lostcarnival | ⇨ SAY UNCLE

Who: Everyone who isn't in jail!
When: Day 175, 11:30PM onward.
Where: The Realm that used to contain Heartstone Manor.
What: Team carnival has gotten what they came for, but in the meantime they have lost what they came with. With his ace in the hole gone, the Prince is tearing apart the Heartstone Manor and reshaping it into an impregnable fortress to lock away his new most precious commodities - the Ringmaster's captured followers. Welcome to a hostage situation, this could take a while.
Warnings: Violence, and etc.

AFTER THE BALL↴

Around 11:30PM is when everything starts changing - and for most in Heartstone Manor, the triggers will have remained unseen. In the ongoing thunderstorm it was easy to miss, and the Prince losing control over his realm only occured before a small group of workers intent on saving the carnival from a terrible fate. An ancient High Fae artifact called the Blue Rose was stolen from the Prince, and in reaction he is being forced to abandon his plans of controlling the Ringmaster, instead trying to hide away in his realm for the purposes of saving his own skin.

His main bartering chip? The workers that he's been capturing up to this point. He knows that, unlike himself, the Ringmaster cares about mortals, and especially about the ones who follow her. He's willing to bet that she won't allow them to die for the sake of her own convenience, and he's right. Now that the Blue Rose is the carnival's, she's intent to take back what was stolen from her, as well as the lives of all the servants that the Prince has been stealing away for eons. By whatever means necessary.

► SPLIT THE EARTH: Characters all across the Manor will be treated with initial tremours that will soon escalate into a full-fledged earthquake, capable of collapsing buildings and rending the earth. The cause of this is simple: the Prince is using his powers of elemental earth to reshape his realm into something more suited to protect him. Specifically, he is changing what was a manor house into a fortress meant to defend, and allowing the rest to collapse into ruin. The Manor is still nothing but a castle floating in a void - as the earth breaks apart, it will be nothing but an endless freefall between the floating chunks of debris. Over the next twelve house that earthen debris will be reshaping and solidifying into a new layout, but having to be there while it happens is one hell of a ride!

► BREAK THE ILLUSION: It's as the world starts shaking that the last of the Prince's spell over the minds of his guests will begin to fade away. However, it may wear off more slowly than is helpful in an emergency earthquake situation. The ballroom trance may linger even as lives are threatened, and it will take a pointed effort to make sure that everyone gets out of the Manor's collapse safely. At the same time, the illusionary guests will begin to fade and disappear. The ones that remain are the ones that are real, but it may be a bit painful to realize which ones were simply a lie to begin with.

► SAVE WHO YOU CAN: Despite being knocked out by a surprisingly massive blast from the Prince's magic crystal, the Ringmaster will manage to gather herself up eventually. When she does, the last of the storm will finally come to an end. She'll be doing what she can to try to gather up both servants of the Prince and all of her workers, but it'll be impossible to get to all of them first. A large portion of the servants have undoubtedly been stolen away by the Prince into his newly built fortress, but with the effort of carnival members new and old, they can still save as many as possible. Of course, those held in the Prince's most secure prisons will remain out of reach... for now.

► WAKE THE SUN: As the worst of the earthquakes stop and the new islands of floating land begin to settle, the clouds from the thunderstorm will finally pass, as the Ringmaster seems to summon up a sun to light the realm for the first time since the carnival's arrival. In reality it's sometime in the early, early morning by the Manor's schedule, but whatever! It's easier to not die when the sun is out, don't you think? The Prince's security and gargoyle soldiers are still out and about, and they're clearly interested in capturing as many hostages as possible.

► SIGN A CONTRACT: This is when the Ringmaster will be taking those that were summoned to the Prince's ball aside to offer them contracts in order to free them from the Prince's influence. She'll do her best to explain that the only way to wipe out his control is to take on a new 'master', but they can take some time to think about it if necessary. The truth is, of course, that until they officially sign onto the Ringmaster's camp, there will still be the chance that the Prince will be able to control them.

► WALK THE RUINS: One Day 176 things will have settled completely, with the land now forming a massive fortress on the far side of several large floating islands. The ruins of the old buildings will scatter those islands, forming towers that will swiftly gain small colonies of gargoyles, ready to swoop down and attack carnival members. Further complicating matters is the fact that the rending of the landscape has resulted in bursting open the underground prisons that the Prince had been keeping his most bestial servants, which mean all kinds of mortals long since twisted into the forms of giant spiders, scorpions, monstrous beasts, and other terrifying creatures will now be running amock on the islands, desperate for food. Try not to hold it against them - they didn't ask to be this way.

► REGROUP: While the Ringmaster doesn't want everyone to just run back home (if they do that, the Prince will undoubtedly make them unable to enter again, or at least take over the landscape more fully) she will manage to open a portal back to the carnival in the afternoon of Day 176, formed between two freshly grown trees. This means that carnival members will be able to fetch new clothing, supplies, weapons, and whatever they need to prepare for the battle ahead. Right now, the chaos is still unfolding, but the battle to save the Prince's captives is still ahead.

[OOC: Gargoyles and transformed servants from the underbelly can be NPC'd from this point onward. Gargoyles are the Prince's most deadly servants made of extremely durable rock and bearing scorpion tails with venom that can turn bodies into stone. They want to grab anyone they can, trap them, and then fly them off to the Prince's dungeons as collateral. Don't let them!

Transformed servants are the beasts who were freed from the underground prison they were left in to rot. They are servants that were transformed into monsters by the Prince, and most of them have been driven insane with bestial hunger from months and years of starvation and atmospheric poison. The Ringmaster is interested in helping them, to see if there is way they can be changed back, so if you have the heart nonlethal methods are most appreciated.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How best to explain this...it's hard, because Cole himself doesn't know how best to explain this. He feels comfortable as a spirit, he knows that it fits, like a well-worn pair of shoes, but he cannot ignore the fact that most spirits aren't as solid as he is, most spirits aren't as defined, most don't have a name. He also can't ignore the fact that he could just as easily stop being a spirit and become a demon, slipping back into old ways.

"What I am certain of, I am certain of," Cole simply says, as an explanation. "Most parts are spirit, but a few aren't. A step too swift, taken out of time changes the dance but it's still a dance."

Solas says he's a spirit. And Solas knows a lot. But Varric said that he could have been human once, and that occasionally plays in the back of Cole's mind, a what-if among maybes.

"... I see." He doesn't. That explains absolutely nothing, but if Cole had a better one he'd probably use it. Syrlya sympathizes with not knowing entirely what you are, although it makes the cryptic mind-reading no less creepy.

"Well, I am sorry for the circumstance you are in now. At least under the Ringmaster, you should return to your world exactly as you left it."

"I don't mind being here," Cole admits. Yes, he would have preferred it if she asked him and yes, he is a little scared of the Prince and all that which happened to him, but all in all? Once they rescue the others and the hurt calms down a little, he might be able to ask.

"I fit here. I can already tell that much."

Because hoo boy is the carnival just mental trauma city.

"You fit here?" He raises a brow. He's not sure if that means 'fit in a carnival' or 'fit being in the middle of things collapsing and people panicking'. He seems to associate with someone who is probably more frequently knee-deep in the latter, however. Helping the hurting.

He smiles just a touch, at least. "It's good you can find something positive out of this. What will you do now?"

"Help." It's said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Solas envied Cole for his clear spirit of purpose and nowhere is it more apparent than now, at this moment. People in the carnival were scared. People in the carnival were frightened. If Cole could do something to ease the fear, ease the pain, then of course he would do it. What else would he do but that?

"... More specifically?" That doesn't provide a lot of insight either on what Cole is capable of (besides reading people's minds and staying out of sight), or what he intends to do to help. "Has the Ringmaster given you any direction, yet? A supervisor to work under?"

Hopefully not one of their missing supervisors.

"I'm to help the Psionic and Childermass." Thankfully, two supervisors who are here right now, even if poor Psionic is spending most of the event in a glass case of emotions.

Though there's a pause, as Cole looks over Syrlya with a frown. He knew what he was doing. He had ideas. And besides, Cole could help Syrlya while also helping the others. After all, it seemed he could only help the Psionic just by talking and listening, not any sort of acting.

"I can help you too if you want, Commander."

It's both weird and familiar to hear Cole call him that, and for a moment he hesitates.

Then Syrlya smiles and shares his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm no leader here. But I can help you find Childermass or Psionic."

It occurs to him he doesn't remember entirely which one Psionic is, but they can probably figure it out. Right now, all he's focused on is the business ahead of them.

"You aren't but you are. The chains of command are always visible. It's not a bad thing. It just is."

Syrlya might not be a leader here. But he is a leader. And, try as he may, he cannot erase that. The fact that he's a leader shines bright in his thoughts and makes it so that Cole will straight up listen to Syrlya.

"But yes. I know what they look like but not where they are."

Help would greatly be appreciated.

"I can take a few guesses where they are. Most of us are choosing to remain in the Prince's realm so that he cannot barricade that too, and there is only so far anyone can go."

So Syrlya doesn't actually know where they are either, but if the worse comes to worst he can just call them on the radio. Childermass is clever, he can probably find something for Cole to help with.

"If you show me the guesses, I can find them myself."

After all, Syrlya has things to do as well. And Cole's certain that if Syrlya shows him just the general vicinity of places that the Psionic and Childermass would be that he could find the two men himself. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Syrlya taps his chin as he considers that. He doesn't know either of them well enough to know where they would preferably lurk, so his consideration is more what makes strategic sense given the state of things.

"I would look beside the Ringmaster, as they are supervisors. You might also find one of them near our stores for the carnival. Failing that, do you have a radio?"

"I do." He hates it! And he's never going to use it, Cole just loathes the radio, you can't sense the hurt over that dumb thing, you just hear voices. But he's got one at least. It's in his pocket somewhere.

"But I want to look for them first before calling." Because the radio sucks.

Syrlya inclines his head towards the island the Ringmaster and the portal are on. "Then I would look there, first. At the very least, she might have seen where they wandered off to. If you need any assistance otherwise, do not hesitate to find or call for me."

"I will," Cole explains, with a little nod. Look towards the portal first and then to other places. Hopefully they'll be there. Cole isn't entirely sure where the other places are.

Still, he does not mind calling on Syrlya at all. He's helpful! And, in a strange way, far too familiar.

"Thank you, Commander."

⇨ SAY UNCLE

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