♥ 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

[iustaegis]

[ Pyra, weary, easily leans a bit of her weight onto Lup. She catches the underlying suspicion in the other woman's tone. ]

I don't mind it, truthfully. [ She admits this softly, eyes fluttering shut. ] It's... nice to be able to hold someone's hand. Or lean on them. [ Even though she really shouldn't; this engagement is all far above what she's ever hoped to have.

She doesn't mind being used as an energy resource. While she is a touchy-feely person, even she knows that this city provides her an incentive to be even moreso. Whatever it takes to save this world, to preserve its future for the people here, she will do her best to help. ] Although still I wonder if we are not doing enough.

[ Is there an escalation with power of what sort of contact counts? Or is it just any contact, besides negative? ]

[necromanswers]

Mm, it's not so bad. It'd be different if they were asking us to kill people for them, but it's hard to imagine this sort of thing going sour.

[What kind of murdergods would be powered by hugs and soft touches, after all? It's so vanilla that she's honestly waiting for the other shoe to drop. Life just isn't this peaceful, at least not for long. It's getting close to half a year now. For her, that's... weird.

This is also far too serious, so-]

Y'think we should do more? What, like get down and dirty?

1/3

[iustaegis]

[ The gods asking someone to kill for them, well, doesn't that sound--

Before she can think too deeply about it, Lup goes and says that and... ]

[iustaegis]

[ She only giggles. Embarrassing as it is, dustig her cheeks with a rosy blush, she knows Lup is-- ] Now you're just being silly.

[iustaegis]

[ ........

But then there's a headtilt as she looks over at Lup. ]

Er. Unless... you know something I don't? Is there a heirarchy to whatever sort of touch we give? Such as, the level of intimacy?

[necromanswers]

[Lup shrugs, waving a hand dismissively.]

If there is, nobody's told me. And to be honest, if they had told me that, I'd be a hell of a lot more suspicious of their motivations. I already joked about them wanting to turn us into babymakers or something, I don't need that to become reality. Oh, but hey-

[She sits up a little straighter, as the robot helper approaches carrying two steaming mugs of what smells like hot cocoa.]

Best way to know is to ask, right? Hey there, friend.

[She waits until the mugs are handed over, before continuing - and subsequently mortifying the poor hapless bot - with,]

Do you know if your gods would prefer us to get with the sexing, or is handholding on the level?

[iustaegis]

[ She's up before she can stop her, and asking such a question, too! Her blush seems to deepen, but it fades when she focuses upon what the local has to say.

But the 'bot seems to oblige to an answer, that nope, all thus energy is equal. This of course, makes her wonder how they know that. Did they hear this from the gods themselves? And if so, how?

For whenever Lup rejoins her upon the cot, she speaks. ]

I-I... suppose that would make things too easy, wouldn't it? One kiss generating the same amount of worship to the gods as two hours of hand-holding. [ Or whatever conversation it would be, but oh well. It seems like just touch works! ]

[necromanswers]

[Lup looks positively delighted, both by the answer and the reactions of both of them, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. She hands one of the mugs to Pyra, wiping at an eye.]

Right, right! Just wouldn't be fair. Especially for those of us who aren't lucky enough to have anybody around to kiss.

[iustaegis]

I suppose not... [ She says, rather distracted as she takes the mug with a grateful nod, she glances into its contents to see...? ]

Oh. Is it hot chocolate? [ Her head snaps up to look at Lup once more. ] How did you...? [ Get the robot-person to make some for them?? ]

[necromanswers]

Like I said, the best way is to ask.

[Very matter-of-fact, like the answer should be obvious.]

Now, you said cinnamon, right? Give this a try.

[She curls her fingers in a very specific manner and presses the pad of one against Pyra's mug; immediately an arcane tingle swirls in the air until she pulls back a moment later. Should Pyra take a sip, she will find that it is indeed hot chocolate! Quite possibly one of the most delicious hot chocolates she's ever had, tasting creamy and sweet, with a delicate swirl of cinnamon spicing each sip.]

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ ...What... Whaaaaat, what is that, how is she doing that, how does that work?!

The magic seems to transfer from the palm of Lup's hand, effecting both its contents and the immediate air about it, and then-- ]

[iustaegis]

[ Taking a sip, her eyes widen as she tastes the concoction. The blend is rich, thick, and the hint of cinnamon dusts the flavor like gold woven into a gown. She never would have guessed she'd ever describe hot chocolate as luxurious, but this certainly is.

Pyra blushes with delight, looking from Lup to the mug and then to Lup again. ] ...Your magic... is the best kind.

It brings joy.

[necromanswers]

[Lup grins, tapping her own mug as well; a waft of peppermint drifts in the air.]

Sure does! That's not all it does, but cantrips are made for little pleasures like that. It's nothing fancy, though. Just a trick of the mind.

[iustaegis]

[ She brings hand to her cheek, surprised and then... dazed. ] Oh...

So this is what it feels to have... your mind tricked? [ And all for hot chocolate, no less! Why, she feels absolutely the same, and she had thought she saw Lup’s magic only effect the mug. But maybe that had been an illusion too!

Scary... Lup’s power is not to be trifled with.

Pyra, however, doesn’t appear offended at all; she believes in Lup’s goodness. ]

[necromanswers]

[Well, at least she doesn't seem distressed by it. Lup's a little impressed by that, actually, which is why she opts to show a little mercy.]

I guess it's more like having your tongue tricked, instead. It isn't real- it just tastes real.

[iustaegis]

[ Had she not known Lup-- rather, had her impression of Lup not been so positive, she wouldn't have taken so kindly to the assumption of having her mind tricked.. had that actually been what happened. But believing in Lup's best, here she assumes she means no harm. ]

....Ah.

Like artificial sweetener, but magic?

[necromanswers]

Yeah, pretty much! It's a basic cantrip, Prestidigitation. It can do a few things, and it's mostly just for improving your quality of life, but magic's magic.