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

[shatteredlenses]

[I made a big mistake earlier.

The words cause ice cold dread to fill his chest. Unconscionably, he begins rubbing the fingers of his left hand together. Ignis knows what she is saying--what she must mean behind the vague words--even if the last thing he wants to do is admit it.

Bloody hell, why her? Why her when she already gives so much of herself?]

You're infected...

[It's not a question nor is it a statement. It's something he desperately wants her to deny even though he knows, deep down, she cannot.]

[encircling]

[ She winces a little, because she can tell from the tone of his voice that he's worried. Maybe she should have just lied. ]

It's... it didn't happen that long ago. There... might be something we can do.

[ ... but if there were a way to fix it, those monsters wouldn't have turned to crystal, right? The thought crosses her mind and makes her feel sick. ]

[shatteredlenses]

[Right. They don't know much about the infection, but that just means there is more they can try to stop it. Especially if she wasn't infected long ago.]

Can you tell me where the infection site is? What does it look like? Do you think my regenerative skill may help drive it out?

[He needs to focus worry into action. It is much more productive that way.]

[encircling]

It's... on my arm. That thing, it slashed me when I tried t-- when I got too close. It's...

[ She doesn't like looking at it one bit, but she does, and she winces. ]

It looks like there's crystal growing out of the wound. I've tried healing it, but... nothing works. Still, I'll try anything, so if you'd like to try, I won't stop you.

[shatteredlenses]

Like my thumb, though I didn't run into any of the creatures myself. I just had a lot of contact with the crystals as I tried to guide myself through the caverns.

[Ignis finally lets his left hand come into view. It looks almost normal until he turns it palm up and the pad of his bare thumb becomes visible. It's peppered with small, but clearly embedded chunks of green crystal.]

I would like to try. If your healing magic did nothing, I suspect mine will be just as useless, but our magic comes from different worlds, so there is always a small chance.

[He's barely stopped talking when the magic washes over them much like it had when they first met. Too bad it will have no affect on the crystals marring their skin.]

[encircling]

... Oh.

[ She frowns, imagining him trying to navigate, all alone. Actually, it's downright heartbreaking, and Mira suddenly wishes she had found him sooner. Maybe then she wouldn't have been so foolish, maybe... maybe he wouldn't be infected, too. ]

I... at this point, like I said... I'll try anything. [ But there's a voice in the back of her head that tells her it won't do a thing. His magic, at least, feels like it did during their first meeting. Refreshing, calming, somehow, but now... it doesn't help. When the feeling dissipates, she tries and fails to put on a smile he'll never see. ]

I guess it wouldn't have been that easy.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis isn't exactly pleased with the Storyteller right now. Logically, he knows that the sigils probably had more to do with him being left alone in the caverns than any malicious intent on the behalf of their odd little god did. Right now they don't really have time to focus on that, though. Just like they don't have time to focus on 'maybes' or 'what ifs.']

Right. No matter.

[He'd had little hope in his healing working, but that doesn't mean he's still not disappointed in the total lack of a response. Okay. One plan down. They just need to move to the next.]

I know this is probably a difficult question, but can you tell me a little more about the creature you ran into?