Who: Everyone
When: August 9 and onward
Where: An unexpected destination
What: The newcomers go on a trip and end up far from where they expected
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label your content!

NOTE: PLEASE READ THIS OOC POST FIRST.

When the time comes for the travelers to go on the off-world trip that will help restore Thisavrou, they are not alone. Others who have settled on the planets longer and come to call them home are also prepared to travel; through the Ingress and do their part. Yet when the newcomers step through, whether they stepped through the Ingress seconds or hours apart, they will find that they have arrived at the same time, and only newcomers are in sight.

What awaits them is not a land of plenty. The land is barren, and dark storms in the sky resemble those held at bay by the Ingress complex—but much, much closer. Those who traveled on the Moira may recognize the landscape; though they have come through at a different point from the crash, they are on the Midway Hub. And there is no portal back. They are trapped.

hitting the road

Though some have been here before, the Midway Hub is not as they remember it. The storms fill the sky, leaving it dark and ominous even when they are not sweeping across the landscape—but they have clearly done so in recent times, and often. While never a lush land, large patches of ground an acre or more wide looking nothing more than utterly dead; the thistle that naturally grows is brittle, black and unable to be consumed even with the usual preparations to make it edible, and here and there animal corpses are found twisted into unnatural poses, but seemingly uninjured. These places are particularly concentrated near the broken Ingresses litter the landscape. While Midway Hub as a whole may seem naturally arid, these dead spots leave no hope that anything can possibly live there again.

The travelers have two options: stay where they are, or move on. While it might seem that they've been tricked into coming here and been left abandoned, those with the technological ability to do so may detect a sign of hope: a familiar energy source, far in the distance. Although none of the Ingresses they pass will ever work again, the faint energy shows that one still-functioning Ingress lies far in the distance, days away.

Although technological scanning or impressive memory of the landscape indicates that they are not separated from their destination by one of the gates that divide the land, they are also far from the shelter of the facility at the center of the Hub. Any attempt to travel in a direction other than that of the energy signal will result in a strange disorientation after several hours, bringing individuals back to their original path as though they've gone in circles. Meanwhile, though travelers will feel the need to slake their hunger and thirst through any natural water sources they discover, wildlife they can hunt for food and any supplies they have on them, if they don't find sustenance, they'll find that they will never pass out or reach the point of starvation. Instead, they'll be left alive and awake but feeling utterly hollow.

storm front

At regular intervals, the energy storms above descend onto the land, bringing not rain but violent clashes of negative energy and thunder so loud that nothing can be heard above it. The passing of the storms leaves some strange effects. The ground is warped and rotted by their touch, even solid stone degrading to a spongy surface. The air is tepid and oddly charged. Prolonged contact with air or ground will not supply energy, however — it drains it from organic and synthetic life alike.

Those who remember their last trip to the Hub, or simply explore in the right direction, may come across the cave complexes with their glowing surfaces and streams. The light is dimmer now, a sickly green, but drinking from the streams will still restore the energy lost, for a time. This time, however, the lethargy that inevitably follows is much more severe, and the drinkers are left with a raw, empty feeling leeching in from the wasteland around.

Those who are exposed to the storms, either by finding themselves in very close proximity or even closely observing them for too long as they approach, may lose their sight, or hearing, even much of the ability to feel touch — whatever sense they used in observation. What lingers in its place is a numbness. A hunger. And as time passes, the time between storms decreases; what seemed like hours between the storms becomes scarcely one, and their intensity grows.

wild life

Sentient beings are not the only ones affected by the storms; these creatures, attracted to sound and able to track by scent, and these panthers, which once looked normal but have been twisted by the storms into more monstrous forms, are numerous enough that travelers must be constantly alert for their presence. Though natural predators, the threat the creatures represent is not itself natural. They are also more aggressive. Some strange instinct drives them, not a need for food. While the panthers themselves can be caught and their meat cooked, it has little taste, offering nutrition but not satisfaction.

old familiar places

Although it's difficult to track the passage of time without day-night cycles, after what seems like more than a week of the travelers' unexpected trip, the storms abruptly come rushing in at the group of travelers, as if they're herding the group to move faster toward their destination and the Ingress energy that awaits them. The true nature of that destination becomes clear when debris appears on the horizon; the energy comes from the wreckage of the Moira, the interstellar ship that crashed here months ago.

Despite the trauma of impact, large sections of the ship remain surprisingly intact, though few of them are properly vertically oriented. If travelers are able to make their way inside the damaged sections of the ship, they'll find familiar territory, if they are one of those who traveled on the Moira, as well as shelter—something that's increasingly necessary as the storms seem to center over the ship, leaving little hope for survival outside. Useful items may be scavenged from the ship if they are willing to explore, but no personal items of any kind remain.

Strangely, the deeper travelers go into the crashed ship, the less familiar their surroundings will seem, regardless of their orientation. The inward-leading paths into the ship become generic metal, and as with the travel on the surface of the planet, they may find themselves back where they started. And no matter how far they go or how hard they try, they will find themselves unable to make it to the Ingress chamber itself...for now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lavellan... has no idea how to respond to that. So he doesn't.

Instead he holds out his hand, warily, like he might bolt at the first sign of movement if he could actually see it.]

[Siegfried is careful in how he takes Lavellan's hand, being sure not to startle him as he lays it back down on the armor on his arms. He's not sure if the elf will actually explore further, but he doesn't want to risk accidentally surprising him, so he stays still.]

My name is Saber. [This is probably the worst way to introduce yourself to someone who's blind, but he's not sure any other time would be appropriate. Who even knows when they'll be getting back, if they even do? It's not something that really sits on his mind at the moment.]

Lavellan.

[He murmurs it as an afterthought, as his hand already begins to explore the surface of Siegfried's armor. So, for one thing, this guy is certainly tall. Much taller than himself; he's starting to wonder if Siegfried is actually another golem when finally--ah, there's skin.]

Why are you bothering with me?

[It's blunt, but Lavellan has since stopped caring about that. Of all the things he has the energy to give a shit about anymore, hurt feelings are very low on the list.]

[It's an unusual name, but not something Siegfried can't get used to. He stays still as Lavellan moves his hands, and then rests it against his chest, sigil still glowing underneath it.

He has to pause when asked the question. It's true- he's clearly gone out of his way to look after Lavellan. It begs the question as to why, and what good it will do in the long run. It's obvious the elf doesn't want anyone to assist him, even if he is blind.

But Siegfried would be lying to himself if he didn't know a good reason as to why he's doing it. After his first death, he chose to follow the ways of justice, and he's not going to look away from the opportunity to do so here.

So his answer comes after a moment, but it's spoken with certainty.]

...Because I want to.

[It's an honest answer, and one he's not sure if Lavellan will like. But it's something he promised himself that he would remain true to- the idea and action of being a hero of justice- and so he will, even to strangers who don't want his help.]

[Lavellan snorts. Siegfried's right, he doesn't think much of that answer.]

Well, there are people better worth wasting your time on, I assure you.

[He smirks and gives the side of Siegfried's neck a light smack, like he's clapping him on the shoulder, before he pulls away and steps back, crossing his arms.]

Will that be all?

[If there's any chance he can chase Siegfried away by being a dick, then he's going to take it the most that he can.]

Yes, there probably are.

[A confirmation, but not one where he's pushing it aside or fully agreeing with it. It's just the truth. Siegfried can understand that.

But the pap on his neck startles him, causing him to jar back a little as Lavellan pulls away. He's not used to touch most of the time, unless he starts it himself.

The conversation, of course, changes again, and he exhales in response.]

You still need to return to the group.

[It's not an order- it's more like he's noting what he's seeing, and not trying to push.]

Yes, you've made that very clear. [The sarcasm just drips. Lavellan bats his eyelashes in Siegfried's general direction, but notably does not make any move to actually go anywhere.]

Are you going to escort me, dashing ser knight?

[He takes note of Lavellan's tone, but stops just for a second when he sasses the Servant about being a knight. Siegfried knows that he hasn't given anything away to say who he actually is, but a part of him wonders if the elf knows anyway, with what he's said.

(Or, it could be that he's completely missed the part where Lavellan is being an absolute shit.)

He crosses his arms again, eying Lavellan with the slightest bit of exasperation.]

Only if you refuse to move.

[Get your ass into gear, Inquisitor.]

August Event Log: Part I

hitting the road

storm front

wild life

old familiar places

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