Day 4: Monster Arrival

[wizardseason]

Afternoon: 12:00noon - Evening

[ IRL Timeframe: July 17th - July 31st, 2019 ]

It's monster time.

The bright, glowing blue fissures are still open throughout the ground, they haven't gone anywhere. At last, social media has started buzzing about the source of the cracks. They're all originating from the mountain up the slope from Craydon! There are a ton of theories, including a non-negligible amount talking about a 'Wizard death machine'! Guess the heroes will have to find out for themselves.

As usual, though, social media is the fastest source of information. Do they have an inside man? Is one of the heroes actually the one feeding all the information to social media? Either way, there are numerous discussions going on about the "door on the mountain". Apparently satellite pictures have traced the cracks all the way up to a glowing door in the side of the mountain. It's absolutely not a manmade door and it's definitely magic in some way, but why is it there now?

Monster Arrival: Craydon: The Game Show.

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The Weather

• Eerily still.
• 66°F / 19°C
• Is... is that... air conditioning?

---

Prompts:

• 12:00pm The Game Show, Craydon: Garrot, Rory, Joanna, Haizea, Olivia, Luka, Gyre, Seth, and Zafika will all find themselves teleported from wherever they were to a new and fantastical location. The room is dark, the stage is set, the hero is seated in a contestant's chair. Suddenly, the spotlight is on them and the curtains open: The crowd goes wild! In front of the hero is a big television screen with the words "Welcome!!" on it and, beside it, is the fourth monster. They're entirely humanoid, standing at roughly six feet tall, wearing a positively striking suit and tie. All four of their eyes look surprisingly normal on their face. They look like a regular person just with a second set of eyes where their upper cheeks are. They settle their yellow pupils on the hero in the chair as they smile wide and their mouth squishes as the space opens up into existence. Looks like the mouth isn't a permanent feature, but there's a soft bubbling sound that follows it and then their voice breaks the strange noises up. Their voice is high, eager, and unmistakably excited about the news they're about to share.
  
  "Are you ready for the show? Smile, you're on camera!" They say, hopping back and forth on their feet by the screen, barely able to contain their enthusiasm. Any hero who gives it even a moment of thought will realize two things: 1) Cameras don't work, and 2) That's not a real audience, this room is actually just dark and it's only them and the monster.
  
  Oh god, it's only them. Where are all the others? One on One monster fight? Great!


• 1:15pm Lounge Time, Bamborough: Social media is going bananas! That monster that was roaming around Far Haven's train station has made his way to Bamborough! The effects of the earthquake here may be less apparent, but there are still things to fix. But Ten won't be found fixing anything this time. Instead he's sitting on a beach chair, under an umbrella, on the oceanfront at the Bamborough Resort. On the little table to his right is a tall glass of tea and a portable USB charger. Because, in his hand, he's fiddling with a cell phone. Where did he get a cell phone? Who brought him tea? What on earth is happening?


• 4:00pm International Bungalo of Burgers, Bamborough: The social media war of "Crepes or Burgers" has begun, it's been set off by the Wizard arriving at IBoB for dinner. Just like the morning, she's asked for a group table in the restaurant. Gail, Terrence, and Matilda have all received special invitations right into their pocket (or their hand if they lack pockets). Enjoy a little card that says "One free burger!" with a stylized tiny Wizard face to the side looking very surprised!


• ??:00pm Mountain Door, Craydon: [Exploration] [Not yet revealed]

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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.

Comments

[sustainer]

Gyre immediately relaxes when it goes dark and quiet. His eyes stop darting around and focus up on the monster. He actually seems to see them for the first time, and his face softens. They don't express anything in their voice, but this cold misery fills up his chest anyway. He hates this.

"We can play a game, kit'a," he murmurs, and he reaches out towards them as if by instinct. He stops before he touches them though, turning his hand over so it's an offer instead, palm up. They can touch him if they want. "I don't want to do it like that though. Is that okay?"

[wizardseason]

Gyre.

They watch him, and watch his hand, and then fold their arms. Their voice is as flat and empty as they respond.

"No." They narrow their four eyes. "And if you won't play, I'll drop you in the ocean."

[sustainer]

He tilts his head, thinks back to the dark and uh calls what he's pretty sure is a bluff.

"Show me," he says, "Why does it need to be that game?"

[wizardseason]

Gyre you fool.

The moment he says 'show me', there's the serene breeze of the ocean passing over his body. Everything is serene, peaceful, and calm except for the fact that there's...

...No...

FLOOR???

Gyre will end up dropping right into the ocean, not far from shore. On the shore is Four, standing just away from where the waves are lapping on the sand. They uh... absolutely look utterly disappointed in this moment.

[sustainer]

Well unfortunately for Four, Gyre is not even going to notice that expression. He screams as he's dropped into the ocean, a startled yelp that gets silenced the second the water hits his collar. He plunges deep and it takes him several moments before he breaks the surface again.

There's water dribbling out between his lips, and he glares viciously at Four as he swims towards the shore. As he climbs up onto the sand, crawling towards Four in his soaking wet clothes, water continues to pour out of his mouth and uh from under his collar? Weird!

He apparently can't say anything though, making an incredibly rude gesture in the monster's direction before he starts forcing himself to cough. He's gotta get all this water out of here somehow.

[wizardseason]

Gyre is going to get the chance to see their disappointed face because it doesn't go away even as he makes his way onto the shore. He can cough and sputter and make all the reactions he wanted, but they're not going to really care about what he does in this moment because of one very, very important fact:

"You said show you." They say in the most betrayed voice ever. How dare you be rude at them for something you chose, Gyre?

[sustainer]

It takes another few moments to clear his throat enough that he can speak. The sand below him is soaked, and he coughs roughly several more times. Even when he does speak, his voice is rasping and only half there.

"Do you feel better now?" he asks, beginning to push himself up to his feet so he can get out of the steady wash of water around his legs.

[wizardseason]

They watch him as he struggles to find his voice, to find himself, and then he asks the most ridiculous question of all time. Their face doesn't give away their emotions in this moment, but they do have an answer for him.

"No." They absolutely do not feel better now.

"I don't." They clarify, in case their first answer was unclear. They're fairly close to making a :| face in this moment here.

[sustainer]

Well he's all the way to making a :| face, slowly raising an eyebrow at how determined they seem to be to look miserable.

"Was it worth it to lash out then?" he asks, tilting his head pointedly. Is he talking to this monster like they're a kid who needs a lesson? Yes. Yes he is.

[wizardseason]

Gyre don't be a jerk.

Also Gyre don't talk to Four like they're a child.

"I said I would drop you in the ocean. You said show you. The only one to lash out was you." They add, referring to his rude hand gestures.

"You're one of the mean ones."

[sustainer]

A mean one?? Gyre raises an eyebrow at them, but he doesn't really look bothered by it. To him, this is a kid having a tantrum, and he's not interested in being bullied into this weird fucking game they want to play.

"If you think I'm mean, we don't have to play a game," he says, turning as if to head up the beach away from them. "Or we can talk now that you've shown off how strong you are."

[wizardseason]

They watch him as he declares that they don't have to play, and they fold their arms. He's going to do whatever it takes to get out of playing the game. All of a sudden, here on the beach, there's a rumbling as something under the ground shifts...

...and the game podium pushes up out of the sand, causing quite the mess as the beach is forced to adjust for the new arrival. Behind Four, the big game board rises up and stands tall to show off that the game is still on.

"Win the game, dear contestant, and I'll answer your questions." They watch him, looking utterly defiant in this moment as they slip back into their game show persona. Despite how they were before, their voice has none of the typical glee in it. Instead they just sound flat and uninterested.

"Or leave." And they mean it.

[sustainer]

He gets decidedly more tense as the stage starts rising up out of the ground, his shoulders rising up higher around his chin, his hands curling unhappily upwards as if to defend himself. His nose wrinkles, and he turns almost immediately at the offer. He will take the leave then, he's pretty sure.

Except there's no audience this time. He pauses for a moment, watching the monster, studying their face.

"Do you need me to play your game for... this all," he waves vaguely around at the island, "to work?"

[wizardseason]

Nope, no audience this time. Just Gyre, Four, the beach, and the game.

"I need everyone to play my game!" They clasp their hands together, practically radiating their excitement again. Looks like they're back to happy.

"How could anything be complete without it? Are you ready?"

Looks like they didn't actually answer that question.

Which means the answer is probably 'no'.

[sustainer]

"No," he says quickly, striking his hand across the air as if to fend the game off before it starts.

"I need more information first. I'd like a straight answer," he clarifies, folding his arms, "Vague answers will only slow us both down."

[wizardseason]

Not ready? They tilt their head a little at him to wait for his explanation. Why would he not be ready? They fold their arms.

"This game is for me. Not for anyone else. Is that what you want to hear?" They ask, an unmistakable huff in their voice.

[sustainer]

He glances to the side, looking around this set. Thinking about their attitude when they were hosting. It makes his skin crawl and he shakes his head.

"Then I'll pass on this one. If you want to play a different game later, let me know," he says, and he holds a hand up to wave, turning a moment later to head off down the beach unless they decide to stop him.

[wizardseason]

They're not going to stop him.

But they're going to be mad next time they see him!!!