look at me, i'm the wound you tried to hide

[promittere]

ANDANTE ALLA WANING CRESCENT

Another day dawns for the Sage's wizards. It's been a month, now, since arriving in this world and being given a task nobody seems to fully understand—though after the jobs the Southern and Central wizards have taken on, it seems like it might just be possible after all.

And it seems like there's another task for the wizards, from the Eastern nation. However, unlike the other requests the Sage has been fielding, this task is far too big for five wizards alone. This is a task everyone will need to help tackle, whether they like it or not. Those that aren't particularly altruistic will still be whisked together by Tatara and Lazuli both, and they may still find the journey...illuminating. Answers to what happened to the original wizards may be just within reach.

Traveling via the elevator at the manor is familiar to some of you, at least, Lazuli setting a mana stone into the control not a surprise in a the slightest. The fact all of you can, somehow, fit in the elevator comfortably may be a surprise, but it's best not to dwell on it too much. You'll be staying at the City of Rain, Lazuli tells you with the air of someone reading you a court sentence, but you've been tasked with clearing up the site of some sort of disaster. He doesn't have much information beyond that—a fact that seems to greatly annoy him—and he warns you not to break any of the City of Rain's laws well before you're out of the elevator.

Which that shouldn't be too difficult, right? Right...?

Perhaps not, as the rules of the city are extreme. There are certain areas which forbid socialization and talking entirely, some areas where only talking to strangers is forbidden, only a handful of businesses allow chatter of any sort, and the list goes on. The most pressing law of all, though, is very simple: no use of any sort of magic within city limits. Do your best to follow the rules because breaking them will result in an arrest, and do you really want Lazuli and Tatara bailing you out? With the rules laid out and lodging sorted, Lazuli ushers you to the site you're tasked with dealing with. You will have downtime to explore the city, though, as it's expected to take several days to clear things up.

The site is a terrible, terrible mess. In what must have once been a peaceful patch of wilderness, there now sits a terrible gouge in the earth, several meters deep and twice as wide across, hollowed by what must have been a powerful force. The dirt is gray and sandy, dead in the manner the Southern wizards will recognize. Plants on the edges of the crater are dry and withered and splintered and broken. Permeating the air is a lingering dread, one both Southern and Central wizards will immediately recognize...

But it is clear now, now that your magic is considerably stronger, that the spirits are agitated by the disturbance in the fabric of magic. Dark clouds hang low over the site, and low thunder rumbles in the constant threat of a storm that will never come. The spirits' agitation, coupled with the dread hanging in the air, will feel uncomfortable, and perhaps leave the more sensitive of the bunch feeling on edge. This is not something that can will resolve on its own, so your most important task is to calm the spirits. That means doing the things they like: playing music, dancing, praying, telling stories, wearing fanciful and whimsical clothes to soothe their temperaments.

Your second most important task is to clear out monsters. The unusual energy in the air is attractive to beasts magical in nature—they slink out of their hiding places in the deep wilderness to the area, and their presence is threatening the humans who regularly use the nearby routes for trade and to commute. Kill them, take their mana stones for yourself. Win-win.

The third task is general clean-up. Remove the dead plants from the earth, remove the broken trees and any natural debris that might prove to be a hindrance. Characters are more than welcome to search inside the crater for any hint or clue as to what might have caused this strange explosion, but they'll find the site picked clean, earth having fallen into cavities where there might have been larger objects present at one point...like someone was here to clear out any evidence.

JOB BOARD

Reinforcement. Peace in Granvelle Castle has been restored. A liveliness and energy has returned to the castle and the surrounding parts of the city that hasn't been seen in nearly a month. Thank your Central friends for their hard work!

Their issues aren't quite resolved, however. The castle is asking for help in creating and then reinforcing a magical barrier around the castle. The barrier is a bit bigger than what one wizard alone is capable of at this point, so band together to create and reinforce what parts you can. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to use your own hair or blood as a conduit.

The type of barrier is specific, however—they want one that masks magical signatures. If you step inside, you'll feel a faint, but powerful presence within... What are they guarding?

Recycling. The Eastern country is known for its expertise in all things mechanical, particularly when it comes to clockwork. While not as bombastic or flashy as Western technology, the use of magic and mana stones being deeply frowned upon and rejected, Eastern artisans can create truly fantastical things just with gears and cogs and a bit of know-how... But, of course, sometimes it's better to scrap something and create something new than let the old items waste away, so some Eastern craftsman have asked for help gathering clockwork automatons and other creations in order to melt it all back down. Some of them seem a bit nervous and harried, but it's an easy enough job to scrap automatons and cart junk around.

Monster hunting. The few settlements in the North have been sending in frantic request after frantic request. There has been a disturbing increase in monster activity in the North, and the native Northern wizards are as unreliable as ever. They need your help in thinning the numbers, and that's all they really ask for—you can keep all the mana stones you earn.

For those of you who haven't been to the North yet, the weather is harsh, no matter the season. Protection on oneself to survive the negative degrees is crucial; make sure your magic is up to snuff enough to keep yourself at least room temperature. And using your magic to battle on top of that? This isn't going to be an easy job, not at your level. Be cautious, and good luck.

Mana areas & amulets. You've been here for a month now, and living in an unfamiliar place, alongside unfamiliar people, using unfamiliar magic must be wearing you down. Isn't it? In that case, it's time for the last piece of your wizardhood puzzle: your mana area.

Mana areas are spots where wizards feel most at peace with themselves, most whole, and a place where they can refill on the emotional load they've been chipping away at for their magic. It can be a specific location, or a conditional circumstance. Find more detail on the magic page. Your task—given to you by your sage and your mentor—is to traverse the continent, find your mana area, and recharge your batteries, so to speak. While there, make an amulet to take back with you, like a portable battery.

WANDERER TASKS

Listen to the spirits.

You've been here long enough that it's time to see if you can actually communicate with the spirits who've laid claim on you and have been empowering your spells. Try your listen and see if you can hear what they have to say to you.

OOC Note: For those attempting this task, ping one of the mods and roll a dice! Based on the dice roll, your character will get a little tidbit from the spirits... Or they might not hear anything yet, but they can always dedicate themselves to their studies and try again after leveling up!

TATARA ACTIVITIES

Don't make promises.

If you've made a promise, don't break it.

If you break a promise, you'll lose your magic. And I don't know if I can help you anymore or send you home if that happens. I'm sorry this is so late. But please...be careful.

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your third event! Everyone's lasted a month, congratulations! Keep working on your magic, keep forging those bonds.
🌙 As your characters settle into the world, they might find themselves irresistibly drawn to crowds, to music, to dancing. It's hard to resist the allure of a gathering, and it's hard to keep yourself from swaying to music when it fills your ears, no matter what sort of person you used to be. You're changing...
🌙 As we enter the second month, we are announcing a deadline for finding your pairs. This will be Friday, June 14 at 11:59 PM EDT. Remember, you may submit a guess at any time, and there is no penalty for getting a guess wrong, so long as you have a thread to back up your guess and consent from your partner. The pair page is here.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting on this post, as not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
🌙 Next up for missions is East. Let's hope they don't have to talk to anyone for this one.

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[fellheart]

... Do you think it was a mercy, that she was herself only briefly before she died? Or do you think she would have been better off passing while still ignorant of what and who she was?

[ reminding her of what she once had, and can no longer go back to. what she has lost, and is losing alongside her life. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

It was a mercy. ...It's hard to explain, but before she was gone, it felt like I could see her smiling.

[fellheart]

... I see. If that was her reaction ... Yes, I imagine you must be right. A release from the misery her existence must have become.

Then you were the young mage. [ ... ] And what of the researchers? Did they learn the follies of their actions, [ said as if only barely concealing a scoff, all things considered, ] or did they simply escape with the slap on the wrist that was having their experiments stopped?

[ because from the sounds of the story he has a pretty decent suspicion of which it's going to be. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Nope, it wasn't me. Good guess, though.

I was there - but I wasn't the one who brought back her humanity for that brief moment.

[As a matter of fact, the plans he proposed were just, bad, all across the board. Oops!]

As for the researchers... Well, the project was shut down when it was discovered, at least. No idea if they were punished for their crimes or not, especially since the only solution they could come up with was sweeping it under the rug by trapping her there.

[And as much as he'd like to hope they were punished, well... given the cynical tone, he doesn't really believe that's what actually went down.]

[fellheart]

[ he just examines ahito again for a moment, expression briefly going carefully blank...

before eventually he smiles again, no mirth in the expression. ]

Men like that so rarely get what they deserve. A pity.

[dyingtohealyou]

[...?

Maybe that type of thing struck a chord with Robin, too. Not that Ahito would know, unless he was told.]

There's plenty of projects like that, never getting stopped. The fact that this one was makes it an outlier.

[fellheart]

[ robin will reveal as much as robin chooses to: that is to say, usually... very little. that said: ]

Oh, you don't have to tell me that. Maybe the crimes aren't exactly the same, but I've seen my fair share of human cruelties and unethical science as well. I could even return ... a similar sort of story, perhaps, if that's something you'd like told.

Though if you'd rather not hear it after something as sobering as that, I'd understand as well.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He shrugs.]

I don't mind listening. What's your story?

[fellheart]

Hmm. All right then.

In the ancient city of Thabes, there once lived an alchemist called Forneus. Even in a city that had been known for its power and prosperity he was proclaimed for his genius, and regarded as a marvel.

... Or, he was at first, anyway.

[dyingtohealyou]

...

What'd he do?

[fellheart]

One day, or night, or whatever it was ... his wife died. Supposedly, he was never quite the same since.

Not that anyone knew it at first, of course. When a man goes mad he doesn't always do so quickly, not always obviously. He'd had a workshop, and he devoted much of his time to his work. This wasn't new.

But unbeknownst to the people of the city and the senate ruling it, Forneus became obsessed with two things: reanimating the dead, and creating new life. Holed away in his workshop, he slaved away in pursuit of these goals.

... Eventually, people within the vicinity of his workshop started disappearing under mysterious circumstances.

[dyingtohealyou]

...More experiments.

[Naturally, as if there were any doubt where this story had been heading from the start.]

[fellheart]

That seems to be the case, doesn't it? In any case, the Senate took notice. They sent summons, calling for Forneus to emerge from his workshop and either address or answer for these happenings.

He didn't respond. They kept sending missives, and he ignored them all. So then they sent soldiers, their best and brightest, to apprehend and retrieve the man...

But not a single one returned.

[dyingtohealyou]

How long did it take them to realize they were just sending him more materials?

[fellheart]

To their credit, at least, not that long. When the soldiers they sent didn't come back, they didn't keep trying. Instead they gave up on forcing the man to emerge, gave up on those who had disappeared, and instead decided to seal him in with his workshop: no one in, no one out. It was a powerful binding, one meant to last until the city itself was reclaimed by the sands it was built upon. Forneus would be known henceforth as the Demon Alchemist.

... But I suppose you imagine the story doesn't quite end there?

[dyingtohealyou]

...Especially not, now that you've mentioned that.

What happened after he was sealed away?

[fellheart]

Who can really say...? No one was allowed in after they sealed it shut, after all.

[ he cracks a wry smile, spreads his arms like what can you do. of course, before the pause grows too long, he huffs a small breath and continues. ]

But of course, the city eventually crumbled. Forneus' legacy was forgotten. The seal eventually weakened, enough such that someone could remove the physical anchor of it... and step inside the ancient workshop.

The only things waiting within it were monsters and dead things, and monstrous dead things. Perhaps the only thing that was left to do for them was to lay them to a long denied rest...

Still, fragments of Forneus' journals could be found in the remains of his workshop. They spoke of his love for these pitiful creatures, these terrible Death Masks he pioneered. They were so obedient, so faithful, of course he would adore something he had such absolute control over. But still other entries spoke of a different project: his project to create life. And at first...

Well, at first they spoke of triumph. Of success found despite the senate attempting to put a stop to his actions. The perfect life he was trying to create took, and began to grow. The entries spoke of how that creation smiled at him, and his doubts starting to fester ... Ah, could that creation have a will of its own?

[ his smile is, perhaps, a little sharp. ]

As it grew beneath his watchful gaze, he began to fear the thing he created. "That thing has become a dangerous existence nobody can control," his final entry reads. "It pains me, but I have decided to destroy it with my own hands."

... and that's the last thing he ever wrote. The accounts come to an abrupt end after that. I think we can both guess at what happened to him, hm?

[dyingtohealyou]

...A fool to the end.

[No surprise - not even a bit of pity. Well, except for perhaps-]

...What happened to his creation?

[fellheart]

Hm? Perhaps it was slain alongside the other terrors trapped within when people started searching through the labyrinth that housed it.

Why do you ask?

[dyingtohealyou]

I don't envy other test subjects.

[Simple as that.]

[fellheart]

... And what if it deserved the reaction it got? Forneus was a terrible man, after all.

What kind of terrible monstrosity must it have been, to make a man like that fear it?

Those who entered the labyrinth weren't exploring it to try to free any survivors, after all. Any of those ... would have starved to death long ago. Anything that yet survived must have been a monster.

[dyingtohealyou]

The girl who'd been turned into a monster tried to kill us when we woke her up, too.

[She'd lost her mind and become the living weapon her creators had so wanted.]

Doesn't mean I think she deserved it.

[fellheart]

... The creation was struck down like the other hostile creatures in the labyrinth, of course. Even if Forneus had originally strove to create a perfect being, those who first reentered the workshop had the power of a divinely blessed weapon to call upon, and all the creation would have known were the ages it spent in the tomb that man's workshop had become.

That said, first-hand accounts from those who traversed the depths mentioned that they could still feel a lingering presence there, even after the creation was slain.

So ... who knows. Perhaps it yet lives on in some form.

[dyingtohealyou]

...Hang on... if you knew what happened, why didn't you explain it earlier?

[Are you an unreliable narrator robin!!]

[fellheart]

I honestly hadn't thought the finer details of old, dusty accounts that relevant to the ending of the story at the time?

Plus it's mostly speculation anyway, based off the accounts of those who had just made their way through a decrepit and quite tangibly haunted labyrinth— the main truth I told you earlier hasn't changed. It was slain by those who entered the tomb.