32 - Blow Your Top

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: A volcano eruption threatens the Western District
When: Jan 14 - 16
Where: The Western District of the Heavens
Summary: The Western District volcano is erupting again, endangering nearby temples and sending ash sprinkling down across the Heavens. Is it natural, or another attack? Those who dare climb the volcano can find out.






Earthquake Warning

On the morning of the 14th, an earthquake rattles windows throughout the Heavens. It's not strong enough to knock down buildings -- unless they're about to fall down anyway, like some of the older abandoned temples -- but it's strong enough to knock things off shelves and startle any late sleepers out of bed.

After the earthquake, strange sights abound around the Heavens. The poetic koi are swimming in organized schools in all of the canals, heading upstream towards the east. Springs of pure water burst out in some areas, and in others, normal springs or fountains have gone temporarily dry. Blue and green lights bob and weave across the landscape.

Falling Rock

The volcano begins erupting with a roar and a bright scarlet glow on the horizon. Ash and bits of rock fall across the Western district, and may even reach into the Southwest, Northwest and southern Central districts. Volcanic glass fibers that look like golden hair collect on trees, fences and buildings.

Trails and fountains of lava are also erupting from freshly opened fissures and wending down the sides of the volcano. Gods and shinki who live in the Western District are going to need some help clearing ash and glass from their roofs, trying to re-route lava flows (the good news is, if you cool one side down enough, you can turn them! the bad news is, that takes a lot of work) or just offering them a spare room to stay until things calm down.

Swamp Gas

It's not just lava and springwater erupting from mysterious new crevasses -- and it's not just mundane volcanic gases, either. Divine volcanic vents are blowing mind-altering fumes all over the Heavens. Anywhere across the Far Shore, but especially as characters get closer to the volcano, they may experience one or more of the following effects:

• Confusion
• Intense emotions
• Anger and irritability
• Impulsive behavior, loss of emotional control
• Hallucinations
• Unusually clear insight into other people and situations
• Coughing, eye and throat irritation, difficulty breathing
• Irresistible impulses to speak in poetry

Most symptoms will clear up after a few hours in fresh air, and all of them will be gone within 48 hours of the last volcano gas exposure.

Mountain Climbing

Natural disasters don't just happen like this in the Heavens... do they? Amaterasu's white-robed shinki are convinced that something is wrong, and they're organizing into search parties to go up the mountain and seek out the cause of this eruption. New and old gods and shinki are welcome to join them, or form their own groups. All of the hazards -- tremors, lava, ash, and volcanic gas -- will get worse as characters ascend the volcano. Strange little spirit flames, in shades of red and blue, dance on the rocks, dazzling, confusing and threatening to singe interlopers.

And there's someone up here, too. A mysterious figure with glowing red eyes is keeping watch on the intruders and vanishing behind boulders whenever someone turns his way. He won't let anyone traveling with one of the white-robed shinki get too close, but solitary gods or shinki might manage to lure him into conversation, if they try....

OOC: Please comment to the 'NPC REQUEST' thread below in order to talk to the mysterious figure on the volcano.

Those climbing the volcano will have a chance to battle the mysterious figure should their characters choose to do so. If you're interested in a fight, please comment to the 'NPC FIGHT' thread below before the top-level is posted. A top-level for the fight will go up on IC Jan 16/OOC Sept 4.

In Summary:

• Don't get rattled
• Help out the Western District with their volcano problem
• Watch out for volcanic gases
• Find out who's behind the eruption
• Have fun~

Comments

[veiledflame]

"Oh." Sotero leans forward, reaching out as though to take Kimi's vessel form from Ebisu's hands to examine it. If Ebisu doesn't stop him, he actually will.

[chibisu]

Yeah, whoa, no there, buddy. Even without Kunimi being in control, Ebisu is already moving it away. "Ah- you really are new, aren't you? Do you have a shinki of your own?"

[veiledflame]

"Am I not supposed to touch him?" Reluctantly, Sotero lets his hand fall, and clasps them behind his back, trying to look unconcerned as he glances away at the volcano's peak.

He's still eyeing Ebisu with curiosity, though, from the corner of his eye.

"I don't have any shinki yet."

[chibisu]

"It's not polite, unless you're given permission." A pause as Ebisu considers things. "Or they have a vessel form like that of an animal." In that case, then it's far easier for a shinki to let it be known if they don't mind being touched or not. Lowering Kimi, he looks down at the knife. "Besides, it feels strange, for a shinki to be touched by someone who isn't their god. That's what all of mine have told me." At least, the ones he's asked.

"When you partner with a shinki of your own, it'll be a little clearer." And he'll learn how to grow up, too. Still, if he's here all alone... Lowering Kimi back to his belt, he offers his other hand. "Since you're alone, we should look around the mountain together."

[veiledflame]

"What are you looking for?" Sotero's now not even pretending not to be eyeing Ebisu sidelong, his glowing red eyes wary. He doesn't reach out to take the other boy's hand quite yet.

[chibisu]

"I have no idea."

Honesty.

Ebisu continues, with that bit of blatant truth out of the way. "The Heavens want to find out what's caused a volcano to go off here, since it's so unusual. I think they'd ideally like to put a stop to what's happening since other temples are in danger... but no one can really do anything until they understand what's happening."

Still... Now that feeling from the back of his head has returned in full force, and it's all the more obvious reason why. He cocks his head to the side, surveying Sotero with simple blunt curiosity. "Hey... is this your volcano?"

[veiledflame]

"Why would it be my volcano?" Sotero shoots back, a little too fast, and puts both hands behind his back. "You're up here too. There's a whole lot of people up here for a volcano that's erupting."

[chibisu]

"But we know why we're up here. You had to ask." There's no accusation in his tone, just a simple matter of fact statement. "I also don't remember you appearing in the meetings they host for new gods, although that's more for a certain group of them than ones who form regularly, like I did."

He'd fold his hands behind his back, but his shinki are on edge as it is, so Ebisu swings them idly at his side. "Also, you're not being hurt by the heat, or the fumes. If you were a volcano god, then that would make sense. Right?"

[veiledflame]

That catches him off guard, and he stops, mouth open, for a long moment.

Then, theatrically, Sotero bursts into a loud, hacking series of coughs. He couldn't possibly be a volcano god, you see. The fumes are definitely getting to him. So there.

[chibisu]

Well, at least he's making Kimi laugh, even if he can't hear it. Ebisu just blinks for a moment before leaning in a little to peer up into Sotero's face.

"Hey, if you're going to lie, you should lie better than that."

A beat.

"Kunimi says to ignore what I just said."

[veiledflame]

"Where's Kunimi?" Kimi's the knife, but-- giving up on his coughing, Sotero looks around a little nervously. Some shinki are big, after all. Some of them can be pretty scary.

"--Anyway, it's none of your business what kind of god I am. Not everybody comes to those parties, right?"

He's clearly trying to sound very certain of his assertion, but his voice wavers a little nonetheless.

[chibisu]

"I guess, and that's why I was willing to look past that." But with everything else? Still, that's not important. Straightening up, he frowns a little.

"Kunimi is a really cool shinki. I'm positive that there's no one else with his kind of vessel in the entire Far Shore. I won't tell you what he is or show you if you aren't honest, however." He holds out his hand a little more insistently. "Does that sound like a fair deal?"

[veiledflame]

"Only if I still get to tell you I'm not answering something." He eyes Ebisu distrustfully, not reaching for his hand just yet. "I'm not going to answer every question you can think of."

[chibisu]

"But then that means you'd have the choice to answer absolutely nothing at all." Withdrawing his hand, Ebisu curls it at his chin instead. Or, well, where his chin would be, if he wasn't wearing a mask.

"How about this: I'll write down a list of questions, you can say which ones you would answer, and we go from there?"

[veiledflame]

"Uh uh. I don't care that much about his vessel form, anyway."

Sotero shoots Ebisu a sidelong glance.

"How about, I'll do that if you promise to do me a favor? I don't know what yet but I'll think of something."

[chibisu]

"Well, I did plan on coming up with other forms of compensation anyway, if I had more questions..." His curiosity would act up in that manner anyway; Ebisu knows himself that well at least.

Still... "We should think of the exact terms and agreements more extensively, so that neither of us will be cheated. That's the only fair thing to do." Turning around, he tries to look for where his temple is, but it's impossible. There's too much ash and smoke in the air, along with who knows what else.

"Would you like to go to my temple and we can write it out? I would have to search for a laptop suitable enough to withstand the heat if I tried to bring something here... And you might need to move by then if another quake happens."

[veiledflame]

"I'm staying on the volcano." Sotero eyes Ebisu, distrustful again. "I'm not saying it's my volcano, but I like it here. I guess if you want to bring me some kind of contract that's okay."

[chibisu]

"Alright." You're doing a great job of convincing him, Sotero. Still, Ebisu nods his head politely. "Then, please excuse me for a moment." And just like that, he disappears.

It takes around fifteen minutes for Ebisu to pop back in the place he was, body ready to move (thanks to his shinki) in case the land has been disturbed in his absence. Already, he's looking for- "Sotero?"

[veiledflame]

"Oh, you came back." The boy was sprawled on his back on a chunk of gently steaming basalt; he rolls back up to his feet and stretches, squinting at Ebisu.

"So what's it say? The contract."

He should probably ask before he signs anything, he guesses.

[chibisu]

"Well, there's a lot of exact terms to it-" Once a god of business, always a god of business, and there are some things Ebisu just can't help himself about. That probably explains why he has both paper and a laptop held tightly to his chest. He hopes the ash doesn't ruin them too badly...

"But, essentially-" Coming over, he sits down on the rock Sotero had just been on and adjusts the paper on top of his so-far closed laptop. "It's an agreement that you'll answer any question promptly and honestly, if you agree to answering it at all, and, in exchange, my temple will provide you with either a service or some manner of good. After we've both discussed it and come to an agreement, of course." Shuffling through the papers, he points to the exact page. "See, one of us would write down what it is here, and then you would sign here, and I would sign here. This refers to what question it would be relevant towards..."

Ebisu looks up. "You should read through it yourself, or else it wouldn't be fair."

[veiledflame]

It really is an entire contract. Sotero sits down next to the rock, cross-legged, and grabs up the papers to go through them one by one. Occasionally, he pauses on a particularly challenging word, chewing his bottom lip or sounding it out, and finally, he holds out the page with the blank space.

"So, it's okay if we leave this spot blank until I decide? Then we can talk about what the favor is and write it down?"

[chibisu]

"That's more than acceptable." Certainly, it won't harm him any, and it would be more Sotero's loss than anything. "Then, if this is alright with you..." Reaching over, Ebisu starts to flip carefully through the papers in Sotero's hands until he finds the right one.

"The first question would have to be... What kind of god are you, really?"

[veiledflame]

That one is an easy question. Sotero picks up the pen, and leans over, signing in a weird scrawl with no resemblance to Japanese at all.

"Fire," he says, and hands the pen over to Ebisu. "What about you?"

[chibisu]

Accepting the pen, Ebisu nods. It's an obvious answer, but it's a good lead in, then. "I'm a god of commerce, and fishermen," he says simple, signing his own neat and practiced signature. Even as a child, it looks much more like it belong to an old man.

"Then, in exchange for the answer to that question, I'll show off Kunimi's vessel form? Since I promised to anyway, and it's something I can offer immediately. Unless you have something else in mind, and then we can just continue onto the next question."

[veiledflame]

"Yeah, sure," Sotero says, wide-eyed with interest, and steps back to give him a little room.