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

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Click here to listen.

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

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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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Mithrun stays limp for a good bit of the walk back, the dead weight of his tail dragging in the snow behind them. Hopefully, Molik's icy influence will help to mitigate any potential frostbite.

The first sign when he does wake up is a somewhat deeper, consciously strained breath and a shift of the arm over Popp's shoulder. It's probably fortunate that he doesn't try to pull away - no reason to, at the moment. The second sign is a croaked question: "The Devourer?"

They're walking and not flying because Popp's very aware that he needs to calm down but also because now he's thinking about magic overuse and is perhaps overcompensating...

"I killed it as fast I could. It, uh, blasted your memories out all over the place, though, sorry about that."

His voice starts off light. He's pretty business casual about fighting to the death if he can't see any gray areas, after all. But...

"Did you... ever kill that dungeon lord, you called her? Marcille?"

Even with time to think about what he's going to say, Popp is not a subtle person. He's worried, all right, he doesn't want to spend any more time looking at Mithrun's face and wondering if he's ever beheaded an unarmed woman. Maybe she was more armed and dressed in some sort of spiky black evil sorceress outfit by the time he caught up...?

It's dead. Alright. That's the part that matters - though, the reminder that its death came with an outpouring of some memory or other of Mithrun's raises the question of which one. Some of that, he's pretty sure Popp shouldn't be seeing.

At least he gets his answer pretty quickly, and it is... not as bad of one as it could have been, sounds like. At least there's that. Mithrun exhales - hard to say if he relaxes at all, seeing as how he's already hanging limply over Popp's shoulder. His muscles are just... not really listening to him.

"No. I didn't."

...Popp isn't fully wrong about Marcille's state next time he saw her, though.

How much of that floppiness is brain-related and how much is lingering dragon poison and how much of it is Mithrun having the exact same problem he had in his memory... Popp knows what he would prefer it to be.

And at least he's not carrying a murderer through the snow! Or at least not a murderer of one very specific person who maybe should die in an honorable battle at worst? The demon is also concerning.

"Is she... um, is it going to be a hard fight? She didn't seem that aggressive."

Don't... don't worry about how many people Mithrun may or may not have killed prior to ever meeting that one woman, Popp. It's fine.

"...It isn't a matter of 'going to be'." He would shrug, if he could. "She got... more aggressive, rather quickly. I lost."

Popp is not much of a big picture kind of guy. Mithrun losing is maybe... bad, for his world situation, actually... He'd pat him on the back if he could do that without risking their current balance situation.

"So that's why you push yourself so hard? You don't want to lose again? I get that, I've had a lot of close calls myself."

Mithrun blinks, side-eyeing Popp with intensity - or maybe it just looks that way because he's looking at him and can't turn his head.

Not that Mithrun turns his head more than he has to when he looks at people to begin with.

"Over Marcille? Sure, it's best I not die again, but she has nothing go do with how I operate."

That's a real disconcerting look to get looked at by! Popp eyeballs him back, and does not manage a tenth of the energy. Or rather the lack of energy, which has a certain impact of its own.

"So, uh. It's the other one that's more important, the lion demon? It seemed strong and all, but it didn't want to be in charge... I think. I've never seen any kind of dark lord and underling relationship like whatever those two had going on."

A long suffering sigh. There are a lot of ways that people (and non-people) interact that Popp does not have experience with, he's coming to find.

That already troublingly flat gaze darkens - but at least it shifts away from Popp.

"That's because it wasn't an underling. Make no mistake: The demon was always in control."

The disturbingly haunted eyes are off him, but a shudder runs up his back all the same. Mithrun really sounds like he knows what he's talking about!

"You'd fought it before."

He swallows. He's pretty sure he knows where a lot of that intensity is coming from now, and also pretty sure that if he doesn't ask right here on the spot, he's going to chicken out of asking at all.

"Did it... get to someone close to you, before Marcille?"

Mithrun doesn't respond to Popp's realization. There's no need to confirm out loud what Popp has already figured out.

For a moment, it might seem like he won't answer the question, either. After a few moments, though: "Not someone close to me. Myself - fool that I was."

This close, it's probably pretty easy to feel Popp's heart rate spike. Whether Mithrun actually cares that it does is a separate matter.

Oh. That... makes a lot of things about Mithrun make sense, if he gave into evil and then was pulled out of it. Of course he'd be subdued in personality, that's guilt, isn't it? Of course he'd go in as hard as possible if he's trying to make up for his actions!

Popp's seen his magic in action, he would have been an absolute terror as a true villain! Once he gets his hands on someone and wants them dead, that seems to be it... Whatever circumstances brought him down alive and admitting the error of his ways must have been wild.

And he has seen the error of his previously wicked ways! That means a lot more to Popp than his past actions. Finding this out is definitely worth the sore shoulder he's going to have from lugging him around in the snow.

"So that's why you get so worked up about all this monster stuff, why it's the only time I've seen you worked up at all..."

Popp resolves to put some extra work into recreating Glimmer. Having it around would be good for everyone's peace of mind and he wants to be supportive.

"And that's why you're willing to fight until you pass out just like this, huh? It's a huge pain to deal with, but I can't hate that kind of determination."

He is trying to sound ~cool~, as someone who has possibly been on the other end of being hauled around clean out of magic much like this.

That Popp would be shocked at Mithrun's past is no surprise; even if he isn't from Mithrun's world, wouldn't know as much as even the most uninformed party about the implications of Mithrun's past as a dungeon lord, he has no doubt gathered enough from what he has seen.

...Mithrun, of course, is not privy to how much more Popp extrapolates from there, but that is another issue entirely. In fact, the conclusions Popp actually voices seem perfectly reasonable to him, even if not perfectly accurate. "Not really a matter of determination... but, yes."

"You're still prett~y bad at teamwork, though! I'm also a mage, you know? We could've switched out before you tipped over."

Popp can't do any comical impressions of Mithrun passing out because he's being hampered by all this Mithrun on his shoulder. If he goes down right now he might very well be staying down.

"I mean, I'm also used to being the only one in the party who can do all that stuff, but you're much older and way more experienced than me, Mithrun! Shouldn't you be setting a good example?"

Whining to a captive audience is an acceptable substitute for stupid jokes. Popp might not want to admit it, but this is also a way of letting Mithrun know that he doesn't hold his dark and tragic past against him, it's all about the very recent past and also the future!

"Didn't know I'd do that." Not because it's never happened before, because it super has, as Popp has seen - but, you know. He didn't know!! Anyway: "I doubt I'd have been as effective as bait, though."

Rude, Mithrun - though, hey, maybe it could be taken as a compliment? Maybe?

He also, just, grunts noncommittally at the suggestion that he should set a better example. "Then don't take me as an example. If I have advice to give, I'll give it."

"Hrmmmm. So you don't have any advice at all."

A new conclusion is drawn, alongside the grumbling. Mithrun... might be stupid?

Yes Popp does this all the time also but STILL.

He's connected the dots. Popp is kind of... blatantly a dumbass, frequently, and loudly. Someone with Mithrun's taciturn personality can be very similar and have it go unnoticed!

"Well, I guess we'll have to look out for each other out here."

"I do."

It's just usually couched in vague, ominous statements, but, y'know.

But, no, he has zero advice on this particular situation, that's definitely true.

For now, though... "Nn. Do you have your stone?" He wonders if this might be what people may consider a "call for help" type of situation...?

"Yeah, I didn't drop it or anything, I'm not that careless."

Anyone who's gone poking around in Popp's memories would know that calling for help isn't a strategy he's prone to thinking of. Help constantly happens to him regardless.

...He hopes he isn't that careless. He shifts Mithrun's weight around so he can check his pockets real quick. Doing so surreptitiously may be a lost cause against someone that he is actively carrying, though.

"Just checking." As someone who has lost, for example, a whole-ass Canary-issued staff. Seemed worth asking about!!

At the very least, if he notices Popp trying to find the thing, he doesn't say anything. Mostly just... hangs there limply, however he may be maneuvered. Honestly, at this point, he's mostly trying to stay conscious; talking that much after having already overexerted himself may have been a mistake! Who could have guessed!

Mithrun being quiet is normal... But all the same, Popp does have a bad feeling about this. Obviously, he'd speak up if he were going to freeze to death (he still does not understand Mr. Dungeon Trauma as well as he thinks he does), but it would be better to get him somewhere safe sooner rather than later, they're out further than he thought they were.

What would be really handy is if there was some sort of potion that could rapidly restore magic reserves. Or if there wasn't a bunch of snow around changing the shape of the landscape, or if he could cast restorative magic on Mithrun to get him able to hang onto a flying dragon. Failing any that... he'll just have to be the kind of person who's willing to swallow his pride enough to ask for help! It is not how any of his teachers would handle this, he's pretty sure. They would simply be competent enough to take care of things, or not be in a bad situation in the first place.

"Heyyyy, Teacherrrr...?"

Edited 2025-04-11 00:15 (UTC)

Peering intently into his rock, Popp nods along, confidence building as Elidibus shows him what Town looks like right now at this exact moment.

"Oh, yeah! That's perfect!"

He makes sure he has a really good grip. Like, really good; he trusts exactly one of them to be able to hold on at high speeds and it's not the elf. He shifts Mithrun's useless floppy body around so he's carrying him princess-style, which he would not be able to manage while walking in heavy snow. Good thing he's not going to do any more walking!

Zoom isn't a true teleport, even if it looks very much like one. Popp rockets up into the sky, then across to the location he's picturing, then down. The magic surrounding him and his passenger protects them from the effects of the sheer speed they're moving at, and cushions most of the impact when they zip narrowly past Elidibus in full bewinged glory and land in an undignified heap in the bushes along someone's front walk. Most of it. Popp has obligingly taken on the rest!

"Owww."

Is this the best way to move someone suffering from magic depletion? Absolutely not. Was it efficient? Extremely so.

Under some circumstances, Mithrun might put up at least some token resistance to being carried around this way - but only some circumstances. And probably not much resistance.

Anyway, right now, he neither cares, nor would he be able to do even that little bit of resisting if he did. So it is without protest that he's brought upward with Popp - and then very quickly through the air and back down to the ground.

At least, since the fall was conveniently broken by a teenager, it's safe to say that it isn't thanks to blunt force trauma that he just lies sprawled in place when they land! Definitely feeling Bad, though. Maybe worse than he had. Give him a bit to just lie here while he figures it out.

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EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING

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