals Jayden to come closer with a jerk of his head, help him keep this woman from falling out and busting her fungal skull on the ground. Glancing over his shoulder, Cas scans the crowd for a familiar face that might have insight, or at least a better guess at how to handle this. his eyes settle on Istredd.

Their last few collaborations ended in releasing an old world horror upon the realm of the living once more. Though, it did offer the other opportunity to escape. hopefully istredd still holds a good opinion of him, after all that. ]

Istredd! A moment, please? [ calls the familiar face holding up half the body of a mushroom headed women hanging out of the blood and viscera filled maw of a occult, nightmare alter. ]