middleofsomewhere | Fissures of Time: Ongoing

Fissures of Time: Ongoing

FISSURES OF TIME: ONGOING

... POI 10-12

FOR SOME, THE MISSION HAS BEEN MORE MENTALLY EXHAUSTING THAN PHYSICALLY. Distortions sprout around the domain without rhyme or reason, and the camps must be moved every new day to meet them, as well as stopping a distortion from deciding to form under them from their presence.

While there's bare-bones vegetation, at least they have their own resources to help one another, as well as what can be retrieved from the Ministry base during return trips to take misplaced civilians to safety. It's straight-forward so far...

...but that wouldn't be standard for the Voidtreckers, and some in their ranks don't want straight-forward. Starting during the early hours of Poi 10, there will be occasional rumblings throughout the land. They last for a few seconds and then stop, seemingly for hours; but then they return, and as the days go on, so do the tremors increase.

It seems the distortions too have become affected...

THE UNQUIET CITY. (CW: People unable to die/rising from the dead, body horror)

A city of rubble and ruin stretches far out around them, where once there were hills and vegetation. Much of the rubble is still smoking as fires smoulder. The fighting isn't over, heard before it's seen.

It must be connected to the same skirmishes seen in other distortions, and so most of you are prepared to meet warriors on foot and mount. But what awaits isn't only the horror of bloodshed. No: the reason that the fighting still continues even as the city lies in ruin is because fighters fall and rise again, as if death were nothing but a short rest.

Puncture marks litter skin and armour, holes from weaponry and blessed-magic visible in torsos, even the spaces of where portions of one's skull and brain should be.

Yet they cannot stop fighting. They cannot fall to the ground, rest. Whatever drove them to fight this war still inspires them to continue, screaming as much in pain as in some sort of twisted ecstasy. Perhaps they are too shocked to do anything else. A city locked in eternal war, distorted in time, doomed to repeat itself.

It's hard to set the equalisers here. Not much is stable and fights are likely to break out wherever there are people. The people of this city have their factions, but they will not hesitate to band together to fight intruders.

EYE OF THE STORM.

They might feel this distortion before they enter it. A spine-chilling thrill, the feeling one might get at the edge of a storm.

—For a storm it is. The moment they enter it their vision will be obstructed, winds howl around them and rain lashes down furiously making a swamp of the ground below them. It's freezing cold and as they walk they will feel something in the storm. Almost as if there are icy hands, reaching out to grab at them, to pull them further into the worst of the weather.

It's hard to know where to place the equalisers, hard to see where the edges of this distortion are. Easier, not by much, to move further in, to find the epicentre and try and take it down from there.

It's a treacherous journey, but the centre truly is calm, water frozen like crystals. Yet temperatures are dangerously low, so it's in everyone's best interests to set the equalisers quick and get out.

MEAN AND GREEN. As the rumbling continues, there comes a strange and worrying distortion. Worrying, as this distortion can be seen from the outside. A hazy blur that seems to move across the countryside, along the left side of the camp you're stationed at. It gets dangerously close at times, and when it does...

Green tendrils of plant life burst out, entangling people to pull them into the distortion. Or chains of flowers spread from the distortion out across the countryside. Beautiful and colourful in the otherwise sparse environment, but those flowers work as anchors, spreading the distortion, expanding it.

To get rid of it they will need to enter, and inside is a thick jungle of vines and bright colourful flowers awaiting them. The foliage is thick and the air musky and sweet. It's easy to get separated, and getting lost is only a matter of getting turned around. The leaves are sticky and vines move seemingly on their own, curling around unsuspecting limbs, trying to trap people in this colourful paradise forever.

And up in the sky above, a woman's laughter can be heard, the heat of the sun bearing down that becomes uncomfortable quick. But don't look up - you may find a large yellow eye - yellow iris, yellow pupil, golden yellow everything - peering back at you, and find yourself being pulled in by the very ground itself by a powerful force.

NO SANCTUARY. Protecting the camps hasn't been difficult, despite it being a Purple task. Other than rowdy refugees breaking out into fights, little else has appeared to disturb them.

'Eiiiiliiifii.... Siiiiliiifiii...
Merios? Herios?
Don't hide... don't hide...
Everything will be so perfect soon...'

People are woken abruptly in the early hours of Poi 11. If by some special sense, or by a grab at their throat, by a body falling on top of where they sleep, someone else stopping the refugee who was about to take a knife to them.

The refugees have become uncontrollable, raving about wanting 'their Gods back'. The ground rumbles as the woman's voice from the hazy jungle - ethereal, so divine - speaks from below. Grass rises and the sky above burns with a brightness like an approaching sun.

Setting an equaliser will calm the refugees, but only those in the camps. Starting from lunchtime, more warriors and civilians will be found appearing from the distance and from thin air, seemingly knowing where to find the Voidtreckers' camps - and after some very specific people.

Those with divinity, control over weather, nature, and death will be especially targeted, along with anyone who received blessings from the Gods.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here. Let us know about shenanigans here. NPC requests here, set up a thread here. Rewards go here.

TL;DR: Starting on Poi 10, there will be odd tremors around the domain, and more aggressive time distortions. From Poi 11 refugees will lose control of themselves and start attacking Voidtreckers, in and out of the camp.

It will happen abruptly to begin with, but some keen to reading energy will find that it is shifting; like something is breaking in from somewhere else (similar to the time distortions).

Extra equalisers can be picked up from the Ministry base and they will be there to help, but there are also more distortions happening around the domain, so they'll be dealing with those. The Ministry will advise that any non-combatants should stick to the base, and even use the scouting drones to help from afar, if they really need to help.

Undead warriors can be found outside of time distortions, and not all of the people outside of distortions will be 'permanent' people. Equalisers can be kept going for a few hours to keep these people away, but will also need go into recharge/cooling mode.

Don't worry if you're still busy with the Starting log! Or if you've been meaning to tag, jump in here!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I will sir!" They were a team after all and it was important a team sticks together and makes sure they are all alright. "You shout too if you need me!"

He rushes off into the tent, calling for people to follow him, helping people up off the ground, encouraging those who seemed a little nervous or frightened.

It was a very frightening time but it was important everyone kept their spirits up and did their best!

He darted in and out tents, glad to see Estaban every few trips, glad to see he was alright. He knew the other man was frightened too, grown ups got worried too a lot of the time. So he made sure to reassure him whenever they met up.

"I found four more people!" Or "I heard some people gathering over there!"

Soon enough working together they managed to clear a whole bunch of tents.

There's relief in how Romeo handles it all-- it helps the half-elf soothe down the snarl in his thoughts that constantly roars to make sure he's safe. It's hard, Esteban finds, to let himself trust the child to be alright. Not because he doesn't deserve trust, but because he's always been a protective person to begin with, and Romeo is just so young.

It helps to hear his voice. Esteban doesn't reply-- mostly because his own is not the most steady at this point. On top of that, he's had to wake up a fair few Trekkers himself, and explain-- swiftly-- that they were under attack, that the refugees had gone feral, and were pouncing on sight. The strain onto his already squeezed throat does not help, but he tries his best to speak regardless.

It's a small group they gather-- with the Void Trekkers split across a few camps-- three? he thinks?-- there aren't that many here, and only a dozen or so need to be woken. Okay. Okay okay, just fourteen total; Esteban can try to keep them safe, right?

"C'n you guide them t' the supply tent?" He breathes deeply, and has to cough some of the dust out of his lungs before he can keep going. "Y' know where it's at, right?" It's a dangerous position, but Esteban has to keep watch over them all. "Sneaky too, 'f you can!" Please, let them get to a safe place without alerting all of the camp.

"Yes! I can lead them there!" He looked at them, fourteen people. "I don't think I can make them all invisible..."

He could try, but he's not sure he's got enough energy. "But if anyone needs help being sneaky I can do it for them, to make it easier!"

And then those who were already good at sneaking could do it themselves! That would be better because he's never tried to make more than two people invisible at the same time before!

"I know where it is though!" He could get them there.

He could make people invisible?

"Nah, keep it for yourself, 'f we get into serious trouble." He hadn't really thought about Romeo as a mage, but knowing it now-- he breathed a soft sigh of relief, glad to know the child wasn't entirely defenseless as he had first assumed. If there was trouble, Esteban would cause a diversion. He was good at that.

"Just keep an eye out an' try to take empty pathways. 'F there's anythin' coming at us, I'm still here, okay?" He was careful when he went to give the child's shoulder a reassuring pat, a quick smile lifting the corners of his mouth. He would make sure they all got there, everything was going to be fine!

"I'll keep both my eyes out!" He nodded, looking determined. He was going to do his very best to get everyone there safely!

He nodded at Esteban and reached out to grasp his hand. "Good luck! You just got to yell if you need me to slow down. We'll get everyone to safety."

And with that he set off, encouraging the people around them to follow.

Good... Good.

Esteban takes the last spot on the line, keeping an eye out for any problems or stragglers. The earth sings and heaves in turns, like the lungs of a gargantuan beast that they have foolishly disturbed. It makes for an uneven footing, and even without the refugees spotting them, progress is slow.

But Romeo is smart, has shown Esteban how alert he is both to the situation at hand, and considerate enough to catch on how rattled his companion was. The half-elf is kind of proud of him for that. His gut reaction is still to try and protect the child, but it gets just a tiny bit easier to breathe. Everything is going to be fine.

Get to the supply tents. That's step one. Contact anyone from outside if they can. Step two. Okay, this can work. Step three would be... to try and setup a defensible area? But then, there's nothing defensible in the tents that Esteban can think of. He can only hope someone else is going to have a better idea when he asks.

Romeo leads the group with quiet enthusiasm. He's trying not to draw any attention- or any more attention than a group of that size brought naturally but at the same time he is trying to keep everyone's spirits up.

So he makes sure to stay happy and confident as he weaves his way through the camp towards the supply tents. It doesn't take too long and luckily they don't get attacked at all!

"Here we go!" He pointed. "Everyone can wait in here and we will make sure no one gets through! But first we got to check it's empty."

He will wait for Esteban for that at least.

The group gathers a little slowly, some of them having stumbled on their way. It is definitely odd, to walk the grounds like thieves, under the blazing sky that has no sun, no matter how late the hour. Many of them are exhausted, but there are no complains; things had turned sour, but they bear it as best they can. Romeo's presence and cheer is a blessing.

Esteban is last, relieved when he reaches the group, curved in a shadowy cove underneath the large tent's rain protector. He does a quick headcount, just in case, before nodding at them all, then dropping down on one knee near the child.

"Great job out there!~" He cheers, and there is far less tension in him than had marred their early wake-up. "Quiet as a fox~" He offers one more shoulder pat, beaming, but it soon turns more serious, as he stands up in their group.

"Who's up to checkin' the tent out with me? We need t' be quick an' quiet."

Everyone got there safely and nothing bad happened which was the best possible outcome of all this. Romeo grinned at Esteban as he crouched down to talk to him and beamed at the praise and shoulder pat.

"I can help!" Quiet as a fox! "I can go invisible and sneak in if you want?"

Because then no one would see him for sure!

Could he? Should he? Esteban has to quell the gut reaction that still chafes at letting the child go anywhere near danger, brushing it aside. Romeo is resourceful. And he can turn invisible. He's a smart choice-- and being a child can mean being overlooked, or even underestimated. It's a card in his favour if he knows how to play it right.

The half-elf isn't sure Romeo would, but hopefully it won't even come to that.

It takes him a second to wrap his head around this, but he nods as soon as his thoughts are settled in some sort of order, agreeing to the suggestion. But.

"I'm goin' with you." Esteban is not that stealthy, too tall and he has too much presence to quell into being discreet, but he is good at causing a ruckus, giving Romeo the time to get out of there. "Two by two. That way, if someone's in trouble, it's never alone."

(That his "plan" entirely revolves around Romeo abandoning him to save himself if there is trouble-- well, that's fine, right? It's the... uh. Exception to the rule.)

"Give it a glance first?" He suggests, checking on their companions again. "Invisible 'f you can. Just at the entrance." Is it better for him to remain constantly invisible, or to shift between visible to invisible when there is a need? Esteban isn't sure. Seems like he'd be finding out as they go.

If there are enemies right within the flaps of the tent, Esteban will be right there to instill the fear of gods and monsters within them. And if there aren't, well, he'll follow right along the child, as quiet and discreet as he can manage himself to be.

"Okay sir." He could agree to that. Teamwork was always important and sticking together was how teamwork was meant to go.

He pauses thought before he goes, before he casts his spell on himself. "What's your name? Your full proper name. 'Cause if I know it I can make you invisible too."

Two sneaky invisible people were better than one invisible person and someone trying their best to be quiet after all.

"Esteban." He shakes his head, finally addressing the little problem that irked him from the beginning. He knows he's told Romeo before, but it seems it'll bear repeating.

"No need t' call me 'sir'. It's just Esteban-- Drake's a family name 'f I need it, but that doesn't mean anythin' to a dragon."

Oh. Hmm. Maybe he should have left that last part out. Oh, well, it doesn't matter-- there's more pressing things to look into than his questionable parentage.

"Can your spell work with that?"

"Um I might need both bits. Are you a dragon?" That was so cool!

But also a distraction. "Um okay!" He looked up at him. He could do this! They were going to be invisible and help all these people!

He's never made a dragon invisible before. If Esteban is a dragon. He doesn't look like a dragon. But he can do it! He's a good spell caster.

"Esteban Drake! Umbra!"

"I'm not--" Oh, whatever, the words are out, and-- and lesson learned, Esteban really should be more open about this than he's been, no matter how much he worries about it. Ryo had told him so, but he'd still been too stressed and-- anyways.

The spell washes over him, gently misting over his skin, and Esteban swallows through a dry throat, breathing in deeply. Okay, he's pretty sure it stuck. Just to be certain though, he checks for Romeo's reaction before attempting anything, lifting his arms a bit and looking for himself.

Right. Okay.

"You too, now." Just making sure the child does the same for himself, before they risk the first steps in.

Romeo grinned at him, it worked!

"Yes! I'll do it now, you won't be able to see me once I do but I'll make sure to stick close to you!"

And with that warning he pointed at himself. "Shosoki! Umbra!"

Once the spell took hold he stepped close to Esteban, to start towards the tent.

Shosoki? Hmmm. Well, this isn't Esteban's secret to prod, and he lingers for a few moments before trailing his hand where the young boy had been, only now realizing he might have wanted to ask if there was any other side effect to the invisibility. Maybe Romeo has a better understanding of where they both are relative to each other than he does at the very least.

"Alright; steppin' in now," the half-elf manages, taking a deep breath in, and gently, quickly parting the canvas, creeping quickly into the tent.

Boxes cover the majority of it, supplies for the most part; food and water for everyone in the camp, some of the larger, clunkier materials, such as spare folded tents still not in use. Their stacked shadows dominate the area, and Esteban gives a quick glance around before teasing the flap of canvas open again, not entirely sure where Romeo had gone anymore.

"Nothin' suspicious t' you?" He asks delicately, his voice barely squeezing past his sore throat and into hearing range at all. Esteban swallows thickly again, finding it more than a bit of a bother by this point, but not wanting to waste time taking care of it quite yet.

Romeo followed him in, able to see Esteban even if the other couldn't see him. He looked around the tent, no people to be seen, nothing bad at all.

"No. I can't see anything. I think it is safe!"

They could bring everyone in!

"Okay." Okay, they could do this. Fourteen of them, all together; they could do this.

"Think y' can bring th' others in?" he asked, gently nudging him on. One last, quick check around the nooks and crannies of the tent would help him settle that there truly was no threat, and they could get the plan started from here. Whatever the plan was-- Esteban seriously hoped someone would have a better idea than he does.

"Oh-- Romeo?" He grins again, unsure how visible he is to the young boy who had managed all of this without even flinching, without even stopping to take a breath. "Y're doin' a great job. Thanks for all your help."

"Thank you sir!" He grinned at him. "You are too!"

They had done great team work. He grinned before turning to skip off to gather the others. Everyone could be safe here!

(OOC: I am not sure if you got my message but I set up the thing for books here!. Thank for this thread was fun <3)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fissures of Time: Ongoing

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How much action would you like in this thread?

up to you! We can get them there relatively safely unless you want to play a fight?

Would rather not. Turns out I suck at action shots P= I just don't have much of a plot for this >__<

you're all good!

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secure the area, bring the others in, then fade to black?

sounds like a plan!

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Okay! I think we can wrap up here? Thank you for your patience!

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