acatalepsy_logs | the night of wonders.

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the night of wonders.

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III ▫ ooc	VI ▫ faq	VIII ▫ setting	X ▫ mods	XIII ▫ reserves	XVI ▫ players

the night of wonders.

QUICK LINKS

COMMENT SECTION:	MOD QUESTIONS \| EXPLORATION \| WORK SUBMISSIONS
WORLD INFO:	WHEN YOU WAKE UP \| LOCALITIES \| JUMP SUMMARY
EVENT INFO:	NIGHT OF WONDERS \| FESTIVAL EVENTS \| THE FIRES \| FOURTH WALL INFO
AU INFO:	AU QUESTIONS, CLASSES, RACES, STEP BY STEP CHARACTER BUILD GUIDE

Seemingly overnight, the Guild Hall owned and operated by the Silver Blade is decked to the nines Long streamers and banners are draped and a massive banner has been unfurled across the front of the building. It hails the events of the coming two weeks:

The Night of Wonders

Murmurs abound through the city; a thrill of excitement is in the air, and the locals are delighted to finally have cause to celebrate. The theme of The Night of Wonders is one of rebirth. The people of Mirabar are celebrating the continued survival of their home, the success of taming the Giant Rebellions across Faerun, and their resident adventurers! You are all thanked, profusely, for helping reinvigorate Mirabar with your hard work, and the people of Mirabar want to celebrate with you!

Booths have sprung up everywhere, full of food, music, laughter, and joy. Take a trip around the city over the next few weeks or so, and see what you find: there is no shortage of things to do in the riverside city of Mirabar.

Especially, it seems, because there are a plethora of new people. Not members of the Circle, but others? It seems that Astoria's grip on the Rift has slipped and other Travelers have found their way to Mirabar, just in time for the festival in question. You have no idea how they got here, but hey -- they're here, right? We may as well enjoy the party.

YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT.

Like any good festival, there are a ton of street games and vendors to choose from! Try your hand at an archery contest, where a bullseye nets you 1 GP, but playing at all gets you a weird-looking stuffed rabbit. There are also your classic "throw a ball at a bottle" games where they seem awfully rigged. Are those bottles glued down? What a rip-off!

There is also a jousting tournament, which really means sticking a broom between your legs and running at someone with a padded sword. Whoever gets hit first loses! It's mostly meant for children, but the local children will definitely encourage adult Travelers to give it a shot.

Finally, there's no shortage of food to buy -- turkey legs, meat pies, popcorn, sweet cakes, and cotton candy are abound throughout the festival. And of course, plenty of mead. Explore, have fun, and have a blast!

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT;
PUNCH, PUNCH, PUNCH YOUR THROAT

One of the highlights of the festival is the infamous kayak race -- a hallmark of Mirabar culture and sport. The leather kayaks, handmade by the locals in Mirabar, are beloved and much bragged about, and after a month or so of testing, they are finally ready for the tournament.

Many sign up -- locals, members of the Circle, travelers that have wandered from distant lands . . . but only one team can conquer! So, congratulations to TEAM 1! You have won 100 GP each, a set of three trophies, and and all-you-can-drink voucher at the Dusty Coffer for the duration of the festival! Cheers!

Alternatively, you can also enter in the fighting tournament, set up by a local bunch of rowdy Guild members that just like to punch each other. The fighting tournament is a bit less prestigious than the kayak tournament, but you've still got a bunch of folk who turn up to see who is the best around. Are you a winner, or a loser? Either way, much praise to RUBY ROSE who winds up winning the whole lot! You win 300 GP, and a championship belt that looks like it is made out of gold, but it is definitely not.

Feel free to play out races, match-ups, scuffles, or observation! The winners may be set in stone, but you can feel free to thread out whatever rows or punches to your heart's content.

🡆 Prior to the tournament, you might hear what some of the betting rings have to say...who has their eyes on you? Or is it a friend of yours, by any chance? Looks like word goes around, it could go in any direction.

🡆 The crowd around you is roaring with passion and excitement. They may even get as heated as you do, so try not to let their zealous reactions get the better of you.

🡆 The most you'll get after the tournament is a towel to wipe off your blood, sweat, and potentially tears. If you've been injured, it could be in your best interest to seek medical hel and rest. Or not.

THE CEREMONY OF LIGHTS.

Every night of the festival, the people of Mirabar go down to the river's edge with paper lanterns. You can get them by the boatload, for free, provided to every single person who wishes to have one. On these lanterns are tags which you can write whatever you would like.

Should you ask the locals, they say that they write down their hopes, their dreams, and their wishes. Once they do that, they set out into the boats and push them out into the air, to send them to the gods, and pray for proper fortune. You may take out a boat (which are on the river a plenty) if you wish to do so, and participate in the ceremony to your heart's content. But there is something almost solemn, about the ceremony.

These people, clearly, are hoping for an end to conflict, and a continued prosperity to their city.

What do you wish for?

PAPER FACES ON PARADE.

Finally, at the end of the Festival, there is a massive masquerade in the Guild hall. Everyone is wearing a mask, ranging from basic black to brightly colored with a lot of feathers and jewels. It seems everyone has gotten into the spirit of the Festival, and the locals are intent on partying until the sun comes up.

There is a live band, a lot of dancing, laughter, and joy. There is a massive table of food of every type you can think of, a plethora of wine and ale, and endless merrymaking to be had. Feel free to dance, eat, drink, and celebrate for as long as you desire!

But be sure to go outside at around 11:00 PM, to watch the beautiful fireworks display over the river. You can run out to grab a boat, to watch it on the river proper, or you can watch it from outside the Guild hall. It's a lovely, romantic end to your hard work in Faerun . . . enjoy it, and each other.

🡆 In the heat of the dance, it's likely that you'll be passed from one partner to another. Try to make do with the foreign — or perhaps unexpectedly familiar face that will be greeting you. And try not to get caught in the middle of a slow dance...

🡆 Some of the food and drink offered will serve as a bit of a pick-me-up: the people of Faerun have decided to use their magic to ensure that the party is as enjoyable as can be. So for those who are a bit more on the antisocial, troubled or moodier side, perhaps an enchanted dinner will make the night easier on you?

🡆 Take the boat a tad too far out and you run the risk of getting stranded in the river. The current grows stronger the further down along you go, so do be careful.

MOD NOTES.

🡆 This is a fourth wall event! Please feel free to tag around and have fun in the festival log! We have a list of reference links at the top of the event post for your reference, if you need help. This log is free for everyone to play on, even characters who are currently not in game.

🡆 A separate log for those investigating the fires referenced in the OOC post will be posted. This log is purely for entertainment and fun for the fourth wall! The fire investigation will be limited to those who showed interest.

🡆 If you have any questions, please ask them on the original OOC post here! This includes fourth wall participants!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So you're just going to spend a lifetime doing weird errands for people fighting off monsters?

[Waver's really not sure how he feels about this, beyond deeply confused that this is a Real Thing somewhere.]

It's what I'm good at. So long as there are monsters to fight and people that need protecting I figure I'm going to keep it up.

What are you going to do instead?

...I'm not sure.

[And that's the truth. Following the path of magecraft always felt right. But now, having seen so many more worlds, it doesn't feel like the best fit anymore.]

Going through all these worlds gives you a lot to think about.

That's fair. I mean it's not like there's much of a rush to figure out what you want to do. You'll know what you want to do when the time is right.

I'm a little lucky that I know what I'm good at and it's generally in demand here and back where I'm from. At least it seems about as necessary here as it was there.

...Is there a reason that you guys have all those weird problems? Like, some kind of disaster that lead to them or....?

[Anything to avoid talking about the future, honestly.]

It's complicated. But there are monsters called the Creatures of Grimm. As far as I know they've been around forever but they've gotten worse as time goes by. Outside of four kingdoms and a few other scattered villages or cities they pretty much have run over the world.

It's just kind of how things are where I'm from.

[She decides not to mention that those monster do have a master. It was still something she was coming to grips with herself.]

And no one knows their origins?

[Waver tilts his head, a little concerned and confused by that.]

That seems weird, no offense. Have people done stuff to study them, like looking at their bones and stuff to understand their biology?

Kind of? I was kind of just scraping the surface of it before I got brought here and I'm definitely not an expert. I think there are two people in my entire world that really know it and they weren't really super open to sharing.

[She nods and shrugs briefly.]

Yeah. It's kind of dangerous work at the same time as they're kind of drawn to negative emotions in people. So if you get one in an area and that starts to get people nervous. Then it kind of spirals downward from there.

I can understand being cautious about oversharing information, in case their origin is man-made.

[Waver won't discount the possibility of that, at the very least.]

A chain reaction. And it's any negative emotion at all, or does it have to be a specific one, or have a large outpouring?

I guess. I don't think they're man made but I do know the people withholding the information had their reasons for not sharing.

[She's not exactly sure how much she agreed with that but that wasn't for her to say.]

Any negative emotion at all. I mean the stronger the emotion or the more people are feeling it the worse it gets. The major kingdoms can defend against it but it's why there are only small settlements of people outside of that.

Were they decent reasons, or the kind of bullshit ones that sounds like someone's sitting on even more than they just told you?

[It's worth asking.]

Hm. Well, that makes sense, at least with regards to where people have ended up living after all is said and done. Anyone who isn't taking advantage of safety in numbers is basically asking to get killed.

I... I'm not exactly sure.

[She paused and idly glanced down at her drink.]

I kind of went around asking them for the information. I don't think they would have told me if I hadn't.

It's hard to say if they're hiding anything else but we aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment.

[It was a complicated situation.]

It does! I mean I grew up outside of the cities myself but my dad, mom and uncle were all trained fighters. Then eventually me and my sister picked it up as well.

....That definitely sounds like they're keeping things to themselves for nonsense reasons and they're not inclined to use the knowledge to help solve the problem long term.

[He really sounds too dismissive but...well, that's Waver.]

And your place wasn't under semi-frequent threat growing up? I mean, negative emotions are normal when you're growing up....

That's kind of the impression I was getting too. They didn't really seem to have much of a plan on how to actually solve anything.

[It was looking more and more like it was up to her and her friends to figure things out these days.

But she couldn't really do that while here.]

It was, but there also wasn't a lot of us there so it wasn't way too bad. If anything it gave us good practice for what we'd be turning into a long term career.

So it kind of worked out well!

Ugh, those people.

[Waver's got strong opinions, but he doesn't trust his conversation partner with them. Strangely these days, Waver's found that there some adults in the circle where he's comfortable voicing these issues because they seem to not only understand, but have a nuanced view of the practicalities of making change too.

It's weird.]

Huh. Well...yeah, that's lucky no matter how you slice it.

Yeah... I hadn't heard from them since my team found out about all this. I had been trying to pick up the pieces and figure everything out but then I ended up here.

[She's heard that tone enough to know that he has more to say on the subject, but she wont press if he isn't going to share the opinion freely.]

Turns out the skills I picked up are pretty handy around here too. Assuming we run into more worlds like this where they need some monsters cleared out.

What about you? What's your home like?

Is there anyone else from home who's got the same information as you? Sometimes being away from a problem helps you understand and come back to it fresh.

[No one wants to hear Waver Velvet complain about shitty professors, not even Waver Velvet anymore.]

Er. Well, what are cities like in your world? I can explain it easier if I know what's normal there.

My teammates and a few friends. Just the ones who were with me when I found out.

[She considers that for a second, then nods with a smile.]

You know... That actually makes sense. Maybe ending up here is a kind of break I needed... I mean as long as I'm not gone all that long.

As for where I'm from it kind of depends. The smaller villages are kind of like this but more advanced. They generally have to be simple in case they have to pack up and leave suddenly.

As for the cities they make they make this place look itty bitty. They're generally protected by giant hard dust barriers and they have all sorts of things like arcades, like the best fast food restaurants, and tons of weapon shops.

[She may have different priorities than most when it comes to what's important in a city.]

For all any of us know, you might get dropped back to the same exact place you came from, with no time having passed at all.

[Waver's still not sure himself.]

Right, so, London has arcades, fast food restaurants, and museums, but there's a greater sense of permanence. There's a river, cuts right through the city, and there's buildings from every era there. It's been continually inhabited for thousands of years.

I think you might be right about that actually... Or at least my sister arrived her before I did and didn't have the same memories as I did. So I guess that would make sense.

[Her eyes light up a bit at that.]

That sounds a lot like Vale. I went to school there for about a year. No river going through it but it is by the ocean! Along with a big old mountain to the side of it too. The four major kingdoms have been around for generations. Then there are older ruins of what ever came before them.

....Huh. So that is how that works.

[It's a quiet revelation that washes over Waver's features, but he seems just a little bit happier for the information.]

Oh...yeah, we just sort of build on top of our ruins. It's not weird for there to be like, a foundation from the 1600s in a building when it's the 1990s.

I guess? It helps to have someone here that I know from back home.

[She notices the slight change and smiles herself, glad that she could have helped out.]

Oooooh. That sounds like it could create a cool smorgasbord of goofy looking buildings. I'd like to see that sometime!

No, I meant the time thing. I've been wondering about what happens when one returns and....this explains it.

[Good. That's...that's good. That means a lot of good things for the Holy Grail War.]

Who knows with all this world hopping. We might very well end up there.

Oh. Oooooooh! Right. Yeah. We'd have to end up back from when we got picked up from here, I guess? I mean it would have been hard for my sister to find me back home if she had been here the entire time.

Well you'll have to let me know if we end up there or not. If you see a bunch of jet black monsters with glowing red eyes, you might be where I'm from.

From what you're saying, that's what it sounds like. It isn't too bad, actually. Means that whatever happens here, you're better equipped to deal with whatever situation you left.

...Urg. Got it, and I hope that we really, really don't end up in your world. No offense.

(no subject)

clickclickbloom - 2019-06-14 13:23 (UTC) - Expand

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