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seasonsooc2025-07-14 04:53 pm
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsooc2025-07-14 04:53 pm
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EVENT PLOTTING - Event #15: Zero to Hero
Zero to Hero
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
A new mission has been announced by the guild leaders. This time they can go public with information, as they have successfully managed to catch all spies in their midst. This time their objective is to investigate the strange new stone totems in the Forest of Courage.
Sawyer will be joining the investigation this time and he advices everyone to take gear that suits rainy and stormy weather. The best method to get to their area of interest is to use the teleportation crystal to arrive at the Autumn Airship Station (even if characters are free to find their own ways there). Most of the natives will set up a camp there, so adventurers have a safe place to fall back to. The area, however, has recently started attracting a strange new species.
The airship station lady has her will-o'-the-wisp like spirit cats that glow in all shades of blue, but there's also new felines called Owlcats that flock around the airship station. Some of them resemble griffins quite a bit, while some are just owls that have a cat's head. Unfortunately, they tend to get into fights with the spirit cats over territory.
Owlcats are definitely highly social creatures and will get attached to anyone fairly quickly. Adventurers might leave here with a pet later.
In the Forest of Courage, there are six big stone totems all spread around. All of them have a symbol etched on them: bull, horses, a belt, cows, apples and a three headed dog. They feel similar to the ones encountered in The Puzzling Ruins. Nothing will happen if only one person touches the symbols, but when there's two or more, the people get transported into new areas.
All of the places start with a voiced message. "To win this challenge, you must find the right course of action. Violence is not always the answer. Look around you for clues." Calling to the voice yields no results and it doesn't appear again, unless someone does the task again.
The Bull
Setting: A classic fenced area with a very big bull waiting to be released. There's a lasso nearby and a note of 'Tame the Bull'.
Objective: A pair of characters have to try and stay on the bull for at least ten minutes. Both of them have to remain on the bull until the bell chimes.
The Horses
Setting: A forest much like Maybe it's Mapleline forest. There are several horses that have various parts of their body shaped and colored by maple leaves and they look angry.
Objective: Defeat the carnivorous maple horses. All methods are allowed.
The Belt
Setting: A room full of mirrors that reflect someone important to the character (that person may be themselves) wearing a belt. Getting closer to them will let the reflections come out of them and they're all hostile.
Objective: Steal the belt. The reflections will disappear when the belt is taken.
The Cows
Setting: A pasture with cows that need to be herded into an area protected by sturdy fences.
Objective: Herd the cows to safety before monster wolves kill them. They're just wolves that look like monsters, or monsters that look like wolves.
The Apples
Setting: An apple orchard with plenty of different colored, delicious apples.
Objective: Steal a bushel of apples without being spotted by the guardian scarecrows. Watch out for the bees.
The Three-Headed Dog
Setting: A room with a giant, three-headed dog (of any breed). It appears intimidating but not hostile.
Objective: Befriend the dog and play with it.
Failing at a test will send them back to the forest with a penalty of losing at least three different senses for half an hour. Succeeding gives them a small crystal that they're meant to carry with them.
After passing a test, the people participating may return to the same part of the forest the totem is and potentially do a new quest. However, there's a chance that they're also teleported into a completely new area to continue the tests.
Those forced to continue the tests find themselves in an old castle with various cracks on it's walls. It's dim and looks empty, but at the same time it feels like they're not alone. There are several directions to go into, but no indication of which is the right path.
After standing around for a moment, characters will find themselves with changes to their bodies. Those who have died before will find the scars or areas that caused their death start glowing in gold, in a similar manner to kintsugi. Others will have theirs show up as methods they're most afraid of dying by or where they think the fatal blow will happen (those who think they will die of old age will have have faint scars around their head). The glow is so bright it shines through any layers of clothes.
These glowing scars feel emotionally heavy, no matter how in terms someone is with death. One of the castle's effects is to make those tested feel the dread of death and mortality, even if the person would normally be immortal.
The only way forward here is to explore the castle, no matter how heavy their steps feel like.
As people walk through the hallways, several voices can be heard. The voices aren't recognizable at first and their words are hard to understand. However, the further they walk the more obvious it becomes that they are hearing themselves talk. What they're saying depends on the character.
Some will say their greatest and deepest fears, some will question the person's identity and some will outright start to insult the characters. Those who fall under the pressure will find it harder and harder to walk, eventually making them stop completely, while those who are able to fight back the words will find their footsteps lighter and their burdens lessen. These words are heard by everyone in the same hallway, adding to the pressure of the situation.
If a character manages to completely erase the voice that haunts them will find that the small crystals they gathered in the trials will start glowing a silver light. In turn some of the cracks on the castle walls start glowing as well, showing a spot to insert the crystals into. Once that happens, the walls starts to glow and the trial ends for the successful character and they're teleported back out to the forest. This also gets rid off the kintsugi effect on them.
Those who weren't summoned for the extra trial will start to notice that the stone totems start to glow a silver light, revealing similar spots to insert crystals into. With enough crystals on the totems, they will completely break and return all characters back to the forest clearing. From one of the totems appears an artifact, which is a large, luminescent statue of a tiger.
Sawyer will secure the artifact and bring it back to Nightwake with him once everyone i safely back to the forest. But before that, a large and muscular male person with long bold hair appears, introducing himself as Herakles and surrendering himself to Sawyer. He explains that this and the Puzzling Ruins were his tests to see if they are worthy of his trust and that he will cooperate with them.
Overall, the mission is a success and everyone is treated to a nice airship ride of luxury and pampering back to the city.
Meanwhile, the cold starts to set in gradually in Nightwake. No matter which district your in, the temperature drops significantly. Even in Solarpeak, people are getting shirts with longer sleeves to fight back the shivers.
A wind passes through the city that appears white, as if it's laced with snow and ice. It's easy to tell that this is not a normal sort of wind, but a very magical one. The wind has a special effect: there's a chance of the wind freezing someone's heart. This doesn't instantly kill anyone, but instead it starts to freeze people from inside out. This effect especially targets people who either have secrets or have feelings that they hide. The freezing is a slow and painful process, taking two weeks to completely encase someone in ice. Once that happen they will end up breaking into pieces and die.
Similar event happened two years ago, so luckily a cure is already known. However, it seems this year the wind has even more effects. Those affected might cough out ice crystals that gradually start to freeze their surroundings wherever they are or they might get possessed by ice sprites that are attracted to the city. The ice sprites tend to cause mischief and make even more ice and snow all around to make the city aesthetically pleasing to them. Easiest way to get an ice sprite leave someone is to kiss the person (they dislike this sort of affection greatly) while risking getting the same condition.
Strangely, the plants and animals aren't affected by the wind at all.
Potion workshops have been formed all around the city to work on the potion that cures the freezing heart condition. They have some of the ingredients used last time, but they are looking for adventurers who would go find more of them as well as an extra ingredient to treat the new symptoms. The potion is successful if it smell like a warm fireplace during a winter night.
The ingredients (including the new one) are:
• Winter Segment: Bottom of the Unfrozen Lake, a coral that can survive in cold temperatures
• Spring Segment: Breeze Hills, the eggs of a monstrous Firebird (a bird that has wings made of fire that spits out fireballs, not to be confused with a phoenix)
• Summer Segment: Deserter's Desert, a special cactus flower that only blooms during a sandstorm
• New Summer Segment: Grass from the Flaming Grassland that's not on fire.
• Autumn Segment: Mushroom Sanctuary, a special mushroom that only grows on top of the mushrooms that are a size of a house
There's plenty of other things to do for the affected. Some may wish to stay in the City to take care of the affected. The key to healing a frozen heart is not only the potion that they will make but also affection. So those brave enough to touch someone who feels cold as ice to touch are encouraged to hug and cuddle, tell them positive things about them and making sure they're comfortable. This will ease the pain and slow the spreading down. Only kissing someone or getting hit by an ice crystal coughed out will spread the freezing heart to others.
Summary of the prompts [ Click to Expand ]
Not Quite Stonehenge• The objective investigate the strange new stone totems in the Forest of Courage.
• The best method to get to their area of interest is to use the teleportation crystal to arrive at the Autumn Airship Station
• New felines called Owlcats wander around the area
• There are six stone pillars with symbols etched onto them (bull, horses, a belt, cows, apples and a three headed dog)
• When two or more people touch one of the stones, they will be teleported to the trials
• Winning gives them crystals; losing makes them lose senses
• After a successful trial they may be transported back to the forest or to a new trial
Wrapped in Gold
• The extra trial is held in an old castle with various cracks on it's walls
• Everyone gets glowing golden marks on their bodies, depending on how they've died or how they fear dying
• These glowing scars feel emotionally heavy
• Walking through the hallways summons voices
• The people are hearing themselves talk
• The voices dive into various insecurities and fears
• Succumbing to the voices makes them heavier; winning over them makes the crystals sparkle
• Crystals are put to their right places and the adventurers are freed/an artifact is found
• Herakles appears and surrenders
Frozen to Lose it All
• A wave of cold weather affects every district, even the summer ones
• A magical wind travels through the city
• People start getting symptoms of "Frozen Heart" that freezes someone from inside out
• Frozen Heart affects especially people who have secrets to hide
• Potion workshops are are set up all over the city
• Ingredients need to be gathered
• Affection slows down the condition
• Ask event related questions here
• You can participate in both the trials and the freezing heart, which happens for the whole end of the month.
• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a separate entry (like to your musebox or characters' journal).
• Remember to content and spoiler warn as necessary!
• Reminder to players that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on July 31st, at 23:59 PST.
Here's an Event Plotting form: