Halloween Nightmare: Part I

[dreamposts]

✵ HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE: PART I ✵

It comes without warning. A few nights before Halloween, when the moon is supposed to be full and bright, it suddenly blinks out and turns pitch black. Even the stars seem to be covered, casting a strange darkness all over Songerein. While the fae sense something unusual, the newly arrived people—the dreamwalkers—all suddenly fall over asleep as if struck by a curse. Thick, black fog covers the town and one by one their bodies glow bright before converting into dream energy and disappearing into their crystals.

Alarmed, the tapirs investigate, some plunging deep into the realm of dreams to try and find wherever they went. What they discover is something they had never seen before—a massive dreamscape rippling through the dimensions, one full of life, color, and sound. It's as if its own little world, unaware that a giant group has dropped in uninvited. Before the dreamwalkers can be too confused, the tapirs send out a message via their crystals:

Careful, Dreamwalkers! We don't understand what's happening, but you have entered an unusual dreamscape, one where everyone here believes this to be their own world. It feels unstable, to the point where if too much disturbance happens it could turn this entire place into a nightmare! One that could affect Songerein!

Good news is it looks like they're throwing a huge party, so maybe if you just have fun and help out, it will pass quickly and you can return. There's a strange barrier that prevents anyone from coming out of the dream normally...but, we'll figure it out! Just try and have fun, okay?

That might be a tall order for some, but there's little choice. Already everyone has been outfitted in appropriate costumes that serve as "disguises"—some more realistic than others—allowing them to blend in. So long as they follow along and don't cause any disruptions, the locals won't bat an eye. However, the moment someone behaves oddly, such as speaking of other worlds or not behaving in a "frightfully ghoulish" manner when expected, the locals will start eying them with suspicion and small cracks will start to form in various places, most notably the sky where are a large grinning moon watches over everything. Fortunately it will take quite a lot before things get dangerous, but care is needed.

Now, what kind of "dream" have they been pulled into?

I . HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL

The town is bustling and looking quite alive despite its rather monstrous and undead citizens. The architecture style is a mix of ye olde Victorian England and steampunk—with bones and spiders and a lot of sharp things, of course. There is a giant cauldron in the center that acts as a fountain, and while touching it won't harm anyone, drinking it might cause a few green, gassy, flammable hiccups and fire breath that goes away after a while. There is even an odd story going around about a crazy witch called Baba Yaga and many wonder if something strange will happen again like all the other years. For now it's advised for everyone to carefully explore while perhaps getting into the various festivities. It's their time of the year after all!

A. Costume Party. Everyone's in a costume and there are plenty of contests and parades for everyone to show theirs off. All are encouraged to do their best and act like whatever they're dressed up as, and some may even be pulled into random impromptu "acts" for fun. Cute little black cats with witch's hats will hop on their heads and drop some special candy as a "reward." What could be so suspicious about this? (Yes, this is the cursed candy mentioned in the official details.)

» BONUS: MAGIC THREADS. Some locals need a little help with their costumes and request special thread that can be harvested by the ghoul worms—an underworld version of the silkworm. However, getting to them can be a bit...tricky. The worms need to be scared out of their wits for them to spit out the thread. The next difficult part is capturing the thread and not having it all over one's face. There are also some rainbow spiders who produce colorful threads, but they need to be sweetened up before they'll pass over their hard work.

B. Beware the Food. Of course the food is to die for. No, really, be careful of the food because there's a high chance it's been cursed and will cause one or more of the following: 1) suffer severe food poisoning; 2) become an undead zombie; 3) turn into a ghastly toad; 4) have a Wicked Witch experience and turn into a puddle of goop to then become a slime monster. Except for the first one, these changes are all painless and will just make the affected feel funny for half an hour. For the food poisoning, drinking from the Cauldron in the center of town will cure it, but for those who don't want flame breath, creating a certain witch's brew could be concocted.

» BONUS: WITCH'S BREW: Gather the following items to create the special witch's brew that will not only cure the food poisoning but other maladies as well. Just need a few tails of newt, a couple eyes of mud guppies, and the nails of opossums. Fortunately there are quite a few stores that carry these items so no one has to harvest them themselves, though they are certainly welcome to. If buying, the payment requires five chocolate coins. The catch? All the kids have the chocolate coins so need to somehow get them. Maybe the trick-or-treating can help.

C. Jack-o-Lanterns. There are pumpkins everywhere and an assortment of activities to do with them. From simple pumpkin carving for decoration, to loading them into catapults to see how far they go, to avoiding flaming pumpkin heads flying around causing mayhem. But the real buzz is carving pumpkins for the newly "arrived" skeletons that have unearthed to join the populace. As part of a celebration these special pumpkins will be worn by the new skeletons so the more decorated the better.

D. Trick-or-Treat. Of course there is candy being handed out and thrown out to be passed to the younguns. Some adults may find a giant skull head full of various candies shoved into their hands so they can give them to any excited gremlins. Just beware, those little monsters are more than happy to pull a trick instead, so tricks are also fair game as long as they are eventually given candy. In fact, tricks and pranks are highly encouraged, to the point that some are throwing competitions. Should anyone try to withhold the goods, however...well, curses from children are the worst.

E. Candy Corn Golems. Some candy corn will randomly come together and transform into candy corn golems. They range from knee-high that can do little more than just do feeble punches and throw goop on people's legs to a towering ten foot monstrosity that is ready to launch candy corn missiles that explode into harder gunk that can completely imprison anyone. While some locals might find their presence a suitable chaotic ingredient, many don't as they have no idea how these creatures came to be as the usual hexes and underworld magic seem to have little effect. Yet they are susceptible to the dreamwalking abilities… Most will cheer when a golem is defeated, but some may become suspicious.

» BONUS: FIND THE SOURCE. Even though the golems can be taken care of, the more that only the dreamwalkers can destroy, the more unnecessary attention and suspicion is aroused. Best to figure out where to find what's creating them and put an end to it. Whispers of a "mad witch" and "crazy hag" can be heard and curiously, some of the smaller golems trundle down away from the main chaos through some small alleys. Following them will lead them to a strange house, the magic spilling out unnatural. There are drag marks and broom bits that are tinted blood red and inky black. Stray, tattered pages and black smears can also be found around the house. Attempts to enter the house result in being blown back into the town center cauldron, however as long as attention is drawn to the house then suspicion will reduce from the dreamwalkers.

II. GRAVE WEDDING

Just outside of town is a vast graveyard that stretches for a considerable distance, the madly grinning moon seeming to loom and be its brightest here. Although mostly consisting of graves, there are also large mausoleums and a dilapidated looking chapel. Many live within the graveyard and those not participating in the town's festivities are having their own little parties. There's even a wedding being held at the chapel. However, not everything is going well and a helping hand—connected or not—will be appreciated.

A. Haunted Wedding. What a spooktastic night for a wedding between a bootiful bride and her ghastly groom. The chapel may be old, riddled with holes, and look ready to fall apart at the slightest breeze, but it's the ideal venue for all wicked weddings. With the pews filled with other residents of the town, it looks to be a perfect celebration—until red-eyed goblins suddenly burst through the already broken windows and holes. Some of the guests are quick to fight back (with some thinking it part of the event), but these goblins seem stronger than usual. Anyone who is nearby will be asked to help and get rid of them before they really do wreck the wedding!

» BONUS: GOBLIN SEALS. No matter how many are defeated, more just keep appearing to take its place. A gravekeeper shouts out that they witnessed the goblins appearing near a dark corner of the cemetery, a place known to be heavily cursed and filled with hexes due to all the witches buried there. Those who investigate will find all the graves dug out and each one with a summoning seal inside. Fortunately they are easy to destroy by either casting magic or even chucking rocks to break up the symbol. Destroy them all to stop the goblins, but be careful as some will pop up in the process.

B. Grave Situation. The graveyard is considered as one of the largest neighborhoods with many finding their underground or stone mausoleum homes quite comfortable and even luxurious in some cases. As part of the Halloween prank, tombstones, grave markers, and even coffins have been moved around and the residents are not happy. They'll need help replacing everything, but be warned—some pranksters have gone beyond and boobytrapped some. Triggering the traps will produce sticky webbing, glitter paint, and "bloody" marshmallow slime (it's just dyed red).

» BONUS: HOSTILE NEIGHBORS. There are some undead and skeletons lying in their earthly beds and cramped coffins that will not take too kindly to being disturbed. They are quite aggressive and will outright attack anyone who comes near their homes, even if they aren't in the right place. They need to be restrained and it would be bad news if anyone is severely harmed or worse—destroyed. Careful examination will reveal a strange slip of paper with what looks like a hex symbol on their heads, and if removed they will pass out but return to normal.

C. Nightmare Graves. Some tombstones will have writing that will mysteriously change to words that will provoke those who read it and send them immediately to a nightmare. It could be something completely random or it could be personal with the severity also random. Some dreams will be reflected on the tombstone similar to the crystals while others can be entered via dreamwalking. In either case, the dreamer's body will be lying in repose in front of the tombstone, which will have a line of "Do not disturb" along with cryptic words related to the nightmare.

» BONUS: NOCTAERE. The longer someone stays in a nightmare, the greater the risk in either attracting noctaere into the dream and out into the dreamscape and for the dreamer to become a noctaere themselves. It could be a partial or full transformation, depending on how strong the nightmare and how sensitive the dreamer is. Dreamwalkers must help try to stop the change before it's too late by attempting to change the dream or calm the dreamer. But if the dreamer turns into a noctaere and starts causing havoc within the dreamscape, then they must be subdued physically with dreamotion abilities.

[Mod Note: This is Part I of our event! To look over the official details as well as ask any questions, drop them in the official Event Details post. While we prefer for threads to remain in the event log, players are welcome to take their threads into their own individual logs for personal organization. We only request players to comment to the event log with a link to it so that others can find them more easily!]

Comments

[lethechained]

[ Even that demeanor is familiar. Since she knows so little about what Kor can really do - and he's proven capable enough so far - his confidence is comforting, to some degree, and prompts her to try to smile back. Then he goes and gives a thumbs up with his goo-covered arm, and that does put a bit of a knit in Naminé's brow despite her attempt not to let her anxiety show. Her, ]

... Right, [ is more worried at the end than it was at the beginning.

But, well, that was an understandable mistake, and the rest of his limbs still work as intended, right? This is proven to be a fact almost immediately when Kor goes running full tilt toward the golem. Naminé, for her part, can only watch with her breath firmly held, mouth pressed into a line that might be more for the sake of keeping herself from trying to talk him out of it again than anything else.

Now feels like a good time to be mentally cataloguing every spell she can think of that even vaguely resembles healing magic. (If only this costume weren't based on curses...) ]

[spirialink]

[Kor engages the golem in battle. Not that he could do much to attack it right now. His right hand being trapped meant that he couldn't summon a sword, and he wasn't exactly ambidextrous. He needed to do something to turn the tide.

That's when his opportunity presents itself. The golem winds up and slams its oversized fists into the ground, attempting to hit Kor. He deftly dodges out of the way, and then jumps on top of one of the arms, running up along the topside of it and up to the monster's head.]

Got you now!

[And then, all according to his plan (there was no plan), he jams his gunk-covered fist into the hole from which the golem fires its missiles. It fits in perfectly, blocking up the orifice.

In retaliation, the candy golem attempts to fire a missile at Kor. But with the hole blocked up, the blast has nowhere to go. The energy begins to build up, energy glowing from every crack in the golem's gigantic form, shining more and more brightly.

It was in this moment rhat Kor realized he didn't think this all the way through. The energy becomes too much for the golem's body to bear, and it explodes. The resulting explosion sends Kor, covered in sugary dust, flying backwards, crashing his full weight into Naminé's cell and weakening its integrity. He lets out a pained yelp as he feels his back collide with the bars. Hopefully Naminé's figured out that healing spell by now.

As for the golem? Once the sugary dust cloud settles, its candy parts lie crumbled on the ground, a mere reminder of what they once were.]

[lethechained]

[ Hands stuck to the bars - only a little bit by the material of the bars - Naminé watches through them with her mouth a tight, worried line. Goodness, if she didn't know any better, she'd think he was Sora, running up the thing's arm like that. The fretful girl can't help the way her fingers curl tighter in their places as her eyes follow Kor, still trying to imagine some way to be of assistance as more and more of her attention is taken up by fear of what might transpire.

Because she does think ahead, and although the move he makes does look promising for putting a stop to the golem's reign of terror, Naminé has absolutely no problem doing the math on what'll happen immediately afterward as the glow builds enough for her to see it at a distance. ]

You'll--

[ Too late. Good fortune and self preservation have Naminé ducking back from the bars just in time to avoid the worst of the collision as sharp chunks of dislodged candy and sugar dust flood the small space.

Coughing, the blonde squints against the mess as it settles, her hand automatically trying to wave away the worst of it. But she's not so easily distracted as that, and as soon as she's managed to open her eyes far enough, she searches out Kor. Who... seems a bit worse for wear, she notes quickly, and Naminé doesn't waste another moment before immediately stepping toward the damaged bars, face the picture of concern. If he's prone, she'll even drop to her knees on her side of the wall. ]

Hey--! Can you hear me?

[spirialink]

[Kor lays there for a moment, back against the bars, not moving. But it isn't long before he stirs, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, now freed thanks to the explosion.]

Ow.... I think my ears are ringing...

[Well, that's what happens when you're at the epicenter of an explosion, Kor...

He sits up slowly and careful, his whole body sore after that one. He turns to face Naminé, checking on her.]

Are you okay? You didn't get hit, right?

[lethechained]

[ The pause before he responds causes Naminé some perhaps understandable concern. Leaning even closer to the bars, she calls a quiet, 'Kor?' with her features the picture of worry. Only his delayed complaint seems to soothe her, and she finally lets out a huff of held breath that starts her coughing again for a couple of seconds.

Swallowing the discomfort back down, the girl shakes her head at his question. ]

No, just a little dirty.

[ What with the sugary dust flying everywhere. Frowning at him, she accuses with disapproval that has no real force behind it, ]

That was insane. [ The unhappy look she levels at him might be in sharp contrast to the fact that around the same time she sticks her slim arm through the gap in the bars near his side, fingers outstretching. ] I know it worked, but-- that looked like it really must have hurt. Can you take my hand?

[ She'd rather not try to cast a healing spell past the bars when the golems made of similar stuff were resistant to her costume's magic; better to do it via direct contact. ]

i somehow missed this tag fffff

[spirialink]

I'm a little sore, but... If you think I look like I'm in rough shape, you should see the other guy!

[The golem is the other guy, and technically Kor is right, he's in better shape than the golem!

...But that doesn't make him correct. And he realizes that, despite his attempts as humor to alleviate the situation. After a moment of hesitation, he does as he's told, and takes a hold of Naminé's hand, a blush tinging his cheeks as he does so.]

AH it happens!!

[lethechained]

[ The quiet sigh that Naminé lets out could probably be interpreted as exasperated, but she doesn't put enough air into it for it to be a sure thing. Her expression is still pinched with obvious concern, though, as she replies with a sedate, ]

I did, Kor.

[ She can see what remains of the opponent in question right now, in fact, through the damaged bars of her cage. During Kor's hesitation, she doesn't rush him, but rather watches him carefully, patiently, open palm still hovering and expectant. The girl doesn't appear troubled at all as her fingers gently curl into place around his once he takes her hand - although in truth, she'd have paused herself were their positions reversed. (Practical girl that she is, she doesn't have room in her mind to be embarrassed when there's a duty to perform, whether that requires the yet-unfamiliar necessity of physical contact or not.)

Her touch is kind, delicate in a deliberate sort of way that suggests she'd very much like to avoid causing him any further pain. Once her eyes close in concentration, it doesn't take long before a peculiar, clearly magical warmth begins to travel outward from their linked hands, a simple Cure-like spell hoping to locate and ease some of his pain. Once her power fades, her eyes blink open again, seeking her companion out immediately. ]

Is that-- any better?

[ She's had a few magical mishaps already today, so. It probably bears asking. ]

[spirialink]

[Kor stays quiet for the moment, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of Naminé's healing magic as it washes over his body and mends his aches and wounds. It wasn't an unfamiliar sensation to him, having been healed by his friends many times in the past.

But there was a different feeling to it. Maybe it was because of the emotion-driven nature of this world they've all come to stay in, but Kor feels the tenderness behind the spell, and her consideration for him as she tries to heal him.

After the spell fades, he opens his eyes, looking back at Naminé.]

Mm...Mmmm-hm. [He scratches the back of his head with his free hand, still feeling embarrassed.] Much better.

[lethechained]

[ Naminé has plenty of consideration to go around. Her kind nature and genuine worry for him thread through the magic itself, strengthening the gentle warmth of the spell. The whole while she frowns, even if some relief does come to her expression when the magic seems to be taking the proper form. Once the spell is done, her fingers only relax their delicate but firm grip on Kor's hand when he attests that the work is done. (Or perhaps as much so as it's going to get.)

Letting her hand draw back from his, Naminé nods, face still quietly fretful. With a soft exhale, the girl tries to urge herself to relax - although she stops short of allowing her forehead rest against the bar next to her, even if it's a near thing. Her eyes flick back up toward Kor, thoughtful and just a little sad. ]

If I try to scold you...

[ Hasn't she already, in her own way? But there's a resignation in her tone. ]

You won't listen, will you? [ Heroes never do, that much she knows well. Her eyelids flutter in a blink; she looks down. ] So I guess-- I'll have to thank you instead, and leave it at that.