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.

Threaded | Flat

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. You can also ask OOC questions here, since there's no locations post this time.

Before crossing over to the Wyldlands, the carnival was brought to the Summer Court once more to make use of the same portals. That way, they'd have a better chance of ensuring that everyone ended up in the same drop area. Of course, with so much going on, this results in a period where everyone is left to complete last-minute preparation, and otherwise wait for deployment.

While this is going on, those who reply to this thread will be approached by an imposingly tall Summer Court soldier, with long silvery hair and skin. Her neck and extremities glow an incandescent orange, as if made of superheated metal. She is wearing armor, but it is minimal, mostly just covering her breasts and other private areas.

"You," she says, without bothering with any formalities. "You're the Wyld Kin, right? You're the ones that started all this."

Her voice is forceful, but not exactly angry. Just impatient.

DAY 134: Jasper has been quiet lately, but she's been especially quiet in the presence of the fae. Scouting ahead with only other Carnival members seems to come as something of a relief to her... But then again, that could be just as much the fact that this is finally an opportunity for some action instead of just waiting around on the decisions of people higher up various chains of command than herself. Either way, she seems more engaged and at ease on this scouting mission than she has done for some time. The first time she has to fight off a wild (wyld?) beast disrupted by their patrol, she's grinning afterwards for what's definitely the first time in a while.

(Not that Jasper grinning is necessarily a good thing, because Jasper's grin is terrifying, but it beats tense and surly, probably.)

"Hah!" she barks as the owlbear turns to flee into the woods -- but then she glances uneasily at whoever just helped her with that, and her grin fades a little. "You think that thing's going to warn someone--? Should we go after it?"

DAY 135: Looking for someone sturdy and inorganic to wade through the POISON WATER so you don't have to? Good news! Jasper's entire body is a hologram and she can fit at least two people on her back at a time because she's huge. (Just don't try to climb off without letting her know first, because it... won't work.)

There's a lot of water, though, so you're going to be on board for a little while. Want to strike up a conversation with your cab driver?

[Lookout]

Once they're on their way through the Wyldlands, Syrlya takes to the front of the group to keep an eye out on the ground floor while others scout from the sky. At times, this means disappearing under a veil to check difficult territory--but he always notifies a Supervisor before he goes out of sight.

His alertness doesn't ease when they stop to set up camp for the waning day. While others unfurl rolls and rations, Syrlya stays close to the edge with his eyes set on the distance. When he eats it's quick, sparing snacking before he's back to acting as guard and conferring with other lookouts.

[Rest]

He can't actually stand up and awake forever, though. A few times during the nights, sometimes only for a few minutes, he's seated closer to the center of the group. He doesn't stop looking up and out at the peripheral, but he can at least be caught off duty enough to have a conversation.

[Shrooms]

Syrlya can't sense poison, specifically, but he can put together clues between the sense of hostility coming from most of the mushrooms and the lack of fleshy wildlife around them.

"Be careful what you touch," he warns glancing back. "These fungus are not friendly, and we do not know what they can transfer, or now."

Sure, okay, the fungus isn't friendly. It makes sense to him.

Further prompts to be added as I think of them

With the majority of carnival members being interested in attempting diplomacy (and with a fair number of those being much louder and more forceful than those interested in avoiding this whole thing) the group will start making plans as soon as they get within a visual distance of the big tree they've been heading towards. If they are going to try to talk, then it seems the only option is to present themselves respectfully and see where it goes from where.

Ignatius will offer himself to come along with the group approaching the tree, while Gild keeps watch from a distance. If things become violent, they will have a chance to snatch the diplomats away before they get hurt. Ideally, anyway.

A party of peacekeepers will be gathered, and Ignatius will advise that they approach the tree slowly without concealing themselves. Any attempt to sneak up will probably be considered a threat. He leads the way through the trees, in keen anticipation of them being met by an attack before they even get there, but so far nothing has happened.

Now is the time to think about what you're going to say once you make it to the tree. For those not interested in talking, you may want to set yourself up to be ready to pull the others out in the case of an emergency.

Steven had presented the idea earlier in the day, after the negotiations with the Wyld Fae. They had to be getting closer to the Ringmaster, and from the sounds of it, they could be getting close to the Red Beast as well. With a limited number of ways to get new information, he can't help but make the offer: to use his dream walking abilities to try to contact one or both of their missing Wyld Fae.

Of course, nobody seems that enthusiastic about him doing something like that alone, either. He kind of agrees, but what else can he do? After some mucking around, he ends up with an honestly screwball plan, but one that's better than nothing. He gets together Peridot, Syrlya, and Gongenzaka, to test to see if they can all end up in the same dreamscape together.

He's only ever visited one person at a time before, but it's worth a shot - right?

Several carnival members also volunteer to guard them while they sleep. Amethyst turns into a weird purple tent, and Steven gets the other three to get inside with him, that night. Maybe being closer will make astral projecting into each other easier. He thinks about all of those he's gathering with, focusing on them as he eventually drifts off.

When he finds himself lucid again, he'll be flitting through Peridot's dreams.

The Wyld Fae allies prove to be incredibly valuable while making it through the forest, their sparring matches with the hunting parties ensuring that the carnival itself rarely has to cross paths. They are a big distracting presence that allows them to go mostly unseen, and it's only once they are outside of the cover of trees that that goes from a boon to a bane.

While a group of small mortals may have passed more easily, as the free Wyld Fae cross into the mountain range, it seems to trigger some for of territorial defense. At least one large pack of Wyld Fae under the Huntsman's control take heed of their presence, and come down to meet them at the threshold.

A fight breaks out. The Thunder Bird and their allies begin to fight back admirably, but there is a significant problem - the longer they fight here, the more likely it is to draw additional attention. Those with the Huntsman's influence can sense that they are getting close to his territory, meaning that the Hunt will have more and more allies to call upon.

As the fight intensifies, hordes of Wylderkin will be summoned by the most influential beasts of both sides - and some of these creatures will find and attack the carnival. In this all out battle, Wyld Fae allies won't be able to come to your rescue.

Edited 2019-02-01 21:45 (UTC)

After some discussion with the River Dragon, it was decided that the Wyld Fae would travel separately, staging an assault against the opposite side of the mountain range while the carnival lead the Summer armies to the heart of the Huntsman's territory. Travel has been hard, but with the distractions provided by the Wyld Fae, the amount of hunting parties has diminished significantly - with so much effort focused on staving off an attack, there's barely anyone to watch for the small team of mortals, and the Court fae that follow behind them.

After two days of perilous travel through the mountains, the carnival and the Summer armies have reached the edges of the end - the ring of stone surrounding a toxic looking valley, filled with Wyld of all shapes and sizes and surrounded by black rock that sprouts both blossoms and streams of lava in equal measure. Down below, there is grim looking fog, thousands of enemies, and a towering fortress made of bone and hide.

To those attuned with the Hunt, the layout is obvious. The Huntsman rules from the fortress, while his many followers guard everything surrounding it. His voice is so loud here, it's hard to focus on anything but resisting without help. Still, without this intelligence, would any of them have made it this far at all?

Thunder cracks and water ravages the valley below, and the River Dragon and Thunder Bird can be seen leading their pack of Wyld Fae against the Huntsman, a battle of titans that seems more likely to result in one being crushed underfoot than anything else. Thankfully, the carnival's objective was never to fight - it was to lead. And now they have arrived, with hundreds of Summer Fae behind them. On a separate peak, the Summer Maiden emerges, leading her Summerland troops, while an unknown Court generals lead their armies from another.

The results of Wyld and Court Fae of this power clashing is near cataclysmic. More than to fight, the carnival is preoccupied with surviving... making it to the Ringmaster before her power can be used against them.

While the center seemed obvious from up on the rocks, from down below it is chaos. Enormous beasts of all elements wage war against the godlike magical strength of the Court. All the while, these impossibly bold changelings slip through the cracks of a war that never could have happened without them.

Navigation is difficult. The howling of the Huntsman's commands demands for those attuned to fight, not to travel. With monsters towering overhead, it seems like any wrong move could end them for good.

Threaded | Flat

⇨ INVESTIGATIONS

Reira Akaba | OTA

⇨ READY TO GO (MEGATHREAD)

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