ximilian: (Default)
ximilia mods ([personal profile] ximilian) wrote in [community profile] ximilialog2022-02-02 06:57 pm

MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

M I S S I O N   4 . 2

INTROTHE DREAM DEFERREDYOUR WAKE UP CALLFYI

// INTRO. WELFORD BRANSON  


It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.

And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —

Well now you’ve done it.

The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.

Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:

I don't understand, I thought 'twas just a bad dream, everyone was fine, don't understand, what in the name of the Eight could've done somethin' like this —”

The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.

The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.

But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.

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// PART I.THE DREAM DEFERRED  


The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.



1.0   In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.


2.0   The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.

But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.


3.0   But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.

And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.


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// PART II.YOUR WAKE UP CALL  


Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.

As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.



4.0   The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:

Find it! This is where it told us to come to. We missed it last time, but no more! I don't care what we have to do, we're getting our hands on that thing!

As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.

Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.


5.0   By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.

The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.

NOTE:   If your character is alive, your character will be vulnerable to the effects of pulsefire. Unliving things such as buildings and infrastructure will not be affected. Pulsefire has a slow spread-rate over unliving things, but its effects on the living are instant. Once in contact with the element, pulsefire quickly consumes the living body and spirit until it is turned to ash. Putting pulsefire out over unliving things is relatively easy, but once pulsefire has touched the living, there's little to no chance of making it out in one piece.


All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.

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F Y I

The events in this log take place ICly right after the end of the NPC thread.

The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.

The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.

If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

And finally, your soundtrack for this log:

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NAV

morethan084: (eyebrowraise)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-30 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Mildly impress that Andy remembered their conversation, she then realizes that it's probably not something she's used to hearing...]

Does it ever hurt less? When you know the pain won't last long.
morethan084: (laughing(2))

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-30 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[Surprised by just how offended he seems to be over a pizza, Daisy stares at him for a minute before laughing.]

I've never seen someone have such a heated opinion on a pizza.
morethan084: (amused/listening)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-30 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[Eyebrows lifting in surprise, Daisy then shoves at Andy lightly.]

Shut up.

[Such a little shit. It's a big reason Daisy likes her in all honesty.]

Yeah. If we spot any, let me take the lead. I can stop them if they fire.

[As Andy just saw.]
cruelyethuman: (teary-eyed)

[personal profile] cruelyethuman 2022-03-30 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

[What else is there to say? His mother's death was inevitable but also something so outlandish, he couldn't wrap his mind around it. She was not the sun or the moon, fickle and fragile things compared to her - she was time itself. Endless and always there, even when he wanted her far away.]
morethan084: (close/concerned)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-30 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Reaching up to cup the side of his face, Daisy's thumb strokes against his cheek.]

I'm here, if you want to talk about it.
winscenario: (hundred four.)

[personal profile] winscenario 2022-03-30 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Jim wouldn't say Dean's life is a joke at all, far from it. Maybe to some higher being with a heartless and cruel vein, but then Jim doesn't believe in higher being, so. Fuck that. ]

Ah, no, I don't think you get off that easy, [ He smiles a little, not even a little surprised by Dean's admission. ] Makes two of us there, too. Well, I was clinically dead for a while. Pretty sure it wasn't actually pronounced. Not sure it counts.

[ Counts to him for sure, traumatic experience that it was. ]
callada: ("your mom" is not a valid cipher key)

[personal profile] callada 2022-03-31 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
And I've never worked out how all of you manage to eat so much of it.

[But at least he has the social graces to leave it at that, rather than go in depth into how much it grosses him out. He does shudder though, just a little.]

Gotta be something else. What do you like that's not pizza?
oiorpata: (108)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-03-31 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ she lets out a very brief chuckle, barely moving from daisy's shove. ]

[ daisy offering to take the lead though?? does not compute. ]


You can take care of the blocking part. [ it's only half agreement. ]
oiorpata: (81)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-03-31 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ she hums. ]

It always hurts, I suppose. We still feel it all like a real wound. But sometimes it heals too fast to really hinder me.
lateness: (112)

[personal profile] lateness 2022-03-31 03:59 am (UTC)(link)
He will do it, but only because he has to. He’s human, or he’s about as human as any human I’ve ever met. He’ll survive and he’ll adapt, and he’ll live.

[ The Doctor doesn’t remark on any sort of happiness or hope — not even because he doesn’t think it’s a possibility for the old man. Because Xichen is right: there’s a time to be hopeful, but there’s a time to be realistic. It’s one slow and painful step after the other first; the rest would follow.

The Doctor nods too, gazing out into the wasteland that is the reality of Scorpion’s Bend before the orb had smothered it in illusion. ]


Once you’ve learned the truth, no matter how awful, it isn’t easy to dive right back into the lie again. Something’s changed. Something will always change. That dream … is broken.

[ He picks at the hem of his shirt, now worn and covered in a layer of dust and grime. How long has it been like this, really? He couldn’t say anymore. ]

There’s only one way from here, and that’s forward.
morethan084: (thinking/thoughtful)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-31 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[Daisy frowns at her response.]

Why would you willingly put yourself through that over and over again?
morethan084: (amused/listening)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-03-31 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
I’m sorry, whose the one with the weird magic vibrations here?

[Her voice is light and teasing, but she’s not letting up so easily on the taking the lead.]
groupiedrifter: iconmunism @ tumblr (pic#15508151)

[personal profile] groupiedrifter 2022-03-31 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Aw, that sounds like a great time, honestly. I'll have to take you up on that! I do a mean set of painted nails.

[He painted a lot of nails in his day, especially when he was a little kid.

The teachers never much appreciated it, but whatever.]


He was a nice guy, though. Poor dude never got a chance to be anything but a himbo.

Which, like. I appreciate it, but I'm just saying.
ruinously: @tweak (pic#15454543)

[personal profile] ruinously 2022-04-01 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I think that's a movie.

[ Booze always does the trick, he's finding. Magically makes people in a better mood. ]

I do try.
winscenario: (forty four.)

[personal profile] winscenario 2022-04-01 04:06 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Whether it is because Itachi's quick or Jim's just too stunned right now, he doesn't actually realize that all the Bouldersnakes are down until he can hear the last one fall to the floor. But it's the hand on his elbow that snaps him out of his shock for real, a quiet sound leaving him as he startles and looks up.

His eyes are wide, not that Itachi can see it right now. It doesn't take much to get him to release the weapon, in fact he seems all too eager to let it go, not particularly caring if Itachi catches it or if it just drops to the ground. ]


Right, [ He mutters distantly, looking around at everything. The blood, the bodies, dirt stirred up into the air. It still smells of ash and something burning.

He swallows down the panicked knot in his throat, then nods, standing more upright. ]
Let's get out of here. Come on.
morethan084: (listening)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-04-01 04:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Because it's good?

[Duh. God, she could go for some pizza right now. Even with the meal Rosi had put together, Daisy's stomach is still growling.]

Sushi is good. But I think fresh fish would be hard to come by on a station in the middle of space.
callada: (that was my last cigarette :()

[personal profile] callada 2022-04-02 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Sushi is good. He nods thoughtfully, and tries not to think too hard about missing good things while all they have is a pot of boiled snake.]

I bet it's something Viveca could get. We'd just have to have sushi night the day the fish arrives. Tuna, salmon...

[Nope, he's going to make himself hungry and disappointed. He sighs and looks at the pot of makeshift snake stew.]
oiorpata: (120)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-04-02 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she shrugs. that's a question she's been grappling with a lot lately. ]

Better me than someone else? We're all soldiers. Fighters. It's what we know how to do best. Nicky says it's because we're trying to do the right thing.
oiorpata: (108)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-04-02 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds like a plan. I'll find you when I get back.

[ whether he's at the supply stations or wandering about elsewhere, andy doesn't expect it to be too difficult to track him down. blankets and food await! ]
oiorpata: (58)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-04-03 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
You can vibrate from behind too.

[ she manages to sound deadpan and teasing at once. ]

I go first. Then you can watch my back.
oiorpata: (113)

[personal profile] oiorpata 2022-04-03 04:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ she'll get it one day! she's been figuring out his ticks. ]

Lucky for you I know how to work in a team too. Let's get a move on.
cruelyethuman: (You're amazing)

[personal profile] cruelyethuman 2022-04-03 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
That's- sweet, but no.

[The hand on his face, forces his eyes from the emptiness outside of the crocked door and back to her face. To the almost familiar planes of it, the slope of her nose and the flecks of amber in her brown eyes.]

Besides, there's no telling what will happen once I return to my own world. What might be changed. I'd rather worry about the things I can actually change, and not my mother.
morethan084: (lookingdown)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-04-04 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[Daisy smiles sadly, definitely thinking along the same lines as him.]

At least we're not reliving bad memories over and over again this time?

[Because, you know, starving to death is not nearly as bad as that.]
morethan084: (talkingdown)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-04-04 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[That is something Daisy can definitely relate to.]

Sounds pretty self sacrificial.

[Is she aware that she's being completely hypocritical right now? Yes.]
morethan084: (amused/talking)

[personal profile] morethan084 2022-04-04 04:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[Eyebrows lifting in surprise, Daisy struggles to keep herself from smiling too big.]

It's better if I go first.

[She can be just as stubborn.]