Day 7: Morning

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: December 18th, 2019 - January ~~1st~~ 8th, 2020 ]

After the events of Day 6, every single one of the heroes will know that five of their fellow heroes are no longer with them. Six of the monsters have been dealt with(?). The world is halfway to being saved(?). The unknown child, Sxicq, walks the island now. The Protector and the Wizard are--

The Wizard is missing. Courtesy of the #WheresTheWizard hashtag, it's clear that even social media can't get tabs on her. They've located Sxicq, Ten, Five, Six, and even the Protector. But the Wizard's location is a mystery. Maybe the Wizard-aligned knights were able to meet with her overnight? But no one knows who they are (well, clever heroes may have identified one), so it's anyone's guess.

It's a remarkably quiet morning, though, serving as an opportunity for the heroes to collect themselves.

Seventh Morning Event: Craydon: The Funeral.

The Weather
Solemn.
64°F / 18°C
The air is still.

Prompts:

6:00am The Funeral, Craydon: Five and Ten are the easiest to find this morning. They're in Craydon's small cemetary, holding a quiet conversation over an urn surrounded by flowers. Six is nearby, seated beneath a willow tree, hat and sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Locals are, for the most part, keeping their distance. But every so often, someone approaches to add a flower to the pile around the urn. Monster or not, no one is cruel enough to disrupt anyone in mourning.

8:30am Hospital, Far Haven: Sxicq is easy to find, not that they could be anything but easy to spot, in the hospital lobby. Social media is abuzz as doctors, nurses, and patients all start complaining that the hospital has seen enough this year. They don't need the lobby detonated again. But Sxicq is just sitting, cross-legged, in the center of the hospital lobby. Their eyes are closed and they're glowing softly. To anyone who stays for more than a few moments, they'll see the damage from previous days starting to glow as it mends itself. It's not fast, but it's progress.

9:00am International Cabin of Crepes, Bamborough: The Protector is slightly harder to find, but he's made it known that he's meeting with Luka, Olivia, and the knight they've chosen to invite. He has a private room in the breakfast establishment, a table in a room where the doors can be closed. Others can find him and talk to him here, but he's here on business. Anyone who spots him, though, won't be able to miss that he looks rough. He has a black eye, a busted lip, numerous cuts and burns over the visible parts of his skin, and it looks like some of his hair was ripped out. But it looks like he's done his best to clean up a little, it just looks like he's recovering from some kind of an accident. How did that happen?

10:00am Everywhere, All Cities: The welcome van from the first night is back, and this time it's received a fresh coat of paint on the sides: It's now the funnel cake van. Throughout the morning, the drivers are speeding around all three towns and pulling up beside any and every hero they can. If they see two heroes together? Free funnel cakes for both! Does your hero get caught funnel-handed with another hero this morning? Hope you both have a sweet tooth!

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: December 2019

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“So she’s really dead? How did you manage that? I thought she was only able to be killed in very specific circumstances.” Luka isn’t buying it, at least not with such little information.

“What about the one who didn’t really die? Five. What do we do about her?”

"I am not normally in the world." He answers, sighing, remembering what Four had done to bring him here. This year was so abnormal.

"It is typically the twelfth that brings me forward. Instead, she sought me out and I cut her down. They took her body." He picks his tea up again, blowing on it before shifting to Luka's other question.

"And she has placed a fake body, she must not be allowed to walk free." He takes a sip.

"All twelve must die, lest they leave this island to kill others."

"Hm." He nods, taking a long sip of his coffee. "I just thought you'd be more... excited? To have finally killed her."

Luka wonders at the back of his mind if the others were on their way, and how long it'd be until they'd be here. This seemed like important information and he'd prefer to have some back up as he broached certain topics.

"Speaking of. Are we still on for that crossbow?"

"It was not cathartic." He answers as he takes another sip of his drink. "She was inscrutable, even in death."

But then Luka asks about the crossbow and the Protector doesn't answer, instead there's a soft 'thud' of a weapon settling onto the floor at Luka's side and against the chair he's in. The requested crossbow, a beast of a weapon made of a silvery metal, sits in wait for him to grasp it. Even with the lightweight metal used, it's a hefty thing with all of its components so it's impossible to ignore the weight of it.

And the Protector sips his tea again.

"Ah, but doesn't that make it more --" Luka stops mid-sentence when the crossbow suddenly appears. He drops a hand down to feel it, but hesitates to pick the thing up, as much fun as that would be.

"I wonder what this place's policy is on weapons?" He laughs. "Oh well, they'll make an exception for this. It's perfect. I'm sure it will do a fine job taking down monsters or whoever else."

"If there is one, they will make an exception." He answers, because they don't have a choice.

"Use it without hesitation, it will strike true." He offers, knowing that the crossbow will link with Luka's monster-senses. He'll know how close he is to a bulls-eye in the center of a monster's face.

Shoot 'em up, Luka.

"Of course I will." But Luka can't imagine himself slaying any more monsters at this point. Still, it was a nice thing to have should the need ever arise.

"What will you do now that she's dead?" Luka asks with a curious tilt of his head. One hand is still on the shiny new crossbow at his side.

"I will ensure the remaining six are killed, and that the ones still lingering draw their last breath before the final day." He answers flatly, like it's the simplest answer in the world. As he does, he lifts the cup to his lips and finishes the last of his tea.

"Have you discovered the identity of her knights?" He asks, surprisingly coldly.

"Eh? Her knights?" Luka feels his stomach drop. Obviously, he'd just learned of Gyre's alignment the other night, and obviously, he couldn't just tell that to the Protector. He drums his fingers against the stock of the crossbow nervously.

"Well, there's a bunch in that cave now that I'll never get to interrogate, so..." He explains, trying to perhaps change the subject or buy some time for this companions to come along. "The others, well, they're particularly hard to get a good chat in with. Especially with all of the chaos going on lately. Garrot's been in the hospital, you know."

"Others in the cave?" He repeats, questioning, narrowing his eyes at Luka. He's trying to get a read on the Princess.

"I would like them found out. Anyone that you find suspicious should be interrogated and dealt with. She may have left them instructions to kill you or I." He says coldly, seemingly implying silencing those knights. Perhaps permanently.

"Yeah. I mean, we know Rory wasn't one, but the others might have been." Luka clarifies.

"As for fishing out if any of us left are Wizard-drawn, I've been trying. I think they're less likely to be honest with me because they'd know I'm against them. We'd need someone covert to investigate."

"Like who." he counters, questioning. Tell him your secrets, Princess.

"There are some that I do not trust whatsoever." He pauses just long enough to name two:

"Gyre and Haizea, for example."

Wow.

Stereotyping, much?

"I don't know. Everyone knows me an Olivia are with you." He shrugs. "Maybe someone who isn't a knight at all?"

Luka sips his coffee and nearly chokes when the Protector jumps to naming names.

"I can see why you don't trust Gyre. That stunt at the hospital was absolutely ridiculous. But Haizea? What's your reasoning on her?"

There are six days left. He doesn't have time to dance around the subject. He nods in agreement about Gyre's stunt at the hospital, making a soft "Mmmhmmm" in confirmation that that's an unforgivable action.

But at his inquiry:

"The Wizard will offer anything. Protection. Safety. All temptations. She is one that I am certain would fall for such tactics. If she is not already aligned with the enemy, she would be easy to turn."

Uh.

Dude.

Harsh? This is the narrator speaking, that's a fucked up statement he made just there. But he delivered it like it was fact, because he believes it. Is he basing it on previous knights? Probably.

"But why's that? What's Haizea got that makes her more susceptible than any of us?" Luka inquires, stirring more sugar into his coffee. "She hasn't offered me anything except confusion. No one I've talked to has mentioned her making any juicy temptations, either."

If the Protector hesitates, it isn't for long enough to notice.

"A gut feeling." He answers, starting to pour himself more tea.

"If she proves me wrong, all the better."

"I suspect she will." Luka says with confidence. "You have more experience with the Wizard season than I do, sure... so maybe your gut feeling has merit. You've seen all kinds of Knights that do end up on her side. But Haizea never gave me any Wizard-sympathizer vibes."

He pauses to sip coffee again and gather his thoughts.

"Gyre... I don't know." There was no denying Gyre's actions had been bold and worthy of suspicion at the very least. There was only so much playing dumb Luka could do. "He's sympathetic to the monsters. It's an unfortunate trait. Having too much sympathy gets you killed."

He gives another affirmative 'mmhmm' while he's in the middle of sipping his newly-poured tea.

"His sympathy will get others killed, it is a matter of how many before he is killed himself." He answers, confirming Luka's suspicions.

"He should be locked up for the remaining six days if his actions worsen."

"Locked up?" Luka's seems unsure. "I don't know, he's pretty capable at fighting. We might be at a net loss if we did that. He seems to know a lot too, about the monsters."

The Protector is silent for several moments as Luka says that. He takes the time to sneak another sip of his tea, too.

"Very well." He answers, at last.

"We will wait, and see."

The silence and curt replies are uh, really the perfect moment for one Garrot Murtakor, M.D. to make an entrance. By entrance, it's more that he brusquely knocked upon and immediately pulled open the door to the private dining area, shoulders heaving because he's a bit out of breath.

"S-sorry! I was at the hospital, and things ran a little late, and-" He closes the door behind him, expecting to be the last one there. Olivia doesn't seem to be seated yet, but his eyes dart from Luka straight to, in the flesh-

"Holy shit, you look bad." Garrot reflexively looses a muted little gasp as his strides take him quickly and directly towards the Protector. The Monkey Knight stays standing a few feet away, arms crossed before one hand goes to stroke at his beard, and suddenly his eyes glow teal. Time for an informed prognosis!

"You- who the hell did this to you...?!" The words are whispered, powerful with concern, and- "Do- do you need a doctor?" It is at this moment that Garrot realizes he just barged into what may have been a private conversation, hijacked it with his gawking, and made no mention of who he is or the fact that he's conveniently a medical professional. In his first meeting with The Protector, that Wizard-stomping badass whose power and heroism and tireless resolve he has undeniably idolized for the past forty years.

So Garrot's gonna have a moment of shellshock real quick. Someone save him or he may never move or speak again.

Luka sighs with audible relief when the sudden intruder speaks and - thank the Gods - it's Garrot. Before Luka knows it, Garrot's already tending to the Protector's various wounds and abrasions seemingly without acknowledging exactly who it is that he's addressing.

"Garrot, you made it!" Luka says, doing little to hide his alleviation. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up that particular line of conversation with the Protector. "I guess things were busy enough at the hospital that you haven't checked the news. The Wizard did this to him."

The Protector's teacup cracks audibly in his grasp as Garrot makes his entrance and, quite frankly, simultaneously makes an awful first impression.

"The Princess is correct." He begins, idly lifting the snapped handle of his cup to eye-level so he can examine it.

"Welcome, Garrot Murtakor, Monkey knight." He follows, his voice level and unwavering. Seemingly content with what he'd found in the broken handle, he sets it down with a 'clink' on the little plate that was provided with the teacup. A moment later he's lifting the entire cup in two hands to sniff gently at the aroma.

"I do not need medical attention. The threat has been dispatched." He answers, before finally taking a sip.

It isn't until Luka's proclamations hit that it truly dawned on Garrot that he was in the presence of the actual Protector, in the flesh. He isn't dreaming. And he just bulldozed his way into the room with such frazzled disgrace that he made the Protector break the handle off his teacup. Fuckin smooth, man. At least his eyes went back to normal. But he processes everything coming his way, the fact that the Protector doesn't need medical attention was corroborated by what his own eyes didn't tell him. He doesn't need to freak out or worry, so...

"Glad to hear it, sir. I'm sorry, I'm... I'm a huge fan." Garrot straightens his posture and stands nearly at attention- maybe embodying his almost-militaristic Koskenkorvan upbringing will make the scene less atrocious? It won't hide his embarrassed blushing, though. "Thank you for everything you do for us. Now that you've sent her crawling back to the shadows, maybe I can return the favor when she rears her ugly head again after Twelve."

Yep, he sure did miss the implication there.

"Are you sure about that?" Luka questions the Protector's dismissal as if he hadn't done the same just recently in regards to his still very prominently broken nose. "Just because she's gone now doesn't mean you're going to heal up properly on your own... unless you have magic for that."

He lifts his mug to take a sip of coffee and finds that it's nearly been drained completely.

"Have a seat, Garrot. We've got a lot to discuss." Luka offers. "Don't mind the crossbow."

The Weather

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