28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: At the heart of the mysterious forest lies a magical trap.
When: Nov 14, evening
Where: Within the forest
Summary: Working together, and with the (reluctant) help of some menaced cultists, the rescuers have pierced the wooden wall into the heart of the forest.






The sky is clearly visible here, but it’s an evening one – it’s taken the day to work their way through this far. Those with some astronomy knowledge will also be able to tell it’s a sky on Earth, and anyone who can climb up above the treeline will see a vast, mountainous and wooded area, with the lights of roads, train tracks and small towns glittering here and there. They're clearly not in the Heavens anymore. Somehow, in their journey through the forest, the rescuers have emerged onto the Near Shore.

An icy breeze is blowing, and although the vegetation is unseasonably green and lush in this clearing, there are patches of snow visible at the foot of some of the trees, hinting that they're fairly far up the mountain.

Rescues

The clearing here at the heart of the forest is vast, and five colossal sigils are etched into the earth, each one holding an incredible amount of power. It’s on these sigils, North, South, East, West, and Center, that the trapped gods and shinki can be found. Those unlucky enough to be at the Center sigil are bound by hypnosis, each staring at a firefly spirit that hovers before their unblinking eyes. These victims are still and unresponsive, and the spirits will need to be destroyed to free them. The firefly spirits can be harmed by both physical and magical attack, though they likely won’t stay still to let themselves be easily extinguished.

The captives trapped on each of the other sigils are around the edges of the clearing, entangled in vines, brambles or whatever other limbs the trees could provide to bind them to this place. Some may also be under the effects of the hypnotic fireflies if they’ve been particularly troublesome, while others who have fought less might have only those bindings needed to prevent them fleeing. Regardless of how tightly they're restrained, all of the kidnapped gods and shinki on all of the sigils look drained, the severity depending on how long they’ve been there. Some are merely tired-looking, whereas others are barely clinging to consciousness. Whether their power is being used to feed the spell or being stored for something else to come, one thing is clear – those trapped need to be freed before anything more can be done.

Sigils

Those sigils beneath each group of trapped gods and shinki are powerful constructs, brimming with energy and meticulously maintained by the cultists up to now. It’s the same power as what blankets the entire forest, but it's focused on each of those five points. They must be the source of the spell that's caused all of this.

If the spell is to be broken, the sigils need to be broken as well, but it’s going to take more than just scuffing out the etched lines to break the magic. Attacking with shinki in their vessel forms or using blessed water to wash away the magic will be most effective, but for those who didn't bring blessed water or don't have the energy left to transform, there's one other option. The clearing is lit by traditional paper lanterns hanging from the trees all around, and any object set aflame with these lanterns can be used to burn the spell out of the ground bit by bit.

The trees and any remaining soulless shinki are still furiously opposing the rescue efforts, the surviving cultists are continuing to work on maintaining the spell, and it will take time to fully destroy the sigils. However, as the sigils deteriorate, the effects of the spell will begin to fade, and characters will find it easier to access their supernatural powers to speed the process along. Gods' and shinki's powers (that is to say, the special power they gained as a god or shinki, rather than canon powers) will be as effective as a shinki or blessed water against the sigils.

But be careful. As each sigil breaks, some of the magic escapes, but some is captured by the remaining sigils. For the spell to fully disappear, all five must be destroyed – and quickly, because there’s only a matter of time before this power becomes unstable.

Comments

[mithrarin]

It wouldn't kill me. [Hurt him, sure, but he wouldn't actually let it kill him. He'd stop before that point.] I'm just making sure you all know it is an option. Better to talk about these things now rather than try to work it out in the middle of some losing clash, right?

[Even if the latter is better for drama. But now's not the time for any surprises, even welcome ones.]

[welcome_home]

[ Nanako carefully pushes herself to her feet once more, moving to circle the outside of the sigil. ]

I'm going to go start helping some of the others who still need it. Be careful, okay?

[ She gives Elfnein a worried look and a little wave before turning her attention to whoever else is still held captive by the vines and the bugs, leaving the discussions about the sigil's destruction to them. ]

[alchemists]

You to Nanako.

[ They still need to come up with a plan, though with just them it might just be safe to call a retreat and gather more people with other skills that would be useful. ]

I know it's not a good idea but retreating and gathering more people with different skills would be helpful in some ways.

[declamando]

[Maria waves to Nanako as she goes, even though they don't know each other, before turning her attention back to the other two.]

We may not have time to retreat and regroup fully, though, which is another problem. Whatever this spell is, it needs to be dismantled sooner rather than later. I can't say it wouldn't be helpful, but in circumstances like this it's risky.

[mithrarin]

[As Nanako goes, Dust gets noticeably more twitchy. In a perfect world, everyone would be right where he could keep them safe -- well, maybe not Maria, who can look after herself, but even so.]

I have to agree. I don't think we have that luxury. At best we can gather up other people who are nearby.

[alchemists]

I don't know what else to do.

[ Elfnein is trying to think of a different plan but they don't really have many options. ]

[declamando]

Gathering up people nearby is probably the best option we have. Our numbers should be some benefit, if nothing else.

[Even if all of them have their powers limited, a large number of them working together should be able to have some effect on this situation.]

[mithrarin]

And destroy the papers and seals they've been putting up, wherever we see them. I'll keep you two safe. Save any strength you have for the sigil.

[Dust may not be having the best time in general, but swinging his sword costs him nothing. Even Maria's relying on her shinki, after all.]

[alchemists]

What can I do to help gather everyone else nearby.

[ She can't make a light sign to attract people so that's a disadvantage. ]

[declamando]

Check on the others who are rescuing or being rescued. I don't think it'll be hard to gather their help - we all want this over with.

[If they burn out their strength trying to get attention, they're not going to get far with the sigil, so Maria figures more straightforward is better here.]

[mithrarin]

I'm pretty sure some other people split up to go to different areas, so we've just got whoever's nearby. [Which ought to be enough, so he's not worried.] The sigil is the obvious place to draw everyone's attention though.

[alchemists]

[ Elfnein nods, going to a different area would just create more problems so if she went nearby to gather people it would take less time. ]

I can try and see if anyone else is willing to join us? Or if I can manage to create a sign high enough for people to see that might work?

[declamando]

Don't burn yourself out trying to make a sign. [Maria's warning there is gentle, but firm.] It's not a huge space we're working with here, so it shouldn't take long to get people's attention the normal way. I can try starting on it and helping out anyone who's already working on it while you do that, if that's okay.

[mithrarin]

We're not subtle people. [Him even less than Maria, and incidentally, that gives him an idea.] I'm not normally an advocate of deforestation, but dropping a tree on this thing might do some damage and attract attention.

[alchemists]

People will notice the sound of the tree falling, that's an amazing idea.

[ Take less energy and time to cut down one tree compared to running around. ]

[declamando]

Just be careful about it if you're going that route. There's probably still people in the midst of being freed.

[Or who might not be in the condition to run out of the way of a falling tree if necessary.]

[mithrarin]

I'm thinking this one here. [He points to one right nearby, with nothing standing between it and the sigil.] It looks like if we drop it, we have a fairly clear shot without too much getting in its way -- friend or foe.

[alchemists]

Just in case we should try to warn the others nearby so they don't go near the drop area. There's still a chance of it falling slightly off depending on how we chop it down.

[declamando]

The only way we could guarantee it is by telling them personally, but that means we might as well just ask them for help here anyway. Calling a warning will have to do.

[Since she's still not inclined to let Elfnein try using her powers to do it with the draining magic in full force.]

[mithrarin]

Right. I'll get to work.

[He's the one with the slashing weapon, right?]

[Dust stalks over to the tree, drawing his blade back to chop at it with a grimace of effort. As it happens, doing shonen-style slashes through things without seeming to obey any laws of friction or momentum is more than a little bit grueling here in the depths of the forest, but he had to do something to help! He wouldn't kill himself, so what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.]

[alchemists]

If I use my powers to warn people we can avoid the downtime. I promise I won't go overboard.

[ She knows how worried Maria is about the draining magic but this might be the only way. ]

[declamando]

[Maria certainly doesn't look happy about it, but there's not a lot she can do in this situation.] If that's what you want to do, I can't really stop you. Just make sure you're careful.

[As it is, they've burnt enough time debating tactics already.] I'll start trying to damage the sigil. And keep an eye on Dust while I'm here.

[She doesn't really trust him to not overdo it, quite honestly.]

[mithrarin]

I heard that. [Wood chips fly out in violent sprays as Dust lays into the tree, one thick gouge already in its trunk lower to the ground. Chop a V on one side, then another V on the opposite, to control its fall -- isn't that how it works? He sure hopes so.]

[alchemists]

I'll be careful.

[ Elfnein had a good idea of what to write to warn people about the tree. Something short and would get everyone's attention. As high up as she could get it in the nearby area she wrote in bright characters WATCH OUT!! ]

That should do it... [ That took a bit more out of her then she thought, but she was still standing at least. ]

[declamando]

[Maria, on the other hand, moves out of the falling range of the tree as she pulls out her bottle of blessed water and Uta's vessel form from her belt. There must be a way to pick apart this spell, especially if it's some kind of corrupted magic...

She keeps an eye out to make sure nobody's going to wander under where Dust is dropping the tree, and that Elfnein is alright to move away from it if she needs to, but otherwise, she's focusing on her chosen task.]