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

[reformedsinner]

She won't get much company from the soulless...

[The blade goes whizzing up into the air, Gojyo recoils swearing, and Hakkai slumps over in a fit of laughter that ends in a tight, agonized wheeze.

He'll just -- sit back up then. Very carefully. And breathe, very carefully.]

Ah, you found it!

[He still sounds a little breathless, but that was worth it. Besides, Gojyo'll get the hang of it much faster the second time. So many fewer holes in ceilings. Probably.]

[erogappa]

[ He's hurt his ribs, huh? Good. That's what he gets for laughing. ]

I coulda been killed, Hakkai. It's not funny!

[ But he's only complaining out of habit. Having a shootable blade is useful! He gets up, examining the blade where it's wedged in the trunk, and gives the chain a tug.

The chain is sturdy, but that blade's not coming out. He tugs a little harder, warily: the last thing he wants is to put his weight behind it, give it a good yank, and get a blade in his face. ]

She didn't know about the soulless. She didn't even know that shinki can blight their gods. [ Ah, but what if he vanishes it and then resummons it? The staff blinks out of existence, then back into his hand. Gojyo beams proudly. ] Hey, that worked!

[reformedsinner]

That 'sensei' of hers doesn't seem to have taught her much.

[He hardly deserves the name. Gojyo's pride at solving the problem of his stuck crescent blade lights his face, and Hakkai can't help smiling in reflected pleasure, watching him.]

-- So that's how you do it.

[erogappa]

[ Gojyo takes another few seconds to bask in Hakkai's approval, pretending to examine the blade of his staff... but Hakkai's hurt, and standing around patting himself on the back isn't going to get him down the hill to the doctor any faster. He readjusts his grip on the thing, and goes back to hacking at the braches -- without shooting the blade off, thanks. He'll experiment with that feature later. ]

Easier to control her that way, right? Tell her everyone's against her, keep her hidden... She wouldn't tell me why you all got kidnapped. I got the feeling she didn't know.

[reformedsinner]

Much easier. At that age, if she thinks everyone's against her and doesn't know better than to do whatever she's told... she might not even have thought to ask why they told her to kidnap and attack us.

[He hasn't had the chance to talk to the girl yet, but he doesn't sound angry. Sympathetic, mostly.

He's still not sure her naivete is sincere, but from everything he's heard about her situation, if it's insincere it's a good act.]

[erogappa]

Mm.

[ Another branch falls, this one big enough that Gojyo has to step back and let it crash to the ground. ]

No, actually, I was wrong. She knows why. Her Sensei told her -- it's because everyone in Heaven is a bad guy who wants to kill her on sight.

[ His tone suggests that he doesn't entirely disagree with this assessment. ]

Bet he told her that what he was doin' was something to keep her safe.

[reformedsinner]

Of course he did.

["No one is your friend but me." What a very classic method of control. It's not even necessarily wrong; from Amaterasu's reaction after the events of the forest, Hakkai suspects that Heaven's forces will gladly murder the girl if they catch her.

They don't seem to have succeeded so far.]

But, if anything, what happened seems to have put her in more danger. We didn't know she was there before. Now....

[erogappa]

Yeah.

[ He chops in silence for a long moment, thoughts a jumble of concern and anger. Votelli's got a shrine set up now, so hopefully she's got another follower or two, enough to keep her safe once they get her away from her Sensei. But if Amaterasu's people find her before then, it'll be a moot point.

They can't do this on their own. ]

How many more are there, do you think? [ They're alone, but he still drops his voice. ] There's Votelli, and that kid Sotero. There's got to be more of those outside gods.

[reformedsinner]

I don't know. [Hakkai's voice is quiet, too, although the rumble of the volcano and the distant crackle of trees set alight by its lava flows are enough to shield their voices from eavesdroppers even if they shouted.

He breathes out.]

I'd say "there can't be too many of them," but it depends on how big that cult is, on how long they've been working on this. Sotero looks even younger than Votelli.

[It might not mean anything in a god, but, on the other hand, it might.]

No more than five, I'd think.

[Sotero looks younger by a few years. If Votelli's the oldest -- and it would make sense to use the oldest for the first big attack -- then that means it took them a few years between attempts to murder and kidnap gods, if that's really what they're doing. So, then: there couldn't be more than three between Sotero and today.]

[erogappa]

[ Another big branch falls, and Gojyo steps to the side to consider his work. There's a lot of little twigs in the way still, but he's sure Jeep can drive over those (although, is Jeep ticklish? Would they tickle? He snorts, briefly, at the mental image of Jeep twisting and honk-laughing, then shakes his head and dives back in.

There's mostly just one big branch left, and it's too big to slice clearly through. He switches to the flatter spade blade instead, slamming the blade into the wood, vanishing the staff when the blade sticks, and reforming it to jab at the branch again. It shouldn't be long now. ]

You ever get the feeling that we don't have the slightest clue what's going on?

[reformedsinner]

Constantly.

[Hakkai's watching through half-lidded eyes; the pain in his arm and side is distracting. He's willing to take a few minutes of sitting silently while Gojyo helps hack apart a tree. Besides, he's not quite sure how well Gojyo's getting the reflexes for his crescent blade aim back.]

I have too many theories, but no real certainties at all. Those child gods might be able to clear some things up for us, if they trust us enough to tell....