(event) WAY DOWN WE GO

[vestigemods]

EVENT LOG: WAY DOWN WE GO

AUGUST 14TH - 24TH

► THE BASICS

Not halfway into the month of August, the lake starts to recede - slowly at first, but then in great leaps and bounds until only a foot and a half of sun-warmed standing water remains. The lake going dry is concerning, for certain, but it's hardly the least of our problems... because on the lake bed is a hatch, askew and emblazoned with an unknown but eerie insignia, and beyond that hatch lies nothing but trouble.

Over the next few days, a brave and reckless team of explorers delve into the cave beyond - what is later revealed as a maintenance tunnel, just before the ceiling of that very tunnel caves in and traps them from both sides. Their supplies are limited, and phone signal is shaky at best. And what's worse, not more than a day or so later, the lake begins to fill back up, water pouring down into the open hatch. Can those who remain stage a rescue in time to save the explorers from drowning?

► MOD NOTES

• This log is a general dump for all log threads pertaining to August's Way Down We Go event - and in lieu of the lack of catch-all for August, you can feel free to do non-event log threads here as well! Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• The main chunk of the event takes place between the IC dates August 17th (reveal of the hatch) and August 22nd (the latest the spelunkers can be freed before they drown). No rush leaping on this event post, since I know most folks are honestly still plotting about it.
  
• All event information can be found on the July Event Infopost!
  
• Please take special care in this event to label your top-levels with identifying information such as the IC date, any prompts specifically pertaining to event roles (spelunker, rescue efforts, etc), and/or 'non-event' for any non-event prompts you may include. Just trying to keep things organized!
  
• I'm going to help solidify the plotting efforts over the next few days to help make sure everyone's on the same page, but none of it will be set in stone just in case latecomers want in too. If you want in, chime in on the spelunkers, rescue efforts, or support roles top-levels as applicable!
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

ellie ; ota ; event and non-event below

[backpacking]

001. supporting roles

[ There are people trapped below the lake. It's a pretty terrifying thought, and Ellie doesn't share some of her more private views - "I mean, it DID say not to go down there" - when it happens. Instead, the teen is lingering around the edges of where the water used to be, ready with some bandages (and a joke?) for those who make it back up. ]

Any updates? [ She'll ask of others who are lending a hand, should they pass by. For any spelunkers who make it back up without deadly harm, she approaches and glances them over to assess, offering a bottle of water, if they'll take it. ]

You hurt at all? I can help. [ She can! Ellie has become very good at patching people up, whether they be herself, or, say, a man who has been impaled with rebar... ]


002. into the woods

[ What is Ellie doing? Oh, nothing. Just practicing with a bow.

If you've yet to met her: a 15 year-old girl with freckles and an eyebrow scar is drawing a wooden longbow and firing into trees. Perhaps surprisingly, she's a good shot. ]

Damn. Gotta make some more of these. [ Back to scavenging and crafting! Ellie sighs when she finds her backpack out of arrows and wanders over to the trees she'd lodged them in, yanking them back out with a grunt.

If anyone who approaches isn't being particularly stealthy, then she'll note the crunch underfoot and draw her bow on them instead, albeit warily, rather than violently. ]

...Somebody there?


003. choose your own adventure

( ellie can be found just about anywhere within reason, so feel free to leave your own starter! otherwise, hmu for plotting at kairaptor )

Into the Woods!

[porndealer]

[Whenever he's not sure how to handle things or just wants to get away from the new reality they're all in, Huaisang takes to the woods. Probably not smart since he has nothing to defend himself with, a paper fan is useless in fighting, but the woods calm him.

Mostly though he's here to bird watch. The small different colored birds fluttering about on tree branches bring a soft smile to his face, until they're spooked by noise nearby.

Trying to be quiet and sneaky. Huaisang, peeks at the young girl with her bow through some brush. Obviously he's not as sneaky as he thinks, not when he's got an arrow aimed at him from across the way.

He'll duck down with a little tell, but holds his hand up. Just one. He's kind of missing his other arm.]

Don't- Don't shoot! I'm not dangerous I swear!

[He'll keep his arm up as he stands and comes round the bush. He's probably not much taller than Ellie, a ton of dark hair up in the messiest of man buns and wearing a t-shirt too big for him with jeans.]

I was just talking a walk and heard you practicing. Sorry for startling you.

Re: Into the Woods!

[backpacking]

Oh. You're fine. [ It's probably a person, and not, like...a monster pretending to be a person, so she lowers the bow and waves back. ] Sorry, sorry; I'm not gonna shoot.

[ But you have to be careful! Her world is dangerous, and so is this new one Ellie finds herself in. ]

Didn't mean to scare you back. [ She offers, cracking a grin as she replaces the arrow in her backpack. ] Just gotta keep sharp with this thing, in case...

[ Well, he probably knows. This place is creepy, and she's still not sure what to expect from it. ]

M'Ellie. Nice to meet you.

[porndealer]

[Lucky Ellie it's not that kind of event in Vestige... yet. Huaisang is a very normal human.]

Nie Huaisang. Huaisang is fine.

[He'll give a slight bow with his head. Her smile helps him relax and he'll crack one too.]

You're really good at that. Or a lot better than I would do.

[Er. Huaisang looks where he's missing his right arm.]

Could do, I guess.

[backpacking]

Yeah? [ Oh. She sombers a bit when she sees the missing arm, nodding mutely in understanding. ] Well, it was kinda trial by fire. If I didn't learn how to use it, we'd've been in trouble.

[ She'd been the sole provider for herself and an adult man all winter long, after all. Ellie had needed to learn, or else. ]

Hopefully it doesn't come in handy here. [ She jokes lightly, but there's no humor in it, the way someone who knows better might 'joke.' ] But, uh - we'll see.

[porndealer]

We?

[He only asks cause she's here alone as far as he can tell.]

Hopefully. [Huaisang agrees.] Nothing has attacked in a while, just when we first arrived.

[If they never had to deal with demon ballerinas again, Huaisang would be pretty cool with that.]

sorry for the delay!

[backpacking]

Oh - my, uh-...the person I was traveling with before. He's here, too.

[ Not currently int he woods, "here," but...in this strange place, also trapped. ]

Right. [ She hasn't forgotten the fire. ] ...Wait, what? What...attacked you when you first arrived?

[ This is actually the first she's hearing of it... ]

It's okay! Life happens lol

[porndealer]

It's good you're not alone- er I mean its not good that you're both here, but better together...?

[Good but not good.]

They were horrible! These demons who disguised themselves as little girls that danced, but they had these giant mouths that took up their whole faces!

[Huaisang motions with his hand as he explains as if it'll help at all.]

They tried to eat us, it was the worst!

[backpacking]

Yeah. It'd be worse if it was just me.

[ Good but not good, as he's thinking. ]

Little girls? [ With...giant mouths? Gross. Ellie pulls a face, clearly displaced with that image. ] I didn't see anything like that. Sounds freaking creepy.

[ Glad you didn't get eaten, though, bud! ]

How'd you get away?

001.

[mannerless]

( it takes entirely too long for wei wuxian to come to terms with his his increasing need for a few minutes' break in a well-ventilated place, but here he is, emerging dirty and weary from the hatch. in fact, he manages to wade most of the way back to the shore, but his eyes cast off to his distant cabin and he at once decides that's much too far to walk.

'any updates?' eyes turn sharply to the girl now (how had he not seen her there before?), and he exhales a reassuring smile. ) Good progress, ( he says, and right then and there he sits directly in the foot-and-a-half of remaining lakewater, letting the cool of it wash over him. ) Biggest problem's the ceiling, but - ( nope, sitting isn't enough, he's flopping back into it supported half-upright by his elbows. ) - what with the confusing number of hideously strong men that crawled out of the woodwork since yesterday, we've got that, ah, quite literally in hand.

[backpacking]

"Hideously strong men that crawled out of the woodwork," huh? I think you mean that as like, a good and helpful thing, but - to be honest? Sounds pretty creepy.

[ She snickers, still handing out a water bottle in case he's thirsty from underground exploration. ]

Glad it's not a total disaster, I guess. Is that where all the lake water went?

pardon the delay

[mannerless]

( he huffs out a breath of laughter, sitting up just enough to snag the water bottle she's offering. it's certainly better than drinking what's left of the lake, especially now that he's wallowing in it. ) No, you're entirely right, ( he says, taking a drink from the bottle. ) One of them's mine, but the rest? I haven't the foggiest clue where they've come from.

( as for the question about the lake, he casts a vague glance back over his shoulder at what shall henceforth be known as 'hatch island' and lifts a shoulder. ) One can only assume that's where it went, but they're saying both ends of this cave-in route up and there's not even so much as a puddle pooling at the bottom. ( to be honest, he hasn't put a ton of thought into that. it's a mystery for when everyone is excavated safely, if then. )

no problem at all!

[backpacking]

Where did any of us come from? [ Their own worlds, yes, but...why these particularly people got pulled in to all this weirdness is a question yet unanswered. ]

That's-...doesn't make sense. [ Like most else here. ] But, uh - I guess no worrying about it now, since we've got a job to do.

[ She's not contributing especially much, but she's doing what she can!! ]

[mannerless]

( no, it truly doesn't make sense, but it's the sort of 'doesn't make sense' that doesn't much seem to matter when people are still trapped - unless wherever the water went is somehow in danger of spitting it back out at them, which seems highly unlikely.

oh, that does remind him of something one of them said: )

There was something about- I think the term is 'elevator'? Some sort of shaft. It was blocked off when they got there, but perhaps the water went down that. ( speaking of water, he goes to take another swig - but then realizes that may be inconsiderate, stopping before it reaches his mouth and asking, ) Did you need this back? ( he isn't sure if it's his water or if she was just offering a drink of it. )

[backpacking]

An elevator? Under the lake? [ She knows what an elevator is, but...this is just yet another bizarre feature of wherever they all are. Ellie raises her brows in confusion and surprise, shaking her head slowly. ]

That's...something. [ At his question, she snaps out of it a bit and shakes her head again in response. ] Nah, you're good. We've got more.

[ Is it like - some kind of mine? Can't be, though, right? Having one beneath a body of water would be...incredibly dangerous. And nonsensical. ]

Blocked off by what? Rocks and stuff?

[mannerless]

( as soon as he's given permission, he takes another generous gulp, then caps it again to hold the bottle in one hand. )

Mm, rocks and debris, like that spot caved in some before they even arrived. A sign mentioned some sort of maintenance hatch, or so I hear. Such a thing is well on the other side of the mess of rocks I've been moving.

( he honestly hasn't put a ton of thought toward it, what with the prevailing need to salvage people he cares for out from behind quite a bit of debris, but perhaps he should have. it could be some sort of clue about this place, even if he's in no real place for clues right at the moment. )

[backpacking]

Maintenance? [ That, unfortunately, aligns with the little bits and pieces they've heard about their captors. It's...no less creepy, though. ] ...Anybody learn anything interesting past the hatch?

[ It's hidden for a reason, right? ]

woods

[shivving]

[ Somebody is there. It's rebar man himself, making sure to make plenty of noise as he approaches. Better that than sneaking up on her, startling her and meeting the business end of one of those arrows. ]

Just me.

[ He emerges from the woods - on the opposite side of the clearing than where she's been shooting, thanks - holding his hands up in surrender and glancing at the bow, then at the arrows she hadn't yet pulled out of the trees across the way. ]

Huh. Not bad.

[backpacking]

Are you serious? [ At his assessment of her abilities, Ellie heaves a sigh. ] You know I had to take care of us all winter, right? There weren't a lot of bullets, and if I sucked using this thing, we'd've starved.

[ She wrinkles her nose before moving over to the lodged arrows and beginning to remove them, methodically replacing them in the backpack. ]

Even then, we barely had enough. [ Stupid cannibals taking her deer. ]

joel you worthless piece of shit

[shivving]

[ Ah. Joel's silent, watching as she pulls arrows out of the trees. They've never really discussed that winter, everything that must have happened between booking it away from the university and when he'd found her in that restaurant. His memories get fuzzy sometime soon after he'd climbed onto the horse, and are mostly nonexistent between then and waking up in that basement to find her gone.

It can't have been easy. Not just trying to find food for them both, not just fighting to keep them alive and - somehow - getting him away from the school and who knows how far away, to the relative warmth and safety of the house she'd found. Hunters on their tail, the dead of winter, and her not knowing what to do, if he'd be okay - he can't imagine how scared she must've been. He doesn't even know what had happened to the horse, just that it had been gone when he'd found her again.

He clears his throat, arms crossed over his chest, shifting his stance awkwardly. ]

Well, we didn't starve.

i'm cry

[backpacking]

Nope. [ Ellie is seemingly just as content to not talk about that winter. She's not quite the chatty girl she was before it, and certainly not since they'd returned to Jackson after their failed mission to the hospital. Ellie certainly has a lot of questions, but...more or less keeps them to herself these days. ] Didn't freeze, either.

[ Somehow. Or get killed by hunters, or Infected. Or succumb to his wounds, in Joel's case. Against all odds, they hadn't died.

It can't have been for nothing. Ellie finds she's staring for too long at one of the trees and snaps out of it, busying herself with examining the bow for now reason. ]

Anyway, figured it couldn't hurt to practice. This place is weird. [ There hasn't been anything to shoot yet, thankfully, but that doesn't mean it'll be that way forever. ]

[shivving]

[ Absentmindedly, Joel runs a hand over his side where the rebar had punched through him. It had healed long ago, thanks to Ellie's desperate bid to keep him alive and prevent infection from setting in, but it had left a scar, one he imagines he can feel right through the fabric of his shirt.

He drops his hand before she turns to face him again, posture relaxed and neutral. ]

Yeah, it is weird.

[ Not that bows and arrows are likely to help them much against the strange force field keeping them trapped here, but...she's right, it can't hurt to practice. He nods at the arrows she'd collected. ]

Y'wanna show me what you've got?

[backpacking]

Pfft. ...Sure.

[ She cracks a faint smile before turning away, stringing the bow again and aiming at a distant tree. His attention does nothing to impact her shot; when you have to be able to shoot accurately to save your life, you usually can shoot accurately the rest of the time, too.

Thwap. It lodges securely in the wood of the trunk. She begins again, firing off three arrows into various trees, each finding purchase in the bark.

After, Ellie shrugs and goes to retrieve them, keeping her ears open for his comments or assessment as she goes. ]

[shivving]

[ He watches with a critical eye. Sparing her feelings would do more harm than good - she's right, after all. If she - to put it in her own words - "sucked" at using the bow, she could pay for it with her life.

But each arrow hits, and he nods approvingly behind her back, trailing after her as she goes to retrieve them. ]

Pretty good. [ High praise, from Joel. ] You learn, uh - back in Boston?

[backpacking]

I learned around. [ She'd handled the bow well enough after he'd finally let her use it, after all, and there's a reason for it. ] Practice makes - [ yank! ] perfect.

[ With all arrows replaced, she wanders back to her original spot, inspecting them. ]

We should see if we can get stuff to make new ones. I'm sure these aren't gonna last long. [ She'd only had a few with her when she arrived, after all. ] Any idea how we'd do that?