childrenofbahamutlogs | EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

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EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

INTO THE WOODS

Click Clock Wood (Spring) by Grant Kirkhope

2:05 / 4:59

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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After making your way through the tiny farming town of Ich and out towards the rim of a massive raised crater, you will find yourself being led through a narrow split in the canyon wall. Inside, glow worms cling to the ceiling and create the illusion of a thousand twinkling stars above the moistened rocks.

When you finally emerge, it is into an impossibly lush landscape of massive, redwood-sized tangling trees and a soft moss carpet. Life abounds here. It feels like an oasis of birdsong and animal activity.

A short walk leads you to the prepared party-grounds. A large clearing with quaint huts all around decorated with strange flowers for partygoers to rest or otherwise entertain themselves.

There appear to be several games and stalls set up, the sweet and savory scents of delicious food fills the air, and so do the patrons of the forest. Seemingly hundreds of Fae folk zip around and greet the newcomers excitedly by placing garlands of vines and crowns of flowers atop their heads.

Glowing flowers and toadstools light your way here. It also seems that even the animals get in on the festivities! Really, just about everything talks here. Almost everything, anyways! Talking to a tree stump might not yield many results but you're welcome to try.

Each entrant is also provided upon arrival a copy of The Rules. A rolled parchment that resists water or any other damage. It also prevents you from writing on it so you can't just do what you want.

The rules read as follows:

DO:

ONLY

DO NOT:

TRADE

OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:

old woman

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

Amongst the games and attractions are a variety of fun possibilities!

GAMES

Battleship! (Fae Style!)

a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have.

curse

dissipate after a time

Dress Up Darlings!

how

Bobbing For Onions!

Bag of Onions

What's In The Box?

ENTERTAINMENT

Slayd & The Possums!

play

The Crowning of the King of Misrule!

a lottery

King of Misrule

Special Gift

FOR THE FOOLISH

Ahh, but there are rule breakers amongst us aren't there? If you choose to sneak away from the party, chances are nobody will stop you; however, you are now on your own in the Talahee Forest.

FIRST LAYER

Rak'tika Greatwood Theme ( Civilizations ) by Masayoshi Soken

4:34 / 5:15

▶︎

Click here to listen.

"Civilizations" prominently features a female vocalist. The lyrics are in the Ronkan language, and has not been officially translated.

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The first layer of the forest is very much similar to what you have already seen. Everything is coated in a thick mat of moss and trees wind away like a massive birds nest to form the canopy above. The faint sounds of animals can still be heard. Up here, you may encounter Fae who did not attend the party. They'll ask you your name and other personal details.

Best that you lie.

SECOND LAYER

Click Clock Wood (Autumn) by Grant Kirkhope

1:12 / 4:11

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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The further in that you head, the darker the forest gets. It seems you are following a downward slope. The trees get bigger here, as do the insects and toadstools. Bioluminescence rules down here it seems. You may encounter stranger creatures here. Ones that will try to make very tempting trades for your personal belongings. Things that will seem like an amazing deal to you. They offer magical items of great power, or even personal effects from home.

Don't be fooled though. These objects are cursed, and are not at all what they seem. You have the distinct feeling of being watched at all times here.

⁂ Possible Encounters: Owlbear, Displacer Beast, Giant Badger

THIRD LAYER

Saint Mocianne's Arboretum (Hard) by Masayoshi Soken

2:50 / 5:10

▶︎

Click here to listen.

...hordes of aggressive plant life exposed to the strange substance stand between you and the information you seek.

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Are you getting smaller or is everything else getting bigger? Were Slayd here, he would have told you about the concept of Deep Forest Gigantism. The deeper you go - just like the ocean - the larger that the flora and fauna get.

You are dwarfed by the mushrooms here in the pitch darkness and only guided by the latent glow of the creatures and fungi that dwell here. Bugs the size of house-cats skitter in your wake. Are you sure you want to be here? Should you encounter anything larger, you’d best stay silent. Or run!

⁂ Possible Encounters: Giant predatory Elk (RUN), Rodents of Unusual Size, Extra Large Bugs

FOURTH LAYER

Poison Tree by Grouper

0:30 / 3:16

▶︎

Click here to listen.

'Poison Tree' is a meditation on the complexities of anger and the internal conflict it causes. It draws inspiration from William Blake's poem of the same name.

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The trees seem to clear out here as you reach the bottom of the forest. There is no light here so hope you brought a match. The landscape down here is a blanket of moss dotted with countless shallow pools. Looking into one of these pools, you will see your reflection... though it may look different in some way.

You will feel extremely compelled to reach down and touch the reflection in the water. Should you give in, you feel as though your world is turning upside down. You could receive memories not quite your own. Memories of a different version of you, even! (CRAU, Canon Update, or Canon AU!)

Yet, you will be experiencing them as your own. A long time could pass in your mind while only seconds have only elapsed in reality. Upon waking, you will find that you have been ejected from the party and the forest entirely. You find yourself at the entrance to the crater. Disoriented, and compelled not to re-enter, you have only yourself to blame as you must shamble your way home with this burdensome knowledge.

Notes

⁂ For the game prizes, we're using the honor system here! So long as you clear the roll then you can receive a prize with no mod permission needed.

Battleship

above a 13

Bobbing For Onions

above a 10

⁂ To sign up for The Crowning of the King of Misrule, comment here! We'll RNG the winner likely within a few days to a week to give folks time to participate if they want!

⁂ The plotting post for this event/November is up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available to people read about updates, clarifications, and a poll to participate in!

⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!

⁂ Full Navigation ⁂

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A wise elder sage himself, Elidibus adopts a similar posture to Popp - though rather than stroking a nonexistent moss-beard, he rests his chin upon his loosely curled fingers. He had gotten lucky with his own game of battleship, it seems, with no appearance of curses on him.

"That could be a decent enough strategy. Though, have you taken note to the patterns in which those grow? If they are too scattered, taller growth could merely be by chance." He hums. "With enough skill, more or less cover matters little so long that it exists at all. And the fae are very skilled at games and tricks indeed."

Some people are just beloved by fate. He'd like to impress Elidibus, but he's not going to do that by winning uncursed. He'll just have to manage it his own way.

"So, you're saying it's luck, and the best way to win is to power through it and accept the consequences. E-4, do your worst!"

He looks very bold and heroic for a moment, and then his horns elongate, sprout fur, and turn into a pair of rabbit ears. The pixies laugh louder and more obnoxiously than ever.

Whyyyy.

After Popp gains his new fuzzy feature, Elidibus has to steel himself to respond. It would not do to humiliate Popp after all. "Luck, and a measure of strategy."

He points in the areas that Popp has already 'fired upon' and then gestures at the remaining sots on the field.

"If one were to guess entirely randomly with no variation of system, luck is all that may guide you. However, if you utilize a pattern-based approach it will cut down the amount of random guessing. Have you found any of your targets as of yet?" That's an important thing to identify, since Elidibus had only joined him midway through the game.

The ears and Popp both perk up at the possibility of outsmarting their horrible horrible hosts. He's already expressive to begin with - if he had to play poker right now, he'd be cleaned out in no time.

"I had a really strong start, honestly - you think they'll hang out in groups?"

"While it is not uncommon in a game such as this to spread one's 'pieces' out entirely, it is also a common strategy to place at least two or more 'pieces' together."

He indicates where Popp's made eliminations already. "Do you see a pattern in their locations? Or conspicuous gaps where you have yet to explore via further attempts?"

There more than likely is, he thinks, if Popp was guessing randomly. Or, rather, guessing based on the growth of the cover.

"You're right, I need to think about what they're doing, not what I think they should be doing."

With the wise and learned Emissary on his side, Popp proceeds to go on another streak of victories, and gains some more growth on his moss beard in return for a few misses. He does get the last two by acting like an absolute idiot and getting his arm caught in the beard and pratfalling around until they lose it laughing so hard they give themselves away.

"Ha ha ha, who's laughing now?!"

"Just so! And now you have earned yourself a victory." Instead of laughing at Popp's antics Elidibus looks more proud than anything else. "You have done well, dear Popp."

His smile as bright as his eyes, which fairly gleam - the picture is somewhat offset by the glowing flower crown on his head, but it's mean in a heartfelt way. It is good to see someone work hard and see the payoff for all of that effort.

"What will you do now that you have become victorious?"

Heh heh, praise is almost as good as the cool magic item he won. He'd love to hear more of it, honestly, but how's he going to show off next?

Dancing is right out with the various extra growths, he might have been playing it up for the audience but the initial slipup was very much an accident he turned into an opportunity.

"I'm feeling pretty good about my luck and my wits right now. I'm going to check out those boxes - there might be something really good in one of them just waiting to turn up."

His grin hasn't lost its sly edge from his cunning victory but something about it gets a little slyer. Elidibus likes novelty, right? And he gets the impression he likes a challenge because that's also got to be a novelty at this point.

"You should give it a shot too, maybe they've got something you won't be able to guess even with a hundred thousand years experience in touching stuff."

Considering that he'd been eyeing the strange boxes himself for much of the time he'd been there, Elidibus is all too happy to join in this game. He nods, following Popp over to the place that has the box game all set up and situated, "Perhaps they may surprise me. The fae have been known to be clever and full of tricks."

That lasts until he pulls back his sleeve and, careful of his slowly-sharpening nails, reaches his hand into one of the boxes.

A frown crosses his face.

"We are meant to keep the item if we guess it properly, correct?" he asks one of the nearby pixies, who nods furiously in response. "How you have managed to contain slime to a perfect hand-hold is commendable."

He pulls his hand out to reveal: slime mold. Bright yellow-green. The pixies begin to laugh uproariously.

"Gross! Slimes where I'm from are way cuter... Do you own that now? Are you going to keep it?!"

He's trying not like. Openly laugh, out of respect. The juxtaposition of Elidibus' whole deal and the slime in his hand is pretty striking. Also, it is gross.

"I suppose the ownership has been transferred into my hands," he looks over at Popp, "quite literally, in fact."

The slime sort of oozes between his fingers, and he drops it into his other hand with more securely cupped fingers. There, thankfully, is no residue.

He takes on a puzzled expression, "I cannot take this home with me."

The pun is worse than the slime, buddy. Popp wrinkles his nose.

"Maybe it'll follow you back on its own."

Is it... alive? He can't tell. It doesn't even have eyes.

The old man will make his puns no matter of awful they are. But only when they are least expected.

"Does slime in your world typically possess eyes? There are some varieties of constructs I have seen that resemble slime that have a facsimile of eyes, but that appears to be very different from this." He moves his hand back and forth slightly.

The slime jiggles.

"It appears more akin to algae than anything else. Or a variety of fungus?" Hmm. "If you wish to touch it, you may."

He doesn't, but he's gonna anyway. Squish, squish... Gross...

"If it's a creature, it's got eyes. I'm used to a more... wide-eyed, onion shaped kind of little guy."

He's got onions on the mind for some reason.

"Not every creature is in possession of eyes, dear Popp," Elidibus gently corrects. "Many that dwell in caves or within the deep oceans have adapted to lack the feature - with no light, there is no need for eyes."

Onion shaped... interesting. The slime only oozes at the jostling.

"It may simply be mold, then. Think of it as a variety of plant."

"That explains why I've never seen any, I have eyes, I wouldn't want to go around a dark cave looking for weird bats. I've heard of plants with eyes, though. Those ghoulish mushroom guys, Romos used to have man-faced trees... Seems to be more useful to have a pair than to not."

It's kind of lazy... he can identify with being lazy and green. Something in the back of his mind doubles his empathy with this situation.

"There is both flora and fauna one could never dream of in the more secluded places of the world," it's said with the sort of confidence of one who knows exactly how true it really is.

With a last lingering look at his new slime mold, Elidibus turns towards Popp once more.

"I do believe it is your turn to partake in the game. Perhaps you shall find something that is decidedly not slime." He sounds amused as he speaks.

"All right, here goes."

He shoves his hand in a box, bracing himself for any weird textures. Frogs? Mud? A hedgehog? Do your worst - huh. It's...

"Square and flat... there are a lot of them, and they're not alive."

"Square and flat could describe a number of things, from rocks to squares of chocolate," he muses aloud.

Seeing as he is not the one touching them, there's only so much that Elidibus can guess at. "I suppose it is time to make your best guess."

"The sides are kinda... are these books? The size threw me off, but that's what they are for sure, books!"

His excitement turns to a fascinated horror when he is presented with a pocket sized field guide titled The Illustrated Companion to Talahee Part IV: Identifying Monster Dung.

"I don't even get to pick which book?!"

The fae running the boxes wistfully says that no, he just automatically gets the best one in the bunch. They couldn't find any owlbear pellets for the game but they hope to inspire others to seek some out for themselves.

Ever one to attempt to look for a positive, Elidibus peers over Popp's shoulder to look at the book himself. While not the most glamorous of titles it may prove to be useful in some manner. He can tell that Popp, however, is not especially enthused.

"Not the most engaging of volumes by the look of it. It will, however, prove extremely useful to many of us here. While the topic may be about the dung of the creatures, it will inevitably contain a list of those monsters that dwell in the forest." Elidibus taps his free hand against his chin in thought.

"Seeing as none of us are native to this world, we also do not know which monsters may be found nearby. Using this book we would be able to anticipate dangers we may otherwise overlook."

"Owlbears, apparently. I know what an owl is and I know what a bear is, and those aren't the same size."

He flips through the book, a man on a mission, until he finds a page that will tell him approximately what an owlbear is and exactly what a pellet is.

"It says they hork up the skeletons and hair they can't digest?? This looks like a human skull in the picture!"

He points at the illustration. You look at it too, buddy! On some level that's actually quite cool but also, flat out terrifying as a concept that exists in a place where he also is.

Almost automatically Elidibus begins an explanation, "An owlbear is a creature that appears as if one has taken both traits of owl and bear and merged them into one creature. Generally speaking, the most vicious of both come to the fore - they are excessively aggressive as well as territorial."

He thinks on the varieties he knows of for a moment. "In some instances, they may be intelligent enough to know magic, though that is not the case for each reality to which they belong."

Elidibus sure does look at the illustration while he speaks. It's entirely unsurprising that there is a human skull there. They do eat people. He decides to say as much.

"Owlbears have been known to prey on human or human-sized creatures. Already this book is serving the purpose of forewarning us of possible dangers, excellent work, dear Popp."

He's not sure he deserves praise for finding a weird book, but he'll take it anyway. Luck is also a skill.

"So it's one of those animals that shows up in a lot of places with variants, like dragons and chickens... You're not scared of them, though."

Popp isn't, especially in a nice safe place surrounded by other people. He's pretty sure he could take one unless he was already in bad condition, and Elidibus is a huge badass if you take him at his word, which Popp is.

Sorry, Popp, he is going to keep giving you praise when he thinks you've earned it. He is also not going to hold back on his intensity for everything - even now, with what is just an innocent question. He could simply say that no, he was not afraid.

But this is not what he does.

"I do not fear most creatures, be they owlbear or otherwise. Researchers or specialists of my people were known to create more fearsome beasts with far more potent abilities. Should an owlbear accost me, I will deconstruct it to its base aetherical energies and repurpose them for other means." It will be tiring, though. Far less effortless in this place than in his home. "Here, it will be more taxing than otherwise, but I know myself capable."

He holds out the slime mold. "Observe."

His hands and the slime shimmer with light, before a gentle glow overtakes the entirety of the mound of slime. In a few moments, it dissipates into formless magical energy, scattering into sparks that flicker and fade.

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content: dung talk we're doing my 5th grade biology class

I WAS rather partial to 5th grade bio...

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