DECEMBER MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: December 21st - Early January
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Newcomers, a surprise gift from Tatianna, and a visitor!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. The lobby is filled to the brim with tables of freshly baked goods. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banners are taped to the walls, and several other typical birthday decorations can be found in this area. A few of the baked goods tables are lined with massive cakes covered in unlit candles, just waiting for someone to grab a lighter and sing off-key. Is it anyone's birthday? Who knows! The companion bots seem to believe it's every new arrival's birthday and will greet them as such - with friendly waves and cheers as they make their way to the lobby. A coat rack is situated by the doors leading out of the hospital, covered in warm clothing that fits the new arrivals just right - whether it's to their preferred style or not is something else entirely. Some of them appear normal enough. Others? Well. They can't all be perfect, now can they? Outside the windows, the grass is covered in a couple of inches of loosely packed snow. We hope you enjoy your stay. ⏵ an unexpected gift ⏴ Out by the hospital stands a tall, decorated tree covered in candles and golden pinecones with a handsome, red velveteen tree skirt. In front of it are a few oversized wrapped gifts for show- and atop one of those sits a familiar woman. Or unfamiliar, if this is your first time. It's Tatianna in a slutty Santa outfit with a big ol’ burlap sack. “Hey, I got something for you,” she says, digging into the bag and rummaging for a moment. She produces a painted egg and holds it aloft. “It’s your Winter Solstice Egg! This is the egg holiday, right? Wait, shit. I’m mixing them up, aren’t I? ...Well. It’s a little late to change it. Here you go!” How one treats their egg is fully up to themselves. They can choose to ignore it entirely, or destroy it and leave the yolk and innards to rot on the ground. They can hand it over to someone else or care for it as if it were something precious. No one will prevent them from doing whatever they please with it! ⏵ naughty or nice ⏴However, how they treat the egg will define how the egg treats them in return. Those who keep the egg and tend to it will get the benefit of being able to watch it hatch seven days after they are handed the egg. Eggs that are treated with attention and love may yield a loyal companion, or a weapon of choice that always returns to its owner, while neglected eggs may yield a curious, cursed trinket or an animal who treats its new owner very much the same way its owner had treated it before it was born. Please submit an egg request below for what items you would like your character's eggs to hatch into! Please note that these cannot be things that would be applicable in the game. Those whose eggs are destroyed or forgotten will simply get the gift of... nothing! ⏵ free your spirit ⏴ With the winter chill gripping the air, a mysterious figure makes their presence known in Etraya - a towering, horned creature dragging a massive sack behind them. 𝓐 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖇𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 𝖔𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖜𝖊𝖆𝓴 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓. Regardless of a character's strengths or weaknesses, they will find that when Krampus raises his massive sack over their head, they are powerless to stop him from catching them. Those capable of great magical feats or other supernatural abilities will sense something... otherworldly about Krampus, but will not be able to place the source of that sensation. Once within Krampus' sack, they are welcome to fight, but escape is impossible. It will feel as if Krampus is dragging them over every rock possible, dragging the sack in through the rivers to the point it soaks through and drenches them - potentially almost drowning them. When the sack opens, they will find themselves in an impossibly dark space. Around them are others who have also been captured and dragged here by Krampus, trapped in small cages hanging from a massive, wiry tree. Krampus will return often, banging clawed hands and birch rods on the walls of the cages and knocking them into one another. 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖋𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘. The whisper resonates through the darkened area, regardless of Krampus' presence. Confess your secrets, and be freed. Otherwise? You'd better hope someone figures out where Krampus has set up base; those who refuse to confess may find themselves stuck here forever. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Krampus' base is under Etraya! Deep within the catacombs, he has set up multiple cages to capture those who inhabit Etraya to punish them for their naughty habits. Fighting him is possible! Defeating him by means of combat is not, however, possible. Think of it like fighting a god: Krampus creates the rules in the space around him, including who can use what ability. For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[fortitudosalutis]

[ That stills him for a brief moment. She isn't looking at him when he says it, isn't outwardly clocking his reaction. But that name -

Hell of a coincidence, isn't it? ]

Funny. That's my sister's name, too.

[ He says it rather blandly. ]

[cactusy]

[Just because she hadn't commented on the thing that had sprung him from his cage doesn't mean she hadn't heard it, so he gets another quick look when he says that.]

You don't know if she's okay?

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Instinctively, he moves to match her pace. Covering her corners just like he would for his sister if they were clearing an unknown space. ]

I heard her get shot. Large caliber. Close range. Would've been through the back.

[ His jaw works. He swallows that anger down. ]

But I didn't see her fall.

[cactusy]

I got that through the front once. I was captured, but I lived.

[She doesn't stop walking, and she doesn't look over at him again, giving him privacy in his reaction.]

It's not over until you see the body.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ His jaw works. He fights past the anger and the vicious, ugly shame he feels at failing her. He owes his sister everything and he's failed her at every turn. If she's alive, he'll find her again. He did once before, even though it took him years.

In the end, he keeps pace. He watches this Shaw's back. ]

If she's alive, she's the commander now. I'll follow her. And if she's not, then I'll bury her with the others.

[cactusy]

[Still facing forward, Shaw nods; that makes perfect sense to her, and is probably exactly what she'd do in his position. She's also happy to leave that particular topic there - which is a good thing, because when she rounds a corner and finds herself facing a long hall lined with row upon row of human skulls, all thoughts of anything else leave her mind anyway.]

-- Crap.

[She says, stopping dead.]

Hey, Carver, this isn't any old cave. If we don't want to risk aimlessly wandering until we starve to death, we need to stay put until we get some direction.

[She still has no idea how big this place is, but she's aware of how big places like this often are, and trying to do this on their own isn't worth the risk. So she taps on her earpiece, activates the HUD (luckily, she's already experimented with this), and scrolls down the list of users until she finds the one she's looking for.]

Reese.

[She says, out loud.]

I think I'm lost in an underground catacomb.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Ah. That's fun.

Carver steps closer, examining the skulls. It's not the first time he's seen displays like that. He tilts his head toward Shaw, though. Listening intently. ]

Friend of yours?

[ Whoever she's calling, he means. Not the skulls. ]

[cactusy]

[Shaw makes a small affirmative sound as she walks slowly down the corridor - not planning to leave this particular hallway, but looking for markers or waypoints on the walls.]

One of my boys from home. He should pick up quick; these guys shower and sleep with their earpieces in.

[fortitudosalutis]

Who’s the other?

[ Nobody that Carver’s met thus far has introduced themselves as “Reese.” But two from the same world, even if not the same time? That’s important data.

He sheaths the knife, for now, and crouches down to examine the floor for tracks or scuff marks, some indication of anyone who passes through before them. ]

[cactusy]

[In theory, there's no reason to be cautious here. Reese and Finch are both pretty clearly living and working out in the open, under the names that they use consistently at home - and the names that they use consistently at home are aliases, anyway. But old habits die hard, so--]

Wiry guy with glasses and a limp; you might've seen him around.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ That stills him. ]

Harold Finch.

[ They’ve met. ]

[cactusy]

I guess he gets around.

[Shaw murmurs, examining one of the skulls close up.]

What about his buddy John, you know him?

[fortitudosalutis]

Mhmm-hmm. Stoic motherfucker, right?

[ Carver tilts his head. ]

The Army grunts out number you now, jarhead.

[cactusy]

Considering it takes at least four or five of your best to equal one mediocre Marine, I'm okay with that.

[She, too, is a stoic motherfucker: especially when she's depressed (now), and even when she's joking (also now).]

[fortitudosalutis]

Not been my experience with the crayon-eaters, [ he drawls. He’s grinning, though. ]

[cactusy]

A-R-M-Y, 'Ain't Ready for the Marines Yet'.

[Her eyes are on the walls, still looking for markings as she paces down the hall, but she can hear the smile in his voice. That's a good thing, she supposes. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who gets the chance to smile much.]

[fortitudosalutis]

Army gets it done while the Marine Corps are underway.

[ It’s an easy sort of back and forth, familiar from the old days. Quietly, Carver supposes he’s nostalgic for it.

He straightens, scrubbing at his face. ]

Ground’s too scuffed up for tracks.

[cactusy]

Sucks for us. I'm not seeing any "this way to the surface" arrows on the walls, either.

[She exhales heavily.]

If Reese doesn't have any clues, we might have to go exploring after all. Good thing we have service down here.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Carver frowns, scanning the area. They could pick a direction at random and try to backtrack to the river, but they run the risk of getting even more lost and he's really not in the mood to die of dehydration in some catacombs. ]

We shouldn't, this far underground.

[ Of course, magic is a thing now. ]

[cactusy]

What about your contacts? You know anyone who might have intel?

[fortitudosalutis]

Not really. [ Nobody who’s got any reason to help him, anyway. ] Would’ve suggested Finch, but I figure you got that covered already.

[cactusy]

At home, Finch would be the one with the maps. John's in the field with me. But from the year they're from--

[Shaw frowns, shaking her head.]

Finch barely knows me. I'm pretty sure he's only a couple weeks off from having wanted to fire me. John seems like a better bet.

[fortitudosalutis]

[ Interesting. Carver tilts his head, watching her with a new intensity. There are things he guessed about John, and that he's wondered about Harold. Now he has confirmation for a few. They do field work. They're a seasoned team. And that makes them a touch more dangerous than before. ]

Trouble in paradise?

[cactusy]

You've met Finch, right?

[Shaw asks, raising an eyebrow.]

He seem like the kind of guy to immediately take to someone like me?

[fortitudosalutis]

Don't know. I've never worked with the guy.

[ But there was tension. A certain iron in Harold Finch's spine when Carver closed the distance between them that said the man wasn't going to flinch even if Carver went for his throat. Maybe he's not a fighter, maybe he's not an operator like Shaw clearly is, but he doesn't balk easy. He wonders if she's tried pushing that. ]