Adventure On!

[voidtreckermods]

On the morning of Day 6 of the month of Horseshoe (OOC: 11th September) the screens on everyone’s SCA glow with the colours of the void. A holographic screen pops up with the following information:

Destination: World # 5382110341. The kingdom of Irivar. Irivar is a large kingdom, with many different habitats and people. Magic is well-known there, and is a natural part of life. Though monsters do roam the countryside, the towns and villages are usually safe: most adults in the kingdom are fighters and many go on to join the guild of adventurers and travel the land to keep the peace. Currently there is a great war far in the west and many of the adventurers, as well as the kingdom's army, are busy holding back an invading force.

Just over a week ago a great wave of elemental magic swept over the kingdom. Though the cause is unknown, it is thought to be an attack from the invaders aiming to destabilise the land and force the kingdom to withdraw its troops. The wave of magic has caused a range of problems, most seriously a magical blight- a corruption that destabilises the natural elemental energies of land and people, flora and fauna.

The kingdom has called out for any adventurers remaining to tackle some of the more major problems, but there are simply not enough people. This is where the Voidtreckers come in.

Red Team

In the South East there is a range of volcanic mountains. This is the natural home of the fire sprites and is warded by a magical barrier- separating the fiery mountains from the icy tundra it neighbours. The two biomes exist in harmony - usually.

The wave of magic has destabilised the crystals protecting the border of this fiery land. They need to be taken into the heart of the largest volcano to recharge. This process will take a few days. It is believed that the blight has affected those creatures living in this area and it is very likely that the power contained in the crystals will draw creatures that covet that power as their own.

Move the crystals to the heart of the volcano, protect them whilst they regain power and then return them to their rightful place to reset the barrier.

Blue Team

Spanning the south of the kingdom is a vast icy tundra. Snow-covered landmasses and glaciers are connected by ice bridges that lead eventually to a central ice mountain, inside this mountain is Aerlie, also known as the Glacial Sovereign. Aerlie is a large dragon who rules the tundra and protects those who live inside the icy lands.

There are a number of problems in this tundra: corrupted fire sprites have escaped from the neighbouring province, trapping creatures in fiery traps. Among these creatures are the fabled crystal wolves, Aerlie's noble protectors. The blight has also corrupted the ice sprites and a series of large, angry storms roam the land. A storm swirls around the central mountain and no one is sure of the fate of Aerlie.

Rescue as many creatures as you can and help the crystal wolves travel to the central mountain to assist their sovereign dragon.

Orange Team

Whereas in animals the blight causes aggression and a shifting to an almost feral nature, in humans it causes shifts in their natural power. Some people have developed uncontrollable elemental powers, and others who practice magic already have found their control vanishing. The longer they are without a cure the more driven to use these new, unstable powers they are.

However, there is a cure. It requires crystals from the pistil of calla lilies that can be found in the woodlands to the north of the kingdom.

This is further complicated in that this area was hit badly by the magical wave, causing the land to break up and ascend into the clouds. This makes harvesting the crystals difficult. Fortunately, the huma birds who live naturally in the area are willing to help transport the harvested crystals to the places that need them, though some of their own number are also corrupted by the blight.

Purple Team

A small cluster of villages in the kingdom have been hit heavier by the wave of magic than most. These villages utilise rock golems – magical constructs developed for protection against the monsters and wild animals that are common in that part of the kingdom.

The crystals powering the golems were corrupted during the wave of magic, leading them to attack the village and nearby creatures, driving wild animals and monsters towards the villages rather than warding them away.

Help protect the village, try to pacify the animals and keep them away from the villages. Defeat any monsters. Track down the golems, remove the crystals from their cores and purify them in the sacred shrine, shared by the villages.

Additional Notes: You will be dropped in the town of Royal Lake Hill, the meeting place for any who can respond to the call for adventurers. Irivar is filled with a whole host of different people and creatures, they are used to the unusual. However it is not void active nor do they know of the void. Please use the dressing room and be as discreet as possible in your interactions.

It has also been noted that the use of ‘transportation’ magics are limited within blighted areas.

This mission will run from the 11th to the 24th September. The initial arrival post will go up on the 11th September (H6) and will deal with voidtreckers arriving in Royal Lake Hill and being moved to their locations. The ‘onward’ post will go up on the 15th September (H8) which will cover the main quest of each team. A ‘finale’ post will happen on the 21st Septmber (H11) as missions reach their conclusion.

All the information you will need for writing the mission is below. Remember that the only information characters know IC before the mission is that in the blockquoted area above, though they may learn the rest through play.

Dressing Carriage

As promised the dressing carriage has clothes for characters to blend in with the local populace. The dressers and wardrobes are full of many different clothes. They aren’t perfect historical re-enactment clothes, more LARP or cosplay-esque costumes, but it is enough that they will pass as adventurers from this world.

The cloaks are notable in that they look like standard fantasy-ish cloaks but are completely waterproof, much like a modern jacket and they will keep them warm and dry.

There are also a good selection of furs for those travelling into the tundra as well as some leather armour, both for protection against monsters and fire.

Though the clothes do not adhere to voidtrecker colours they do have accents of team colours in muted, more natural hues. Some lacing here, a tassel there. There are an array of sizes and something for everyone!

There are an array of tents- in more neutral colours, a lot simpler than the tents they have used on more futuristic worlds. They will keep them dry and warm though.

People and NPCs

Royal Lake Hill is a small walled town. Voidtreckers will find a variety of things to see here, market places selling predominately food, though simple clothes and trinkets can be found on sale as well. The people are predominately human though they may spot one or two more elfin-looking people. The voidtreckers may get curious looks, but they will be accepted as adventurers from afar unless they do anything too outlandish.

Notably people are older or very young, most of those of fighting age have gone off to help in the war effort. Most people just quietly get on with business, with most children seeming busy with chores or on errands. There are a couple of young pickpockets but they are easily avoidable.

There is a blacksmith and he does sell weapons but they are expensive. He will cite the heavy toll of the war effort and the scarcity of material, but if the price is right he will sell a sword or a dagger, which is all he has in stock.

There are three inns in the city and they are where the recruitment is happening. A coloured dot on their SCA's will show the voidtreckers which one they need to report to. Purple at the Lion's Mane, Orange at Ducks in a Bucket and Red and Blue in The Thrice Struck Tree.

The inns serve food and trade in service (fetching and carrying, washing dishes, killing rats in the cellar)- they are used to almost penniless adventurers!

They will be in the town for almost a whole day- the recruitment happening late afternoon and they can take the time to find their bearings. They can leave the city if they wish and will find rugged countryside around them, woodland, hills filled with sheep, farming fields spread out from the east of the city, filled with a variety of crops.

Purple

The cluster of villages they are helping out have a mix of people. Human and elven for the most part, though there are a couple of families of small winged pixies. Once again they are mostly elderly or very young. There are a sparse number people of fighting age, those that didn't go to war for one reason or another.

The blight hasn't affected everyone, but over half the population is afflicted in some way. For the most part it manifests as uncontrolled bursts of magic: a sneeze turns into a fireball, a moment of anger shakes the earth.

Those affected are being well cared for, though any who wish to help keep an eye on things are welcome.

Orange

The Huma birds cannot speak but are intelligent and will help when they can. Predominantly that help will be transporting the crystals to the towns and villages across the kingdom when they are harvested. They will also help fend off any of the blighted Huma birds and generally try and be helpful to the voidtreckers in the area.

If anyone wants an NPC please fill out the form in the comments below.

Powers

For the most part powers and magic are working fine. The blight was caused by the wave of magic that has now passed. It is not contagious and so voidtreckers will not be in danger of being blighted.

They will initially be magically 'gated' to areas near where they need to be. It is not possible to gate into or around areas that are heavily blighted.

Those are:

~ Purple: The villages themselves where the ground has become rocky. If you wish to teleport or otherwise mystically transport they must move outside of the villages.

~ Orange: Up on the floating islands. They must descend to the ground before they can teleport or mystically transport.

~ Blue: Within the elemental storms. They must move to an area where the storm is not blowing, or wait until it has moved from where they are before they can teleport or mystically transport.

~ Red: They cannot teleport with or near the crystals. They must be a decent distance away from them before magical teleportation can work.

Other 'movement' like flight works fine.

Routes

Red

They will arrive on the border of the fire and ice areas. They will find that with the crystals de-powered the two areas have started to invade each other. Icy tendrils leave frozen lava behind and on the other side, melting ice, swirls of fire in the snow.

There are six crystals and each is about the size of a human head. They are polished gems that seem to dance with fire inside. Or at least they should. Currently they are a dull red colour, cold to the touch.

They will be warned before they are sent that the crystals should not be put in any kind of extra dimensional storage or moved from this plane of existence, and so unfortunately they must carry them. It is just over half a day's march to the heart of the volcano.

The ground is rocky and volcanic, with rivers of lava cutting the land. There are a couple of streams to cross but none are wider than can be jumped by the average person. They will find that, though it is warm, they don't suffer like they maybe would imagine they should being in such an area for a period of time.

Getting to the heart of the volcano will not be too difficult but once they are there and the crystals begin to charge the magic will draw creatures who want it for themselves.

Monsters

Fire Dogs: Almost wolf-like in size, these dogs are large ruddy creatures with sharp teeth and claws. They have no trouble with the heat and can run through lava much like a dog splashes through a river. They traditionally hunt in packs of three.

Corrupted Fire Sprites: These manifest as tendrils of fire, whipping out to attack or to grab at people and pull them towards the lava rivers. They can be cut with weapons or magic; they are especially weak to cold or ice magic.

Lizards: These come up to an average human's knee and are small green reptiles that breathe fire. Most of those that they meet on the route will run rather than fight, but the closer to the volcano they get the more aggressive they will be. Whilst the crystals are being charged fire lizards will be among the creatures that attack.

Blue

They will arrive on the border of the fire and ice areas. They will find that with the crystals depowered the two areas have started to invade each other. Icy tendrils leave frozen lava behind and on the other side, melting ice, swirls of fire in the snow. Much like the red team- though they will be very cold they feel something is stopping them being as badly affected by the environment as they usually would be.

The predominant danger is the Elemental Storm, a moving snow storm filled with corrupted ice elementals. The ice inside the storm shifts into shapes and attacks. They are fightable, it is just difficult to see or know what they are fighting. Fire magic works well, but so does just attacking or avoiding the ice needles the size of swords attacking from the chaos. The ice is brittle enough to shatter if it strikes a hard target. It is most dangerous on the bridges, where a wrong step could send them plummeting to the abyss below.

It blows in quickly and disappears just as fast. The central mountain is enveloped by a large storm, one that does not move but remains around the mountain. That is the voidtreckers' ultimate destination.

But first they must find the trapped creatures. The fire traps are bands of fire woven into a cage (a bit like this.) The fire can be cut away or destroyed by ice, or by cold magic. It fights back when approached, tendrils of fire reaching out to attack the rescuers.

There are all manner of animals trapped: bears, hares, foxes, snow leopards, as well as the crystal wolves. The regular animals will run off into the wild once they are rescued but the crystal wolves will follow the voidtreckers as they make their way towards the mountain. They are completely silent, not even making noise as they cross the land. They will help fight the traps to rescue more creatures but their main aim is to reach the mountain and save their sovereign.

Orange

They will be gated to the ground below the floating chunks of land. Anyone who is hired to go to the forests will be given two Potions of Flight. A potion of flight allows them to fly for ten minutes, which is plenty of time for them to get up to one of the islands. From there it is up to them how to proceed. The islands move and float, sometimes coming up alongside each other and it is possible to jump from one to another. Though teleportation doesn't work up on the chunks, other means of flight and movement will.

The calla lilies are not particularly difficult to find, and harvesting the crystals is not difficult though takes some level of coordination and care if they wish to do so without damaging the flowers. The kingdom requires a lot of crystals, so there is plenty of work.

Monsters

Blighted Birds: The Huma birds are allies but some of their number have been taken with blight. They are easy to spot: they look wilder, air crackles around them as they dive down to attack. The regular Huma birds will help defend the voidtreckers and keep their blighted brethren in line, but they can't be everywhere.

Corrupted Air Spirits: These creatures are invisible. They are more mischievous rather than malicious but their games are less fun when you can not fly. They will cast magic causing voidtreckers to spin or fling them up in the air to dance around the buffeting winds. They might remember to put them down on an island afterwards but they are as likely to forget and send them plummeting. They will pull or push people around, often to the edges of the floating islands.

On the other hand they can be helpful, they will carry voidtreckers from island to island if asked nicely. Trust them lightly though, their memories are very short!

Purple

There are six villages each a decent walk from another. In the centre of the six is a shrine. This is where the crystals are to be purified.

The houses are simple two-roomed cottages for the most part, though there are a few larger ones. Villagers will allow the adventurers to stay with them if they wish, though they may find it easier to camp, and the villages will allow tents to be erected in the commons. The blighted ground is uncomfortable and will make sleep uneasy but will do them no actual harm. They can sleep outside the villages on untainted ground if they wish but they will be more vulnerable to monster attacks.

Each village has a central area, where people gather to share chores and work together as well as a school room for the children. They are currently using the school room in each village as a place for those who are blighted, so they can be watched over.

The surrounding areas are woodland with some cliffs and caves dotted around.

It is by no means an everlasting siege on the villages. Though people will be required to protect them others should go out to find the golems before they create too much chaos. Others can help purify the crystals in a ritual at the shrine. It is a lengthy one but mostly involves reading from a book on incantations and can be done by anyone with the supervision of the village elders.

Monsters

Rock golems: These are magical constructs created to protect the village. They are twice as large as an average person, slow moving, exceptionally strong. They are powered by a crystal in their head, about the size of a human fist.

They are strong but can be smashed up with enough force or magic. They will reform themselves unless the crystal is removed from them. It is also possible to depower them by simply removing the crystal, a process that isn't actually simple but would require a good level of athletics.

Trolls: Large brutish creatures--though smaller than the golems. They are the predominant monster of these parts. They are cunning and will work in groups to distract and attack. They wield clubs and can channel power to make the ground shake when they stamp their feet.

Some of the trolls are blighted. They are enraged and seem stronger, harder to take down. These ones are mindless in their berserk state, and will just attack without cunning or thought.

Woodland creatures: Not necessarily monsters but certainly dangers. Bears, boars and wolves are natural in these parts and the blighted golems have disturbed the dens. Those that find their way to the village will attack. Some are blighted and feral.

Others need protecting. Animal attacks can be prevented if the animal dens are kept safe from the golems; the animals would rather hide than attack. Once the cure starts arriving it can be given to the animals as well as the villagers.

Rewards.

Taking part in a mission in any way will earn you five team points! You claim those by submitting a link during AC!

Also threads of 10 comments or more where mission goals are being worked towards will also earn you 10 team points. To claim those please fill in the form below and reply to the rewards header!

<b>Characters:</b> <b>Mission goal colour:</b> <b>Link:</b>

If you have any questions just ask! Have fun!

Comments

Questions?

[voidtreckermods]

[aluciner]

q1: is it only direct transportation magic that's been affected? say if one (ronan) were to, and i hate that i have to ask about this specific thing because of canon, magic up a hoverboard. would the hoverboard still work in blighted areas?

q2: is the cure for the blight just the crystal or does one have to do something to the crystal for it to become the cure?

[adregem]

THIS IS SUCH A FUN MISSION, THANK YOU MODS FOR YOUR HARD WORK

1. "It has also been noted that the use of ‘transportation’ magics are limited within blighted areas." - Does this include the transportation magic that the SCA uses when tapped thrice, to evacuate?

2. What happens to crystals after they've been purified in the shrine? Speaking for the MQ of Purple.

Re: Questions?

[light_of_willpower]

Is the town also used to supplying adventurers, or would that go through a guild? (i.e. would purchasing weapons be possible)

Re: Questions?

[extrasaltypotato]

Hikaru is both short and hobbitlike or gnomelike, and has dragonfly wings. Are either of these unusual enough features that he'd be best off hiding those?

[10billionpercent]

1. Are there any interesting plants either near Royal Lake Hill, or on the floating islands other than the lilies? Any that he would recognize from Earth as being potentially useful (medicinal, etc)?

2. Is there any benefit to taking the lilies?

3. Do they understand native magical texts with the SCA, and how are the texts laid out?

4. Do the crystals hold any properties that the adventurers may find interesting/useful, if someone were to say, keep one?

[blitzcheer]

1. So native magical texts would be available for those to read who ask? Like a public resource, perhaps.

2. Are there any other particular resources out in the locations that the teams are going to be in (particular Red, Blue, and Orange) that they might hear about-- such as 'oh you can find x which is useful for x, these grow/these are minerals that sell well', etc that might be of interest to characters to pick up if they knew about them.

3. Are there people who would want the fire lizard skins/fire dog hides?

Re: Questions?

[unfavorableinstigation]

1. Would use of the Speech (to either talk air solid or as an avenue of persuasion with the blighted wind spirits) fall too much under 'mystical method of transport', or will it work fine?

2. What other helpful adventurers can the Voidtreckers expect to meet?

SO MANY questions,

[seacub]

Emporio first!
> If Emporio looks around for some ghost rooms in the starting town (now that he...knows his stand works in other places...), could he find any? And, what would likely be inside them? He'll be looking specifically for any kind of pouch or bag, but he won't say no to other things after all- it's not like anyone else will be missing them!

> How much will his hat stand out if he keeps it on (note; he'll be comparing it to the stuff they're offered in the dressing carriage come mission day, so if it Would stand out, he won't bring it with)?

And on Jonouchi's end-

> Given the mission parameters, how much would the cute pokemon stand out?

Re: Questions?

[unfavorableinstigation]

Also - can the crystals' effects in any way be replicated (either duplicated via magic or simply recreating how they're supposed to heal people)?

[waywardking]

I want to see if I understand correctly...would Noctis' warping ability work inside the villages/near the crystals/etc., being a form of short-range teleportation?

Also if so, can he warp by yeeting a crystal?

[comingorgoing]

Would Vigilant Gaze have to do anything to hide his nature here, being 8 feet tall with 4 arms?

Re: Questions?

[casslang]

Would Jessie be able to pose as a cleric to get intel?

And yes she wants to know about tobacco. :)

Re: Questions?

[bloomingblossom]

Question about purifying the golems for the Purple Team; in Tsubomi and her canonmates' canon, they have the ability to purify corrupted things called Heart Flowers that have been turned into monsters. Would it be reasonable to say they could do the same for the golems' crystals in lieu of the shrine?

[springforth]

Hi, I'm here for lily questions aw yea

Are the crystals attached to the stamen and pistils? If removed, can they grow more if encouraged or can they be encouraged to grow more per plant?

Re: Questions?

[scorpionhugs]

How much difficulty is Scorpia going to have blending in, with her claws/tail?

[shutupnail]

Can the ice elementals be sensed by using the Force ki sense abilities? Aka sensing lifeforce of living things.

NPCs

[voidtreckermods]

If you want an NPC please fill in this form:

<b>Team:</b> The team of the mission you are doing <b>NPC wanted:</b> Just a general idea 'a fighter' is fine, or a specific named/mentioned NPC. Alternatively explain quickly what you want from them (info etc) <b>Link:</b> Link to the post/thread where you want them to turn up. <a href="LINK">Post</a>

[adregem]

Team: Purple
NPC wanted:
(Are we allowed more than one? IF SO:)

Royal Lake Hill:
1. One of the young pickpockets, to ask for information they may have as kids who have ears on the ground at all times and are usually in the shadows.

2. The Innkeeper (since Roland is Purple, for this request, the one at the Lion's Mane), to ask for any rumors, general talk about what's happening in Irivar, and anything unusual they're concerned about or have noticed floating around the inn.

Purple MQ Location:

3. An elven NPC, to ask about general way of life between the two races especially during the war.

4. A village elder in one of the villages, to ask about information on the war as well, the blights, and how the six villages function together as one.

Link: Pending!
Let me know if 4 NPC's is okay, if not I'll pick one :)

Rewards

[voidtreckermods]

Remember these must be threads where mission goals are being worked towards!

Re: Rewards

[unfavorableinstigation]

Characters: Alfredo, Tidus
Mission goal colour: Blue
Link: Here.

Characters: Nita (+NPC)
Mission goal colour: Orange
Link: Plus toplevel!

Logistics

[voidtreckermods]

Here is a place to work things out between teams.

Like who is carrying the red crystals.

For blue there are twelve crystal wolves-- feel free to find them in your threads but you can keep a count here/make sure everyone is involved.

Same for crystal purifying in purple. There are roughly sixty golems in the area. Some nearer the villages others further out.

Don't worry too much about logistics- it won't matter if there are 15 threads where crystal wolves are found for example. But here is a place to plan for those who wish to.

Re: Logistics

[extrasaltypotato]

So my extra salty potato has an ability called Spirit Sight. It allows him to sense two particular kinds of magical energy: Aura and Breath/Pneuma.

Sensing Aura allows, with some practice, an educated guess at properties of a person, thing, or place; notably, and importantly for Orange Team, this includes the ability to sense invisible magical creatures by their Aura, it's main use-case in Valor the MMO that Hikaru was isekai'd to. Handy when we're dealing with corrupted air sprites! (From there, he can counterspell/unweave/nullify the invisibility as needed).

Sensing Pneuma - that is, the amount and quality of magical energy a creature, place or thing has - is a more involved process that's mostly useful for dramatically declaring someone's power level to be over 9000, but is also how I fluff his ability to Size Up opponents (and tell which of their Strength, Agility, Spirit, Mind, and Resolve are their strongest and weakest suits). This can probably also be used to pick out the ripest, fattest calla lily crystals at a glance.

Plotting

[voidtreckermods]

BLACK SQUAD

[kumoko]

So spider's gonna give the team leaders a band in their colour with black edging, and that's going to act as a 'target' for locating them. She won't teleport them out of their mission area, but it means she can move people to them as long as they're outside of a blight zone.

Also general prep hit me up.

RED PLOTTING

[voidtreckermods]

[enthunder]

Light's obviously sticking with Red because that's... what leaders do? Or something? Also because the day Lightning Farron goes with a different team is the day hell freezes over.

Anyway, speaking of freezing over, she has some ice and water magic (ranged single or multitarget, and melee), and she'll be able to cast Enfrost and Enwater on other people, which imbues a weapon or person with ice or water magic. She doesn't have any defensive spells for this, alas. She's also the healer again, yayyyy.

She'll spend the first day doing minor quests etc to try and buy a sword, people are welcome to party up with her. She trusts the others to get info on what they'll be facing, but she'll try to make sure that info is shared before Red sets off from The Thrice Struck Tree.

She can carry a crystal if necessary, but may be more useful keeping monsters away.

BLUE PLOTTING

[voidtreckermods]

[spikelet]

COMMS SPECIALIST HERE aka hi she can't do much but she's agreed with Gladio that she'll stay on the comms and monitor the other teams/how people are doing.

With the storm etcetera, she'll probably make an effort to do the same within Blue team and make sure people don't get lost, even if she might not be successful.

Bagsies riding a crystal wolf..!

PURPLE PLOTTING

[voidtreckermods]

HENLO PURPLE LADS

[adregem]

Friends, now is the time

Looks like this mission was made to test all our IC planning! :heart: Let's have fun!! Please feel free to comment here if:

A.) Your character will be staying with Purple, and what they might be doing since there's a lot of work to go around like gathering supplies to bring back, working to get weapons or food or whatever else have you, making expeditions since the MQ has 6 villages, etc.

B.) Your character will NOT be staying with Purple, because my goodness Red and Blue are gonna need your skillz the most. Which team will they lend their talents to for this mission? It'll definitely help to plan this one out in advance - OOC and ICly - because teleportation and traveling is going to be heavily impacted in this mission.

C.) Your character will be staying on the train, and if they have any mission-relevant planning despite this! The SCA + earbud combo will still work even on the train, so this might be of interest to your character!

ORANGE PLOTTING

[voidtreckermods]

For Willow! (Grab her where she's needed for Orange)

[runicfeathers]

° As she speaks the language of birds, she could potentially be key to getting the Huma birds to aid Orange Team! I have full intention of having her communicate with and ask for their help. Ambassador work and diplomacy is one of her jobs back home, so using this to benefit Orange is ideal!

° She is able to heal, so should any need her where she's not working with the birds, she's willing to lend aid to any of the potentially injured.

° She is capable of flight and transforming into a large bird of any kind, and can be persuaded to ferry at least two or three at a time on her team!

° This world will make her initially feel some sadness as it somewhat resembles her own home in nature of being magical, but will give her a push and drive to help even more where she is able! Members of her team/the train who have previously seen her moping will see a much more determined and strong-willed individual during the mission, seemingly as if she may not be the same person. (This is more of her truer self from back home showing through.)