balance_logs | Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 3

Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 3

	They had discovered one could grow as hungry for light as for food.
	NAVIGATION

1. THE FATE OF WONDERLAND

A. CRESCENDO; FINALE

The beauty of the sentient mind is that hope is hard to kill. Even living in illusion for so long, the Bureau of Balance as a whole believed to the end that a happy ending was possible in Wonderland. That's a good thing, even if an unrealistic dream. Without that vision, that hope, there's no way to succeed. You all know that, don't you?

You knew it when you went back into the tree to save absolutely anyone that you could. Strangers some of them. Strangers most of them. It didn't matter. There's a happy ending to this story; everyone believed in it as surely as they carried out the innocent, as surely as they carried out each other.

You knew it when you got crafty with needle and thread, trying to reassemble the cruel joke Wonderland made with those who lost their way and fell into debt. Nine bodies are saved — including Henrik's, Henrik whose soul is reattached to his body, Henrik whose shaking arms can finally reach out to hold his son.

You knew it when you spoke to a dying Yggdrasil, Maya taking in the suffering and sickness of its years, listening with an open heart until, suddenly, as the tree's consciousness began to collapse, she was taken Somewhere Else. To speak with a man in a sharp suit with places to be. Things to do. Planar systems to devour. You know how it is. A poisoned arrow to Yggdrasil's open wound brought it down for good, leaving Shuichi to hurriedly plant the new Golden Leaf for a new World Tree; leaving Sayori and Angus McDonald to pick up the pieces of their dazed comrades.

You knew it when you tricked the Mirror Maze into glitching apart, giving it quite simply too much to keep track of. The fact that you found a helper along the way certainly didn't hurt, but let's face it: this was genius. The reward is Niel, crystallized, encasing the Compact. Suffering, as he has been for a very long time.

You knew it when three warlocks and a very angry wizard embarked on an ultimately suicidal mission, which just goes to show that the best-laid plans of mice and men sometimes lead to a 50% vore rate. A desperate attempt to keep Adrian distracted for long enough that the Compact could be retrieved was only able to delay him in the end. Just because success is possible doesn't make it guaranteed. Sometimes a fight with the villain ends in stalemate.

Sometimes a fight with the villain isn't a fight at all. Sometimes it's an outstretched hand (or two, or four), and sacrifices from each member of the party, and pain, and . . . self-awareness. Sometimes the villain just wants to let go. Sometimes there are happy endings, but this time Niel — fused into the Tree itself, his life tied up in the dying Yggdrasil, extended by the Compact — just wants it to stop. He doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

His friends are holding his hands as they take the Compact and make it stop.

This isn't a happy ending. But that isn't your fault. Hope for a happy ending has, quite literally, saved the world.

The nightmare is over. Wonderland slips away.

2. ON THE EDGE OF THE HORIZON

B. THE PEOPLE

And as suddenly as the myriad indulgences of Wonderland went to ... well, complete shit, there's something of a metaphorical blink of light. Those who were meant to be dead are - both your fellow Reclaimers and the Rolands who could not be fixed in time - but there is still many that are saved. Injuries knot back together at the slightest curative magic. Smog and negativity vanish like they never were, taking the last shambling monsters away with it. The souls of Shadowdale that you have returned to their respective bodies have a new life to forge. Things can be fixed.

If only it were that easy.

Shadowdale, for all intents and purposes, is uninhabitable. For the first time since the Bureau's mission began, an entire city population has lost its home, and must move on. No matter how much blame you may place on yourself for the way things turned out, whether it's guilt or hope that drives you forward, time, and the cycle of life itself, spins onward. And the people who live march on.

To New New Aspen.

Matthew has promised to bring the survivors of Shadowdale to his home, to give them a new chance. You have a couple of options here, if you would like to help them. You may serve as guard, helping escort the people of Shadowdale to New New Aspen. Super convenient for you, since it's right by the Moon Base! You may help them build and settle.

The people of New New Aspen, only months away from Candlenights, are hard at work carving their annual ornaments. You may help the new residents acclimate - whether it's helping them work the fields, start a business, or take part in their new home's most coveted tradition. And you'll have a new ornament to bring home with you, too.

C. THE FOREST

The deadened woods you traveled through to reach Shadowdale at the beginning of this mission seem somehow even more silent, cloaked in demise, than when you first stepped in it. The madness is gone, replaced with double the silence, a stillness like nothing you've ever experienced before. It's almost as if your senses, save for however you perceive the light of the sun, are gone.

At least, until someone speaks to you. A wood elf - he doesn't give you his name, but he does identify himself as someone who was trapped. Someone who, through your efforts to restore the Rolands, you gave life to again.

And he does have a request for you.

"This place has little hope for revival," he says, sniffing slightly, taking in the silence around you both. "At least, it has little hope in your lifetime.

But I do have something to ask of you. Give this place life, the way you did for the people here. Even if you, or even I, for that matter, will never likely live long enough to see it."

That's sort of an existential way of asking you to do some hardcore landscaping. But you will be provided with seeds of all sorts, and you will have the opportunity to plant them as you see fit. If you would like to build a shrine, or remember those who lost their lives here in some other way, you are free to do that as well.

There's something else curious, though: literally anything you plant, regardless of what it is, will eventually produce a viable bud sprouting from the gray, dry soil.

What does that even mean? If you plant a book of poems, are you going to get a poetree?

Are you even going to live long enough to see it in full bloom?

D. THE EXHAUSTION

You might not be on Lucretia levels of exhausted (she is, remember, zonked, and will remain so all the way back to the Moon Base and beyond for a while), but this has not been an easy mission for anyone who dared to test this Grand Relic's powers.

Whether you return from New New Aspen, or whether you finally catch a ride back to the Moon Base from the forest, you are now free to return home. This is your welcome home wildcard, a chance for you to try to recuperate, address anything at all before the next Lunar Interlude begins.

You will find that the Moon Base has an awfully somber feel to it, from the inner members of the Bureau to the people serving the Reclaimers in the town. Word is starting to trickle in on what you all went through.

blurb code by photosynthesis

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Do all of us who got Yggdrasil Disease from the start of the last log count as "people who should've died?"

If pressed - or just lightly questioned - would Johnny Appleseed the elf be willing to answer questions or talk about himself?

(TBH Wash's life runs on narrative causality and he wants to know if he's found the author of the journal entry he'd found in the archives way back when.)

1) Anne!!!!! I let you have Purple Haze, now let me have a necrotic leg!!!!

2) I know deaths are cacks, but what about injuries that Wonderland gave. Do those lift with the dice, or say as normal, or #player discretion.

3) If the leaves on the forest are 100% gone, does that mean the orbs can land in Shadowdale proper, or do we have to walk outside the forest limits?

4) Since New New Aspen is an option I have an extremely important question - does this mean the spiders have joined the cats in holy ornament-making matrimony?

This is less of a question and more... uh, part question, part "so hey this is happening" but

A day or so after Everything, Lion would like to come back and arrange a circle of stones similar to the shrine to Silvanus they found in Gwynneth, somewhere close to where Yggy was originally. They've since worked out that that's what it was, having copied down a rough sketch of what it looked like at the time, and... idk, it feels right and they want to say thanks to Father Nature for helping out.

They'll also try to say a Cleric-y vibe Upwards if it helps, though they don't expect a response - they're kind of semi-officially with Selune, apparently, but it's the kind of thing Will would do if he wasn't brutally maimed, and that means they want to help in his stead.

You might need some healing for any cracks you've taken, and one last shadow expulsion similar to a cat coughing up a hairball. But otherwise? Nope! No death. Enjoy your trip through sanity lane.

omg that's super gross I love it

Absolutely not. The fact Wash even tries to question him at all makes him go still.

This is a day of mourning. Treat it with respect.

1) Can you plant abstract things, like magic or feelings? I imagine this being accomplished via focusing on the magic/feeling and like spiritually pushing it into a hole.

2) Do the plants available include any from our characters' worlds?

So the people who died and then got brought back by Yggdrasil- I assume we all just dropped like flies once Wonderland vanished but is it just going to be a normal "get 'em back to the moonbase and tuck them into bed for a few days" resurrection or do we get some kind of special circumstances?

Normal inn stay at Dr Tank's. Except your body hasn't really been maimed in any way so you can be in-out within two days tops. Or same day. Whichever allows you to plant shrimp trees to your heart's content.

1. Kicks Will's leg off. Fun fact, I played this without headphones in by accident and every animal in my house scattered.

2. Player discretion! If players would like injuries lifted, they can either lift now or back at base. Or whatever. Live your lives.

3. Orbs are free to land in Shadowdale, yep!

4. Yes, all the spiders are sister wives. A bunch of octopedal Clauses. Yep.

This is honestly extremely thoughtful. It's unfortunate that the connection with Silvanus is . . . not reliable at this point in time. There is no response.

There's no connection.

It's a nice shrine, though.

1. Unfortunately no! Anything tangible is fine, abstract is not.

2. Only plants native to Faerun are available.

Since wonderland went poot, will Honoka's voice have returned or will she have the mute button on her until she returns to base?

this may be a newbie question, but when someone pays a visit to Dr. Tank is there visiting hours or would someone intent on sitting vigil have to be in a waiting room of sorts?

Ya boy is back with Raven Queen questions. Why is he talking to the Raven Queen after All That? For Niel Squad.

After he has a little...adventure with death himself, Alex is going to try and commune with the Raven Queen. Very determined to not mention any of All That, he’s going to ask if he can pass on two messages to Niel.

A; Lucretia Defense Duty
[When Lucretia falls unconscious, Sans is quick to take up the task of keeping the creatures swarming through away from her. The first task is moving her somewhere more defensible, of course--with Wash's help, Lucretia is placed in the makeshift infirmary. It's a good place to defend even if their best link to their home worlds isn't inside. Sans sets up camp by the door, standing in front of it and knocking monsters back with blasts of sound and ripples of earth. Each spell is cast in a wide arc around him--maximum impact for minimal effort, just like you'd expect from someone like Sans.

He can't fight off everything on his own, though, so help wouldn't be a bad thing.]

B; Plants for Future Generations
[As soon as Sans finds out that anything planted starts to sprout, he's ready to take advantage of this odd quirk of the area. Catch him planting (a) a bracer chaser, (b) spice root, (c) a whole plate of spaghetti, (d) permanently warm chocolate-chip cookies, and (e) puns and knock-knock jokes written on little slips of paper.]

C; Pieces From Home
[The holographic projector room is locked for a solid 24 hours, starting at two in the morning. Check all you want, it's not opening up, and no matter how much you bang on the door or try to harass whoever's in there via passive aggressive network notes, nobody's responding. It's not until two a.m. comes to pass again that the door opens and Sans appears. It looks like he slept in his clothes, judging by how rumpled they are--but even so, he still looks exhausted. He's got a thin book under his arm. And, well, he definitely wasn't expecting to see anyone else at this hour, so there's a fleeting look of surprise before he falls back into his usual casual ease.]

Did you want to use the room? Sorry, I fell asleep. [WINK.]

D; Wildcard
[Have something in mind? Hit me up! Contact me at

maiiau if you want to plot something specific.]

Edited 2019-10-08 07:48 (UTC)

i. did someone break your heart inside cw for references to suicidal ideation

[It's a little like having ice water splashed over your head.

No. It's worse. It's being plunged into the water, weights on your ankles, handholds in reach but hard to see where everything's refracted in a thousand different ways and your eyes and lungs burn so you drift further and further down even as you struggle and reach up.

He forgets how to breathe, on that first day the magic of Wonderland breaks its thrall, lets the smothered feelings crash over him like a wave and take him under and for the first day or two, he almost consents to drowning, suddenly out of practice with treading water as he had for so long.

Almost.

Ironically, it's memories built in Wonderland that come to him like driftwood as he threatens to sink. The conversation with Will, who knew how he felt more than he ever realized, who tried to help him despite his own pain. And....shockingly, Castor. That moment he truly connected with his Persona for the first time, trying to save the leader of a group that was once all he had, and the moments following thereafter. Destroying the monsters in Shadowdale. The last run into the tree, twenty-nine civilians saved, and --

It's....the first week of October. He's not sure when he missed it, his mind progressively blanked of everything that had ever hurt him (everything that had mattered enough to die for), but it hits him in stunning clarity now. He's been helping people with Castor. All week. Including October 4th.

There's something about it that hurts so much, but it's -- good, maybe. The burn is almost cleansing, like a forest fire that wipes away the debris and detritus so things can begin to grow anew. He died again, and it didn't bring Amada or his mother back. Neither could anything he did in that tree, and there's a part of his heart that gurgles from underwater that he got lucky, that he could've killed all those people instead, even his teammates, but .....

What else was there? He can't die, trade his life for Amada's again like he did the first time, can't quietly disappear without hurting anyone, either--no elegant solutions like the suppressants, and he's in too deep besides. Too many people too close and nowhere to run. ...Can't choose not to act at all, because that's worse. He really wouldn't deserve to be alive, then. He's still not sure he wants to be. But he is. And maybe he can learn, over time, how to live again.

If he couldn't do it for himself...maybe he could do it for Amada. Live the life Amada should've gotten to have, find some way to recycle the trash heap of his own into something useful. Would Amada want that? He doesn't know. Maybe it's not even fair to think about it. But it's the only option he has.

He doesn't really know how to start, though, so he just...goes back to what Will's told him, and Qrow, once upon a time. Just try to help, to put some good out in the world. Just try.

And on shaky legs...he tries. It's a quiet thing, really, because that's how Shinjiro's kindness has always been, but he finds the people who seem like they might be starting to drown too, and sits with them. Lets them talk, if they want. A lifeboat in the deep blue sea, if they'd like to climb aboard.]

ii. we all need somebody to lean on

[Lessons learned in Faerun: enchantments are nothing to fuck around with. It takes him almost a week before he can walk upright without needing to lean heavily on things for support. Even basic tasks still wind him easily, which is really just embarrassing when your primary function is typically being a tank. Not that there's anything urgent to fight, but you know what they say about idle hands--or legs, in this case. He really doesn't want to spend a lot of time with only the inside of his head for company.

So light physical exercise it is, though maybe Shinji is pushing the limits on "light" a little bit, face somewhat flushed from exertion and a slight tremble to his knees. But he's paying no mind to this!! And if you happen to walk in, he might be a little too eager to ask if you want to do a low-level training sim with him, for how reclusive he tends to be. That's because the correct answer is no, sit your fool ass down before you pass out, but that's an answer for killjoys, right? Right.]

C'mon, let's do this.

[Or maybe it's after you've already made a bad decision with Shinji, and you're now holding up a heap of Worn Out Boy who's clearly not in any shape to stand or possibly even move depending on how far he was able to push it before you noticed. He will be continuing to insist that he's fine and doesn't need assistance until he legitimately collapses.]

iii. turn over a new leaf

[He takes a little longer before he's ready to go back into that forest, but eventually he makes the trek. Gardening has never exactly been his preferred hobby, but he seems to be surprisingly good at it, gentle with delicate leaves and stems as he buries each in its own little plot, spaced just enough not to overcrowd. He'll startle a little if he's approached without warning, evidently in the "zone" with what he's doing, but he'll also scooch over just a bit to give them room to work.

He can't think of anything in particular to bury for Niel, really--he doesn't own a lot of things, after all, and the few things he does he has a bit too much sentimental value to plant in the ground.

But he happens to fish out a Faerunian coin from his pocket, and he hopes that's good enough. The wonderbux gems disappeared with Wonderland, but he remembers the kid had loved the rides and shows, so it's similarly symbolic, maybe. It could be enough.]

....Take care, kid. Hope you ain't hurting anymore.

Edited 2019-10-09 03:52 (UTC)

okay so...where exactly was Yggy ii planted? same spot as the original more or less? and what state is it in now? did it bud super quick like the other plants or is it just a leaf in a dirt pile still?

[1] Lingering scenes on trembling wings

[Alex brings Erika back to the moon, alive but unresponsive. It takes two more days for her to come around.

She's got some people to contact, and things to take care of.]

[[Catch-all for immediate aftermath CR things. HMU off-site to plan first pls.]]

[2] On my love

[Wonderland was a lot.

Like, a whole fucking lot. Too much to hit all at once. It'll overstay its welcome in small ways, as all bad memories do. And in the meantime, clocks tick and planets turn and life goes on.

Erika has never been a loud person, but she seems more somber now, once she's up and about again. Slower on her feet from the bruises and bandages left over from the fight with Adrian. Preoccupied - but that might just be that she's planning a late return to Cormanthor, having missed the first wave of replanting efforts.]

...Quantity or quality?

[It's the kind of day trip that requires a lot of planning time. Wherever she and you are, she's busy thinking about what to take along to plant. How choosy can you get before it becomes pretentious? And how indiscriminate can you get before it becomes tacky?]

[It...was a mess. It was absolutely a mess. Finding him had been so, so easy, but facing him...it was so much harder than he was expecting. But then he had been expecting a moving, breathing kid still full of life. Even as he was fighting the park off, he had looked so much better than...that poor, sick boy in that cocoon. But even then they had been so close, only for Adrian to show up and seemingly rip that out of their hands.

He didn't even realize there had been a fight going on, unable to hear as the others broke out, recognizing what that meant but not connecting the dots fast enough. And before he could even try to help, it was over as fast as it had started. A blip and that bastard was gone, and he didn't know why. Not at first, at least.

But then Niel is there. Standing before them and god he just wants to hold him. To see him so weak, so hurt...and then the boy delivers his own death sentence. He reveals the Compact to them, like they'd hoped he would, but not in a way they would ever want him to. Not like this. Alex's words ring in the back of his head, mocking that shred of hope he'd held onto so tightly that they could get Niel out of here. "If the Tree dies, so does Niel. If Niel dies, so does the Tree. And that's what has to happen..."

And it hurts that those are the only words he can hear. He can't even hear what Niel's saying, trying so hard to piece together what he can read on his lips. These are likely the boy's final moments and this is all he's able to do with his final words. Just piece them together. But it's not all he can do for him, at least. At the very least, he can hold his hand, firmly and as reassuringly as he's able. He can hold back his tears as best as possible, smiling through the few that still fall. And, with Honoka, he can make it stop like the boy wants.

And beyond that even, he can help catch him and cradle him as he falls. The Compact? It means nothing to him right now. He couldn't possibly care less about what happens to it or where it goes. All that matters to him is this boy, in their arms, as he cracks and breaks apart.]

[ ...give it your best shot, show me!

Okay, Alex thinks as he coughs up some blood. Probably not the best set of words?

They'd started...well, mixed enough, but with one successful assist in keeping the illusions of Wonderland from overwhelming them, Alex thought this near-suicidal charge had maybe a little hope. Their job is keeping Adrian - the construction of Adrian, from the mind of a scared kid - from going after the group talking to Niel. (Go. Go, retrieve him, get him, bring him to-- would you shut up, Raven Queen, he's got his job and he has to focus on it!)

A good verbal assault is enough to get Adrian's attention and then some. What to do once they have it, though?

Well. Have a bad time, apparently.

Adrian may be a construct, but his hits sure feel real enough. You can't disarm a construct. You can't stop one. That's what Alex and the rest of them are quickly learning. Blood runs from a nasty gash on his forehead. He's taken a few dummy-hits, shaking up his insides and sending his teeth digging into his gums.

As long as we keep going. It's fine. It's fine. As long as I do this, it's fine if I-- ]

R- regroup, keep back. [ Can any of them hear him? They did nothing like designate a leader, so it's silly, but- as he is, he feels a growing responsibility for them all. He did something like this last time, after all.

He did it, and he failed. Will this be the same? ]

Edited 2019-10-08 19:01 (UTC)

A. Pre-exauhstion

[With the deed done, and his emotions finally wrangled and reined in, he slips away from the group once the Compact is handed off to the right people and finds somewhere to rest. Just some little corner, out of the way, where he hopes no one will bother him in. Surely most people will be too busy anyway what with how...everything from Wonderland was and caused. Of course, he may not get his wish, and if he finds anyone approaching he'll plaster a grin on and wave.]

Heeeyyyy how's it going?

[Sorry if he's a teensy bit loud. He's not shouting or anything, but it's more difficult to tell how loud you are when you're deaf.]

B. What the future obviously needs

[He wants to help the elves. He really does. Accompanying them and protecting them sounds like a great idea! But...well. Being deaf kind of makes you more of a liability than a help, he's pretty sure. But that ends up being okay, because apparently some other elfy dude wants people hanging around to do some planting. And that seems like as good a use of his time as any.

He'll be planting a variety of the seeds provided, not questioning what they are, and once he's caught wind of the fact that anything sprouts? He'll find a nice, peaceful(ish) place to plant a few things of his own. A few permanently warm cookies, surrounded by various toys as well as storybooks he'd found in Shadowdale in a growing circular pattern. Maybe future kids who wander into this forest, sad and alone and needing an outlet, will find and enjoy these trees instead of a magical item that doesn't belong here...even if they just turn into some really funky looking ones.

If you want his attention, you'll have to get up close and personal, but he won't say no to some company.]

C. Actual exhaustion?

1 [Once back on the base, he hangs back some to watch everyone else, surveying the damage and how things are handled after a mission like that. It's his first one, after all, and it was pretty bad!! May or may not be taking notes. (He is.) He does his best not to let anyone catch him off guard though, greeting anyone who gets close with a grin.]

Did you get all fixed up already? I heard everyone's going to the medbay or something.

[He's doing a better job of keeping his volume low at least.]

2 [Or maybe you'll catch him out training in the quad. Jogging, push ups, sit ups, the works. No equipment or anything but it's just as effective, right? Unless you want to get roped into training with him, you might want to avoid. But if you're down and he spots you, he'll wave you over.]

Hey! Let's play tag!

[...that's. Totally training. Well it's exercise of some sort anyway.]

Wildcard

[You know what to do here. He's still completely deaf and he isn't going to New New Aspen, anything else is totally game though. You can also hit me up on

knittybitty or discord @ kinam#7221 for plotting something specific!]

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Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 3

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CTA: Confronting Niel; closed

CTA: Distract Adrian; closed

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