⇨ POLARIS AFTERMATH

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 115-118
Where: Polaris/Wyldlands
What: After killing the Mother of Invention, the majority of the carnival has decided to take some time and sort out the Polaris refugees before heading to the Summerlands. This log covers miscellaneous post-Mother Polaris drama, as well as some light camping in the Wyldlands down below.
Warnings: Idk, stuff, I guess.

ADAPTATION↴ After the battle, the majority of carnival members will opt to remain in the secured section to Polaris, hoping to spend some time making sure that the rest of Polaris is liberated. Many of the staff are not capable of coming to grips with the fact that the Mother is dead so quickly, and the remaining Alphas are doing their best to keep Polaris under their sway. It will be a busy few days of changing minds and exploring the remains of the station. Thankfully, with everyone's powers intact and allies at their side, they finally have the advantage. ► SHIFTING STATES: Right off the bat, about 10% of the staff will immediately change sides upon hearing whats become of the Mother. They are actively eager to get away from Polaris, and will do whatever they can assist the carnival. This is mostly Gammas and a few Betas, who were working primarily under duress. Over the next day or two, those numbers will grow to at least 30%, with some of the staff managing to convince their colleagues to join them. About two days after starting, one of the Alphas will surrender to the carnival, encouraging those beneath her to support their cause. That leaves four Alphas remaining, and staff cooperation at 50%. ► CAPTIVE ATTENTION: The loyalist staff's main tactics are trying to create defensive points within the various test group areas, using the prisoners as hostages. Luckily, the carnival (and the staff on their side) will be in a position where it's possible to push them out with a mixture of convincing and force. Once prisoners start being freed, there will be even more force backing the carnival's efforts, meaning that it will essentially become a matter of cleaning up the remaining staff rather than any uphill battles. Most of this is being left vague intentionally, as most of this action is being handwaved. However, you can play out parts of it if you want and NPC technicians and rescuees. Other test groups can be filled with basically whatever kind of residents you like, since they are grabbed from across the multiverse. Most of the test areas are similar to B7. ► THE JACKPOT: Alongside cleaning up the staff, some members of the carnival have expressed interest in convincing the staff to help them with armoury issues as well as hunting down some of the Mother's most private loot. This will be handled in investigations, mostly through summary, because I don't have it in me for another megathread right now. Post your plans, and I will respond! However, know that I also don't have time to generate five million special items, so loot drops will be limited to my availability. Also, the techs aren't really blacksmiths so they generally won't really be able creating weapons from scratch or anything. Meanwhile, Ignatius is going to set up a camp ground outside of Polaris, mostly because he doesn't want to be there anymore. He'll keep a fire going and they can drag things from Polaris down there for camping purposes, and mostly Ignatius is just going to be chilling and making sure that the campground doesn't get assaulted by magical creatures. The Gilded Mark will create a portal between the campground and the station so that people can go back and forth as required. It also creates a handy escape route. You can even see Polaris from here, floating up there in the sky. How picturesque. ► WYLDERKIN: Apparently not everything in the Wyld Lands is a full Wyld Fae - there are also a lot of less powerful creatures called 'wylderkin' - apparently lesser forms of the Wyld Fae, who are more akin to animal level intelligence. They can be a variety of expected fantasy type creatures, such as flower sprites, weird bugs, and general prey animals they probably spend most of their time getting eaten by bigger dudes. All of them are sort of weird and fantastical, and none of them are exactly like earth varieties, though they may resemble them. They are more of a pest than a major threat in this part of the Wyld Lands, and Ignatius will scare away any that cause too many problems. ► FLORA AND FLUID: There are some plants that you can eat down here, that Ignatius will tell you about. Mostly weird berries and roots. There is also some pools of clear water, thought hey are filled with weird fish. Try not to bitten by any weird leeches. You can safely make up some of the creatures you find as long as they fit the general theme of lesser faerie creatures. This is just a rest stop.

Comments

[atouts]

Lambert asked. Of course, Lambert would. Childermass sighs and sits up properly, away from Baker. The dog gives him a curious sniff when he moves but doesn't bother getting up or anything.

"They did," he confirms. It's a tiring thought to dwell on all over again, not even being able to escape wondering down here, away from Polaris. "Better you than Strange, I suppose. He would want to try fixing it immediately."

[anti_nonsense]

Well... it makes sense that he doesn't want Strange poking at him. Rita didn't expect he'd agree to let her take a look either, but here they are. She scoots a little closer.

"All right. This might take a few minutes."

She holds up her hands and conjures a magic interface. As she tries to examine the various kinds of magic within Childermass, the display changes, showing some abstract-looking shapes and what looks like it could be text, but isn't from any recognizable language. Rita squints as she tries to decipher the information in front of her.

[atouts]

Childermass is a horrendous clash of different magics, that's what she's about to find.

His own magic, obviously, but everything is threaded through with what's been left behind by becoming a faeblood. There's some bit of magic lurking behind his own, English in origin, though the biggest issues right now happen to be an increased presence of the Void and a blatantly obvious piece of Summer Court magic; namely, a curse. Physically, if it reads that along with the rest, they did add something to his back. There are bolts and a reinforced spine and the like, along with connections that plunge towards and latch onto his heart.

How much Rita can pick that apart and look at all the pieces separately, Childermass just doesn't know. He can't read the interface, though he does look on with quite a bit of curiosity.

[anti_nonsense]

Through the transparent display, Childermass will be able to see Rita's expression change as she analyzes the data, her look of deep concentration occasionally shifting to a mixture of fascination and concern.

Most of what's present here is within her expectations, except for the Summer magic, something vaguely malevolent. When did he get afflicted with that...?

But Childermass probably doesn't want to be kept waiting for too long, so Rita leaves that alone for now and focuses instead on the Void signatures she can recognize. "I'm getting some intense readings of Void magic," she reports. "I can tell where the energy's most dense, which would indicate the locations of implanted material... but I'm not sure exactly what effect this ought to have on the body..."

[atouts]

"Is it in my chest?" Childermass asks though he's pretty sure he already knows the answer. "They were experimenting with the Void. I think they may have injected more of it into me, only I couldn't really see what they were up to. I don't know what it'll do, either."

Probably not enough to relapse into villainy or, at least, one would hope. Although--

"Besides making me feel awful, I suppose.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita nods grimly, confirming Childermass's suspicions about his chest. "Hypothetically, it might be possible to surgically remove some of this... though it won't undo the effects entirely." You don't get to have a bunch of Void magic swimming around inside of you, and still hope to be completely rid of it. But Rita doubts Childermass was ever that optimistic to begin with.

"How awful are we talking, here?" she asks, her face partly scrunched as she glances back at the data. It's the Void, after all. That energy may as well be the very embodiment of negativity and emptiness.

[atouts]

Well, she wouldn't be wrong about that. Childermass has always been more realistic about his optimism but it does exist, somewhere, or at least it did, once. He imagines it's still hanging around somewhere, he just can't find it right now, which leaves him with the dilemma of describing just how he's feeling.

He sure as hell isn't saying anything weepy, that's for sure. So, he pauses, looking down at the forest floor for a moment, considering where to go with that answer.

"Empty," he settles on. "Tired. I can't even feel relieved that this is finally over. It's like it doesn't matter. That kind of awful."

[anti_nonsense]

Not for the first time in this conversation, Rita looks on with surprise as Childermass actually talks about his feelings. He doesn't do it in a particularly emotional way, as can be expected, but still... Rita's not sure if she should take it as a sign of him trusting her, or if he just can't be bothered to conceal it.

Dropping her hand away from the display, she dismisses her spell. "I see... That does sound like it could be the Void's influence." It could also not be, but it fits the bill well enough that it certainly isn't a reach, especially if Childermass himself finds it unusual.

Awful really is the best word for it. It's bad enough to feel hopelessness when the situation calls for it, but to be robbed of that feeling of hope just when it should be in reach... He can't go on like that forever.

"There has to something we can do. You could try talking to Herbert or the Technicians here about a surgical option... or else, if we make it to the Summerlands, maybe there'll be someone there well-versed in magical healing techniques."

[atouts]

"I would prefer not to be cut into again," Childermass says after taking a moment, considering another surgery. Ultimately, the Void is already there. Surgery won't help. "Though I know that's the only real way of getting rid of... whatever it is. Some of it, anyway."

Though on that note, he's going to slowly lean his weight back down and against Baker, who whines at him, all too aware of dwindling mood and energy both.

"I don't even know what I could even try in the Summerlands. It's all faeries..."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita shrugs. "You'd have to ask them to find out. I can't say I know a whole lot about their capabilities, either." Back when they first visited the Summerlands, Rita was still suspicious of all fae. She didn't really try to get to know any of them.

"Whatever you go with, it's your choice. You don't have to act right away, but..." A frown tugs at her mouth. The longer he leaves it, the deeper the mark that will be left by the Void, she suspects. "...Anyway, if you end up needing someone with an eye for magic, you can call on me whenever."