out of options for who i can be

[promittere]

LIGHT UP THE FIREWORKS

Lazuli seems… agitated, this morning. Not so much in the sense that he’s irritable (because that's just normal, really), but it seems as if something has gotten under his skin. He keeps looking up, out the windows or out over the horizon, and it seems eventually he grows tired of whatever it is bothering him. He accosts whoever it is that seems to have little to do this day, gathering a group of competent (...?) wizards.

“I need you to come with me,” he says, arms crossed and a furrow between his brows. “Something’s not right, even more than things usually aren't right.”

Vague, but do you really have the option to ignore him? You can certainly try, but it won’t get you anywhere. You’re being dragged onto this impromptu excursion whether you want to go or not. Lazuli drags the group to the elevator, using a mana stone to transport everyone to the Northern tower. On the other side is the same snowy wasteland that’s always there, and nothing seems amiss no matter how hard you strain your senses. Lazuli seems to get even more tense, though, summoning and mounting his broom.

“Follow me. We can talk while we fly, but we don’t have long.”

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to the mini-event! This isn't going to be anything too crazy and not likely to impact the trajectory of the game too terribly if you spend the entire thing just fucking around and finding out, so just have fun! If you play your cards right, though, you might find yourselves a new ally.

» NAVIGATION

Comments

ENTERING THE FOREST...?

[promittere]

[As Lazuli said, eventually he has to split off to go handle his own thing, which leaves the six of them unattended... But with how pressing things are, surely they can keep on task? Right? Or at the very least they're curious enough about the Forest of Dreams to keep heading forward.

As they fly further towards the forest, eventually they find themselves drifting downwards, slowly losing elevation. Even if they try to tilt their brooms back upwards, they find themselves unable to, as if they're too weak to fight whatever it is dragging themselves down. Eventually, their ability to sustain flight at all vanishes, but they're low enough by then their crash to the ground isn't as devastating as it could be. They'll only suffer a few minor bumps and bruises, but they should be well enough protected between their charms and magic to stave off even that much.

Seems they'll have to go the rest of the way on foot, but the forest isn't that far. The tree line is just a few dozen yards away, and they can already see that something is wrong with the forest. Even if most of them have not visited the forest, it's readily apparent that something terrible has happened. The Forest of Dreams is known for being as beautiful as it is deadly, with vibrant leaves and glimmering crystals making it somewhere bright and colorful, a stark difference to much of the North, but the forest they're approaching is... dark, in a literal sense, and as they get closer it becomes clear that the forest has started to wither away, leaving behind trees that are faded and dead.

To Comet, who had seen the effects of the moon fragment in the fields of the South, it should look familiar, even if they can't sense the same ominous presence... Which makes it all the stranger, then. What could have caused something like this happened?]

[foresightis2020]

Keep yourselves alert, everyone.

[ Jing Yuan simply says; thankfully protective spells have been helpful in staving off annoyances like bruises or anything else. ]

And do please stick as close as possible.

[ He steps forward still, to take a closer look at their immediate surroundings. Beyond the fact things have started to wither, are there any other indications of where they should go? A path? Strange things peering out? Or, rather, anything that could be strangely pinged, magic-wise? ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[As they get dragged down to the forest, Ahito quickly casts what he hopes is a decent enough barrier over himself, and then Kurapika to try to ward off the toxins, purely by virtue of having been flying near him at the time.]

This... doesn't look right.

[foresightis2020]

...No, it doesn't.

[ Fun awaits them, huh? ]

[annihilator]

[Malice lands easily - that's the benefit of being a vampire and being able to heal yourself from any falls - and immediately casts a protection spell on himself. It's not exactly the strongest, but it should do for now.]

An' keep an eye out for anythin' odd! Well. More odd than this.

[This is already pretty odd as it is!!

Anyway, can his vampire senses pick out any movement or oddities? Any signs of danger here? And while we're at it, can we feel anything going on with the spirits?]

[promittere]

[There's no movement in the forest, as far as he can see. It's not exactly a place people go to a lot to begin with, if they can help it, and the air seems incredibly still...

Which actually might be the strangest part, as Malice... can't feel the presence of any spirits. He's still capable of casting his spell, but he can't sense any spirits, which... should be impossible, as far as he knows.]

[annihilator]

[Another point just to clarify: is it an unnatural stillness like there's no wildlife present either, or is it just your basic stillness expected of an area like this, out of the way?]

...Huh. That's weird.

[He turns to the others, head tipped to the side.]

Any of y'all sense the spirits? I ain't exactly great at communicatin' with 'em so maybe it's just me but... it feels like they ain't here.

[Ominous!!]

[promittere]

[Unnatural stillness. Don't even see a single bitchass squirrel out there in the forest, like all life has been drained away.]

[foresightis2020]

True. And there is bound to be certainly more oddities around.

[ For better or worse. ]

[annihilator]

Seems like there ain't any threats around right now, but I'll keep an eye out.

[Hopefully his vampire senses will come in handy if they do run into danger!! But for now we seem to be in the clear.]

[promittere]

[There are paths through the forest, left there by those who have tried to hurry their way through, and the natural gaps between trees, but there's nothing that seems especially out of place from outside of the forest that would point them in any particular direction... They're going to have to enter and explore, first.]

[revengier]

It seems like we'll need to go inside to really figure out what's going on, doesn't it?

[ Ugh... he really doesn't want to. He'll look towards the others before first taking that step into the forest itself. ]

Be sure you have your protective charms on you. [ ... ] Shall we?

[annihilator]

[Onwards we go!]

Yeah, c'mon, let's get explorin'!

[dyingtohealyou]

Hey, careful. Everyone have their wards against toxins up?

[foresightis2020]

Of course.

[ gotta be prepared!! ]

[revengier]

I've been casting them ever since we learned we'll need them.

[ He's being good. No more curses. ]

[foresightis2020]

[ Well, that seems lovely. Between everything looking like something foul is afoot and no-spirits-are-us happening, hrm... ]

Yes, let's make a move on.

[ He will match Kurapika's steps, and just...kind of summon Starfall Reverie into his hand. You know, just in case?

As for protective magic, he's already made sure to put some on. ]

[jorunna]

[ Nods! ]

[promittere]

[Entering the forest, nothing immediately jumps out at them, and they're not met with a wave of crushing despair or magic. It's nothing like what Kurapika's experienced while off getting cursed in Central, where the air was heavy with dread and anxiety... The world is just quiet like the dead.

The deeper into the forest they go, the more things seem to divert from the familiar for them all. The withered trees begin to fade in color, as well as the ground they're walking on, until all that's left is white tree trunks, white dirt, and white snow falling from the sky, the forest growing sparser as they continue on.

It feels as if the life has been drained from the forest, but it's not like what the moon fragments have done.

Though now it seems they have a heading—they can see something large in the distance, that almost looks like a man-made structure.]

[foresightis2020]

Hmmm...I wonder what exactly caused this?

[ That sure is an odd...ity.

But, it doesn't mean it's anything comforting. No, not anywhere near that. By the way, as they're walking and things are further changed in regards to a fade in color, are they able to sense any lingering magic/spirits at all?

Or is there still nada?

How big is this structure, while we're at it? ]

[revengier]

[ It's strange, watching the color practically fade from their surroundings. Kurapika holds out a hand, catching some of the snowflakes falling from the sky and landing amongst the dead trees.

Ah, but eventually... it seems like there's something ahead. ]

See that?

[ He points to it, though he doesn't make a move towards it. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Squinting into the distance at the structure. Does it look like a building, or something else like a sculpture or...?]

[jorunna]

[ yup, that's familiar to see, but otherwise... Comet
closes their eyes to concentrate and find that ominous presence anywhere close like before, to no avail. ]

It's like what happened to the fields during the South's mission... But I can't sense something like the moon rock.

[revengier]

[ Ah... this sure is bad. Good thing Kurapika has been working on casting protection charms on himself ever since Lazuli disclosed how dangerous this place is. ]

Do you think it might be something similar?

[jorunna]

[ Comet tilts their head. ]

Maybe... But I guess we'll have to go in deeper to be sure.

Carefully.