⇨ 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...

Comments

[wild_magic]

"It's not too hard, you just have to figure out where the best places to grab and step are. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it!" Says the kid who's been climbing trees since he was five. He looks at the tree, giving it a once over, before looking back to Jamie.

"I can show you, if you want. Then you can do it too."

[raynos]

"Yeah?" He glances from the tree to Susan and back again, trying to gauge the trunk for hand- and footholds that are clearly hiding from him. In theory the process of tree-climbing doesn't sound that different from scaling Zoid armor, which Jamie's been doing for years himself.

He shrugs a little. "Okay, show me. What am I doing wrong?"

Please don't say "everything." Even if it's true.

[wild_magic]

Susan comes closer to the tree, looking it over again.

"So, if you look at it, you can try and see if there's a good branch to grab onto... Sometimes there's not, and then you should probably try a new tree, 'cause you're too short for that one. But you can't just jump onto the tree because if you do that then you won't be able to hold on well!" So, exactly what happened to Jamie the last time. With another glance up at the tree Susan grabs onto one of the lower branches, before starting to climb up.

[raynos]

Jamie watches the other boy closely, ears flicking back and forth, and then looks for another branch to start on so as not to crowd Susan. It takes him a couple of jumps and some wild flailing, but he finally grabs a low branch with his hands, digging in his claws for traction. By bracing against the trunk he manages to maneuver himself completely up onto the branch, clinging to it like a cat and looking both surprised and proud of himself.

"Hey - I did it!"

...he's maybe seven feet off the ground.

[wild_magic]

Susan stops climbing once he's settled on a slightly higher branch, just watching the older boy try to climb with a smile on his face. It looks kind of silly, really, but then again he's never really watched someone else climb so maybe it always looks like that. Either way though he isn't going to make fun of him, not when he seems so proud of himself. Instead he gives him a grin before gesturing up to the rest of the tree.

"D'you wanna climb to the top? It's pretty fun to do."

[raynos]

Jamie looks over his shoulder at the tree towering above him; it still looks almost impossibly tall, even after having conquered this branch, and how's he going to get down if he does make it all the way up? He flicks one ear, uncertainly, but almost as soon as his doubts manifest he banishes them. He wanted to get a clearer view of the sky after all, right? And he guesses he shouldn't worry about climbing back down; it's not like a fall is going to kill him, the way he is now.

"Yeah," he says decisively, and pauses as he realigns himself on the branch so he's facing the trunk again. "Yeah, I absolutely do."

The jump-and-flail tactic he'd used to get here from the ground probably won't work too well on the branch's narrower, less stable surface. Instead he sets his sights on a limb above him and to the side, within easy reach if he stretches a little. "Like this?" he asks, reaching out to dig his claws into it.