♥ 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

f for the ultra wild outdoors!!

[meridio]

[ Pyra isn't so indulgent as to invite someone out for no reason. This, Somnus knows. She enjoys the natural world with not just unnatural naivety, but also a self-consciousness that's equally ill-suited to her being. While she has desires, she does not impose them on others—only asks if she should have that reason to approach another.

Thus, they visit the classic outdoors together. On entering the virtual reality, they find themselves deposited near the hot spring. The thud of a wooden pipe against a nearby rock announces their arrival, alerting them to the direction of the spring itself.

The haze conjured by the steamy body of water clings to his skin, and Somnus looks down at a hand. The scenario has stripped them of their respective attires and appropriately dressed them in towels. He glances at Pyra—lingering for a split second on the exposed portion of the crystal that's largely shrouded by the towel wrapped around her body, emitting a gentle glow—before he turns toward the spring with an impassive mien. ]

We have arrived.

[iustaegis]

[ She had led him to the virtual reality cafe by the had, she had donned her set right along with him, and together, they had entered the virtual reality to see it for themselves.

Humidity, warmth. A hand, held in hers-- just as she has been holding all along. Steam, condensing at her skin. Bare skin.

Her hand flies to the crystal peeking out from just the top of her towel-- she caught that, that flick of his eyes down and up, the light catching briefly in his steel-blue eyes. He knows... He knows for certain, that she is not human. He may look away, but her eyes remain on his. "We have arrived"-- is that all he will say? Will he ask no questions? She's not sure if she should feel relieved. ]

I-- yes. [ She's unable to withhold the nervous quiver that begins with her words, but by the time she speaks again, it's no longer there. ] It seems so... real, doesn't it? [ Excuse the generic response, she does not know what to make of this. Perhaps he has seen enough of the non-humans here to not care. Yes, that must be it... ]

[meridio]

[ Perhaps that was why she chose to invite him, of all people. There was a fluctuation in her voice that betrayed her anxiety. It's a tell that Somnus chooses not to acknowledge. Evidently, she means to hide what she is, in which case going to the virtual imitation of a spa wasn't the wisest decision on her end.

He scans their surroundings from where they stand while Pyra speaks. Yes, it does seem very real. ]

Yet an imitation still.

[ He can't say that he cares much for virtual reality. But the tone with which he answers is neutral. ]

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ He still isn't questioning-- good. Or maybe he's just polite. She should be more at ease; this isn't her world, there is no one here from her world, and no one would recognize her or the crystal upon her chest. She is safe here.

Although she "feels" their hands still joined, she looks down at their clasped fingers regardless.

Perhaps she's overthinking things; perhaps she needn't be so guarded. ]

[iustaegis]

[ His words provide a thankful hook, and she regains some of her composure, taking the first step forward towards the baths with a small smile. ]

It's very sophisticated. I think most would believe this more of a reality than a dream.

[meridio]

[ She's moved on, if in part. Somnus follows, their joined hands keeping them linked and never too far apart.

As relaxing as the atmosphere is, Pyra is correct. This is a dream. Owing to that fact, it's difficult for Somnus to even start relaxing. His shoulders, real or not here, carry the same tension as they oft do. ]

Is that why you're here?

[ She's curious—eager to experience what she knows, yet has not felt. An imitation of reality at its best is one avenue for such experiences. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Bruh there ain't no hot springs in Elysium... ]

To experience something new? [ A glance. ] Or to experience a false reality?

[ She is curious of what a millennia-old ghost might think of this, truthfully. What sort of purgatory had he been kept in, she wonders, if not a dream. ]

[meridio]

[ She don't need no hot springs in Elysium.

He doesn't quite answer that. Something else has caught his attention. ]

Is a false reality not new to you?

[iustaegis]

...Is dreaming not a false reality?

[ She answers quietly. ]

[meridio]

[ Then none of this is new to her.

For a while, all Somnus does is watch. There's far more where that had come from, but he won't press. He looks from her face to the opaque surface of the hot spring. ]

The dream awaits.

[iustaegis]

[ With her hand in his, they come to the edge of the hotspring, where steam unfurls from its still surface. They are the only two here, it seems, for she hears nothing but the soft trickle of water over smooth, dark rocks, flowing from one pool to the other, and the rhythmic knock of bamboo to stone. Dipping her toes into the warm pool of water, Pyra takes one more glance at him before slipping in one foot and then the other down the stone steps.

She has no bones, yet the water seems to siphon the aches of a would-be skeleton all the same. A small breath escapes her as she sinks in further. Her towel saturates with aromatic bathwater at its edges, and with each step the fabric begins to cling to her body. Turning partially to ease the pull of her hand to his as she guides him in after, she notices... him.

Scars, here and there, over his body. A body that has been restored to him after millennia dead, boasting flavors of fighting and strife. He has a tension in his shoulders, and the hollower expression of his from that third night in Havenwell has yet to fade. Is this the body in which he had passed? He's so young-- and she realizes this just now. It's his demeanor, the way in which he carries himself, that makes him appear far older than the form and flesh the gods have given him here.

She wonders if his smile is like Noctis', where he appears far younger when he wears it. ] ...It feels nice, doesn't it?

[ There is underwater seating lining the edges of the spring. Time to head to one of them. ]

[meridio]

[ Following closely behind, he already has both feet in the edge of the water when she guides him farther in. Her eyes roam over him while he settles in beside and partially behind her, submerged in a distantly familiar warmth. The spring introduces his body to myriad sensations, seeking to unwind the tension in his muscles as, little by little, his shoulders come down in a state of induced relaxation.

The body, especially after so many years without tangibility, can be persuaded. It's the mind that keeps its stubbornness.

The heat from the bathwater and rising steam proves an overwhelming combination at first, and his response is to exhale quietly through parted lips. By the time they reach the underwater seat, the slight shock from the change in temperature has passed and Somnus looks to Pyra for her response to the experience. ]

[iustaegis]

[ In the short time she has known him, she has not seen him relax in the slightest. Pyra had hoped this would help him, and it seems that his buoyancy provided by the water has also lifted a bit of weight off of his shoulders, if only temporarily.

(But he has some scars upon him, and they are obvious to her. He has toiled in his life, and today she had seen him assisting in the wall-repairs. Has he ever stopped to indulge in something like this, to let warmth and steam and heat soak into his flesh?)

As for herself, a softer sigh escapes her when she takes her seat, rolling back her shoulders as she does so. Seeing as he does not comment upon her crystal, she even lets her free hand drop from her chest. The towel will stay in place, but a little more of the gem shines through, its energy mingling curiously with the heavy steam. ]

Have you ever experienced anything like this before?

[meridio]

[ She rolls her shoulders back while he leans forward as much as the level of the water allows. Pyra must appear rather peculiar from afar, but up this close the gentle glow of her crystal is only just within his line of sight as he focuses on the surface of the water. The light is as such unobtrusive to his senses, whose attention for which the spring itself gently demands.

Living near a water source had afforded numerous advantages in his time, the Scourge notwithstanding. There had been large baths for the weary. The experience of a soothing bath is not strictly new to him—just uncommon now, his being what he is. ]

Not since I walked the mortal realm.

[iustaegis]

[ ...For which it has been a few millennia for him.

It's difficult not to look his way; he's fascinating. A man dead, brought back to life in this realm. Why was his soul being held before whatever afterlife exists in his world? ]

Did you miss it at all? The, um, "mortal realm", when you were... [ A beat. ] Wherever you were, before.

[meridio]

[ Somnus' expression goes unchanged as he watches the steam rise. Truthfully, he does not miss being alive and all that it entails. ]

Our realm was built upon the ashes of the life that came before it. The past must remain in the past.

[iustaegis]

[ A glance.

Ashes of the life that came before-- isn't it always just? The ashes of humans who had preceded him, and even further before that. The ashes of fallen stars, dust flaring upon solar winds that came together to form anew.

He's trying to dismiss-- ]

You have not lost your memories from before you passed, though.

[meridio]

[ And what of them? His memories only further solidify his belief that he should press onward. There's little point in looking back—in voicing that yearning for what once was. ]

I have no desire to walk the realm again.

[iustaegis]

[ If he has no desire to do this, then maybe there he has a desire to for something else? She's not sure.

Or maybe he wishes for something else entirely. ]

And what about reminiscing?

[meridio]

[ Painful and unnecessary.

Though his body may be at ease, his mind is troubled still. Since his arrival, his heart has been pulled further and further back into the past. If he allows this to persist, he'll lose sight of the future. ]

Why have you come here?

[iustaegis]

[ At that, she turns to look at him, giving him a squeeze of his hand. ]

When you are alone, do your thoughts wander?

[meridio]

[ This time, their eyes lock. ]

I think of the future . . . and what must be done for it.

[iustaegis]

[ She holds his gaze. For the future, he says. For the bright future, that others might have it. It is the exact opposite of reminiscing; it is looking forward, and he meets her gaze while saying this. On this, he remains unwavering. ] 

Ah. [ She replies quietly, tone soft as the light in her eyes. ]

You still feel hope. 

[ As if it could ever perish, even with death. ]

[meridio]

[ With her, it's ever about what and how he feels. She isn't wrong. The prophecy keeps hope alive in not just the people's hearts, but in his as he awaits the end.

He's answered her question, whereas she's yet to answer his. Straightening, he waits, too, for this. ]

[iustaegis]

[ She answered his question!! With a question! She doesn’t wish to be alone with her thoughts....

Hope.

He straightens, watching her, and her gaze lowers to her hand in his, obscured by the density of the water in which they soak. She lifts their joined hands above the surface of the water, bringing up her other to feel over his knuckles, his fingers, the surface of his skin...

Flesh and blood. (Well, almost.) ]

I’m... grateful that you’re here with me.