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.

---

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

[wizardseason]

[ Would Olivia believe it if someone said the audience was actually real? They're in the darkness and there's no way to reach them, but they're absolutely there are holding up "go, Olivia, go!" signs. ]

[ But at the sight of Olivia's snarling, Four immediately has their hands up, palms out, in a pacifying gesture. ]

"Oh no, dear contestant, there's no need to look so angered! Welcome to the show, everyone's so very excited to see you!"

[disguiseself]

[Well! If the audience is actually real, and if the cameras happen to work for some reason, thankfully Olivia was already masked as someone else before she got roped into whatever this is. Unfortunately, that is not making her feel safer right now. :(

She adopts a defensive stance in case the monster tries anything, her eyes never settling on one place as she continues to take in her surroundings. She looks around for a door, wanting to get out of here as quick as possible - find Luka, find Gyre - she doesn't think she can take on a monster alone.] Show? What the fuck is this? Where am I?

[wizardseason]

[ Fortunate that Olivia's already masked! But unfortunate because that audience is actually real, even if it's only populated by featureless yellow monster bodies without eyes or mouths. How are they cheering? Who knows. ]

[ But she asks the important question and Four immediately claps their hands together in excitement. ]

"You're on the game show, dear contestant! Won't you introduce yourself so our audience can cheer for you?"

[disguiseself]

A game show? [Olivia's eyes finally stop darting around to set on Four, a puzzled expression on her face.] Aren't you Four? You don't want to fight, either? [That's two for two "peaceful" monsters if so today. She doesn't lower her guard, though.]

You know who I am if you brought me here, so, what is this?

[wizardseason]

Oh no, dear contestant, we're here to fight it out for victory! Whoever wins gets the grand prize of living! [ They give a twirl in place after they say it, but once they've stopped spinning they lean in a little closer to Olivia. ]

Are you willing to bet everything to snatch victory from me, dear contestant? Please say yes!

[disguiseself]

[Olivia blinks in surprise as the monster leans in. She tilts her head in confusion - she rarely, if ever, watches TV, so she's not sure if there are game shows were people literally duke it out. She's down, either way.

She gives him a smirk, an eyebrow slightly quirked.] Snatching things happens to be my specialty, buddy.

[She doesn't ask for Iv out loud, but she does wonder if her ox friend will be able to help her - she can fake the confidence well but, if Four really wants to fight, she's still not sure she can take him one-on-one.]

[wizardseason]

[ They look deeply pleased about this turn of events! ]

Then you'll be pleased to hear the name of your game! You'll be playing... "Minute to Monster It!" You'll be tasked with showing off your monster skills, and if you do that three times... you'll win! [ They clap their hands suddenly, looking deeply pleased at Olivia's earlier enthusiasm. If they're doing something to stop Iv from showing up, they're not showing it. Where's Iv??? ]

Are you ready for round one?

[disguiseself]

Uh. [She clears her throat.] Minute to Monster It? [She looks around, as if trying to see if she's the only one confused in the room. Either that, or she's trying to find Iv! Probably the second one.]

Care to explain the rules?

[wizardseason]

[ That's correct, Minute to Monster it! The shameless rip-off of Minute to Win it! A game show all about looking incredibly silly while trying to do something. ]

But of course, dear contestant. In this game, you'll play three rounds. Each round will task you with performing a simple action and you'll only have a minute to do so! An example would be...

[ They motion their hand out towards a table that has now appeared. On the table is a bottle with a cup beside it. They move their hand below the cup and flick it on top of the bottle in one simple movement. ]

Something like this! Put the cup on the bottle by flipping it. Simple, isn't it, dear contestant?

[disguiseself]

[She watches his movements and nods. She's never tried things like these, but she figures she's dexterous enough.

She'd still much prefer it if there weren't cameras around, and if Iv was here, though.] Simple enough. Is there a catch?

[wizardseason]

[ Of course there's a catch, but why would Four tell Olivia that? Instead they're brimming with excitement as they clasp their hands together and do a spin where they're standing: ]

Of course not dear contestant, and your first task is so easy! You have thirty seconds... to get a bulls-eye with these darts, from that line! [ And as they say it, a single dart appears stuck into a table. Surrounding it in a circle are 29 more darts. A red line appears painted on the ground. And in the distance, at easily double the normal distance a dart board would be, is a yellow monster-themed dart board floating in midair. ]

Just one bulls-eye! You have thirty darts, one for each second you have to try during!

[disguiseself]

[She narrows her eyes suspiciously at him, then the table, and then the target, as if waiting for them to do something.] Let me guess. The target moves? The darts burn my fingers?

The target fires back at me? [She starts approaching them nonetheless, arms crossed.]

[wizardseason]

[ Amusingly, none of those things happen! It seems like the only catch is that the dart board is far away. ]

[ Until it starts to rotate. The rotation is slow, but it's definitely like it's gently spinning while dangling from a string. Which means that if a dart hit the board, it might wobble. What Olivia will notice if she looks down, though, is that the line she's allowed to shoot from is actually a circle all the way around the room with the board in the center. ]

Oh, of course not dear contestant! This is merely a showcase of your skills! Are you ready? Ready...! Set...! [ Unless she stops them, they're going to start this 30 second timer! Go, Olivia, go! ]

[disguiseself]

[She quickly notices the target is dangling, and her darting eyes find the line. She bites her lip nervously - she's not sure she can do this. Sure, she's practiced knife throwing, but not on moving targets.

She glares at Four, darts already in hand by the time he says "go".

She takes three darts and throws them in quick succession, trying to get a feel for the distance. Then she takes more and starts following the target's face along the line, trying to shoot as many as she can in the thirty second she's given. She's quick and agile, so she won't have much trouble keeping up with its movements, but she's worried about not having enough time to aim.]

[wizardseason]

[ That's the point of the game! Fortunately for Olivia and unfortunately for Four, her instincts kick in soon enough that she lands a dart dead-center before the halfway point. When she does, confetti cannons fire off on the stage and fill the air with paper confetti. The audience erupts in applause as the color flutters through the air all around them. ]

A spectacular showing! [ They exclaim, clapping twice in midair to make the darts and the board disappear. They clap again and extend their hands out in both directions as the stage adjusts to the new game: }

For your second task, dear contestant, you'll have to stack some bodies up! Eleven bodies in one stack, without them falling over. You'll have five minutes to stack! Do you have any questions before the bodies hit the floor? [ They ask, curiously, clasping their hands together. Their unintentional song reference goes unmentioned. ]

[disguiseself]

[Her eyes widen in surprise when she hits the center, but she has no time to say any cool one-liners before the confetti cannons go off and she's jumping in surprise. After she's recovered, she does her best to ignore the audience, focusing on Four.

She #UnderstandsTheReference but... bodies? Bodies?] Bodies? What - like, actual bodies? [Did the monster kill civilians? Is he trying to get her to do his dirty work for him? Her hand instinctively moves to her weapon, and she eyes Four with clear suspicion and contempt.] That doesn't sound like a game.

[wizardseason]

Yes of course, dear contestant! The bodies of your allies! We can't leave a mess laying around now can we? Get ready! Here! You! Go!

[ And they clap their hands. A moment later, eleven yellow monster bodies with no features on their faces or anywhere on their bodies land like bags of soup all over the floor. They're very clearly mannequins, but floppy ones. Like someone made liquid-filled yellow bodies. To make matters worse, all of them are dressed up like Olivia's allies. Luka. Rory. Gyre. Garrot. Seth. Zafika. Terrence. Haizea. Joanna. Matilda. Gail. Yes, even a centaur-mannequin. They're all laying flopped on the ground, just waiting to be stacked. ]

Your five minutes begins... now! [ They exclaim, and a big timer appears on the wall to count down Olivia's task. Body stacking is uh........ pretty morbid. What the fuck, Four? ]

[disguiseself]

What the-!? ... oh. Ew. [There was REAL panic there for a second as he said that, but as soon as she took a look at the mannequins she rolled her eyes and sighed, half relief and half annoyance.

Olivia contemplates her life choices for a moment or two before she starts stacking the bodies. Touching them feels kind of gross and she quickly wishes Four had given her either gloves or some sort of claw thing for this. She starts by, with as much effort as required, putting the biggest Knights, Gail and Garrot, on top of each other at the bottom.] Ugh... you want a tower, right? [She asks as she drags the Rory mannequin on top of Garrot.] This sucks. This is a bad game. [She says, moving Joanna and Terrence to the top of the pile. Obviously she wants to win even if Four gives her weird tasks! But she will complain the whole time.]

[wizardseason]

[ Each time Olivia stacks another body, Four drowns out her protestations with a round of applause. ]

Dear audience, look at our contestant go! She's so quick! Just like the hero she claims to be! Fast! Unstoppable! [ They share similar taunts each time, drumming up surprise each time she stacks the bodies a certain way. ]

Garrot and Gail together? What a scandal! Rory so low on the stack? How awful! Joanna and Terrence there and not the bottom? My my! [ They continue their taunts, fully intending to fire off the confetti cannons the moment the last body is placed and top that off with a standing ovation from the crowd. At this rate she'll be done with almost a minute to spare on the timer! How incredible! ]

[disguiseself]

[To finish the pile, she kind of has to step on Gail and Garrot, not being too tall herself. She mentally apologizes as she does. After having piled everyone else already, she carefully places the Matilda mannequin, which she'd considered looked the smallest, like the cherry on top. Afterwards, she jumps back from the pile to admire her work.]

Are we d- Ah! Fuck you! [The confetti makes her jump again, and she facepalms both frustrated by the situation and disappointed in herself.] Are you done? Can I go back yet?

[wizardseason]

[ They'll probably forgive her. Probably. Assuming they ever see the video of what Olivia was doing here. But as it stands, that task is done and Four can't help but laugh. ]

Oh no, dear contestant, you have one final task to do! I don't think you're ready for it, either. You have one minute... to not get crushed by this boulder! [ They exclaim, clapping once before a spotlight shines on a massive rock high above. ]

Your time begins... now!

[ And there's a soft 'toot' as the boulder starts to roll. All Olivia has to do is run. For sixty seconds straight, she has to run away from a massive rolling boulder or get crushed beneath it. If she makes it, or if she's a moment away from being crushed (hey this game isn't rigged! (it's rigged)), a trapdoor will open beneath her feet that drops her right where she'd been taken from to be a part of this game. As if to add insult to injury, once she's free of this there'll be a piece of paper that says "You won!" clenched in her hand, signed with a highly stylized "4" signature at the bottom. ]

[ Not rigged, yeah right. ]

[disguiseself]

W- [Her eyes widen as the rock is revealed and she starts running away as fast as she can.] This! Isn't a good game either, you know!?

[She probably does have the stamina to sprint for a minute, thanks to the adrenaline the threat of being crushed gives her, but as she runs she's looking for something to climb on to, or otherwise hoping she can get to Four and have him running away from the rock, too. That would make the game a bit more worth it, if you asked her!

Regardless of what happened in those sixty seconds, she does end up falling on her butt in the middle of the mountain. She looks up at the sky, as if trying to find the trapdoor she fell through somewhere in it. Then she looks down at her hand and shakes her head at the piece of paper before pocketing it to throw away later. She thinks she'll probably just go back to her place and take a long nap.]