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asgardchrysalis2020-01-17 06:53 pm
asgardmods) wrote in asgardchrysalis2020-01-17 06:53 pm
EVENT LOG: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS
Who: ANYONE leaving Asgard to fight the demons at the Qliphoth
What: the Devil Is in the Details event
When: January 14 - 22
Where: three days north of Asgard's kingdom
Warnings: blood, gore, death, ridiculous gross stuff
On January 14, the gods summon everyone to the castle ground to announce that Asgard is moving out to face the newest threat on the horizon. what seems like the whole of Asgard prepares and departs the kingdom. From the youngest to the oldest of the able and willing, all hands are needed as this mission serves two highly critical purposes: to defeat the current threat and to build outposts that can be used as midway safe houses on missions like these.
Similar to the last time Asgard embarked on such a journey, a long train of wagons guided by the eight-legged horses and several of the gods pass through the thicc barrier of the forest into what appears to be a blinding light for any that remain in the city. As the caravan breaks through the treeline, that brightness barely fades as a blistering sun gleams off of what appears to be a solid landscape of pure ice. An odd chill travels from the top of your head to your toes as Honir calls out "Hold onto your limbs!" in a strangely cheerful warning to match the unusual warmth that envelops you afterwards.
Over the course of the next three days, the caravan travels northward through the strange landscape of Yggdrasil in winter. It seems like ice and snow rise and fall at whim, clear skies turning into a swarming blizzard from one stretch of land to another. It's like it can't quite decide what type of winter it would like to be, and the caravan is left to navigate and make camp through this fitful weather. On January 16, the caravan halts as the gods declare this to be the safest point between the kingdom and where the Qliphoth is growing. Construction of the outpost will begin here in the morning, as those moving on to destroy the wretched tree prepare to confront the demons of another world.
On the morning of January 17, everyone sets upon their separate tasks as those prepared for combat continue onward to travel through rocky and mountainous terrain, passing solitary homes and small settlements along the way that are all empty and destroyed. While there are clear signs of a struggle, there are no bodies and no other signs of life to be found until you continue onward.
A smell will reach you first, the stench of iron and rot that some might recognize as the telltale signs of carnage, and it won't be long before you find the source. Wicked vines as thick as a humanoid body appear snaking up from the ground and winding around the mountain pass, covered in nasty thorns and pulsating masses of blood that harden for protection as anything approaches. As you follow the trail, you begin to see human corpses impaled upon the vines' thorns, frozen in suspended horror, that turn to dust and fade away if touched.
It isn't long before the crux of this nightmare comes into view as a massive tree rises into the sky and is lost behind a raging storm of thunder, blood, and destruction. The city that was here - and it was itself a developed city, not a settlement or encampment as the minor signs of life you've encountered elsewhere in Yggdrasil - is decimated entirely, the ground ripped up and buildings obliterated by violence untold. The environment becomes increasingly hostile the further in you go as the vines (now more clearly presumed to be the roots of the tree) thicken, corrupted plantlife bare angry teeth, and the ground transitions from solid to unpleasantly organic (cw: blood, gore).
It quickly becomes apparent you aren't here alone, either. While the only signs of human life you find are gore and death, other beings stalk through the ruin searching for new victims. Demons patrol the city, taking various forms like walking nightmares bent on destruction. Their goal is to find more humans to feed the tree with their blood, and they will attack relentlessly on sight, only stopping once they've been destroyed.
Once you've made your way into the city and assessed the present threat, it's unclear where to go or what to do next. Making way towards the tree at the center of it all seems an obvious course, but with demons lining the path and these violent roots twisting into the city with ominous intent, there may be more to contend with than simply the tree itself. To reach the conclusion of this event, your characters will spend the next three days searching for answers and trying to survive in a hellish landscape.
See the event post for broad details on what surviving in the city looks like and this thread to find what challenges your character might face as they seek and destroy various seals to bring down the Qliphoth. Characters that die in this event will receive one death consequence.
Midday on January 19, as everyone continues searching through the city and fighting for their lives, it will be nearly impossible to miss the moment the battle turns in Asgard's favor. As more of the seals are broken, the roots winding throughout the city begin to wither and die as the blood is drained from them. The demons shriek and howl as the Qliphoth begins to crumble, sending them all into a frenzy. Their attacks become more feverish and vicious, desperate to revitalize their efforts with fresh blood in spite of their clear and obvious failure.
The tree stands, however, and the storm above it roils with thunder that booms over the cries of the panicking demons. With almost every inch of the city searched already, the only place left to look is throughout the Qliphoth itself (cw: blood, gore) and the many challenges that come with it.
It isn't until someone traverses to the top of the tree (cw: blood, gross stuff) that the last seal is found in the form of what may have resembled a fruit given a chance to fully form. As it is, those that come across it find half of it collapsed on itself as blood drains from it onto the ground. With even the slightest of pressure, the fruit shatters like glass - and immediately afterwards, the surrounding hellscape bleeds away rapidly.
The vines and corpses turn to dust, scattered into the air. The demons give a final mournful wail as they vanish from sight. The Qliphoth itself cracks and splinters into jagged shards that crash to the ground in a violent display before disappearing completely. As the magic that brought this nightmare to Yggdrasil is dispelled, all signs of the carnage vanish, leaving only the ruins of a city with no one left to remember it.
It's a victory, but a harsh one. There are no survivors to be brought back to Asgard. Whatever civilization may have been here before this, your characters are left to wander through the abruptly empty and abandoned streets as they make their way back to the encampment. They arrive by nightfall to find the outpost successfully completed, each party with their own stories to tell of the recent days' trials.
With the Qliphoth destroyed and the outpost established as best it can be, the caravan makes its way back to Asgard on January 20. While the load is a bit lighter for the supplies it took to build and battle their way back home, some carry new burdens and memories of the strange happenings that took place here. The magic the gods warned of has shown its powerful capacity to overwrite the landscape of Yggdrasil, and new creatures in the world are becoming increasingly aware of the Wanderers' presence.
All along the three day journey back to the kingdom, the gods and the natives can't help but discuss and speculate what this means for the future. A nervous energy travels back to the city with them in spite of their victories, the vast and mercurial landscape of Yggdrasil providing a frigid reminder of their isolation at the heart of it. Asgard may come to contend with the fact that they are safer within their kingdom and the veil of obscurity - and the fact that the veil has been lifted, leaving an open window for them to see out into the dangers of the world, and for the world to look back at them.
[ OOC NOTE: This is the event log for the Devil Is in the Details event! Your characters will be left to survive in a demon-infested city for three days as they solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and destroy seals to bring down the tree. Details on the quests and challenges you can play with are here; there are solutions to each challenge that depend on what your character tries to do to solve it. The success rate for this event was determined by how many people attempted to solve the puzzles in each route. For the sake of this event, you successfully destroyed all of the seals in time to stop the Qliphoth from fully producing its fruit and inviting a powerful new evil into the world. If you have any questions or need any help, please feel free to hit us upon the mod contact page. Enjoy! ]
What: the Devil Is in the Details event
When: January 14 - 22
Where: three days north of Asgard's kingdom
Warnings: blood, gore, death, ridiculous gross stuff
❧ january 14-16: departure.
On January 14, the gods summon everyone to the castle ground to announce that Asgard is moving out to face the newest threat on the horizon. what seems like the whole of Asgard prepares and departs the kingdom. From the youngest to the oldest of the able and willing, all hands are needed as this mission serves two highly critical purposes: to defeat the current threat and to build outposts that can be used as midway safe houses on missions like these.
Similar to the last time Asgard embarked on such a journey, a long train of wagons guided by the eight-legged horses and several of the gods pass through the thicc barrier of the forest into what appears to be a blinding light for any that remain in the city. As the caravan breaks through the treeline, that brightness barely fades as a blistering sun gleams off of what appears to be a solid landscape of pure ice. An odd chill travels from the top of your head to your toes as Honir calls out "Hold onto your limbs!" in a strangely cheerful warning to match the unusual warmth that envelops you afterwards.
Over the course of the next three days, the caravan travels northward through the strange landscape of Yggdrasil in winter. It seems like ice and snow rise and fall at whim, clear skies turning into a swarming blizzard from one stretch of land to another. It's like it can't quite decide what type of winter it would like to be, and the caravan is left to navigate and make camp through this fitful weather. On January 16, the caravan halts as the gods declare this to be the safest point between the kingdom and where the Qliphoth is growing. Construction of the outpost will begin here in the morning, as those moving on to destroy the wretched tree prepare to confront the demons of another world.
❧ january 17-18: descent into hell.
On the morning of January 17, everyone sets upon their separate tasks as those prepared for combat continue onward to travel through rocky and mountainous terrain, passing solitary homes and small settlements along the way that are all empty and destroyed. While there are clear signs of a struggle, there are no bodies and no other signs of life to be found until you continue onward.
A smell will reach you first, the stench of iron and rot that some might recognize as the telltale signs of carnage, and it won't be long before you find the source. Wicked vines as thick as a humanoid body appear snaking up from the ground and winding around the mountain pass, covered in nasty thorns and pulsating masses of blood that harden for protection as anything approaches. As you follow the trail, you begin to see human corpses impaled upon the vines' thorns, frozen in suspended horror, that turn to dust and fade away if touched.
It isn't long before the crux of this nightmare comes into view as a massive tree rises into the sky and is lost behind a raging storm of thunder, blood, and destruction. The city that was here - and it was itself a developed city, not a settlement or encampment as the minor signs of life you've encountered elsewhere in Yggdrasil - is decimated entirely, the ground ripped up and buildings obliterated by violence untold. The environment becomes increasingly hostile the further in you go as the vines (now more clearly presumed to be the roots of the tree) thicken, corrupted plantlife bare angry teeth, and the ground transitions from solid to unpleasantly organic (cw: blood, gore).
It quickly becomes apparent you aren't here alone, either. While the only signs of human life you find are gore and death, other beings stalk through the ruin searching for new victims. Demons patrol the city, taking various forms like walking nightmares bent on destruction. Their goal is to find more humans to feed the tree with their blood, and they will attack relentlessly on sight, only stopping once they've been destroyed.
Once you've made your way into the city and assessed the present threat, it's unclear where to go or what to do next. Making way towards the tree at the center of it all seems an obvious course, but with demons lining the path and these violent roots twisting into the city with ominous intent, there may be more to contend with than simply the tree itself. To reach the conclusion of this event, your characters will spend the next three days searching for answers and trying to survive in a hellish landscape.
See the event post for broad details on what surviving in the city looks like and this thread to find what challenges your character might face as they seek and destroy various seals to bring down the Qliphoth. Characters that die in this event will receive one death consequence.
❧ january 19: boss faito.
Midday on January 19, as everyone continues searching through the city and fighting for their lives, it will be nearly impossible to miss the moment the battle turns in Asgard's favor. As more of the seals are broken, the roots winding throughout the city begin to wither and die as the blood is drained from them. The demons shriek and howl as the Qliphoth begins to crumble, sending them all into a frenzy. Their attacks become more feverish and vicious, desperate to revitalize their efforts with fresh blood in spite of their clear and obvious failure.
The tree stands, however, and the storm above it roils with thunder that booms over the cries of the panicking demons. With almost every inch of the city searched already, the only place left to look is throughout the Qliphoth itself (cw: blood, gore) and the many challenges that come with it.
It isn't until someone traverses to the top of the tree (cw: blood, gross stuff) that the last seal is found in the form of what may have resembled a fruit given a chance to fully form. As it is, those that come across it find half of it collapsed on itself as blood drains from it onto the ground. With even the slightest of pressure, the fruit shatters like glass - and immediately afterwards, the surrounding hellscape bleeds away rapidly.
The vines and corpses turn to dust, scattered into the air. The demons give a final mournful wail as they vanish from sight. The Qliphoth itself cracks and splinters into jagged shards that crash to the ground in a violent display before disappearing completely. As the magic that brought this nightmare to Yggdrasil is dispelled, all signs of the carnage vanish, leaving only the ruins of a city with no one left to remember it.
It's a victory, but a harsh one. There are no survivors to be brought back to Asgard. Whatever civilization may have been here before this, your characters are left to wander through the abruptly empty and abandoned streets as they make their way back to the encampment. They arrive by nightfall to find the outpost successfully completed, each party with their own stories to tell of the recent days' trials.
❧ january 20-22: return.
With the Qliphoth destroyed and the outpost established as best it can be, the caravan makes its way back to Asgard on January 20. While the load is a bit lighter for the supplies it took to build and battle their way back home, some carry new burdens and memories of the strange happenings that took place here. The magic the gods warned of has shown its powerful capacity to overwrite the landscape of Yggdrasil, and new creatures in the world are becoming increasingly aware of the Wanderers' presence.
All along the three day journey back to the kingdom, the gods and the natives can't help but discuss and speculate what this means for the future. A nervous energy travels back to the city with them in spite of their victories, the vast and mercurial landscape of Yggdrasil providing a frigid reminder of their isolation at the heart of it. Asgard may come to contend with the fact that they are safer within their kingdom and the veil of obscurity - and the fact that the veil has been lifted, leaving an open window for them to see out into the dangers of the world, and for the world to look back at them.
[ OOC NOTE: This is the event log for the Devil Is in the Details event! Your characters will be left to survive in a demon-infested city for three days as they solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and destroy seals to bring down the tree. Details on the quests and challenges you can play with are here; there are solutions to each challenge that depend on what your character tries to do to solve it. The success rate for this event was determined by how many people attempted to solve the puzzles in each route. For the sake of this event, you successfully destroyed all of the seals in time to stop the Qliphoth from fully producing its fruit and inviting a powerful new evil into the world. If you have any questions or need any help, please feel free to hit us upon the mod contact page. Enjoy! ]
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He lifts Wei Ying's hand to his mouth, kissing along his icy knuckles one by one.
"Can wait here a little longer. Let Lan Zhan hold you a little longer. Little longer to be grateful you are still here with me," he finishes, voice shaking a little as he allows the smallest amount of panic finally release.
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There is fear in his voice, trembling in his body that has nothing to do with his own wounds, and Wei Wuxian aches for him. "Alright," he says. "Lan Zhan will carry." He winds his arm around Lan Zhan's waist, holding himself close enough that Lan Zhan can feel his heartbeat through their robes.
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"Love you," he murmurs, wishing there was a better way to say, better way to encompass years of affection and longing into a few words. "Wei Ying is precious to me."
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"I'm here," he promises. "I love you and I'm here."
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He lets out a careful breath, pulling himself back together piece by piece until he is calm.
"Thank you for fighting. Being brave."
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"Stop evil, and protect the weak."
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He forces himself to pull away enough to carefully lay Wei Ying back down, fixing him with a stern look that he hopes keep him still.
"We must go. Lan Zhan will carry you. Must get back to camp; find a proper healer. Then Wei Ying can rest."
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Still, he nods. They aren't safe here, and his injury endangers Lan Zhan as well. They need to flee, and soon.
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He's unsure he can concentrate enough to get them out if Wei Ying is hurting the way he imagines he will hurt being jostled around this place. "Wei Ying has already suffered enough."
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He swallows, and then Wei Wuxian reaches out and swallows the pill, too. "Please be careful," he says, folding Lan Zhan's hand inside both of his own. "I will keep watch as best I can."
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As it is, this will hurt until it does not. He stand and then leans over, carefully threading one arm underneath Wei Ying's shoulders and the other under his knees. He stands, less easily than he would have with his core but he does so without a wobble or a noise. He will not allow Wei Ying to feel like a burden.
"Wei Ying can think about the house. How it should look on the inside for us."
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The house. Āiyō, his back. It...it will be lovely, with carved wooden panels that open to the river. There will be lotuses and peonies and clouds, there will be a bed just for them, there will be a garden and rice and wine.
Wei Wuxian manages to peel his eyes open, searching blearily, but the entire landscape is red. Red vines, red earth, red burning hotly in his belly and side. He closes them.
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He stops every few blocks to orient himself, the sun in this place as dim and festering as anything else. At the third stop he hears a noise, ducking into a nearby alley as the sounds of a horde of demons grows closer. He takes a few more steps back into the darkness, hand hovering over Wei Ying's mouth in case he must quiet him.
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He opens his eyes, staring up at Lan Zhan's tense face. It takes longer than it should to remember where they are and why they must be silent, but as the skittering of talons sounds from only feet away, he nods, going a step further and clamping his own hand over his mouth.
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He looks around, judging the best place to shove Wei Ying if they turn towards the two of them. It will hurt, will likely rip some stitches but that is still a better chance than fighting in his state. He will unsheathe Bichen and start and keep them away from Wei Ying.
The scratching gets louder as they near the mouth of the alley, feet away then blocking what little light there is. It takes agonizingly long but they move on, sound growing soft enough for Lan Zhan to let out a careful breath.
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"Rest your arms if you need to. The medicine is working. I can bear being put down and lifted again, or even slung over your shoulder."
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"Once held bamboo rods for six hours. In snow," he mutters, crouching to avoid any touch by a strand of the massive vine. The thorns here are dripping and he is careful not to let it touch either of them. It looks and smells very much like old blood.
Wei Ying is, in fact, growing heavy but he will not put him down, will not allow rest until he is certain Wei Ying will be safe. It is not an option. This is hardly the first time he's felt his arms burn.
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He says none of this, deciding instead to watch Lan Zhan's face as it wobbles above him, determined to catch any sign that he is growing tired and pushing himself too far. "I'm glad Little Apple is no there," he remarks, "But she would be very useful just now."
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"Little Apple would bray and attract every demon," he huffs, imagining Wei Ying far too easily sacrificing himself for a donkey. His fingers clench harder around Wei Ying's knee and shoulder as his muscles try and spasm. He can do this, he is certain they are not far and he will not force Wei Ying to endure another round of lowering and lifting.
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"I've recovered somewhat, I can summon another shield if need be to buy us time."
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He'd hoped the pain medicine would be stronger, would simply put Wei Ying to sleep. It might be harder to carry him, but Lan Zhan knows every step is agony for him. He should have asked Wen Qing more questions, had more thorough knowledge.
"Do you need to stop?"
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"Just for a moment," he tries, and he at least doesn't need to feign the sheen of sweat on his brow as he looks up at him. "It's not your fault. The thorn was too cruel."
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"Sorry," he murmurs as he crouches and holds Wei Ying tighter to get them inside. There is enough room for him to sit and pull Wei Ying in between his legs, trying to support as much of his weight as he can. "Okay?"
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"How much distance remains?"
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"Not far," he whispers, confident that they are close to the camp. He will get them both back, he will take Wei Ying to a healer and he will stay with him. Wei Ying is priority and Odin can find another fighter, in the meantime. "Let yourself rest. Lan Zhan will not leave you. We will get back, find a healer and I will rest with you."
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