lostcarnival | ⇨ HOME AGAIN

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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Steven couldn't be sure, either. It didn't seem like she'd been doing much, and he hasn't heard anything from anyone else either, but it's not like he can promise that's the case. He exhales slowly, focusing.

"Yeah?" he prompts gently.

"Thank you. For coming after me, I mean. I... I wish I hadn't let them get the better of me in the first place, but..."

It's not like he ever wouldn't, if he were given the opportunity, but he appreciates the sentiment. It had been really scary! Scarier than he'd been ready for. He's just glad that it mostly turned out okay. Given the circumstances... he can only imagine how it could have been worse.

"...I was really scared when you hadn't made it back from the party. Dad almost got taken too, and I wish I hadn't been so messed up. I could have been there sooner."

Both to the party and to where he found Peridot. She's right, it would have been better if that part hadn't had to happen at all.

"It's... It's not any of our faults. We weren't the ones hurting people."

"I guess that's true," Peridot says reluctantly. Maybe he does have a point--

...Yeah no, she still feels like an idiot for letting herself get taken advantage of like that. Somehow she doesn't feel comfortable dumping that on Steven though, of all people.

"Is your dad okay?" she asks, steering the conversation away from ROCKY EMOTIONAL WATERS

"Yeah. He used the magic he learned here to protect himself - it wasn't gunna be enough but I got there in time to help." It was too close of a shave to be comfortable. He hasn't seen his dad hurt like that before. "I think... they wanted to make him a vampire too. But we chased them away."

And, he suddenly remembers something.

"And dad even headbutted one of them! Can you believe it?" Steven still can't. The image of Greg ramming a vampire with his horns won't leave his mind for a long time.

She stares wide-eyed, trying to picture that. "Your dad fought them off?" she says, incredulous.

Wow, okay, so even Greg is able to defend himself better now, with the magic he's learned and the changes he's gained from this place! Peridot sure feels like a screw up!

"Well... not really," he says. "If I hadn't... they..."

He has to pause and consider this, because the memory of it is a terrifying mess.

"If we both hadn't been there... they hurt him really bad, and one of them was about to get me, but he caught them by surprise, and..." He holds Peridot a little bit tighter. It was, in some ways, more visceral than the fights from back home. "I don't think either of us could have made it, alone."

Which, as far as he knows, is exactly what Peridot was.

"...Yeesh," is all Peridot can think to say. She's quiet for a long time, mulling that over, ears tucked in against the side of her head.

She shakes her head aggressively, trying to chase off negative thoughts like a dog with wet ears. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Those clods've been in my head enough as it is. I don't want to keep sparing them the thought," she declares.

Steven takes that in for a moment, and then smiles and nods. He snuggles into her a little, less clingy and more affectionate and playful than before.

"Okay," he says gently, completely supportive of that decision if that's what she wants to do right now. He falls quiet again for a little longer, thoughtful, before providing:

"Did you know that the Ringmaster built a new lake?"

"Huh," Peridot says. "Well that explains where Lapis went, probably," she snorts. "Where did she even make the room for that?"

"Out in the trees," he explains. "I mean, I guess the trees go on forever, so you pretty much have room for infinity stuff in there. She said we won't get lost if we explore that area, though, and there's a whole mountain too!"

Pretty much none of what Steven says lands, because as he's talking, a thought occurs to Peridot. She gasps loudly, eyes widening as she stares away into the middle distance, and grips Steven's wrist in excitement.

"STEVEN. Do you know what I just realized? We can have. CANOE RACES."

⇨ HOME AGAIN

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