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

[towards_okeanos]

Isn't that obvious?

[Iskandar really hopes Caster won't be too fast to spill his secrets. Why should he? That would be rather unwise. And he is a bit perplexed by the last question.
Why indeed? Well kiddo, surely all that ash covering everything is extremely decorational and you can have hell of a trip after inhaling some of the gases. Still most of the people here would prefer not to.]

There are buildings below and people, well gods and shinki, live there. They don't like their property destroyed. So it's only natural they will come and try to find out what's causing all that mayhem. Also all the fumes are not exactly healthy.

[futhark]

What the big guy here just said-

[ Caster just grins wider, and while he continues to throw and catch the runestone a few times more as it attracted Sotero's attention- after one time it seems to fly up- the cape flutters, the hood needs to be adjusted and the runestone- never falls back on the ground apparently. Caster even shows up two empty hands, as an ultimate proof that he just performed the trick of disappearing stone. And giving absolutely no answer if the protection lies in stone or somewhere else.

Yeah, yeah, he can feel the tension in the air Rider just fine. ]

Some believe that something- or someone- might have triggered the volcano's eruption. That's what everyone are checking, I imagine.

[boneofsword]

[Up until now Archer was fine to leave talking to Caster and Iskandar. It's his cue to speak now.]

Most of those that live here help each other in such situation. Is that surprising?

[veiledflame]

Yeah, kind of.

[Why would they all help each other instead of just looking after their own households?]

Anyway, why would people think it had to happen because of somebody? Don't volcanoes usually just happen? I mean, I know, the Heavens are supposed to be peaceful all the time and stuff, but still.

[futhark]

No idea, I'm not exactly a volcano scholar. Never seen one where I come from. [ Oh, can play the ignorance card pretty well. ] It's like a stroll in a park when you want to check and see for your own eyes an exploding mountain.

[ He shrugs as he jokes because that's better than admitting they're just really a very paranoid bunch. All of them and each one. Not to mention recently stuff that had been happening, usually was at fault of someone. But sure, maybe it really is just that, just exploding mountain. If that's the case, he would welcome that change. Forces of nature being forces of nature, move along ]

I assume you're also here to watch the fireworks? [ Since the kid is fine up here and protected from the fire ]

[boneofsword]

I don't think I can recall the last time stuff happened on its own. Besides, we're not the old gods.

[Archer wonders how much the kid knows about what's going on in Heavens.]

[veiledflame]

Yeah, I'm watching it. It's cool.

[He puts his hands behind his head, eyeing the three men.]

So if you're not old, how old are you?

[towards_okeanos]

Cool ? That's interesting way of framing it. I'm not exactly sure anyone below could agree with you. You know, with all that mayhem and destruction.

[Iskandar is now sure the boy has nothing at stake below. Either that or he is just that cold blooded. Or just likes to watch the world burn and is actually the one responsible for said 'cool' fireworks. Hm...

The age question though just makes him smile. No old geezers here. Even if, technically, they're probably older than some of the local deities as people coming from the earlier age in human history, they haven't been actively gods for all that time.]

Quite young, boy.

[That's a pretty complicated question. It depends how you do your counting and funnily that's true for both him and Caster. Archer is obviously out of the question. Also it would reveal quite a lot about them that he's certainly not comfortable sharing. The simple fact that the answer is not straightforward speaks much more that he's comfortable in sharing.]

[futhark]

[ Too bad here is one (1x) person willing to agree with Sotero statement ]

If not our own temples being at stakes, I'd agree it is a quite cool looking spectacle.

[ Is that a latent pyromania speaking? Mayhem, as long as not directed at his people, never really bothered Caster much. He even caused quite a lot of it in his lifetime- and let's be honest, how often do you see a mountain explode? It is an event that people will speak and sing for years--

Those who survive that is. ]

Speaking of which- isn't your house in danger too, kiddo? [ If you're in Heavens you're either god or a shinki so that means there is a temple you return to. Even nameless shinki must have some dwellings ]

[boneofsword]

[Archer chuckles quietly. That's one way to answer this question. However, Sotero's question makes it obvious the boy knows nothing about the new gods being brought to this land. Moreover, some of the side effects of the explosion make him recall something similar that did happen during the moon viewing.]

None of us have been here for longer than a few months.

[veiledflame]

You're not just a few months old! Were you already grown up when you got here? That's weird.

[They're weird. He makes a face at them, and adds:]

My house isn't in danger 'cause I don't live here. I just came to see.

[towards_okeanos]

It is not? So where do you live, boy?

[Iskandar can always strangle Archer for his indiscretion or just being a huge blabbermouth later. For now he's just blatantly ignoring the remark.]

[futhark]

[ As much as a kid on a volcano is weird, and as much as he might be suspicious- there is still the actual volcano to deal with. So Caster coincidentally lowers his voice as he moves past Rider. ]

I'll move forward--

[ I leave this kid up to you! No pressure!

And so he moves behind Rider - it's surprisingly easy to hide behind a tall and big guy like that- and when he is out of the sight he just- teleports himself as far up the slop as he could see. Not risking landing in any unknown place- there, now he's ahead on track again. Surely the kid won't notice him gone- ]