⇨ THE WYLDLANDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone pursuing the Huntsman.
When: Day 134 - Day 140
Where: The Wyldlands
What: Working as scouts from the Summer armies, the carnival makes a dangerous trek into the Wyldlands to find the Huntsman, defeat him, and save the Ringmaster from the Hunt. The day descriptions below are an outline, and details may change based on actions earlier in the week. Overall, though, it will keep the same general locations. You can make up encounters with Wylderkin at any time.
Warnings: Probably violence and gross Huntsman stuff.

HUNTING THE HUNTER↴ Upon first arriving in the Wyldlands, the carnival will find themselves in a scene much like the picture above - strange mountain ranges rise up around them, while thick forest cling to the land between. Every so often, giant silhouettes of Wyld Fae will fly overhead. Thankfully, the Summer Fae have picked an area with plenty of cover to hide in to begin their infiltration, and as the carnival is arriving via teleporation, there will be squadrons of Summerland and Summer Court Fae spreading out and concealing themselves within the trees. They will be following the carnival's trail as they move deeper into the Wyldlands, looking for their guidance to avoid the maw of the Hunt. The carnival Supervisors will be given several golden scrolls that unfurl into small light elementals. These will transmit information between the Summer armies and the carnival at speeds similar to sending a text message. They takes various forms, but most of them are abstract motes of light with wings and tails. When delivering messages, they take the form and voice of whoever gave the message, like a custom hologram that disappears immediately after finishing. After the carnival has been debriefed one more time, they will be sent off ahead to begin their scouting duties. Through a mixture of augury and expertise, the Summer Fae have narrowed down an area the Huntsman should be, as well as designated a general route that will mostly have ground cover. Who knows if it will stay that way, though, with how quickly the Wyldlands change. Much like in the Summer Court, time here is subjective - all sense of time varies between individuals, and the only solid way of knowing when a day is over is to have the light from the sky disappear. All time pieces will perform erratically while here. The carnival will still need to eat and rest, as well, which means that they will have to figure out the best times to set up camp. They have sufficient rations, at least. ► DAY 134: The carnival heads deeper into the forest on the first day of their scouting mission, told to head for a giant tree that they can see on the horizon. Apparently, this tree is a landmark that will remain consistent for the time being. Someone will have to check above the canopy every so often to keep everyone on target, which risks gaining the attention of flying Wyld Fae. There are plenty of Wylderkin around (lesser Wyld Fae that behave more like standard fantasy animals) but overall the journey through this section will not be hugely perilous, as long as they remain cautious and hidden. There will be a Megathread on this day, dealing with some optional and only mildly important Summer Court NPC interactions. ► DAY 135: Early during the next day of travelling, the forest will begin to fill with more and more magical fungi until giant shrooms have almost completely replaced the trees. At first they will seem innocuous, but as their presence becomes more inescapable, it will gradually become apparent than many of the mushrooms are poisonous to the touch - and eating them will be far worse! Those with empathetic connections to plants may be able to determine which are poisonous and which aren't, while some fungi may even have beneficial effects, if they get lucky enough to find and identify them. Generally speaking, though, there are few non-plant creatures around here, due to the fact that everything is toxic, including the swampy water that covers large sections of the ground. There will be no mod directed interactions during this period, besides handling general investigations. ► DAY 136: During the middle of this day, the carnival will finally reach the giant tree. On one hand, the plant-life has become relatively safe again. On the other, the giant tree is the lair of several neutral Wyld Fae who probably won't like the carnival's presence. On the other other hand, maybe those Wyld Fae might be willing to help or offer them directions? It's up to the group to decide if they want to attempt diplomacy, or to stealth past the tree and find their own way. There will be a Megathread on this day, based on however the team decides to handle it. ► DAY 137: Past the area surrounding the big tree, the lush foliage of the forest will begin degrading until nothing is left but dark naked trunks filled with glowing pods of various sizes. It's here that those with a connection to the Hunt will start to get a sense of the Huntsman's presence, and will be drawn in a vague direction. Unfortunately, this will also be their first major brush with the Hunt itself. Hunt patrols skirmish with neutral Wyld Fae in this forest, and the collateral damage of their warfare can be seen all over. The carnival will want to either map out a path through the trees that the fighting can be avoided for the sake of the Summer troops, or give them enough data to be able to handle the threat. How this portion goes will partly depend on the outcome of the previous day's Megathread. ► DAY 138: The forest will open up into the beginnings of a mountain range, with flowing water, luminescent plant life, and the occasional cluster of crystals sprouting from the earth. There are large parties of Hunt controlled Wyld Fae patrolling this area, and so making it through will require careful navigation. As the path becomes more and more mountainous, it will be possible to find routes that mostly avoid the patrols - this information will need to be communicated back to the Summer troops. There will be a Megathread here dealing with a Hunt patrol encounter. ► DAY 139: The mountains will continue to steepen, and the crystal formations will grow more huge and consistent. The air is always cloudy, and the air condition is bad, making it harder to breathe. Weather will become more and more unfavorable the higher into the mountains the carnival gets, with cold winds and lightning that frequently strikes the crystals and causes them to send out bursts of destructive energy. Paths will occasionally crumble. There is still a heavy Hunt presence, here, though they keep to safer trails - the best way to avoid them may indeed be taking the most dangerous routes. It's probably better than being mauled to death by beasts, though. Some distant mountain tops look like the might be volcanoes. There is almost no plant-life here, besides the most stubborn of brambles. By this point, the pull of the Huntsman has grown much stronger. ► DAY 140: The sky clears enough to show a deep red skyline. Barren cliffs are punctuated with rivers of lava, and paradoxically vibrant trees and foliage in erratic spurts. The those in the carnival with a connection to the Hunt will find themselves drawn to a valley in the center of the rocks, absolutely filled with Wyld Fae and other slaves gathered from around the multiverse. This will be the final encounter, and the carnival may have to trust in their Wyld Fae disguises to make it through. There will be multiple Megathreads here, detailing the encounter with the Huntsman and bringing this log to an end.

Comments

[kingsroads]

Strange is deliberately blocking Childermass's light. As Childermass gives him a look, Strange gives Childermass a wide grin of his own. Noticeably, Strange is happy—probably the happiest Childermass has seen him in days or weeks, with an expression like a kid who just can't wait to show off what he made in art class. He does not step aside. Instead, he just starts talking.

"I've got something more interesting than that mushroom." Although, he'll give Childermass this much credit: it is a pretty odd looking mushroom. Reaching into his coat pocket, Strange pulls out two small pieces of mirror. They're both circular, about two inches in diameter. He keeps one in his hand but offers another to Childermass.

"Take this, magician. I want your input on the spell."

[atouts]

Childermass stares blandly at Strange, then at the offered mirror, and then right back up to Strange again. He doesn't move to take it, pencil still poised in hand mid-sketch. He is as impassive as ever, even here in the middle of Wyld Fae territory, but at least that means there's on particular emotion tied to him outright saying, "Tell me what it does first."

He and Strange may have made the best amends they could manage back at the Summer Court but that's hardly fixed everything. Strange is still a magician of mad habits and Childermass is not about to handle anything he's enchanted without some assurances.

[kingsroads]

"Rudimentary mirror communication," Strange explains, as he still kind of holds the mirror out, waiting for Childermass to take it. "It's not as advanced as the radios, it's limited to the size of the mirror itself, and the sound quality is terrible, but it does provide visuals."

If Childermass takes the mirror, he'll see that the mirror's reflection isn't it's own: this mirror reflects what's shown in the second mirror, the one that Strange is holding. Strange is still impatient as all hell, waiting for Childermass to take the mirror and examine the magic.

"I think I can make one more mirror to connect with these two, but that would limit it's use to magic users only—you'd have to use your magic to swap between the different reflections."

[atouts]

He will take the mirror... eventually.

Childermass takes his sweet time setting his pencil and notebook down, carefully balanced on his leg, before reaching for it. That does reveal he was, in fact, actually trying to sketch down some of the odd mushrooms around them. It's fair enough work but still as unpolished as it was before, Eden's boost to that skill having long since left him. Not that he's particularly self-conscious of something as simple as notes and a few drawings.

"Considering the whole lost of us are changelings, magic isn't such a rare commodity these days," he idly comments as he inspects the mirror. "I take it you wanted some way to communicate without the radios?"

[kingsroads]

"There's a difference between being changed by magic and using it," Strange muses. "Even now, there's some of our number who barely have any magical capabilities and an equal amount who refuse to acknowledge the potential they do have."

It's obvious from Strange's expression and tone of voice that he has a few people in mind. Nosiness is winning out as he takes a glance down at Childermass's notebook: unpolished work, but certainly better than anything he can do, then back to Childermass himself.

"I want to do one better than the radios. I want to find a way for carnival members to communicate once we've all returned to our own worlds. And I'm not alone in that thought. Miss Mordio has the same desire—she's getting one of these for experimentation."

[atouts]

"All things considered, I doubt you'll be passing out many of these regardless."

Because Strange kind of blew it with all and any friendships he had, as far as Childermass could tell from the Summer Court antics. It's an unkind thing to say but it's not as though Childermass has ever been some fount of kindness, anyway. Still, he continues looking over the mirror. Keeping in contact with Rita would at least be useful...

"If you could get sound to be clearer, it might work out." He'll reach up to tap the mirror he has, looking over to the other one Strange has to see how much of it gets through. "Clarity of voice is by far more important than the visual."

[kingsroads]

Strange shrugs a little. "If we get the magic working properly, then the communication could be mirror to mirror as well as mirror to all mirrors—like the private channels on the radio. They wouldn't have to speak to me at all. And...I think I can live with that."

At least, Strange hopes he can live with that. He also knows that he blew it with a lot of friendships—but not all of them. And maybe seeing this through and working on something beneficial to everybody might help mend the friendships that aren't totally ruined.

As for the mirror, the visual is crystal clear, though limited to what the reflection in the mirror Strange has can reflect. The audio is faint, but audible: obviously the weakest part of the magic. At Childermass's assessment, Strange nods. "I was always worse at audio through reflections than visuals. That's why I want as many magicians as possible to take a look at this as well."

[atouts]

'It may help if you tried apologizing for real' is Childermass's kneejerk response that comes to mind but he doesn't bother airing it. Some may not accept apologies at this point, in any case, so he just focuses on the matter at hand which is, of course, the mirror literally in hand.

"It's a bit small to layer too much magic over," he says thoughtfully on hearing the weakness of the noise. Funny that such a loud, attention-seeking magician is bad at audio, of all things, although Childermass himself falls on the end of 'things that don't make noise' himself. "Are these regular mirrors or did you create them using the Silver Mirror's power?"

[kingsroads]

"The Silver Mirror," Strange explains. "I can manipulate and grow mirrors now—damn useful considering what the Mother of Invention did to me."

At least he can fix his own broken arms now. Legs are someone else's problem.

"And I could make them bigger. But, at least for now, I felt the smaller the better." He can make large magical hand mirrors when they aren't in the middle of the woods in enemy territory on a possible suicide mission.

[atouts]

"Small is fine, then," Childermass decides, turning the mirror over to check the back out of idle curiosity. If both sides are mirrored or whatnot. "If the material is superior, I doubt any other spell you enchant it with will get too muddled. I know plenty of ones for muting sound exist but for making sound louder... hm..."

If only he had Hurtfew's library at hand. He's sure something like that is somewhere in a book there, though whether a creation of faerie magic would care for English magic, who knows.

"We could always try to reverse the one I know for getting less attention. That muffles sound."

[kingsroads]

Both sides are mirrored. The magic has arbitrarily decided a front and a back. When Childermass flips the mirror over, he gets a lovely view of Strange's hand.

He can't help but perk up a little as Childermass mentions reversing the spell. That would make sense. There's already a framework, they'd have to do the complete opposite. Which granted, sounds like a pain, but it also sounds like something more doable than some other options.

"You'd have to teach me that one—I never learned anything like that." For obvious reasons. "But it does sound like a good idea."