new zealand ♔ when lies turn into truth i sacrificed for you | you say that i'm frozen

[lissatrinall]

♬ where i can never be - gary numan

WHO || Lis'sa, Kenzi, Bo, Klaus, Rebekah, Mars[Closed]
WHAT || The Knights investigate a mysterious carnival that may be linked to some magical winter weather
WHERE || New Zealand
WHEN || August 11th [forwarddated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Strange winds have blown in, bringing on an unusually chill winter in New Zealand. The ground crunches underfoot with snow, the days growing shoter and stars holding court in the darkness reigning above. An unnatural cold permeates the town, and the river's jubilant voice is frozen under the ice. Birds abandon their nests for warmer climes, their songs silenced by winter's grim embrace. But the frozen riverbank now hosts a shimmering respite from the gloomy cold in the form of garish tents, joyful shouts, and sumptuous smells. Vaale's Carnival has come to town.

Gaiety and laughter cut through the cold wind, and even the sky-shy sun peeks its face from around the gathering winter clouds. Children squeal with delight and gasp in awe at the sights, sounds, and smells of Vaale's Carnival. The Titan's Wheel creaks and groans as a burly lumberjack tests his might wit a hefty spin, a family rushes giggling into the sprawling ice maze to the north, and dozens of happy skaters flit about the rinks atop the frozen river. Carnival dolls are handed to wide-eyed townspeople as prizes and a menagerie of freakish creatures and glowing lights beckons the curious. Garish skirts and scanty veils call others to a different breed of voyeurism altogether. Treats and wonders abound for young and old to enjoy, and for a time, the harsh winter is forgotten in joyful revelry. There's nothing to indicate any sinister going on whatsoever, as the group surveys the happy smiles of the crowd.

* Please make a list of all items your character is carrying in an entry in their journal before tagging into this post! They are free to have requisitioned any equipment or weapons they desire beforehand.

Comments

[asuma]

[Well, Mars' reaction makes it easier for Klaus to hone in on the dark nymph lady he'd somehow overlooked. He doesn't afraid of anything though, so instead of reacting to the pale woman he decides to address her instead.]

You there. I don't suppose you'd happen to know a "Ralla" by any chance, now would you?

[Hey they both looked to be members of the carnival's half naked dance troupe ok. What is the point of saving a bitch if you can't cash in a favor and call off the inhuman strippers that are potentially waiting in the wings to eviscerate the party?]

[lissatrinall]

[ she turns slowly towards klaus, red lips drawing back into an eerie smile that's nonetheless blindingly beautiful. no, literally. fort save dc 21 to not be blinded permanently, klaus.

"I do not know this Ralla, no," she hums, her voice an entrancing sound that seems to echo over itself. "I am more interested to know your name..." ] Don't look at her. [ lis'sa snaps, a little too late. she brings her gun up, searching the room with it. ] Does anyone see where it went?

[asuma]

[Thank Jesus fort his crazy for save (26). No permanent blindness here. He appreciates the heads up, Lis'sa-chan... u_u]

[succubestie]

It went that way. We need to hurry before we lose it completely.

[As she starts to move in the direction of the noise she heard after the snatching of the veil.]

[lissatrinall]

[ lis'sa trails her gun in the direction bo indicates, trying to watch for signs of the tent rustling. she shoots at the empty air (atk 24, dmg 11), and there's a wild squeal, and then the invisible fey jeers: "You have a face like a bag of troll gizzards - ugly as sin and it'll eat anything!" with that, the tent fold is yanked aside, the invisible figure rushing out. lis'sa grits her teeth together. ] Come on. [ she rushes after it. a spot check of 15+ is enough to catch the little blood trail leading away. those who do see it can get a +5 on their spot check to try and follow the thing ]

[asuma]

[Klaus isn't going to stick around and ask blinding beauty for her digits now that she has proven to be entirely useless.

Instead, he takes off after their invisible friend-- thankfully not blind and rolling a spot 28 (+5? or is that a separate roll idek) to follow this bitch.]

[lissatrinall]

[ klaus easily spots the trail, the others heading after him in the direction of the titan's wheel.

the exhibit has undergone a drastic change. stripped of its once-colorful decorations, its juts like a rotten claw from a quagmire of mud and blood. fairgoers navigate towards it on rotten planks arranged as stepping stones to span the fetid morass. ghoulish trophies dangle from the great metal wheel, bound by their own intestines to the rusting metal so they drag through the mud and up into the air as the wheel rotates. three madly giggling ice brownies operate the ride, one opening up the back door to drag screaming visitors in and strap them to the counterweighted cogs and cranks - the other two encouraging people to come up and give the wheel a spin, which will stretch and pull the victims until they tear apart.

one such patron steps up to the wheel - and an invisible force yanks his pants down with a giggle, giving away the fey's position. ] There!

[charismapotion]

[ Mars follows Klaus and Lissa like a lost puppy.]

[asuma]

[That one time Klaus probably killed someone by spinning that wheel earlier whoops.

He ain't losin' any sleep over it though, and instead just looks back at Mars expectantly like don't you have magic to throw at this thing? :/]

[succubestie]

[Just when you think it can't get any worse...

...This is that point when she doesn't know if she should stop the ride of follow the fey, but her will save of 18 has her gritting her teeth and attempting to push forward. They can't lose the fey or they might not ever find the one running this horrific mess.]

[lissatrinall]

[ lis'sa fires another shot after where the fey must be, but misses. everyone else can get off one attack before it tries to run again... ]

[asuma]

[Can Klaus run over and try to swing at this thing or is it too far away? Whatever he is gonna take off toward the direction that Lis'sa shoots, and If he can he will attempt to strike a bitch near the dude who got pantsed (attack 22, damage 17), even if he can't see that fucker. This is before any penalties for attacking an invisible opponent because I wasn't sure what those even are.]

[lissatrinall]

[ his fist connects... and the fey melds back to visibility as he's knocked to the ground, blood spewing out the side of his mouth as he falls there, dead. whoops. ] ... Nice hit.

[succubestie]

A little overkill.

[Considering he might have been able to take them to the person they actually needed to kill to stop this craziness, but it's a little late for that.

Bo rolls him over if needed, looking for the shard that was hanging around his neck.]

[asuma]

[This bitch. Klaus rolls his eyes in response to Bo after flashing a little smirk of a smile toward Lis'sa.]

You're welcome.

[lissatrinall]

[ bo finds the shard still hanging there, and has no sooner pulled it off from him that a figure looms up beside her, squatting down next to her and reaching out to grab it from her with deft fingers. the sinewy half-elf is familiar - bo, kenzi and mars would recognize him as namdrin vaale, the carnival master who syntira told them was held hostage to the cold rider by his grip on his wife. he doesn't give them time to argue, casually snapping the shard in half, and then dropping to his knees over the fragments as they fall from his fingertips. his expression morphs as tears begin to trickle down his face, dropping onto the shards. ]

[charismapotion]

[ Mars moves slowly forward as he sees the half elf fall to his knees. He's slipping his phone into his back pocket... he got distracted with his phone. Opps. His head back in the game after Klaus' look and now this.]

Why are you crying? [ he sounds sympathetic, even if its likely a stupid question he had to ask it.]

[lissatrinall]

[ "Tessa," is his only word, a soft, mournful word, and he looks down, to where the tears on the fragments begin to melt and grow, starting to expand...

until the fragments take the form of a woman's body, made of ice. there's a bright flash, and then in its place, a living breathing woman, his lost love returned. his tears give way to a wide smile, and he reaches down to pick up her sleeping form, carrying her a few feet to a nearby wagon to lay her down. ]

[succubestie]

[Bo follows after him, kneeling down on the woman's opposite side, her voice quiet as she speaks.]

We need to stop what's happening here. Can you help us?

[No time to waste. Even if he doesn't come with them, maybe he could at least tell them where the Cold Rider is.]

[asuma]

[Instead of following immediately after the unfamiliar man and Bo, Klaus motions toward the three ice brownies still operating the torture device attraction and turns toward anyone else who is still around.]

Would you prefer that I do something about them?

[morethanasidekick]

[Kenzi. Totally been along for the ride the whole time. Probably using Bo or Klaus as actual shields which is why;]

You just killed an invisidouche with your fist like it aint no thing. I for one vote you stay with us. [A beat.] What? I'm too cute to die.

[charismapotion]

[ Mars moved to stand behind Bo. He figures Kenzi's answer is good for Klaus.]

We can put a stop to this if you can help us. [ He added. Look at Klaus that mans a tank. They got this.]

[lissatrinall]

[ lis'sa nods to klaus on the other hand. ] And quickly. I think you can handle it. [ it sounds more like i think you'll enjoy it to be honest.

vaale turns to them slowly, and then reaches to his belt to draw off a wand there. he reaches out to hand it to mars.

"This will heal the injuries you and your friends have sustained. I'd like to thank you ... for saving Tessa, and restoring my life and freedom. I don't know if you could ever understand what it means to be free of that monster." his expression turns grim. "I'll do whatever I can to put an end to these vile creatures and drive them back to the dark shadows where they belong. The Cold Rider will realize that his plans are being disrupted, and come on his own, in due time. We should do everything we can to save more of these people until then." ]

[asuma]

[Sorry, Kenzi, duty calls. Klaus looks hella amused that she wants him to stay around and protect her, though. :')

He backtracks the short distance to the attraction, and heads for the frost brownie focused on yanking people toward the torture device.

I guess he wants to see how many more of these little guys he can one-shot because, uh, he goes in hard (attack 24, damage 20).]

[lissatrinall]

[ lmfao well. that was successful. his fist punches home like a battering ram, ploughing deep into the brownie's expiring body. one of the two freaks out, opening the door to the back of the windmill and disappearing inside, but the other tries to grip klaus' wrist (touch attack 5), but can't get anywhere near him.

lis'sa glances back at that with half-interest, before turning to vaale again. ] You might do us some good by announcing the carnival is closed, trying to clear out some of the innocents before the Rider arrives.