TRAVEL LOG #6

[synfluxmods]

TRAVEL LOG #6

CONTENT WARNINGS: sickness, insects/bugs, rift poisoning, mutated animals, poison (and poisonous creatures), blood offerings.

▶ 001. ¡Vamos!

As much as one might want to take things easy and continue to recover from an eventful summer, LILITH's objective continues. Early in August, an alarm blares and everyone will get a call through their implants to come for debriefing. Yamakawa will explain they have received a request from Mexico City for support. Unusual rift activity has been confirmed in the region and they are asking for support to prepare for imminent conflict. Who knows what could await here?

Fortunately, the request is from their LILITH branch and all facilities are operational. It will be easy to use a data portal for easy access. As with all data portals, the Outsiders will be warned of potential side effects that may come from traveling great distances. Side effects include nausea, headaches, dizziness, and occasional glitching with their cybertech. All effects should wear off within 24 to 48 hours. If symptoms last longer, they are urged to seek meditech assistance in Mexico City to receive stabilizers. Like before, Outsiders will be told that making physical contact with one another by any means during transportation can reduce the risk of feeling any side effects, whether it be an embrace or holding hands... or attempting to strangle someone if you're a hater (looking at you, Silco.)

Due to warping, they will be limited to taking only what they can carry. Those who wish to take larger items will have to wait a few days for them to be gradually transported by air or industrial warp portals. Yamakawa and the rest of the staff in Tokyo will tell everyone not to worry because Mexico City has excellent infrastructure to facilitate their transportation needs.

Everyone will be given 24 hours to pack and prepare for departure. Before they leave, Dr. Spim and Alex will inform them of a promising research opportunity under the guidance of a colleague, Dr. Flores. Dr. Spim will share a verification code with them to show to Dr. Flores if they are interested in assisting. 

After 24 hours, everyone will be ordered to warp to Mexico City. In an instant, the Outsiders will find themselves at the LILITH base in Mexico City.

▶ 002. SKYSCRAPERS AND TREES.

An officer by the name of Morales will greet them and introduce herself as their point of contact. She'll give everyone a debrief file to download through their implants to instantly get them up to speed. Along with the unusual rift activity, the population has started to show symptoms that have given them cause for concern. Many people are falling ill, becoming lethargic, and demonstrating explosively angry, violent, and otherwise acting out. The longer it goes on, the more people are affected, and it’s starting to cause more trouble in the city itself as infrastructure fails.

When they leave the base, they will find themselves in the warm, humid, and very green metropolis of Mexico City. Over the years, the forests and jungles of the region have swallowed up many towns and cities, leaving the city completely surrounded by forest. The locals have embraced their environment over many years while modernizing, resulting in the city having a mix of cyber technology and nature. Mexico City and the rainforest around it almost seems to be one living, thriving being. The plants naturally shade the hot sidewalks, and people have created a large number of filtered reservoirs that the rainforest thrives from. The large canopies are half as high as the remaining skyscrapers, but most buildings are built underneath the treeline, leaving most thriving underneath the shady canopy.

Outsiders may see some "new" animals such as real hummingbirds, butterflies, macaws, and iguanas with unique traits like neon designs and unusual sizes. They say there are even more animals and variants in the jungle. Beware of certain birds and insects that make locals sick when they come in contact with their dropped pollen. In the same vein, some of the flowers and plant life seem to also show rift mutations, but for the most part, most locals seem unbothered by these, and if Outsiders ask, they’ll be informed that they’ve been like that for a long time, and were never of any concern.

Outsiders can also meet with Dr. Flores, a LILITH researcher who is studying the effects of Rift poisoning and how to counter them. He theorizes that some plants may have evolved to purify the air or treat Rift sickness. In fact, his team has been treating some of these new rift poisoning cases with a trial drug that has had promising results. However, supplies are very limited and he needs help collecting more plants from the forest. In addition, he needs help catching some of the animal carriers so he can understand the nature of the poison they are carrying. He will ask for help capturing butterflies, bees, beetles, and hummingbirds.

▶ 003. THE FUTURE WILL BE GREEN.

The Outsiders will be given orders to visit areas that have unusual Rift readings. By now, anyone with large items from Tokyo should have them but for those who do not have vehicles, LILITH Mexico will supply them with jeeps to navigate the dense jungles. LILITH Japan will assist local agents who are exploring the south of the city. Outsiders will also be given an additional file to download that will give them a run-down of the area, including the plants, animals, known paths, and key landmarks.

The journey through the jungle is not easy. While there are access roads, they have suddenly become overgrown with plantlife, and it is increasingly hostile. They will have to get out and clear the path in some places. As they head deeper into the jungle, the plant life becomes more wild and shows signs of mutation. They will find vines that grow quickly in front of their eyes, blocking their paths as quickly as they had cleared them, and they are becoming increasingly dangerous with spined, poisonous vines, wild roving carnivores like jaguars, and large predatory birds that will divebomb outsiders as they progress deeper into the forests. Luckily, if they make it deep enough, the locals will help them find the easiest and safest routes to travel.

Some of these roads might lead them to former cities and towns. These towns have been completely overgrown by plantlife and are largely abandoned save for some stubborn families that refused to leave their homelands and some researchers. They are largely friendly and will help the Outsiders and agents who decide to rest on their journeys. 

They may be able to scavenge for supplies like old emergency rations, blankets, and pieces of technology that were left behind decades ago. But be careful! Since these areas have been taken over by nature, they may run into common regional kaiju like mutated wild dogs, monkeys, and even jaguars. 

▶ 004. NATURE FINDS A WAY.

The kaiju and mutated plants aren't the only thing they need to watch out for in the forest. While traveling, some outsiders might find a regular jaguar attacking a mutated macaw kaiju and winning. It seems that while some animals have mutated into kaiju to survive, other animals have simply evolved to compete with them. As outsiders progress into the forest, at first the local fauna will attack if anyone gets close to them, but the deeper outsiders go, the more the creatures give them a wider berth, and won’t attack. If you see a local, non-corrupted creature deep in the woods, chances are it will watch or flee, rather than attack.

Outsiders will be warned to be careful of poisonous frogs both regular and mutated. These frogs are often a sign that pitcher plants are nearby. These plants have evolved to be large enough to swallow a large animal or person if one gets too close. For the most part, these pitcher plants are stationary but some may use their leaves or nearby wild vines to trip unsuspecting prey into their flower.

These aren’t the only plants that outsiders can encounter as they venture deeper into the forest. The deeper they go, the more frequently rift-corrupted pollinators are found swarming some of the large, rift-corrupted flowers, and as soon as their legs or beaks are laden, they fly off, only to be replaced by more. They aren’t great carriers, so pollen drifts on the wind. Outsiders should keep their rift-protection up, because the pollen causes rift-corruption along with other side effects such as: violent tendencies, explosive anger, and insatiable appetites (of any kind). The pollinators will escape deeper into the forest. If an outsider follows, please let the mod team know!

▶ 005. THERE WERE ONCE CITIES.

As Outsiders travel further into the jungle where civilization has a harder and harder time taking root, they instead find remnants of those that came before. There are buildings in the lush jungles, but they’re truly ancient. Sometimes, the stonework stands out and is easy to find, but at other times, the buildings are completely overgrown with vines and flowers that will take extra effort to explore. Regardless of which kind they find, the carved, geometric artwork makes it clear that these are ruins from Aztec and Mayan cultures.

Exploring the ruins will reveal very little in the way of ancient treasures (or rolling boulder traps), since anything that could be taken was already looted long ago. They’ll make suitable shelter for the forest, at least, since curiously, the more dangerous elements don’t seem to enter. In fact, they very specifically stay away.

Each set of ruins also includes one building that stands above all others. Ascending the tall pyramids will lead to a central, round room at the apex that are all united in its details, even if they’re clearly done at different times. The ceiling is dotted as a starscape, and at the center is a painted, black circle. Underneath this lays what’s clearly an altar. The altar has a depression in its center and a channel that leads down its side, as if it’s expecting liquid.

OFFERING: THE BLOOD OF OUTSIDERS AND HUMANS:

No matter the amount, characters immediately feel lightheaded, as if they’d given a large portion of blood (even if they’re not giving their own).

Within 24 hours, an unusually patterned bruise will appear somewhere on their body.

Characters who make this sacrifice will swap abilities with each other, but will notice that their newfound abilities are notably weaker than if the original owner still had them.

OFFERING: THE BLOOD OF ANIMALS:

Characters become more connected to the animals of the forest.

They will take on one feature of a local animal, such as lightly poisonous skin, improved night vision, or ears/tail.

They’ll also find they can talk to their related animal.

OFFERING: ... OTHER BODILY FLUIDS...?:

The altar is disappointed in you.

There is no other effect.

OFFERING: WATER/PLANT SAP:

Characters become more connected to the forest.

Skin takes on a greenish tint, and they’re able to minorly control plants.

They’ll feel like they can commune with the forest, and will be able to telepathically talk with any others who make this offering.

OFFERING: ANYTHING ELSE (ANY OTHER MATERIALS):

There is no effect.

▶ 006. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our sixth travel log! Below, you will see the link to the MONSTER DEBRIEF SHEET post that has information about the kaiju below along with OFFERING EFFECTS. Fill out the form for RNG Attacks and whether you would like to receive an OFFERING EFFECT. This should give characters some ideas for the status of their character in the next log, which will have more action and monsters in it.

All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards August AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. VAMOS!: Outsiders travel to Mexico after receiving a request for support as there has been unusual rift activity in the area. A portal is avaliable to take Outsiders to the location, but are advisted to travel light.


2. SKYSCRAPERS AND TREES: LILITH officer Morales greets outsiders and explains the situation: civillians have begun to grow sick and strange animals have begun to appear. A LILITH researcher is theorising that plants have evolved to purify the air. He requests help catching creatures for research.


3. THE FUTURE WILL BE GREEN: Outsiders are tasked with visiting areas with odd Rift readings. They will be required to journey through the jungle, finding overgrown towns and cities, scavenge supplies, while being wary of native creatures.


4. NATURE FINDS A WAY: Regular animals are fighting against kaiju and winning; local fauna attacks anyone who gets close, and poisonous frogs attack. The deeper Outsiders go, the more dangerous it becomes.


5. THERE WERE ONCE CITIES: Deep in the jungle, an ancient ruin can be found. Outsiders are able to make "offerings" at an altar for various effects, depending on the offering.

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Comments

[mace_pray_love]

I’m definitely not going to make an offering if I don’t know who it’s for.

[What if the god turned out to be bad?]

But if it’s for you, or mostly for you… then I guess it’s fine. Got anything sharp on you?

[Jessica doesn’t carry around a knife or anything, so she’s a little unprepared. She’ll have a better set up at the shrine she makes back in Neo Tokyo.]

[fursuit]

Well, it’s at least adjacent to me, I figure. The style of the artwork is definitely my culture’s. It’s pretty damn unique in the world, so it stands out and I can be certain there. You could at least chalk it up and say that you’re offerin’ it up to teotl, and you wouldn’t be wrong.

[ Some people would probably have hesitations about a girl offering up her blood to a mysterious altar, but. Not Tezcatlipoca. So, he reaches onto his belt where he does have a combat knife neatly stowed away. With a flourish, he flips it in his hand and catches it gingerly by the blade so he can offer it to her by its handle. ]

Teotl is the divinity of the entire world, more or less. You could think of it as bein’ like my parent, but it’s not really a person. It’s more of a conceptual thing, but it’s true enough that it’s where I come from.

[mace_pray_love]

[Jessica takes the knife carefully, then gives Tezcatlipoca a look.]

Thanks. Now get down from there!

[Don't stand on the altar while someone's trying to use it, sheesh!

Regardless of whether he hops down or if he stays up there, Jessica closes her eyes and says a silent prayer.

Oh Teotl... dear Tezcatlipola's Dad, please watch over us and help us save the world!

Opening her eyes back up, she holds her hand out over the divot in the stone and drags the blade over her palm. Blood drips, and the moment the first drop makes contact, Jessica's knees buckle, and her vision swims. She leans against the altar to steady herself. That's... weird, isn't it?]

[fursuit]

[ With a laugh, he at least jumps off as directed, and otherwise, he just stands back to watch the proceedings. He’s curious, and admittedly, convincing her to give this a shot wasn’t totally out of being fully convinced it’s a good idea. Something just feels off here, after all. But a human (or, well, human enough) giving up their blood is a better idea than him giving it a shot. His blood is important and potent, ritually speaking.

…Though he does a smirk a little at the prayer. He can’t help it. It’s a bit off, but you know, it’s sweet, and she’s got the spirit.

However, something happens much more immediately than he’s actually expecting. ]

Woah—

[ He rushes to her side and puts his hands on her shoulders as if that would help steady her. ]

You good?

[mace_pray_love]

[Just don't tell Jessica you used her as a human guinea pig, Tezcatlipoca.

Jessica nods weakly.]

I'll be fine... just a sec....

[Yeah, she's feeling a little shaky, but a quick litany of healing will fix that right up. She clasps her hands, one still trickling blood, together and murmurs a prayer.

...and nothing happens. She blinks. That's.... ??

She squeezes her hands together tighter, and enunciates her words more clearly. There's still no divine light, no healing, no connection to Althena. She gasps.]

No. What's... what's happening?

[fursuit]

[ The magic itself might not be that familiar to Tezcatlipoca, but it’s easy to read between the lines here. Clearly, whatever she’s expecting isn’t happening, and since it’s coming with a prayer… ]

…Uh.

[ Oops? That’s potentially a big oops, but he’s not going to say that and stress her out more. Tezcatlipoca puts his hands on his hips as he approaches the shrine to see if anything has happened there, but (presumably anyways since it wasn’t mentioned,,,) no luck. ]

Wasn’t expecting that.

[mace_pray_love]

No. No, no, no.

[Jessica turns to Tezcatlipoca, tears welling in her eyes.]

I messed up. She's gone. I can't feel Althena anymore.

[And she's just going to sink to the ground and wrap her arms around her knees.]

Is... is she mad? I didn't think.... [Althena is a Goddess of compassion and love, and more importantly, she's the only Goddess on Jessica's world, so Jessica has no concept of her being jealous of other gods or possessive of her people.

The tears start falling.]

S-she must think... that I'm not worthy anymore....

[fursuit]

[ ...Well. Yeah. Shit?

Tezcatlipoca just stares at Jessica for a moment with his hands on his hips, since he's unfortunately not the most comforting god. He has a strong policy of letting people figure things out for themselves. Like, what is this if not a Trial? It's pretty much ideal for one, even.

...But they're also supposed to be intentional. Not, uh. Accidental.

So, a bit slowly, like this is something new and awkward for him, he crouches down in front of her. He doesn't immediately take a seat, but he will if this lingers for too long. ]

I mean, that's extreme, ain't it? No way a god would give up on their priestess for one slip-up.

[ ...right??? ]

[mace_pray_love]

[Jessica curls even tighter into a ball. She hasn't mentioned her Goddess being anything other than benevolent, but there's a part of Lunar history that its people shy away from talking about, where Althena banished a whole tribe of people for rebelling. Hundreds of years later, their descendants are still shunned. Is she going to become like the Vile Tribe?]

But what if she did? I'm so far away from her now... and worshiping another god... what if she thinks it's like, like cheating?

[A Trial, Jessica would actually understand. Right now, she's convinced she's been forsaken. She looks at Teszcalipola, miserable.]

Would you... forgive your follower... if they did that?

[fursuit]

[ …This is so much. He’s really not good at things like this, so he just reaches out to give her a pat on the shoulder. It’s the most encouragement he can muster at the moment, unfortunately… ]

‘Course I would? Like, sure, worshipping another god is a problem, but this ain’t that. No way. It’s basically just asking the locals for safe passage, since it ain’t like you’re really worshipping.

[ That would be a whole thing! Ritual, belief, et cetera, but certainly not enough for any reasonable god to think that their follower had forsaken them. ]

…Look, things get real fucky when we're hunting kaiju especially. This is probably just temporary.

[mace_pray_love]

[The pat on the shoulder isn’t much, but it’s the thought that counts.

His words are way less grounding. Jessica goes through a roller coaster of emotions- What she did wasn’t that bad, but worshiping more than one god IS bad, but maybe it’s all just temporary anyways?

And maybe what she had planned for Tezcatlipoca’s shrine, he wouldn’t even count as worship anyways. Jessica, usually brimming with an over abundance of confidence, has never felt like more of a novice priestess. She’s really in over her head with all this, isn’t she?

But she can’t keep crying about it here. She can go cry about it somewhere else later, where a God won’t witness her breakdown.

She wipes her eyes, smudging a little blood from the cut on her palm as she does it, and does her best to tamp down on her feelings before they spiral any further.]

Y-you’re right. I… don’t know what’s going on, but I should trust in my Goddess….

[fursuit]

[ That smear of blood catches his eye the most, and after a moment's consideration... He reaches out to wipe it away. That actually feels much more caring and careful than the awkward pat on the shoulder. ]

Yeah, you're fine. She'll still be lookin' out for ya, since if her power can extend to this whole other world, she wouldn't drop ya casually, right?

[ ...He figures, anyways. Actually empowering a worshiper isn't exactly how his pantheon ever worked, but he'll keep that to himself. ]

And, uh, wasn't intentional, but guess this answers my question. Wherever your sacrifice went, don't think it was my neck of the woods, so to speak. Isn't our style to take even more in return.

[mace_pray_love]

[Jessica nods up at Tezca. He's so nice, and he's a God, so he wouldn't lie to her. She just needs to have faith that Althena's blessing will come back to her. Her Goddess isn't fickle.

She takes a corner of her sleeve and rubs it on her cheek where Tezcatlipoca brushed away the bloody smudge, determined to pull herself together.]

Sorry. I'm good now.

[She uncurls from her ball of despair and stands up shakily. It still feels like she lost way more blood than she gave.]

...wait, you mean it didn't even go to your da- uh, Teotl?

[Then whose stupid altar even is this??]