Day 8: Morning

[wizardseason]

Morning: 6:00am - 12:00noon

[ IRL Timeframe: February 10th, 2020 - February 19th 26th, 2020 ]

After the events of Day 7 and the chaos that it brought, the heroes have learned a number of things that most of them still aren't sure they're ready to know. What will they do with their knowledge? How will they share it with each other? How will--

At about 6AM, everyone receives a text from Garrot. Anyone who saw him the evening before may be surprised to see him forming complete sentences and, uh, threatening everyone? Is he okay? Anyone brave enough to want to text him back?

What a great start to the day, an early text. But that's... surprisingly the only shake-up? It's eerily calm.

The Protector had been knocked out to sea by the Wizard, spawning a number of serious worried conversations on social media. Is he okay? Was he dead? Is it time to panic? There were plenty of memes, too. Like the wizard in the foreground with sunglasses, a golf club, and a wide smile with the protector in the background and the words "time to go golfing" memed accross the image. At least some people were still in a joking mood.

The Wizard, too, had a collection of social media posts about her current circumstances. The overall opinion was that she was way scarier than before, was she a terminator? Wizardinator?

To make matters worse, Sxicq was missing. The hashtag #childlookout was trending with almost hourly updates of the island. Sxicq didn't make themselves difficult to find, which meant that spotting them even from distant photos or drone snaps was pretty straightforward. But there was no sign of their characteristic glow or disruptions anywhere. No bigfoot-esque sightings in the back of other photos. No panic that they were eating entire restaurants' stocks of food.

Nothing.

Talk about a calm before the storm, especially since Eight had alluded to several of the heroes that there was still going to be a fight today.

It turns out to be another opportunity for the heroes to collect themselves, gather information, and get themselves on stable ground. It's warmer today, and there are passing waves of light rain all over the island. Little drizzle showers that stick around just long enough to make you seek shelter, but not so long that you wonder when it'll let up. The sun dares to peek through every now and then, occasionally at the same time as the drizzling rain.

Eighth Morning Event: None.

---

The Weather

• Light rain.
• 68°F / 20°C
• A gentle breeze.

---

Prompts:

• 6:00am The Text, All Cities: "Mandatory medical exams today at 8AM at Far Haven General. The front desk will see you're escorted. You will be frisked, multiple times. Hospital staff says no weapons, no chaos. We can't piss them off.
  
  That means nobody gets their animal companions, since some of you are idiots. They'll be left at the front door before going off on a guided tour. If you or yours don't cooperate, it will be assumed that you want to harm the Princess and you will die.
  
  See you then!"
  
  At about 6AM, everyone receives that text from Garrot. Anyone who saw him the evening before may be surprised to see him forming complete sentences and, uh, threatening everyone? Is he okay? Anyone brave enough to want to text him back?


• 8:08am Eight, All Cities: Anyone who decides they're going to text Eight to make a plan will find that he doesn't answer any of his texts until 8:08am. He replies to everyone all at once, at exactly 8:08 and 8 seconds. Whether your hero sent one text at 6am, or eight texts between 6 and 8am, all the answers come at exactly the same time. If anyone asks to go to the garden, they'll be deposited on the landing pad in the garden... at 8:08am. Predictable.


• 9:00am The Wizard, The Garden: The Wizard can be found in the vegetable section of the garden for any heroes who go looking for her. She's tending to the plants, picking weeds, watering the beds, and preparing new sprouts to grow in the empty spaces.


• ?:00am Anywhere, All Cities: Surely your character has to be getting up to something this morning, somewhere. This is a general catchall post for any threads among heroes that occurs. Whatever your character is getting up to, however they're preparing, or however they're coping. This is the place for it. Eight said there was going to be a fight this afternoon, after all, so there's something on the horizon at least!

---

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: February 2020

[ IRL Timeframe: February 1st - February 29th, 2020 ]

Comments

[daddykong]

"So what do we do when we get to the bottom of the pit?" The question is pushy, because they do have Matilda and Eight who can teleport. Sounds pretty easy.

"Unless you've got a better plan?" He knows she has a plan, at least. It's probably not great because she's been losing for forty years and the Protector is a piece of shit, but...

[wizardseason]

"You'll be there." She answers his first question before shaking her head in response to his next inquiries.

"But no magic will work there, and it's too risky to go without a plan."

[daddykong]

He just grunts at the notion that, uh... they somehow leap to the bottom of a pit with no magic, no safe means of escape, and no way of stopping the Protector from just killing them. If the Monsters can teleport, maybe they can help somehow. Or maybe their magic is blocked down there, too. Speaking of...

"Does his magic work down there?" If not, luring him down could be a great way to neutralize his murderous tendencies. If so, well... "And what is your plan, anyway? How do you plan to kill someone so powerful, who can steal magic?" A beat. "Is Sxicq gonna steal his magic again?" That'd definitely work, too...

[wizardseason]

"His magic works best there." She answers his first line of inquiry. Which was another reason why going there was a terrible idea for literally everyone.

"It isn't my plan, I'm just a piece of it." She follows, watching Garrot to see how quickly he'll get worked up in this conversation.

"But it ends with him crushed beneath my hammer." She adds with her characteristic small smirk.

[daddykong]

Garrot's grumpiest glare gazes off into the distance at the notion that the Protector's already-powerful magic could be even stronger based on proximity. But learning that this isn't her plan snaps him back to reality, especially with the follow-up that she's the one pulling the metaphorical trigger here. Not the monsters, not Sxicq, her.

"Since it can stop our magic, is whatever's in that pit the reason he has magic at all?" If it's like a generator for his magic, maybe they can break it somehow, and they can take the fight to him! But he doesn't stop there, he presses onward to try and get as much information as he can. She's dangling many carrots, this time.

"If it's not your plan, whose is it and how much are you willing to tell me?" Garrot hasn't exactly been friendly to her, but he's sure wishing he'd been nicer now.

[wizardseason]

"No." She answers, unfortunately shooting his inquiry out of the air. Garrot had a big imagination, that much was certain.

"You'll find out tomorrow." She follows-up, popping a mug of cocoa with a mini-mountain of marshmallows atop it to sip on.

"It's not my plan to share, either." She adds, continuing to leave it vague whether the 'you'll find out' is the person or the plan or both.

[daddykong]

"Fine." He can respect that it's not her plan to share simply because he'll find out tomorrow. Garrot can wait. Probably. Maybe? But that's not going to stop him from asking questions that are indirectly related to the plan, because of who he is as a person.

"So what do you have to do, other than kill the Protector? Can't Sxicq or Twelve do that?" A beat. "How many times have you tried this plan?" It can't be an every year thing if Sxicq is only here this year and if there have only been four Wizard Knights this year. But are they putting all their eggs in this one basket?

[wizardseason]

A second mug of cocoa, one with just as many marshmallows atop it, pops into existence beside Garrot's head, floating enticingly in the air. But he asks a number of questions all at once, so she gives him his answers all at once too.

"Distract him throughout the plan. They can't like I can. And zero times."

[daddykong]

So it's the Wizard's job to draw the Protector's attention away from bigger things. And that makes sense, given how intent he is to reflexively demonize her and anything she gets near.

"But do you have to kill him?" The tone is skeptical. "Can you stop short? Make him give up?" Garrot is pretty sure he knows what answers he'll get, but he still needs to ask...

[wizardseason]

The cocoa mug by Garrot's head floats insistently closer towards his face, practically begging him to drink the mug.

The Wizard watches him as he asks that question, blinking several times as she seems to consider his question before she finally answers:

"It would take the involvement of others, I can't make him give up."

[daddykong]

Garrot looks at the mug, waiting for the Wizard to reply before he can grab it and, well. He sort of shakes his head at her response before squinting at her and all but forgetting the mug existed.

"You can kill him but you can't make him give up, you can't stop him from killing people. Are you serious?!" The Monkey Knight sounds disgusted, but he's hardly raising his voice, hardly trying to posture or intimidate. "Bind his body! Break his bones! Unless you're telling me he can do his magic as easily as thinking."

Granted, it wouldn't surprise him at all, as Garrot himself can will his clones into existence. But the confirmation would sure be nice before he gets any more riled up.

[wizardseason]

The mug would start crying if it had the capability, all it wants is for its contents to be consumed. But it stays floating nearby, just in case Garrot changes his mind.

The Wizard, meanwhile, seems unaffected by Garrot's disgusted comment. Because she has an unfortunate answer for him in this moment:

"He can do his magic as easily as thinking. I can't kill him until the final day, what happens between now and then is unknown." It's not a hopeful explanation, instead uh... kinda dismal and bad. But she delivers it without emotion, utterly monotone. Like a robot.