⇨ WYLD HUNT

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴ There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target. ► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him. Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently. ► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely. ► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop. ► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this. PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

Comments

[prazerbutterfly]

Correction. That is the reason they wanted to do this. Tyki was not so easily convinced by a doomed or desperate situation. Yet the way Amethyst relates it doesn't stroke his ire. It at least calms him enough not to say anything aggressive. He knows this could've been over with already given the other three likely could just say yes.

"I trust the Ringmaster and her want for this situation. I do not believe the Heart was ever something to be used to force him to do anything," he says carefully.

[atouts]

"Tyki has the right of it," Childermass agrees. "It is not a bargaining chip, Ms. Mordio, nor was it ever yours to offer in exchange for his word. We will not be requiring him to keep his word, nor follow any deal or contract made. Knowing that, would you still see his heart returned?"

[periphrasing]

Subconsciously, Peridot paces to be a bit closer to Amethyst, though her focus is still on Rita. "I'll add this-- and, keep in mind, you're hearing this only because, regardless of your final answer, I have faith in you to not to go around blabbing this information to everyone else: The Ringmaster didn't want to be the one to dictate when Ignatius got his powers back. She explicitly wanted the rest of us to decide when he'd earned our trust enough to walk among us with his full destructive capabilities intact."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's expression sours slightly as the others speak. She considers arguing, but opts instead to grit her teeth and let it slide. This is too important to turn into bickering.

Peridot's request is the easiest to answer, so Rita starts with that. "You can trust me not to blab, but it might be a bit late, considering Strange already caught on to you and Shima... and wasted no time in running his mouth in front of Ignatius."

Rita had suspected for a while that certain Carnival members knew a thing or two about the Heart's whereabouts, but she'd opted not to follow up on those suspicions, because in her view, the Heart was better left hidden. That, and she was afraid of Ignatius acting against anyone revealed to have that knowledge. But then, even when Peridot and Shima were singled out in front of the fae, he didn't seem to take that as an opportunity. Perhaps it was because he was being presented with an even better opportunity, but maybe...

"...You're all serious?" she asks, seemingly still mulling over Childermass's question. She didn't expect this at all, and it takes some processing. "You'd rather just give it to him without any guarantees?"

[atouts]

"That's because Strange is a fool in love," Childermass mutters, shooting a look Shima's way. Seriously, of all the people he had to pick at about Ignatius... Oh well. It can't really be helped now. He returns his attention to Rita and, rather than answer anything she just asked, he reminds her, "You haven't given us your answer."

[prazerbutterfly]

"Just don't address us further. Last thing any of us needs is anyone hounding us for further information," he states. He, for one, would simply avoid the topic if asked. Even if Ignatius figured out the pattern, hounding him would do no one any good. He looks towards Childermass as he speaks and simply nods, taking a page from his book. He is serious about this given it was a trusted task from the Ringmaster but he does want to hear her answer.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst shrugs at Rita's question.

"Well yeah, if he helps us out that's great, but if he doesn't wanna and we make him then it's probably gonna bite us in the butt later."

[worldlyafflictions]

"Ta be honest, he seems like the kinda guy who responds well ta being told it's gotta be a proper exchange," he shrugs, offering his view on it. "It just wasn't meant ta be used ta force his hand is all, so I guess it's fair ta wanna know if we offered it up without a demand for a favor, if ya still think it'd be worth the risk."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita sighs, her gaze low and focused somewhere that isn't on anyone in particular.

"Personally, I think Shima's got it right. Ignatius is a pragmatic sort, and he's never had any illusions about his situation here. The deal was his idea to begin with, so it's not like we'd be forcing him into anything..." There's also the fact that, having already given his word, he wouldn't be all that likely to back down on it even if everyone relaxed their expectations.

But that still isn't an answer to their question. In truth, Rita's still trying to figure out what her feelings actually are on the matter.

"Given the present situation... I wouldn't be opposed to it. Giving his Heart back, I mean." The answer comes slowly, reluctantly. "I don't like the idea of doing so without a deal in place, but if it's between that and trying to fend off the Wyld Hunt ourselves, it's still a risk worth taking."

[periphrasing]

Well... It's not exactly the ringing endorsement Peridot was hoping for...

She grumbles wordlessly for a moment, deep in thought.

"Technically, he does have 'illusions'," she says finally. "Said illusions being that he is nothing more than a prisoner of war here, when the Ringmaster never really saw it that way, or wanted it interpreted as such. She separated him from his heart to protect the rest of us, so he could have the time to be exposed to our ways and see that his assumptions were incorrect."

"After the whole incident at the Athenaeum, I had the chance to speak to her while she was still deciding how to handle containing him. At the time she said she hoped that he'd see the truth by spending time among our population... I don't know if he's reached that point yet, but. It seems like he's at least getting close. And if he's supposed to learn from us 'mortals'--" she uses the air quotes here because she definitely DOES NOT see herself as such, but, fae terminology-- "I think it would be going against what the Ringmaster is trying to accomplish, to arrange the return of his powers like a fae would."

She shrugs. "Perhaps to put things more succinctly: The most important thing is that I'm pretty confident he isn't going to immediately incinerate the lot of us if he gets the heart back."

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst does a finger guns at Peridot and makes a popping sound with her mouth, which can be assumed to mean that she agrees with that.

[atouts]

Clearly not assumed because Childermass tosses Amethyst an odd look. He's a frumpy old 1800s Englishman, he has no idea what finger guns is. Is it a gem thing? It must be a gem thing.

"We had been hoping for a somewhat more positive answer," Childermass says what Peridot doesn't. "Though considering this is less an exchange and more us returning something stolen, I am not certain the same rules apply." But they have Rita's answer, so. "Well? What do the rest of you say?"

[anti_nonsense]

"Yeah, well, I'd been hoping this would be a strategic decision instead of a gesture of goodwill, so we both get to be a little disappointed," Rita grumbles. She'll try to leave her complaints at that, however, to allow the others to weigh in.

[atouts]

"If you still have complaints, we can just as easily deny Ignatius his Heart, Ms. Mordio," Childermass adds, perhaps a little cruelly. They brought her here to answer a question, not provide commentary, after all. "Until the next time it becomes strategic."

[prazerbutterfly]

"Borrowed," he says teasingly. Here at Acquisitions they didn't steal but 'borrow' and 'acquire'. "We're just giving it back."

He has no idea what is going on over there with the gems, nor does he really feel like his question was answered with Rita. Shima seems to be waiting in silence. Still, it's enough for now. "I suppose we could return it. If he does turn tail and run he'll likely take a few with him on the way out. If he kills us all later at least a good portion of us still have the eggs to revive with." He says a portion because he knows a few have already died to the horde.

"Unless of course Miss Mordio has any further evidence against that, given her disagreements."

[worldlyafflictions]

"C'mon guys, decision's made. It'll just have ta be a little of both."

He waves his hand, figuring at this point it's just finagling over details, which they don't have that much time for. Ignatius' Heart keepers won't hold him to a specific deal, but that doesn't mean they can't express hope that he'll help anyway.

"Lets go track him down," he nods to Peridot and Amethyst. "We could try ta release it here but I don't really wanna find out what happens if it has ta get through all that out there," he gestures out beyond the hedge thorns, "ta find it's way back ta Ignatius."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's just standing there, glaring at Childermass and Tyki until Shima speaks up and tries to move things along.

"There's no need. He's here in the temple." She knows, because she came here with him. "I'll go get him."

It's also an excuse to walk away and cool her head for a minute, so hey, bonus. Rita turns and leaves, making a beeline for where she last saw Ignatius. When she finds him, she'll simply tell him there are some people who want to talk to him, and to come with her. It isn't long before she returns, along with the fae in question.

[npcarnival]

Ignatius has basically just been standing around waiting, his tail swaying impatiently, as he tries to figure out what he should be doing. There is a whole army raging outside, but he's so weak like this, trying to challenge them seems like suicide. He hates it, he feels trapped, but he knows there is nothing he can do.

He doesn't want these people to drag him down with them. He already told them his best idea, and as far as he knows, there's no one likely to actually allow him to try.

And then Rita shows up.

He stares at her for a moment, and then simply nods and agrees to follow. He shows up alongside her with a casualness that is probably a bit funny to those that understand the animosity between them.

"What is it?" he asks, sounding a bit wary and tense with everything going on.

[prazerbutterfly]

Body language is a beautiful thing, one that Tyki reads often, and he'll raise a brow at Ignatius and Rita. That's not what is important right now as he lifts his left hand, with the arm that isn't probably broken, in greeting when he arrives. His arm lowers to fetch one of his cigarettes out of his pocket and fiddles with working a match out with one hand. Vices help, they've always have.

"Rumor has it, you're looking for a Heart, Sir Ignatius," he begins just to clear the air of any tension and because he wants this over as quick as possible.

[periphrasing]

After talking things out so thoroughly, Peridot is reasonably certain they're doing the right thing here. Even so... That isn't helping her to feel any less tense about this.

She fidgets with her gauntlet clad wrist a moment, hesitating before finally doing the same as when Rita first entered: She holds her hand palm up, and the egg appears in the center of it, glowing as brightly as ever. She doesn't offer to him, she just. Holds it there, for everyone to see.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst jerks a thumb at the glowing egg. "I think we all decided you can pretty much just take it, soooooo..."

[atouts]

Well, there's a little more to it than that... Childermass steps in to actually explain. He nods towards the egg, though he also suspects Ignatius can figure out what it is immediately.

"This was never meant to be kept from you forever. It was also never meant to be returned under duress."

His attention flickers to Rita when he says that and she should know exactly why.

"Those you spoke with before, who may have promised you certain things, were never in any position to do so and while we cannot stop you from doing as you wish regarding certain members of the carnival after the fact, know that there are no actual stipulations attached to regaining your Heart."

[npcarnival]

Well, if you wanted to get his attention, that's the way to do it. Ignatius's eyes widen, a kind of longing in his body and soul that he can't imagine these mortals understanding. He wants to try to snatch the thing the second he sees it, but his fists merely clench as he acknowledges that there is no way it's that simple, and that he's still at their mercy.

The thing he feels most in this moment is frustration, because he doesn't know where this conversation is going. All he knows it's that they are showing off his Heart like that, they probably want something big from him. Some kind of lasting deal that will ensure that he's still not free. He has no particularly rational reason to think that, but it's on his mind regardless.

So, instead of looking relieved, he inclines his head a little, like someone who is waiting to get slapped.

But... That's not really what happens.

Instead he looks completely taken off guard, looking at Childermass like he doesn't really believe it. It goes against everything a Fae is raised to understand, that they would give this to him with no assurances and without even asking for anything in return. He can't believe they'd agree to that, or that Rita would either.

It means he reacts to the offering in a way that is almost youthful in it's complete uncertainty and bashfulness. He doesn't have any idea what to say, so he tentatively holds out his hand to take the egg, like he's still expecting they will change their mind at the last second.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's not sure she can believe this is happening, either. She stands stiffly at Ignatius's side, eyes wandering until the Heart is revealed once more, and then she fixates on that.

She's so tense that she flinches unintentionally when he reaches for it. If this is a mistake, they're about to find out for sure.

[prazerbutterfly]

All eyes are on Ignatius as he holds out his hand to take the egg. Poor Rita looks like a mess and this was mostly her weight of words that convinced them this was a possibility. It's an interesting reaction from Ignatius and he wouldn't lie to himself if he wasn't half ready to throw out a vacuum at a last minutes notice. He thought about stealing the egg once or twice but everyone had already committed.

"It's all yours, as it should be. We've all agreed on this."