Ash was still trying to evade the violent little minion when @Luthien threw a snowball at it... a snowball that instead struck his face, filling his vision with white. He stumbled, but still managed to stay upright.
"Ack! Pfft... careful up there, Luthien! I almost dropped you!"
He took a moment to shake off as much snow as he could, then squatted down. This human tower thing was... interesting, and also pretty tiring. "We should split up, maybe. Give them two targets instead of one to go for, right?"
He gathered up another snowball and chucked it across the field.
▣ Attire: He's got a hat now.
▣ Target: @Rael (Really, the Vern Primon, but who's checking)
▣ Red: 26
▣ Green: 29
"Ack! Pfft... careful up there, Luthien! I almost dropped you!" "Sorryyy!!!"
The archer’s voice carried as the man wobbled due to her misfire, before @Ash Vargold found his footing once more. He was careful enough as he squatted down, allowing the blonde to slide off his shoulders with an apologetic smile. A hand reached over to brush some of the snow that still clung to his bangs, before she nodded in agreement with the man’s tactical approach.
"Yeah, makes it harder for them to avoid us, too!"
With that she gathered another snowball, about to chuck it at @Rael, before the blonde noticed the familiar redhead not too far off—and opted to pelt him instead with a throw of her own.
Zelrius let Childress miss the snowball on her own. He appreciated what she was trying to say, but that was the issue. He was trying hard, and it was still Useless. This was dumb, he was dumb for being out here. Especially when she could just phase out and dodge like that.
He lifted the snowball. His last one for now. Staring down at it. Only able to see it, and the patted down, trudged white expanse of snow down. Only to hear/watch Luthien's attempt to hit him and subsequent mess up. He couldn't even muster up the amusement to laugh.
Was this really how he was going to be? A sad sack after just having so much fun. His jaw clenched in frustration. Why? Why couldn't he just be happy? He needed a moment alone. The man took up the snowball, looking for any target. Finding Ash Vargold. Heaving it away from him, and not even letting it land before just immediately logging out.
▣ Attire: Describe or link to a reference picture of what your character is wearing here
▣ Target: @Ash Vargold
▣ Red: 27
▣ Green: 30
When Ayna realized @Chrys had switched teams to avoid her vengeance, she screamed in frustration, spooking even Bobbert the Blue-nosed Basseal. She had been so looking forward to making him pay for his travesty, and now, well, now she can't do that, can she?
Bobbert honked, gesturing toward someone else she can unleash her righteous fury on.
"UNGH UNGH!!!" ("Destroy the ginger man!")
Of course! The redheaded man. @Zelrius. Like Chrys, he attacked her, too. Now he must pay. I am vengeance. I am the storm! And so she did. Ayna unleashed her full fury with that snowball attack! Right to the face!
At some point or another Luthien and Rael had clambered on the shoulders of Ash and Zeus respectively. Why, the man couldn't really understand, but the larger targets at least drew everyone's attention towards them. Perfect time to attack the unsuspecting!
Like that one, there, Zelrius. "Sorry, bud," Yugam muttered under his breath as he packed together another ball of snow and got ready to take aim.
Bloop!
"Did...did he just log out?"
Yugam looked around himself to see if anyone else had seen what he just saw. No one? Alright then. New target.
"Uhhhh, you!"
Yugam chose a random poor target and lobbed his snowball into the air, hoping he would finally hit something and put his S rank to good use for once.
After the relentless assault from the @Ash Vargold and @Luthien tower, Kiryuu learned to just eat any snowball that would hit him directly while @Zelrius assisted him some.
Who would have thought that it would be here, at the end of the world, where Lucille would find the entire civilization? Or at least that was how it sounded from a distance. Garbed in a black cloak, she got rather curious, seeing all the lights and hearing all the screams when she was returning from her little trip. If more Starcalled arrived at this place, then maybe she would no longer be oh so horribly lost!
Of course, as soon as she got close enough to see all of the people running around and engaging in snow-based warfare, a stray snowball managed to fly just by her head, nearly hitting her square in the face.
"Wha-?!"
Looking over her shoulder to see the ball land and become one with the carpet of white, that part of her was lit aflame again.
"Who dares to challenge me here, huuuh?!"
And so she made a snowball of her own and tossed it at the nearest person, unknowingly joining the team that they were not part of.
Sakura was too busy focusing on the final boss of snowball fights when she got hit in the face by the present box that was ordering her around earlier. Wiping her face off, she slowly looked to the present box.
For once, her expression looked... angry.
The leaves she had set up turn to aim at the present box as the beastfolk loaded snowballs onto them. Once ready, Sakura pointed at the box and let the snowballs loose.
When @Sakura Wind 's attack missed, Present Cynna turned around with maximum smugness, it was as though she were speaking over her shoulder, except that Cynna had no shoulders.
Ohoho~ I may be small~ but it looks like you're the one to come up... a little short... ohohoho~
Doing a little present dance, Cynna failed to see @Yugam 's attack approaching like a meteor... and was promptly buried.
Who tried to protect @Kamala Graham again? The same guy who threw a snowball at @Ayna Nietzsche, right? Chrys, while just standing there like a complete moron, looked around for the redheaded man that fit those descriptions, making him his next target. Sure, he could just hit Kamala again since, well, she wouldn't be able to hit him back with that aim, but he wanted to expand his horizons. So he made a massive snowball again, three times a normal snowball's size and weight, and once he found the man, he threw it at his face.
Or at least tried to. Fate can be such a cruel mistress, especially if you never return its calls. Sigh. I'm not even getting paid for this, am I?Unmotivated, Chrys missed.
Rael quickly sought ways to clean herself off of the misplaced blame for her primon's unruly actions, its behavioral problems something not even the storyteller could predict with ease. It would seem, however, by virtue of a bond formed within creatures of a similar stature, that the miniature version of herself was more successful at reigning the Vern doll in.
"Now! We almost have them!"
The four of them, all together, assembled the ultimate combat tower.
The increasing intensity of Team Green's opposition did not faze Ludmilla. In its own way, the festivity of the occasion lent the snowball fight a kind of warlike atmosphere all on its own. Red outfits on white snow danced before her, taunting her and drawing her eyes in every direction.
Clenching her fists and screaming aloud like a lost child realising that their parent had left them in the cereal aisle, Ludmilla's piercing glare jumps from one enemy to another. Her heavy skirts begin billowing in an unseen wind, snow from the ground around her rising into the air and rolling themselves into snowballs.
In fact, clods of snow are pressed into themselves so hard that the ammunition created are more clumps of cold, hard compacted ice than harmless, soft and fun snowballs. This...was kind of excessive, actually.
Displaying a complete disregard for an honourable mastery-less snowball fight, Ludmilla points towards the closest Team Green leader and directs her flurry of projectiles at them. Their countenance is a mere afterthought in the candy-cane blur of the moment, but there's something familiar about them...
AND THEY ALL FALL DOWN!
Although only a few of her projectiles are able to reach their mark, their velocity and mass are far more than enough to stagger and bruise. Could this be a turning point?
▣ Attire: A laurel of holly on her beret and a set of small bells cinching her collar in addition to her usual outfit
▣ Target: @Rael
▣ Red: 31
▣ Green: 33
Well, since he missed his last attempt, why not try again? Okay, but this is the last time. My arm is getting tired, my legs are getting tired, and I'm not going to see a single gold for any of those limbs. And so he did. Try again. Possibly for the last time. Nyeh.
Chrys didn't even look if he hit. He just started walking away, trying to find something warm to fill his belly. Glad he's not faerin. ▣ Attire: Bargain Bin Santa
▣ Target: @Zelrius
▣ Red: 31
▣ Green: 33
While it was pretty fun at first, the cold was getting to Schilva as he ran around in the snow with the freezing wind battering him in the face the entire time. It didn't even seem as though anyone had deemed him enough of a threat to even throw a snowball his way.
Alright, well, let's give 'em something to care about!
Scooping a handful of snow from the ground, Schilva went in for a risky maneuver; rolling a snowball together in his hands as he sprinted forwards into the enemy formation, he sought out Kiryuu's distinctive yellow-banded hat for a targeted assassination!
Delivery for you, sign with your FACE!
...but the snow had already been trampled so thoroughly around Team Green's vicinity that Schilva's footing skids on a slush of meltwater and dirt, causing him to overshoot past Kiryuu entirely. A snowdrift in his path trips him up, causing him to plant his face into the snow and form a several-inches-deep Schilva-shaped imprint on the ground.
▣ Attire: A thick navy overcoat over his usual robes with a fluffy collar and clumsily stitched Christmas-palette scarf
▣ Target: Kiryuu @Raid Boss
▣ Red: 31
▣ Green: 33
Ash stood up, ready to throw a snowball in response to @Zelrius' own, only for the man to... sadly peace out of existence. "What...?"
And then a snowball was kicked up towards Luthien just before they collapsed the tower, and Ash looked up to behold a tower of people and primons both.
"What."
...maybe they'd split too soon. But with so many people making balanced on one human, the Team Green tower couldn't be too stable, right? He aimed low, hoping that a snowball at Kiryuu would be enough to startle him down.
▣ Attire: He's got a hat now.
▣ Target: Kiryuu (@Raid Boss)
▣ Red: 32
▣ Green: 33
With her first attempt ending in an epic fail, a competitive fire lit within her chest. That embarrassing display of skill (or lack thereof) wouldn't dissuade her. So, she quickly scrunched together another ball of snow while her eyes scanned the battlefield. She'd lost sight of her original target but a familiar face caught her attention.
Smiling mischievously, she launched a snowball the bunny who'd helped her throughout her first mission. A terrible way to repay her efforts. Eh, whatever. She'd have to treat her to some hot cocoa later.
... And it wasn't like her snowball actually hit her intended target. Or any target.
▣ Attire: ugly christmas sweater, santa hat, boots
▣ Target:@Cynna
▣ Red: 32
▣ Green: 33
Ayna and Bobbert the Blue-nosed Basseal weren't done! Their rage cannot be contained! Even though she appeared calm on the outside, she was seething on the inside. Bobbert was the same, except he looked dopey on the outside and was pretty psychopathic on the inside. Probably just avenging his species from being taken to as the wagyu of the sea.
Bobbert honked, gesturing at Zelrius again.
"UNGH UNGH!!!" ("Finish him!")
They were so enraged they ended up botching their attempt, with Ayna hitting Bobbert in his blue nose instead. Oof, so close.
After scoring yet another hit on @Luthien, though missing @Ash Vargold completely, Kiryuu gave @Rael and her miniature a high-five for their teamwork. When he tried giving the Vern doll one, however, it stuck its knife through his palm, eliciting something that would have been appropriate for r/perfectlycutscream. Kiryuu had thoughts about kicking the doll, but he decided against it, since it might come for him when he sleeps.
The hatted former-whistle took Rael to a safe spot where he lowered her to the ground just as Feodan sprinted up to the two.
Kiryuu, are you done getting pied? It's hard to be popular, eh?
Ahaha... Not the kind of attention I want.
Are you ready to fight back?
Heh. I've got a list of names. Anyways. We need to break the Zeus-Childress frontline to get to their offense.
Hmm… I've got just the thing. A loan from the the Math girl (@Pandora*). (He smiled.)
Oh? (Kiryuu's brow perked up.)
Moments later, Kiryuu ripped through the battlefield while on a sled being pushed by Feodan. On the sled is some kind of contraption that sucks snow up into a tube to form perfectly shaped snowballs, which were then continuously launched at the opposing team at high speed. Its only downside was how stationary it was, which was easily made up for by Feodan pushing it around at top speed.
AHAHA, RA-TA-TA to all the bastards who aimed exclusively at me!
Sweet vengeance began with @Yugam and @Ash Vargold, then all the people who hit him up until now.
After the hearty snowball fight, a sharp whistle from an Uwuru older man signaled the end of the match. The fur-cladded faerin waddled through the snow to get to the middle and gestured dramatically like how one would imagine a referee for a snowball battle would.
"And the final score is... 33 to Red and 42 to Green. Green Team wins! Congratulations! Everyone is welcome to come to the big tent to warm up with a local delicacy. Anyone with a green armband may get an extra portion as part of your rewards!" the man chimed.
With the completion ending, Zeus stood up from where he fell. With how much snow he was plastered in, the old man looked like a sculpted snow figure. After wiping a thick layer off his face, he let out an uproarious laugh, "OHO! Congratulations to the GREEN TEAM, those were MIGHTY SHOTS. As for RED TEAM, twas a VALIANT EFFORT, don't look so DOWN!"
Childress similarly was unaffected by the result of the competition. Loss or no, she was looking forward to the tasty food that were going to be served. She spent some time talking with any whistle who came up to her, but constantly tried to find ways to excuse herself to the food tent.
"Uuu..." a groan could be heard beneath the snow-covered ground. It wasn't until Feodan dug up the source of the sound that they uncovered Uzuna whose skin had turned blue from being buried after the first shot that took her down.
Kiryuu meanwhile went and cozied up with the opposing team to make sure that there were no hard feelings between them.
· - · ❄ · - ·
Where the food was being served was the largest tent among the tents in the area. According to Uzuna, it was the chieftess' quarter. Within the tent, you can find a massive hearth with crystallites smoldering with a deep orange color. Somehow, these faerin had found a way to extract heat from the thing everyone feared.
The first thing you likely saw was a wrinkly old woman sitting across from the entrance on the other side of the pot. Given the way in which she was dressed in a colorful garment and had a large and decorative head garment on suggested that she was the head of the camp, the chieftess.
Uzuna quickly ushered you and the rest of the group into the tent, showing you where to sit and how to heat up the food.
There was a certain order to it all, where the eldest visitor (Zeus) got to sit next to the chieftess' left and it continued from there. Meanwhile, the eldest Uwuru tribe person sat on her right, eventually closing the loop. Since there wasn't enough space for everyone, some people had to sit outside of the circle. At least everyone had a thin furry cushion to sit on.
With a special pair of gloves on, the chieftess showed everyone a chunk of meat encased in crystal, which she had her right-hand person prepare an aromatic broth which she put atop the burning crystal. Then, the chieftess took a glowing chisel and cracked the crystalized shell around the meat, cleanly deshelling it. Everyone sitting around the circle was then given a paring knife and a small bowl. The Chieftess demonstrated the process in which the broth is spooned into the bowl and the meat is sliced and dipped in the broth.
After the old woman got her share, she passed it to Zeus, who followed the steps that were shown before he passed on the broth pot and the chunk of meat. The moment he had a taste, the man perked up ecstatically.
OOH! A-AMAZING! So juicy and TENDER! And the hot BROTH is thawing me to the BONE!
The broth and meat kept being passed while another portion was given to those who weren't sitting in the circle.
Next, it was a round of desert, with fruit preserved in alcohol and encased frozen condensed milk. Along the selection were various winter berries, plums, pears, and apples.
Some of the travelers started sharing their own food with the rest of the circle as well. While food was being shared, Childress had a side conversation with Zeus and Uzuna before she beckoned for everyone's attention.
Ahem! (She cleared her throat loudly. So, the next part of the journey is pretty tricky. We're basically at a fork in the road.
Childress looked toward Uzuna, who stood up and explained the situation.
Emm. For anyone who doesn't come here often, the landscape is always changing and routes are lost all the time. If it is everyone's goal to head up north then there are two routes to get there currently.
One is to hug the higher elevation bordering the Tangleweaves, which at this time of year can have some rough weather. The other path is to cut through the northern part of Zalra the nomadic tribes called the Bonegrave, which has some very dangerous enemies, but the weather should be less intense there.
Zeus joined the conversation right as Uzuna finished.
Oho, there's increased DANGER regardless of ROUTES so there should be a VOTE on which path the GROUP should take. We either deal with ROUGH WEATHER or ZALRITES!
The old man and I have made this trip before, so we can protect you to the best of our ability, but some caution should be had. Zalra is an ever-changing scape, and even experience can only get you so far. Should you not want to take the risk, then stay here and we'll pick you up on the way back.
[ Take the moment of respite and decide which route you would take. ]
Journey to the North
Guidelines
Up to 2 characters per OOC account can participate in this mini-game, you may interchange them throughout the event.
Each OOC account may make up to 2 posts this cycle.
Each post has a max wordcount of 200 words.
A post can either be a line of dialogue or a small paragraph.
If you would like to expand on your interactions with other characters, you may do so in the official Zeusterday Express comms.
It is okay to jump into this megathread at anytime.
If your character is together with the Crystal Nomads for some reason, they can hop onto the train this cycle.
Mechanics
Unlike regular events, you must write your post first and then use the site to roll. Mention what you are rolling for in the comment section.
If you accidentally forget to roll on the forum, you may roll on Discord using: ?r 1d10 CharacterName | 1560C3
To interact with an NPC, ping @Raid Boss, you may get a faster response in comms.
A new cycle will be posted every 24-48 hours.
(New) Energy. Since death is disabled for this event, we will be using EN as a resource in its place. Everyone starts with 100 EN, +10 for heavy, +15 for medium, +20 for light armor.
Cycle 3
▣ Current Location: Uwuru Camp, Northern Zadaken, Zalra ↳ Next Stop: Uinterland
▣ Camp Activities
Below are a few things you can engage in this cycle. Regardless of what activity you do, roll 1d10 to signify how well you're able to do it.
Interact with others
Make your own food and share it, see how well or how much the nomads enjoy food
Cozy up and sleep in the warm tent
Make a snowman outside
Cozy up with the giant reindeer
Play with the faerin children who are curious about travelers
Maintain the sleigh train
Explore the area around the nomad camp
▣ Recovery
Regardless of what activity you do this cycle, regain EN by the amount you rolled for Camp Activity.
(Nat-10) Gain 10 EN. You may restore another person's energy by 10.
(Nat-1) You lose 10 EN.
▣ Vote (React to this post)
React to this post to determine which route the group should take. You may write a dialog explaining why your character chooses said route in the [ Comms ], make sure to denote that it's for the voting. You may also use the comms for other conversations.
High ground bordering the Tangleweaves will likely feature weather events, a slower route.
Cutting through Bonegrave will likely feature simplified combat events, more energy intensive, but faster.
You don't need to do anything but:
Code:
[metercolor=1.00]teal[/metercolor][metertext=#35cabb][fa]fas fa-heart need-icon[/fa] 100 / 100[/metertext]
[metercolor=0.80]yellow[/metercolor][metertext=#efc738][fa]fas fa-bolt need-icon[/fa] 100 / 100[/metertext]
Post here
▣ Attire:
▣ Activity:
It was amazing, how easy it was to transition back into being Zelrius. His eyes weren't puffy, nore his nose running. There were no stains on his face. No explaining would need to be done, because no one would ask questions. He could just, pretend it never happened. It was an interesting cheat code to emotions; logging out to hash them out.
Here he was back, having found out that his team won through second hand conversation. There was an odd sense of pride there, wondering just how much did he contribute to that. Though in the end, it didn't matter. So long as people were having fun. Having happily taken his double portion to rest up, and refill that hunger meter.
---
Sometime later, the man could be found outside, having first wandered around the nomad camp, before being assaulted by the entourage of Faerin children. He was showing off his fire magic to start - but that part didn't interest them so much as his volcanic weaponry. The smooth dark reds rippled with the obsidian black. Telling them all about it. A seemingly better mood being upon him now.
"It started kinda outside the Volcano, in this village. I had met up with another traveler - @Kyra Vashtana - stay away from her. She will tell you scary stories and then laugh at you when you get scared. Together, we were led there by a whistle - That's the shorthand for someone from the Explorer's League. They were founded by Childress. She's around here somewhere, The tall, jovial Felis. Anyway, and they're called that because they wear whistles around their neck. As I understand, they forge them themselves. Or atleast, I think as they get higher in the ranks they do? One of them would know more. Anyhow, one of those, who is also around somewhere - her name is @Luthien meets up with us in the place called Rechron, outside a little town where everyone has to wear masks. We found that out later..."
and on, and on he went.
▣ Attire: Ugly Sweater, Deer Antlers
▣ Activity: Interacting with Children curious about Starcalled
