October Event: Crystal Clear

[lifeaftr_mods]

OCTOBER EVENT: CRYSTAL CLEAR

Who: Everyone!
What: Your exploration takes a turn.
When: October 20th - 26th
Where: The caverns situated underneath Ensō
Warnings: Character death, body horror, descriptions of illness. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!

Part I: Attack, Attack!
Congratulations! You've successfully gone where no Storyteller has gone or can go, and woken up in the network of subterranean caves buried beneath the island's mass, along with your designated supplies: a miner's cap, a week's worth of food, and both your knapsacks and their collective contents. And the further along you go, the vaster and more sprawling these almost labyrinthian tunnels seem to get. There’s certainly evidence that civilization once thrived here - old buildings hewed from the rock of the cave walls may very well contain old tools, or even salvageable supplies. Careful examination of structures and cavern walls alike will reveal sigils resembling those carved on the doors, each of which will need to be destroyed entirely at the Storyteller's behest. Whatever was down here was advanced enough to dwell without sunlight. But that raises a rather pertinent question...

If there were once people here, where did they all go?

Fortunately, one will soon discover that there's plenty of natural light underground, exhibited by the crystalline growths on the walls. None of them appear to be dangerous, and those attracted to shiny things might even find them useful for picking up or chipping away in order to better light their way. The crystal has about the thickness and hardness of quartz, and bathes its surroundings in a luminous green glow.

The closer you come to the center of the mass, however, the denser the crystalline growths seem to become, until one has to be quite ingenious in navigating them. Eventually, they'll simply be too dense to be squeezed through, even by the smallest and most agile of your number.

That’s when they it will start to become apparent.
Something in the crystal is moving.

Huge chunks of crystal are starting to detach from the center and move slowly, inexorably, toward those unfortunate enough to have explored the caverns. Unmistakably humanoid silhouettes, distorted by awful crystalline growths, most of which have completely swallowed any recognizable features.

...most.

The good news is that the creatures can be shattered, and beaten back. The bad news? Well...

Part II: Retreat, Retreat!
Those who get close enough to the crystalized beasts to get a good look at them will soon make a horrifying discovery - the fact that, underneath those thick layers of luminescent quartz, there was once something that might have been recognizable as human. These quartz monsters aren't native to this region, or indeed, to any region of the island at all. They were formed.

Formed out of the very crystal that you explorers have been touching, picking up, sleeping on, and just generally remaining in prolonged contact with ever since you set foot down here.

Indeed, anyone who has been in contact with the crystal for extended periods of time - sleeping on it or getting dealt a swipe from one of the crystalized monsters, for example - will find that tiny, quartz-like growths have started to sprout on their skin as well. Once the virus has taken root, it will spread rapidly until it has swallowed you whole. Indeed, the unpleasant symptoms will reveal themselves within twenty-four hours of the initial exposure: in addition to clusters of crystalline growths pocking the affected areas, the inflicted will begin to experience intense stabbing pains all over as the crystal begins to grow - both inside and out. The transformation is slow and arduous and painful, and vocalization tends to be one of the first things to go once the crystals sprout in the mouth and throat. Within the span of about three days since the initial exposure, the transformation will have sheathed most of the physical body in crystal entirely, sealing the victim in a humanoid cast of glasslike green.

It has not been confirmed if the inflicted are sentient and aware of their state of being once they are completely consumed. Whatever their intentions, those are easily overridden by the virus's innate desire to spread to as many organisms as possible.

As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. Additionally, deaths succumbed during the event count towards the character's total. There is no known cure to the virus, but that doesn't mean characters can't or shouldn't try!

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] October 20th: Spelunking begins. Points of interest will be provided.
[ ♆ ] October 22nd: The Quartzalcoatl make their presence known.
[ ♆ ] October 24th: The final sigils are broken, and the Storyteller will return all uninfected to the Islets.
[ ♆ ] October 26th: All deceased will be returned at midday, suffering from a reduced death penalty.

Event Specifics

[ ♆ ] If your character perishes in this event, please let us know!
[ ♆ ] For those who opted out, please see the top-level below!
[ ♆ ] Item claims can be found on the OOC plotting post here!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[seesbosscrotch]

Alas, an adventurer's life leaves no time for women, my best efforts aside. [Never mind that he had been retired for some time now, and that he generally sabotages any chance of emotional intimacy that comes his way.]

[souris_keteer]

[...so you can't have adventures AND girls at the same time? That's depressing and worrisome.]

You can't give up like that!

[seesbosscrotch]

I've never given up! I've just never succeeded either.

[souris_keteer]

Oh, well... I'll be rootin' for you, no matter what!

[Just trying to be positive about everything. including chicks.]

[seesbosscrotch]

Well, feel free to put in a good word for me with the lovely ladies hereabouts, then!

[souris_keteer]

Will do! You can count on me!

[Seriously, he's going to do that now. he even salutes.]

[seesbosscrotch]

[Mar is 100% okay with this. It's win-win.]

You're a champion among men! And also mice, I assume!

[souris_keteer]

[He can't help but laugh.]

Ha ha ha ha! I just do my best, same as anyone!

[seesbosscrotch]

Not everyone does their best. Some people think they do. And sometimes what you thought was your best ends up being very bad indeed.

It's something to keep in mind, if you're going to adventure.

[souris_keteer]

[he blinks, surprised.]

... How do I tell if it's my best or not?

[seesbosscrotch]

A lot of the time? Hindsight, and it sucks.

[souris_keteer]

But how do I improve and get better?

[seesbosscrotch]

For one? Learn from your mistakes. That's key. Don't blame others. Don't try the same thing, insisting it will work THIS time. Don't force others to accommodate to you, unless you can describe distinct benefit to everyone from it.

[souris_keteer]

[Mickey nods with each note, mentally jotting it all down.]

A-huh... A-huh... Right! I can do all that!

[seesbosscrotch]

I hope we don't have to find out if that's true or not. Sometimes you end up discovering you can't... or never realizing it.

[souris_keteer]

I'll do my best, and I'll learn from my mistakes, and I'll try to help everyone I can! I promise!

[seesbosscrotch]

It's the right attitude to have. I'm glad for at least that much. [The paladin abruptly yanks himself out of serious mode, practically by force.] Of course, enjoying yourself is valuable too!

[souris_keteer]

Enjoying myself? Whaddya mean by that?

[seesbosscrotch]

I mean you gotta enjoy what you're doing. If it's a slog, if it's terrible, if you don't put your heart into it, you're going to screw up.

[souris_keteer]

[Mickey winds up smiling all over again.]

That makes sense! You gotta put your best foot forward, otherwise you're just standing still!

[seesbosscrotch]

Exactly! And besides, if you're not having fun, you're not going to give your best to a task.

[souris_keteer]

That's a great attitude to have! You can make anythin' fun if you try!

[seesbosscrotch]

Spoken like someone who's never practiced to be a better fisherman. [Mar makes the sourest of faces.]

[souris_keteer]

Well, when we get out of here, I'll do just that! I'll practice fishing until I get better at it, and I'll make it fun!

[seesbosscrotch]

I look forward to seeing you try, it's the most damn boring thing I've ever done, and I've done some damn boring things.