Day 4: Evening

[wizardseason]

Evening: 5:00pm - Midnight

[ IRL Timeframe: August 14th - August 28th, 2019 ]

As the sun sets on Harsen Island and the curtains close on Four's games that abducted all the heroes up into hours of entertainment, things absolutely refuse to wind down.

When the knights return, they'll be placed right where they were when they were added into the game show. The Princess, unfortunately, is the one that doesn't wind up where he was taken from. For everyone else, whether they were climbing up the mountain or existing elsewhere, it looks like all they lost is time.

And maybe a bit of patience.

Every hero that participated in Four's game show reeived a personalized 'Thank you!' card at the end of it, apparently the monster was excited about everyone participating! (Disclaimer: One knight did not receive a thank you card because he refused to participate like a big ole' jerk).

The bright, glowing blue fissures are still open throughout the ground, they haven't gone anywhere while the game show happened. All the cracks originate from the mountain up the slope from Craydon! Social media has finally confirmed that all the cracks converge on one location up the mountain: At a big glowing stone door. It's absolutely not a manmade door and it's definitely magic in some way, but why is it there now?

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The Weather

• Insects chirping all over.
• 66°F / 19°C
• A surprisingly cool sea breeze.

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Prompts:

• ??:00pm Mountain Door, Craydon: Any heroes still climbing the mountain, or who choose to climb the mountain, can reach the glowing door. As they ascend, they'll have to endure unrelenting wind blowing right in their face the whole way. When they reach the top, send a ping saying "they've reached the door" to receive a description.


• 6:00pm Rock Sugar Tea Cafe, Bamborough: Not wanting to spend the entire evening in Craydon, the Protector has made his way via train out to Bamborough to find a cafe that serves tea. Three Princesses had come here during previous years and the experiences had been good enough that he sought to try it for himself. He'll be found sitting under an umbrella-covered table outside the cafe, sipping carefully at a nuclear-hot cup of spiced apple tea.


• 6:30pm Sushi, Far Haven: Of all the places for Ten to end up in all this, he's arrived at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Far Haven. Situated off to the side from the lobby of the Crossroads Hotel, the restaurant is simply named 'Sushi' and is filled with numerous tables wedged up against a slowly-progressing conveyor belt filled with plates of sushi. The entire path is in a refrigerated tube to keep the sushi safe to eat, and when a hero arrives they'll see Ten reaching in to obtain a new set of rolls. There are already ten empty plates in front of him: How many more will he eat? Social media is already taking bets on the final count!


• 7:00pm Door Crater, Craydon: It's the end. Any heroes still lingering at the door on the mountain will be treated to the biggest nightmare of all time: The door starts to emit a high-pitched tone moments before it explodes outwards. Pieces of solid stone go flying outward from the blast, and when the dust clears from the event there's still smoke billowing out from inside of the cave entrance and rising up off of the small crater that the explosion made.
  
  Just inside of the cave entrance is the figure of a child, laying slumped facedown on the ground. They're wearing nothing but tatters over their translucent cyan skin. They look as if they're made of colored glass, their hair looking very much like solid, shiny obsidian but moving as if it wasn't stone at all. Their eyes are closed where they're laying, but there's an unmistakable glow even through their closed eyelids.

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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.

Comments

[zafika]

See, Zafika had decided that they're going to need answers from someone, either Luka or one of the Knights that actually get to talk to the Protector. Because that's what they're used to, digging up information in whatever way available. So when they spot someone who, absolutely is not a regular citizen, sitting outside a little tea cafe, they stop in their tracks to stare. That has to be the Protector, or they're going to possibly give an innocent citizen a heart attack.

Either way, they walk over to the Protector's table, and pull a chair for themselves to sit down across from him. "You're the Protector, aren't you?" Normally, they probably would be more polite, or impressed, but they've had a long day, and they have some questions, and they will get answers to those questions, or so help them god.

[wizardseason]

"I am, and you are Zafika the evil-aligned Snake knight." The Protector answers their abrupt arrival with an even more abrupt accusation. Does he know they're an evil knight and he intends to make them cave? Does he not know at all and he's testing for a reaction? Does he think they're unaligned and he's just trying to trip them up?

No matter what his reasoning, he's looking at them over steepled fingers. He fully intends to catch how they're going to react, how they're going to take the heavy-handed move he'd just made.

[zafika]

Well, the Protector is looking for a reaction, and a reaction he shall get. But probably not what he was looking for. Because, upon being accused of being an evil-aligned Knight, Zaifka just, stares, quirks an eyebrow... and stifles a laugh as they lean their arms against the table. "Wouldn't that be nice? The criminal ending up being one of the evil Knights for everyone to defeat without hard feelings." Sorry Protector, if they are one of the evil-aligned Knights, this isn't enough to make them crack.

"But, that's not the point. Because I just got back from a stupid quiz show Four yanked me into, and there was quite an interesting question there..." They look at the Protector directly into the eyes, the grey filter on everything and the low humming reminding them that they can do that now. "Why did Four call you a murderer?"

[wizardseason]

If they're an evil aligned knight, it's a clever response. If they're an unaligned knight, he's surprise they didn't move to defend themselves. Impossible to read. Congratulations, Zafika, you've got him stumped for now.

But their question doesn't leave him stumped at all.

"Through inaction, it could easily be said that I have been responsible for the knights who die each year. I have questioned my involvement after every death." He watches them with a steeled gaze in response. He meets their gaze without flinching away.

"But they are avenged each year that the world spins on."

[zafika]

Sorry Protector, they're not here to defend themselves, they have no interest in that shit anymore.

Zafika hums quietly in response to his words, and they rest their chin on the palm of their hand as they keep their eyes on him. "What a funny coincidence, that's exactly how I justified how the accusation would be true. But it's rarely that simple, is it?" They stop for a moment, and think back to Garrot's grief over his father.

"An even though avenging the dead is all good and fine, it doesn't bring them back. It doesn't help those who are forced to deal with suddenly losing a loved one. All because of whatever the hell is going on with the Wizard, and with you."

[wizardseason]

Unfortunately he doesn't know that's their stance, he'll have to figure that out as he learns who they are.

And if they're a danger to this world.

"Forty years alone is hardly a simple thing, and the events over the years have been anything but simple." He answers, watching for what they're trying to get out of him here.

"If you disagree with your purpose for being here, you are free to leave." His answer comes surprisingly coldly. He knows they know what everyone is fighting for here, and that was worth any cost.

Another year of life. Of survival.

[zafika]

Zafika squints at the Protector, and oh their personalities are not mixing together well at all right now. "Considering that I am here helping you save the world, I think I deserve to have some questions answered."

"Why did Four call you a murderer? It can't just be because of your indirect involvement with the deaths of the Knights. This is all I'm asking for, because I want to know if I'm laying my life down on the line for the right person. I won't let the Wizard end the fucking world, but I want to know more about what your involvement in this is."

[wizardseason]

"Because they believe the stories of a fool." He answers, locking his steeled gaze on Zafika. It's clear he doesn't think highly of the Wizard, definitely referring to her as a fool.

"I am the counter to the foolishness. You taking a monster's word as truth is why I am here, to stand in defense of reason." He answers, definitely implying listening to Four makes one a fool as well.