voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2021-03-11 06:00 am

The Will to Fight: Start

"Good Morning Passengers, today is day six of the month of Kazoo." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preparation

They have an hour or two to prepare. Enough time to read their briefs, make decisions, meet in their teams and gather anything they may need. The dressing carriage is open with tents and other basic camping equipment.

"Shortly arriving in system #86525656412355. Drop order is Orange and Blue followed by Red and Purple. Orange and Blue to doors, arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches as it exits through the void, before descending smoothly to the world below.

Blue and Orange

Arrival

If anyone peeks through the windows as the train lands they will see a glimpse of cracked and crumbling walls, a city on its last legs. As they exit the train, however, any passengers who aren't immune to magics influencing the mind will find themselves looking at grand, sturdy walls, flags with a blue field and golden tower fluttering from the ramparts.

They aren't too far from a gate, depending on where on the train they exited, and the gates are opened and unmanned. Inside, people are going about their business, selling their wares, while children run around playing among dogs and chickens.

The newcomers don't get too much attention, even though their hoodies and combat trousers seem very out of place in this city.

The Towers

The towers stand in each corner of the city. They are solid stone, no windows all the way up. The ground floor is the largest, grand doors leading into a functional yet beautiful foyer, and from there into smaller chambers. Wide, curving stairs lead up into the tower proper.

As they climb the towers they will come to the different levels which are all trapped, to dissuade intruders and train their disciples. They will be able to descend the towers and exit and enter again as many times as they like as they work their way up to the top.

The City

It will soon become apparent that persuading these people to fight isn't going to happen. The war has already been won, the demons were defeated. The world is safe once more. Welcome, travellers, to the Shining City.

Their SCA's show them the locations of the entrances to the catacombs. There are a handful, scattered around the city, clearly designed for quick evacuation should the city defences ever be breached.

Persuading people that the city needs to be evacuated might take a good while.

The Catacombs

The catacombs are cold and dark, lamps having gone unlit for months. Those that are sensitive or can sense magic in any way will be able to tell that at least here the wards hold: no demons will be able to enter.

The tunnels are narrow, able to fit two people side by side at their widest points, but more often than not they must move single file to avoid collapsed walls or leaning pillars. Or, sometimes, piles of bones spilled from the tombs set into the walls. Side tunnels extend out into the darkness, signposts or symbols marking old, unused storerooms, bunkers for temporary shelter, or private tombs and crypts.

At points the tunnels widen out into large chambers, rooms or galleries that have been used as cemeteries for centuries. At other points the tunnels have collapsed or become almost impassable. People will need to wriggle through the gaps or find ways to stabilise the tunnels in order to pass through.

Purple and Red

Arrival

"Red and Purple to doors." The train flies back into the air after dropping Orange and Blue at the city gates. It doesn't go very far; it's less than a minute later that they're landing again. The doors open and they can step out into the destroyed countryside.

They don't get much time to get their bearings as the train flies off again, because coming over a nearby hill is a band of demons, a gate crackling behind them. The band is mostly footsoldiers, with several of the larger breed interspersed.

It's hard to say which side is more taken by surprise, but the Voidtreckers will only have moments to ready themselves before the demons rush in.

Defending the City

It's a wide area to cover, surrounding the city, and there is plenty of work to be done. Bands of demons roam around, most headed towards the city. They run, claws digging into the ground, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. Sometimes they will have a larger demon or even two with them, armed with toxic whips that they use with dangerous accuracy.

Other times there will be smaller demons, carrying ornate daggers, whispering foul spells to drain and bind their enemies. These demons become more regular as the days progress as it becomes obvious that taking the city will not be as easy as they first thought.

Closing the Demon Gates

The gates nearer the city are smaller, and easy enough to find, but the SCA's of the red team pinpoint more and more gates as they open in the areas further out. Triangular markings on their SCA maps indicate distance and direction.

The gates must be closed from the other side, so the first thing is to enter them. Entering the gates feels strange, uncomfortable, as if something were tugging and clawing at their very being, trying to pull them out of their own skin.

That feeling lasts for a moment, albeit one that feels stretched, and then they are in the demon realm: a monochrome world devoid of life, where every step taken tires the body, where even existing is exhausting.

The gates are guarded, so adjusting will need to be done in combat. Smaller gates have fewer guards than the larger, but all will fight savagely to protect the keystone.

The keystones are smooth black obelisks about a foot high, usually stood on a plinth or set above the gate location as a centrepiece. Each can be destroyed by blunt force or any other ability able to shatter stone, and once it is they will have a short amount of time to leave before the gate closes. Their SCA will helpfully start a timer indicating this.
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-21 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, well." Yoite considered a moment. "I'm watching so just point at me or something?"

He held with his hands in front of him at the ready.

"I'll try and get a few people." He really probably wasn't the best for this, but he'd try.
yondu: (2 1 5)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-03-21 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Alright, I'll call ya out when it's time."

He finally heads over to the gathering, back to Yoite as he explains as best he can. That he's from somewhere else. That they're being tricked. That they need to be ready for the worst.

He's getting pretty doubtful looks even as he's insisting that they need to believe him, and it's then that he points over to Yoite.

"That kid can do a decent job of breakin' it. He'll show somebody. Y'all need to look at him."
comefadeaway: (A Threat)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-22 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
Yoite did several hand signals again different signs and pushed. Fortunately, luck was on his side, he still had plenty of energy and it should at least dispel the illusion on a few of them.

He did smile again though, it was interesting, but he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.
yondu: (0 5 4)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-03-22 07:52 am (UTC)(link)
He backs up as they start coming to. While they don't exactly panic, a few jolt back upon really looking at Yondu, one tapping another's chest.

Yondu raises his hands in the air. Even if he knows that's basically a worthless gesture, it puts others at ease. "We can't break it for everyone. We don't got enough juice or time. We need y'all to tell people."

He's never really been worried about being scapegoated- he's already had the worst of being a rarity. But it's still a threat when people notice you're different.
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-22 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
He wasn't sure what to make of their gestures. They were alarmed, probably. He huffed lightly, leaning forward, hands on his legs a moment.

He straightened up as some people started to scatter and he tilted his head at Yondu.

"Is it alright?"
yondu: (0 6 4)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-03-23 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, you did real good kid." Yondu looks over to Yoite to say, waiting until he's done to nod. But he's still not sure what these people think of him.

He scoots closer to Yoite, putting himself beside of him in case he needs to get in front of him (even if he's capable of taking care of himself, Yondu's not gonna let the opportunity arise if he can help it). "Look, there's some of us all over. We can show y'all what's goin' on if you let us."

He looks down to Yoite, turning a little. "Whoever trained ya would be proud of ya, you got it right."
comefadeaway: (Hopeful)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-23 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
He blushed at the praise and ducked his head a little bit. "I'm...I'm glad it worked." He offered.

He wondered if that was true, if Yukimi would be proud of him for managing that on memory alone. Maybe he wouldn't, because he'd been doing so poorly. It was hard to guess.
yondu: (0 6 1)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-03-24 08:59 am (UTC)(link)
Well, at least right now he has Yondu's full support. Even if it was a small thing, it was a small thing Yondu couldn't do and it was crucial. It gave them the power to reach people that could actually convince some of the citizens.

He looks at his SCA. God he wishes these had text or image options.

"You know what anybody said yet, or should I fill ya in a little bit? I don't know if they gave ya special one."
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-25 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
"I...yeah, I don't really check it much." Yoite admitted. "When it goes red and flashy, it vibrates to get my attention. And...and when people talk on it, there's text for me? But it doesn't stay." Yoite explained. "So if I miss it, I can't really read it."
yondu: (1 5 1)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-03-25 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
"Alright. Well. Seems like the monks are missin' out of the towers. An' they ain't sure where the illusions are comin' from, 'cause people are the ones that usually make 'em. An' seems like poison an' death powers don't bother the demons none, so if any get in whatever you do, use life attacks or just beat the everlovin' shit out of 'em or somethin' to that effect.

"Purple an' red got a camp set up out there.... Hell if I know what we're gonna do. Nap in an old house or somethin?"

It just occurs to him that Blue and Orange setting up in the city is gonna be real off.
comefadeaway: (Sideview)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-03-25 05:49 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh I don't...I don't know." Yoite admitted. "Are we supposed to meet somewhere? Did anyone say that?"

The truth was if anyone yelled anything at them while leaving he'd have no idea. He was just winging it here.