[EVENT] Out into the Wilds

[siriusly]

Who: People who signed up for the June exploration!
What: Exploration, camping, monster-fighting, and checkpoint-establishing!
When: June 10-13 (ish; time is fluid for the sake of players' plans)
Where: From the Waystation out into the unmarked wilderness!

Content Warnings: Gore, monster fighting, injuries (other cws will be flagged in comment subject lines please!)



It's finally time. Months of research, planning, and training are culminating into the first proper excursion out beyond the borders, out into Trenchwood and beyond. No one will know what to find out there until someone goes to see it, after all. And who knows? There may be people out there - people like them! People isolated by the formidable borders which separate them.

...Or maybe not. Either way, nothing changes if no one moves forward, and with the moon stirring the spirit of adventure in Manabu's blood, it's time to do exactly that.


I. Gather up

Once the final headcount was made, Manabu contacted all the willing volunteers to meet at the Waystation at daybreak - the more daylight, the better, as monsters are more sluggish at that time. Here, everyone can meet up and do a final check of supplies...and pet some of the Dog Keeper's faithful hounds who keep this length of the perimeter safe from the monsters. This is as good a time as any to take stock of who's all going along, who's got your back...and maybe whose backs you have a feeling you'll be watching along the way. The more familiar everyone is with each other's strengths and weaknesses, the better off everyone is at working as a team, right? So get over there and say hello!

II. Traverse

Now that everyone is gathered, the excursion begins. They pierce through the thick, unfriendly trees which are blooming with the unusual fruits of the season, but be careful about what bits of nature's bounty is taken for eating! The berries out here have properties which cause hallucinations, rapid blood corruption, and even beasthood.

Speaking of beasts: There are plenty. Monster ambushes are frequent, so be prepared to team up to fight and defend each other throughout the journey. Just like in Trench, the creatures vary in form and threat level - difference here is just sheer numbers. Lighting incense helps keep something of a safe radius where the creatures hesitate and slow, so hopefully no one's going to get caught too unawares as they rush in.

It makes travel rather staggered, but before nightfall the sight of the windmills is far behind, and ahead? A bog. Noxious smells, biting insects, and dangerous, sticky mud abound; be careful where you step, or you may find yourself sinking and in need of help, and no one wants to be trapped in one place when the beasts catch wind of travelers.

III. Camp

Carrying on to nightfall is risky business, and the decision is ultimately made to stake out a bit of high ground to make camp. Incense is lit up, with the ask that rotations of people keeping watch make sure they keep lit and replenished through the night. This won't keep everyone safe the entire night through, so be prepared for a rude awakening by monsters yet again; maybe you can catch a few winks after enough of a lull? Or at least take a moment to cleanse corruption and beasthood with the supplies people have brought to do so; failure may lead one down the dangerous fast track to corruption themselves.

Couple this with the month's unwelcome gifts of nightmares and the distant rumblings of earthquakes back in Trench, and it's pretty guaranteed no one is getting a good night's rest too easily. Still, it's time to recharge, to talk with others, and maybe work on some mapmaking if you're handy at it!

IV. The ruined church

Two nights and three days of this journey lead the group out of the bog and onto rockier, more open space: Those who can fly can catch glimpses of lush, green mountains forming in the distance before attracting too much attention from beasts along the way. Mountains! A new landmark to chase!

...But maybe not this time. By now, everyone's been through the wringer from the constant harassment of beasts, nightmares, and natural hazards, so when they come across something of a distinct landmark...that's where it's called. In the afternoon of the third day, the expedition finds the ruins of an old church, as well as signs of other structures well and truly decayed over time. No mud, no stink...just the eerie serenity of a vacant place.

Here, it's decided to plant the new lantern - Diluc provides his, and so, at the cobblestone foot of the remaining structure, little lantern buddies spring up out ofthe ground and hold up this new checkpoint's lamppost. People are welcome to investigate the area, but even though they've had a lull in action, it isn't safe to linger long: beasts will catch scent of the explorers soon enough and make their way here, too.

That said, the lantern's here...and it works. People can now safely teleport back to a location in Trench of their choosing! It's not the rousing success Manabu had hoped for, but it's a step forward - pretty darn forward, in fact! This new checkpoint is 30 miles west of Trenchwood - a fascinating new wilderness for explorers to teleport into and continue their journeys to unraveling the mysteries of the world Trench inhabits.

[please feel welcome to drop your own toplevels, tag around, and have fun! any questions can go here! enjoy!!!]

Comments

[eudaimonikos]

Ah, I remember when humans started messing with that. Nasty stuff.

[aetherweaver]

People do tend to go overboard with it sometimes...

... If it's not too rude to ask, what are you?

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, I'm a demon. Not the fallen-angel kind, just a regular one.

[aetherweaver]

... I don't know what an angel is. But a demon...

[Like a voidsent? Maybe? But not an actively malicious one, from what he's seen so far.]

So is this place similar to your home, then?

[What with all the Darkness and all.]

[eudaimonikos]

No, not really. We live in the human afterlife. That's what it is now - before that, it was just an endless void, obviously.

[aetherweaver]

f see. There's not really an 'afterlife' where I'm from - souls dissolve into aether, then come together into new souls.

Is it nice? The afterlife, I mean.

[eudaimonikos]

It's gotten a lot better! I've been working really hard on it, the past few centuries.

[Before that - lol, no, it sucked.]

[aetherweaver]

That's good. So you're in charge of the afterlife? What's it like?

[Just... casually talking to the person in charge of the afterlife, sure. Not like his life isn't already weird.]

[eudaimonikos]

I'm in charge of half. The good half. I can affect what goes on in the rest, but that's a lot more bureaucracy...

[And therefore, not too interesting!]

It can be whatever you like, really. We've set up general sections after certain themes - pastoral towns, exciting cities, that kind of thing - but people get a lot of leeway in their own living space. As long as they aren't bothering anyone else, of course.

[aetherweaver]

That sounds... really nice. Though I don't think I could stay in one place forever. I'd probably end up in the cities a lot... I tend to wander from place to place.

Though maybe if I was in the afterlife I wouldn't. I suppose it would matter when I died.

[Which is... weird to think about. Sure, he's been close to death a whole number of times, but he's always had a backup plan. Not adventuring hasn't occurred to him in years, but maybe if he was old when he died...]

[Bah. Not something he's ready to imagine, with white fur turning grey and a lack of mobility. He's still got plenty of years of adventuring in him.]

What's your area like? Or do you not get one, as someone who runs it?

[eudaimonikos]

Well, I've got an office. Classy, lots of light and plants.

[It isn't really the same as having a home. Michael's only experience with having a house has been here, though, so maybe he isn't as attached to the notion as some might be.]

Mostly I hang out with friends, when I'm not working. Or, I did...

[aetherweaver]

Huh. That sounds nice... just being with people who care about you and that you care about.

[But none of them are here, apparently.]

I guess I got lucky that someone I knew was here... I'm guessing that doesn't happen often?

[eudaimonikos]

Mmm, no, I'd say it happens decently often. But not for everyone.

[aetherweaver]

[... Aw.]

That's too bad - though I guess someone has to be first?

[eudaimonikos]

Sure. They’re all much better off where they are, anyway. Probably just end up getting killed a bunch more times, here.

[aetherweaver]

... Is that something that they did a lot? Or... wait, could they even die in the afterlife?

That wouldn't make sense...

[eudaimonikos]

Well, no, but they did die twice on Earth! I got their original deaths reversed, turned back the timeline - it was a whole thing. They're the only ones in history. We don't really count those times when someone dies for a minute and then gets shocked back to life, those just don't get processed.

Endwalker spoilers

[aetherweaver]

... I see.

[He's not one to talk about messing with timelines. It's not like he hasn't meddled with the past - twice, even.]

I'm used to people falling in battle, but if their souls are still close by they can be revived. Is that what you mean? Or something similar, at least.

[eudaimonikos]

I guess it's probably like that. The difference is, they were dead for years, and then they didn't come back to life so much as...not die in the first place.

[aetherweaver]

I see. So what happened to the 'them' that did die? Did they just... disappear?

... Time travel is complicated.

[eudaimonikos]

They pretty much just merged. The memories from the original timeline vanished, but they were still in there - I gave them all back later.

[aetherweaver]

Oh, interesting.

[It must have messed with their aether - or atoms, or whatever.]

Were they fine afterwards? No... ill effects?

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, pretty much. Giving them centuries of memories back had some side effects, but that was optional.

[aetherweaver]

... I can imagine. It's quite a lot of time to recover.

But they're fine now, right?

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, yeah, they're good. Hanging out back in Heaven.