[EVENT] A STROKE OF SABOTAGE

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL
Date: April 16th-April 30th
Location: Keeliai, various
Situation: Just when you think things are working a little too well...
Warnings/Rating: To be added as needed.

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It starts small - a few greenhouses have seen their crops wither, and the kedan frantically scramble to find the cause. By the time they do, it’s too late. Three days later, the problem seems to occur in every single one of the major greenhouses and hydroponics stations; plants withered and dead, and several kedan sick and showing signs of Dust poisoning after contact with the water supply. While there were no deaths, all had to go to the Healers Guild and several had severe enough reactions that their stay was more than just a brief treatment and overnight observation.

The initial response from a few of the more superstitious kedan is that the run of bad luck has culminated in the ruin of their efforts. More level-headed kedan will be inclined to take a more scientific approach. Kyde and a number of chemists are called in to take samples.

As one might expect (or not, as the case may be), Dust had been somehow integrated into the water that feeds the hydroponics and greenhouses, which wound up killing the plants and sickening the kedan. While it hadn’t made it into the main water supply for the city, there was clearly enough of an organized effort that it affected the public greenhouses and hydroponics systems. Every piece of equipment that comes in contact with the water will have to be flushed to prevent another die-off. It's a big setback, and the process will take several weeks to complete, reigniting concerns about food shortages.

The culprits even left a calling card - painted on the walls or tarps is a message: MALICANT WILL RISE.

Tensions are high everywhere in the city, and morale is low as the culmination of the kedan and Foreigner’s hard work was ruined and, while they aren’t back to square one, there is an enormous amount of work ahead. Going forward, there is an urgent call for the development of better filtration systems to keep out toxins while still distributing essential nutrients, and better security. The kedan will be looking toward Foreigners for assistance in these matters.

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OOC: Various starters are included in the comments below for different facets of the plot, or you can make your own! Please direct any questions to the April Game Itinerary post. Thank you!

Comments

[commandandcontrol]

"Like, an allergic reaction? I didn't realize that was a danger."

There was something a little nice about planting a garden. It almost made up for sitting in the dirt and letting the sun bake you half to death. She suddenly remembered the hats she'd seen other gardeners wearing and made a mental note to get one of those if she did this again.

"It seems like every time we think they've gone away, there's another attack."

[purered]

He patted down the mounds of dirt with a grave nod.

"Yes. There are also many pants that have small bristles that can irritate the skin. Some are poisonous or have thorns, fangs -" He cut himself off because some of the Beyondian flora he'd acquired back home was probably not the greatest introduction to the joys of gardening.

"...But these are safe," he amended quickly. Nice save.

"Fanaticism isn't something that just vanishes overnight. Whether or not the Cultists can restore their former glory, they will continue to plant seeds of doubt in people and use that to drag people into their cause."

[commandandcontrol]

"Oh, like Poison Oak and that sort of thing. Yes, I suppose the old adages we learn as children don't quite work in alien worlds." Leaves of Three, let it be, etc.

She followed his example, mirroring his motions on how to compress the dirt.

"Fanaticism can't be stamped out, but specific knowledge can. The knowledge of how to make Red Mist is being hidden and guarded too expertly for this to just be random people who get ideas. There's a central organization that's behind this."

[purered]

"Indeed, alien flora can be quite different from what we know." Or even just plants from another country. "Everything adapts differently."

He sat back on his haunches, looking over the rows of herbs he'd planted.

"Undoubtedly. Cults are often a well-organized hierarchy," he explained. "At the top, there is usually a single charismatic leader. To swell their ranks, they seek out those who would be vulnerable to their message and pray on them."

He looked to Sonja now, his face set in a deep frown. "And to operate on the scale they do, they would need considerable funds. Dust, Lucid and Red Mist are undoubtedly potent weapons, but one must ask where their funds come from and how they indoctrinate new members."

[commandandcontrol]

"I don't think every dust seller is a cultist, but I can see at least some of its sale being funneled to the cultists. But I'm sure Valdis is already doing everything she can to crack down on that stuff."

"If they're being funded some other way, like an influential Kedan? That's a big problem."