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childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 12:10 pm
diceofthegods) wrote in childrenofbahamutlogs2025-02-01 12:10 pm
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.
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
▶︎
From the Inscryption OST: A unique and haunting sound paired with a unique and haunting game.
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.
"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.
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!
⁂ Full Navigation ⁂
⁂ 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!
❥ vanyel.
And it isn't Amani.
While that was already so much to contend with mentally and try to comprehend, she's now aware of the fact that she lived in a place called Eudio too. She hadn't yet started working for Charlie in earnest, she recalls, and so she wasn't as... experienced as she was elsewhere.
Just like in Amani though, despite everything, people there love her. Flaws and all, which- That's nice to know. It takes a lot to literally run away from a relationship and yet be forgiven in the end. For that to turn into love in the face of constant change and sudden, unexpected adversity.
Okay, well! First thing's first: she needs to find this man. Since she got his memories, she knows he has to be here. That's how a woman who he knows from another reality winds up at his doorstep, looking nervous, confused, and uncertain. "Hey," she greets. "I think I... might remember, uhm. You. Us?"
Man, she really should have thought this through. (Though since she did see his memory of them, she knows her impulsivity wasn't a problem then.)
/wanders in here two weeks late with starbucks
He's still not sure whether it was his thrashing and beating at it that made it flee, or if it simply had what it wanted.
That thought keeps him up as much as general paranoia does. He ignores his own trembling as he builds the fire back up to a roaring blaze and paces the cottage double- and triple-checking that the windows are shuttered and the door is barred - and that's when the knock sounds.
He pauses, just for a moment - but knocking means a person, not a monster, and he can hardly leave them out there at the mercy of the cold and the beasts. That would be true for anyone in town, but it's doubly true for the woman he finds on his doorstep.
It hadn't taken much fiddling with the stone to find out that she was here, or much context to realize she isn't quite the same Rosie he knew in Amani. He hadn't quite known how to approach her without coming off as an absolute madman - but the decision is out of his hands now, and there's only one real option.
Vanyel steps aside to let her in, shutting and barring the door once she's through. The cottage doesn't quite look lived in yet; he hasn't been here long enough for clutter or more personal touches. But no, he doesn't seem upset (or even all that surprised) at her impulsive approach.
"Not from Amani, I'm guessing," he replies gently, and it isn't quite a question. The longer hair, the glamour, the lack of her ever present flowers... no, this Rosie wouldn't remember Amani firsthand. Though she likely got a few of his memories off the Devourer; he's not sure what else would bring her to his doorstep now.
no subject
"No," she confirms, as she steps into his place. It's reminiscent of hers still, actually, since she wasn't really one to settle. Even after months of being in this place, well- Rosie just finds it hard to think she's really going to stay anywhere is all.
"Eudio, I think it was called? Something like that. A city run on intimacy," she speaks and can't help but laugh a little in the middle there, "which I guess also kind of sounds like Amani? They were less shy about calling it what it was though." Amani, she's been told, spoke of 'peace' as a guise for getting your freak on. Cute, but understandably frustrating to some. "Maybe places like that just, I dunno, suit me."
no subject
Thanks to the Peacekeeper's ability to let them peer at other versions of themselves throughout the multiverse, he does know of Eudio - and their methods mean looking in on that other Vanyel was really more like being him, for however long he cared to look.
Usually it wasn't long; voyeur though he might be, it was bittersweet experience at best. To think there were places and times where their coming together might be less fraught, where he needn't compete with madmen or vanished mates for her affection... but there's something undeniably romantic, too, in the knowledge that loving her is just what happens whenever the multiverse throws them together, as inevitable as the tides.
"They certainly did seem to be, didn't they?" He can't the wistful edge to his smile anymore than he can stop himself smiling in the first place. "One of many advantages it had over Amani, from what I could see." He didn't even bear the Peacekeeper or its makers any particular grudge; it's just always more pleasant to volunteer for a duty than to be press-ganged, however necessary it might be. "But I can't pretend it was all bad there, either."
He finally lets himself close some of the distance between them, just enough to catch one of her hands so he can dust a kiss across her knuckles.
no subject
"Keeping the 'peace' is a pretty clever way of putting it," she concedes, "but definitely not as subtle as they seemed to think." And although she doesn't remember her time there, she does know enough. The situation they were all in was precarious at best and tumultuous at worst. It did seem to work out in the end, but... Then they just ended up here, most of them.
"Yeah, that's the vibe I'm getting. It wasn't, like, bad but... could be better. Most people seem happier here though, at least." As happy as they can be, all things considered. The hold of her hand and brush of lips against her knuckles makes her smile. It's familiar, in a way that she remembers, but also just nice. Here, she's been more worried than usual about where she stands with some and for why but- The reassurance overall that she is still wanted is nice. That she can't deny.
"Aside from the brain parasites, I hope here is treating you alright too."