TRAVEL LOG #3: KIDNAPPED CHARACTERS ONLY

[synfluxmods]

THE CHOSEN

CONTENT WARNINGS: cult-like symbols and implications, abduction, cult-like brainwashing.

▶ CASTLE BRAN

The last thing you remember might be speaking to a friend, making merry with a stranger, or enjoying a quiet night against the backlight of the bonfire. Your memories between then and now are a blur—one moment you were in the village, and the next you are here, arising from your slumber and finding yourself in a lavish room with gothic and archaic decor. The windows of the castle are bolted shut so no light goes in and no soul escapes, but candles have been so kindly lit for the captured to find their way. If you can manage to unbolt a window and peek outside, all you will see is a dark fog, obscuring all light and thrusting the castle into an eternal night. The room is old, dark, and eerie, but clean, looking very much lived in and cared for. Within every room, the skull of a wolf has been carefully placed, almost like it oversees the inhabitants.

Welcome to the Castle Bran.

Outsiders, whom attendants within the castle will so reverently refer to as the ‘Chosen’, will find themselves waking up spread across the many rooms of the castle. All their belongings were left behind at the village, and they’ll find that they’ve been cleaned up and dressed carefully in fresh, white linen. Another thing they might notice immediately is that they have been completely stripped of all their powers and weapons, rendering them as strong as any other human.

They are free to roam the many rooms and hallways of the castle but they cannot go any deeper than the ground floor. The attendants of the castle, who appear to be villagers from the town, will follow them and try their best to tend to their every need, be it food, water or a fresh bath. Attempting to question the attendants is a fruitless endeavor: they sing praises of the Lord of the Forest but provide no other useful answers, always diverting the topic back to how wonderful their protector is and how blessed the Outsiders must be to have been chosen by him.

▶ HOSPITALITY TREATMENT

Chosen who try to break their way out of the castle will be hit with a psionic wave, forcing them into a state of calmness, placidity and contentment. They might even be treated to pleasant hallucinations or relive happy memories. There’s no reason to be afraid, after all. The Lord of the Forest will take care of you. Any attempt to hurt or kill the attendants will be met with no resistance from them, almost like they are content to accept their fate. They will then be replaced with another attendant right away, rendering the effort meaningless. The bodies of any dead attendants will be left there to rot until someone complains about it enough, at which point the corpse will be carted off to the dungeons.

At this point, escape seems futile. The dark fog surrounding the castle renders it virtually invisible to the outside world and communications between the Chosen and the Outsiders in the town have been cut off. It may feel like there's nothing you can do but sit pretty and await your fate ...

▶ WE SAVE OURSELVES

After days of strange dreams and curious findings, it seems that help will take some time to arrive. The Chosen will have to save themselves even without their powers. Based on some observations, they may infer that something is cloaking the castle and making it difficult for others to locate it. They have to find a way to disrupt whatever is keeping them hidden.

With each day, they may notice something about the wolf skulls that hang in each room. Every time they look at one, it will trigger their flight response as if they are prey facing off with a predator. Some may feel frightened, anxious, hopeless, or submissive until the skull is out of their sight.

If they can push through those feelings and draw out their fight instinct, they can take the skulls and destroy them. After destroying a skull, a wave of energy will come from it. The energy will give them brief headaches, vertigo, and a short bout of irritability and impulsiveness. Some characters may recognize the feeling as Rift poisoning.

Each time they destroy a skull, the character will receive a microdose of Rift poisoning. Without their LILITH suits to protect them, they can experience extreme poisoning which results in flu like symptoms, mental and physical fatigue, and hallucinations which will make them more vulnerable to the psionic waves. However, with each skull destroyed, the fog around the castle begins to lift ever so slightly. After the air has cleared, the rooms feel safer and less oppressive, making them the perfect place to rest and recover. Unfortunately, if the servants notice, they may replace the destroyed skull with a new one.

▶ AFTERWORD.

Chosen characters may use this log to interact with each other and investigate the situation. It is HIGHLY encouraged to collaborate with other characters and share the clues you have been given.

Everyone who is kidnapped will have their ocular implants turned off, thus rendering communications between Chosen characters and characters who were not captured impossible, and any sort of location tracking will not function. However, certain characters will be given the opportunity to send a short message to the rest of the Outsiders. Players may use this post to have IC discussions about what information they want to provide to the rest of the team. If sending out a message, please submit your message by 11:59 PM GMT on the 10th of October so that mods may post it on the network.

Furthermore, characters can destroy skulls to slowly lift the fog around the castle. The number of skulls they will need to destroy is not specified, but it will lift during the next log.

The purpose of this log is for investigation and collaboration. We understand that players are excited to have terrible things happen to their characters. You can expect that information to be given on the 15th. Timeline-wise, characters will be kidnapped late at night on the 7th and then be freed around the 15th.

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. CASTLE BRAN: Some Outsiders will awaken to find themselves in a mysterious castle and referred to as 'Chosen' by the castle servants. They are stripped of their belongings and powers, and have been freshly bathed and dressed. They are allowed to wander the castle but cannot leave or go further than the ground floor.

2. HOSPITALITY TREATMENT: Outsiders who try to leave will be hit by a psionic wave that leaves them feeling placid and happy, and may even cause them to hallucinate pleasant events or relive happy memories. Since there is a heavy fog around the castle and communications are cut off, there appears to be no method of escape.

3. WE SAVE OURSELVES: After several days, Outsiders may begin to infer that there is something cloaking the castle and preventing it from being discovered. The source is a multitude of wolf skulls hung up around the castle. Though the skulls induce fear and hopelessness in anyone who looks at it, destroying the skull will cause the fog around the castle to slowly lift. Outsiders who destroy skulls will suffer the effects of Rift poisoning.

code

Comments

Taryon Darrington | Critical Role | Redemption

[likemybooks]

Downtime

[With little to do, Taryon spends his breaks wandering around the castle in search for something to do. With an attendant trailing his every move, it's difficult to find the solitude necessary to search for clues, much less have a moment to himself. At least back home, his father didn't have servants spying on his children at all possible times - it was enough to keep them busy and shame them if they did something he didn't approve of.

He's also spending a lot of time alone in his room and with other attendants. Whenever he leaves, he's exhausted and drops himself onto a nearby couch with his head resting in his hands. Where can he even start with finding a way out? Walking out the front door won't work, asking questions won't work, and he's too polite to try threatening everyone. All the while, the skull watches over him, waiting for him to make the wrong move. Taryon can feel this truth in his bones.]

The Skulls

[But there is hope. He simply must do his part and destroy these terrifying skulls - as many as possible, before whatever ceremony will take place.

He gathers his courage outside the door to a nearby room. The wolf skull is waiting there. It is ready to kill him, and he knows this is nonsense, but Taryon gets a strange feeling every time he looks at it.]

Okay. Wish me luck.

[After a deep breathe, he turns around the door frame, shuts his eyes, and walks in a straight line towards the target. Picking it up and smashing it onto the ground is easy enough when he's in self-imposed darkness, but he peeks at the last moment. Through the crack of vision, a sudden sense of fear overwhelms him, and he wants to crawl into a corner and cover his head. He throws the skulls in a panic, where it strikes the carpet and breaks into three pieces. The fabric softens the sound of the impact, but anyone standing directly outside in the hallway will hear it.

Taryon falls onto the couch and grips his head.]

Wildcard
((Feel free to write your own starter! PM me if you want to plot something out))

skulltime

[coordination]

[ Silver lining of a Coordinator having a fever for the first time ever in his life and thus Going Through It, is that it doesn't affect his good hearing. So Yzak hears the crash, crash of something being shattered nearby. And he's on high alert already and making it a point to continuously check in with the others even despite the fever, so Yzak swiftly steps in the direction the noise comes from and through the door. ]

What's going on in here!?

[ He easily peeps the shattered remains of the skulls on the floor. Notes the familiar lump curled up on the couch, and figures it out easily enough. ]

Taryon!

[ He's over to him in an instant, a careful hand on his shoulder. At least the number of skulls here don't seem too alarming, but... ]

Jeez ... what are you thinking?

[likemybooks]

[Taryon was reeling from the rift sickness, and the light bump of Yzak's hand on his shoulder sends him into a tailspin that ends in him mentally crashing into the soft couch. He blinks a few times before brushing his hair out of his eyes.]

I wanted to help you guys out. We can't leave until all the skulls are gone, right? [It may require fewer than that, but it's not worth risking.] But I got rid of it.

[coordination]

They've been replacing them. But that is the theory, yes.

Still, this is something we should be doing together and more carefully! Have you seen what happened to Ereshkigal after she went overboard with it!?

[ He hopes he has, because Yzak does NOT want to explain that whole mess. ]

[likemybooks]

I know, I know, but that's why we can't have one person deal with it all! So if each of us do our part...

[It's only going to make him more susceptible to the subtle, daily brainwashing, but it doesn't matter to Taryon in the moment. They are here as a team, and if it means he can protect the goddess, the he did something heroic (and more importantly, useful) in this mission.]

I'm fine. [He presses his fingers on his temple before sitting up.] I'll make sure to rest before I do it again.

[coordination]

You'd better.

And next time, double up with someone! [ Wow mister bossy over here. But within his fussing there's a sincere concern clear in his voice. ] So no one person is hit with the brunt of it.

Or we can throw them all down some stairs and get some distance between us and the creepy things, maybe that'll help.

[likemybooks]

The servants might notice that we throw something down the stairs. Trust me. People notice that. [Taryon has grown up in a fancy manor, and as children, he learns quickly where are the worst places to not get caught by his dad or the servants.]

The ideal would be getting a pressing machine to ground the skulls. There's a mill back in town that would be perfect. [He sighs at this inconvinience.] I hope our friends back there are okay.

[coordination]

They're noticing anyway, because they keep replacing these things.

[ And then mentioning those attendants when he speaks of those skulls, he pauses. ]

Hm, maybe we should break some of these near them, actually. If they're responsible somehow for the hex over this place hiding it, maybe weakening them will do something and we can get back to the others.

Because I'm sure they are fine.

[likemybooks]

I know, I know. We have a lot of strong people in our team.

[Powerful people, who can do more than support spells or craft magic equipment and could actually storm a castle to rescue its prisoners.]

We'll have to be quick with these skulls. They'll warn each other if we start causing trouble all at once.

[coordination]

We'll have to hit them hard and all at once, then, if we want to make it count.

And hope that it's enough.

These guys may be acting docile and accommodating now, but they're probably well aware already that we're not just sitting back and accepting this. They'll be expecting trouble, either way.

[likemybooks]

They already know. Some of them have been talking to me about joining them and "partaking in the holy mysteries", as if that's enough to convince me. [There's things about giving Taryon a position where he can save the city, where he will have importance, and it sounds too familiar to the same arguments from his father asking that he give up his freedom and contentment to protect their family's wealth. It's too much.

And Taryon can't help but think back to every conversation, as if their words are burrowing into his brain until they cannot be extracted.]

Let's go. If we all work at the same time, we can get rid of all the skulls right away.

[coordination]

We can start collecting some, at least. And then gather the others to help.

Once we have a load of them, we can get someone to call as many attendants as possible to the the first floor, and then drop the skulls down on them when they're all together. Whether it'll be enough ... well, we'll see, won't we. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[ And then he gives Taryon a quick once-over. ]

You sure you're okay, though?

[likemybooks]

[Taryon nods along with Yzak's plan - he gets the gist of his, but the headache is stopping him from fully absorbing it. Get everyone together, smash the skulls together, done.

Once he recovers from this minor bout of rift sickness.] I think I am. It's not as bad as the time we went to Disneyland. I just...need to lie down and take a nap.

[It should be safe to do it right here, he believes as he lies back onto the sofa.]

[coordination]

You do that first, then. I'll stick around.

[ He leans just on the edge of the armrest of the couch, crossing his arms. ]

Partaking in the holy mysteries doesn't sound very appealing. Makes it sound like they hardly know what they're praising if it's shrouded in so much of that mystery.

[likemybooks]

I'm pretty sure most religious rituals are called mysteries. At least, the ones I grew up around. It makes it sound special...but, well, they don't kidnap people for it.

[His head turns to the ceiling.]

Or do they...?

[coordination]

I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Especially if any of this is familiar.

[ He perks up, curious. ]

You grew up around this sort of shit?

[likemybooks]

Oh gods, no! We have temples that do normal things like prayers and charity and healing, not this! It's just that those thay are particularly devout get access to the cooler stuff. One cleric I know can teleport via lighting because she's the biggest worshiper!

[That's not how it exactly works but Pike is awesome and powerful and Taryon will hype the women of Vox Machina given the opportunity.]

I thought they were just weird nature worshippers before they started getting really creepy.

[coordination]

Hey, you were the one wondering if they kidnapped people like these weirdos! And I know religions can get ... well. Extreme.

It was the one of the root causes that led to war where I'm from.

[likemybooks]

Well. I don't think the temple in my home town does any of them. The real estate economy's bad enough to ruin lives on its own.

[Anyway:] Are you saying that the priests started the war, or they were doing some messed up things to people?

[coordination]

Hmph, tell me about it. It doesn't take much to rock society's foundations, I've learned.

But no, they didn't start the war. But they helped lay the groundwork for it. When the first Coordinator revealed the circumstances and blueprints of his birth, they immediately tried to strike the concept down as a sinful abomination once more of them started being born.

So that hatred grew as the number of Coordinators did.

[likemybooks]

...Forgive me for asking, but is a Coordinator something other than a manager?

[There's plenty he doesn't know about Yzak's and Dearka's world beyond their awesome robots, but he gets the feeling that Coordinators how a position in society more important than as menial workers.]

Because there are people who are considered to be unlucky if they're born under a certain sign, but most of us don't hate them. At least, I hope we don't.

[coordination]

[ Maybe it's because due to the things he's seen that he's become a bit jaded about it ... but Yzak wouldn't be shocked if hatred could grow from what Taryon explained. ]

It is where I'm from. And you're looking at one.

We're humans who've been genetically enhanced. Which means many of our capabilities both physical and mental are well above that of a Natural.

[likemybooks]

[It leads to plenty of superstition, but as long as there isn't a plotline in a future campaign about one of the moons and its influence on the metaphysics of the world, it should be fine!]

Like... [He stands up, feeling better after some rest.] How LILITH changes our bodies? I suppose it might not be fair if only some people get it...