Event: Core [Day 61]

[bastionmods]

For more details, or if you have any questions, please see the OOC post.

For this event, Player characters will be split into two groups: Group A and Group B. Group A consists of any characters who arrived in the Bastion before Day 61. Group B consists of any characters who arrived in the Bastion on Day 61. Please keep your posts to the threads that have the heading that corresponds to your respective group.

There are two goals that need to be met:

1: Group A must locate Group B and safely bring them to the Bastion.
2: Someone must bring the Core back to the Bastion.

The second goal is time sensitive. If the Core is not found in time, it will disappear from the Skyway.

This event will consist of free-form tagging. There is no set tagging order, so feel free to have your characters respond to occurrences as you see fit.

All important threads are listed below:

Group A starting thread
Group B starting thread
Group A: at The Melting Pot
Group A: searching the stalls
Groups A and B meet up
Boss battle

Comments

[notduchess]

I'm more used to knowing the lay of the land when I lead things anyway. At the very least, I've got three... uses, for healing while we're out. It's not the best healing but its better than bandages and splints.

[ Even if the knight would rather go in with fireballs and meteors. And there's no way Duke is going to sit here while a bunch of kids - flame powers or not - go out hunting for anything. ]

... Out of curiosity, are there known monster types that are edible.

[unflattering]

I can only use my Soul Perception once per day, but maybe it can at least get a read on what's around us to avoid it. Maybe what direction the Core is in, too?

[Though that last part is just hopeless optimism, the Core doesn't feel very much like a soul.]

[bastionpc]

Whatever you guys can do will definitely help.

[This seems like a good bunch of people, so he has high hopes for them.]

The place you're going to is the old city markets, the Melting Pot. It's somewhere within that ward, so if you keep to the shop stalls you should eventually come across it.

Hazard-wise, there should only be Windbags and maybe some Peckers. If you stay in a group they should be no problem for you guys.

[Though he does wonder if sending a small kid like Shiro on this mission is a good idea. Hopefully that kid has some hidden talent.]

Also, since it's the market area, keep an eye out for anything useful there. Even if you don't find the Core, you might be able to find some rice or flour that's still good for eating.

[hellpyre]

[Rin has her own concerns about bringing Shiro along, but she's not about to tell him to stay behind. He was almost as protective of his friends as she was, and he probably wouldn't take well to that.

Bon's comment, of course, earned a glare, but she thankfully didn't start yelling at him like she normally would. There wasn't really time for that.

Also, edible monsters? Ew, no. ... though if Duke could find one that wouldn't kill them all from being disgusting, it was an alternative to the Core.

... frankly Rin would rather find the Core. Thanks.]

Okay. I think we can do this. We'll definitely bring that Core back.

[Rin spoke with confidence, but not the usual bravado or false arrogance that she tended to spout off. It wasn't an impossible task, just a difficult one, and it looked to her like they had a pretty decent group here.]

[notduchess]

[ Duke saw that face at the suggestion, Rin. ]

Not the windbags. Who would even think about trying to cook something that spits acid? I suppose if boots ran out, they'd be an option-

[ The knight grimaces at that too. Yeah, actually having the core would help a lot- ]

But peckers sound like birds. Has anyone tried?

[blackblooded]

[In every gathering, there's one person hanging out right next to the door so they can leave if it becomes even slightly necessary.

Crona is that person.]

[goodlifechoices]

[ And Marie is right by Crona, hopefully reassuringly so.

It is debatable as to how effective she is. Either way, what needs to be done is a given. ]

Let's focus on finding the thing first, and talk about taste-testing the local animals later. No time like the present, right?

[bastionpc]

Excellent point!

[Oh look here are some supplies! Health potions mostly, but there are also a couple black bottles with white labels mixed in.]

Here's some stuff you guys can take, just in case you need 'em. And be sure to hurry, you're not the only ones out there who will be gunning for that Core.

[And with that, the NPCs will leave the PCs to their task of going to the Melting Pot for the Core.

The Melting Pot itself starts off with a long walkway that leads from previously explored areas of the Skyway to the Melting Pot itself. Said long walkway is very long, narrow, and lacks guardrails, so be careful!

There are also a few Peckers milling about on the path, though they are far enough down that they have not spotted the group yet.]

[hellpyre]

[In spite of Bon's insistence that Rin was going to get lost again, the half demon led the group, walking at the front of their lined up numbers carefully so as not to get too close to the narrow edges of the Skyway.

Spotting the birds ahead, their occasionally flapping wings and erratic movements alerting her to their presence, she raised a hand and slowed.]

Peckers ahead. Not a lot, but they're gonna make a lotta noise if we get too close.

[spotofsunlight]

[ Shiro isn't very intelligent, but he is pretty fast. He has, in fact, already closed some distance between himself and the Peckers. He's never seen birds before! He's waving his arms at them excitedly. ]

Hey, you guys over there! Are you 'friends'? Or 'foes'?

[notduchess]

.... I have some ranged, but I think at this point it may be best for me just... to go catch up to that kid and beat things off-

[ Why did they bring Shiro again-

Hopefully Rin knows, because Duke is just... going to get closer, sword ready to defend. ]

[hellpyre]

[Because he wants to be able to protect his friends.

That's what he told her anyway.

... yeah she's kind of questioning it now anyway.]

Shiro!

[The name was said in a frantic hiss, trying to get his attention before he got too far off.]

[bastionpc]

[Shouting at the birds actually gets their attention. They don't speak a response, but the one closest to Shiro will hop over to Shiro and tilt its head curiously as it makes a cawwing noise at Shiro.

Then it will try to steal Shiro's hat.]

[spotofsunlight]

[ And no one is surprised—not even Shiro. Shouting at them was supposed to get their attention, after all. He laughs, casually holding onto his hat as if an unruly child were making a go for his lagomorphic headwear. ]

Haha, wait, what's caw mean?

[ He points at the Pecker and turns back to Rin, completely oblivious as to why Rin was trying to get his attention in the first place. ]

Look, it said caw.

[kyotoprincess]

[God damnit Shiro is Bon going to have to rescue you again?]

They're not friends! They're not friends!!!

[And whoops he's pulling out his gun (an old six-shooter, very low-tech compared to what he's used to) and trying to shot at the Pecker. He's aiming high so he doesn't accidentally hit Shiro, though that probably makes his shots miss entirely.]

[hellpyre]

Damn it--! Shiro--!

[AUGH this was frustrating as hell. She knew the boy had the capability to be a tank, but that required him to realize that the monsters on the Skyway were always going to be foes. Always.

Which... apparently he hadn't realized yet.]

Some one clear a path! I'm gonna grab him so we can book it to the Market!

[Rin pulled her still-cased sword off her back and bolted forward, snagging Shiro by the collar of his jacket and hauling him up under one arm. She didn't take her sword out, not wanting to waste one of her three uses of flames on something like an annoying flock of Peckers, but she did smack a good number of them back for the others to hopefully dispatch.]

[notduchess]

Excuse me!

[ The knight charges down behind Rin, blade ready to swing and hopefully take care of the core chunk of those birds. Dragon Swarm wasn't particularly fancy, just a pattern of strikes as Duke advances, but it ought to be enough for most of the Peckers in the way- ]

[bastionpc]

[With the combined effort of Bon and Duke, the Peckers are chased off long enough for Rin and Shiro to run through. But after that pair passes, the Peckers will circle back around to start attacking everyone who didn't run across the bridge. When they're flying, their ramming attacks can easily knock someone off the Skyway.

Running might be a good idea, actually.]

[notduchess]

[ Duke turns, putting her back to where Rin and Shiro had darted off to. ]

I'll cover, get moving-

[ Just. Time to play ball with birds until the rest of this group is on its way. The knight will run after that. ]

[kyotoprincess]

[Sorry Duke, Bon won't let you fight them off alone. He's going to give everyone some more cover, and he's trying to pick off the Peckers at a distance before they have a chance to overwhelm the group.]

Don't just stand there and fight 'em, keep moving!

[He's also slowly moving along the path, heading towards the group. The land out on the Skyway is notoriously unstable, and he doesn't want to be caught out there if it decides to fall.]

[blackblooded]

[Crona is one of these people who stands back, waits for the last possible second to enter a fight. It's too much of a pain to try and convince Ragnarok to get involved with fights unnecessarily, especially if he has nothing to gain, so Crona is going to wait and see if action becomes absolutely necessary.]

[notduchess]

[ It takes Duke a moment to connect what's wrong with standing and fighting, but then the knight remembers the way the Skyway shows up and...

Carefully retreating with Bon now. ]

[kyotoprincess]

[Since Duke is retreating too, Bon will go ahead and grab Chrona to drag along as he hurries down the path as well. Nobody gets left behind here.]

[goodlifechoices]

[ Marie might be a little behind here, mostly because she just beat the shit out of one of those Peckers... with an entirely different one. They shouldn't have tried to charge her and she is sharing her feelings with them regarding the matter, that's the whole point of the interaction there.

She'll still be bringing up the rear now!

With Maka in tow, of course, after she caught the boy around the wrist. Miss Marie has this under control! ]

THINGS ARE HAPPENING

[bastionpc]

[Most of the Peckers are killed, yielding a few Shards each. The rest stop attacking the party as they reach the other side of the walkway, since it is outside of their range of caring.

Congratulations, you made it to The Melting Pot!

The path everyone took opens up into a plaza of sorts, with stalls lining the sides and continuing down the streets in every direction. Each stall seems to be selling something different: weapons, food, trinkets, you name it.

Any perishable food has long since been ravaged by the local monsters, but some non-perishables can still be found if you look.

There are several statues strewn about the area. Men, women, and children, all looking like they were engaged in a day of shopping before the Calamity happened. Be careful about touching them if you have a weak stomach!

This is a good spot to stop and do a search before continuing on.]

((NOTE: follow the link to the search thread, and respond to this post for continuing on after searching the area.))