childrenofbahamutlogs | EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING

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EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING

A CRASH IN THE NIGHT

In the dark hours of a snowy early morning, a sudden BOOM can be heard all across Town. It is swiftly followed by sounds of warping metal and then a screeching crash. Curious, albeit groggy, residents emerge only to find a smoking wreck just a mile outside of Town.

The strange craft appears to be almost nautiloid in shape with wrenched, broken tendrils streaming out the opening.

Much of it is metal although some of it almost seems... organic.

Those who with to get a closer look will be met by Charlie and Dimitri who are already on the job. They request curious onlookers keep their distance since this craft is, without a doubt, tremendously dangerous.

Later in the day, there appears to be an outfit of officials coming from the west to investigate and clean up the wreckage. Thankfully(?), you will all find out soon enough what's going on.

INVESTIGATION & PROTECTION

Deathcard Cabin by Jonah Senzel

4:07 / 13:06

▶︎

Click here to listen.

From the Inscryption OST: A unique and haunting sound paired with a unique and haunting game.

code

Charlie reports to the citizens of Town that an Illithid cargo transport. The pilot did not survive the crash, but they appeared to be transporting some kind of new breed of Intellect Devourers.

"We do not yet know what this new breed is capable of, but..."

Charlie does give everyone a rundown of what an Illithid and what an Intellect Devourer is, what they are capable of, and a keen warning to tread lightly. Many dead ones were discovered in the cargo but several of the enclosures were damaged in the crash and the likelihood of escapees is high.

Charlie reiterates: These creatures are to be killed on sight, or contained until someone can kill it. If you are not confident in your combat abilities, please remain in your homes as much as possible and seal all openings to your dwelling. Those who are capable though are urged to begin patrols of Town alongside Slayd, Dimitri and himself to ensure that Town and the surrounding areas are safe.

Please travel in pairs or groups, do not be alone! Attack from a distance when possible. Hoshiko will offer her assistance as a markswoman as well by picking off any Intellect Devourers from a distance that she can for those that are forced to travel alone. (Don't worry about any jokes she makes of her service not being cheap though. Charlie wouldn't actually let her charge you anything.)

Unfortunately, not even they can predict the blizzard that rolls through Town in the midst of all this. If you happen to see anything skittering through the snow, don't panic too much. It could just be a tiny woodland creature looking for a warm burrow to hide away in!

At least you hope it is.

PROMPT #3

Hybrid intellect devourers are unique from the regular ones in that the goal is not to kill their target, but to gather intelligence and act as a kind of spy network.

They will flee when confronted directly by greater numbers, but will attack a lone target. They do this by jumping at the target's head and wrapping a wet tendril around their neck. They will choke who they've wrapped around if anyone tries to remove it. They are also far more likely to try and attack sleeping target (hence the advice to keep your homes closed!).

These hybrids emit spores that will keep the target asleep during feeding. Their primary goal appears to be infiltrating the targets' minds and absorbing some of their memories. The target will have their mind left mostly intact... though they may suffer short term memory loss, confusion, distress, fatigue and head pain.

Here's where the fun starts!

Once one of these critters has fed on someone, they are onto their next target. When a fed Intellect Devourer feeds from another target, that target may absorb some of the previous target's memories. This can span across multiple victims and be erratic in whose memories taint whose mind. The memories will cross-pollinate in the form of dreams or waking visions and hallucinations.

If one of these creatures is killed, it will explode, releasing a powerful psionic wave and the memories it had absorbed from any recent targets. Anyone within ten (10) yards of the dying creature will be afflicted with extreme head pain in the short term and also witness the memories of it's previous victims.

Enjoy your muddled memories and leggy brain-hunting!

The outfit of people who have come to investigate are from New Svihelen's disaster containment squad and are investigating the hybrid creatures and the possible reason for an Illithid ship to crash here of all places. Right now, the running theory is that interference from the selfsame summoning circle that brought you all here could have caused the interplanar navigation systems of the ship to malfunction but nothing has been determined yet.

Eventually, these creatures will all be rounded up and taken care of. They are persistent and stealthy though in their efforts to survive above all else. Charlie assures that they're doing all they can to make Town safe once and for all but it will take some time.

Notes

⁂ The partner plotting post for this event/quarter is also up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available for people to read about updates, clarifications, and housekeeping items!

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

⁂ For even more ambient event music, you can check out this this playlist!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Firelight:

In perhaps record time after the crash Elidibus manages to transform the home he shares with Erichthonios into a fully functional sanctuary. There is extra bedding formed into cots adequate to sleep in, provided one does not mind close quarters with others, that he has arranged throughout his home. There is a fireplace that crackles with seemingly ever-burning flames, the warmth easily spreading through the entire repurposed home. Supplies have been collected and arranged in easily-identifiable sections within the kitchen and what had once been the dining area.

It is all one could possibly require during a blizzard; shelter, warmth, food, and most importantly safety in numbers. As soon as the finishing touches are placed Elidibus wastes no time in sending out a message to each and every occupant, his home's location attached.

I offer each one of you shelter in this time of need. Come to my home, and together we shall weather this danger and the oncoming cold. My door shall be open to you.

Should one take advantage of the Emissary's offer, he will greet them at the door and usher them inside. At this stage in his transformation he is able to choose his appearance - and he has seemingly chosen to appear entirely as himself, save for his feathered wings. In the dim light of the fire, blue eyes gleam brightly.

Raise Your Banner:

Sanctuary established, Elidibus sets about to ensuring that safety he had promised. He bears both sword and shield as well as his staff, making quick work of very thorough patrol routes. Most of the time his mask remains on his chest where it usually hangs, but at times it sits in its proper place atop his upper face. Through the eyeholes his eyes blaze in the dark, but brighter still is the crimson flash of his station's glyph that flares to life as he casts yet another spell.

Once the reveal of the sleeping spores is made he can be found instead patrolling with something over his lower face. It is vaguely reminiscent of his mask, if said mask continued down to cover his entire face. Speaking with him through it is possible, though his voice will come through slightly distorted - and he reveals it to be a sort of breathing apparatus.

He will accept others who wish to join him. With a single flap of wings he beckons them over. Magic shimmers faintly for a moment across his skin, just for a moment, before it fades. "It will be dangerous this night. Have you prepared?"

Mercy Mirror:

The dangers that come with hunting the Devourers are thoroughly ignored as Elidibus throws himself into the hunt. It is a good thing he's as vicious as he is, as well, because more than a few times he comes across one of the creatures accosting another inhabitant. Sometimes he gets there before the creature has a chance to feed. Other times, he discovers the act in process.

No matter which he is ruthless. He must be, he has much to lose in this place, and a threat is a threat however it may be shaped. Tampering of memory strikes a very particular cord with the Emissary in quite an obvious way. He is unsettled. He is vigilant.

Regardless of which situation he finds this time, the result is the same - a single glance has him strategizing and with a burst of speed he will close the gap.

Supernova:

Weathering the first of the psionic blasts after killing one of the Devourers was an uncomfortable experience. Mostly because he had not been expecting it, nor was he expecting the wash of new memories so obviously not his own. But now that he had experienced such a thing he could better prepare himself as well as others. Heedless of his own comfort, he goes for killing blows swiftly, but his eyes are watchful for bystanders.

Should he be fighting alongside another, he will pull his blows in an attempt to maneuver the creatures to be far enough away to catch only himself in the blast. But this is combat, and one cannot account for all variables.

Perhaps one rushes in at the last moment and is caught. Perhaps one hangs back and watches as Elidibus takes the brunt of it, clutching at his head and giving himself a shake. Or perhaps one may be a bystander, close enough to be caught but in a space that the Emissary did not know they were there.

Wildcard:

((OOC: Plotting post is here! Hit me up if you'd like a closed thread or something else other than these prompts, I'm open to most anything.))

Popp is just as eager about wading into the creature hunt, but he's very much his first teacher's student. His paralyzing poison breath works a treat to incapacitate the skittery menaces, but after that's done, he can't bring himself to land a killing blow on something that can't fight back... which leaves him vulnerable once he's checking other shadowy corners for more of them and the poison wears off.

Elidibus has a fairly straightforward situation to work with.

A strangled scream.

The muffled sound of a body hitting snow.

A young man lying in a crumpled heap under the eaves of someone's house, tentacles wrapped around his neck.

There is no time for thoughts. Only actions.

The identity of the victim does not fully register for Elidibus until he has almost fully crossed the gap. When it does he allows the dual-pronged feeling of fear and fury to drive his sword arm in a vicious arc - justice raging into vengeance between one heartbeat and the next. The blade cleanly severs the tentacles that have bound themselves to Popp and, maskless, glyphless, his wings flare as if he were an avenging angel.

"βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας!" Elidibus spits, the ancient words for him and him alone.

With a fluid motion he stabs the point of his staff deep into the creature, following it up with fierce kick to gain them some manner of distance from the explosion to come. He's killed other Devourers with less force. His last action is one borne entirely of protective instinct. Throwing himself over Popp, Elidibus curls both himself and his wings around the boy as best he can. A desperate shield.

The explosion comes, and with it - memory.

((A significant portion of the expository dialogue has been converted into narrative for ease of reading.))

The explosion overlaps with another one, long ago and far away, the smoke dark and hot. Elidibus has seen Popp cast Sizzle as a combat spell during practice, although it usually smells of burnt wood or nothing at all. This one smells meaty.

When it clears, it has hit the man standing protectively in front of the person having this memory. When he falls to his knees, exhausted and in pain, his back is a scorched and bloody mess, showing through what's left of his burnt tunic. He shows a warm and gentle relief for the two people he was protecting first and foremost, before admitting that the foe they're facing is far beyond their ability to defeat. The former Dark Lord Hadlar, now Dark Commander Hadlar under Dark King Vearn and stronger than ever before. Hadlar himself stands where he is, arms crossed, watching and listening.

"Dai, Popp... I ask that someday you two defeat Vearn, the Dark King!" There's confidence in his voice, but also desperation.

"Master, do you intend to die?" Popp, the body having the memory. Soft, disbelieving.

"Master, I'll fight with you!" Dai, the other boy. Loud, desperate.

The Hero Avan uses the last of his magical power to hit his allies with a defensive spell that coats them in metal, rendering them immobile but impervious to anything Hadlar can do to them. Hadlar himself declares this stupid and a waste, but he seems quite pleased by it, and the look and nod he exchanges with Avan puts off their conflict for just a little longer.

The two pendants he takes out of his coat are Insignias of Avan, proof that a student has completed their training and graduated. He fixes one around Dai's neck, expressing regret that their training was cut short at three days, and stating that if they'd continued for four more, he would have certainly become a true Hero. He gets as far as saying Popp's name before being immediately cut off with a scream - Popp does not want the pendant, he does not want him to do this. Avan's surprised face blurs - Kaclang doesn't block speech and it doesn't block tears, either.

"I don't care if you were the Hero once! Why are you doing this?! You said yourself you can't beat him!"

"It's because I can't beat him that I must risk my life. Besides, Popp, I believe the power we gain through training should be used to help others. Perhaps my power was granted to me by the gods to protect you on this day. I know that someday you'll understand. So, hold onto this for when that day comes."

Popp can't actually stop Avan from approaching him or acknowledging him as a student, he can only beg him not to do what he is about to do.

"You haven't officially graduated and you're already so emotional. You'll need to work much, much harder to become heroes worthy of those!"

The light tone and goofy grin isn't the last of Avan his students see up close. That would be the wounds on his back as he turns to face his foe.

The fight is brutal. Whatever left the cuts oozing teal across Hadlar's green flesh, Avan doesn't seem up to replicating the feat. Neither of them have any magic left. Hadlar moves lightly on his feet, dodging around or other every swipe of the hero's sword. Avan takes blow after blow as the former dark lord seems intent on beating him to death with his bare hands. Avan's clearly good at what he does, but injured and terribly outmatched. Eventually, Hadlar kicks the blade right out of his hand and closes in... at which point Avan, hands glowing, jams his fingers straight into Hadlar's skull.

The process sounds painful and unpleasant for them both, and Hadlar very quickly goes from smug to panicked. As they grapple up close, as the power crackles and builds and charges, Avan explains that you barely need any magic to cast this spell. What you do need is life energy, to convert into pure explosive force.

"Megante!"

There's nothing to see but a multicolored riot of rainbow light, nothing to hear but the deafening rumble of the explosion. A light, painless physical pressure as the magic slides off magically hardened skin. Then, the cold of the Town as reality reasserts itself.

Popp is coming to, disoriented and with that particular memory quite fresh in his mind from the feeding and unable to move because he's protectively wrapped up in feathers.

Edited 2025-02-10 22:14 (UTC)

The memory has Elidibus reeling. Tampering with memory and mind is one subject he shies away from, and this situation is one of the reasons as to why. A very personal memory, one Popp had not chosen to share of his own accord, has now been broadcasted to all within that blast. Thankfully it appears to have been limited to the two of them. But that is a small mercy, especially when compared to such a violation.

Upon feeling Popp stir he loosens his grip slightly, pulling back to give the boy more space but keeping his hold upon him. His wings, too, stay where they are in their protective fan around them both. It is extremely revealing body language but Elidibus cannot bring himself to care. No one is around to witness how protective he is being over Popp, and even should there be eyes upon them, he would rather defiantly continue.

His flight feathers tremble slightly, and he gives his head a sharp shake.

"Popp, are you alright? Are you able to hear my voice?" the words are strained.

"...Nngh... Master...?"

This is not something Popp ever calls Elidibus, respected expert and actual teacher that he is. He feels safe and protected beyond question and that bypasses the logic and knowledge that the person who would usually make him feel that way is either dead or in the past, depending on perspective. His eyes flutter open, unfocused.

Elidibus | Final Fantasy XIV | OTA Will Match Style

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