Hope RP (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wizardseason) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pajamabox2019-07-17 10:30 pm
wizardseason) wrote in pajamabox2019-07-17 10:30 pm
Day 4: Monster Arrival
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?
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]
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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"Y'know..." A smirk plays at the corners of his lips, and suddenly he's grinning maliciously, toothy maw not unlike a bear trap. "If you wanna put on a real show..." Garrot chuckles, leaning forward in the chair as his clawed fingertips carve into the material.
"We could cut the crap and go a round in the ring." Subconsciously, Garrot is aware that there's no cameras, but there's no way he's passing up a chance to let The Marauder come out and play. And right now, he looks a split second away from pouncing like an apex predator.
This heel's ready to grind you into dust, Four.
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"Certainly! The ring sounds like a splendid show!" They sound too excited in this moment, they're clearly either confident in their ability to trounce him in the ring or they're talking about an entirely different ring.
"But won't you introduce yourself for our lovely lovely audience, knight? I'm sure everyone is dying to know who you are!"
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So while Four's reaction isn't pants-soiling fear, the fact that they weren't opposed to hopping in the ring was... weird. Garrot wasn't alone on that mountain, so the others could be in danger. But the fact that he's here alone with Four means his allies are safe. That means...
"The name's Garrot, and I'm the Monkey Knight!" He scoots forward in the chair a bit as he says this, going so far as to loose a triumphant laugh before slipping the arm closest to the audience out of his jacket.
"I'm ready to rock! Let's go!" With no hesitation, Garrot starts flexing that now-exposed arm. Everyone gets free tickets to this gun show! If he can just play along and monkey around long enough for the others to find him...
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But they aren't letting that bit out just yet, instead they're applauding with the audience-in-the-darkness to encourage on Garrot's enthusiasm.
"Splendid!" They say after enough of a pause so Garrot's had his moment to show off.
And then the lights go out.
Five seconds pass and the lights click back on to the sound of thunderous applause and cheering. Standing in a circle all the way around Garrot are twenty-six completely featureless figures holding up briefcases numbered 1 to 26. From behind Garrot, Four speaks up with the utmost glee in their voice. They're standing back to back with him, looking over their shoulder with this big smile.
"Welcome to the ring! You're here to make a deal, or not!"
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Then the lights go out. In the pitch-black space, shrouded in oppressive silence, Garrot summons a combat knife and slips it into a pocket on his paramedic pants. Anything could happen, and he'll be as ruthless as he needs to be. This is absolutely not a game to him.
The lights come back on, and he's surrounded, so his stance instinctively lowers. The number 26 stands out as the highest, which he can't really process. Four's voice comes from right behind him, naturally, and so Garrot whirls around as he puts a few steps between them. He knows from experience how dangerous it is to be so close to these monsters, even though he really wants to just go stab-happy. Then they start mentioning deals, and...
"Oh, so the Wizard's too lazy to do it herself this year?" Garrot's stance might clearly indicate a desire to throw punches, but he's still trying to get a handle on the situation. But he smirks, embracing the uncooperative heel persona. "Do you even have the authority for this? Four's a pretty low number."
It's clear that going on an offensive is a bad idea- Four has control over this entire area, and Garrot's boxed in. So he'll wait, especially if it means the others are safe.
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"You'll be playing to take, and keep, the case containing the highest number inside!" They explain, motioning out towards the cases.
"Every case has a number between 1 and 100 inside of it! The number in your case will remain a secret until the end. If you have the highest numbered case when we're down to two, you win! But if I have the highest numbered case, well..." They trail off, clapping their hands instead.
"We don't want that, now do we? Now! Pick your case, dear contestant Garrot!"
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"What do I get if I win, and how do I know you won't cheat?" The questions are luckily both things he wanted to know anyway. Losing obviously won't be a good idea.
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"Why, victory, dear contestant Garrot!" They clap again before giving a twirl in place.
"What would I do with victory? I have no need of it! And cheat? How? This is a game of chance, after all!" They fold their arms, though, as if thinking before they decide on a suggestion.
"Would you prefer to hold your case yourself?"
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"I'll take number thirteen." And he reaches out to take it from the holder, if he can. Rather childishly, the 13th letter of the alphabet is M, which reminds him of Murtakorp, his family, and his daughter Miri. What a sentimental goob.
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Gross.
"Now, contestant! That's your case until the end, but twenty five cases is far, far too many. Why don't you choose seven to get rid of? We'll open them to see what values are gone!"
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"Fine. Let's go with..." And then he starts to walk the edge of the faceless figure circle, knocking the back of his hand upon the cases as he goes. Garrot saw how they gooped together, so now's the time to do more research.
"...17 and 18... 22... 26 and 1... aaaaand... 9 and 11." Then he returns to the center, ready to see what happens. One hand rests a bit close to that knife in his pants before coming to rest on his hip. And now Garrot's looking plenty salty about this situation- why can't he be alone with Four so he can just do a stab already?!
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As he walks around the circle and knocks the cases, the figures wobble just a little bit after each one. They each take a tiny step forward, holding their cases just slightly forward....
And then the front of each one falls open, revealing the first seven numbers that Garrot has disposed of.
"Splendid, contestant Garrot! 99, 97, 82, 78, 73, 64, and 1!" They clap their hands, motioning at a board that shows what numbers remain.
"Now, I believe it's time to make a deal! But first, why don't you look at what numbers remain. Are you certain your case contains that mythical one-hundred value?"
100, 98, 96-83, 81-79
77-74, 72-65, 63-02
99, 97, 82, 78,
73, 64, 01.
18 Cases:
2-8, 10, 12, 14-16,
19-21, 23-25.
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So he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. And he keeps breathing. 26 cases can't cover more than 26 numbers, so there might not even be a 100! And either he's unlucky, or most of the values he's working with are higher. Or Four is cheating.
"What's your offer?" Garrot opens his eyes and he's smirking, a cool and confident champion of the ring. The Monkey Knight screws with people all the time, so why not screw with this monster and just not give the satisfaction of a real emotional response?
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"The offer is simple, dear contestant Garrot!" Four's smile couldn't be bigger in this moment, their hands clasped to the side of their head as they flutter their eyes at him and make their offer.
"Give me your case, turn and walk away, and you'll arrive back home with your family. You and your family will all live, and all the knights, the princess, and the protector will die this year."
Ha ha... what the fuck... ...?
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"Four, I want you to know..." Garrot's tone is level, it's cold and clinical, with no hesitation as he effortlessly leans into his heel persona. Four's got the keys to leave this place and just tried to leverage his family, so if Four wants a game, he'll be the Marauder, the Villain. "...that I am trained in surgical tools." It's a matter-of-fact, nonchalant statement that accompanies a shift in his stance, so that the leg with Xaljim's knife in the pocket is further back.
"I'm telling you this so that if you make such a disgusting offer to me again..." Garrot exhales, willing the dagger to change form as his head rolls back, giving his eyes just a little more height from which to look down upon Four. As the emotion returns to his face, it's something far more furious, more deranged, and all of a sudden his free hand is gripping the shaft of a giant scalpel, the tip inches from Four's throat. The audience at home, if they're the savvy sort, may even recognize those movements as some of the Marauder's signature choreography! Especially that head roll with the psycho grin. Y'know, if they're wrestling fans.
"...I may be so inclined to use them." The worst part is that Garrot isn't even sure if he's acting anymore! If the Knights and Princess and Protector all die, then the world ends, that's common knowledge. And even if that wasn't the case, there's no way in all the hells he'd inflict on these families what was inflicted on his. So he's pissed, and wouldn't really mind vivisecting Four right now. "No deal."
Garrot's still playing along, of course. He just has to keep at this stupid game until he isn't as outnumbered. Lucky for him, he's got a bit of an advantage in that department...
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The crowd, on the other hand, gasps audibly and murmurs spread through the area. Is Four going to get stabbed? Is Garrot actually the bad guy? Ooooooooooh boy!! The crowd's approval rating skyrockets!
And then confetti poppers explode all around, filling the air with colorful paper scraps as Four speaks again.
"Splendid, dear contestant Garrot! Then, the game goes on!" They bring a hand up, fully intending to just brush his weapon hand to the side as casually as possible.
"And I think we have five too many cases still left!"
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But since the game isn't stopping and Four isn't reacting, Garrot lets the weapon be gently moved from the space between them. Ever the showmonster, it's honestly just gotten under the doctor's skin- are the reactions to this game the only thing that matters?! It puts him in a bit of a huff, and he stalks around the ring once more to knock upon the cases he was knocking out.
"2. 6. 15. 20. 24."
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"How unfortunate, dear contestant! Unless you've grabbed the case containing the number 100, you could only have a number as high as 95!" They clasp their hands a second before the five other bodies merge into each other. And then a phone rings and the spotlights shine on a little office up above. The all-window-walls have the words "Monster Banker" painted in bright yellow on the glass. Four makes a show of picking up a phone and speaking on it:
"Why yes, monster banker? Yes, yes I'm here with our dear contestant! Why, what a lovely offer, you're so very kind! Let me ask him, just a moment-- dear contestant Garrot! The monster banker would like to buy your case from you, they'll give you a splendid reward to walk away with if you accept. You, all the knights, the princess, and your family will walk free of all of this! What do you say, do you accept?"
100, 95-83, 80-79
76-74, 72-65, 62-02
99-96, 82-81, 78-77,
73, 64-63, 01.
13 Cases:
3-5, 7-8, 10, 12, 14, 16,
19, 21, 23, 25.
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But then there's another deal. Another shitty deal. It would get him and his family off the hook, but nothing about the loved ones of the knights, or even how Four and the Monster Banker are defining family! It pisses him off, because the monsters' jobs are to kill them, and that's one hell of an trustworthy goad. Four didn't even care about the threat with Garrot's unreasonably large scalpel-spear, so there's no point in keeping that threat going!
And let's be honest, if Four was powerful enough to deliver on any of that, they wouldn't have waited forty years to pull this out. Plus, uh, then there's nobody to stop the Wizard and the world is destroyed anyway! This is so stupid, Four sure seems like all sparkle and no substance...
"Absolutely not." Garrot sounds utterly nonplussed as he points his scalpel-spear in Four's direction, as if to say strike two.
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Meanwhile Four's just waiting for Garrot to call them out on it. Go on, dear contestant Garrot, say any of those things out loud! They would love to dismiss every single concern he had in favor of highlighting how good the game is and how great a job he's doing in the face of armageddon!
"What a shame, what a shame dear contestant Garrot. Then the game goes on!" They give a twirl in place before leaping out behind the ring of case-holding monsters. They turn back a moment later, hands settled on the shoulders of the faceless monster holding case 10. They peek out from behind the body, watching Garrot.
"Then it's time for you to choose four more cases to remove. We're winding down, you know! After this, you'll only get two more chances to make a monster deal!" They exclaim, practically radiating excitement through their horrible ear-to-ear smile.
Also looks like they didn't care about Garrot's weapon threat again. Why don't they care? Odd.
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"Ten. So why are you doing a game now when you've been at this for decades?" Garrot, inquisitiveness aside, does wallop the case with a bit of extra force, mostly because Four's behind the carrier.
"Seven. I mean, you've waited years to talk to people, and it's for a game? Why?" Of course, the Monkey Knight is plenty condescending with this question. A game show seems like less of an interesting stage debut than, uh, a fighting ring. For obvious, Garrot-centric reasons.
"Three. I mean, you're not even a major player like some of the later monsters." They're numerical, of course, and he'll see if he can get under Four's skin with that jab. Probably not, because nothing seems to work!
"Twenty-five. So you just want to make me play a game, lose, and I dunno, you get stabbed or something. Unless you're just gonna cry uncle before anyone gets hurt?" He is, of course, referencing a conversation he'd had with another monster earlier that day. If Ten knows about this apparent loophole, then maybe Four does too, and that's why they're being a game show host? "Can you even do that?"
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"But even the audience knows why you don't know that. Think of the bodies, dear contestant!" Did they just imply everyone they've played a game with had died? They give a twirl, aiming their hand out to the cameras with a finger-gun to 'shoot' the static away. For the audience at home, it looks like they're making a show of bringing the audio back.
"But just look at your cases!" They return to the game as the four numbered cases fall open. 10, 7, 3, 25 all open to reveal: 94, 93, 92, and 91. How?!
"Now for a simple question, dear contestant, do you want to pick eight cases next? I think it's time to bring this down to a fifty-fifty chance!"
100, 95, 90-83, 80-79
76-74, 72-65, 62-02
99-96, 94-91, 82-81, 78-77,
73, 64-63, 01.
9 Cases:
4-5, 8, 12, 14, 16,
19, 21, 23.
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The values of the four cases do little to dissuade that notion.
So now Garrot is scowling, eyes scanning the remaining nine cases. All he has to do is pick which one he wants to keep, to face off against. And that's easy.
"Let's get rid of..." Garrot doesn't sound particularly interested at this point. Almost like he's bored. But when the deck seems stacked against you...
"Fourteen." He doesn't move to tap the box this time. Instead, he's got a steady grip on his weapon, and he's sinking into a stance a bit. "Twenty-one and twenty-three." Garrot has no reason to trust any of this, especially with those deals. The game is wrapping up, there's no reason to play along any more than he needs to.
"Five." Four implied they've killed people. Knights. "Nineteen." Efficient and capable, such that nobody knew anything about these games... assuming it's not a bluff. "Sixteen, eight, and..."
He pauses for a moment, eyes drifting between his case, 13, and the remaining case: 4 and 12.
"Let's get rid of Four. Just throw the case out with the trash." A beat. "Let's call it a reminder of how I'm gonna do worse things to you."
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But that didn't mean the game wasn't also rigged.
Four's smile grows wider and wider with every passing moment, every single second that Garrot spends analyzing what his approach to this situation is going to be. Every case that's gone seems to delight Four, and they all fall open a moment after Garrot says what he'd said. The cases fall open to reveal 90-83, 80-79, 76-74, 72-65, 62-05, 03, and 02.
Ha ha, fucking what?
Several of those cases have entire number ranges in them, is that allowed?
"Oh, dear contestant, how dare you throw my number away!" they exclaim, absolutely hurt that he'd cast it out. But as they say it, case number four opens up to reveal a bright gold "100" inside of it. The former highest number.
But that means the only numbers that remain are 95 and... 4.
"Just two cases left!" They smile wide, a horrible shark-teeth-filled smile now. When did they get teeth? Why does this suddenly feel more dire?
"But the monster banker will let you trade cases... if you want. Are you holding the 95, or are you holding my dearest, most favorite number?"
95, 04.
100-96, 94-05, 03-01.
1 Case:
12.
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Maybe they're both stalling for time? So Garrot follows that sigh with a deep breath, trying to rally his senses in case they're not alone. But then he sees Four's smile, and the Monkey Knight reciprocates. A shark-toothed smile gets a jagged, monstrous smile from someone who had to be taught how to smile in a non-terrifying way.
"I think we both know which number is where," he's back to condescending, because he's pretty sure the answer is wherever Four wants, "and besides, I'd rather beat Twelve and Four at the same time. No deal."
And now he just needs an opening to strike; he's done all he could to stall. So as soon as (or, well, if) Four makes any indication of opening this last case, Garrot will try to catch him off-guard with a thrust of that scalpel-spear!
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