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

[rockthemonkey]

[The headphones kind of get tangled around Goku's wrist while he's hunting for the cellphone. They practically fall out and land on the ground next to Hibiki.]

... Are you gonna go crazy or somethin'?

[priforprince]

Begging you....

[ Hearing the headphones clatter out, Hibiki lifts a shivering hand.

She gets her fingers wrapped around them before she can't take any more and goes very still.

But it might not have been the cell phone she was after. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku stares at Hibiki's prone body for a second. This is really weird, even by his standards.]

... You totally coulda reached 'em, y'know?

[But fine. He'll pick up the headphones and roughly shove them over Hibiki's ears.]

[priforprince]

Hhhhh....

[ As soon as her ears are safely covered by the headphones, the tension flows out of Hibiki's body. She relaxes, breathes easily. All is...all is well, now.

She'll get up. In a moment. Just one more moment. Luxuriating in safety. The person who's just saved her cannot possibly have anything better to do than waiting on Shikyoin Hibiki, in any case. She can recover according to her own style and pace. ]

[rockthemonkey]

[Goku waits a few seconds. Then he prods Hibiki sharply with his staff. Waits another second.]

... You really shouldn't be napping here, y'know.

[... Prods her again.]

[priforprince]

Ghk!

[ Hibiki jumps to her feet after being prodded the second time. ]

What are you doing to people who were recovering from near-death exprieriences?!

[ ....don't tell her. ]

[rockthemonkey]

Poking ya.

[Goku looks up at Hibiki from the ground, completely unaffected by being yelled at.]

... And you'll be a lot more than near-dead if ya sleep around here, y'know.

[priforprince]

Succumbing to my allergy was involuntary---

[ Wait. The sentence enders are gone.

Why are the sentence enders gone?

Hibiki stops in mid-yell and raises a hand to her ears. She's....her cutphones.

She stares at Goku, comprihension dawning.

He saved her? ]

[rockthemonkey]

[ Hibiki has gone quiet. Goku stares back at her for a moment.

Then he pokes her with his staff again. ]

Seriously, if ya lay around here all day, you're gonna catch fire or somethin'.

[He's a regular hero.]

[priforprince]

....Right.

[ Hibiki rises to her feet, adjusting her cutphones. So quiet. So beautiful....

If she closes her eyes, that is. This location's visuals remain lacking. And the company is - baffling. On the one hand, he's gauche enough to prod her with a stick.

On the other hand... ] Let's hasten to quell this eruption.