lostcarnival | ⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 22nd - 31st, 2017
Where: In Portland, for the last time.
What: The seasons change as the Winter Court seizes a surprise victory, claiming both the Tree of Life's pendant and the blood catalyst needed to take control of the Severing Ritual. Meanwhile, interdimensional problems are about to get more weird. Check out the conflict results for the attack on the Circle as well as the Beast's attack on the Summer Court here.
Warnings: Individually marked!

DAYS OF WINTER↴

As the end of October nears, so does the grasp of winter. On the night of the 22nd, it will freeze overnight, and the temperature will drop for the following days. As the night grow long, world-wide magic slowly reaches it apex, set to reach it on the night of Halloween. With so many factors at play, knowing what to do with that moment of power may be a challenge.

► FULL CIRCLE: The Angels succeed in their planned attack on the Circle, managing to get to the living quarters of the Council members with the help of Ashleigh Mischief. The plan goes without much resistance from the mages or from the demons attempting to claim the ritual object for their own. Of course, when the fae make a surprise attack on the Angels after they flee the scene, it has the surprise result of the Winter Court ended up with the pendant in their talons. Threads for this attack can be done in this log. If you need mod direction at all, let us know, but otherwise feel free to NPC demons, angels, or random Circle members as you require.

► THE QUEEN'S GARDEN: Realizing that the Rose Queen is distracted with attempting to claim the pendant, the Beast will summon her co-conspirators to raid the Queen's gardens. The ultimate plan seems to be to get the Beast far enough into the gardens to kill the Queen, while also rescuing as many changelings as possible along the way. As it turns out, this doesn't go well. While they do manage to penetrate the gardens with Childermass's help, the Rose Queen, Ignatius, and Nightshade happen to all be there. Seriously outnumbered, even by the Beast's terms, it will take everything the group has to just make it out alive, sustaining heavy injuries as they go. In the end they will manage to rescue Greg universe and four additional changelings that were imprisoned there, but any damage done to the Summer Court itself will be negligible. Threads for this can also be played out here!

► REFLECTIONS: As the ritual draws closer, the line between this reality and the one you came from will also be becoming less clear. Regaining memories is not required, but it will naturally become easier to occur, especially if you're already started receiving them. It's a good time to start making connections, while you still have the chance.

► THE SEVERING: One way or another, the Severing is going to make an impact on both this world and the lives of those trapped inside of it. The Angels are going to be making an attempt to interrupt the Winter Court's ritual, as will the Summer Court and Anath's forces. Whoever comes up on top will be the ones to decide what to be done with it. Yet, with news that the Severing continuing could cause irreversible damage to the planet's spirit, it could feel like there are no perfect options. There will be an event header put up for this by the mods closer to the end of July.

(NOTE: canon powers will returning while the ritual is in progress, so keep that in mind for planning - both sets of powers will be active.)

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"No, my crowbar! I was using it to fight..." He frowns as he fails to locate it. There's a large rock, but heavier objects are always harder to move even with your mind, so hopefully Yuya isn't their only chance at a fight.

Still, he's going to try if they don't move soon. He glances over his shoulder. "Are we going to fight or keep running?" Because if Childermass says 'keep running', that doesn't sound like a bad plan either.

"It'll catch up eventually," Childermass points out, even though, personally, he would much rather run. Push comes to shove, he can move them a second time, but that just means leaving the elemental to wander and crush someone else. Wait. Actually, that gives him an idea...

"If we let it get close enough, I can take back around to the other side. Your crowbar must still be there."

That didn't sound like an 'it's okay, I can take the elemental down' from Childermass. But maybe they could combine shadow travel and Yuya's telekinesis to take it from range--if he could just get his iron back.

So he nods. "Everything here seems weak to iron, so if we can keep dodging it, I can beat it with my crowbar." Eventually. With enough whacks.

Because it isn't. Childermass can't guarantee anything. They may survive, they may get crushed. He's no warrior. If they wanted fighters from the Winter Court, they would have had to bring his remaining sisters and, well, that's not really advisable.

"Just know that I can't move you while you're holding iron," is the only warning Yuya gets before they're dropping back into shadows and moving again, past the elemental barrelling down on their previous location. Then, they're back up on the grass again, almost exactly where Yuya had been originally.

"Don't worry, I don't have to be holding it to--whoa!" He sputters as he's dragged back into the shadows. He attempts to look at the elemental as they pass it, but his senses are too obscured.

He pulls himself forward once they exit the grassy patch and Yuya looks around. "... It's got here! Does that monster have it?" Yuya hopes it didn't get rid of it.

"No," that much Childermass can say with absolute certainty. "Even if it were smart enough to think to, iron burns straight through faerie magic. That's what's powering it."

Hence why finding the crowbar is the best idea they have right now. It'll go through the elemental like a hot knife through butter if Yuya aims it right, though Childermass doesn't have the time to explain it in as much detail. He gets up to his feet, having left the shadows crouching originally.

"Go and look. I'll keep it distracted once it gets back around to us."

Which may take a minute. It's a hulking load of stone and fire. Strong, but slow.

Yuya nods. "I'll find it as fast as I can." He glances around to try and determine where it likely would have fallen.

... He has absolutely no good guesses, so he just dives into the bushes on one side and digs around for it. The unfortunate thing about using his telekinesis to bat things around is that if he's not paying attention very specifically to the object, he has no idea which direction he was just flinging it. There's no muscle memory to recall.

"Thanks for--" He ducks out of one bush and starts squinting at the shadowed foliage by the trees. "Saving me back there. I guess you're not Summer Court...?"

He hadn't asked when they last met, but given the starkly different abilities... well, that seems to be the implication.

"Don't thank me yet," Childermass automatically replies to being thanked by trying to shrug it off immediately. He's a knee-jerk reaction. Fae things, really. He won't turn to watch Yuya searching around, keeping an eye on the elemental as it finally turns itself around and spots them.

It roars. At least, one could assume that was a roar. It sounded more the hiss of fire rising suddenly, only at an incredibly loud level. Then, it's lumbering back their way. For now, Childermass just waits. He'll try something once it's near enough but until then...

"And I only ever worked for Summer Court out of necessity. I'm not one of their changelings."

Yuya looks up briefly as he hears the roar. Damn. He doesn't want to force Childermass to have to play bait so he bounces to the next bush and begins to look more fervently.

"Your magic doesn't look the same. Are you Winter Court--aha!" He pulls the crowbar up triumphantly. "I found it!" He waves it briefly over his head before coming out of the foliage to stand close to Childermass--but not too close when he's swinging iron around.

"As it so happens, I am."

Childermass sees no cause to hide that much since it's pretty obvious when one sits back and thinks about it. Creepy guy, creepy shadow magic, creepy bird form. That isn't very summery, now is it? But it isn't a good time to discuss that, not here, not now. The elemental has lumbered its way back to them, though before it can step within swinging range of the two, Childermass makes a sweeping gesture with both hands, down towards the tall bushes and hedges that surround them.

A fire elemental doesn't have much shadow to itself. The surroundings, however? With whatever power he's tapping into, he pulls at the hedge shadows and forces them to expand, growing out to engulf the whole of the path they're all on. He turns his hands over, pulling them back up, and the shadows rise around the elemental's legs, slowing it to a stop.

It struggles against it, though, shadow against fire, and there's no hiding the tremble in his hands as the changeling struggles to hold it still.

"And if you're going... to do something... I would suggest now be the time."

So the Courts had very stark aesthetic. That's not on Yuya's mind anymore, though, as the elemental comes back.

He holds the crowbar vertical, letting go to let it float in the air beside him as he closes one eye and aims. And then it rockets forward, like a bullet, to slam straight through the center of the elemental's head. "Take this!"

Here's hoping it's stopped if you destroy the whole face, otherwise they have a long fight ahead of them to tear it to pieces. At least this time he doesn't let go of the crowbar, and it floats in the air behind the elemental after it pierces.

They really do, but yes, let's deal with the elemental, especially since it's taking up all of Childermass's concentration as he struggles to keep the creature still. It struggles, but can't move its legs, keeping it nicely in place for Yuuya to aim. Iron, though, is what makes it a quick end.

Just as the changeling had claimed before, it goes through the elemental's head like a hot knife through butter. A crowbar honestly shouldn't be able to go straight through rock like that, but it does, the iron passing through with little resistance and leaving a blackening hole where it went through, right through the head. It gives a pained jerk, entire body giving off one last, futile struggle, and then the fire powering it begins to die down. Its struggles grow weaker, weaker, though Childermass hangs on to the shadows trapping it in place, just in case.

The crowbar tilts in the air before shooting back towards Yuya--piercing the elemental's chest as well for good measure. You can't be too careful, he supposes.

The crowbar nearly smacks into him too as it returns, and he flails to grab hold of it with his hands again. He stares at the elemental a moment more before turning back to Childermass once he's sure it's not going to move back up.

"That's really cool!" The... everything with the shadows. "What else can you do with them?"

It's only when the elemental begins to fall apart — piece by piece, the last of its fire going out — that Childermass drops the shadows and stumbles back a step. He steadies himself before he can fall himself, though, and gives his head a shake.

"What else...?" Oh. Of course, Yuya means the shadows. He wrinkles his nose at the question and can't help but pin the lad with a rather put-upon look. Of all the times to ask, now isn't a good one, and he's going to say as much. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I'm not here to put on a show for you."

Yuya waves his hand quickly as he slings the crowbar over his shoulder. How testy. "I was just asking!"

Actually, Childermass mentioned something earlier that gives Yuya the start of an idea. "You said you worked for the Rose Queen once, right? Do you know where she keeps the people she kidnaps?"

Strange did say 'find someone who knows the layout of the place', after all. And if said person also has sneaky shadow powers, they might have something here.

And he was just answering! Not nicely, but still.

"Hm? Yes, I did," Childermass answers, glad enough for the topic change. That has more promise of actually getting them moving again. "And yes, I do. I know the gardens well, so I can certainly lead you that way if you wish. Just be aware that we're like to find more resistance up that way."

More elementals, perhaps, or plant golems, giant killer flowers, and everything else to Rose Queen thought was cute to set up as defense.

"That'd make sense, right?" Of course she'd put heavier guard around her prisoners. It doesn't look like it's deterring Yuya at all, however. "But we have to help them. She took so many people from their homes, it's..." The way Yuya's expression sinks to a glower, he doesn't think very much of the Rose Queen's behavior at all.

"Let's go now. They're probably waiting for someone to save them."

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⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4

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