⇨ 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

[detonarrator]

[Yeah....she should have expected that. God this is so fucked up. He shouldn't even be able, like! It didn't make SENSE he could get turned. Unfair wasn't the right word. Unfair applied to plenty of people and what they were going through here, but she's pretty sure the two of them deserve whatever they get themselves into.

But this was....excessive, or particularly cruel, or something. It was one of the only things that could happen to him that would really actually negatively affect him, and it was fucked up that these vampires just so happened to thread that needle.]

The Ringmaster'll fix this.

[She doesn't see a reason why it would be out of the scope of her magic, and on top of that she knows RM probably has some strong feelings about her toys employees getting all bent out of shape by someone other than her. But even so, this kind of magic bull fuckery tends to take time. Time that Foster inevitably will not handle well.]

So you have to not starve before she can do that.

[Oof. There it is. It's an order. That'll help maybe. There's so many things to fucking...dodge here. She's got to take care of him, get him through this, but any hint of actual concern for his well being is just going to spiral and implode. This is a nightmare.]

[control_freak]

[Sophie has a particular knack for saying things in a very blunt imperative--a tone that effectively masks her feelings, at least from him. A tone that penetrates his fatigue, arresting lethargy and innervating him immediately.

Even then, though--inspiring as it is to be given order, to be told... he is simultaneosly wrackeded by the knowledge that he can't. He physically can't. He's too inadequate, too worthless to follow even this most basic instruction.

He jerks upright--caught mostly, because one arm gets tangled in the bedding, making it awkward; by the time he finally yanks it free, he's visibly agitated.]

I--I already--! I already! Once already--!

[He makes eye contact, something violent in his face, his expression desperate--panicked? Dreading? Pleading?]

[detonarrator]

[That's honestly good to hear. And although panic and terror weren't exactly great things for him to be feeling, in her opinion it's probably better than 'I'm going to sleep until I starve'. Which is also a feeling she's fairly familiar with if she's honest.]

Good.

[Hands on her hips, time to buckle down. She's got him reacting, so now she's got to ride this all the way to her point.]

But, I have a feeling you're not up to doing it again. And you'll probably have to depending on how long it takes to unfuck all of this.

[She wants to just power through. Leaving him time to stew on that thought was bad, but she doesn't actually have any real plans or suggestions or anything yet.
One day she will have to learn how to think before talking. Yeah, right.]

You don't have to bite or drain something, I'll find some work around, but I'm not going to just watch you sleep and starve yourself to a death that's gonna actually kill you.