lostcarnival | ⇨ THE WYLDLANDS

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⇨ THE WYLDLANDS

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I bet you could now that you told her off," says Peridot. "Not... that... I want to put you in the situation necessary to test theory. Um."

She clears her throat awkwardly.

"Auhh..." Gongenzaka grimaces somewhat- but quickly tries to move on from the subject of the Queen.

"Well...Regardless of if that can be done, we must be careful for similar reasons, with the ones we seek- while the Ringmaster, under typical circumstance, would undoubtedly wish us no harm, we will still be entering a dream, yes? If there is even a chance that being fae, means that she or the 'beast', can naturally prevent this ability of yours from working properly, we must be on our guard...and be ready to work around," he states, nodding.

Or in summary, they should just be ready for whatever the hell and make sure they don't rely on Dream Magic when they get where they're aiming. (If they get there, for that matter)

But, he coughs. "Mnh- though we should perhaps not discuss too much without Syrlya present...Steven? How shall we proceed in order to bring him?"

"Right," Steven says, smacking his fist into his palm. "Gongenzaka, try to hang onto me. Peridot, you too. I'm going to try to move us all to Syrlya."

There isn't really a lot of visual accompaniment, besides Steven focusing while simultaneously trying to hold his connections to them. The farm starts to move out of view, while an aura of familiar blue energy glows around him, and then snakes off into the distance like a thread of flames. It grows from his heart, thickening and solidifying, until it's become a crystalline vine.

"Here!" he says, understanding. "Hold on!"

Once everyone has grabbed the vine, they'll be pulled off to Syrlya-land.

Edited 2019-02-01 04:45 (UTC)

Syrlya-land is a lot less comforting, being somewhere deep in the humid jungle that's littered with the debris of shredded and smashed military airships tangled in thick, thorny vines. It's a silent battlefield, and over a cliff Syrlya stands on the wreckage, looking out at the distance.

The sounds of other people breaking the silence fets him to stop and turn to them immediately, initially tense. The he blinks rapidly, confused for a second before it comes back to him.

"Oh! You've made it. That is good, we weren't certain this would work..."

Syrlya is there! Oh good. Apparently latching onto the Rose connection did its job, but it also doesn't stop doing its job quite fast enough.

Before Steven can stop it, the fiery blue vine latches onto Syrlya's arm and drags Steven right into him until the two of them physically collide. Or, you know, astrally collide. Whatever.

Either way Steven yelps as the magical energy smacks them together and then artlessly peels off as he hectically waves away the Rose energy, despite a trail of it still coming from his chest.

"Ahhh - stooop...!"

And then the Bleu Rose proceeds to stick Steven to Syrlya, and before he can do anything either Steven is barreling forward and into him.

"OOF--" Syrlya hunches over and staggers back as he's beat with pudgy child, falling on his ass.

Gongenzaka finds he doesn't have much trouble following Steven- the vine he grabs in the dream only strengthens that ease of connection if anything. At the end of the day the way the magic is going, his entire soul is basically coming along for the ride...he's not actually sure it'll be possible to be left behind unless one of them focuses on that.

(He grabs that vine firmly however, to be safe)

It doesn't take long before they're in Syrlya's dream of course. Once they're in he beams, about to greet the other. And then-

"A...AUH-" what

"Th-That..! Are you both alright..?" he sputters, sounding far more baffled than worried.

Even after they've both fallen down, there is still a thin, glassy vine connecting Steven's heart to Syrlya's arm. It's a bit weird. Steven puts his hand on it, grimacing, though he doesn't try to break it off quite yet. It's just dream nonsense, he reasons.

"It worked!" he says with a halfhearted laugh, trying to look on the bright side. "We're all here..."

Peridot fortunately manages to land next to both of them, rather than on top of them. She grunts, shaking her head before looking up to take in their surroundings.

"Yeesh," she comments, grimacing slightly. "You need to work on your lucid dreaming."

Because why anyone would want to be standing among this mess is completely beyond her.

Syrlya waves his arm slightly, watching the tether float as he does. The sensation of the connection isn't foreign to him (although he's used to less bizarre desires to just grab a person and haul them off) but the literal interpretation is... yeah, kind of weird looking.

He pushes himself back up to his feet, glancing off to the side when Peridot comments on the destructive scenery. He hadn't chose it, but he knows exactly why his mind is wrapped around this lost battle.

Syrlya waves his hand dismissively. "It won't be any danger as a dream. Who will we attempt to connect to first?"

"Hnnn... If you say so," Gongenzaka begins, focusing on him as well as the others. "...As for who we shall connect with, or reach for...that will come to who it is easier to find, correct?" He asks, his gaze moving to Steven in particular.

"Naturally, we must brace ourselves for challenge, regardless of who we encounter."

"Umm..." Steven starts, sounding uncomfortable. "Well... It's not exactly a perfect science..." He flicks at the vine growing out of his chest.

"Usually I just think about someone and end up going to them, somehow. But it doesn't always go the way I expect it to. The Rose helped me find you, so we could see if it will help us find the Red Beast, too?"

Steven usually just kind of wings these things, truthfully.

"You're the dream expert," Peridot says unhelpfully, shrugging. She doesn't have miracle powers, and she's not the one that usually has astral projection abilities. She's sort of just following Steven's lead here. "As long as you're comfortable using your rose connection, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't at least try that method."

With a nod, Gongenzaka gives a sound of agreement with Peridot. "Aaauh. Although..." Gongenzaka crosses his arms.

"Perhaps, we can...somehow combine our typical methods, to help? I, the man Gongenzaka, can typically track the spirits of others yes?" He looks to Steven, continuing. "And...with what you say now, there is an existing connection between you, but also Syrlya, and those related miracles? If we could combine our strengths to join together in these dreams...why not attempt to combine our strengths for this as well? We can all focus, upon that energy- and seek, from there, together!"

At the very least it could mean Steven doesn't exhaust himself doing it alone.

"I don't have any better suggestions how to find them," Syrlya admits with a shrug. "I noticed a... similar sense of feeling with Strange, if not as strongly. If you can focus on anything similar to that connection, perhaps we will find the Red Beast."

He doesn't know anything about astral projecting either, he's kind of along for the ride in that regard.

With the verdict mostly seeming to be "it's up to you," Steven braces himself. Gongenzaka has a good point and he makes a note to try to verbally guide the others through the same process - besides that, though, it couldn't hurt to mirror the effort physically.

"Okay... Everybody hold hands. Maybe that will help make sure you come along with me." Which seems important since not going along is the whole reason these guys are here in the first place. "If we get there we might be in a completely different dream, and if the Red Beast really is being controlled by the Huntsman, it could be scary."

After they are all linked up, Steven will start focusing on the Blue Rose again, and try to forge a path forward to the Red Beast. The vines growing out of Steven and Syrlya will begin to thicken, growing around the group in a circle - not exactly trapping them, but enclosing them all the same. As it grows, the environment around them will fade from jungle to blackness. Soon, the shimmering blue vines are the only thing left with any colour at all, the blackness becoming cloudy and grey.

Wind rips through the cycle, and the cloudiness is quick to manifest as a kind of heavy dust - ash that still smolders as it whips across their faces. Steven yelps, trying to keep himself holding onto them even as the sensation alarms him.

"I think it's working," he says, his voice shrill with fear.

Peridot tightens her grip on Steven's hand as the wind kicks up, glancing around wildly at the spinning ash. There doesn't seem to be anything else here aside from the maelstrom...

"Are you sure?! I don't see any Red Beast yet!" She yells over the howling of the wind.

As Steven instructs them, Gongenzaka listens- his hands tighten around whoever sits directly beside him, one metal one not. His own vines from his back seek a grip upon anything immediately near- more than likely either the arms to the hands he holds, or some of the blue vines themselves.

Eyes screwed shut, he tries to focus- focus upon reaching out with his soul and energy, searching for what feels akin to the two beside him. It is a tricky task- particularly as the air around them fills with dust and ash.

If Steven feels it is working, it's likely they're at least finding SOMEONE. Heck- if it is working the way they want, perhaps he'll feel something himself, through this reach of his own. Regardless- "At the very least, something is occuring around us! And that is far more than nothing at all-!"

Gongenzaka clenches his teeth, grunting against the haze. "So..! Hold firm!" He barks, grip tightening further. "Whatever comes, we are here, together! Do not falter, or fear-!"

Syrlya braces himself against the wind, easily accepting whatever help in not blowing away from each other. Having never dream hopped, he doesn't know if this is the Red Beast or some nebulous in between.

He brings his crystal hand up, and tries to feel through that connection anything similar besides Steven. Maybe he can at least help direct them, even if he can't move the group.

From the blackness, a pair of massive red eyes slowly open, silhouettes of color in the storm of ash. They begin unfocused, but rapidly become more alert, focusing in on the group of dream-travelers and seeming to move in forward, as if closing in for a better look. A screeching sound rises, like a mixture between a roar and the cry of a bird of prey.

Steven goes stiff, staring back at the being with wide eyes, an empathic connection forming that spills over into the others, albeit less powerfully. There is a feeling of the creature's attention and interest - but in the way that a hunter would perceive prey.

"Oh no," Steven says softly, both out of immediate dread and because of what this implies. "I think... the Thunder Bird was right..."

Peridot isn't genre savvy enough to make a quip about how this better not be one of those 'die in the dream die in real life' situations, but she is feeling the general sentiment of it, wondering if this is a situation where getting hurt here could have real-life negative consequences.

"HEY! SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU BIG RED DUMMY!" she says, shouting through her cupped hands. She lowers them briefly and glances over at Steven. "Do you think I should turn into something huge and try to intimidate it?"

Not great. They all heard what the Thunder Bird said, after all. But-

"We knew that would be a risk," Gongenzaka assures the other. The dread Steven feels washes over him, but he counters it with his own feeling of steadfast determination of his own. "...But we also know, that to try nothing, is to gain nothing. All of us have something, which we can use here, yes?" He grimaces through the continuing pang of fear, but as Peridot shouts, finds himself with his spirits somehow lifting despite the likely ire she's just drawn. They knew this was a risk. They knew, but that was why they were prepared to face it.

So with more confidence, he nods- "...I, the man Gongenzaka, do not feel intimidation is the answer necessarily- to appear dangerous could just as well invite attack. Syrlya," he continues, looking to the other. "Your magic...it should be useful here, yes?" he asks- not in the mind control sense obviously, but perhaps something could be used to try and appease who is here... "And Steven- what you are doing now, as well...if you can touch us with your own emotions, then perhaps you can do the same- offer to them calm, and peace! I, the man Gongenzaka..."

He takes a deep breath, and prepares to reach out somewhat to the spirit of the one before them- hesitating only to wait for agreement or disagreement from the others. In the meantime, he stares to the great red eyes- and slowly closes his own. "I, the man Gongenzaka, shall do the same." Or. Well, as close to the same as he can be. He's no empath after all.

Syrlya's honestly not sure where illusions start to play in dreams, which are hardly reality to begin with. He's not surprised at Steven's assessment, but his expression grows tighter in response.

"We see you," he raises his voice a little. Those with emotional connections can handle that part, Syrlya just has a more direct sense. "Can you speak?"

Steven nods a little as Gongenzaka speaks, like he is trying to stay focused but struggling. He doesn't think all of what he's feeling is translating through to the group, and it's hard to describe, except that it is bad.

"We want to help you!" he calls up to the giant red eyes, obviously still a bit shaken. As he calls out, though, the eyes loom even closer - and a pair of giant, skeleton talons emerge from the darkness and plant themselves on the 'ground' at each of their sides. Everything shakes with the weight of it. Everything shakes with the weight of it, and Steven stutters. "Th-The Huntsman is there too, right? I..."

He can feel the presence there. More than this creature, that's what leaves him shaking. As Steven tentatively begins to reach out a hand, the environment seems to grow darker still, as something long and black slithers behind the silhouette of the supposed Beast. As it moves, Steven looks transfixed, the obvious threat numbed by his seeming paralysis.

All at once, the dark serpent lunges for him, inky fangs stretched wide.

It'd be a hell of an understatement to say that this snake left a negative impression on Peridot; flashes of repressed memories of their last encounter come crashing over her like a tidal wave, a visceral reaction that triggers without her even consciously identifying the creature as it slithers in the dark.

She reacts to it's arrival on pure instinct, but maybe in a way, she's just doing what she wishes she'd been able to do back in Shabon. The snake strikes, and she lashes back with the raw intent to protect both herself and Steven by inflicting as much harm to the wretched thing as possible, yelling and throwing her hands out in front of her. The follow-through of the motion manifests her will, creating a ridiculous buster-sword sized version of the vorpal blade that she thrusts toward the creature as hard as she can. Fuck right off, Nagini.

⇨ THE WYLDLANDS

tracking this thread would probably help huh

rip...

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