Day 4: Morning

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: July 3rd - ~~July 10th~~ July 17th, 2019 ]

If any hero was expecting day four to be anything but absolutely bananas, they'd been living in a dream bubble. Fortunately for everyone, they wake up where they fell asleep the previous night. Unfortunately, though, everyone receives a decidely rude awakening at 6:06am.

An earthquake.

No part of the island is safe, everywhere and everything starts shaking and rumbling. Roads split, the train tracks bend, buildings fracture, buildings collapse...

...and bright, glowing blue fissures open up in the ground.

No city is safe from their new feature, but in every single city it's clear that the cracks are coming from a specific source. In Far Haven, the cracks lead west to Craydon. In Bamborough, the cracks lead east to Craydon. In Craydon, though, the cracks lead directly north up the mountain. They gradually narrow the further up the mountain you go, where do they end?

Heroes will, of course, not be able to immediately see this pattern. How are they going to find out about it? Social Media won't be buzzing about it until noon at the earliest!

But that won't be the only thing social media is buzzing about by noon. It looks like Web is nowhere to be found. A concerned local ~~not a stalker~~ reports the missing knight and there's quickly a deep discussion about it. Death? Ran away? Kidnapped? Abducted by aliens? No one knows. There's no body. There's nothing. Where'd Web go?

Fourth Morning Event: All Cities: The Quake.

The Weather
Eerily still.
64°F / 18°C
Despite the quake, there's a nice breeze.

Prompts:

6:06am Earthquake, Everywhere: Every town has fallen victim to an earthquake. The damage is unthinkable. Cars aren't moving anymore, roads and paths are obstacle courses, and everything inside has fallen over. It was a big one! Fortunately the citizens are out almost immediately to begin rescue and repair efforts. No matter where the heroes go, there'll be someone to help, something to do, or help to be offered. Do you need saving, or will you be saving others?

7:45am Train Station, Far Haven: Social media is going absolutely crazy. There's a MONSTER here! There's a monster in the train station!! Numerous pictures are posted of a Child-shaped monster with ten eyes instead of a face. Today, however, he's wearing a pair of black athletic shorts, some flip-flops, and a T-Shirt that says "I'm with Stupid" on the front and an arrow that trails around to the back of the shirt where it says "You're Stupid". At the train tracks, he's going one rail tie at a time repairing them to get the tracks straightened and fixed again. What's the deal???

08:00am International Cabin of Crepes, Bamborough: As if Social Media wasn't buzzing enough about the monster in Far Haven, it explodes again when the Wizard arrives at ICoC for breakfast. Several servers post that she asked for "the family table" and she invited all the knights and the princess to join her. Breakfast. Her treat. Anyone who comes to visit will find her sitting at the head of the biggest table, sipping a mug of coffee.

11:00am Mountain Base, Craydon: [Exploration] Several hikers have returned from up the mountain, reporting that they'd found "strange doors" blocking their path. According to the description they gave, it sounds like the doors can only be opened if one, or more, of the heroes make the climb up the mountain. The cracks go up past the doors, but there's an invisible wall all around the area that stops them from ascending any further. Whatever's going on up the mountain will need some heroic intervention to figure out. Good luck, heroes!

Procedure:

Reply to the appropriate toplevel comments for events below. Indicate if a post is a private conversation with "Private" in the subject otherwise all threads should be open to interaction with others. Plan OOCly how you'd like to toss everyone around.

Important: 'Exploration' toplevels will unlock additional information as items in their descriptions are explored. If your character explores a feature, write [Character explores ____] at the end of your tag and send a ping on Discord to get a reply with further details regarding that item.

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Seth is, surprisingly, not in Bamborough when the earthquake happens. He hasn't really slept besides possibly dozing off for maybe 10 minutes at a time in a quiet corner if he's found himself in one.

What he has been doing, is walking around the island, well Craydon more specifically, as he was determined to be as far away from Bamborough as possible at the moment.

When the earthquake hits, he reacts kind of on autopilot and goes for the most open space, laying down so he won't fall, closing his eyes and curling up as small as possible, used to the frequent earthquakes that plague Tellan but damn if this isn't far bigger than any of them.

When he opens his eyes when the shaking finally stops they go wide in horror at the damage done. And in terror upon seeing the cracks. What had happened with the cracks during yesterday's horrors had been a very unpleasant and terrifying experience.

Maybe it's the stress, the lack of sleep, the conflicted feelings he's still battling with due to yesterday's time travel shenanigans, but Seth shuts down emotionally. He can't handle all the feelings inside him now so he will have to do so later.

People are calling for help.
And so he's going to try and help.

Seth's running around Craydon, using his wires to wrap around things on the brink of collapsing as peopl hurry to get out. He's asked Qus for the reinforced glove to protect his hand, but he doesn't really even hesitate to use his less protected hand when he has to. He isn't really thinking. He's just doing what he can to keep himself moving and his mind off of the myriad of emotions whirling in his mind that he can't handle at the moment.

His clothes are dirty and he's scrathed up but that doesn't matter.
He spots Gyre at the edge of an alley, not looking to good and runs to check on the other Knight. They hadn't really conversed much after the other had helped him the first evening here, but the comfort the other had offered him back then had been of great help to him. So seeing him looking so frazzled concerns him.

Seth looks like a dead man walking when he finally arrives after a lot of running around only to end up reluctantly going to check what had become of his...puppets...because he couldn't in the end resist the emotional pull to do that. He'd found only Marion and Abigail had survived intact, all the others were in various states of dismantlement. He couldn't decide whether to be grief struck or relieved.

Normally he would have wanted to stay as far away from the wizard as possible, but right now...he doesn't have the emotional resources to really be afraid. Besides there's promise of breakfast and he really has no idea where else he could get breakfast.
So (late) breakfast with the wizard it was.

Even though the smell of coffee made him grimace.

Ten, on the other hand, is minding his own business with the tracks. He's finishing up pressing down on a rail tie with one hand to slot it back into place when Garrot speaks up. Immediately all ten of its eyes snap up to him and he straightens up where he's standing. The eyes blink in two sets, five first and five second, all in random places. And then Garrot's approaching with a weapon in hand.

Ten keeps three eyes on the weapon while the other seven watch his face and, when Garrot doesn't actually do anything, decides this is a conversation. He holds up a hand near his head and an Etch-a-Sketch board pops into existence, its red plastic frame glinting in the light for a moment. He brings it near his face, focusing on it with seven eyes while gripping it with both hands as he starts manipulating the two knobs to put some kind of message on the display. A few moments pass as he scritches out the message but, once he's done, he carefully turns it and holds it up towards Garrot.

"trains?"

Was that what he was looking at?

Oh sweet, twisted deities of the world, it's like Seth but more succinct? Not exactly comforting to Garrot, because trains. Is this punk mocking him???

"No!" He shouts in disbelief, but it quickly devolves into a tired groan. "I'm looking at you, because you're a monster, wearing clothes, and helping rebuild." Garrot sighs, and narrows his eyes at the little weirdo. "Why?"

Edited 2019-07-07 17:09 (UTC)

[Olivia and Luka had heard these same creepy rumors about the mountain and, considering what they had both gone through the previous day, they decide they should check it out.

When the duo is reaching the base of the mountain, Olivia spots someone.] Luka, I think there's some-- oh, Gyre! [She calls out to him with a smile and a wave.

Olivia doesn't look like herself right now; her hair is brown and tied into a tight braid, her eyes are dark and her face is sharp. She thought disguising as a Tomb Raider would be fitting. As usual though, her tail is a dead giveaway.]

When the earthquake comes, Joanna's not as tired as she could have been, thanks to falling asleep on the train the night before. And it's a good thing - the earthquake doesn't just shake furnishings off the walls, but drops a whole corner of the building into the rift.

She doesn't know the full details of what's happening as she wakes with a start at the shaking and shattering, but takes in enough to pull a blanket over her head for cover as furnishings fall and the skylights shatter glass all over. The building creaks and tilts under her, more things rolling off counters and slipping off nails to clatter and crash on the floor, and after a few moments it all comes to a tentative, tilted rest.

It's enough that she cautiously looks out, grabs for her bags, and goes to look out the window. There's signs of damage as far as she can see, with alarms going off in various cars and buildings. Checking outside the apartment's door is no better - there's cracks in the floor further down the hallway, with creaking sounds and the occasional falling rafter punctuating ceilings.

Between her own memory, and several panicked moments of consulting the internet, Joanna heads for the bathroom to take cover in the bathtub. In a high floor of a damaged building, trying to leave is as dangerous as staying put. Best to get to something sturdy and take shelter inside, to wait for rescue. And Far Haven may not have fully staffed emergency services, during wizard season... but there's multiple approaches available.

(Personal text)
Hi Matilda, this is Joanna,, Have you gotten any better with your knight power.. Or do you think you remember the way to my home? I could use some help getting to safety, if you can.. Thank you

Is everyone seeing fissures like this..
I saw something just like this in Bamborough yesterday,, or decades ago,, but it just keeps going

[With that, Joanna uploads a short videoclip. The preview image is full of a blue glowing rift than many may recognize. The video itself is a slow shaking pan, as if she was walking while filming, that starts turned back toward the distant shakes of Far Haven, then turns forward along the long fissure toward Craydon.]

(✿☉｡☉)!!

Did something break?! This is why all the stories say you can’t time travel!

Don't compare Ten to Seth, Garrot, they're nothing alike. He squints at the man and his frustration for a moment, all ten eyes reflecting the bafflement at how quick Garrot when from zero to sixty.

But at least he didn't try to attack.

He watches for just a moment before bringing his etch-a-sketch back up to start making the next message. This one takes longer to write, because there's more to it.

"better fixed
clothes comfy
name is Ten"

He deliberately writes "Ten" in a fancier cursive font whereas the rest is absolutely just comic sans.

After making it out of her partially collapsed temporary home, Joanna sticks around to help with her stasis power on some particularly collapsed buildings, holding a large piece of debris in place to make it easier for them to pull people to safety. She intends to to stay for some time helping out... But then social media gives warning of a monster already here, in the train station. And then there's nothing for it, she has to leave it to them.

Thankfully, Far Haven is (relatively) sparsely populated during wizard season. With all the closed businesses and people off-island, there aren't too many that stay in the area, and those that do have some pretty organized systems in place.

When Joanna makes it to the train station, she expects the shifted tracks and various signs of damage. She doesn't expect to see a humanoid monster in some perfectly normal clothing... putting the tracks to rights?

"...Um. Aren't you a little early, for a monster?"

She has to assume this is today's monster, but it's nowhere near noon. Doesn't the wizard have a pattern to this game?

They DO say that..
If I see the Wizard today, I'll.. ask her to be more careful about sending us to the past, or something

Zafika had been with Rory for most of the day, helping around in Craydon in whatever way they could, but the news about the "strange doors" blocking the path to the mountains eventually reached them, and they had to go check. Except, on their way, they had passed more civilians in need of help, and Rory had decided to stay and help after promising to Zafika that she'll catch up to them.

So, here they are, at the foot of the mountain, no other Knight in sight yet, getting some more information from the hikers that had gone up to the mountain. They don't like the doors and how they apparetly work, but the cracks go past them, they have to see what's going on.

But before they make the decision to get a move on, they hear Garrot, and quickly spot him too. And he's currently not with anyone, and they could use some extra physical strength with minimal amount of people, so they make a beeline to him, stopping only few steps away from him. At least they approached him from the front so he saw them coming?

"Okay, Rory and I were supposed to go up to the mountain but she hasn't gotten here yet, and I want to go search there already but I'm not stupid or suicidal enough to do it alone. Can you come with me?" That was, less ideal and organised than they wanted to, but the cracks have had them antsy the entire day, and for once they do not want to be alone. So they have to ask for help, even if it's, not exactly properly asking for the said help. But, if Garrot has picked up on their body language during the three previous days, they're clearly restless and, a little nervous. They're not very excited about where today is going.

He spots Seth coming from around the corner, and he takes a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking hands. He runs his fingers through his hair again, settles himself down so he can help this poor, ratty looking kid. It doesn't even occur to him that Seth might be coming to check on him instead. He's automatically assuming the other is the one who needs help.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice shaking just slightly. He clears his throat roughly, looking away for a moment. He's a little more calm when he says, "Did you stay safe yesterday?"

"I..." he starts, and then goes entirely silent. His eyes slowly widen, and he sits up a little straighter.

"Okay," is all he says before he sinks back down in his chair. He's going to eat for a few moments, blinking and considering what it means that the wizard just apologized to him? What a weird day this has already been.

"So why did you call us here?"

"Ten." It dawns on him that the name and the number of eyes must be connected to the fact that, wild guess, this is the Tenth Monster. Was its last name "Monster" too? Honestly, the ability to produce comic sans and cursive on an etch-a-sketch is impressive enough, plus the little buddy's a philanthropist? As odd as the situation is, Garrot's knowledge of the entire Wizard Season process comes to the forefront of his mind, and he's just. Squinting.

"So can all of you just cut in line and show up early? Are there monsters fixing the trains at the other towns?" A hand moves to his chin, and he starts stroking his beard in an effort to seem contemplative. "Or are you just special?"

[After the handshake, Olivia takes a moment to Consider the Tree. It's definitively too big for the two of them to move, but...] Maybe Iv can help out.

[She smiles when, as soon as she's said those words, she feels two big hands resting on her shoulders. Behind her stands a female Minotaur, her animal companion! She looks strong enough that she could probably move the tree all on her own but, for the sake of their pride, when Iv gets set to push the tree, she waits for the two ladies to get ready beside her so the three of them can work together.] On the count of three?

You are? [She blinks. It sure seemed like he was but like...] Why?

[Granted, she did Not know much about previous years' monsters, but she didn't think they'd be... helpful. If it helps because it wants to then that means it cares and isn't caring just so human? Her trains of thought all keep circling back to her daily monster-existential questions. Do! Monsters! Have! Rights!] Did the Wizard tell you to do this or something?

Frankly, Garrot didn't want to be anywhere near this mountain on his own. Not only is he, uh, not trained for mountain climbing, but the weird cracks all over the island aren't exactly comforting. And the day after they time traveled, too! ...or, well, thirty-nine to forty years and change. So all things considered, seeing Zafika appear is a blessing. The nerves and light rambling... not so much. Lucky for them both, the earthquake shoved aside a lot of Garrot's penchant for nonsense. He even looks like a medical professional for once, sporting a jacket with a stethoscope snaked under the collar, some pocket-covered tactical pants, and a heavy-duty backpack in addition to the Knight-specific medpack he's been carrying since day one. Someone isn't leaving Doctor Mode until his head hits the pillow tonight.

"Hey, come on now... I'm here, you're gonna be just fine." Garrot begins to reach out a hand to give a reassuring grip on Zafika's shoulder, but. There's still. Some awkward there. So he just gently tilts his head, the closest he'll get to offering physical support... mostly because he keeps talking, his tone calm and soothing. "What do we know so far? Did you scout ahead before you found me?"

This isn't the time for either one of them to lose their heads, so he'll be the rock.

u can try. she never listens tho (◕︿◕✿)

"Gyre? I assume he had the same idea as us." Luka says quietly. He's holding Olivia's arm casually, but raises his other to try and catch Gyre's attention.

"Gyre!" He calls out as he waves. "Headed up the mountain?"

Luka enters the ICOC with a certain air of authority, striding (mostly) confidently toward the Wizard's family-sized table. The hostess, having recognized him, guiding him there without a word.

He's requested the closest available seat to the Wizard, and sits.

"Good morning, Wizard." He says, simultaneously signaling for a mimosa from the waiter. Do they serve mimosas here? They do now. "Quite the morning, and it's not even 8 am. Nice of you to get us breakfast, though I question your choice of venue."

Seeing Garrot actually dressed like a doctor is, jarring, considering what they've seen him in so far. Suits not fit for such hot weather, kigurumis, and some, absolutely not fashionable clothing (the image of those jeggings is still carved to their brain) is something they're now used to, so this is, odd. But only a little.

The comforting both eases their mind and, sort of smacks some sense into them. While Garrot hesitates and abandons the attempt at physical support, they close their eyes for a bit and take a deep breath, and force the nervousness and other unnecessary feelings away. Which, is unfortunately easy for them. They're a Knight, just like Garrot, they have to keep their shit together.

They open their eyes again when he asks them if they scouted ahead, and glance towards the mountain quickly. "I talked with some hikers and other locals, so I know about where the doors stop anyone else except Knights from moving forward. The doors need one or more of us to open them though, so it's pure luck which one we'll be able to go through..." Mission talk is easy, always has been, so treating this as a mission helps them keep their head in the game. "I also checked what routes we should avoid... I don't have any actual equipment for climbing the mountain, but as long as we don't have to scale it I think we'll be fine. I have some rope in my bag in case we need it, but hopefully we can just hike it up."

How Gyre's voice shakes just slightly at first really only has him more concerned. Maybe it was because he was himself keeping his emotions on lockdown, but he could sort of sense that was what Gyre was doing...especially from those eyes.

He's quickly signing to Gyre after catching his breath a little. He might have gotten a little more stamina in the past few days but overall it was still average at best.
"I'm fine, I happened to be outside when the earthquake hit and I'm kind of used to them though I've never been around for anything of this scale. I...stayed in the cabin for a while but..."
He hesitates, fear, doubt, uncertainty whirling in his eyes before he shakes his head vigorously. No, now's not the time, not when he was here to check up on Gyre.
"Never mind me, are you okay? I spotted you and...you really didn't look so good..." Even without a voice to convey the emotion, the concern was more than obvious in Seth's eyes.

He looks back the second he hears his name, his gaze finding them when it's called again. He brightens a little at the sight of Luka, taking a step down towards them.

"I am. I think there's something happening at the top. Are you coming too?" he asks Luka, scanning over Olivia as he speaks. It takes him a second, his mind running through the other knights and not recognizing her. There's a moment here where he tenses warily, not understanding why the princess would just be walking around with some civilian. It's not until he sees her tail that he relaxes a little, eyes widening slightly.

"Olivia?"

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Page 2 of 15

Day 4: Morning

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure:

6:06am onward Craydon

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6:20ish

8:35am, group chat

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Train station - 8am ish, if Ten's still there?

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