(event) H̸̠͉͖͌̓̋̽E̵̯͐ͅĻ̵͛̕̚L̶̨͈̪̗͑̀̀̚Ơ̵̢̠̣̐̏̚

[vestigemods]

H̸̠͉͖͌̓̋̽E̵͐Ļ̵͛̕̚L̶̨͈̪̗͑̀̀̚Ơ̵̢̠̣̐̏̚

NOVEMBER 25TH - 26TH

► WHERE DID THEY COME FROM, WHERE DID THEY GO?

Though November is, overall, a fairly dreary and nondescript month, one thing of note has certainly occurred: For the first time since characters were first turned loose in the containment zone, one month has rolled into the next and the increasingly alarming tree hasn't moved any closer. It still sits 50 yards from the barrier, creepy as hell, fucking your brains.

Until suddenly, it doesn't.

On the 25th, at the godawful hour of 5 AM, a ripple wakes everyone from whatever level of sleep they may or may not have been previously enjoying. It's not a sound nor a sight, nor is it even really a sensation that can be felt on the skin - and anyway, it's gone by the time most characters are properly conscious, leaving them wondering what exactly woke them. But everything... seems pretty ordinary, to be honest. They may even decide to settle back in to steal a few more hours of sleep. Wouldn't that be nice. What a shame that things have only just begun.

Five minutes later, with the obtuse buzzing of an emergency alarm, a senderless text alert arrives on every phone:

Do not leave your home. Do not draw attention. Remain unnoticed.

Wait for follow-up alert that situation has been contained.

That's definitely reassuring in no way at all. It's entirely up to characters whether or not they listen to it, but those who don't might be in for a bad time. You see, that creepy ass tree is now 50 yards closer, planting itself firmly in a brand new hole in the middle of the road in front of the gas station, asphalt uprooted and crumbling aside. And now, for the first documented time since the tree was first sighted, the figures perched on the branches begin to move.

They climb down from the tree, and over the course of the next day and a half, they wander the containment zone. Where are they going? What do they want? What even are they? All good questions, but unfortunately, no one seems to have (let alone offer) any answers. All you really know is, it's best to stay away from them. Things get a little bit fucky, if one of the visitors happens to be too close at hand.

Luckily, late on the 26th, the Technicians do indeed contain the visitors with a spectacular lack of subtlety, delivering one further message to the masses: The situation has been contained.

But the absence of the mysterious visitors doesn't necessarily mean everyone is out of the woods just yet, and their impact on those trapped within the containment zone will likely be felt for days to come.

► MOD NOTES

• This is a catch-all log for top-levels pertaining to November's H̸̠͉͖͌̓̋̽E̵̯͐ͅĻ̵͛̕̚L̶̨͈̪̗͑̀̀̚Ơ̵̢̠̣̐̏̚ event. Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• This event takes place between the IC dates November 25th and November 26th.
  
• All event information can be found on the H̸̠͉͖͌̓̋̽E̵̯͐ͅĻ̵͛̕̚L̶̨͈̪̗͑̀̀̚Ơ̵̢̠̣̐̏̚ Infopost! This log (unlike most of the others) is pretty much just poorly-concealed infopost copypasta just to fill the space.
  
• Please take care to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location, so that others can see at a glance if their character can hop in!
  
• There will be a separate Thanksgiving Feast log, so keep an eye out for that.
  
• Threads involving the after-effects taking place once the visitors are gone can go on the November catch-all!
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

[coolmotivestillevil]

I said quiet.

[ They can have this argument later, when that thing isn't so close.

Not for the first time since his arrival here, he finds his senses distorted. He's not actually sure if Jiang Cheng is being loud, because for some reason, everything suddenly sounds like it's underwater. ]

[legbreakings]

[ There is a sense of the ground wobbling, wavering, as if the world is stretching around him and he scowls, stilly pettily wanting to blame Geralt for all of this though he knows he's not responsible. ]

Is that your plan?[ At least he's whispering properly now, his body tense and still. ] Hide and wait?

[coolmotivestillevil]

Hide and observe.

[ And he can only assume that it's close, because something is messing with him again. At least this time, there's a reasonable suspect, and now all they need to do is work out what to do about it.

But he has yet to get a proper look at them, if only because he struggles to make himself look at it at all.

The closest thing he can think of are wraiths - and Jiang Cheng will be treated to a brief flash of a wraith as their memories blend together - but they don't do this. They don't instill such fear in him. No monster does. ]

[legbreakings]

[ Observe? Observe he can do, and deep down where the fear isn't thrumming through him and making him irrational, making him want to lash out, he knows that Geralt is right. But pure terror is still in his bones and it's so hard to be reasonable right now when he is almost in Lotus Pier again, chained up while the discipline whip comes down on his chest and laughter rings out.

And then the memories of his own past terrors mingle with a flash of something else, a creature that isn't quite familiar though almost, and for a moment his mind almost insists that this is his own memory...

He shakes his head and presses his fingers against his temples. ]

I'm... This isn't good.

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ What's that laughter? He doesn't recognise it. Pain is familiar, but that ... Something about this kind is somehow different but. Did that happen to him? No. Wait. He doesn't feel pain like that. It's wrong. Makes his skin burn like he only remembers it doing during the Trials, with the herbs from the potion still lingering on his tongue.

He shakes his head, trying to quiet that thought because it is in no way significant to anything.

The medallion is becoming warm against his chest, a constant warning of the danger.

He leans to the side to peek through the doorway, to see the Strange almost right in front of him. His heart leaps into his throat, and he pulls back with a barely restrained gasp. Speaking is a very bad idea, even to, again, remind Jiang Cheng to shut up. ]

[legbreakings]

[ He knows he knows he knows he shouldn't speak and attract attention, this isn't his first night hunt, and the frustration is thrumming so strongly through him that he wants to scream... but at the same time, his body doesn't feel quite his own and the sludge of memories in his head makes him want to keep speaking just so he remembers his voice and where he is. Whohe is.

Geralt's gasp has his eyes widen, his body tensing up, and he grasps his shoulder, his fingers digging in a little too deep. Another wave overcomes him, the world distorting, but this time he doesn't speak, just jerks his head urgently towards the back. They have to get deeper into the building, trying to put distance between themselves and this thing - and new fear is mingling with old, with the sense of being pursued, running, hiding, flashes of a forest, of a field, his tears, his hands closing around another boy's throat. ]

[coolmotivestillevil]

[ Do these creatures have a sense of hearing? How good would it be? Questions that they, of course, don't know the answers to, and he hates that he doesn't know the answers. He should know the answers. Why is he crying? No, he's not crying. What--?

Get away.

He grits his teeth together, and nods once. Fine. That's probably a good idea. So he pushes away from the wall, but doesn't stand, as he starts moving towards the back of the room. ]