day 117 :: Core Event

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone who wants to participate
Open: Open
When: Day 117
Where: Prosper Bluff --> Jawson's Bog
What: The PCs go hunting for a core, and get caught up in a dangerous situation
Format: log, action, etc.
Warnings: Some threads will contain triggering material. Those threads will be labeled as such in the headers.


[Some time has passed, and more people have arrived. It seems as though things have been turning around since the last hunt for a core. So when Nathaniel comes to tell everyone that another core has been located, and that they'll need to go get it, his somber attitude might seem a bit strange.]

Alright everyone, I'm getting an energy spike in the general area of Prosper Bluff, so I'm pretty sure a core is there. Unfortunately, I can't get an exact location on it, just a general area, so you're going to have to go down there and root it out yourself. It should be somewhere on the bluff, which will make for an easy recovery, since most monsters stay away from that area.

However, there is a chance that the core might be a bit further East, in Jawson's Bog. If it is, just leave it there. It is not worth risking your lives to go in there to get it.

[Everyone is free to talk to Nathaniel before leaving, if they want, or they can just be on their way. Either way, the NPCs will be waiting for them to return.]




Threadtracking:

Preparation thread
Prosper Bluff
Jawson's Bog
Jawson't Bog part 2
special group goes here

Comments

Thread 1: searching the Prosper Bluff

[bastionpc]

[This is where the search starts. Explore here with everyone else to look for the core.

Just watch out for the stray monster or two. While most monsters do avoid this area, some are brave enough to make it their home.]

[notduchess]

[ Duke's here, tonics in a pack and sword out but in a fairly casual grip. The knight still prefers to focus on making sure that anyone who needs healing gets healed, but doesn't see any problems with poking about a little bit ahead. ]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin's hanging a little ways back, his own rapier still in its sheath. He can draw quick enough if he need it, and he'd rather have his hands free to work if he needs it. Needless to say, he's busily scanning away as they walk, hoping to find SOMETHING that screams "Energy Readings", though he doesn't imagine for a minute it'll be that easy. He doesn't even know what the energy signature of these cores looks like. Yet.]

[bastionpc]

[Colin and Duke will be able to find shards, which are basically tiny chips of a core, though no full core can be found on this part of the bluffs.

If Duke and Colin take the time to collect them all, they'll get 20 shards each.]

[freedom_engineer]

[You better believe Colin's grabbing up the shards that they find. He knows JUST what they're worth, and as an engineer, he knows the full value of scrounging... Still, this is going to be frustrating...]

Hey... Duke, was it?

[He's calling out just to be sure he's heard.]

These shards aren't anywhere near the right size! It might be a trail, but you get the feeling we're barking up the wrong tree?

[notduchess]

[ The knight turns to look at him when that name is called, picking up a few shards. ]

Or its a trail of the wrong sort. Generally unhelpful either way. Want to turn back?

[windgod]

[Ippo stayed towards the front of the group, his fists clenched tightly and his muscles firmly tensed in case they ran into any resistance. He was an in-fighter first and foremost; meaning that the faster he could get into an opponents space, the better off he'd be...it only made sense for him to be where he could do that. Not to mention that he'd rather himself take an injury before anyone else here...partly because he knew he could withstand the abuse, but mostly because he cared.

He might have felt a sense of good tidings at the Bastion...but now that he was here, those feelings were giving way to a nagging feeling in the back of his head; all of the times he had stepped foot out on to the skyway...something had gone terribly wrong. Would this time truly be different? He looked down at his fist and nodded to himself in affirmation...he would do his best to see to it.]

[bastionpc]

[So far nothing has gone wrong. The only difficulty is that the core isn't immediately visible, as they have been in the past. It will take some serious searching to find it.]

[windgod]

[The further the group made their way onto the Bluff's proper, the more uneasy Ippo became. This all seemed...it just seemed far too easy; every monster he saw seemed to freak out and vanished at the sight of them and everything seemed so...tranquil for lack of a better word. When it came to cores, nothing had ever been so peaceful that he could remember.]

I really hope I'm wrong on this...just let it be all in my head...

[He mumbled as he started an earnest search for the core, only breaking away from the rest of the group once he'd convinced himself that they'd be just fine without him; or so he hoped at any rate.]

[superdrowningskills]

[Alucard has no weapon drawn at the moment, but that's simply because he knows just how fast his reflexes are. Given how until now only peckers would routinely flee from them though, he feels just as ill at ease as Ippo. That same unease leads him to follow the young man when he breaks off from the rest, soon falling in stride with him.]

...I cannot smell the core, as of yet.

[windgod]

[Ippo licked his thumb as he'd seen on television shows and held it up into the air...maybe if he could find which way the wind was blowing, he could give Alucard a better range to work with; except there was no wind at all. Ippo moved his hand around as if it were a faulty TV Antenna but to no avail...]

There's...no wind at all? That might be why you're not getting anything...is anything ever that simple out here?

[dissectionislove]

[With a flat-footed and silent stride, Stein followed closely behind Ippo, near the head of the group. He hadn't been out on the Skyway much, but that wasn't a cause for worry in his mind; no matter what they came upon out here, he could guarantee he'd seen worse first-hand.

All the same, he couldn't deny that the area they were heading into would make for a perfect hunting ground... if they were the prey. He needed to make sure he stayed sharp. For the time being, he couldn't sense any foes in the immediate vicinity, but it wasn't as easy for him to concentrate here as it was back in the Bastion, where madness could not tread...]

[windgod]

[Well there was a familiar face! Ippo made his way over to the doctor that had so kindly patched him up and gave him a small wave; it made him feel slightly better knowing they had someone who was well versed in patching people up out here with them.]

Dr. Stein! I haven't seen you since the stitches came out...how have you been since then?

[dissectionislove]

[It took a minute, but Stein mustered a warm smile for his patient; the same type he might have used for his students, if he still had any.]

Fine, just fine.

[While it wasn't exactly "home sweet home" the way his lab had been for him, the hospital did keep him appeased to some point. It kept his mind from… other things. People he told himself he didn’t miss, especially. His glasses refracted for a moment before revealing his eyes once again, but at least the expression didn’t fade.]

I see you've healed up nicely.

[He's only been critiquing his handiwork from behind you for the past five minutes. Nothing creepy about that.]

[windgod]

Only thanks to you and Dr. Kroenen, without you two...I'd probably have been in a bit of trouble. Speaking of...

[He glanced around, scanning the group for any signs of the clockwork man. He hadn't seen anyone since he returned from the last core hunt...maybe Kroenen was just mixed in with the crowd or back at the Bastion itself?]

I haven't seen Dr. Kroenen in a while, have you seen him?

[yinyangfox]

[ Walking in calm silence with Taisan resting on one shoulder, Seimei kept the greater portion of his senses focused outward, beyond the immediate area. Ears strained, nostrils flared, lips slightly parted. He focused less on his eyes and more on other sensory input.

Before leaving the Bastion he had prepared several ofuda, weary of being unable to cast spells freely without such implements. The one he held before himself between two fingers was specifically for alerting them to the presence of anything alive - anything. Friend or foe was irrelevant anymore. Anything alive was worth investigating - or eradicating, in some cases. ]

[bastionpc]

[There are a few monsters out and about, but they pretty much all turn tail and run when they see the large group of people out on the Skyway.

The bluffs are oddly quiet, though, save for the sound of the breeze moving through the tall grass. It is very much like the calm before the storm.]

[individuates]

[following along behind Seimei, Tama-chan running circles around her feet. She knows this is different to their usual trips on the Skyway, they've gone further from home again. So she wants to make sure nobody gets hurt]

[Kaoru speaks softly and quietly when he does-]

...is it me, or is it weird that they're running away?

[yinyangfox]

Not terribly strange. It is the larger creatures we need be mindful of. The smaller ones have faced our kind on numerous occasions. Any level of self awareness would drive them to do what is in the best interest of their survival - recent history suggests running away.

[ He sighs, watching Tama-chan thoughtfully before looking to Kaoru with a small nod. ]

It is unusually subdued, however. I imagine there is a predator lurking that we cannot yet see. I am attempting to maintain an early warning system. Yet, I have very little faith in my magic here. I am very nearly human, it sometimes seems. The restrictions of this realm are tedious.

[wayofvoice]

[Hi guys, bye guys, that sure is a giant dragon flying up ahead with Aoi on his neck.]

[He doesn't land right away, instead circling inside the perimeter as he keeps an eye out for anything that seems odd.]

Let me know if you wish to land.

[amphibian]

'kay! Gimme a heads-up if you're gonna land, too. [She's watching, too, focusing out in the directions they aren't facing so they don't miss anything. One hand is on the handle of her bat, ready for trouble.]

[wayofvoice]

Greh, I will not leave you unaware.

[Considering his size, regular hunting habits, and what Nathanial told them, Paarthurnax isn't expecting much opposition... Yet, at least. Things are rarely as easy as they want to be, especially with what Rin told him about the last core hunt.]

It appears as a larger shard, does it not?

[amphibian]

I think so! So we're looking for something big and shiny and shard...ish. Easy peasy! [She leans over, just a little, trying to get a better view.] Hey, do you think the bog's as dangerous as he was saying..?

[blackblooded]

[Crona lags behind the group at first, then eventually pulls away from it entirely, looking around for anything unusual. No obvious weapons, but the meister is never unarmed.]

i think i'm late to the party, but i suck at timing ):

[heptagram]

[Patchouli approaches with care. She had her magic, yes, and it's decently powerful and has a decent area of effect, but it's limited in how many times she can use it. Wasting a powerful spell on something tiny.]

Please stay close. [Who is she saying that to? YOU DECIDE.]