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[EVENT] STRANGERS AND SHADOWS - OOC INFO
The information in this post covers details of both Strangers at the Gates and Chasing Shadows at the Cape, which will be a combined log that goes up on May 10th.
For this event, we're going to be providing some open-world exploration. This OOC post contains information about the kinds of things characters may encounter, and some general reactions people or entities may have if characters choose to interact with them. The event log will further flesh out the spaces for exploration. You may choose which location your characters will help search.
If you have specific questions beyond what is detailed here and in the IC event log, please use this questions header.
What is happening?
What can we do?
The Chihuelans are suspected to be fleeing west and up the coast, and may be waiting to rendezvous with an exfiltration team. The Sentry is also dispatching teams to the Mas'Inge River Basin where disconcerting soil erosion has been reported, and for good measure sending a few teams towards the mountains.
LOGISTICS
For this event, we're going to be providing some open-world exploration. This OOC post contains information about the kinds of things characters may encounter, and some general reactions people or entities may have if characters choose to interact with them. The event log will further flesh out the spaces for exploration. You may choose which location your characters will help search.
If you have specific questions beyond what is detailed here and in the IC event log, please use this questions header.
THE PLOT
What is happening?
On the night of the 6th, someone sneaks onto the deck of the ship bearing a completed archway. A grainy video, posted immediately to the network, captures the individual attempting to write or carve something into the arch itself. Then, from behind the crowd, a bright ball of light streaks towards the Sentry boat and blows a hole clean through the side, giving the intruder enough time to escape in the ensuing chaos. The weapon technology does not belong to the archipelago, but it is recognized - as Chihuelan.
In the early morning hours after the incident at the docks, Sentry and Alliance officials make an announcement confirming that there are Chihuelan insurgents in the archipelago and a massive manhunt is being organized. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly how many Chihuelans have slipped into the archipelago. More concerning still is the possibility that these people are not themselves Chihuelan, but are allies and sympathizers. The port is shut down except for Sentry use, as is the trading port of Bejichi Town. Quite suddenly, people in Aifaran do not know who they can trust.
In the early morning hours after the incident at the docks, Sentry and Alliance officials make an announcement confirming that there are Chihuelan insurgents in the archipelago and a massive manhunt is being organized. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly how many Chihuelans have slipped into the archipelago. More concerning still is the possibility that these people are not themselves Chihuelan, but are allies and sympathizers. The port is shut down except for Sentry use, as is the trading port of Bejichi Town. Quite suddenly, people in Aifaran do not know who they can trust.
What can we do?
Owing to the assistance Dreamfolk have recently provided investigating certain incidents, and due to the… insatiable curiosity many of them display, the Sentry would rather coordinate efforts than be at odds with them. Search teams will be dispatched to several nearby settlements along the coast, including Cape Averi.
Dreamfolk willing to participate in the search will be briefed on where the Chihuelans are suspected to be fleeing to and given a choice of location to pursue. A grave-looking member of the Aisling Tower will join the briefing to inform everyone that while the Chihuelans' military technology gives them a significant advantage, they are also suspected to be utilizing some kind of planar magic. Exactly what and how, no one knows - only that their appearance and the recent incidents around Aifaran are potentially correlated.
The goal is to capture the Chihuelans and anyone who may be helping them - the use of deadly force is permitted only if there are no other options. Bringing them back alive could be the key to avoiding an all-out war.
Dreamfolk willing to participate in the search will be briefed on where the Chihuelans are suspected to be fleeing to and given a choice of location to pursue. A grave-looking member of the Aisling Tower will join the briefing to inform everyone that while the Chihuelans' military technology gives them a significant advantage, they are also suspected to be utilizing some kind of planar magic. Exactly what and how, no one knows - only that their appearance and the recent incidents around Aifaran are potentially correlated.
The goal is to capture the Chihuelans and anyone who may be helping them - the use of deadly force is permitted only if there are no other options. Bringing them back alive could be the key to avoiding an all-out war.
SEARCH LOCATIONS
The Chihuelans are suspected to be fleeing west and up the coast, and may be waiting to rendezvous with an exfiltration team. The Sentry is also dispatching teams to the Mas'Inge River Basin where disconcerting soil erosion has been reported, and for good measure sending a few teams towards the mountains.
CAPE AVERI
Everyone wants to know what has been happening here and getting very few answers. The search team is not actually to visit the Sentry outpost at the Cape but the area around it. There's a base camp set up nearby but it's outside the main part of the outpost, which is effectively off-limits at the moment. The team will be tasked with scouting for possible places where the Chihuelans might be meeting a boat, and for any evidence of Chihuelans hiding in the area. Although the lowlands here don't offer much cover, the Sentry seem convinced that it will be possible to catch a Chihuelan or a supporter here.
There will be an opportunity here for people who decide to sneak in anyway. If they search the outpost, they'll find a dead lightning tree growing out from the lighthouse. The settlement is like a ghost town and there's no real evidence of a struggle except inside the lighthouse itself, which has…unnervingly impossible dimensions. The size of the inside and outside don't match, and seem to shift slightly every time one enters and leaves. The smell of sea salt and jasmine hangs in the air. Light shines down heavy in through the windows and shadow leaves one's hands damp. The Sentry catching you may not be your worst problem, it seems.
BEJICHI TOWN
Bejichi was hit hard by the storm a few months ago, and while it is largely recovered, there's still quite a bit of wreckage. Even before, its streets were winding and mazelike, with multiple layers of skywalks between the closely knit buildings. With many of these walkways still under reconstruction, the way from point a to point b is an incredible mess of detours and it's easy to get lost. This works well in the favour of someone trying to evade capture - lots of winding routes and busted buildings to hide in, though the damage makes it hard to navigate for any party.
Ironically, Bejichi is a popular port haven for smugglers of all sorts - the Sentry here have grown lax as they count on the surrounding fortifications to keep out any sorts of skulduggery (and those are usually lightly guarded and in desperate need of maintenance). Bejichi is a pretty town on the upper levels, but there's a wretched hive of scum and villainy in the lower parts and dock areas, along with corrupt Sentry making things difficult. Players can question a number of shady individuals such as contraband smugglers, drug dealers, and so on. Money talks in Bejichi, and greasing a few palms will yield quicker answers than flashing around powers or authority. Players may find a number of Chihuelans here that may or may not be deeply involved with the recent incidents, though they are definitely the ones who got them onto the archipelago to begin with.
MAS'INGE RIVER BASIN
The teams sent here will not immediately go after Chihuelans but investigate the reported cracks - which are definitely not soil erosion. Concerningly, the cracks are growing longer and deeper, though they're not cavernous. However, there are also significant root systems that have appeared rather faster than roots are known to grow here. Thus far the botanists and agriculturalist Arybar who are keeping an eye on the fissures aren't sure where they're coming from, or the roots, just that since the roots appeared the spread and deepening of the cracks has slowed.
A little digging - perhaps even some literal digging, though the Arybar would prefer to disturb the soil as little as possible - will identify that the roots belong to lightning trees. There are more outside Aifaran and these roots can be traced to ones that have appeared on the planes of the river basin more than a quarter of a mile away. One of the trees is, however, being girdled by a non-native and very scarily persistent strangler vine that has a tendency to attack anyone who tries to remove it. It's also making it difficult for anyone to approach the tree to touch it or examine it directly, so the Arybar would welcome help with tackling that problem.
SULHAT MAF
The city of stonemasons and where most of the archipelago's natural mages come to learn and practice is nestled high in the Orolis Mountains. The Chihuelan that was carving things on the boat is believed to be heading there, along with a contingent of others that joined them along the way and were spotted in the foothills. The journey is rough and the group heading to investigate will have a difficult climb, though thankfully the Sentry contingent leading the way has plenty of experience. It's going to be a tense trip that takes several days, and team members will need to be on guard at all times.
Once in Sulhat Maf, the team will be welcomed and given lodgings; one of the town leaders will explain that while they're free to pursue investigation, entrance to the workshops and learning halls is not permitted without escort. The leader will explain that there's another archway here inside a massive lightning tree grown directly from the mountain. It's not white but a multitude of colors, crystalline and stone and yet still a living tree. The team will be told that the archway has flickered once or twice with light, but nothing else had come of it. The stonemasons and mages will also express concern about the ridges where the young continent turtles are joined - that they may be weakening in a way that's unexpected. The turtles will of course separate eventually, but that should take thousands and thousands of years. This pace is wrong.
Everyone wants to know what has been happening here and getting very few answers. The search team is not actually to visit the Sentry outpost at the Cape but the area around it. There's a base camp set up nearby but it's outside the main part of the outpost, which is effectively off-limits at the moment. The team will be tasked with scouting for possible places where the Chihuelans might be meeting a boat, and for any evidence of Chihuelans hiding in the area. Although the lowlands here don't offer much cover, the Sentry seem convinced that it will be possible to catch a Chihuelan or a supporter here.
There will be an opportunity here for people who decide to sneak in anyway. If they search the outpost, they'll find a dead lightning tree growing out from the lighthouse. The settlement is like a ghost town and there's no real evidence of a struggle except inside the lighthouse itself, which has…unnervingly impossible dimensions. The size of the inside and outside don't match, and seem to shift slightly every time one enters and leaves. The smell of sea salt and jasmine hangs in the air. Light shines down heavy in through the windows and shadow leaves one's hands damp. The Sentry catching you may not be your worst problem, it seems.
BEJICHI TOWN
Bejichi was hit hard by the storm a few months ago, and while it is largely recovered, there's still quite a bit of wreckage. Even before, its streets were winding and mazelike, with multiple layers of skywalks between the closely knit buildings. With many of these walkways still under reconstruction, the way from point a to point b is an incredible mess of detours and it's easy to get lost. This works well in the favour of someone trying to evade capture - lots of winding routes and busted buildings to hide in, though the damage makes it hard to navigate for any party.
Ironically, Bejichi is a popular port haven for smugglers of all sorts - the Sentry here have grown lax as they count on the surrounding fortifications to keep out any sorts of skulduggery (and those are usually lightly guarded and in desperate need of maintenance). Bejichi is a pretty town on the upper levels, but there's a wretched hive of scum and villainy in the lower parts and dock areas, along with corrupt Sentry making things difficult. Players can question a number of shady individuals such as contraband smugglers, drug dealers, and so on. Money talks in Bejichi, and greasing a few palms will yield quicker answers than flashing around powers or authority. Players may find a number of Chihuelans here that may or may not be deeply involved with the recent incidents, though they are definitely the ones who got them onto the archipelago to begin with.
MAS'INGE RIVER BASIN
The teams sent here will not immediately go after Chihuelans but investigate the reported cracks - which are definitely not soil erosion. Concerningly, the cracks are growing longer and deeper, though they're not cavernous. However, there are also significant root systems that have appeared rather faster than roots are known to grow here. Thus far the botanists and agriculturalist Arybar who are keeping an eye on the fissures aren't sure where they're coming from, or the roots, just that since the roots appeared the spread and deepening of the cracks has slowed.
A little digging - perhaps even some literal digging, though the Arybar would prefer to disturb the soil as little as possible - will identify that the roots belong to lightning trees. There are more outside Aifaran and these roots can be traced to ones that have appeared on the planes of the river basin more than a quarter of a mile away. One of the trees is, however, being girdled by a non-native and very scarily persistent strangler vine that has a tendency to attack anyone who tries to remove it. It's also making it difficult for anyone to approach the tree to touch it or examine it directly, so the Arybar would welcome help with tackling that problem.
SULHAT MAF
The city of stonemasons and where most of the archipelago's natural mages come to learn and practice is nestled high in the Orolis Mountains. The Chihuelan that was carving things on the boat is believed to be heading there, along with a contingent of others that joined them along the way and were spotted in the foothills. The journey is rough and the group heading to investigate will have a difficult climb, though thankfully the Sentry contingent leading the way has plenty of experience. It's going to be a tense trip that takes several days, and team members will need to be on guard at all times.
Once in Sulhat Maf, the team will be welcomed and given lodgings; one of the town leaders will explain that while they're free to pursue investigation, entrance to the workshops and learning halls is not permitted without escort. The leader will explain that there's another archway here inside a massive lightning tree grown directly from the mountain. It's not white but a multitude of colors, crystalline and stone and yet still a living tree. The team will be told that the archway has flickered once or twice with light, but nothing else had come of it. The stonemasons and mages will also express concern about the ridges where the young continent turtles are joined - that they may be weakening in a way that's unexpected. The turtles will of course separate eventually, but that should take thousands and thousands of years. This pace is wrong.
QUESTIONS
Re: QUESTIONS
For that third prompt's Hard Choice...
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Re: QUESTIONS
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PLOTTING WITH NITA
Not that it will make the vine any less snipy, I suspect.
Anyone else going on that trip?
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Sulhat Maf
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