EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

[diceofthegods]

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.

code

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:
⁂ Accept gifts from the Fae.
⁂ Sample the food provided at the party ONLY.
⁂ Play games with the Fae.
⁂ Feel at ease to rest in the provided huts.
⁂ Keep tabs on your shadow lest it wander.
DO NOT:
⁂ Make a TRADE with the Fae.
⁂ Provide any personal items as gifts or otherwise to the Fae.
⁂ Provide your true name to the Fae.
⁂ Wander away from the designated party area.
⁂ Ascend any staircases you find in the woods.
OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:
⁂ If you see an old woman hiking through the area, feel free to stop her and lie to her. The more brazen and obvious the lie the better. She appreciates this!

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

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

GAMES

⁂ Battleship! (Fae Style!) A number of Fae will be hiding on a large grid of flowers. You guess the locations and if you are correct then you will win a small prize! It is a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have. This works even outside of the forest and can be taken home.

Every time you miss though, you receive a small 'curse.' Nothing harmful! Maybe you’re just rotating in place for the next hour, your ears become daisies, or you grow a tree out of your head? (Feel free to come up with your own silly ideas!) All of the curses will dissipate after a time or upon leaving the forest and none will do any harm or cause pain. The Fae are all about fun tricks, not hurting anyone!

⁂ Dress Up Darlings! You enter a booth and allow the Fae to decide your outfit! Upon the agreement that you'll wear it the rest of the party, of course, no matter how silly or ridiculous it is.

⁂ Bobbing For Onions! Yes, you read that right. Bobbing for onions. There are onions floating around... in water. You have to catch them with your teeth. The prize for success is a Bag of Onions. This bag never runs out of onions. They are always fresh and always onions. Not always the same kind of onion, but always onions nonetheless. This bag works outside of the forest and can be taken home.

⁂ What's In The Box? There is a box. There is something in it. Maybe it's frogs. Maybe it's slugs. Possibly bugs? Maybe apples. We don’t know. Stick your hand in the box and take a guess at what you’re touching! If you’re right, you win the contents of the box!

We'll let players decide via coin flip, rolls, or however they want if their guess is correct! Any items won though will be common, every day items like mentioned and nothing especially exciting. Unless you're really into frogs. Then it's your lucky day, apparently!

ENTERTAINMENT

⁂ Slayd & The Possums! Slayd is here and he’s throwing down the banjo tunes with his possum pals. Feel free to join him if you are musically inclined! The Fae will provide any instrument your heart desires! They can't grant you the ability to play it though if you don't know how.

⁂ The Crowning of the King of Misrule! Randomly chosen by the Fae, enter a lottery to be chosen as the King of Misrule for the evening. You will be dressed in a stupid outfit and granted Fae wings for the night! You also have the insatiable urge to play harmless pranks on people. The Fae will also give you a "Special Gift" at the end of the party...

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.

code

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.

code

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.

code

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.

code

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: If you roll a d20 above a 13, you can receive one of the nectar cups.
- Bobbing For Onions: If you roll a d20 above a 10, you can receive one of the bag of onions. En...joy...?

⁂ 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 ⁂

Comments

[zodiheart]

Angeal is more than allowed, and Themis leans onto his touch and side easily. One of the pixies above them makes gagging noises at the affection. Themis ignores them. Internally, however, he's laughing.

"What sort of treasures would you hide within your box games?" his voice is as amused as his eyes are. Shifting so that he can push up a sleeve on his robe and reach inside of one of the boxes, he pauses.

"Were they living creatures, like this toad?" pulling his hand back out reveals the toad. "I suppose we shall have to name him, since I have 'won' him. Or her. I have not learned how to sex amphibians."

[firsteditionbfs]

"Not quite living creatures. I mean, usually," Angeal concedes, understanding the shenanigans of young children even as he looks over the little toad. He hopes it's a normal toad that can live in the rest of the world, and not have any needs specific to the Fae areas.

"But it'd just be little things to trick people - like, telling other kids that they were touching eyeballs, but it was just wet grapes. Silly tricks like that, for little kids who didn't know better."

There's some noise of interest from the pixies. He has a feeling he's given some of them ideas.

[zodiheart]

"Ah, yes, the using of foods to play tricks. Gelatin for brains, noodles for intestines... I am familiar with the like," All Saint's Wake was a tradition he had seen emerge and grow throughout the years. Tricks, pranks, and mischief were things he had come to appreciate after the fact.

The toad vanishes into a pocket where it croaks happily, Themis's body heat. He'll release it somewhere near his home, perhaps, once he finds a good home for it that has enough shelter. And once he discovers the species. Hopefully winter will be kind to the thing.

He ignores the pixies for now. "Do you wish to have a turn with the boxes?"

[firsteditionbfs]

Bye, little toad friend. Angeal will keep it in mind to ask about later, so he can check in on the toad come spring.

But it's still autumn for now, and he looks over the boxes thoughtfully. "I mean, there's no point in going to a party and not playing games, right?" Besides, this one seems pretty harmless. So far. A man can hope.

Well, that means pulling away from Themis, and rolling up his sleeve a bit. "Hope it's not another wild animal personally. I got chickens to take care of, they don't need a guest. Unless it's a puppy I can train, in which case, I'll give it a shot." But a puppy probably isn't in the box.

[zodiheart]

Watching as he is prone to do, Themis does not take a step back. Why should he? Angeal only needs enough room to play the game, and the two of them were not exactly picky on maintaining personal space with one another.

"I have seen algae and slime mold pulled from these boxes, as well as books. But one must guess correctly before receiving the item - should you know it to be an animal, you may always guess incorrectly on purpose."

That takes the fun out of the game slightly, but it would avoid any additional animals to care for.

"Do you desire to obtain a puppy?"

[firsteditionbfs]

When Angeal answers, it is without hesitation, and heavy with emotion pulled from the very depth of his heart, his being.

"God, always, every single day."

He loves dogs so much, and for no conceivable reason besides that's how his brain works. Honestly, while he's been somewhat quiet on it all, being without Bahamutt and some of his Pokemon companions has weighed on him a bit. Nothing would replace any of them, exactly - the Pokemon were their own entities after all and Bahamutt was, well, himself sort of. Still, it would be comforting in its own way.

Another way of being comforted, of course, is to just focus on the present, and so Angeal does as he carefully reaches into the hole to feel around. Considering the nature of the game, it's not much of a surprise for him to quirk an eyebrow up.

"....Huh. Well, I guess in a place like this, that's an option... Give me a second, I think I need to be exact when it comes to this sort of thing." But he's pretty sure he knows what this is. When it comes to plants, after all, he likes to think himself fairly well versed.

[zodiheart]

"I will be on the look out for any canine-adjacent creatures that do not possess sentience." The distinction bears stating considering that one of the inhabitants is, in fact, a canid-appearing individual. He would love to find Angeal a dog.

A pale brow rises as Angeal reaches inside the box and has an... interesting reaction.

"You know what you are grasping?"

[firsteditionbfs]

Honestly, considering one of Angeal's boyfriends was also vaguely canid-shaped and simply didn't make the pull to this area... He wholly understands the distinction.

Just like he understands what he's touching, and he makes a small hum. "Pretty sure I do. It's a fruit that seems similar to what would grow in Banora - not as popular as dumbapples and parents always told their kids not to eat it. Said it'd knock us out. We called it casimiroa back home, but I think that was a local name."

He's squinted at by the fae managing the booth. "...It's called sapote here, but the idea seems similar..."

Which is all Angeal needs to pull out a pale green fruit with a little hum, satisfied. "Knew it." He grins at Themis. "And it was just an old wives tale in the end. Problem was the seeds could turn to poison real quick if you were dumb with 'em."

[zodiheart]

"Perhaps if the seeds were to be eaten in quantities greater than advised, they would make one ill?" That would be a logical evolution from 'do not consume the seeds' to 'do not consume this fruit' and finally into 'do not touch.' Ever curious, Themis wonders at how such a fruit may taste.

He'd not tried them before.

"Shall we taste it? It would be, quite literally, forbidden fruit," he cannot help cracking a grin at his own joke.

[firsteditionbfs]

"Well, I take it this is mine now, so we might as well." With a small wave to the fae with the hand still holding onto the fruit, Angeal walks off. May as well find somewhere nice to settle, right?

"But that makes sense. Little wives tale like that always start from somewhere." A seed of truth, ha. Finding a patch beneath a tree, roots bulging out just enough to provide some handy seats, Angeal sprawls his legs out in front of him. "It's kind of interesting to dig into them, honestly. Anyway, have a knife handy? Or do you just want a straight bite?"