tushanshu_logs | EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA

Entry tags:

EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA | KEELIAI

Characters: ALL!
Date: February 12th - 28th
Location: Keeliai
Situation: The discovery of an artifact from the first war against Malicant reveals the land of Kithika within a dimension of the Death Plane... and just happens to be contained inside a bottle.
Warnings/Rating: Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

OOC INFORMATION ♦ CITY OF KEELIAI ♦ INSIDE THE BOTTLE ♦ THE WORLD EATER
Commencing the morning of the tenth, a mysterious thick, black fog covers all of Keeliai with no discernible cause, making it difficult to see. Although it doesn't seem to enter houses or suites, it's literally everywhere else and can't be swept or cleared away by superpowers. Attempts to scan it with technology lead to unexpected and inconsistent results, with the findings varying from speculation that it is smoke from a coal fire to the occasional reading stating that it is black cotton candy floating in the air.

Following the official announcement explaining origins of the mysterious black fog inundating Keeliai, the call is put out for the Foreigners to attend the Palace and prepare to be transported to Kithika. Once inside, it is explained, they will be responsible for finding the source of the corruption and expunging it. Once they have entered the bottle it will be impossible for them to leave until their task is completed, making this an all or nothing undertaking. This is upon direct imperative of the Alderwood Emperor and he expects any and all combat-capable Foreigners to heed his order, and they are to report to the Palace of the Landed Sky without delay.

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The effects of the bottle's contaminated contents has already spilled out into Keeliai and must be addressed until the source is cleansed, putting even those who remain behind at risk. The creeping fog carries with it dangers for both body and mind. While the battle and cleansing rages on within the bottle, the city itself is not completely spared. The fog which permeates the air thickens with each passing day and in some areas, the architecture begins to show signs of a black mold that quickly grows into a goo that is blisteringly hot to the touch.

Left untouched, this goo will drip down to the ground, where it will begin to amalgamate, the corruption reforming into a multi-legged creature that will try to latch onto the turtle (or the nearest living thing) and overtake it. Its bite is a poison of the mind, darkening thoughts with uncontrollable rage and blinding the victim's perception of friend or foe. Everyone becomes a foe and they will fight until the creature that has attached is killed -- a strike to the heart is sufficient. If, however, the creature is left to feed upon the turtle or another victim, it will shrink as it feeds itself into the body, forming into a pustule that will require a renewed attack in order to dispatch it.

The baby turtles will avoid the signs of corruption and avoid going outside in the fog. They may try to convince their turtle parents not to go outside as well, be it by standing in their way or trying to hold them back by biting their sleeves and tugging. They are susceptible to the influence of the corruption and would, if latched onto, have a similar reaction to it as a baseline Foreigner would.

The heavy black fog had infused every corner of the city but Bakura doesn't seem put off by it. The heavy feeling in the air is surprisingly -- startlingly -- similar to that of the Shadow Realm and that is not a place the thief is unfamiliar with. He sees a few brave kedan frantically trying to keep the mold from growing by cleaning it off by water but where it's scrubbed off, it begins to form again within minutes. Thankfully it hasn't started to encroach past the doors and windows of houses and shops and he stops to examine one such doorway curiously.

Midii was torn.

On the one hand, she felt the same curiosity about the fog increasingly thickening in the city streets. On the other hand...poor Taraja seemed very insistent upon keeping her from acting on said curiosity. The poor turtle was doing everything in her power to keep her from going outside. Even resorting to blocking the door outright.

"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something, girl." Smiling weakly, she eventually gave in when climbing over wasn't an option. Instead, Midii knelt down and gave Taraja a soft pet on the head to ease her. The worry radiated in waves. "Damian didn't tell you to do this, did he?"

It seemed like something he would do. He was the reason she hadn't gone into the bottle in the first place, after all.

"I'll tell you what. Give me ten minutes. I'll be careful. I promise."

Another wave of worry, but this time, less so. There was a moment in which Taraja did nothing...before eventually moving aside.

"Good girl." Midii grinned, standing up. "If I have time, I'll bring you back something."

Grabbing her bag, she was sure to check that the windows of Damian's place were, indeed, all shut and secured, before heading out into the abyss.

The fog had gotten thick enough that the range of visibility was limited to only a few feet in any direction and Bakura heard Midii before he could see her. Very few people were willingly venturing out into this mess and yet she didn't seem as though she were rushing anywhere so he decided to remain just out of sight behind her.

It was almost ironic.

On the one hand, Midii was being far more cautious than usual. Despite her outward casual appearance, her eyes were constantly scanning around her for signs of...pretty much anything. Ears alert for the sounds of friend or foe alike. Steps, slow and hesitate, though that was in part because she couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her.

On the other hand, however...her caution was practically useless, because of the fog. It diluted the senses and hid any potential dangers from the senses until it was almost too late. She would have been safer walking around in broad daylight.

Her map was equally useless, given that it relied on street signs she could no longer see. Most of the usual landmarks were distorted in the cloudy abyss. She could do nothing but follow the path of the streets and sidewalks, and hope she could find her way back. Good thing she had taken so long to memorize as much of the Sector as she possibly--

Sschrultp

The eleven year old froze in place when she heard the noise--unnatural and definitely inhuman. Like a puddle of ooze trying to squeeze itself through a clogged drain. (Don't ask where the comparison came from. It was a long story.) From directly behind her.

Body tense, she slowly turned around with wide eyes to see what was there.

Bakura heard the squelching at the same time, drawing into a more defensive position with one hand resting on the hilt of the knife he carried tucked into his belt but it was moving away from him. The Ring thrummed with power beneath the sweater he wore but he quieted it with a thought, more interested to see what would happen.

...nothing.

The street behind her was as empty as--

Sschrultp.

She spun back around; there! Again. The same noise. Only this time, it was--

Sschrultp! Sschrulpt!

It was echoing all around her. That sound. Growing increasingly louder and louder. Closer and closer.

"Who's there?" Yes, this was clearly the smart idea. Call out to a potential attacker. ...but, maybe, a friend would hear and come to her rescue? She certainly couldn't fight on her own. "I'm warning you. Stay away."

Eyes darting about, she very gradually bend down and reached for the nearest object she could use for a weapon: a broken tree branch. About a quarter of the size of her wrist, with bits of leaves still sticking out the ends.

It was then that Bakura recognized the girl as one of the ones his summoned Nemuriko had caught in her sleep spell. Aren't you just startlingly unlucky, the thief thought with a wicked, calculating smile.

(Oh, Bakura, you have no idea)

Less than a minute later, Midii saw it.

At first, it seemed like nothing more than a pile of goo. Like a slick, black tar gradually streaking down the side of the building. Was the roof melting? She glanced upward, but the fog was too thick for her to see where it was coming from. In that time, however, when she took her gaze off...the goo reached the floor, where it continued to drip into an increasingly large puddle. Only the puddle didn't spread out. It spread up.

Shreiks, like the whistle of a tea kettle, rang through the air as it began to twist and morph. By this time, Midii had lowered her gaze once more, and jumped when she saw the highly unnatural movement. Her eyes widened, and she tried to scream but no sound came out. Horrified, she was frozen in place as she watched the...thing...grow bigger and bigger, until it was nearly the size of her head.

One needle-sized leg sprung out. Then another. Then another and another until more than half a dozen of them were jutting out, picking the creature up and supporting the bulk of its weight. The limbs twisted and twitched like an arachnid on steroids. Its movements erratic.

A moment later, it seemed to finally realize Midii was still there.

And it jumped.

Only then did Midii finally scream.

There was a minute thread of appreciation for the way the creature developed itself, before Bakura could tell what was coming as it oriented on Midii. He thought about intervening but ultimately whether the blonde girl was alive, dead, or possessed all served him all the same: irrelevantly. So the thief made no move on Midii's behalf, instead choosing to watch.

Survival instincts kicked in, and Midii swung her stick. Hard

The tip just barely managed to catch with the spider-like creature, and while it wasn't enough to completely knock it back, it gave her the time and space she needed to dodge. It went left. She went right. Running and stumbling back as fast as her feet would carry her. The fog made escape almost impossible. What is she ran into a dead end? Wasn't she already at a dead end?

Thoughts of this and more swimming in her mind, she barely turned just in time to have the creature attack again. This time, it caught her shoulder. She screamed again, using her stick to swipe it off before it could bite her. It came close; she heard a distinct tearing sound as its teeth caught the shoulder of her jacket, ripping a small bit of the fabric as it was once again thrown off. A series of subsequent blows to the ground followed. Some made contact, others did little more than drain her of energy.

"GET! BACK! LEAVE! ME! ALONE!" She shrieked after each blow, now in a strange place where fear and outright anger were vying for dominance.

Now that was unexpected and enough to draw Bakura's attention back to the clash and with a deft twist of magic, he deepened the fog, drawing on the ever-present darkness of the Shadow Realm to mix with the black fog, pressing it close like an actual physical barrier on the girl and the ooze creature. With it came a rise of fear and anxiety, hallmarks of that dimension.

The surrounding effects were subtle. So much so that, unnatural as they were, Midii hardly noticed. Not when the fog somehow managed to thicken to the point where she could barely see past the creature in front of her. Not when the very world around her seemed to darker. Not when her heart rate rose, and the fear eventually took hold in every fiber of her being.

Her breathing was erratic now. Shallow. Loud. Coming in heaving gasps. Her eyes darted back and forth each time the creature scuttled just out of sight. Waiting to strike again.

Then, it happened.

She turned one way, and it jumped right onto her head, just beyond her vision. She couldn't see, but she certainly felt the long legs cling to her hair. Burrowing itself in the unrestrained, thick locks. Her hands reached up to swipe at it, but the few times she didn't strike air, it wasn't enough. The creature had her.

"No!" She cried out.

Her vision was getting blurry. She could feel its sharp teeth threatening to dig itself into her skull. Pushing. Pulling. Swiping. Scratching. Anything to get it off of her. The fear threatened to consume her. Any moment, she would pass out.

Ultimately, it was luck that saved her; one last forceful strike, making partial contact with her skull as well, sent the creature flying yet again. But at a cost; dazed, Midii collapsed to her knees, struggling to catch her breath. Only there was no time. She had to escape. She had to...

Turning so that she was flat on her back, she instinctively rose to hold the stick defensively in front of her--

Just in time to watch the creature skewer itself on the edge. Where it remained, frozen in place, mere inches from her face.

From deeper in the fog echoed a long, slow clap of applause. A little more used to moving through such murky conditions, Bakura was able to keep just enough distance to prevent Midii from seeing him as anything more than the faintest of outlines. When he spoke there remained almost no trace of his host's polite words and accent.

"Well, well. I must admit, I didn't see that coming."

She didn't have time to be shocked about the ooze gradually slipping down her stick; a voice called out to her. A shadow.

Midii slowly rose to her feet, shaking the creature off before turning in the general direction her eyes and ears were telling her.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything," Bakura answered blithely; a half-truth because he didn't cause the fog, though he may have augmented it a little using the Ring.

"No, I meant I hadn't expected one so small to have so much bloodlust when defending herself."

Her lips parted slightly at the response, and Midii took a moment to glance back at the still blob laying on the ground, before returning it to the still blob lurking just beyond.

"It attacked me. I was...just defending myself."

"No, that wasn't all fear," the thief said slyly, moving perpendicular to Midii through the haze. "Not when you were screaming at it to leave you alone. That was rage... and a desire to do harm. I'll bet you didn't even know you had that within you."

There was something about the way the shadow was saying these things. It send a chill down her spine far worse than the less than subtle implication of what he was saying.

Rage. The desire to do harm.

She tried to suppress the growing unease within, keeping her mask up with only the faintest hints of cracking.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm only curious to see what else you've got hiding, next time," he chuckled to himself, pulling back into the fog. There were other places he wanted to check, including by the palace.

"Until then, girl."

"Wait--"

The call was instinctive, as was the step forward. A moment later, Midii realized her error and froze on the spot. She was still lost, and still potentially in grave danger. Stick clutched in a firm grip, she pressed her lips together nervously. Help was something she most likely needed...but this guy might not be the best choice.

Which left her alone. In the fog. With only a stick to defend herself.

Somehow, it wasn't much comfort.

Cassie totally won't be proud of herself for this, but the first time she saw one of the creatures form from the black goo? She shrieked. She shrieked like a little girl, and scurried away.

She's no stranger to bugs. She grew up among ants, and those, she considered friends. But this thing? It is strange, and it doesn't move like a bug and, quite honestly, she has no idea what to do with it. So, of course, she finds a stick, musters up her courage, and tries to poke at it.

Which means she gets a little too close.

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EVENT | LANDFALL | KITHIKA | KEELIAI

A City Under Siege

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cw: spiders(?)

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Open and late