lostcarnival | ⇨ WYLD HUNT

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

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.

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Below are prompts with specific investigation-based hooks. Some prompts may go up as hooks for specific characters, who may reply as they see fit, but if you find something you'd like to investigate, please make a post here explaining what your character is doing to find out info. All investigation threads will be done in summary form as opposed to going tag by tag.

DON'T BE VAGUE. If you are having your character investigate something, you must explain what your character is specifically doing to find out information. Don't just say "I investigate the Twelve." You have to be more specific, by saying what your character is doing, such as "My character is going to ask the Honorables that brought everyone in who the Twelve are." The more specific you are, the better info you will get in return.

You can also confront NPCs by this method, and you'll get summary posts in return explaining how the situation will unfold based on your actions. Investigation is important for this plot! Various boons and advantages will be given out for characters who make a difference.

Please restrict all investigation actions to one or two actions at a time. Please don't give me a laundry list of the five different things your character is doing, because it makes everything too time-consuming to get through. Stick to one main thing your character is looking into per tag.

one: heal plz
The chaos starts when Hanamaru's inside one of the communal bath areas. She quickly put on her yukata and, still shoeless, freezes a moment in the chaos. Eruka said that things had gotten bad...but this was something else entirely. It's only when she hears someone cry out in pain that Hanamaru springs to action.

She's singing very quietly, but it's still audible. Hanamaru's found some poor npc, a humanoid looking man with his leg broken at an awkward angle. She's tying on a splint, made from some broken benches and a torn apart bathrobe, singing all the while. It's only when a carnival member approaches that Hanamaru stops singing and looks up: her eyes are a little red, like she's been crying, but she's keeping her calm.

"D'you have any healing magic, zura?" She can stop the pain, but that doesn't do anything for the break. And considering that most of the first aid Hanamaru knows is basics picked up from the medical tent, she won't do well for any major injuries.

two: heal plz but in a different capacity
The chaos is still going on as Hanamaru's trying to run for where she assumes the carnival portal is. Unfortunately, she's a pretty big target. Something's taken a swipe at her: her head is bleeding, her arm's at an awkward angle, and there's a large gash on one of her ears.

The first carnival person she spots, she's rushing towards, clutching her obviously broken arm. She's not even bothering to hide the fact that she's crying. "W-Where's the portal?"

wildcard
holla at ya girl and we'll plan something out

Even Light Ignatius is a bit unsure of how to react when he sees the first signs of the Wyld Hunt - it's familiar, but only just barely. He hasn't seen this in action for a very long time, and even with his compassion for any of the carnival workers stripped away, he has to wonder what the Hunter's goals are here.

Still, the Horned God had been an ally of the Courts before the Great Beast had sewn her chaos. It was better odds than he'd had in a while of reconnecting with the Summer Court, if the Horned God could be convinced to cooperate.

Either way, he already knows that his Dark side will probably fuck this up, somehow, based on the frailties he'd left behind. He makes the determination that he has no choice but to act.

As the Wyld Hunt begins to flood the realm, Ignatius's Light side heads back to the Shabon spa for the first time in a while, with the hard light blade he stole from Reira in hand. He has a problem to solve.

The sight of an Ignatius marching in with a weapon is probably a bit daunting for anyone who notices.

[Rescue]

The absolute chaos is as much in their favor as it is out of it, because it provides plenty of cover for Syrlya to navigate himself through the streets with sword and shield, alternating teleporting and invisibility to slip around the violence as he scopes out carnival members. The sooner they can clear out of the streets and regroup, the sooner they can find the Ringmaster and get out of here. That's his idea, anyway.

As soon as he sees or hears someone from the carnival, he focuses in on where they are, what's happening around them, and if he's going to have to make a quick move to defend them. Either way, armed with his sword and shield, he's going to come in closer.

[Battle]

Of course, there's more (and a growing number of) hunters than there are carnival members, and he's finding himself running face-first into them more frequently. This, at least, is something Syrlya is comfortable facing--hording enemies with an nonnegotiable desire for violence. When they come, he fights back, and when he can see a fight is going to become outmatched, he teleports. Ultimately he'll save his own skin so long as he's focused on finding allies, versus trying to stand his ground taking down as many of the hunt as possible.

He has no mercy for the rabble, though, what were once all manner of mortal creatures. If they get in the way, then he'll move them out of the way. Violently.

Lots of things were pretty daunting right at that moment. Nearly getting assaulted by what she thought was another patron of the spa was enough warning that something was up. It's enough to make her want to return to her room and grab her sword before heading back out. Better to be prepared, knowing what might possibly be following after them.

Or just straight up coming down the alley. When did that guy get himself a sword? It certainly looked a little too menacing to be a trinket from a game stall. Jeez, was he even allowed to have that? And just where was he going with that thing?

"My~ You musta won the grand prize to get that thing." She almost looks relaxed, the way to lazily crosses her arms over her chest, hands in her sleeves. If she can stall him, get to her radio, then she might have a chance if things are about to go wrong. He was still their captive, after all. Why wouldn't he consider making a break when he could?

She is completely correct in that regard - making a break for it is pretty much the plan. Which is exactly why Light Ignatius doesn't slow down as he passes, the sword firmly in hand.

"Something like that," he says, just as casually. Given the option, he isn't going to slow down for a chat.

Dark Ignatius has spent almost the entire rest stop languishing in his room, and it's the sounds of combat that finally manage to summon his attention. It's instinctual - a visceral shiver goes through him as the likelihood of a conflict increases. He decides that there is something he needs to do.

The symptoms rapidly start making the nature of the disease clear. Wyld fae, mindless hunters - it's the Wyld Hunt, though he hasn't seen the like of it for a long time. Ignatius isn't armed, and he still has lingering wounds. But... well. For once he doesn't feel like just sitting down, and uses speed and stealth instead of strength to make his way through the crowd.

"Wizard!" he calls out, tentatively. He isn't sure where to start. "...Rita?"

As soon as the chaos happens and the first blood is drawn, Strange flips on his third eye to see what the hell this magic is. To his surprise, it's fae. And, if he had to guess, it's Wyld fae: Strange's experience with the Wyld fae is next to none, but it looks more like the Ringmaster's magic than any of the Summer Court.

So while Ignatius is calling out for Strange, Strange is searching for Ignatius. He'll have more answers. And, though Yuya did mention he was split earlier, hopefully he's reformed by now. When Strange spots Ignatius, the wizard's got his third eye activated, and his forehead, hand, and forearm burn with magical fire. He rushes over, straight up pushing past people.

"Ignatius!" Strange isn't even bothering to hide the tone of relief in his voice. "Do you have any idea what's going on? This magic—it's fae!"

Yuya, meanwhile, is pushing the opposite way through. He'd had less of an understanding what was going on at first, until the little stand he was about to purchase food from was beset by a rider on the mount, just about crushing the vendor with his wares as they dove for Yuya.

It left a bleeding laceration on his forearm, and he'd barely scrambled away. He moves before he thinks to get away, and it's only when seeing more and more of the hunt coming through the crowd that he realizes what's happening. He remembers what Moss said.

People need to know--if they don't already, but there's someone he's particularly worried about that he thinks may not know the hunt was after him, and might be vulnerable while he's holed up miserable in his room.

Thankfully, Ignatius isn't, and Yuya stumbles into a table as he falls out of a nearby mirror and catches tall, red, and flaming up ahead. And then he charges for him from the opposite end. "Ignatius! ... Mr. Strange!"

"It's the Wyld Hunt," Ignatius says warily. Usually Ignatius would seem at least a bit pumped up for an incoming battle, but this one doesn't at all. If anything, he seems apprehensive and a bit reluctant.

"The Horned God... or the Huntsman, as you've heard him called," he says, just trying to keep out of sight for the moment. "He is after the carnival, without question."

As soon as the chaos had started, Peridot hadn't wasted any time using her bat spell to make herself a lot smaller and a lot less obtrusive, because this situation seems bad. She's not sure what's up with these guys but she DOES know that she needs to regroup with other carnival members, and fast.

Bat hearing and an eye from the sky had led her quickly enough to the small trio gathered nearby, and she lands at Strange's feet just in time to hear Ignatius's explanation.

"What-- How the hell did they find us so quickly!?" She squeaks in a hushed tone.

If asking him a question doesn't slow him, then it's time to get a little more obnoxious, moving in closer to see if she can impede his way physically.

"Something~? Nyaha, that's dodgy! Did someone lose a bet? C'mon, slow down, no need to rush. Where are you off to in such a hurry, anyway? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you stole it and were on the run~."

It's not the time to start a fight with someone who's stronger than her, but she trusts in her ability to dodge enough that she'll try to come real close to him, ostensibly to get a better look at the sword.

"Damn," Strange swears. He notices Ignatius's reluctance, but is mostly chalking that up as apprehensiveness due to his lack of a Heart and the fact that he got screwed over seven ways to Sunday when they were in Eden.

As Yuya approaches and Peridot literally lands at his feet, Strange looks from one to the other. "We can guess about how they found us later. What matters is that we need to stay safe or get back to the carnival. There's a lot of fae magic being thrown around."

It's really telling that Strange turns to Ignatius for input, looking up at him in a sort of 'what do you think we should do about this' way.

Ignatius confirms what Yuya suspected, was afraid of, and although he quiets as he stands beside them his gaze keeps drifting around, tense and nervous.

"We have to find everyone else. They might not even..." Absently, he starts reaching into the depth of his sleeve. And then the other one, and then he looks down in quick panic. "No--where's my radio? Did I drop it?!"

Rita's still wearing her yukata when the chaos breaks out, and she stumbles through the crowd, quickly losing her tiny wooden sandals and pushing through on bare feet. It's hard to see past all the panicking people, but for a brief moment, she thought she heard someone call her name...

There's a break in the crowd, and she catches a glimpse of Ignatius... as well as a few of her friends. Immediately, a number of thoughts and feelings come to mind about that, but she pushes them aside as forcefully as she pushes the people around her in order to make her way there, just in time to hear the words the Wyld Hunt.

"I knew it..." she says, her voice heavy with dread. She looks to Ignatius and the others with a wary, uncertain look, then back to their encroaching attackers. "...We should all head for the portal. If we don't secure that area, then..." They'll be trapped, and this doesn't look like an army they can beat.

Strange is one of the allies Syrlya finds in the utter chaos. He's had his third eye burning nonstop since this started. Any creature that overwhelmingly radiates fae magic gets ignored as he does a combination of scrying, teleporting, and hiding before popping back out later to continue his search for other carnival members.

Unfortunately, a hunting party is on Strange's tail. There's two humanoid looking men and three direwolves: animals that look like wolves but are about the size of mountain lions. One of the direwolves is on fire. Strange turns the corner, running as fast as humanly possible. As soon as he spots Syrlya, he gives him a tense grin.

"Get ready," he simply says, before he skids to a stop at Syrlya's side, summons another fireball to his hands, and prepares to toss it the moment he sees the hunting party. "They've caught my scent."

Ignatius looks like he's about to say something, but then Rita appears, and he stops mid-word. His voice catches for a moment, and then he takes a step towards her.

"The Huntsman has long since been an ally of the Courts," he says, casting Strange a glance, but then refocusing on Rita. "It's possible that I could make an arrangement with him and his hunting party. However... it would not be on the carnival's terms."

Why he's asking Rita more than he's asking anybody else is unclear.

"Hang on," Peridot interrupts. She had popped back into her normal form as Rita arrived, and is now blindly thrusting her radio into Yuya's hands. "I agree, we need to get the word out and get everyone back to the carnival A-S-A-P, but-- And I hate to be the point of contention here-- How do we know he didn't have something to do with the Wyld Hunt showing up in the first place?"

She's talking about you, Ignatius.

Yuya fumbles with the radio before gripping it tightly in his hands. He doesn't make a call just yet, though, listening to Ignatius' suggestion.

Admittedly, it makes him a little uneasy. He wants to give Ignatius a chance, but he can't imagine the Huntsman having any terms that would be beneficial to the carnival--if he's the Court's ally, Yuya's sure he's only chasing them on their behalf.

"... What kind of arrangement would you make?" One that would actually spare them?

"I'll vouch for Ignatius," Strange quickly says, looking over at Peridot. "He—" But then he catches Rita's eye, pauses for a moment, then changes his train of thought.

"The carnival isn't subtle. It's more likely that the Huntsman noticed the Ringmaster breaking a powerful fae artifact than any summons from Ignatius himself."

Without really thinking about it, Strange positions himself so he's a little bit closer to Ignatius than the rest. "Besides, I trust him. I also want to hear about this arrangement."

Rita stiffens a bit, seemingly a bit bewildered that he's focusing on her as he says this. Strange moving to the fae's side sure doesn't help her feel any more comfortable with the situation, either, though she refrains from commenting.

There's a part of her that wants to agree with Peridot's suspicions... but at the same time, she thinks... --no, more importantly...

"What do you mean, it wouldn't be on our terms?" she barks at Ignatius, struggling to look imposing despite not looking at all the part, with her height and her flowery attire. "Then on whose terms would it be? Yours?"

Edited 2018-09-18 02:55 (UTC)

"I'm not sure," Ignatius says, mostly ignoring people's skepticism, because it's irrelevant as far as he can tell. "I have no experience parlaying with a being as primal and old as the Horned God... he has been a reclusive figure ever since the war that I was created for."

"All I know is that I am the only person here that he could have any motive to spare... any deal would have to be made on behalf of the Summer Court. Anyone else protected it would have to fall under that banner."

He crosses his arms around his chest, shrugging hopelessly.

"I know this most likely sounds as disagreeable as the alternative. But... it's the only thing I can offer."

Yuya, conversely, scoots a little closer to Rita's side. Not defensively, and he doesn't look up at Ignatius harshly. But to provide Rita at least whatever sort of comfort his presence might be.

"I figured... one of the Courts are the ones that sent him after us. Because we have the miracles and because of the Ringmaster." Because he knows most of the Court won't look kindly on their group from what stories they've probably heard. "Are you offering to save us?"

Yuya really has believed in his efforts to give Ignatius a chance to change. There's a bit of hope that maybe, he's going to take it.

Edited 2018-09-18 03:11 (UTC)

Peridot grunts at Strange's defense of the fae. She's hardly convinced by that argument, but she's also not inherently suspicious enough of Ignatius to waste time pursuing that line of questioning right now. Not when they have way bigger issues to deal with.

Still... Blindly trusting him like Strange seems to be ready to do seems incredibly ill-advised.

"And are you saying we'd all have to swear some sort of oath to the summer court to get that protection?" She asks. That's sure what 'anyone else protected it would have to fall under that banner.' seems to imply.

"I'm offering to try," Ignatius says, glancing away. "There is a chance that me claiming ownership could provide you with amnesty. That's all I can do for your kin."

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⇨ WYLD HUNT

⇨ INVESTIGATION THREADS

Hanamaru Kunikida | ota!

⇨ IGNATIUS PT 1 (CLOSED TO SHURA)

Syrlya | OTA

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⇨ IGNATIUS PT 2 (MEGATHREAD)

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battle!

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