world jump # 4 event post: an end is in sight.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players an end is in sight. QUICK LINKS WORLD JUMP # 4: THE HOROLOGIUM. WORLD JUMP # 4: EVENT POST. MOD QUESTIONS GENERAL, THE MONSTER SIGNUPS KILL THE MONSTER, COLLECT AND CONTAIN THE CIRCLE, YOUR IDEAS HERE Congratulations Circle Members. An end is in sight. With the information you have gathered and the sacrifices you have made, you have just enough knowledge on what to do to try and rid the universe of this horrible monster once and for all. You have decided to split into two teams: kill the monster, and collect the bodies. Your strategy and your assistance will make a difference, though how much of one you don't know until you try. THINGS TO NOTE: ➜ Congratulations! You have succeeded in killing the monster (aka, enough of the Circle signed up for monster hunting! Congratulations!) ➜ The monster itself will not be NPC'd by the modteam. Your team may NPC the monster (and, subsequently, kill it) however you wish. All of the powers of the monster (psychological manipulation, speed, and the like) will still be in play. However, characters on the Bridge discovered certain things. Use as you wish. ➜ Regular Astoria powers have returned as status quo. ➜ Both teams can interact with each other, as they have learned enough about the belly of the ship to not get quite as lost. MEETING UP. The members of the Circle who went down below into the belly of the ship have returned. They are battered, bruised, and terrified . . . something attacked them down there, and while many of them may not be able to tell you what it is, it is certainly something terrible. But as people begin to mingle, and interact, you begin to notice something. Not everyone who was down there came back up. Where are the remaining members of the Circle? What happened to them? You fear the worst, but as members of the Circle begin to talk, maybe you have some glimmer of hope. Maybe, against all odds, some of them made it. PROMPT IDEAS: ➜ Members of the Circle who were down below are beat up pretty badly. . . . but then again, so are members of the Circle who stayed on the Bridge. Healers are in desperate need, and so is basic first aid. Rally together, and ensure you all don't die before you go traipsing into the hell that is down below, shall you? ➜ Breaking up into teams is something the Circle feels is necessary. You want revenge, don't you? For not only your fallen comrades, but for being attacked in the first place. You want whatever that thing is to die, and figuring out how to do it seems to be the next thing on the Circle's agenda. Members who were on the Bridge uncovered some clues as to what the monster is capable of . . . maybe putting some heads together can figure out a good plan as to how to defeat it. ➜ Or, maybe, you just need a break. Setting up a base camp at the top of the elevator shaft seems like a good idea, doesn't it? Rest, recuperate, and take a breather. Try to ignore the voices in your head. Keep the madness at bay, while you figure out what to do. Or, maybe, find a shoulder to cry on. You've been through a lot. Rest. ➜ After the fighting, the Circle will need to rejoin, and recoup. Report the findings of going down below. Report about the dead. Feel free to create your own prompts and threads throughout this week. You're going to need all the support you can get. TEAM: KILL THE MONSTER. You have decided that despite the dangers you face and the complications of this ship, destroying the monster is your priority. You have teamed up with others who have the same idea as you - you will kill this monster, one way or another. Even when faced with these horrors, you have decided that it is worth it - for revenge, for the safety of the others, or whatever else motivates you. And you succeed. THE HUNT: ➜ It lies at the very heart of the ship: the monster’s den is akin to a nesting ground. When you first enter, you’ll note the smell immediately; it’s the repugnant, sharp stench of rotted flesh. The odor is powerful enough to make you gag, and its source is hardly any more pleasant. Underneath the many layers of mangled wiring and discarded possessions are the remains of former crewmates. Watch where you step. As you begin to draw near the center of the den, your surroundings are suddenly shrouded in darkness. The rumbling vibrations of the ground beneath you cause the entire ship to quake, and if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you’re likely to discover that wires have begun to snake around your legs and drag you down. This marks the beginning of what is to come. Because when the den is illuminated once more, the monster towers over you and unleashes a primal screech that shakes the very ship itself. THE FIGHT: ➜ PHASE 1: The monster will be utilizing a set of attacks Circle members may find themselves familiar with — it lunges forward, using its razor sharp tendons to slash at those within its immediate vicinity. It will be attempt to tear through any limbs within its reach and immobilize you. Your powers will be flickering on and off as well. Be careful! The back of its head appears to be vulnerable, as it delays its attacks for extended periods of time. ➜ PHASE 2: The monster’s attack range has expanded as it hangs from the ceiling and strikes from above. The ground begins to shake violently once more, and you will lose your grip on reality intermittently. Voices and visions plague you — you may find this to be a boon to your strength or a disadvantage, but regardless, the monster will be attempting to slice through as many Circle members as it can in a single sweep. Long range attacks are more likely to throw it off balance and send it hurling towards the ground. ➜ PHASE 3: The monster is aware of its own weakness. It skitters around the walls and spews out a vile, black sludge that webs across the floor. The black sludge will attempt to suffocate and consume you whole once it’s made contact with your skin. The psychological effects are prevalent as well, as you will find yourself paralyzed with fear...yet for some reason, this time the words of another Circle member still have the capacity to bring your back to your senses. Once the fear has left you, the sludge can be peeled off through sheer force. The monster is getting desperate — cracks begin to form in its skull. Once the skull has shattered entirely, the cries of the dead will echo throughout the entirety of the ship. The monster disintegrates into the very same black sludge it had spewed out, threatening to flood the room before you make your escape. It’s over. And yet even when you leave, you can’t help but feel like something is watching you. TEAM: COLLECT THE CIRCLE. A good number of Circle members have been left down in the lower level, as their teams had to retreat as quickly as they could to safety. Retrieving their bodies will be an arduous process, slow and cumbersome, but with magic down below seeming off, how can you tell if Astoria will be able to bring them back if you leave them down below? Each team will need a couple of members - one to act as look-out for any activity of the monster, one to two to help carry the dead weight of the body back up the elevator shaft, and one at the top level to help receive them. Coordinate, and work together . . . you have to, if you have any hope of Astoria being able to bring them back. If she can bring them back. PROMPT IDEAS: ➜ The silence that has overtaken the ship is deafening. Their corpses have been hidden away in the shadows, the crooks and crannies of the ships, isolated rooms and the corners you’ve been avoiding all this time. Who will you find, and what will you do? The trip to the elevator shaft will require at least one other pair of hands. ➜ But once you find the bodies . . . you hear voices. Again, you think, but it seems to be the voices of the members of the Circle who have died. Death reverberates throughout these halls, and you could almost swear you hear the voices of your fallen comrades telling you to run. Get out. But you can't possibly leave without them, can you? You can't really leave without finishing the mission . . . can you? ➜ The bodies of fallen Circle members have been gathered and lined up along the Bridge. You’ve won, but the feeling of loss permeates the air. The bodies will need to be tended to and stowed away appropriately. But can you bear to deal with them, let alone look at them? Their bodies are in pretty rough shape, depending on how they died . . .what in the hell did they run into? ➜ A makeshift morgue has been established. It's an unoccupied room on the ship, and appears to have been a storage room long, long ago. The bodies are in the process of being cleaned up and sanitized accordingly — there's still work to be done. But even in these times, it's necessary to keep your morale in check, isn't it? Work together, make sure the Circle members are ready to go back to the Temple . . . god, is Astoria even listening? Where is she? And why are they still on this damn ship? mod note. ➜ The Test Drive Meme for the April application round is being pushed back until March 24th. We want you to be able to obtain some level of wrap-up in the Horologium before we launch you back into the Temple. Therefore, the Circle members will be on the Horologium until March 24th, which is the end of World #4 and the beginning of the TDM. ➜ Because of this, characters will return to the Temple 3 days later than normal. If characters have been through a few jumps and would notice this, they can. ➜ The Game HMD will also be posted on March 24th, to give current players the opportunity to give feedback on the world and the game writ-large! ➜ EMP/ATP will go up as scheduled on March 18th. ➜ Reserves will open as planned March 24th at 9:00 PM EST, as will applications April 1st at 9:00 PM EST. Be careful in the dark.

Comments

[thedarkbond]

It's more than what we had. [Had they known about the issue of light going down, they might've put more effort in to be specifically prepared in terms of being able to light areas quickly and easily. As it was, they'd mostly been reliant on people's abilities to avoid that.] I don't know that we'll be able to use all of it, especially if we end up having to follow the thing to its nest, but I'd prefer if we didn't need to go that far to find it. It feels a bit too much like losing otherwise.

[Having to track something like this down to its nest, to Ren, indicates that they weren't capable enough to find it anywhere else, and also gives it the field advantage, so to speak. It's not a combination of circumstances he finds himself very fond of.]

[weremongoose]

Finding it fast would be ideal, but chasing quarry to ground is a tried and true method of hunting should it come to that.

[Given that he's a predator in either of his beast forms, he's pretty confident saying that.]

I just hope the rest of you can defeat it without further loss. We've already lost enough.

[Far too much.]

[thedarkbond]

I think the preparation will help with that. And the mood. [Ren looks upwards, as if seeing through to wherever it is above that those who didn't choose to come down to hunt the monster are.] Even the ones who aren't hunting it are stirred now. Nobody wants to leave this ship while that thing stays alive. So I think that kind of support will help us too, in a way.

[It's a perverse kind of unity, built on what's turned out to be a shared traumatic experience, but it's a unity nonetheless.]