EVENT: A CRY FOR HELP (part 2)

[asgardmods]

A CRY FOR HELP, pt. 2( MARCH 14th - ~18th )

Hey, Asgardians! Time for Part 2 of A Cry For Help, featuring what's behind (cave) door #1 + a crucial decision for all of the Wanderers at the scene. Note that three sections of the event will be held in the current event log, which will be updated with new information based on this infopost within the next 24 hours.

A couple of important things!

• APOLOGY → Sorry for the lateness of this post + the general sluggishness of the posts in this event - Trace (who has run most of this plot) is currently exhibiting two out of the three covid-19 symptoms and would likely be under self-quarantine if she weren't already self-quarantining by sleeping 80+% of the time, ahaha... ha.
  
  
• ADJUSTMENT TO FUTURE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS → As with most facets of Asgard that we've introduced since the turnover in January, inviting volunteers to participate in key segments of this event was a 'try it now, troubleshoot it later' sort of deal. Based on our experience + feedback from a couple of involved players, we'll now be introducing the actual participatory aspects of volunteer positions (e.g. the NPC threads for the sentinels and ambassadors, in this event) significantly farther in advance, forward-dated to event time. This will allow those volunteers to get more threading done before the actual event kicks off, which will hopefully increase the feeling of character agency even in roles with a fixed-point ending.
  
  We'll be waiting until the event is concluded to similarly assess the pacing and format of the event as a whole, and will likely invite feedback at that point if players would like to help us streamline the process. :)
  
  
  
• SOME MILD YIKES → This event was crafted late last year and set into play before covid-19 became such A Thing, and while we're seeing it through for IC continuity's sake, we welcome anyone who'd like to opt-out to feel free to retcon anything they've already plotted + have their character hang back in Asgard. If you're choosing to opt-out, feel free to message a mod for some alternative Fun Thing for your character to do or discover!

ENTERING THE CAVE.

From the outside, the cave seems normal enough. Innocuous even, if you're able to ignore the way the half-orcs' mounts balked at a distance.

All of that changes once you step inside. Here, the magic in this cave thrums through you and around you like an impossibly slow heartbeat - not unlike the sensation experienced by individuals encountering the anomaly in the Test Drive. Some feel it distinctly more than others - those more innately sensitive to such things feel it at once, and can almost certainly identify the ebb and flow to it and identify it as something at least partially organic rather than simply ambient magic (as one would expect from, for example, a lingering spell cast by a Wanderer). Those less sensitive might not perceive it straight away. They'll feel an indecipherable difference, but only as they spend more time in the cave will they start to recognize the thrum of it.

That being said, the rhythm is not uniform. It seems as though it should be, but it stutters, crackles. (I use vivid, sharp terms, but all of these things so far are dull and gradual - a stutter to us is an instant, but a stutter to this life force lasts seconds.) This gets worse if you venture more than a few yards into the caves - no longer can you just feel the thrum within you, but the crackle too, like static in your very veins.

For now, you find yourselves in a much more generous chamber than the narrow cave mouth suggested you might. It looks largely natural, but with signs of activity. The walls and whatnot have been carved with a row of basic runes (not the same as the bracelet's runes, but perhaps a different branch on the same language tree), and along the floor there's a smoother sort of path where many individuals have passed through from the cave's mouth down to the deeper recesses of the cave. The rest of the floor and walls are a little rougher, unbothered by the hands or feet of man. Lighting in the cave is dim, mostly provided by the mouth of the cave, which reflects a good distance inside. A flickering light can be seen filtering up from deeper in the cave, but you can't quite make out the source from the entry cavern.

Many paths seem to attempt to branch out from this main chamber, though in every case but one, they taper off to a natural end or a cave-in before the path even curves out of sight. Only one, at the far end of the main chamber, seems to continue onward - the one from which the faint flickering light glows. Debris litters the ground around the entry to this tunnel, uncharacteristic in the otherwise peaceful cavern. The mouth of this tunnel looks differently-textured, too - when combined with the debris, it almost looks as if (long ago) the tunnel was forged when something burst out into this chamber from within the area beyond.

Possibly most importantly, all who step inside find that they're unable to emerge back into the light of day. A barrier blocks their path, unseen from the outside until someone on the inside attempts to pass through it, at which point it shimmers faintly as it withstands the attempt. Communication is only mildly muffled by the barrier, but no physical attempt to ram, smash, or otherwise breach the barrier seems to bear fruit... Perhaps you might have better luck trying out magic.

But should you?

THE SECOND CHAMBER.

(Content warning: Description of alarming illness in progress! Low on gore scale, but alarming nonetheless.)

As alarming as the barrier may be, the true concern here is the unknown. What exactly have the Wanderers trapped themselves in with? How much danger does it actually pose?

Follow the cave deeper, and you'll find five half-orcs sitting on stones around a small fire, forlornly curled into themselves. One has her face pressed hard into her bent knees, as if forcefully trying to will away some sort of malady. The others look up at the new arrivals with a flicker of hope, then a dawning of horror.

"You shouldn't be here," an older woman snaps, voice tight and raspy, the way she might bark at a child before they set their palm on a stove. But that's all the spark she had in her - her lips press together, and she's turning her gaze back to the fire. Most of the others seem to follow suit, turning back to the fire, as if it might drown out the reality in which a half-dozen or more new people have joined them in this fate.

One man, middle-aged at best, stands stiffly and draws a preparatory breath. "Gorza's out there, isn't she?" Even a single confirmation from the Wanderers has him huffing out a frustrated breath. "Never has listened, not once in her life." To the group at large, he says - "Shove over, make some room. If we're all dying here, we might as well do it together."

They do. Wanderers are free to join their circle around the fire, if they'd please. All who linger for more than a few seconds hear plainly over the crackle of the fire as a boy (no more than 16 at the oldest) breaks the newfound silence. He explains what they know, quietly, without looking up from the fire. They were here for their blessing, he and the girl sitting beside him. They didn't realize anything was wrong, then. They didn't look around. They didn't see the blood.

(Wanderers who look deeper into the chamber, beyond the light of the fire, spot a deep staining of semi-fresh blood on the rocks at the approximate center of the room.)

But, the boy continues, they felt it. The second they cut their palms, it was like something started eating them from the inside. Burning in their veins. They ran for the village, for help, but by the time they reached the Elders it was clear that anyone they came in contact with seemed to burn with this too - this blight, this tainted aether they've stupidly borne. So the Elders quarantined them in here. Took the magic of all five of them combined, but nothing they did could break them free, and soon they stopped trying. Even though it's the cave that's killing them, really. The exposure, just sitting here wallowing in it. It burned out in the light of day, but it wasn't going to swallow them whole like this.

Like it's going to swallow the Wanderers now, too.

He explains to the Wanderers, as best he can, what he's feeling. What they're all feeling. The burn was first, like acrid static through their veins - the Wanderers will be feeling that soon enough, within the hour. It's not as bad for some, but for others? Agony. He stiffly lifts an arm to sweep his hair back from his face, holding it bunched at the back of his head so they can see what look like deep bruising following directly along his arteries and larger veins, a sickly blue against the normal green of his skin.

Sometime after the static comes the tension. They'll know it's coming. Everything starts to taste like metal (some claim it tastes like blood). It's more conspicuous than the tension until they try to move - any move too careless or too quick sends every relevant muscle seizing, cramping horribly. (That explains the stiff way they're all moving. It's not actual stiffness... They're just being careful not to spasm.) Too much of the cramping and your hands and feet start to go numb. Then your throat. That's why the girl beside him hasn't so much as moved, let alone spoken, since the Wanderers have arrived. She's not sure she'll be able to breathe if she slips up again.

There's a next stage, they think. Maybe they're imagining it. They do know that they haven't been hungry for a couple of days now. Haven't needed to use the restroom. Their heartbeats stutter every so often, they can feel it, a little extra ker-thump-thump before it rights itself. It's happening more frequently now. Honestly, they're all sitting upright for fear that if they lie down, they won't get back up.

That's what the Wanderers have to look forward to, if they don't find a way out of this cave.

► What do they plan to do?

OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE.

The first batch of Wanderers have entered the cave, and the half-orcs stand a few yards from the mouth of it, Otto and Sil huddled anxiously against Gorza's sides. There's a grim sort of look in Gorza's eyes. Even when it's revealed that the Wanderers who entered are stuck inside, her jaw only sets. It doesn't surprise her. If her own people were trapped, of course these Wanderers would be, too - until they break free, of course. Which she has the utmost faith that they're capable of doing.

Those left outside of the cave are more than capable of communicating with those trapped inside, even reaching through the mouth of the cave to touch a trapped Wanderer - but should they try to drag one back out into the open, the barrier prevents any part of the trapped Wanderer from coming through to freedom. Interestingly, the one thing the barrier does seem to stop is magic - all spells sent toward the barrier get the same faint deflecting glow as if someone inside the cave had punched the barrier.

► What is their course of action? Do they investigate more thoroughly? Contact a god? Fight to break their fellow Wanderers free?

They're also welcome to question Gorza, Sil, and Otto about the circumstances of the illness, about their village, or about anything else they'd like to know. A top-level will be provided below for this!

THE DECISION: BREACH THE QUARANTINE?

So here's the situation as it stands.

The Wanderers' magic is almost definitely strong enough to break through the barrier. The Elders' magic is stronger than mortal hands, but far weaker than even the secondhand magic of Asgard's gods.

The trapped villagers are also uniformly certain of the fact that the illness won't kill on its own - only here within the blighted cave will it be fatal.


IF THE QUARANTINE IS BROKEN →

• Wanderers currently within the cave will survive.
  
  
• They won't survive unscathed, however. They will continue to display symptoms (typically mild - player's choice if it's ever stronger than mild) indefinitely, until the issue is solved over multiple months of work via God Jobs (theoretically vanguards, medics, and skalds at least).
  
  
• This contagious illness will now exist in the world of Yggdrasil as a whole. Even if (for example) the cave is sealed off again and 100% of the ill are brought directly back to Asgard, it still has the direct risk of spreading unless definite care is taken.
  
  
• The villagers within the cave will likely survive, too. They will not be able to return to their homes. It's up to the Wanderers what to do with them - bring them back to Asgard too, turn them loose with survival supplies, etc.
  
  
• All Wanderers who entered the cave and contracted the illness will find, sometime within the near or semi-near future, that they are now capable of a small blood-magic spell. (List of possible spells provided in Infopost #3!)

IF THE QUARANTINE IS PRESERVED AND/OR STRENGTHENED →

• Wanderers currently trapped in the cave will die. If a god is alerted of the situation and called to the scene (feel free to have your character do so!), there will be no death penalty for your character upon revival, and this will not count toward their 3-death limit.
  
  
• When the dead Wanderers revive, they will show no trace of the illness.
  
  
• The illness will be trapped within the cave indefinitely, at no immediate risk to the land's population. Follow-up precautions may be advisable in order to figure out how to eliminate the blight within the cave and render the barriers no longer necessary, but it's a much less immediate concern.
  
  
• The villagers within the cave will die. That's just... all there is to it.
  
  
• While the revived Wanderers show no signs of illness, they do find themselves capable of one small blood-magic spell. (List of possible spells provided in Infopost #3!)

It's currently unknown what impact either choice will have on potential relations with the village itself, as they don't currently seem to be aware that the quarantine is potentially under threat.

( ! ) If the quarantine isn't broken the 18th, everyone inside the cave will die! If the quarantine is broken before that point, all symptoms drastically lessen over the first 24 hours upon leaving the cave, and can henceforth be as mild as you (the player) would like regardless of how long they were trapped in the cave.

( ! ) Players who want to opt out of the more major symptoms within the cave (the only time they mandatorily get worse) are welcome to have their character go unconscious and miss out on the worst of it. You're also totally welcome to handwave - we just wanted to offer this option for those who don't want the symptoms in their characters' memories, either.

HOW TO INFLUENCE THIS EVENT →

It's simple! Roll into the "BREAK THE QUARANTINE" or "MAINTAIN/STRENGTHEN THE QUARANTINE" top-levels below to cast your character's vote.

In your reply, explain what your character might be doing in order to either facilitate the breaking or maintaining of the quarantine! Are they trying to break it by flinging their magic against the barrier? Are they trying to incite others to do so? Or are they adding their own barrier magic to help maintain it? Perhaps arguing for the 'greater good' of maintaining it and dying to keep this from spreading into the world?

PARTICIPATION IN THIS INFOPOST MATTERS! We'll be using it to decide whether or not the quarantine is broken. One individual alone can't break the Quarantine, but if a certain percentage of respondents and/or a certain number of Wanderers are attempting to break it from both the inside and the outside, the barrier will be broken and everyone inside will be able to emerge. Please weigh in before the 21st in order to have your character's vote factored into the event's result.

EVENT (PART 2) SUMMARY.

Because this is not an event with multiple dates, we'll instead use this section to offer you a TL;DR of all of the above + a handy dandy condensed list of symptoms and their timeline.

ENTERING THE CAVE → The cave thrums with a sort of big, ancient life force, but something about it is wrong. In the back of the cavern is an exit to a deeper room, from which the glow of fire emerges. Anyone who tries to leave the cave is blocked by a barrier that no physical assault can damage.

THE SECOND CHAMBER → Following the firelight leads Wanderers to a group of half-orcs, clearly sick and very tired. They reveal that this was a deliberate quarantine on the part of their village's Elders, then proceed to describe the progression of symptoms the blighted aether has inflicted on them. They seem to think they're doomed to die, and the Wanderers are doomed to die along with them.

OUTSIDE OF THE CAVE → The three half-orc teens wait, looking anxious and grim. They're available for more questioning. Those outside of the cave's barrier are able to communicate with those inside with minimal difficulty (mildly muffled), and can reach in to touch them but can't bring them back out.

THE DECISION: BREACH THE QUARANTINE? → Basically, either let your people die (kind of horribly) and keep this illness contained semi-permanently OR break the quarantine, save the lives of those trapped, but make this illness a long-term issue to be dealt with. This section also details how to participate + a couple of opt-out flavors, so go back and peek at those!

ILLNESS SYMPTOMS →

Stage 1: A sharp tingling (like carbonation, or static) in what feels like their veins. This evolves to a moderate to severe appearance of bruising along major arteries and veins, though with no bruising pain.

Stage 2: Muscular tension. No real issues unless they move too quickly or carelessly, at which point all relevant muscles cramp terribly. This stage is forewarned by the taste of either metal or blood, depending on who they ask.

Stage 3: As they aggravate Stage 2's muscle tension more and more, they lose feeling in their hands and feet, and eventually (if the cramping is in their shoulders or chest) even their throat a bit. They're still able to breathe, but it feels wrong in a way that almost makes them feel like they can't.

Stage 4: General bodily failure. Digestive functions stop. Their heartbeat starts to stutter, more and more frequently. Exhaustion begins to set in, a full-body fatigue beyond regular sleeplessness. At some point, near the end, they'll succumb to a sleep from which they don't wake. (This stage will only be reached if the quarantine is maintained!)

As always, feel free to ask questions in the top-level below!