⇨ HOME AGAIN

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone!
When: Day 68 - Day 72
Where: Carnival grounds.
What: Everyone makes it back to the carnival after their adventure in hell. The Ringmaster makes a new lake to celebrate, apparently.
Warnings: A notable absence of torture.

TO HELL AND BACK↴ The rescuers and the liberated captives will emerge from the portal like bats out of hell. Much like their previous return, this arrival will be met with a flurry of medical activity as everyone gets their injuries seen to, particularly those that had been held prisoner within Morningstar's hell fortress. It will still be night when they arrive, and the rest of Day 68 will be clouded over completely, for the benefit of the new vampires as they get settled in. After the immediate panic is dealt with, the Ringmaster will disappear into the forest until the morning of Day 69. It will be raining off and on during her absence. ► RECOVERY: Unlike the last time, the Ringmaster will be supplying the carnival workers with some healing potions from her private hoard, given that most of the healers are already wounded or spent. Damage caused by iron poisoning will not be cured by healing magic or healing items though, unfortunately, and those who have spent a lot of time in contact with iron will take at least a week to fully recover. However, regular healing remedies like bandages and herbs may help speed things along if the patient is suited to them. ► A BRAND NEW LAKE: On the morning of Day 69, the Ringmaster will return the forest to announce that she's built a new lake into the carnival grounds, only a short trail's distance from the backyard. Unlike most of the forest, this area won't just lead you in circles when explored, meaning that it can actually be modified and developed as the workers see fit. The water is always clean and just the right temperature for swimming, though it gets a bit cooler the deeper you swim. At the far side of the lake, there is a warm, stone pathway leading up the side of the mountain, that will eventually take you to some bangin' hot springs. Brought to you mostly because the Ringmaster doesn't know how to say sorry with actual words. At least it gives you something to play with while you try to shake off the trauma. ► FRUITS OF VICTORY: On Day 70, all the workers who came to hell for the rescue mission will be given a gift from the Ringmaster. Each of them will receive a bright green, glowing seed, about the size of your thumbnail. She will tell you that, when planted, the seeds will swiftly grow into a small citrus tree, which will grow fruits with regenerative properties. More details about these plants will be written up in a separate post, but for now your characters can ogle them and decide if they are going to plant them or not. ► TAKE ME TO CHURCH: Staring on Day 71, the Ringmaster will be starting to work on removing the vampirism from those infected with it, which apparently involves a lot of... meditation? She will take the newbie vampires out into a shady area of the forest and encourage them to look inside themselves and attempt to separate themselves spiritually from their demonic beasts. How well you character masters her teachings over time will determine whether or not she is ultimately capable of stripping out your demon soul and returning you to life. Of course, not all demons are made equal, and some will be more difficult to separate than others...

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Ash | OTA

[amusicaladventure]

Day 68

[After kicking ass forward and back through Hell, after the burning anger and righteous excitement all wore off, Ash is -- well, actually pretty manic. The whole thing has left her bouncy, all grins, and of course, musical. So whatever somber event or miserable post-traumatic huddling is going on tends to get interrupted by a jaunty little guitar tune and a catgirl downright skipping through, bringing the music with her voice.]

A fellow came along and tried to knock me flat.
Everybody told me, son you can't fight that,
But whoa I knew I was good.
Wop bob doodly bop, I showed them I could.

A fellow started drumming with a rat-tat-tat.
A fellow told me sonny boy you can't beat that,
But whoa I knew I was good.
And oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, I showed them I could.

You know you gotta be someone.
You gotta be strong.
When you got the goods,
You know you can't do anything wrong.

A fellow came along in a big top hat.
Said sonny boy you know you can't top that,
But whoa I knew I was good.
And oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, I showed them I could.

Oh-oh I knew I was good.

Day 69

[So Ash hasn't changed her opinion about the Ringmaster one bit. In fact, this all confirms it: the woman has absolutely no relation to mortal thoughts that anyone can possibly draw. A lake. Honestly.]

[This doesn't stop Ash from enjoying it, though, which means no sooner does the lake pop up than Ash strolls on up there in her bathing suit, a towel slung over her shoulder and a look of delight on her face when she spots it.]

[atouts]

[ Sorry, Ash, some people are eternal critics and Childermass happens to be one of those. Aside from resting, which he finds he's terrible at doing anyway, he's taken to the cookhouse for a little more space and some shelter from the rain outside to have coffee and try and set down some thoughts in one of his little notebooks.

Thoughts thoroughly interrupted by... singing? Really? Looking up, he realizes it's the cat, so, of course, singing, really.

Well, he wasn't getting anything written, anyway, but he'll still comment. ]

Keep that up and someone with a headache may very well try to knock you flat.

[ Not him, but you never know. ]

[amusicaladventure]

If they have a headache, I'll fix it. [Ash isn't about to let her good mood get snuffed by some random snark. She waggles a finger at him with a grin.] Now's the time we celebrate victory!

[atouts]

Hmm.

[ Nope, he's here to rain on her parade. Try, anyway. He's good at carrying on being harsh even in the face of bubbly cheerfulness. ]

I wouldn't call it a victory until we know for sure the Ringmaster can help those who've been turned.

[amusicaladventure]

[Ash idly folds her arms behind her head.] We'll find a way. And even if they're turned, it's better than them all being lost to Hell forever, isn't it?

[atouts]

[ And he just shrugs. ]

Anything is better than that, so the bar is set low. Doesn't make it any less true that some people here may not agree on it being time to celebrate just yet.

[amusicaladventure]

[Ash puts her fists on her hips, leaning in slightly.]

Just because anything is better than that, that doesn't mean rescue was ever certain. Considering how many people got taken? Considering how many people got messed up? We did a damn good job getting them out of there. That's worth celebrating even if everything isn't fixed.

[atouts]

[ Childermass remains unmoved, even with a loud catperson leaning in towards him. ]

I never said it wasn't a good job. It was certainly a success, but you may not have noticed, we did come back lacking one whole supervisor and a large part of the carnival technically dead as well.

[ Dead, undead, whatever. ]

[amusicaladventure]

Sure, but we can't just fix that. We achieved almost the best results we could have under the circumstances, so... [What are the standards here? Is he the kind of guy that thinks an 'A-' is a grade worth despairing over?] Saying there's more to do doesn't mean we didn't do this one part pretty well.

[atouts]

And yet that's still not something others may appreciate a celebration for just yet, even if we did do that one part well.

[ He replies with that, leaning back in his chair so watching her is just a little bit more comfortable than craning his head up from where he'd been, lingering over his notes. ]

[amusicaladventure]

[Ash waggles a finger at him.] If you don't celebrate when things are good because when things could be better, you'll never celebrate at all, because things are never perfect. And then you'll lead a miserable life full of overwhelming expectations you can never achieve.

[atouts]

Hm. Possibly, though I've yet to feel that way about my life thus far. [ Childermass is a pretty big stick in the mud outside the carnival, too. ] Well, whether we should or shouldn't be celebrating aside, you did do a good job down there in hell.

[ He can at least acknowledge that much, even if he isn't down for throwing a party or anything. ]

[amusicaladventure]

[Ash is surrounded by weird sticks in the mud, for some reason. It's either that or, like, awkwardly young teenagers around here. But hey, it's not like she'd know what to do with people her own age either.]

We all did a good job. [This isn't modesty on Ash's behalf; quite the opposite. She figures other people deserve some glory too, even though she personally was amazing. As she always is.] Hell's just lucky I didn't REALLY open up on it.

[atouts]

Is that so? [ And he has to admit, he is curious and the slight tilt his head gives to one side indicates as much, even if it isn't blatantly obvious. What a strange brand of magic Ashleigh has, certainly not any kind he's ever heard of before in his own world. ] And what would have happened to Hell if you had?

[amusicaladventure]

[Ash also has a lot of arrogance. She's never really failed at anything directly, after all; some outside circumstance always gets in the way, making it never a question of her own power or ability.]

[To answer his question, she splays a hand, then slowly closes it like she's crushing something within it.]

[atouts]

[ And Childermass is the king of the skeptical, so when she mimes out crushing something — Hell, he assumes — he only quirks an eyebrow at her. ]

So you think you could crush an entire realm with it, but how, exactly?

[ He won't go as far as to jokingly add 'play a little tune?' since he figures that is, in actuality, part of the answer. ]

[amusicaladventure]

Thing is, I'm not entirely sure what exactly would come. Music I write myself is a lot more powerful than cover songs, but it's also a lot more unpredictable. I once sang a song about being hungry hoping some food would show up and I ended up teleporting into the kitchen of a Waffle House.

Mom and Dad really weren't happy about getting that phone call.

[atouts]

[ Well, at least most of that made sense to him. Kind of. ]

So it's random. Isn't that dangerous?

[amusicaladventure]

[Though Ash doesn't shift her posture or her expression at all, something in her tone and her eyes shifts -- abruptly much more mature, if not old, than the usual carefree girl who barely acts her age.]

It's not random. The music always shapes the magic. The magic does what I ask it to, one way or another. The important question is really, 'what did I ask?'

[atouts]

And if you don't know, then it's still random enough. It just isn't the music that's at fault for it.

[ Or at least, if one isn't sure, there's still some unknown element to it. At least, that's how he sees it. He'd be the first to admit he doesn't truly comprehend her sort of music yet if asked. ]

[amusicaladventure]

Yeah. Exactly. And music speaks to the heart, you know. Put something out there that isn't specific and it's just as likely to read your instincts and your subconscious as it is the words of your song.

[Though is it the music, or just her? Near as Ash could ever tell, that's a moot question; her magic is her magic, no one else's.]