⇨ EDEN PT. 3

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: End of Day 88, on to Day 89
Where: Eden
What: The carnival breaks into two groups, as one entertains the Architect Samyaza at her festival, and the other assaults the Cathedral through a secret passageway with the intent of claiming the Silver Mirror and liberating those imprisoned.
Warnings: Ritual sacrifices.

IN GOD'S HANDS↴ Only those left in Eden and remaining undetected will be able to come to Samyaza's festival, which is an increasingly small group. It's also a dangerous proposition - there's no way to know what Samyaza has in store for her visitors, only that she apparently wants to interact with them before allowing the other Architects to act. It could work as an excellent distraction, drawing the eyes of the Architects towards the festival instead of towards the Cathedral while the attempt to claim the Mirror is taking place. For those that arrive in Samyaza's gardens, they are beautiful and well prepared, and music of otherworldly perfection flows through them. Tables are arranged with amazing works of art as their centerpieces, while the trees themselves are made into dazzling displays of color with an effect that seems to turn their leaves into pure light. Samyaza will be presiding, a hare that looks like she's made of something ephemeral, like wind of pure colour. She invites you in kindly, saying that before she speaks, she will honour you with a song... ► THE SET UP: For the first hour or so, the festival will be nothing but celebration. There are other Honorables there, but not as many as usual - the main event are you and the other new arrivals. After the hour mark, Samyaza will perform her song. Until then, threads can be made focusing on the pre-song mingling and planning. Will you listen when she sings? ► THE TWIST: There will be more happening at the festival than Samyaza plans. While she is comfortable waiting to act, other Architects are less patient. ON HOLY GROUND↴ With carnival members (and Ignatius) in enemy hands, there's no more time for hestitation. Based on the information given to her by various carnies, the Ringmaster will meet with the Furies and declare her intent to attack the Cathedral's underground during Samyaza's festival on the evening of Day 88. The Furies will agree, saying that those they have on the inside will use their influence to ensure there are as few Architects and Scholars are blocking their way as possible, but they must all still expect a fight. Furies from the base in the barrens will be coming along with this raid group, using what information they have to speed transit through the underground tunnels. They only ask two things - that after the Mirror is collected, it be used to save the lives of Hasma and the other captured Furies, before being used to repair the mind of the Serpent herself. ► THE SET UP: The Ringmaster will lead the way into the secret ruins that Childermass and the other found - the main difference is that she will smash right through the cracked wall defending the depths of the Cathedral, clearing the path entirely with her now serpentine body. Her plan is this - to draw the attention of the Architects to the surface by taking on the appearance if the Serpent, while carnival members and assisting Furies search the tunnels below to find the Mirror and the captives. ► THE TWIST: The people captured by the Twelve and imprisoned in the garden (AKA characters on the TDM) will be found, but the carnival members won't be. At least, not in the same place as the other captives. A megathread will go up for the group that goes to capture the Mirror, but you are free to NPC and thread confrontations will Scholars that are protecting the underground prison and the chambers where the Twelve held their meetings. Please report any Scholars that are killed or seriously harmed to the mods. Lambert will be leading the part of the group heading towards the Mirror, while Sans will head the group searching the tunnels for captives. Now is the time to let loose and use all your powers. It's probably best to keep your disguise to catch people off guard, but it is no longer necessary. New characters will be directed to post here once accepted.

Comments

[periphrasing]

Okay jump scaring the gem holding up the priceless magical artifact would be bad enough on it's own, but to then on top of that go ahead and proceed to then tell that same gem that the party two of her friends are at is apparently going to shit in a bad way? Way to go, buddy! Peridot fumbles the mirror with a gasp the first time, her tail poofing out in alarm. She grips her teeth and evens out her grip.

..And then Strange mentions the party.

"WHAT!?!" she squawks at an unholy volume, voice cracking with fear. "What about Amethyst-- And Steven, are they both okay!?"

[moonfang]

"a-HEM."

Zangetsu clears his throat in that ridiculously loud, obnoxious way; he holds up his little hand mirror so that Strange can see it from his position in the Silver Mirror and points at it.

"I was calling you for like ten minutes! Where the hell were you?! And I swear to GOD, Peridot, if you drop the mirror..."

[kingsroads]

"I was busy!" Strange grumbles, as he frowns vaguely in the direction of Zangetsu. He vanishes from the Mirror but a second or so later, reappears in Zangetsu's hand mirror. When he's there, Strange rattles off a list of names. Notably, it's everybody who said that they were going to the party, plus Yusei, Yugo, and Gongenzaka.

"Those are all the people currently trapped by Lilith. Bezaliel showed up at the party, with Ignatius, Yusei, Yugo, and Gongenzaka as hostages and as a show of power. Those attending freed Ignatius and almost defeated Bezaliel, when he summoned Lilith to the garden. She might not have the Mirror, but she has control over mirrors. She attacked those present and trapped them in these mirrored chambers."

It's at this point that Strange realizes Saraquel is in the room. He looks over to the wolf for clarifications. It's obvious he's got more to talk about, but he'll let other people ask questions or get in their own thoughts before he exposits some more.

[periphrasing]

Peridot jerks her head to the side to flash an excessive amount of fang at Zan, snarling at him over her shoulder: "STUFF IT, you CLOD!"

She's maybe kind of a little bit MASSIVELY STRESSED OUT RIGHT NOW?

Amazingly, the mirror stays perfectly steady in the midst of this little tantrum.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya focuses on covering the mirror with invisibility--hopefully no other Architect is good at seeing through illusions like he assumes Saraqael is. And that nothing prevents it from working.

It should be quick, and while he doesn't outwardly respond to Strange's appearance and update, he is listening to it. "Then we need to find the Ringmaster immediately and regroup before Lilith does anything worse to them. If she's here, we do not have much time."

Or any time. "Where is Ignatius now? You said he was freed."

[moonfang]

"Focus on your job, short-stuff, and I'll focus on mine!" He snaps back with a snarl of his own, his hare's ears folded flat against his head.

He looks back at Strange in the mirror.

"Fuck. And I'm assumin' Lilith is just as powerful as we feared. We need to get in touch with the Ringmaster, ASAP. Does she have a mirror? Or a radio? Or... hell, where IS she, even?!"

[prazerbutterfly]

"Zangetsu," Tyki says calmly, not chiding, not scolding, nor telling him to behave. His hand curls on his shoulder even if he gets bitten in the end. He's leaning over him, looking down at the mirror he's holding with Strange within it.

It's okay, he says without actually speaking it. He feels he's justified but now was not the time. Especially not in front of an Architect. It's why Tyki never verbally contradicted Peridot himself. It wasn't worth showing ones hand in such a way.

"Everyone breathe," says the conman, with his usual cheer.

[spaghettimonster]

A couple minutes earlier: after getting the reply of down near the garden, Papyrus told the radio, "there you have it!" and released the talk button, opening the airwaves for Sans and anyone else to comment on the captives' supposed location.

And so, happily for their reputations, they're not being broadcast to everyone with one of the radios as half the people in the room start arguing. Less happily, going from the continued lack-of-response from the Ringmaster, she's not there.

"Well, I wanted to just call her... So she could let us know what to do next. And this isn't really an emergency..." Papyrus hems and haws for a minute, then offers, "but I could break one of those beacon eggs?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita retrieves a pen from her pocket, but doesn’t reach for a notebook. Instead, she focuses on magically imbuing the list of names into the pen itself. All the while, her expression is grim.

That’s a lot of people taken captive. And what’s more...

“They freed Ignatius before helping the others? ...Hmph.” Rita doesn’t sound impressed.

[periphrasing]

Peridot sure agrees with you on that, Rita!

"This is absolutely an emergency," growls the gem through gritted teeth, lashing her tail like an angry cat. So that's one vote for 'break it'.

[kingsroads]

Time to butt in to defend Ignatius. At Rita's words, Strange's expression shifts to a scowl. Before, he was a bit nervous and worried. Now, as they talk about Ignatius, he's pissed.

"Ignatius almost died. The Architects used iron on him and that damn bear bound him up in iron shackles. The only reason he's alive is that after we escaped, West performed some emergency surgery."

And thus everybody learns why it took Strange too long to answer the metaphorical phone.

[chronosynthesis]

"And now we need to stop the rest of them from dying, so why don't we focus on getting this mirror out of here so that we can do that!" Syrlya hisses out testily.

He looks to Papyrus and nods once. "Get the Ringmaster's attention now, whatever it takes. Strange, can you try to observe Lilith's movements? Make sure she is not coming this way, and... let us know if their situation becomes more dire."

He turns to Saraqael next, letting some of of the tension in his shoulders ease. "Can you gather your people together to prepare to leave, if not to fight?"

[prazerbutterfly]

Syrlya is taking charge of the situation and he's fine with that. He doesn't really care if they signal the Ringmaster or not as long as things kept moving. As of now they didn't seem to be doing anything other than holding and allowing people to rile up and panic.

His eyes flick to Rita and then Strange. Oh no, not another one. He won't have it. "Thank you for the information, Mister Strange," he snaps out quickly, his tone polite and concise in defusing. "That'll help move things along." He gives another side eyed look at Rita but doesn't bother to say anything. Everyone was entitled to their opinion.

[whattaprick]

Ignatius is the only one of us who can’t be revived, Lambert considers reminding the populace in general, though he also suspects that had less to do with the decision of those at the party to do what they did. He may not know it for a fact, but he’s betting it’s a reasonable guess, given the likelihood that Ignatius would be willing to submit himself to the Ringmaster’s blood rituals (that is, not at all). It’s also a casual reminder that dying is a real option for some of them here, if not the most preferable one.

But the faster they move off that topic the better. This has too much of the hallmarks of the Manor for his comfort, and he’s conflicted, trying to anticipate how the scenarios play out. Keep the force together and hedge against the risk of running into trouble on the way out, or send people to attempt a retrieval against a foe they don’t entirely understand? Or use the unknown tool at hand?

“Focus,” he snaps, largely at Rita and Strange. “We don’t have time. If the Ringmaster doesnt come, be ready to move back the way we came.”

[moonfang]

Zangetsu does as Tyki suggests, taking a deep breath in and out and letting his frustrations with Peridot and the rest of this situation flow out of him. He mitigates Strange and Rita's little spat by turning the hand mirror away from Rita.

"The Ringmaster might not be able ta get into this chamber. We should go back down. Then we can rescue our friends."

He jerks his thumb at the Silver Mirror.

"We may even be able to use that against Lilith. Wouldn't that be some goddamn karma? Hehehe"

Zangetsu looks at his reflection on the floor now.

[kingsroads]

At Syrlya's suggestion, Strange shakes his head. "There's an infinite number of reflections at my disposal. It's foolish to assume that Lilith's movements will always be in front of one and that I'll be able to perfectly find the reflection every time."

So sorry buddy, but Strange thinks your plan won't work. Aside from that, just from the mirrored prisons he's seen, Lilith's grasp on reflections is probably better than his own. Strange doesn't know if she could trace him back to the Silver Mirror, but until he knows otherwise, he's assuming she can.

"The first thing I'm doing is explaining what happened to West, Ignatius, and Samyaza's honorables who helped us escape. One of their party could cut through iron: we'll want him on our side. Once all that's sorted, then I'll tell you my ideas on how we can use the Mirror against Lilith."

Said as he gives Zan a grin. Being stuck in the weird artifact for 48 hours has given Strange a few ideas on how to do a murder.

[spaghettimonster]

"Oh. I meant..."

Things up here in the mirror room seem fine so far to him. Some arguments, some experiments with how to move the mirror, and the same ongoing stress about getting caught. Not like things are, apparently, going elsewhere.

But what with Peridot contradicting him and Strange referring to 'emergency surgery', a few people encouraging him to do it, and not a single voice against it?

"I mean. Yeah, you're right! One minute. I'll send her a message she's sure to notice."

Papyrus does a quick 180 on his stance, and digs around for the SOS Egg. He hesitates for a second at the idea that the Ringmaster might not fit in the chamber... but she probably has some way to compensate for that, right? Right. And he activates it.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya shoots an irritated look at the mirror Zangetsu's holding when Strange rebukes him, but since Papyrus crushes the egg to summon the Ringmaster he holds his tongue, to at least wait to see how quickly she arrives.

Hopefully, soon.

[lordofthering]

It's about thirty seconds before they get a response. Of course, that response is the Ringmaster beaming into the room in her black-scaled half beast mode, with several stab wounds and gashes visibly on her body. She looks harried.

"What?!" she demands, her wings outstretched. "This doesn't look like an emergency - oh."

She pauses, staring straight at the mirror. Which... starts glowing weirdly in her presence, the reflections its casting becoming temporarily abstract.

[moonfang]

Oh boy. Ideas. Zangetsu hopes they are full of suffering and karma and all sorts of good stuff. He grins at Strange in the mirror. Then the Ringmaster is there!

Zangetsu grimaces and snaps his fingers to get the Ringmaster's attention. "Hey, don't just stare at it, boss. Lilith is in Eden and our people are in deep shit! We gotta get moving!"

[lordofthering]

"Wuh?" the Ringmaster says, looking at Zangetsu briefly. She totally missed this part, but she still seems distracted.

[moonfang]

"Lilith! That asshole bear called her in and she's holding the partygoers prisoner!"

FOCUS, BOSS.

[kingsroads]

Well this isn't good. Strange leaves the reflection of the hand mirror to return to the reflection of the Silver Mirror itself. He's got no idea if the current state of the reflections would make him abstract, but he's attempting to use what little control of the Mirror he has to manifest in the Mirror (and give the Ringmaster a bit of a Look) and stabilize the reflections if needed.

Hey there RM, remember him, he's still in there! If you're gonna touch the dumb thing, touch it to pull him out!

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya looks between the Ringmaster's gaze and the currently stealthed mirror. She's the only one he would trust to actually mess with it, but somehow this doesn't seem like an intentional reaction on her part.

So he shuffles over to stand between her and the mirror to try and break her concentration of it. "Ringmaster?"

[lordofthering]

As Zangetsu's words sink in, her confusion flashes into shock, and then into anger. Suddenly, her eyes are glowing a fiery orange, and she's looking back towards the Silver Mirror with a surge of wild determination and a ferocious growl.

She extends her hand without ever touching the glass, and instantly, the illusion hiding it is shattered. At the same time, the silver begins to warble, as if turning into liquid metal.

All of this is a wild ride for Strange. The moment he enters the Mirror proper, he'll find himself dizzied by the interactions of the Mirror and the Ringmaster's magical energies. It's like two forces of similar, tremendous power clashing in the middle.

The silver spins like a metallic whirlpool, gradually becoming smaller.