December Event: No Rest for the Wicked

[lifeaftr_mods]

DECEMBER EVENT: NO REST FOR THE WICKED

Who: Anyone and everyone
What: Your trials by fire
When: December 15th - 18th
Where: On Maati and Ensō
Warnings: Character deaths and violence are both likely - please mark as you go!

The Trials: Only Then Can We Begin

As noted in the OOC info post, your Trials will all begin on December 15th. As many of you will not be deposited into your trials with food and water (or any items of your own at all, in most cases), the Trials will last only as long as December 18th. If you've failed to complete your Trial by this deadline but have not used up all the deaths allotted to you, you will awaken by Maati's mana pool at the event's conclusion. If you have not failed your Trial by using up all your deaths, this will not count as a character death, and you will not need to submit for a penalty; you simply won't be able to obtain the reward you would get if you had succeeded! When your character wakes in their allotted Trial, they will discover that their starting chamber has been inscribed with the name of the Trial, the names of those participating, and the number of deaths they have remaining - though the latter aren't labeled in any way. You'll simply have to learn it the hard way; every time your character suffers a death, the number will go down by one. If it wasn't obvious what those numbers stood for at first, by the time the dying starts properly, it certainly will be. And you probably don't want to see it go all the way down to zero...

Should you reach the end of your Trial, you will step out onto the rocky cliffs of Maati, exiting from one of the seven doors set into the cliffs at the seven points of the island's star shape. You see, those doors you discovered earlier weren't the entrances to the Trials at all. They were the exits. And set into the towering cliffs...why, those house the winding mazes that comprise the Trials themselves.

There will be a top-level below for each Trial. Remember to plan with your groups and communicate with your thread partners! Whether you choose to do mingle-style threads or lengthier group threads is up to you.

Once you know the outcome of your Trial, success OR failure, please do let us know so that we can ensure your character gets the reward that befits their triumph...or lackthereof.

Remember also to let us know if your character uses up ALL their deaths during this event. While death penalties will not be inflicted during Trial deaths, if you use up all the deaths allotted to you and die for real, your death penalty will NOT be reduced.

The Water: Don't Let Them Get Away

The rest of you have plenty to contend with as well, of course. If you've opted out of this month's event, be advise that the waters creeping across shores of Ensō, along with the rest of the island, aren't going to take evasion kindly. They'll seek you out, spread along every inch of the island if they can, until they can find you. There is a top-level below, if you're intrigued! Though if you end up top-leveling yourself, we may very well reach out and find you anyway...

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] December 15th: The Trials on Maati begin, and the water begins to rise.
[ ♆ ] December 18th: The Trials reach their end.
[ ♆ ] December 19th: Those who have "perma"-died in their Trials are revived.
[ ♆ ] December 20th: The monthly Storytelling occurs.

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

a

[flower_of_innocence]

[Lillie is just finishing refilling her water jug with clean water when Guzma becomes a whirlwind of activity and words. She knows it must be serious when he shoves a pokeball into her hands, but when she realizes just how serious he's being, her first instinct is fear. Anything that spooks Guzma has to be big trouble. Her mind wanders back to Tim's comment that the water has been a problem before. That it doesn't behave naturally.

So she doesn't argue, just nods silently and starts stuffing a change of clothes into her pack, never letting go of the pokeball. The thought of ordering Golisopod, who is even taller than Guzma for goodness sake, is intimidating. Before now, she's only playfully pretended to be a trainer with Nebby. And splash wasn't going to get them out of this mess.

And she never did ask Guzma about teaching her to battle. Lillie never imagined Goli would be the pokemon she used, either. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Goli out of the pokeball terribly often as of late. Curious, that, but now's not the time for questions. Except for one - confirmation:]

The mountain temple, right?

[yallstupid]

[That's the wonderful thing about Pokemon though - something he intends to one day teach Lillie - big or small, weak or tough, Pokemon that you take care of and treat well will always look out for you. One way or another, they're your partners through thick and thin...so long as you don't break their trust and respect in you. Like he did, but that's just to be expected of a total failure, isn't it?

Once everything truly necessary is gathered up, Guzma nods and keeps the door open for Lillie to head out first. Yeah, the mountain temple is definitely their best bet. They can take the mana pools to get there, if they aren't disabled again or something... He's still not entirely fond of that from last time, but if they get moving sooner rather than later, they won't have to figure out another means of escape. He can already see the water creeping up well past the shore, slinking over the grass now... Ugh, the plank bridges to the mana pools are probably flooded already, they're going to have to swim...or surf.

Welp, no time like the present to learn to command a pokemon. Hopefully Lillie learns well under pressure.]

...Might be a change of plans. I'll tell y'all if and when we may need Golisopod, but it might be sooner more'n later. Depends on how bad them rope bridges been flooded. Got everything?

[flower_of_innocence]

Okay. I think so, yes.

[Nebby doesn't resist at all as she helps it into the bag. Perhaps it senses the danger, or perhaps it's simply getting better at listening.

Normally she'd double check the rest of her gear, but there's an urgency in Guzma's posture and voice that she isn't oblivious to. Right now she just wants to get out the door and up to the temple, where hopefully they can wait out the rising tide without the heat getting to them too badly. But barely two steps from the shack her gut twists. The rope bridges are, predictably, half submerged in water. She should have known - they live right next to one and the water was already so far up the shore...

She's going to have to command a pokemon, isn't she? Guzma won't do it for her, not even in this situation, because that's not the kind of person he is. Suddenly, the pokeball in her hand feels twice as heavy.]

[yallstupid]

[They sure are submerged, and Guzma knows that dangerous tigersharks prowl the waters around the bridges, waiting for someone to slip in or get a little too close to the sides. They're usually pretty good about keeping their distance, but when they're hungry and size up smaller folk, like Lillie, they can be bad news. And with the water rising like it is, they can't even take shelter in the shallows.

He breathes out a bit as the water squishes against his sneakers and he takes a step back. Is it even safe going in there? I mean, what other choice do they have? Better to test their luck and see what happens, right? Guzma's not the type to stand around and do nothing, he's a man of action, but he notes Lillie's hesitation and claps a large hand on the top of her head and gives her a rough but affectionate shake.]

Chin up, kid, you got this. Just toss the ball and ask 'im to ferry us across. Golisopod likes you, he'll do it no problem. [I mean, he'll definitely do it for Lillie, but Guzma himself is...a toss up. Lillie might need to exert her, erm...'fierceness', if Golisopod decides two passengers is too many.]

[flower_of_innocence]

[The hand on her head makes her wince, more out of habit than any kind of fear, but Lillie nods and steels her nerves as best she can. Just do it like Luna would. Which is a nonsense notion, she thinks - her, without hesitation or fear, just saying 'Golisopod, please take us across to the next islet' without her voice wavering. But Guzma is right. Goli likes her and she likes him. That's the first step to being a half-decent trainer, isn't it? Liking each other enough to want to build up trust?

So she tosses the pokeball gently and feels a rush of excitement as Golisopod appears in a flash of red light, and only fumbles a little when it kicks back into her hands. Just do it like...no, do it like Lillie would.]

Golisopod, we need help getting to the next islet. The bridges are flooded. Could you please take us there?

[yallstupid]

[That's not an uncommon reaction, but definitely one Guzma notes. He'll keep it in the back of his mind for another time, and deviate from it in the future. For now, he's a bit distracted. When Golisopod emerges from its pokeball, he seems to visibly tense, and his expression goes from hard and serious to...blank, stony. Quiet. Quieter than Guzma usually, is, considering his big mouth and hammy attitude.

Golisopod looms over Lillie by a good foot or two - taller even than Guzma by several inches - but blinks calmly at her and nods his head obediently. He lumbers toward the rope bridges and lowers himself down in the shallow water for Lillie to climb up onto his back, peering over his shoulder and waiting for her. Looks like all is well, until Guzma takes a step toward the immense insect and its calm demeanor changes in an instant. Its features darken, antennae stiff and mouth open just slightly. Enough to rumble out a throaty bellow, the curved parts of his shell quivering with the vibrations.

Guzma doesn't so much as flinch, his expression still stoic and entirely quiet as he steps back and his shoulders seem to drop. There's a very...dejected aura about him, but he doesn't say anything, nor does he meet the Pokemon's eye.]

[flower_of_innocence]

[Guzma's shift is not well hidden and Lillie almost asks if he feels sick before realizing he wouldn't admit if he was. She worries about what she can do if he isn't okay - they don't have a lot of medical supplies, as far as she's aware, and taking the time to gather natural supplies isn't really feasible in the present circumstances.

So she swallows that fear and climbs onto Golisopod's back. Before she can say 'thank you', he's reacting so negatively to Guzma that she is shocked into speaking her immediate mind.]

Goli! What in the world's gotten into you? Guzma's your partner!

[She's afraid to look at Guzma's reaction. There's something he hasn't told her. Something that must have happened in her absence. That said, she did just yell at his pokemon out of shock. Softer, but still quite sternly, she adds:]

Guzma is your friend. Friends don't leave each other behind.

[yallstupid]

[Guzma's a bit shocked by the outburst from the young girl in his defense, and he's about to say it's fine - he can make it across another way - but his Pokemon seems to react to her words somewhat. Golisopod's growls quiet to a low rumble, and he turns his head first from Lillie to his so-called 'partner' giving Guzma a long and hard look. Seconds tick by like years, before the huge insect grunts, tosses his head, and lowers some for Guzma to grab on from behind.

Not much, but it's something. Guzma exhales, slowly approaching his Pokemon and cautiously putting a hand on his back before holding onto the harder, curved pieces of his carapace, lying flat against the bug's back as Lillie sits closer toward the head.]

...A-All set. [Guzma chokes out, clearing his throat. Not much for words right now, honestly. Hopefully you can carry them forward, Lillie.]

[flower_of_innocence]

[Golispod relents, and so does Lillie, but there's an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Ren gave the impression that things had been okay in her absence. Guzma hadn't let on about anything going awry. Why was everyone so adverse to telling her the truth? Did they think she couldn't take it, or was it just so awful they didn't want to relive it?]

Thank you, Golisopod. Now please, take us to the mana pool - we shouldn't stay in the water too long, it could be dangerous.

[She pats his shell very lightly in encouragement and silent apology. She'll sneak you a treat from dinner or something, but no more fooling around right now. Tigersharks and Arceus-knows-what-else lurk in these waters.

And as for Guzma, she'll...probably just wait for him to explain on his own time, if he ever does, but she chews on the idea of confronting him when things calm down anyway.]