♥ 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

[this_loser]

I dunno. All this experiment stuff gives me the creeps, you know? Cor let me in on some of what he found and ... it kinda freaked me out.

[shroudedsecrets]

I see... so he shared that with you.

[ The measure of her tone is the same as ever, though perhaps there's a shade of something else in it; she understands where his unease is coming from, and she can't deny that she feels it herself. She knows full well what Cor shared, because he had shared the same with her, and more, besides. ]

I have found myself... wondering if any of those supposed discarded experiments that we had uncovered may see a renewed interest, if they had ever stopped at all. We do not know for certain what they may have already preserved in regard to their own records, or what it may inspire them toward.

[ ... And presumably whatever they had already translated had found a way back to them, so on the whole, ThAt's NoT ComFoRTIng, Honerva. ]

[this_loser]

...Well. That's terrifying.

[This is the opposite of comforting. This does not make him feel better.]

[shroudedsecrets]

[ H m m m.

Hard not to talk about it in her usual way when she was accustomed to such considerations, but, she's starting to get the feeling that Perhaps she should Consider not letting herself go further with such musings to certain audiences. ]

... It is not likely a concern as of yet.

[ Still not comforting, huh. ]

[this_loser]

That's ... something ... I guess.

[At least she's trying?]

How's about we talk about, literally, anything else?

[shroudedsecrets]

... That would be best.

[ This was too much food for thought, literally. And even though that aspect is what they are there for, there's been a reason she's been diverting any discussion of it away.

Something else then. And something not ... upsetting. Think, Honerva, this should not be so difficult as to -- ah. She settles on something. ]

Do you still have your cards? Perhaps ... once you have concluded your meal we can indulge in that distraction instead.

[this_loser]

[He makes a sad little hum.]

No, sorry. They didn't come with me. Oh! [And then he brightens up.] That's a good idea, though. I should make a deck!

[shroudedsecrets]

That would be a good activity to busy yourself with.

[A thoughtful pause.]

When you finish, you should see if Cor would like to play.

[this_loser]

Cor?

[He his head tilts.]

I'm sure he's got way more important things to do than play cards with me.

[shroudedsecrets]

And who is to say that it is not important?

[ While she had not understood the purpose of such things when they first met, she had certainly come around to it now. ]

[this_loser]

I don't know. Him?

[Cor's.... Cor.]

I mean, I know we've got history, apparently, that I only just found out about. But that doesn't mean that, like, he wants to spend quality time.

[shroudedsecrets]

[She's quiet for a moment, tilting her head at him.]

... I do not find it likely that he would deny the opportunity to spend quality time with you, even if he might question why it was asked. If you would like to spend the time with him, then... at least the offer would be there on your part, for him to take.

You offered as much to someone like me, after all.

[this_loser]

[He ... has no counter-argument. Honerva was not Cor, but all the reasons he reached out to her could also apply to Cor. The only excuse he really had was that Cor had always been larger than life. ]

Yeah. Okay. You have a point. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

[shroudedsecrets]

[ Having spoken with both of them like this, she can easily see where the disconnect lay between them. Perhaps fearing discomfort or worse, rejection. Cor was in such a position that he'd had no experience with the lighter forms of distraction, even now in a place where his role was not as demanded.

And she had advised that Cor speak to Prompto himself about it... but perhaps their circumstances had gotten in the way. The past month had awoken some difficulties. Unpleasant reminders. Let alone the battling. ]

I think it would do you both some good.

[this_loser]

It sounds like you two have been talking?

[He's not surprised, really. More curious. He knew there'd been communication between them, but it's strange to think they'd have discussed him.]

[shroudedsecrets]

We do speak occasionally. [There's a distracted lilt to her usually even tone, as she reflects on their last conversation before this point.] He is... aware that I had met you in the universe we were in prior to this one, of course.

[this_loser]

[... Change in tone. Hmm...]

Oh yeah? That's cool. [At least Cor isn't going around telling anyone his secrets. Right?] I'm glad you guys get along. Er, you do get along, right?

[shroudedsecrets]

... We do.

[Such a strange thing to be asked, but... it does get easier to acknowledge such things.]

We have not yet spoken since before the attack occurred, but perhaps we may soon. He is... very preoccupied by his duties here.

[this_loser]

Awesome.

[That makes him happy. Though he laughs at her comment.]

Yeah. He needs to learn how to relax a little.

[shroudedsecrets]

... Indeed. I know that he has not had to before, or that it must have been a long time for him to forget how. That is why I thought you would be the best to assist, as you seem to know how to make the most out of that concept.

[ She smiles at him. ]

Suggestions may work better than... outright informing him that he needs to do so, however.

[this_loser]

Can't imagine him being any different than he is now.

[But even Cor had been a kid once. Right? That was a thing that had to be true?]

I, um... Thanks for thinking so. I try! But some nuts are hard to crack.

[shroudedsecrets]

Do not imagine it to be so daunting a task. You are both outside your circumstances now. Perhaps he is not the only one who needs to be reminded of that.