EVENT #2: BRAIN BOGGLING

[diceofthegods]

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.

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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

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Comments

[awesomegaolgreatjob]

[ The tone of Themis' call to him brings Erich practically skidding to him. He rarely uses that candor unless something serious is going on

As soon as he sees he was right, Erich is instinctively rushing to take up the other side, lifting Lahabrea up between them. ]

Father!

[ He tries to keep the fear from his voice, but the worry seeps through. It's rare that anything gets the jump on Lahabrea. Ever. But first thing's first.]

Let's get him to a bed, Themis.

[abyssalflames]

[For a man who has ever been inclined take things on his own shoulders rather than share any of his burdens, it is no doubt more than a little indicative of his current situation that he simply allows Erichthonios to step up to his other side. That there is no complaint - though so too does it speak to a trust that Lahabrea rarely acknowledges otherwise. Though he may not always have been the best father, he has still not forgotten that Erichthonios, too, had expressed a willingness to share in his burdens.

Still, he does not speak further, and this is perhaps the most normal thing about the situation. He has offered a partial explanation, to the best of his ability. And given that even that had not been the easiest he opts instead to not speak again, at the moment.

Instead, he lets the other two lead him where they will, while he tries to gather his thoughts.]

[zodiheart]

[Despite the state of Lahabrea, Themis knows that the man would not appreciate one of the more public cots that are scattered around the ground floor of their living spaces. He opts instead for the more difficult route of taking the stairs and the far more private bedrooms therein. It takes more effort to support Lahabrea, but between himself and Erichthonios they manage well enough.

Across the body of Erich's father, Themis searches for those red eyes. He does not voice his worry, instead containing it in the look he gives his partner. Even diminished, Lahabrea was one of the best of them - to have him taken unawares... Perhaps there was more to the story.

The guest room is sparsely furnished but Themis cannot bring himself to care about trivialities such as that in this moment. There is a bed, and that is enough. He aims to ease the taller man into it slowly. When he speaks, his voice is gentle.]

A bed and privacy to speak, need you anything else?

[He does not wish to overreach, but his fingers itch to use magic. White magic, conjuration, general restoration - anything that may assist.]

[awesomegaolgreatjob]

[ After they get his father settled, Erich can do little else but hover anxiously for a moment. Themis is the far superior orator between the both of them, and more fit to any sort of conversation with Lahabrea.

Erich instead, eventually busies himself with closing the curtains to dim the light from the outside and to fetch a pot of hot tea to ease whatever pains his father.

Thankfully, with his enhanced magic granted from draconic power, boiling a pot is a matter of neigh but a moment for him now. ]

[abyssalflames]

[It's true enough that Lahabrea should likely have not been patrolling alone as he had been. But he offers nothing of that - even were it not for the stubborn ache of his head, he would not have done so absent it being immediately relevant. And just at the moment he is disoriented enough that even managing the stairs is not the easiest of tasks.

He manages, though. Elidibus, as ever, has correctly gauged his preferences. He has ever been inclined to privacy, and all the more so now that he has run afoul of something that has had effects that he cannot well hide even if he'd wanted to. Still, they make it to the bed without further incident, and though he stubbornly remains sitting rather than lying down, at least he makes no further attempt to move anywhere.]

Unless you can do aught for this ache...

[He is, at the moment, unsure at anything else regarding the state of his memories. He knows, at least, what the creatures have been said to do. But it feels like he can scarcely think through the ache in his head, and the feeling is not something he finds comfortable.]

[zodiheart]

I should be able to lessen the effects.

[Themis simply does not know enough about the creatures or how and what they do to attempt to fully reverse the affliction in its entirety. Particularly for those who have been direct victims rather than those overtaken by the psychic blasts of force emitted when the creatures are killed.

With a gentle hand he touches Lahabrea's head along his temple, fingertips pulsing softly in a blue-white glow. The magic is warm and, true to what Themis had said, it seeps in to the pain at the source and eases it. Instead of sharpness, of an overwhelming ache, it should lessen into a far duller, more tolerable one. Enough to think through, at the very least.

His hand drops down to Lahabrea's shoulder and gives a comforting squeeze.]

How is that? The remedy should hold for a few hours.

[abyssalflames]

[Not even Lahabrea can say much of how the creatures do what they do, and he has hand first hand experience with that which they are capable of. Not that he can say he might have wished to, not when the effects are already deeply unpleasant. But as much as he dislikes them, neither can he change them.

Instead, he settles for letting Elidibus' magic do its work. True, it does not entirely shoo away the persistent ache in his head, but it is nonetheless enough. A partial relief, and one that is enough to see at least some of the tension leave his body as pain is dulled.]

It will suffice.

[There's a brief nod with the comment, likely meant to serve as the thanks he has rarely been inclined to give in words.]

[zodiheart]

[Knowing that Lahabrea is not one for overt physical contact does not dissuade Themis from his next actions. The hand upon his shoulder remains, and rather than lifting away it slides slowly to the other side as Themis sits himself next to the taller man. In a gentle movement, careful to not jostle Lahabrea's head, he pulls him into a one-armed hug.

It's as much for his own comfort as it is for Lahabrea.]

That is good, then. I believe Erichthonios has prepared tea - is there aught else we may provide?

[awesomegaolgreatjob]

[ Erich is dutifully there, lifting his tray of aforementioned tea as confirmation, as if it needed to be evident somehow. ]

You needn't try to tough it out. The sooner you are truly well the better, so please make sure you take your time to feel properly better.

[ Erich knows what appeals to make of his father to get his way. The practicality of the suggestion should ring true to Lahabrea's stubborn ear if he's right.]

[abyssalflames]

[It does appeal to his stubborn nature, for all that he can't help but be faintly irritated by it all the same. Enough so that he might well have insisted that he doesn't need anything, had it not been for Erichthonios' timely comment.

As it stand, he instead accepts a mug tea, falling silent for a moment before he speaks.]

It is... galling to not be able to recall the moments I know ought to remain. To know that some of which I might have wished to remain private is no longer so.

[The words come out haltingly, the vulnerability he is offering never something that has come easily to him. But they are none the less the honest truth, even as conviction snaps solidly in place when he speaks again.]

I would sooner see the rest dead, then allow them to continue to hold such memories.

[zodiheart]

[Oh, how deeply does Themis resonate with those words. There are many reasons why he has remained vigilant to an almost obsessive degree, not the least of which was to protect the others from what lurks within his own memories. Much and more there should remain as they are, barbs tucked away where he heals from them still.

To have some forcibly seen and distributed? It is a violation that he despises. He itches to go forth and dispense additional justice - but he will not. Not yet. Not when Lahabrea speaks such words.

He bows his head and speaks softly.]

There is hope yet, that others may not witness that which you wish to keep unseen. Or that I, myself, will be the sole witness should I corner the creature that did this. Perhaps what they took was another memory entirely.

[Ever the hopebringer, he cannot help himself.]