Day 5: Afternoon

Afternoon: 12:00noon - Evening

[ IRL Timeframe: September 25th - October 9th, 2019 ]

It's monster time for four heroes!

When Five appears, it's in the form of a one-on-one fight. Not everyone will get the chance to raise their weapon and fight. Everyone else will be left to handle the goings-ons of the island in general. Harsen Island isn't a quiet place, and there's plenty happening on day five to keep everyone occupied. Now that the dust has settled on the mountain, anyone can go up to look at where the Child emerged from.

Or they can go see the Child themselves, social media is doing a good job tracking their path down to the piers in Far Haven. It's easy to track a glowing magic entity! If the Child isn't who they're interested in, they can find the Wizard, Ten, and the Protector in the hospital in Far Haven. What a popular city! It's the biggest place on Harsen Island, so that makes sense.

But all over the island, things are happening and events are unfolding... at this point, the heroes know more than anyone else does. They'd better be ready to work together!

Monster Arrival: Far Haven: The Duels: Gyre, Zafika, Luka, Olivia.

The Weather
Eerily still.
61°F / 16°C
Brrr, where'd that cool wind come from?

Prompts:

12:00pm The Child, Far Haven: [Continuation of the previous thread.]

Anyone who had interacted with the child, or chased them, is in for an unfortunate surprise. They've been targeted by Five and are about to have to deal with her. Olivia is the first to go toe to toe with her, and the encounter ends up allowing the Child to escape.

When Five appears, she's walking with the confidence of a killer who's sighted their mark. She's the most human-like by far, but there are still dead giveaways as to what she really is. For one, her bright yellow skin is a mark that she can't do away with. That aside, she looks like an assassin right out of a video game. Her head is obscured under a black hood, her mouth masked behind fabric, and her five amber eyes (two on the left and right, one vertically on her forehead) glint as she approaches. Her outfit is all black, pants, shoes, shirt, all leaving no sign of the skin beneath. Dangling from her neck is a circular metallic necklace. Instead of weapons grasped in each hand, she's dragging along two black bags. The sound of the fabric scratching along the ground announces her arrival.

"I challenge you to a duel." She says, her voice sounding all too much like a young child's. As she says it, the world around the two of them disappears. The ground at their feet lies under an inch of water, reflecting the cloudy sky above. There are dead trees sparsly jutting up from the ground and fractured pieces of buildings laying around. This is clearly a battlefield, a wide, lifeless expanse that exists solely to fight.

Anyone in Far Haven will be able to find the child at the end of the Far haven pier, staring out at the ocean. Social media isn't quiet about where they are. But the four who face off against Five won't be able to get there until they've dealt with her.

12:30pm Train Derailment, Bamborough: Unfortunately for anyone who gets the news about anything in Craydon or Far Haven, there's no way to get there. On its way into the train station, the train rolled over a handful of stray acorns and one of the sets of wheels hopped off of the tracks. It'll take a few hours at a minimum to get it back in place. Is your character stranded at the train station? Do they spy a fellow hero also stranded? Will they decide to take a long 4-5 hour power-walk along the tracks out to either of the other cities? Will they just wait for the train? Do they go rent a car to get out there? Roadtrip?! Or do they just go somewhere in Bamborough to kill time?

12:45pm Bed & Breakfast Helping Hand, Craydon: The owner of the Helping Hand Bed & Breakfast needs a helping hand! They threw their back out after carrying a large stack of firewood in for the wood oven. Looks like they're down for the count for at least the rest of the day. Care to lend a hand, perhaps with your fellow heroes, to get things taken care of? The laundry needs to be done, more firewood has to be cut, the food has to be cooked, the guests have to be checked in and out... Who's going to do all this if they can't even get up off the ground? They're in a rough spot! Social media was kind enough to report on what happened, but the one who reported it had to catch a flight and needed to head off. Good luck, heroes!

2:00pm Hospital Visit, Far Haven: Despite being the Wizard, the doctors at the Far Haven hospital insisted that there would be no visitors until at least 2pm. They'd rarely had an opportunity to speak to the Wizard in previous years and they weren't going to pass up an opportunity like this especially not after Ten arrived carrying the Wizard. Anyone who tried following after was left in the waiting room, forced to read bad magazines and sit in uncomfortable chairs. When the doctors finally allow visitors, they look pale. Like they've been told something awful, but they're unwilling to talk about what they talked about. Inside the hospital room, the Wizard is reclined back in a hospital bed with Ten at her side. She's looking conscious, at least, but she still looks pretty roughed up. Ten is playing defense against anyone who tries to get close.

Worse than that, the Protector arrives at the Hospital not long after the doctors allow people into the room. Though the doctors won't speak to the heroes, the Protector can be found tracking them down throughout the hospital. In the waiting room, in the lobby, in the halls, in the elevators. Whatever they were told, it looks like the Protector is making his way around the hospital to undo it. Anyone who sees him will notice that he has a sword scabbard dangling from his belt. Looks like he's ready to defend himself.

2:00pm Unlimited Tacos, Bamborough: One restaurant noticed that there were more people wandering aimlessly around Bamborough than normal because of the train being derailed. As a result, they put out signs advertising free tacos for the rest of the day! Any hero may show up and sit down to dine on tacos of all types and flavors. Unfortunately this taco shop only specializes in flour-shell options, but their flavors are on point! Dine in with your fellow heroes and discuss all the nonsense that's been happening... and it's only day five.

4:00pm Free Drinks, Far Haven: If your hero is just tired of everything having to be So Much All The Time, they can drop by one of Far Haven's brightest night life bars called "Reach". They're offering free drinks all night to celebrate the Wizard getting put in the hospital. Things are looking pretty easy for the team this year! The special drink being offered is the "Wizard Bomb" which drops a blue shot into a bubbly red drink. It's pretty tasty and, best of all, free! Which heroes will find each other here before the night crowd shows up? Sun's still out for now!

4:00pm Free Admission Meditation, Craydon: Heroes need to take a moment to breathe, and one of the locals in Craydon has realized that. They've offered any hero a free meditation session in their garden room. Incense will be lit, hot towels will be offered, and the gentle serene environment of their garden room (complete with the carefully-combed and designed zen sand pit) will make sure any stress just melts away. Does your hero run across someone else while walking in or leaving?

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: 'Child' toplevels will unlock additional information as the story progresses. Send a ping on Discord to get a reply with further details regarding this thread.

Activity Check: October 2019

[ IRL Timeframe: October 1st - October 31st, 2019 ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Unhand the Princess." A voice cuts through the silence of the hospital hallway the instant that Gyre sets foot inside it. He didn't even get the chance to find a doctor, or even see a doctor. Instead, it's just the empty lobby with the Protector standing dead center in the middle of it.

Is this a boss arena?

He reaches down to pull his blade free of its scabbard and uh. It's probably the most terrifying thing Gyre's ever seen? It's probably the most terrifying thing anyone has seen. The blade looks like a rip in reality, like someone took a pair of scissors to the space it occupies and snipped away the layer to reveal something underneath. The place underneath looks like space just as much as it looks like hellfire. It's a terrifying mass of colors and impossible shapes that promise only beauty and pain. Whether he's moving the blade or keeping it still, the space beyond keeps spinning its promise of divine retribution.

"It is no pleasure of mine to meet you, traitor to this world. Consider your status as a knight revoked as of this moment." He lifts his blade to point it directly towards Gyre.

"I know you align yourself with the Wizard. Give up and I will be merciful."

Edited 2019-10-11 22:43 (UTC)

Just like when Luka approached him, he pauses inside the door and scans the boss arena, his gaze only settling on the sword once he's taken it all in. It is... terrifying, and he thinks about what it feels like to have fire pushed into his body. His breath catches, but he doesn't try to retreat, holding steady if only because his legs have locked up in fear.

He doesn't respond for a long moment, glancing at Luka, and then forcing himself to suck air in through his teeth. He says, "I am aligned only to myself. Who the fuck are you?" and he's entirely impressed with himself when his voice only shakes a little, even if a moment after he finishes, his knee buckles in sudden weakness. He manages to keep himself up, but only barely, brow furrowing as he tries to force his soul to stay in this body instead of leaving it like it very much wants to at this distance from his amethyst.

"I am the Protector, and I am going to kill you to save the world." He states simply, bringing his sword up over his head in preparation for a strike as he starts walking forward towards Gyre.

"You have one final opportunity to drop the Princess and turn yourself in. Do not waste it, you will not live to get another." He adds it as a fact. He's not slowing in his advance. In only a few more paces he's going to be within striking distance.

What now, Gyre?

"Oh. You," he says, and his face twists in clear disgust. He draws another deep breath, and casts a look around, taking a step back just so he has an extra moment before the Protector gets to him.

"Can you give me s-sixty..." he pauses briefly, realizes his timeline might not give him that long, " thirty seconds then, to find a bed for him? His nose is broken. He needs to be comfortable."

At Gyre's request, the Protector ceases his advance. He narrows his eyes, keeping his sword held high. He's clearly taking a moment to observe the situation around them, and that situation is: A lot of eyes. A lot of observers. A lot of witnesses.

He makes a "Hm" sound for a moment before acknowledging Gyre's request.

"Do so. Do not attempt deception." He answers. But uh... he's absolutely going to continue following Gyre, blade held at the ready. If Gyre makes any move to attack him, he's going to strike.

"Uh huh," he mutters and immediately turns away from him, walking down the hallway and towards the blocks of rooms he remembers from the previous evening. The third room down is empty and he wanders in, carefully scooping Luka up and laying him out over the covers. He takes a breath, feels his body go stiff and then limp and he nearly hits the ground, catching himself on the railing of the bed.

This is to say, it takes him a little longer then he thought it would, but he finally manages to force himself back up, breathing harder. His hands are shaking. There are black spots floating through his vision. He desperately wishes that Five would move a little bit slower, but he limps back out of the room, peering at the Protector as he takes a second to lean against the doorframe.

"I need to tell a doct-t-t--" he gets caught on the word, shaking his head very slightly, "A doctor. That he's in there." He's not going to wait for the Protector's permission as he begins back down the hallway, figuring the coward will follow him no matter where he goes.

When Gyre turns his back on the Protector, he starts following him from behind in a more casual pose. He doesn't need to be ready to strike, especially not with Gyre looking like he's on the edge of death. He follows him all the way to the room, and then narrows his eyes when Gyre comes back out.

"He will be tended to." He states, simply, followed with a near-emotionless command:

"Stop." But, Gyre being Gyre, he decides he's not going to stop? Well, the Protector knows exactly what to do about that. He rushes forward with his blade held high, bringing it down in an arcing slash very much intended to cleave Gyre in half from shoulder to hip.

Except that there's the horrifying sound of metal against screaming, crackling metal. Standing directly behind Gyre, wielding a glowing blue blade, is Ten. He's locked into a standoff with the Protector's blade, facing away from Gyre with only the back of his shirt visible.

Ten's wearing a T-shirt with big white text on the back:

"Run, stupid."

The front, facing the Protector? Says "You're stupid."

His senses are going absolutely crazy at this point, his vision all wild swirls and sound dipping in and out, too loud one moment and gone the next. Despite this, all the focus he has left centers on the Protector as he swings forward like that. This pathetic little man is going to stab him in the back for not listening? It's not how he thought he'd go the second time, but it rings so similar to the first, he wonders if he's paying some karmic debt. What did he do to be killed by cowards, twice.

He turns to look over his shoulder, his eyes this hard, loathing mask, pure disgust in every inch of him. If he's going to die here, he at least needs the Protector to know how little he thinks him.

He barely understands what happens when Ten arrives and blocks the blow, the little monster rendered into a yellow blur, the sound of metal on metal a stuttering song. Even if he could see a damn thing, he wouldn't able to read the text on Ten's t-shirt, so hopefully Ten isn't too surprised when, instead of doing as directed, he whips around and--

And just fucking collapses, his body crumpling down on itself like all the bones have come out of him. He makes a ragged sound, a hand slamming into the wall to unsuccessfully catch himself, and with the tiny shred of himself he has left, he places a little shield right in front of the Protector's face.

And uh tries to smash it against him.

The Protector recoils from Gyre's last attempt at an attack. He doesn't give Gyre the satisfaction of "what will this do to him?" because he doesn't even let it land. Unfortunately for him, it also means he loses the advantage of getting Ten off guard. He's left backtracking, retreating from Gyre's prone form on the ground and Luka's room in favor of keeping himself from being cleaved in half.

Which leaves him completely off guard when Ten forces him all the way back into the lobby and then proceeds to smash him backwards with a heavy strike. The Protector stumbles back from the force and takes up proper posture to start advancing on a counterattack--

And Ten slams his hands down into the ground, shattering through the tiled hospital floor. All ten of his eyes slam open wide and the floor throughout glows for a moment before it lifts abruptly, aggressively, and violently. The entire lobby floor is pulled upward at a harsh angle, turning the section the Protector is on into a ramp that drops him off of his feet.

Patients and doctors observing from the side hallways and the overlooking balconies above are watching, photographing, and videoing the encounter. Social media is losing its mind.

From his now compromised position, the Protector shouts in an unnaturally booming voice that shakes the very air until it reaches Luka's ears. "WAKE, PRINCESS!"

And that's all the reason Ten needs to abandon this fight and make his way back to Gyre's body. He rushes over, scooping low to lift up the prone knight's form and uh... he's going to get to running away. He needs to get Gyre somewhere that isn't here before Luka comes storming out. Hopefully the Princess will go save the Protector instead. Benefits of Luka's monster-tingling-senses not homing in on him yet.

Luka's eyes fly open as the Protector's call rings in his ears. He jolts upright in the hospital bed where Gyre left him, pain radiating from where he was hit. He instinctively lifts a hand to the bridge of his nose but finds the pain to be too much and recoils.

"Bastard." He whispers as he climbs out of the bed. Luka steadies himself on his feet, feeling for his sword. Gone.

A disarmed and bloodied Luka now makes his way through the hospital, searching for the Protector. He asks to be directed to the source of the action, which was hard to miss, what with all the destruction in the lobby.

"I'm here." He announces when he finally makes it there.

By the time Luka has made his way out of his room and to the chaos of the lobby, the Protector has managed to use his blade like an impromptu rock climbing hook and drag himself up the frictionless smooth floor tiles that are now making up an impossible ramp that blocks the entire hospital lobby. When he speaks, his voice comes from nearly four feet above Luka's head. The top of the floor-ramp is easily ten feet up.

That's so much property damage.

"The monster escaped with the traitor knight." He declares, his breath a little heavier from the exertion of unexpected mountain climbing with only a single stabilizing tool.

"I cannot sense them nearby."

"Gyre?" Luka clarifies, although there's no one else he could be referring to. "He punched me in the face."

Luka can't make heads or tails of where exactly the Protector is, and has no idea what happened.

"Are you alright? Did he attack you, too?"

Edited 2019-10-12 02:41 (UTC)

"Yes, to every question asked." He answers. Yes Gyre. Yes he punched you in the face. Yes he's alright. And yes Gyre attacked him too. Our readers at home know that last one is a lie.

"You are lucky that he did not harm you further. He was saved by a monster. The damage is considerable." He states, not yet trying to vault himself over the drop of the fracture.

"He's been fed nothing but the Wizard's words. If I were in that position I might believe them, too. I didn't want to fight him, but I guess he didn't feel the same."

Luka crouches down, head still spinning from being knocked out.

"He thinks the monsters can be defeated without them being killed."

The Protector turns his attention up as Luka crouches. He locks eyes with one of the doctors and gives her a wave so she'll come down to look at Luka's nose. He needs his Princess in peak shape if they're going to stand a chance here.

"He has been told to do whatever it takes to get what he wants." The Protector answers, hooking an arm over the edge of the tilted floor. The movement causes some pieces of rubble to crumble down and clatter to the floor near Luka.

"He is more willing than most to disregard all others in pursuit of his goal. I will not be surprised to see him defending the monsters to come." He says it with a clear distaste a moment before he grunts softly to pull himself up to sit on the very peak of the destruction-raised floor.

"He mentioned once that he thought it might be for the best to let the world die. If that's what he thinks..."

Luka trails off when a nurse approaches him and tries to usher him away. He allows her to examine him there, but won't leave the Protector's side.

"We need to make him understand what's really going on. I'm not losing this world by risking it on the promises of the Wizard."

The Protector gives a "humph" sound as he pushes off from the edge of the raised floor, sending him falling quite elegantly down to Luka's level. There's the wooshing of fabric a moment before the loud clack of his shoes impacting the ground fills the entire hospital lobby. He didn't quite do the iron man landing, but it wasn't far off. A second later, he stands and brushes himself off.

"If you think he can be made to see reason, you should try." He states, flatly.

"But if he is anything like knights in the past, he will not be swayed." He emphasizes his words by lining up his blade with its scabbard and sliding it home with a sharp snckt sound.

"I don't want to fight him." Luka says as the nurse comes and tries to put a cold compress to his face. "He's not stupid. The Wizard makes herself easy to believe, and he's just been manipulated by her. A lot of things in this world work that way. All it takes sometimes is some sweet words in the right person's ear."

The nurse continues to fuss over him, and he speaks up again when he finally gets another chance. "Where did he go, anyway?"

He watches Luka get tended to, considering how best to respond. Luka doesn't need any convincing of what's going on. He's so convinced that Gyre is good and just misguided.

The audience at home probably has some thoughts about folks being misguided by others.

"The tenth monster took him away after destroying the hospital lobby. He will be found." He answers, simply.

"The damage is considerable." He adds as the nurse comments that they at least have a side entrance.

He sighs in frustration. "What's the point of spending time with the monsters? They'll only get into his head, he shouldn't be around them."

The nurse starts affixing a bandage and splint to Luka's face.

"You know, he punched me after I tried to explain that they don't really die like we do. They come back. So killing them isn't such a big deal, is it?" Luka asks, looking for reassurance from the Protector that he didn't make a mistake.

The audience at home will remember that.

"That is precisely the reason she is sending them to him; and to others. It is harder to destroy the familiar." He explains like it's as simple as that.

"They lack lives to take, if you must be technical about their defeat consider it putting them to sleep until they can be destroyed properly." He answers, bringing a hand up to rub at his temple.

"He knows nothing of what he speaks."

"Well, I spent awhile with Ten... even he didn't seem too phased about the idea of us having to fight. He just spoke about it like it was routine. I'm surprised that Five was so... emotional. But now I know it was just a game for her."

Luka shakes his head a bit. "She's still out there. He let her get away. Ugh."

He shifts uncomfortably in his place. Part of him wants to seek her out and do away with her for everything he's gone through today, but he'd also rather call it a night and maybe find backup before trying that again.

"What about... everyone else? Are they okay?"

"She will need to be dispatched. The longer she is free, the more damage she will cause." He shakes his head, he'd like to kill her himself honestly.

"They are fine." He answers, disregarding Luka's commentary about the monster. "Very few were faced with life or death this day. Our ally, Olivia. And our potential enemy, Zafika." He theorizes openly, deciding to add after a moment:

"Do not make a habit of interacting with the monsters."

"I'm not going to join their side." He replies, somewhat defensively. "I'd be there already if that were the case. I'm not weak willed like everyone else. I know when something has to be done regardless of how it feels to do it."

Luka folds his arms over his chest. "I'm getting out of here. Are you coming?"

"So you understand perfectly." He answers before making an affirmative "Mmhmm" that he does intend to get out of here with Luka. He'll walk if Luka walks and he'll definitely help lead Luka away from the rubble blockage.

Can't have the princess killed by fall damage after all.

"We should collect Olivia and Rory before anything befalls them, I have no doubt that the Wizard will soon take advantage of the chaos that has occurred here." He begins to walk, waving a hand to make a little viewing window 'bloop' into existence in midair that he looks into.

"...though I still cannot find where they are."

The Weather

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