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

[chippedsoul]

It's fine. [Despite his appearance, he's lifted crates on freight ships.]

Eitherway, I think you may be better off abandoning the shoe. [Looks pretty stuck in that pavement, literally a part of it. He'll reach out to take her hand, waiting expectantly for her to decide.]

[lethechained]

[ Although the girl gives him a couple of concerned blinks, she doesn't protest beyond that; it's not as if she's got a handle on what he can and can't do, after all. ]

Well--

[ Much as she dislikes the idea of becoming a literal physical burden whether he's capable of carrying it or not, Naminé's too practical to try to convince herself that there's any saving this shoe situation. Exasperated with herself, ]

No - you're right. I'll take it off. Let me just...

[ Carefully grasping his offered hand, she'll use the support to keep herself balanced as she begins trying to wriggle her foot out of the trapped shoe.

She might want to hurry, though, since the next patrol of golems is about to pass by. ]

[chippedsoul]

[Seeing their window of opportunity shrink, he leans down to assist her get free. ]

Hold tight. [Whether she had agree to it or not, carrying her is their only option now. Lifting her in his fluffy arms, he swiftly crosses the pathway, not stopping until they reach another hidden spot. It'll be then that he'll carefully set her back down for a moment.] Once we're around this corner, we should be out of harm's way.

[lethechained]

[ It's taking a bit of effort to work her way out of the long shoe while standing up, so the assistance is probably both necessary and appreciated - although she does sort of tense up when she's lifted right out of the thing. That's not a hard move to pull off, skinny creature that she is, yet she still does what she can to be as small a hindrance as possible by pulling her arms in close to her chest. (Or maybe she's just trying to avoid bumping him while he books it for safety.)

Still looking a bit embarrassed, Naminé's quietly relieved to be back on her own feet-- er, foot, since she hesitates a moment before setting the second one down. ]

Thank you, [ she says, just a touch miserably, but brightens again slightly at the idea of freedom put forth by his comment. ] You really think so?

[ -- Ah, well, what use is speculation, anyway? Clearing her throat quietly as if in wordless request that he ignore the question, ]

I'm-- ready whenever you are.

[ Shoes or no shoes. ]

[chippedsoul]

[His twin tails swishes about, looking to her feet.]

Once we get out of this, we can look into getting you another shoe. [Some encouragement for the final rush. As they prepare to move, there are sounds of footsteps approaching from behind. He puts a paw on her shoulder.]

Don't look back. [He'll urge her to come forward with him. The way ahead is clear, whatever is behind them doesn't matter anymore.]

[lethechained]

[ Although footwear is potentially the least of their collective worries at a time like this, Naminé does feel some comfort in the idea of leaving that whole debacle behind. (And not being quite so awkward in her gait. Symmetry is not something one fully appreciates until one has to limp around in a single, uncomfortably heeled shoe.) The corners of her mouth upturn gratefully as she nods, although her relief is cut short when she hears the sound of those same steps.

Her head is about to turn for a glance back when the hand - paw - on her shoulder discourages her from it. The girl's brow scrunches, but she doesn't reject the idea of making a break for freedom. Grimly, ]

Right.

[ A little ungainly, she'll hurry along at his side. On the opposite one, though - with her earlier victory over her magical misgivings in mind, Naminé curls a hand higher near her midsection, thinking over that blizzard spell from earlier. If they get into trouble, then - it pays to be prepared. Though no ice makes an appearance, a noticeable chill does start to follow along with them as they flee, Naminé's mental preparation leaking into the feeling of the air in this shared dream. ]

[chippedsoul]

[They're walking a fine line right now. But he's determined, and it translates into this warmth that the fights against her chill. Forward they march, the footsteps eventually starting to fade away. The voices of the locals start to flood out the steps as they reach the fountain at the center of town.

Only then, when he's sure they were no longer being followed does he relax. His paw is still on her shoulder.] We made it.

[lethechained]

[ Despite keeping her word not to look back, it's a near thing as she walks unevenly along at his side, teeth pressed tightly into her lower lip. Her eyes stay on the path, but she's not unaware of the peculiar, swirling changes in temperature around them; when the strange weather follows along with them, she becomes distantly aware that it must be them. Both of them, it seems; it's a strange realization, but not one she feels she has the room to acknowledge.

In any case, her coolness begins to ebb as the chatter of neighboring voices promises them safety. Exhaling her audible relief, Naminé finally uncurls her clenched fists, the last of the potential magic slipping away as her side of the temperature change fades. ]

Looks like we did...! [ As unlikely an outcome as that felt for a while there. Turning, she starts to smile his way, only to be reminded from the corner of her vision of his hand still on her shoulder. She's never exactly been used to touch beyond the practical, and gives a soft, 'um,' but doesn't actually comment on it. It feels like an afterthought; no need to embarrass the poor guy, especially not when she owes him a, ]

Thank you. For not leaving me.

[ Any of the times he could have, in fact. ]

[chippedsoul]

[His paw being there was more out of reassurance for her that he's still with him. So he didn't think much of it as he casually lowers his paw.]

Of course. [He tilts his head.] Did you really think I would...? [Has it happened to her in the past, for her to say something like that?]

[lethechained]

[ Her eyes blink wider open in response to his question, then shift toward the ground almost sheepishly, one shoulder rising a little. ]

It's... not that I expected you to be that kind of person. After all, you put yourself in danger to help me from the start.

[ He was pretty selfless the whole way through, so she didn't really have any such misconceptions. Still, maybe that faintly melancholy look on her face is due to some previous experience, because she adds a soft, ]

But I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd changed your mind. Especially-- when I caused you so much trouble.

[chippedsoul]

[He shakes his head.] I would never leave something half finished, or leave someone behind like that.

[He crosses his arms.] I made the choice to answer your call, so I was already committed to do whatever is asked of me.

[lethechained]

[ Gentle though it is, there's a wryness to her smile. ]

If that's how you feel, then you're very brave.

[ And she admires that - it's not hard to tell from her tone. She's always appreciated the heroic sorts, since she owes her life to them a few times over. ]

Still, you should be careful, too. In places like this one, you never know what could happen.

[ Those kinds of warnings usually fall on deaf ears when they're given to someone who'd say what he did in the first place, but it never feels right to her to just leave them to it. ]

[chippedsoul]

[He considers her words, a reassuring smile forms on his face as he nods.]

Of course. It's not the first time I've experience something as strange as this place, but I thank you for the concern. Now, maybe we should see if we can get you some new shoes...? [Does this dreamscape even have shops...?]

[lethechained]

[ A smile isn't an unexpected response, yet it's still nice to see. Her own warms slightly in the face of it, and she finds herself reassured in spite of herself. ]

Mm. Then maybe-- I've told you what you already know. But... I'd hate to see something bad happen to you after you were so kind to me.

[ Which would be an unfortunate topic to linger on, so she offers a bashful nod in response to his offer. ]

If you don't mind. I-- probably shouldn't try using magic again so soon.

[ Not after what happened to the first shoe, yikes. Turning, she looks over the milling crowd; there's plenty of chaos going on, but most of them seem less perturbed than they could be, so maybe there is a shop open somewhere despite the festivities. With a glance back at Kazuma, she offers a slightly more sheepish upturn to her mouth and a faint tilt of her head with her, ]

And this time, I'll walk.