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

[myblueskies]

"You're on a volcano too." He pointed out and then gestured to his face and the gas mask he was wearing. "Ebisu gave me one of these, so it's much easier to breathe and things don't get in my eyes."

The rest was grit and determination. Same way he got through all things in life.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"I've got a Blade!" She gestured to the artificial-looking beast pointedly. "I'm also an adult! What if you fell into the lava or something, what would I tell anyone?!"

[myblueskies]

"A blade?" Romeo peers at the beast with interest. What was it? Wasn't a blade like a knife? This doesn't look like a knife?

He blinks at her when she continues. "Adults can fall into lava too! But it's alright, I'm not going near it and I'm with Elfnein we're a good team so we look after each other!"

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Oh yeah?" Nia folded her arms, leaning back slightly to make the expression appear all the more challenging. "Then where is she now?"

[myblueskies]

"Over there." Romeo waved his hand in the direction of where Elfnein was in the distance. "She's interested in all the rocks!"

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Great, so she's gonna get herself killed too. You two..." Nia dropped her head to a hand, so frustrated she couldn't even get words out for the moment. "You won't just go home and be safe, will you?"

[myblueskies]

"Home isn't really safe either. There's rocks falling everywhere! Anyways the shinki in the white robes said there was something strange going on!" So they had to investigate! To find out what had happened and why a volcano had exploded in the heavens.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Ugh. I guess I need to go with you," she said, not at all pleased by this turn of events. But she couldn't just leave him hanging, him or his god, right?

[myblueskies]

"That's a good idea!" He grinned at her brightly. "Stick with us and we can all help keep each other safe!" That way she wouldn't need to worry and he'd know she was alright as well!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Yeah, she wasn't betting that Romeo or his fellow-kid god are going to do a whole lot to keep her safe, but she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if this idiot got hurt up here. So Nia couldn't even fake a smile back. "Right, sure. What are you expecting to DO up here?"

[myblueskies]

"Investigate." He grinned. "That's what they said we had to do. We need to find out why the volcano exploded because volcanoes aren't supposed to explode in the heavens."

Why is Nia up here if she didn't even know that?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"I mean, what do YOU two think you're going to accomplish? If there's some bad guy up here, what's your plan?" That's Nia's suspicion and concern, the reason she'd come up.

[myblueskies]

"To stop them!" That was what they were meant to do, find out what had happened and if some bad guy had made the volcano explode, well they had to be taught that it was bad! It could hurt lots of people!

"To make them not hurt anyone anymore!"

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"All right, and how are you going to do that?" Nia said, still all scowls. "If they can make a volcano erupt, you think you can fight them?"

[myblueskies]

"Yes!" Romeo nodded. "Or maybe we could make them see how much it hurt everyone. So that way they would know it was bad what they had done."

Because maybe it was an accident. Or if it wasn't then maybe they could be persuaded to be good.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Kid... you don't unleash lava on people and not know how bad it's going to be for them," Nia said, in exasperated frustration. "It's going to be a fight if it's anything, and you can't fight."

[myblueskies]

"I can fight! I've been learning!"

For about two weeks. But that's not the point! The point is he wanted to help people too and if that meant fighting a bad person then he would fight a bad person!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Right," Nia said, midway between frustrated and exasperated. "You're gonna get yourself killed again, you know. What's that gonna do for anyone?"

[myblueskies]

"I won't get myself killed!" He shook his head. "I'm not a baby you know, Nia!"

He's been training hard and he wants to help stop whoever was behind all of this! Because they had tried to hurt his friends and destroy their homes. He wanted to make it be peaceful and nice in the Far shore again!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"You're also not a Driver, or even a trained fighter," Nia snapped back. "And you ARE a kid! What good is you getting hurt going to do?!"

[myblueskies]

"I don't want you to get hurt either!" He shook his head again. "I don't want any of my friends to get hurt, I want to help them and protect them!"

It was scary but getting hurt himself didn't frighten him as much as the thought of Elfnein or any of the friends he had made being hurt.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"Do you have any kind of protection? A weapon, even?!" What was he going to do, punch a volcano with his bloody fists?!

[myblueskies]

"Ebisu gave me this mask! I don't got a weapon though. Do you have a weapon?"

She was up here to and even if she could fight, it was still very dangerous!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

"I told you, I'm a Driver." She yanked free the ringblades that hung at her waist as her Blade paced up next to her, regarding Romeo thoughtfully. "I'm meant for this sort of thing."

[myblueskies]

Romeo looked puzzled for a moment. "I don't know what a driver is? How does that help you on a volcano?" He looked at the strange creature again, maybe it helped protect her!