♥ November Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

November (Malom) Event Log
The chaos of Lasohm's invasion is still fresh in the mind, but it's over. The ugly scar of the hole in Havenwell's wall is a jarring reminder that this world is dying and nothing goes quietly into that dark night. The phantom is gone as Malom overtakes Lasohm, the weather turning colder and chillier with each passing day. Still, the city of Havenwell has all of you offworlders to thank for its survival, and the fearful citizens make sure you know just how much they appreciate you by stopping you on the street to say their thanks. Your new home still needs your help to recover from their ordeal though, so will you lend them your strength once more?

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❥ PROMPT I: Rebuilding Effort

The magic barrier over the hole that unknown monster punched through Havenwell's wall is repaired, stopping the onslaught and encouraging any other nightmares that lurk outside to move on and away, but the hole itself remains. Throughout the month of Malom, robot natives are working tirelessly to gather bricks and stone and patch the breach, but they could use some help. Work together with other offworlders and natives alike to repair the wall and be rewarded with a handsome bump to the Dora in your bank account. They need all sorts of help, from clearing away the dead bodies of the spider-like creatures for cremation, to retrieving and hauling stone for the wall, to actually slotting the heavy blocks into place to cement them back together.

Outside the barrier, now clearly visible through the hole, a storm rages on, obscuring the view of the world beyond it. Gray and black clouds whip against the invisible barrier, and occasional debris slams into it, causing the impact site to light up with silver, pink, blue, or white hues before it fades away again. It seems even without monsters, the world outside is as inhospitable as was rumored.

Work together or take a break along the base of the wall and get to know your fellow offworlders a little better. It's going to take a while before this mess is cleaned up.

❥ PROMPT II: Air Sickness

Those who worked at or were near the breach in the wall for any extended period of time will notice that, over time, it gets harder to breathe. Then they begin to feel feverish, even if they don't have flesh bodies or are immune to disease. Their bodies ache and groan and it gets harder to move about without help. Once the natives notice, they set up a recovery area away from where the breach occurred: a giant tent with cots and pillows, thick rugs and blankets to keep the chill away. Unfortunately, they don't have medicines available to treat flesh bodied people, so they're at a loss of what to do otherwise. The priests gather anyone who is ill and brings them here...which is when a curious thing occurs.

While conventional medicines and healing spells seem to have no effect on the illness, staying in contact with another person alleviates the symptoms. After a period of contact with another person or persons, the fever breaks and it's like you were never sick at all.

Return to the wall, however, and you'll notice your symptoms coming back with a vengeance after a few days. It seems that making regular trips between the wall and this recovery tent is the only way to keep working. At least it's an easy fix so long as you're not a germaphobe.

❥ PROMPT III: A Tasty(?) Reward

Toward the end of the month as the hole in the wall is completely repaired and the risk of illness declines, a message is sent to all the offworlders' communication devices. Those who choose to open it will find a very official looking message from The Havenwell Council that reads:

Greetings, Saviours of Havenwell!
We of the Havenwell Council greet you and wish to express our eternal gratitude for your valiant efforts to keep our wonderful home safe. Without you, we would not have survived this terrible onslaught. As such, we wish to express our gratitude in a more concrete form. Your emissary, Magolor, has been in contact with this venerable Council and has brought to our attention that your greatest concern is for the food available. We apologize that due to our inability to taste we have been unable to supply you with satisfactory meals.

To that end, we invite you to work with our scientists to improve upon the taste of currently available offerings from our replicators. Please come to the Northern Research Tower (map included) at any time this month to sample what our replicators can produce and give us feedback on their flavour and textures. We ask that you be as specific as possible in your criticisms so we may improve upon your general quality of life. Please feel free to bring as many friends as you wish.

May the Gods Protect You,
Havenwell Council, Community Liaisons

Those who take the invitation will arrive at the Northern Research Tower and be taken directly to the 40th floor, where a large banquet hall has been laid out. Five rectangular tables, over 5 meters long each, stretch down the room, creating aisles for people to walk down. At the far end are several high round tables, covered in white cloth, and high round stools for those who wish them. The tables are overflowing with food, much like the welcome dinner, but at each table and scattered throughout the room are scientist robots with arm bands that read "Experiment 73" in that peculiar Aellyn script you saw during your time at the Archives. They invite you to taste the foods - both raw and cooked - and to give your very honest opinions.

Enjoy the food, help them improve the flavours, and walk the room to talk with the others who have come. Those who participate will receive a small synthetic fruit basket to take home with them on their first visit. Feel free to come back as often as you like, however! Each time, they'll be changing and adjusting the food available so your first and last visit may be very different. Perhaps that strawberry actually even tastes sweet, finally.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Virtual Spa

The VR cafes are uncharacteristically quiet while the rebuilding effort goes on, but there are still those who come to plug in to unwind after a day of intensive labor. And what better way to unwind than with a hot bath, right? Since the people of Havenwell can't actually submerge themselves in water, they're doing the next best thing: going to a virtual hot spring. There are several types to choose from and despite being digital, their calming and soothing effects on the body seem very real. Choose from:

• The Classic Outdoors: a rock lined hot spring with natural rock floors and steamy mineral infused waters nestled in the mountains. All around you is beautiful greenery like a sweeping pine and low fragrant bushes. The serene air and the calm forest is only occasionally broken by the sound of a wooden pipe thudding hollowly against a rock at a steady interval or the sound of birdsong off in the trees. The relaxing atmosphere is enough to set even the tightest wound nerves at ease.
  
  
• The Marbled Columns: white and painted marble columns lead to a series of different shaped baths with statues of the gods pouring water into them. Each bath has a different healing property, which is clearly marked with a plaque at the rim of each: good for your circulation, your bones, your aches and pains, even acne and metabolic rate. The columns support a beautiful open ceiling that shows the perfectly blue sky overhead dotted with the occasional cloud.
  
  
• The Steamy Sauna: though seemingly austere in their white tile and deep blue bath basins, the air here is thick and steamy and the baths are deep with hand-rails leading down steps to help you enter. All around the basins are stone or wooden benches with towels laid down for those who wish to simply sit and let the warm air open their lungs. If you get too hot? Grab a bucketful of cold water from one of the freestanding tubs and douse yourself to get a shock and cool off.
  
  
• The Milk-and-Honey: a beautifully tiled bath with a large shallow rectangular basin. The surrounding walls and ceilings have blue, white, and gold geometric designs laid out with loving care in pleasant designs that ease the mind. The bath water here is filled with a concoction of milk and honey to soothe and smooth the skin, filling the air with a pleasing sweet scent. The effects of these baths on a person's skin is said to make them glow from the inside out for at least a day after bathing.
  
  
• The Theme Park: the first thing to greet you is the comically oversized bottle of red wine tipped to pour a continuous stream of red liquid into the large crystalline bath basin. The smell of wine is heavy but pleasant in the air and the crystalline basin is round and shaped like a wine glass. Climb up the glass steps and give yourself a good old soak in the red water. You might even find that taking a dip here gives you a heady happiness that lasts all day. And if it feels like you're a little drunk while there? That has to be your imagination! ...Maybe.

Hot springs are great to experience with friends to deepen that feeling of skinship you have with each other, and several Havenwell natives are doing just that. But what about those who don't have a friend to log in with? Don't worry! The game will randomly select another player from this or another facility and match you together. Isn't that nice? We're sure it is! Who doesn't want to talk to someone else while naked, right?

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This event will run from November 14th to the 31st. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread here.

Comments

[whenyouneedme]

"Uh-huh."

He saw that. He also saw everyone too polite to push the issue get shooed off.

"And what were you planning on doing after that, huh?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

What else does one do when they've finished with their break?

"Go... back to working?"

Obviously?

[whenyouneedme]

Clearly.

"And your plan when you pass out?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

H u h ?

"I wasn't going to pass out?"

[whenyouneedme]

Tut tut.

"You didn't think doing heavy lifting with a fever might end up that way?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

With a what now

"I - ... a fever?"

He is legitimately, genuinely, honestly baffled at this information. Oh, that was what Kai had been doing earlier? Checking him for a fever?

[whenyouneedme]

"Yeah."

Honestly, Kai would have expected this more out of himself.

"Like the one you've got. Y'didn't notice?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"I..."

As much as he hates to admit it, that, ah, that makes sense. It isn't just the fact that everything feels exceptionally chilly now, but his mind is a little foggy, he's way more tired than he ought to be... He's also not going to admit it out loud just yet, but the realization? It's there.

"I was fine earlier..."

[whenyouneedme]

The tiny voice earned a sympathetic pat against his back. There, there, buddy.

"Mmm. That's generally how it works." Not even counting the mystery magical properties of this particular bug even!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Well, if he wasn't feeling faintly pathetic for running out of steam already, not catching his own fever sure is gonna do the trick.

"Okay..." Okay. "Maybe... I won't go back to working right away."

A revised plan. How's that?

[whenyouneedme]

"Well, yeah."

Of course not, you silly boy. How far did you think you were going to get when Kai was still hauling you off?

"You're going to get some rest." GOSH DIDN'T THAT SOUND FAMILIAR.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"I get that."

Ah, so he is resigned to this fate. What else is he supposed to do? Try to argue otherwise when he clearly wouldn't be in much shape to actually get away, should Kai decide to take him up on that claim?

[whenyouneedme]

That's a good boy. "Glad you get the picture." He really didn't feel like chasing Shinji down, even if the chase would probably just be a brisk walk soon enough.

Speaking of brisk walks though, the path Kai had taken them on had led them to the rest area soon enough. Kai carried him over to a quiet spot, gingerly setting Shinji down.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Sweet freedom... Realizing how bad of shape he's actually in, Shinji isn't about to make too much of a fuss over actually taking the opportunity to rest.

He does mumble out a soft, "Thank you," as he's released. Embarrassing method of transportation aside, Kai did help him out and all, he can't just ignore that. Passing out and then being hauled off would have been way more embarrassing, anyway, so, you know. Thanks are in order.

"I'm sure I'll be fine... once I get some rest."

Hopefully it'll do something for this whole 'shortness of breath' thing, too.

[whenyouneedme]

Hopefully. That was a worrying sound. Now that they were safely within the vicinity of cots and resting, Kai was looking at him without all that intensity from earlier. It was softer now, more just... worried, than anything else.

"Yeah," Kai agreed, reaching out to gently push Shinji along to a cot. "Get comfy, I'll find you some water."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

To a cot with him it is, no fight or fuss, and... dang, does the cot actually look very tempting right now. Yeah, let's just... let's just take a seat here.

"... Alright," like he was considering telling him not to or something? Don't worry, it's okay, you don't have to, or something?? Gosh.

[whenyouneedme]

Golly. Kai would have brushed them off anyway, just as easily as he brushed his hand over Shinji's hair. Don't worry about it, he wanted to.

"Right back," he promised before he wandered off to flag down a native to point him in the right direction.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"Mhmm..."

He lightly touches his hair after Kai leaves, not quite a measure to fix it, but... hm. That's the kind of casually affectionate gesture he's still really not used to. Even outside of the fever, it leaves him just a little warm.

Let's stay warm, though, by grabbing a hold of the blanket on the cot and getting nice and wrapped up in it.

[whenyouneedme]

As it turned out, Kai's requests were within the realm of doability. There had been so many requests for pain killers and the like that just hadn't been working, the robot he'd talked to had been a bit worried!

It didn't take long for Kai to make his way back over, a cup of water in one hand and another, thicker looking blanket draped over his arm. Regardless of if Shinji was still sitting up or if he'd plopped over, Kai went ahead and plunked himself down on the cot next to him.

"Got 'em."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Halfway between 'not wanting to succumb to the toll this sickness has already taken on him', and 'if I lay down I'll just have to sit up again for the water', Shinji remains upright. For now. There's definitely a bit of an effort being made here to maintain this position, and he's got that blanket pulled up pretty tightly around him, so we'll see how long that lasts.

He mumbles another soft "Thank you," as Kai returns. He will accept that cup of water, first off. Taking a drink of that sounds like just a fantastic idea.

[whenyouneedme]

"Mmhmm."

There was a secret third option that had just unlocked, and that was 'lean on Kai while you sit.' An encouraged option, perhaps, based on the way Kai briefly reached around Shinji's shoulder to pull him in. Or just drape that blanket around him? Or both?

Both.

[hedgehogsdilemma]

It can be both?! Wild

It takes precisely zero effort to pull Shinji in, and while he lets it happen, he definitely wasn't expecting it. There's that tiny surprised noise, though a more subdued version of it.

"Hey," was this? a protest? "I don't want to get you sick, too."

[whenyouneedme]

Kai had decided that noise meant a job well done.

So. This was a good job, despite half-hearted protests. Kai shrugged his other shoulder. "Don't worry about it. S'probably a bit inevitable."

He gestured to the rest area itself, with the other offworlders that were taking up temporary residence there. They were definitely all folks that Kai had seen doing repair work too.

"I'll just catch some rest with you."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Ah...? Ah. There is some kind of common denominator here, it seems. Well, misery does love company, at least they can all be miserable together.

He's not going to not worry about it, though. Even if it looks like a sure thing, he can still worry on the chance that it might not be, but... still... the promise of having Kai stick around for company is incredibly appealing, even if the idea of him getting sick, potentially as a result of it, isn't.

He's pretty sure he couldn't change Kai's mind either way, even if he were in better condition. So, he brings his free hand behind Kai to lightly grasp at the hem of his shirt.

Please, stay.

[whenyouneedme]

That was new. Kai didn't make much of a reaction, simply tilting his head a little in such a way that could have been for everything. It was a surprise though, that touch. It was still kind of a lot, just wrapping his head around the idea that he was someone that people didn't seem to mind, let alone... this. He was working on it, but this...

Well. He couldn't say no, could he? Kai hummed, leaning against Shinji in an encouraging way to remind me that he was solid. Go ahead and use him, be it for a wall or for company.

He wasn't going anywhere.