EVENT #01 —

[raiamods]

WHO: All PCs
WHAT: Guests arrive at the basecamp
WHEN: June 10 - June 17
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we should update this because we missed something)

EVENT LOG 001 — JUNE ❀

CONTENT WARNINGS: None currently (let us know if we missed something and should update this!)

Please note that several of these sections have deadlines, so it's a good idea to prioritize your plotting for the earlier section of the event first.

A calendar of events and deadlines is as follows:

IC:
June 10 - The thessyx arrive with the shell.
June 11 - Dinner with the thessyx, gifts distributed.
June 12 - Scrimmage interrupted by the formation of a sinkhole.
June 14 - Critters emerge from the sinkhole in the gymnasium.
June 13-17 - Two more sinkholes open up, with more critters emerging within the day.

OOC:
June 13 - Last day to ask about your character interfering with the shell.
June 16 - Last day to ask about your character joining the closed-door meeting with Childe and the thessyx.
June 30 - Last day to register the way your character engages with the thessyx and the critters directly. (Mods do not anticipate replying to these comments.)

❀ UNEXPECTED VISITORS

At noon on June 10, a dozen visitors arrive. The Thessyx carry themselves quietly, moving through the base as if they were attempting to enter a body of water without disturbing it. Lightweight robes of some native skein cover their green-grey amphibian skin, but do not obscure the fact that each of them possesses four arms. Once inside the base and in the leviathan’s embrace, they will lower their hoods and additionally reveal fins of varying colors along the back of their scalps. These creatures have slit noses; wide-set, irisless eyes; and mouths that stretch the full width of their skull. With them, they bring a great shell about three meters long and as tall as a small adult human.

The security force of the Adamant greets the visitors on their entry to camp. These strange amphibious creatures inform the security force that they are the Thessyx, and that the shell is full of gifts. The security force is ordered by Chief Security Officer Rémi to lock the shell away until Captain Childe has had the opportunity to decide what will be done with the contents. If you intend for your character to interfere with the shell in some way, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below BEFORE JUNE 13TH — this includes if your character would try to stop others from interfering with it.

Three of their number with blue fins on their head go to speak in a closed-door meeting with Captain Childe. If your character would like to attempt to get access to this meeting, please reach out in the QUESTIONS thread below with an explanation of how they would attempt to do so BEFORE JUNE 16TH.

The next day, more Thessyx arrive, and they will remain on the base for about one week. They move around the camp fairly casually, mingling with the Adamant’s crew. They are particularly interested in the hatchlings. If your character would like to ask specific questions of the Thessyx they encounter, please direct them to the QUESTIONS thread below.

Just before dinner the next evening (June 11), Captain Childe announces that there will be a special celebration in the mess hall, courtesy of their guests — all of their guests. The announcement is as follows, and goes out on the communication devices camp-wide:

I'm sure some of you have noticed the Thessyx walking among us. In light of their arrival and the gifts they've brought with them, we've decided to have a joint celebration in the mess. They have agreed to have guards from their city patrol our perimeter, so everyone has twelve hours off. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it's strongly suggested.

They've brought gifts for our new arrivals as well. These gifts are to be distributed later. I know some of you will think it's unfair that the Thessyx are favoring them, and that in three years of being here this is the first time they've initiated contact with us. Tensions are bound to be high — but the first person who picks a fight is getting thrown in the brig, I don't care if you're a civilian or not. We could all use this break.

Don't offend them. No fish jokes.

Childe out.

At dinner, a few crew members get out their instruments, and Captain Childe even looks the other way when Senior Engineer Thorkil Bjørnson opens up a barrel of the moonshine he’s just finished. It means going without later, but they’ll share some of their modest wealth with the Thessyx. The mess hall is cluttered with revelry, and some of the tables have been pushed together to make room for people to dance.

The feast is made up of various mosses and seaweeds, pickled insects, and a few mollusks. Whether this sounds appetizing or not, it’s the freshest food anyone on the base has had for a while, and it seems it’s only intended for the Children of the Leviathan. Some crew members look on jealously or externalize their bitterness. Others may be pushier — after all, they’ve been providing for the hatchlings out of their own supplies for a while now. Still others will be surprised if any of the hatchlings offer trades or pawn the food off on them preemptively — they may be inclined towards favors and good will.

A few notes:

The Thessyx refer to the hatchlings as ‘Children of the Leviathan.’ They do not appear to sleep, nor do they step out from under the leviathan’s embrace when the sun is out. The three blue finned Thessyx who meet with Captain Childe are not the Thessyx’s leaders, only representatives. They prefer to ask the PCs questions about them and where they came from rather than answering questions about themselves.

To interfere with the shell, attempt to be involved in the closed-door meeting between Childe and the thessyx, or to ask questions of the thessyx, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread. These options have staggered deadlines so that we can account for each stage while responding to the next; these actions of some hatchlings will reflect on others.

By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the mod comment labeled THESSYX GREETING with a brief description of how your character would greet the Thessyx. Feel free to write multiple characters in a single comment. We just want to check the temperature in the room.

❀ A DISTURBANCE UNDERFOOT

On June 12th, the thessyx’s visit is disrupted by the appearance of a sinkhole in the gymnasium. The basketball court, which was already in disrepair, suffers the worst of the damage. In the midst of a scrimmage between PCs and NPCs, which the thessyx observe quite rapturously, a 5-meter hole opens in the middle, with concrete and steel and earth crumbling underfoot. Any injured PCs will have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team, and the gymnasium will be closed until further notice. Don’t worry! The Adamant’s engineers are on the case, figuring out how the soil’s stability gave way. This could be bad news for the entirety of the basecamp if it’s an ongoing issue. The engineers could probably use some help addressing the issue — to volunteer, reach out to us in the QUESTIONS thread.

Over the next couple days, two more sinkholes appear — one near the Memorial Wall, and one in the showers (though it thankfully doesn’t seem to have affected the plumbing). Anyone injured by a sinkhole will also have their sprains and scratches treated well by the medical team. Cartagena shares a helpful (“helpful”) PSA about the dangers of sinkholes and how to protect yourself, which is clearly dated and has nothing to do with whatever is going on here on Ethyraia:

Hello, Children of the Leviathan! Isn’t that a silly name? I guess it’s the most accurate, since you did come from eggs. Soon you will be one month old! Hahaha! Biology can be odd sometimes.

It’s not just biology, though! Ecology is certainly strange and confusing, and nothing is stranger and more confusing than the ecology of Ethyraia. I’m sure you have all noticed the sinkholes appearing more and more often these days. Do not be alarmed! Not because there is nothing alarming, but because alarm leads to panic and panic leads to more danger!

For the time being, please follow these helpful tips for sinkholes:
1. If you see a sinkhole, go the opposite direction.
2. If you fall into a sinkhole, try not to cry. Instead, yell for help!

I think these are sufficient enough guidelines to follow, yes?

Remember, be careful out there! And protect your squishy selves. You never know when you might be useful later. Then it would be a shame if your squishy self was gone. We’d all be very sad. Or most of us. Or some of us. At least me, to the capacity that an AI can be sad.

Stay safe! Cartagena out.

On June 14th, the first of the critters emerges from the sinkhole in the gymnasium. These creatures are roughly a meter tall at the shoulder, blind, with enormous clawed forepaws and supernumerary hind-legs that appear shrunken and shrivelled and barely provide function. These creatures have tough, armored hides and truly, truly awful breath. They are capable of tearing through metal with their claws, and small arms fire does nothing to them. Within the day, dozens of them have skittered into the base. They seem as confused and afraid to be in here as the basecamp’s residents are to have them here. However, these are wild animals; they react to their fear with sharp teeth and claws. A few perseverant critters find their way into the cafeteria, sniffing out food, while others can be found gnawing on cables that power the lights for the basecamp.

Chief Security Officer Rémi will be quick to pursue an extermination plan. The problem is big enough that the PCs are encouraged to help out, and those who volunteer will be quickly accepted, as long as they aren't trying to offer their own bright ideas.

A few notes:

To volunteer to help out with engineering, please visit the QUESTIONS sub-thread.

If your character would volunteer to help security exterminate the creatures, or if they would disregard the security force and go after the critters on their own, please let us know in the QUESTIONS thread so we can talk about what this would look like. Rémi isn’t well-known for liking people who subvert the chain of command.

By JUNE 30TH at 21:00 EST, please respond to the CRITTER WRANGLING comment with how you vote the critters get dealt with — extermination, rehoming, or something else. If someone has already commented with your characters’ IC preference, please add your +1 under other people’s comments, so it’s easier for us to sort.

Comments

matthias helvar | ota

[trassel]

[ ooc: prompts below! will keep adding. if you would like a custom starter feel free to hmu via pm or plurk (midwinters) and we'll have our own adventure c: ]

save the critters;

[trassel]

→ a public service announcement

[ Not long after Remi's announcement to the base, there is another, ]

Greetings all who are reading,

The creatures do not need to be harmed. They are only frightened animals... We can remove them from the base safely - I have done so with some already. They can be calmed when you speak softly and do not make sudden movements.

If you are having difficulty, call me. I will assist you.

Matthias

→ critter express

[ If you're near the doors that lead outside out of the cave, you may be encouraged out of the way by the gaze of a large wolf, who's cleared the path from there to here, pushing any bystanders back. Quite a distance behind him is Matthias with two of the critters, both of them around him chittering, keeping near as he's walking. Trassel seems to disappear at once when they're closer, and if you don't look busy Matthias will call out to you, ]

Excuse me, a moment. Can you walk in front of us? Just up to the door.

→ wildcard

[ ooc: I'm also happy to write up specific starters for this- Matthias will try to talk your character into the nonviolent option and will (LOUDLY) object trying to harm/shoot/kill them. He's also more than happy to tell you that you can even scratch the critters under their chin... or even demonstrate... ]

→ psa

[cicatrize]

Matthias,

One of your new friends is burrowing through my dirty laundry pile. Please come fetch it.

If anything's stained, that need for harm is going to escalate quickly.

Thanks,
Jack

[trassel]

[ Come fetch it, as an errand boy. But he did promise to help, and he bristles at the idea of harming a scared animal simply for the reason of a stain. Matthias doesn't take to jokes well — types out his reply promptly, ]

Hello Jack.

Where are you? I will be there shortly.

Matthias

[cicatrize]

The hammocks.

Thanks, Matthias, you're a peach.

[ it wasn't entirely a joke. the creatures look like pests to him, but animal welfare wasn't a featured priority in the upbringing jack had. he'll be waiting near the beginning of the hammock racks, arms crossed over his chest, sounds of animal rummaging going on just past him. ]

[trassel]

[ He's a peach????? At first, he thinks the translator is broken. But no, the sentence glares at him, as if in judgement. Ugh. He will ask later. ]

[ True to his word, however, he arrives, having jogged, and zeroes in on the noise, then at Jack, standing there. ]

You are Jack?

[ As he walks straight for the creature, kneeling to its level some distance away, humming softly to it. ]

→ psa, @steve.rogers

[fossils]

Where you leading them?

[ He's willing to try the less violent approach, but he'll still take out any critters he encounters that are too far past their rage threshold to be distracted away from the non-combatants. ]

[trassel]

Hello Steve Rogers

I am taking them outside while it is not raining.

[ There's still people being helped out of the tunnels and the other staff around it, simply putting them back isn't currently an option. They'd just interfere with Engineering, people would get mad, they'd get shot, etc. ]

They seem to be able to manage from there.

Matthias

[fossils]

[ Well, if it's easy as leading them past the edge of camp-- ]

Got it.
Thanks for the info.

[ Short and to the point. ]

critter express

[ulfrkysst]

[Eivor is used to Trassel by this point, and moves out of the way for him without question. She doesn't particularly like wolves as a concept, but that's not Trassel's fault, and she figures he has some important reason to be nudging her.

She does, however, question what the Hel Matthias is doing.]

Is this a joke?

[trassel]

No.

[ Jury's out on whether he can even do that, boy spent all his points on strength and constitution, not charisma. Eivor, however, had gone with him to cull the rats, it's not as though Matthias has a genuine objection to killing what's obviously threatening and harmful. But these little guys? Nah. ]

This is the easier way.

[ulfrkysst]

[She eyes him like maybe he's gone mind-sick. Indeed, they'd killed the rats, so she doesn't really understand what the difference is. Beyond Matthias suddenly losing his marbles.]

Easier for who, [she says, gesturing at the fact he's only got two of the creatures following him.] Do you mean to escort them one by one?

[trassel]

If I must, yes.

[ He glances back at them, in the middle of the floor, and then, determinedly, ]

They are just frightened. And it is easier to calm them than to kill them.

what if i came at this very late - critter express

[mylawn]

[By now, 76 is used to the wolf, to the point where he doesn't tense so much when it lopes past him. What does surprise him is the little parade that follows. He steps aside, trying to make way, but it's hard not to look at this display a little skeptically. 76 doesn't want to harm the creatures, but he also doesn't like where any of this is going.]

What, are you an alien whisperer now?

[He's obviously a little wary about the whole situation, but it's possible Matthias has already come to expect that much from him. Suffice to say, he's not busy, exactly, so he's got no excuse but to fall in step, clearly trying to be of use, even if this is all a little ridiculous.]

no late only fun

[trassel]

They do like to be scratched under the chin.

[ Heh. Look, if you leave the opening, he takes the shot. It's easier to live in that than to think of just how many there are here, how much work is going to be done — and that's still the better option. He is unyielding on this front, as stone and ice as any landscape of the country he comes from. ]

It is also easier to throw them outside than to shoot them. Their armour is very tough, and they seem to be made for digging.

[mylawn]

Less to clean up, too.

[Beyond the vague discomfort he might feel about killing a bunch of creatures who seem more confused and scared than anything, ushering them safely out of base camp will probably save them some time in the "scrubbing blood and guts off the floor" department.

76 is still regarding the creatures with suspicion. They're behaving, it seems, but he knows he can't necessarily trust that. Surely they won't stay placated for long.]

You sure petting them is a good idea?

[trassel]

[ They're almost to the door. He notices one edging a bit too close to 76 and waves at it amiably to come towards him instead, that 76 can stay in the lead. ]

I have a way with animals.

[ Good or bad idea isn't the point, it's that Matthias would have tried it anyway, given the chance. It so happens that it worked for him. ]

As long as we don't make sudden movements or loud noises, they are fine with us.

critters

[hootlem]

[Of all the weird shit she's seen since coming here, returning to a giant dog in her path's just about as mundane as it gets. Still, Eda tugs her acid-eaten satchel to her other side as the wolf draws closer, on the off-chance it went for it.]

[She arches an eyebrow, but otherwise shrugs.]

Sure. You sure are gettin' buddy-buddy with the clawbeasts. [Eda shoots a grin back, starting to walk back the way she came.] Bet Officer Fussy Pants won't be happy with you.

[trassel]

[ Trassel is well-trained. He sniffs at the air, looking at Eda, but makes no move towards her, not even to indulge his own curiosity. ]

[ Matthias' jaw tightens — ingrained in him is the instinct to obey an experienced superior, but he can't just agree to a blanket kill order. And not on animals. ]

No, probably not. But what else are we supposed to do?

[hootlem]

This. This is exactly what we're supposed to do.

[Eda shoulders her staff, and turns to walk backwards to watch the chittering varmints.] I've put a couple to sleep and kept people away, but I didn't have a good way get 'em out.

But you know what? Let Officer Fussy Pants get all twisted up over it. The crews' been stuck here for years and they haven't learned much. These animals have been here for a lot longer. There's gotta be a way to learn from them.

[trassel]

[ She got some of them to sleep? How? He's not completely comfortable with any magic being involved, but Matthias never mounts an argument with results. ]

Are they still sleeping? I can help you with them.

[ A beat. ]

What do you think we can learn from them?

[ Because of all the conversations he's been having this week, that's a new one. ]

thessyx greeting (for nina)

[trassel]

[ Strange visitors are walking around the base. Matthias receives the gift of a meal politely, keeping his suspicion to himself. There is already a female captain on this base, he has sat here and given innumerable concessions. ]

[ There is meat here. He saves a little of it for Trassel, who has patiently borne the protein slop — the rest, he offers to the others, those of greater need. He's no smiler, puzzled with the few he earns in return, but keeps anyway. As gifts must be honoured. ]

[ Nina must be having the time of her life, though. It takes little to find her — at the sidelines instead of the centre of attention. Trass bounds towards her first, going up to her to nose at her hand, with Matthias a little way behind him. ]

[neversmall]

[ Nina quite enjoys special treatment; she does not enjoy the necessary envious outflow of it. She makes a point of taking a very large portion and trying a little of everything before gathering a small crowd around her: You have to try this and pretending not to see the way resentment softens, one shared bite at a time.

Then, suddenly, an isenulf.

"Oh, yes, hello Trouble," shaking her head and laughing a bit to dispel the sudden tension. "Don't worry, I saved some for you."

It's a bug, Trass, but it's a meaty bug. You can eat it while Nina's saved a portion for -- oh, there he is. ]

Matthias! [ A welcoming smile, beaming out to him. ] You have to try this.

[trassel]

[ He has a tin in his hands, a small box one might buy at a sweet shop in Fjerda. Matthias does not set it aside, holding it with one hand as he politely gestures no. ]

Thank you, I have already had my equal share.

[ And the rest of it all given away. ]

As did he, [ with a slightly accusing glare at Trass, who has flopped down to enjoy this lovely meaty bug, thank you Nina! You're the best! ] but you never know it, from him.

[neversmall]

Did you? [ She doubts it, although she's quite sure Trassel had already eaten. What does that matter, honestly?

She makes a laughing excuse to the small crowd and briefly reaches out to tug Matthias with her. When they're alone enough that he won't be embarrassed, she holds up a particularly interesting looking specimen. ]

But did you try this one?