expiationlogs | {event #6} adversity 5648654.484

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{event #6} adversity 5648654.484

WHAT MAKES A MONSTER

MOD NOTES:

Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation.

The various prompts are, of course, optional.

EDIT: there is a coordinated group made by William that had sign-ups here! Of course, you may fight the monster still without being in the group, but characters may notice this pretty large group fighting the Big Bad. William's top level is here!

The corruption affecting land and characters has not gone away on its own; indeed, in some people and places, it may be getting worse. The Chosen can try to fight it if they’re taken by these effects, but it won’t go away on its own. Luckily, some characters are trying to find a source and solve these problems…

EASTWARD

i. INTREPID ADVENTURERS

Around January 15, characters who are investigating the corruption will be able to follow a trail of rot and destruction that leads out of town to the east before winding to the south. They’ll pass Rumpitur and Pessiria Forest on the way. Following this trail is not without danger: the monsters affected around town continue to be aggressive, attacking characters and, unfortunately, spreading more of this affliction through bites and scratches.

Characters who make this journey will be on the road for at least a day, maybe longer. They may need to set up camp along the way, but with Rumpitur still closed off, they’ll be exposed to the elements as well as to dangerous monsters. Might want to take this one in shifts…

ii. THE SCOURGE FROM THE SEA

Eventually, this trail of destruction leads to the coast just outside of Rumpitur, and as soon as characters are close enough, the same octopus-like monsters that first started appearing near the end of November begin to emerge from the sea. Getting an up-close look at them, they will find that these monsters are afflicted by the same rot that seems to be plaguing Aldrip. Just like with the Chosen and other surfaces exposed to this rot, if the monsters make contact with the glowing stones, the affliction recedes. However, their aggression–seemingly targeted at the Chosen–remains. They’ll surge forward as if on a mission, not just to attack the Chosen, but also to get past them, up the road and out of sight. Wonder why that is…?

They’ll have little time to think on that. The ground beneath their feet begins to quake, causing surging waves and crumbling rocks. The huge creature that plagued characters at the Ruins of Forlinet rises from the ocean just near the shore, streaked with the same black marks and still controlling the smaller monsters. It wastes no time in attacking, trying to grab onto anything or anyone it can reach with its deadly tentacles.

At this time, the Aldrip locals who were guarding Rumpitur and putting the town on house arrest come to join the fight. A little while later, shockingly, the Rumpiturians also join the fray. They’ll take up whatever arms they have, as well as extra materials containing the glowing stones, and help hold off the smaller creatures. Some brave souls even turn their attack on the large creature. Perhaps they feel that they owe Aldrip and the Chosen a debt. Perhaps they feel grateful that there was no violent retribution for their crimes. It’s hard to say…

Just like with the smaller monsters, the corruption recedes when it makes contact with anything created from, or infused with, the stones. Curiously, however, when the large monster is affected by the stones, the smaller ones seem to stop attacking, just for a few moments…and the more the larger monster is affected, the longer the smaller creatures seem to react. Eventually, some of them might even crawl back into the ocean, retreating entirely.

Eventually, maybe the larger monster will even slow its attacks. Does it seem as if it’s becoming less aggressive over time? Interesting…

COLLATERAL DAMAGES

iii. A CALL FOR AID

Aldrip’s local blacksmiths, weapons masters, and artisans have come together to create useful tools containing the mysterious glowing stones gathered from the caves. Chosen will be able to find, among other things, arrows, jewelry, hand grenades, spears, knives, shovels, nets, and other various useful items that have been either created entirely from these stones, or have the stones fused into them in some way. Some Chosen have been coming up with interesting ways to use them, as well.

All of these methods serve to help keep the rot at bay, even pushing it back when enough are in use. In an uncharacteristic display of generosity, characters are encouraged, even asked, to take and use these things both outside of town and in Aldrip itself, to hopefully fix some of the damage caused by this affliction.

iv. DOWN TO THE ROOTS

It may seem obvious, at this point, but Aldrip has no shortage of troubles during this time. There are two very critical problems, as locals see it: one, shortages of fresh food due to compromised crops, and two, structural damage, caused by the rot making its way into building foundations. Two buildings seem to fare better than the others: the inn and city hall. There’s no reason given as to why this is so…which is strange, isn’t it? But–no, it’s probably fine. Yeah.

Any Chosen who stay in town are asked to collect more glowing rocks and shore up damaged foundations, lest they begin to crumble. No one wants to lose their home, and the buildings made for the influx of Chosen are not immune to this! As time wears on and the corruption progresses, building collapses become more and more common. For buildings that are too far gone, characters may find themselves leading an evacuation effort to get people out before they’re seriously injured. Many locals will be reluctant to leave buildings unless they prove to be entirely structurally unsound, but…you wouldn’t really just leave them there to find out the hard way? (Right? Guys? …on second thought, maybe don’t answer that)

Crops far outside of town in the fields may still be viable, but it’s hard to say without close investigation–which is encouraged. Those who venture far enough outside of town may find any number of fall or winter vegetables, though they’re a little smaller and less robust than one might like. It’s not exactly a bountiful harvest, but it’s better than nothing.

v. DISRUPTION

After the monster attack begins, Aldrip finds itself with a whole new set of problems. The earthquake made by the sea monster creates aftershocks that hit Aldrip hard, in some places, causing more buildings to go down. More distressingly, after a few hours, more of the octopus creatures begin to show up in the distance outside of town. Chosen are quickly employed to create barriers, both physical and magical, as well as evacuate any locals to a safe place, most likely the inn. Some brave fighters may even be asked to charge out into the fields and fight the monsters before they’re able to get to town.

This siege will last for a few hours, and is much less of a swarm than the characters who went to the coast are experiencing. After a while, suspiciously, the monsters just stop. They turn westward, toward the nearest entry point to the ocean, and make their way toward the water.

(Assuming they don’t all get slaughtered first, of course.)

ACTION AND REACTION

vi. THE LONG ROAD HOME

The immediate aftermath of the battle is fairly standard: tending wounds, cleaning up wanton destruction… Oh, and the Aldrip locals return to their posts, putting Rumpitur under house arrest once more. In spite of their (completely understandable) distrust and current dislike of the Rumpiturians, those locals are quite grateful that they lent a hand. Maybe the Chosen are, too. Whatever their feelings, however, Rumpitur remains off-limits, for now. Trust is easy to break, and slow to rebuild.

Whether the monster is killed or not, it seems that the glowing stones used in the attack were enough to make the rot affecting it recede completely. As our adventurers make their way back to Aldrip, they will notice that the trail of corruption they followed on the way there has faded significantly, and the closer to Aldrip they get, the more it seems to have receded. Nature is healing! The crops and buildings that corroded due to its influence are still a loss, of course, but maybe it won’t plague the town anymore, at least. (For now? For good? That remains to be seen.)

vii. NEXT STEPS

Back in town, there is lots to do now that things have calmed down. Distressingly, even though the rot affecting the land has receded, Chosen and locals who have been affected have not been cured. Luckily, Ethlyn has been working on a solution of her own, and by the time things are quiet enough to heal the injured, it will be perfected enough to be called a cure. It’s not tasty, having a sort of gritty, chalky taste and texture, a little like eating liquified chalk dust. Gross. But it works, for the most part.

Additionally, locals who have seen the Chosen’s powers in action may ask some healers to see if they can find a way to use some of the stones to infuse the effects into their healing abilities. This could be fun to experiment with, right? We see no way it could possibly go wrong. Have fun!

During the next few weeks, clean-up and rebuilding will be a central focus in Aldrip. Extra food harvests and animal/monster hunts are encouraged, to ensure that there are no serious food shortages. Healers might have their work cut out for them, not just with the corruption but with normal wounds as well. New buildings will start going up quickly, but it’ll still take a few weeks for them to be ready. Until then, maybe get cozy–any Chosen who have lost their homes may need to find a new place to stay, at least temporarily.

WILDCARD

Just because there’s not a prompt for it doesn’t mean that your character’s actions aren’t acceptable. If you wish to do anything that hasn’t been directly addressed by the prompts, leave a message for the mod team to say what your character would do. If you choose to go down this path, note it as a comment on the OOC poll when it goes up, and leave a link to your threads so that we can take all actions into consideration for the next State of the Game.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You trying to do something with that?

[ Toph sounds perfectly blunt, but also curious. She hasn't met anyone here that has anything even approaching bending. (Shooting flame fists and explosions do not count.) But Caitlin is sitting at the edge of camp turning one of the glowstones over in her hands like she's waiting for it to change.

Toph herself is a very small thirteen-year-old girl dressed in Asian-ish green and yellow clothes, and who is inexplicably barefoot out in the cold. She has a no-nonsense attitude and upright posture that dares anyone to try to take care of her. She's traipsing along with the group because it's just against her nature to sit out of a fight against a big local threat that may or may not be an angry polluted spirit.

Also, William had asked her to try to earthbend a giant cage for the thing. Toph thinks that's ridiculous but not because she can't do it. She just doesn't know why anyone would want to capture it instead of put it down. ]

Oh. [Caitlyn was trying to be subtle. Magic is basically forbidden where she's from, and she's been trying to keep her new powers a secret enough that it didn't get back to two individuals in particular. Thanks to Scott's help, she's definitely getting the hang of it, but controlling where the knives or bullets go through the air is a bit different than literally manipulating a chunk of metal.

She doesn't actually expect it to be such a young girl that approaches, and she can't hep but frown a bit. Why was she coming with them on this journey? Did she realize how dangerous this was going to be? Not to mention the fact that she was so...so young. Probably the youngest Chosen she's seen yet.]

I don't know. Maybe? I thought that since the corruption seems to be weak against the stones, I could make bullets out of them for the upcoming fight, but I'm not sure how.

[ Bending is about as far from forbidden as it can possibly get for Toph, so she has no such compunctions. Personality and culture combine to make her assertive and self-confident in her art.

That's good enough encouragement that Toph sits down adjacent to her, head cocked a little like she's listening closely. She doesn't know what bullets are, but that doesn't really matter. ] Mind if I take a look at what you were trying? I'm pretty good with rocks.

[ Ha ha. She has to joke to herself even if no one present is going to get it. Somewhere, she knows Snoozles will appreciate it. Realizing that joking to herself is maybe not the most helpful input, she adds, ] I've made a few things with the glowy stones already.

Have you really? Are you an artificer of some kind? [Of course that's Caitlyn's first thought. It's what her father was, so it's talk she's used to. While she's not trained quite the same, she's at least familiar with how weapons are made. But she's no blacksmith, nor has she quite mastered shifting metal's shape in such a way either.]

What have you made so far? [Maybe she can learn something more about the stones from this young girl. The more she learns, the better chance she has at figuring out how to do it herself.]

Uh, let's go with no, since I don't know what that is.

[ Toph has been dabbling in weapon enhancement given the circumstances, but she's never really thought about or tried to actually forge weapons before. Metalbending is so new a discipline, its fullest extent hasn't been discovered yet, and she's mostly been focusing on setting up her school and identifying earthbending students who need a place to go or who have innate talent.

Like right now. ]

I've made a bunch of these, if you've seen them around.

[ Toph reaches into a nondescript pack she's been carrying with her and pulls out a molded bar of glowstone small enough to fit into her palm but hefty enough to build something out of. It has a round seal of a flying boar stamped on top. There's been a bunch of them circulating as an easier way to transport the glowstones, and in standard amounts. ]

Mostly it's to make them easier to carry so I can do other stuff. I'm an earthbender. And it kinda looked like you were about to do some earthbending yourself.

It's.. like a craftsman, I suppose? Or a blacksmith. They make things. Usually weapons. [Which would be such a handy talent to have, these days. She just lucked upon getting her gun back. The locals here weren't familiar with firearms, so it had been a pain to get one made when she first arrived. At least, if she figured this out, she wouldn't have to bother a smith about bullets going forward.

When Toph pulls out the molded stone, Caitlyn can't help but be in awe. Even the most talented metalsmith would be proud to make something so perfectly shaped out. And to think it was made by someone so young. But it's the strange word she uses that makes Caitlyn pause.]

Earth...bender? I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow. [She can certainly assume based on context clues, but she most definitely doesn't realize exactly what Toph means.]

I'll show you if you show me what a bullet is, [ she suggests, less coaxing and more sly. Toph's student senses are tingling. She shifts her posture to get into a more comfortable spot on the ground, preparing herself to give a demonstration.

Toph could explain what earthbending is, but it's always so much faster to show it. Not to mention more impressive. ]

I bet whatever they are, I could make 'em out of these.

[ There's an unprepossessing confidence to her words Toph doesn't even try to hide. ]

Alright. [Caitlyn's...very curious. Especially when Toph moves to stand again. She's very curious about this girl, indeed. She's definitely noticed she hasn't looked Caitlyn in the eye once, and while that's not that strange, it's certainly made her wonder about her sight. But how in the world could a sightless girl do what she's claimed to be able to do?

She'll just have to see what she does next.

But Caitlyn produces what Toph asks for, reaching for her bag and pulling out the small box she keeps her extra ammunition in. Her gun is strapped to her back, so she grabs for that as well, setting it in her lap as she opens the box of bullets and holds them out to the girl, watching her reactions closely.]

These are bullets. I load them into my rifle here, and I can shoot them towards any target of my choosing.

[ Toph reaches out to take a single bullet from the box without hesitation, turning it over in her hands and tossing it up and catching it once to feel the weight of it. ]

Okay, so you probably need them exactly like this if they're used as projectiles, right? [ She's not a throwing objects person herself but she's fought with plenty of them, and she knows how Sokka is about the balance on his precious boomerang. ]

I'm just gonna hold onto this for a sec to make sure I get it right.

[ Toph settles herself in right there on the ground to do some precision work. It's her favorite kind of earthbending, because it's legitimately a test of her skills rather than just brute force. She sets the lone bullet on the ground in front of her as reference and takes out a small bar of glowstone to set beside it. Immediately, she proves why she's toting them around: Toph stretches out her hands with fingers separated like she's puppeteering something, and makes a series of quick, fine movements.

The glowing bar first separates into six even chunks, and then the sharp edges start to round off into the contours of an airborne projectile with delicate patience.

When she's done, Toph picks one up and blows on it to get the literal dust off from where she's shaved the sides smooth with bending. She offers it out to Caitlyn with more than a trace of cockiness. ]

That work?

That's correct. If the weight or size is off, it won't fit in the rifle, or travel as far when it fires. [?? So was her vision impaired or not? Because Caitlyn's all the more confused. The young girl grabbed the bullet without hesitation, barely held it in her hand, then did-- whatever the hell it was she just did.

She takes the newly formed creation, marveling at the precision of what Toph just did.]

That-- that was amazing! And you called it-- "earthbending"? How did you learn such a thing? What else are you able to do?

[Caitlyn is more than curious, thanks to her budding similar ability, okay??]

[ It makes for a pretty teal-blue gleaming polished bullet, that's for sure. Not that Toph appreciates that; she can tell the material composition is different, and she's become very familiar with the glowstones by now, but that's about it. They really aren't that remarkable or different from any other type of rock so far.

She smirks, accepting the praise as her due but not pandering to it. ] I learned from the original earthbenders, the badger-moles. That's not the usual way, for the record.

As for what else I can do... [ Shrugging, she sets her hands on the ground behind her and leans back casually. ] I don't know, it's a long list? I'm a master and also a teacher.

[ Toph's teaching style isn't exactly the usual way either, but that's not relevant at the moment. ]

A... teacher? [Caitlyn looks at the new glowing bullets, then back at Toph, and know immediately that this girl can help her. Scott had helped a lot when she was first learning to aim, but shooting a bullet and controlling it's path, and even throwing knives with precision were completely different than reshaping metal.

But if Toph could do it, and make it look so easy, maybe she was exactly who Caitlyn needed to guide her.]

I don't know know about "earth" bending, but I can feel metal. I can feel it in these stones. I just don't know what I'm doing. Magic is forbidden where I'm from, but I couldn't do this before coming here anyway.

[ Maybe it's audacious for a thirteen-year-old to go declaring herself a teacher, but it's factually correct and she thinks better of Caitlin for not questioning her on it. ]

Just metal, huh? And you couldn't do it before? Weird. [ She had no idea people could gain abilities while they were here. But okay. ]

Funnily enough, what I usually teach is metalbending. I invented it at home. [ This she also delivers matter-of-factly, not trying to brag in front of someone else who can do the same and needs some practice. ] Don't know how much it'll be the same as what you do, but if you want some lessons, I'm down.

Yes, just metal. It's definitely weird. I've practiced controlling my shots and guiding my bullets, as well as throwing knives. That's about all I've managed so far, by myself.

[Well, and with Scott's help too, if she's completely honest. But his guidance was more general power knowledge, and not so specific. This girl was clearly powerful in this "earthbending" magic of hers, and if she could also manipulate metal, then how could Caitlyn say no?]

Even if it's not exactly the same, I would be honored to learn anything you were willing to teach me. Are you sure you don't mind?

[ She's surprised to be asked if she's sure, and Toph offers her a smirk in reassurance, softer than her earlier cocky expressions. ]

Yeah, I don't mind. I really like teaching, actually. [ A lot more than she thought she would when she first agreed to be Aang's teacher. Something about the simultaneous acknowledgment of her skill alongside getting to help someone else really appeals to her. ]

I haven't done anything with controlling bullets yet, so you can show me what you've done so far and that'll be new for me, too.

Really? That would be-- amazing, really. [Honestly, it's a little surprising that Toph says she likes teaching. She's so young, for one thing. But when you know what you love, she supposes it doesn't matter. She always had a love for solving puzzles and searching for clues. As much as it infuriated her mother to join the Enforcers, it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise.]

Absolutely. Once this monster business is settled, it's a deal. I'll teach you more about my bullets, and you can teach me about this.. "metalbending."

You got it.

[ Toph grins, extremely heartened to have found something so similar to the dynamics she has at home with her students and her friends. She would never say it, but she's started to feel a little lonely and out of sorts here. ]

Just as soon as we deal with this whole thing. Maybe I'll get to show you what I can really do before it's over.

[ Of course, she does end up doing that, but Toph doesn't need to be a psychic to predict that. She's not about to stay out of the action, and William has already asked her to make the big glowstone cage to contain the massive sea monster. That's the current plan, and she's slyly alluding to it by saying Caitlyn should keep an eye on the upcoming fight.

Is Toph that sure of herself? Yup. Is she also enough of a showman to tease the upcoming spectacle without explaining it ahead of time? Also absolutely yes. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

{event #6} adversity 5648654.484

eastward!

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