Day 6: "Monster Arrival"

Afternoon: 12:00noon - Evening

[ IRL Timeframe: November 13th - ~~November 20th~~ December 4th, 2019 ]

Following the events of the morning, with the Wizard and Protector locked in a heated duel, Gyre has paved forward with his plan to gather all the heroes to show them something. Be proud of him, he texted EVERYONE!

The fight between the two powerful entities continues, they won’t be joining anyone just yet. Sxicq, meanwhile, is… somewhere. No one really kept tabs on them, even social media has lost sight of them.

Monster Arrival: Far Haven: No one! Six is preparing to “arrive” in the evening.

The Weather
Clear with a few clouds.
52°F / 11°C
Bring your heater, the chill continues!

Prompts:

12:30pm Mounain, General Post:

I.
Gyre arrives early to the main hiking trail at the base of the mountain. There’s a big sign advertising where it starts, and he sits against one of the legs of the sign. His legs are neatly folded, his arms crossed over his chest. As people begin to arrive, he greets each of them, standing after a second or third has arrived.

Once they’re all gathered, he raises a hand to get everyone’s attention. “Is this everyone?” he asks, clearly counting heads. A flicker of angst crosses his face as he realizes how much smaller they look without Rory and Web and Gail. As he counts, he realizes Zafika and Joanna are missing as well. He wasn’t able to talk to either of them, so he supposes he’s not surprised, but there is a little bubbling concern in his chest. He’ll have to address it later.

He waves at the lot of them once he’s done counting, gesturing for them to follow, “We’re going to the top. I’m going to move quickly so we can get back down before dark. If you need help, ask me. Rely on each other,” is all he says before he turns and heads up the trail.

The ground is worn enough to make the climb relatively easy, but it’s still climbing a mountain. How is everyone taking it? It’s a long trip. There’s time to catch up now that they’re all together again.

II.
This is the top of the mountain. When the heroes arrive, they’ll find Five and Ten seated at a small foldable table playing cards. Five is wearing jeans and a black hoodie with a computer error screen printed on it. She looks at the group of heroes arriving, giving a small wave once she’s seen some familiar faces-- but she immediately moves to hide behind Ten when she sees Luka.

Ten, meanwhile, is wearing a shirt with a picture of himself wearing a shirt with a picture of himself wearing a shirt-- you get the idea. How did he pull that off? The shirt is printed with a picture of him here, on the top of the mountain, outside this cliff door. Did he plan for this? He gives a wave at the group, greeting them with a Microsoft Sam voiced phone message:

“All around me are familiar faces. Ha ha, hello.”

Did he just reference a song? He definitely did. That was definitely “Mad World” by Jary Gules.

12:30pm Onward: Mountain, The Mountain Cave Entrance:

When the heroes decide to descend into the cavern, what they’ll find is a strangely winding corridor that’s barely lit at all. The ceiling is rarely higher than six feet, sometimes shrinking down to four feet and even three feet near the bottom, and most of its length is only wide enough for two people to fit through. The floor is slick with water, the slope of it acting as the perfect place for water to drain into from above. This means the descent is cramped, dark, and slightly slippery.

Good luck, heroes.

The corridor suddenly opens up at the bottom into a wide-open cavern, the walls spreading out too far in every direction and disappearing into the darkness of the cavern. The walkway into the space narrows as it crosses over a massive pit that surrounds a central circular platform. There aren’t any other walkways leading to the middle.

The circular platform in the center has twenty-seven metal rings that make up the floor, smaller ones in the middle surrounded by one massive ring around the outside. It'd take a lot of counting to see the 27 rings but, believe me, they're there. What the heroes will be able to spot, though, is that a few of the rings on the floor are rotating very, very slowly. It would be easy to miss, but once noticed it’s clear that there are exactly ten rings moving and seventeen that are not.

Surrounding the center platform are twenty-seven raised platforms in a big circle around the center. Floating above four in a row are bright yellow blobs with one, two, and three eyes respectively. The fourth and fifth have the slain bodies of Four and Five. Four is wearing the game show garb they’d worn on the day of their games. Five is wearing a set of heavy black robes, not the assassin garb she’d worn on her day. The other side has five occupied platforms each with knights floating in them. Web, with Aqrisqi floating above them. Rory, with Sefaq floating above her. Gail, with Giqra floating above him. Joanna, with Fius floating above her. Zafika, with Muraj floating above them.

Wait. When were Joanna and Zafika defeated? Both of them have a single red mark above where their hearts are like they’d each been stabbed with a blade.

Five and Ten have followed everyone down to this room, looks like they’ll be able to answer questions… maybe? But everyone knows that neither the Wizard nor the Protector will be here, they’re still fighting up on the island’s beach.

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.

Activity Check: November 2019

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Luka had been in as good a mood as any when he'd arrived at the base of the mountain. He'd just had an interesting morning meeting Six at the hospital and dining with the elusive Sxicq, and the prospect of reuniting with the remaining Knights was something to look forward to as well.

But then the reality of climbing this godforsaken mountain sets in (that is to say, about four or five minutes into their ascension) and Luka's mood is soured.

"You know," he says aloud to no one in particular. He's nearing the back of the group, slower than average as he attempts to navigate the uneven terrain unaided. "We really ought to have a better mode of transportation up this thing if we have to keep coming here. I'm thinking... a ski-lift?"

"Right? You'd think they'd have laid some kind of transportation infrastructure here already over the years considering," Terrence commiserates. "Then again, this is also probably one of the most battle damage-prone places on the entire island, so..."

The young CEO isn't much further ahead. He's certainly better dressed for the occasion at least, wearing something akin to the workout clothes he'd donned for the impromptu training session on the second morning. Terrence is in good shape, but it's plain that mountain hiking isn't his idea of a good time.

An idea suddenly occurs to the Rabbit Knight that he offers up, "I could probably make the ascent a bit less arduous if you'd like. My power is proving to be rather handy even outside of combat!"

"Ugh, I'd be willing to pay for it's annual replacement at this point." He perks up at Terrence's response (someone understands!), quickening his pace to lessen the space between the two.

"Your power?" Luke inquires curiously at the suggestion. He had thought until now that Terrence's ability something akin to healing, and he certainly wasn't in need of medical attention. Well, except for the whole broken nose thing. "How would that help?"

"I could improve your stamina. My power is a bit complicated to explain," Terrence elaborates, "but essentially I can 'exaggerate' aspects of others. Make them stronger, faster, et cetera. In this instance, I could make walking and climbing nearly effortless for you."

The Rabbit Knight pauses to shrug and sigh dramatically before continuing, "It doesn't do much for myself and I doubt I'll be taking down any of the monsters personally, but it is rather flexible! It doesn't hurt, promise."

"Hmm, how fascinating! And useful. I can think of a lot of scenarios that would benefit from increased stamina." Luka laughs. "I won't say no if you're willing to flex your magic muscles on me. Though it won't make the act of climbing a mountain more exciting. I suppose I have all of you for that part, no?"

Garrot is absolutely bouncing between the middle and back of the group, since he can leverage his strength to help people and keep an eye out for injuries. But Luka's wisecracking? It's absolutely made this hike worth it. When he went up a few days ago, he was with Zafika who... temporarily exploded. And then he had to go down after getting blown up. So he's pretty familiar with the mountain, but... unhappy with it.

"Right?!" He's incredulous, stifling a laugh. "It's been like forty years and nobody thought to do more than some trails?" The laugh leaks through, and Garrot consciously slows his pace so he's in close next to Luka. He chuckles again to announce his presence, and also because-

"If Your Majesty would like a personal ski lift, the Monkey Knight would be truly delighted to oblige." Garrot's making a joke in this stodgy, cultured tone that sounds rehearsed enough that he has to use it for something else. Is it a doctor voice? Boardroom? Black-tie gala?! But then he devolves into sputtering laughter and sighs, shaking his head.

"Seriously, how are you holding up?" The Monkey Knight is still wholly willing to help you out, Luka, and that's clear in the serious-but-restrained way he asks that question. And stares at that broken-ass nose.

Luka laughs aloud at Garrot's suggestion, his mood lightening. "You function as a personal ski-lift as well? You really are a man of many talents, aren't you?"

When his next question recalls the events of the previous afternoon, Luka's demeanor grows more serious.

"Ahh, you mean this?" He says, gesturing vaguely toward his face but turning away from Garrot's direction as if to hide the damage. "Water under the bridge. For now. If it leaves any permanent disfiguring, I'm sending my lawyers after Gyre."

The last part is a joke, an attempt to avoid the details of their fight at the hospital. He knew Gyre had nothing to sue for, anyway. He'd been to his camp.

"I should be asking how you're holding up. I heard you were laid up in the hospital."

When Luka has a moment of levity, Garrot finds himself smiling and chuckling. Garrot's brow furrows as Luka confirms that Gyre broke his nose. The upside is that it's apparently not a problem between them? Utterly baffling, but okay. He'll ask about it later, because the spotlight has shifted to him! And Garrot kind of loves the spotlight.

"I'm fine, I just got blown up like ten times over." Garrot literally shrugs off that concern. If only Luka could see his shirt. Realistically, he should be more messed up than he is! Explosion!! "When that door up top blew up, I was using my power to make sure nobody got hurt. But Gyre was protecting me which meant that physically I ended up fine." A beat. "After that I was pretty out of it, though." Did you mean: unable to form complete sentences?

But then he audibly shifts his concern, trying to lean and even walk around Luka to get a look at that nose. "Have you seen a doctor for that yet? Because I'm a doctor, and-" he pats a pack strapped to his waist, "I've got supplies right here." Another beat. "Plus I've probably broken my nose a few times." He's at least had it bloodied many, many times, but there was definitely that pit-fighter period where he was not paying attention to medical details.

"So you're physically fine, but mentally? Getting blown up ten times can't be good for you. We need you intact on both levels."

When Garrot tries to get a better look at Luka's face, he hesitantly allows it. The damage is still quite apparent, perhaps even worsening as the bruising developed more into the next day.

"They were fussing over it in the hospital." He says, waving a hand dismissively. "They put a splint and bandaging over it and everything."

He neglects to mention that he removed said dressings shortly afterward. He had to sing, and he wasn't letting something like "proper medical treatment" get in the way of that.

Garrot almost audibly rolls his eyes as Luka chides him, but he doesn't see a point in actually saying anything. Yes, Princess, he knows he needs to be at his best, but "clones blown up like ten times" is uncharted territory for everyone. But once he can get a good look at Luka's nose, it captures his full attention. He stares, noting Luka's comments and gesture and-

"They did a shitty fucking job, that's for sure. I mean, none of that's here." Garrot's suddenly turned serious, even a little gruff. He could call Luka out for letting the dressings fall off or whatever, but it wouldn't change anything. Plus it's easier to blame doctors who aren't here. Instead, he takes a moment to grumble to himself in contemplation before leaning out a bit and ensuring a reasonable conversational distance.

"I've got some supplies on hand, so I recommend you let me set that straight once we get back down the mountain." Garrot's using one of his most authoritative personae possible as he delivers that recommendation, even going so far as to straighten his posture and puff out his chest a little. And then he chuckles. "If we don't, you'll have a big purple target on your face and it definitely won't heal properly once we're done here."

At least he sounds confident they'll survive!

"Mmmm." Luka only makes a non-committal noise in response. He knows Garrot is right, obviously: he's a doctor. And Luka does need his face to heal properly. It was undeniably an important part of his image, after all.

"They did their best. There was kind of... a lot going on at the hospital at the time, you know?" He sighs. "You can look at it when we get down from the mountain, though. I'm sure you'll do a better job."

"I was mostly unconscious, but I heard some things. They-" Garrot sighs, trying to figure out how to be tactful about the situation. "It's not an excuse, hospitals are busy. If they could do that much, they should've done it right, and you should've forced them to." It's their jobs, and of course the fact that the Princess got injured should've left no room for interpretation.

"I'll work my magic once we're done here, but in the meantime..." Garrot gently nudges Luka's arm. "You need to be careful." The words are warm and compassionate, because Garrot knows how condescending he sounds, but- "Imagine how much it'll hurt if you trip and faceplant into the dirt. And then I'll have to disinfect it all, and..." He chuckles, sighing like he just told a good joke as he snaps his fingers gently.

"If you want me to carry you up the mountain, I will. But if not, I can-" A beat, punctuated by another chuckle, this time from the side Garrot wasn't on. How fast is this guy?! "-just keep you close in case you need me." It's still Garrot, of course, because now there's two Monkey Knights flanking the Princess.

And it's only until it's too late that Garrot realizes he didn't give Luka a bit of warning about that. Whoops.

Luka's surprised at the sudden appearance of a whole second Garrot. He jumps, stumbles, and nearly falls on his face only moments after being warned how badly it would hurt. Luckily, he manages to catch himself, but only barely.

"Ah, right, of course!" His surprise peters off when he remembers this is Garrot's ability and totally normal. He had just never been so up close and personal with it before. "No, this is perfect. I have something I need to speak with you about, anyway."

Luka takes the second Garrot's arm in his, and lowers his voice to a near whisper.

"The Protector wants to give someone a significant power boost. We want it to be you."

Both Garrots move almost instinctively towards Luka when he stumbles, some hands gently trying to stabilize him while others move to put themselves between the Princess and the ground. Even as he catches himself, they barely move an inch. Luka's not allowed to fall, that nose is super broken!

But then Luka drops that bomb.

"Haha, what the fuck?" Both Garrots utter this phrase in perfect unison, similarly hushed. For once, his impulsive inner thoughts aligning perfectly with the external. But then the second Garrot, the one with Luka on his arm, snaps his fingers, and Luka may feel a gentle burst of energy as the original Garrot disappears in a cloud of magic sparkles. This is not the time to risk saying something unfiltered.

"How does it work?" Garrot starts to stand, gently bringing Luka up with him if he so chooses. "I mean, if it's like a magic steroid, won't there be drawbacks?" He realizes he's surprised by this, and how many questions it's giving him, and he just... goes. "I mean, why me? I just got out of the hospital for being blown up. They said I could barely form sentences. And won't it put a target on my back?"

And finally, Garrot takes a few deep breaths. "Sorry, this is just..." His thoughts are absolutely racing: hatred towards the Wizard, awe towards the Protector, a lot of discomfort for staring down his father's legacy as a Knight, and the fact that he still wants to save everyone. "It's a lot to take in. And process."

"It is, I'm sorry. Nothing about the past few days has been easy to digest, believe me." Luka thinks back to the Protector's words at the hospital, trying to remember what little specifications there were. "I... don't know how the magic works. He said it would be enough power that you alone could defeat the next few monsters. You'd be the most powerful Knight. But he didn't give many other details."

Luka knows how it sounds. He'd be hesitant if not outright suspicious of a deal like this, himself. But Garrot was the only clear option that he and Olivia could decide on. It had to be him!

"It might make you a target. I'm a target, too. It's not so bad." Luka laughs dryly. "I wouldn't worry about things like that, though. The strength you'd get would make up for any ire you would attract. And I trust the Protector's word on this. Everything he's given me has been a net positive."

The Weather

Prompts:

Procedure:

I. Luka -> Anyone

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject