EVENT LOG: ENTER MR SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
ENTER MR. SANDMAN (DEFENDERS)

characters: those who signed up as defenders for the event
location: all around Beacon
date/time: november 16-29
content: the defenders attempt to drive off a spirit invasion
warnings: lots of horror! body horror, psychological horror, gore, violence, etc.. please cw all threads where appropriate! mods will do the same

in your closet, in your head.

It all happens in a matter of moments. Your friends, your companions, and even some people you aren't all that fond of; everyone who took so much as a bite of the spirits' feast suddenly collapses into a comatose heap. Which is bad enough already, but the worst, by far, is yet to come.

Before anyone can really figure out what's happened to the sleepers, the woods surrounding the town come alive with sound. Rustling, screeching, clicking, howling, and under it all, the characteristic hoots and whistles of the forest spirit tongue. But these aren't the friendly creatures that set up the banquet in the first place, and they aren't the familiar faces (or masks) from around Beacon. As they begin to emerge, bursting forth from the trees, these spirits reveal themselves as a horrifying army of terrors. And sprinkled among them, distinguishable by the emerald glint in their sockets, are the infamous "green eyes", the dangerous spirits that appeared once before.

Attempting to talk to these spirits is a moot point, made obvious by their immediate assault on anyone they get close to. They attack with claws and teeth, with limbs far stronger than they have any right to be, and the green eyes, as they are wont to do, will try to get into your head. Somehow, they seem to know what it is that scares you most, and they don't seem too hesitant to use it. It's not clear what they want— are they here to eradicate you? To frighten you? To send a message?

Whatever the case, one thing is very clear: you and everyone else, sleeping or waking, are in serious danger. Are you ready to defend Beacon?

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Comments

[paletteswap]

The creature in the woods is alarming, hadn't there been green eyed monsters before? But Kuai forces himself to look away briefly and take stock of the situation. There's several people passed out on the table, and about an equal number of awake people scrambling to figure out what's going on and checking the unconscious for life signs.

There's another, louder rustling and the crack of a branch as if the creature may have climbed a tree and Kuai reacts immediately, shooting a barrage of icicles towards the noise. One of them may have hit if the hissing, garbled sound is any indication. But it doesn't back down or run away, obviously waiting for an opportunity to burst out and... well attack he supposes.

"The Invincible. Same as the last attack, we can barricade the doors against them." He frowns, he was fond of the forest spirits, but they kept doing things to erode his trust. Though he didn't see any of the regulars around. "There's bound to be more than just one."

[callada]

The Invincible is right. It's the obvious place to meet and hold everyone, and if the spirits come through upper floor windows, they can block off the stairways. He nods in agreement as he slips off his usual pack over his head, quickly tucks the sleeping Mary into it and her lantern as well, and then settles her on his back, between his shoulders. It's a familiar, comfortable sort of weight.

"Maybe Aziraphale - shit." Well, he was going to suggest bringing them to the angel so he could have a look, since the man's healing powers suggest he might be able to understand what's gone wrong, but just as soon as he mentions him, Rosinante sees him asleep at the far end of the table. "Never mind."

They should just go quickly, and he turns to do that, but he spots Will a few seats down and decides he has room to take another. What is he doing here? Hadn't taken him for the party sort. But if anyone needs to be prioritized, it's someone who has the experience and the knowledge to help get them out of the long-term mess they're in. He clips Will's lantern to his belt, slips his glasses into a coat pocket, then wraps arms around his middle and heaves him up onto his shoulder. Being larger than all of the rest of them sure has its advantages.

[paletteswap]

Kuai keeps his back to Rosinante as he puts the child in his bag. He's seen her plenty of times but currently can't recall her name or if they'd ever spoken. Actually in the brief moment he'd looked at the sleeping faces of those at the table he realizes that he really hasn't spoken to most of them.

And he's not going to get a chance to if they don't do something about this situation.

Would the creatures attack those who were vulnerable first? Or the ones who seemed like a threat? It could go either way, and Kuai is at the defensive while Rosinante gets Mary and Will situated. A creature barrels towards them out of the forest and Kuai immediately sends out a blast of ice, freezing it in place. The ice barely glitters, the lack of light causing it to look otherworldly and fake. From inside it's frozen prison the creature lets out a high pitched wail of frustration, unable to move its jaw to do much else.

"We should get them to the Invincible, start getting it secured and then bring as many there as we can. It'll consolidate where the enemies will attack, but be easier to defend than multiple spots."

The creature is very stuck, but it's not dead, and eventually it'll break free and come after them again. In preparation, Kuai is keeping his hands free to freeze it again. But in the meantime he puts up an ice wall between the forest and this side of the festival area. It won't block all of them and at only about ten feet wide they can go around it, but maybe it'll be enough to give everyone running around a moment to start getting people to safety.

Someone else will have to get the other side as he can't freeze the entire perimeter. Well, he could, but it would tax him enough that he'd be worthless for further fighting. Maybe as a last resort.

[callada]

Thank whatever gods there might be that Kuai is with him to watch his back. The frozen spirit might have broken from cover early but now that one has tried, the rest might not be far behind, and they could very quickly get overwhelmed. So once he's got a handle on not just Mary and Will but also his pistol, once Will is balanced over his shoulder, he uses the opportunity presented by all that ice to get moving, and fast.

"Grab whoever you can and let's go," he calls out, not just to Kuai but anyone else in earshot. Judging by the sounds of snarls and screeches, and claws scraping against ice, that first one frozen is already not the only one after them.

[paletteswap]

Kuai sends some more icicles at creatures that are attacking another small group across the table from them. Fortunately everyone seems to have the same idea as Rosinante, grabbing those who are unconscious and heading for whatever safety they can find.

Covering their escape, he backs up towards the Invincible, shooting balls of ice left and right to try and deter the creatures. They're determined, but there's definitely easier prey to go after than Kuai and he and Rosinante are able to make it safely to shelter.

Going to one of the far windows he looks out at the other side, "There's a few more in the woods, I can see their eyes. We'll need to barricade the door, the windows. Hold them off while getting those who are downed to safety."

He realizes that he's saying what Rosinante already knows, but something about affirming it out loud is calming. They have a plan, they will not be overrun by creatures that remind him of the Oni that had killed him.

[callada]

"Downstairs first, upstairs after," he adds, glad to be on the same page. "We can use bed frames for boards. Or tables."

Shame to pull it all apart but survival is worth the time spent repairing later. With a glance to double-check, he ducks inside to drop off the people he's carrying, while calling back, "I'll set these two down and then we can get started."

[paletteswap]

"Agreed." Right now Kuai doesn't care about what they destroy, when they're not under threat of imminent death they can repair it. Or deal with the repercussions of what they've done - but first they have to survive this onslaught.

"We'll keep the door clear so more can be brought in. Someone will need to stand guard but it's the quickest way to get the most people to safety." As he says that, someone else rushes in with an unconscious body over their shoulder, clearly they all have the same plan right now. He slams the door closed after them, holding it shut as he watches out the window for any others coming their way.

"There are many more creatures out there now. More than I've ever seen before."

[callada]

"Guess they don't normally have a reason to all come out at once." And he hates that now they suddenly do. Wonders how many more there are lurking just outside the rings of light shed by torches and lanterns. Having dropped off his charges for now, he comes back toward the stairs and main entrance.

"Why don't you take the door, actually," he suggests as he sees others already heading up to work on barricades as well - for being not particularly organized, at least people are experienced with these kinds of things. "You have your ice, you can close the entryway off quickly if you need to. Can you drop it as fast as you can create it?"

[paletteswap]

"I can shatter it." It's not quite the same, he can't recall the ice the way he can cast it, but it will break when he hits it, even if it wouldn't when someone else did. The downside is that the more he does that, the more big chunks of ice will be piling up all around them to slowly melt and flood the place.

But his suggestion is a good one, if anyone can block a door quickly it would be him, and he could freeze anything rushing at them.

That ice won't run out, and Kuai will fight til he literally drops, so there's that at least. "Are you going to grab more people or barricade the windows?"

[callada]

"I'll stay back and work on defenses. Maybe grab supplies for everyone staying here, too," he answers. He would prioritize bringing people in but it looks like that's surprisingly well-covered; meanwhile, hauling heavy furniture around and blocking off the stairs is something that needs a few more hands. It's going to take a while to cover every window.

With that, there's nothing much more to say. It's time to get to it. He gives Kuai a clap on the shoulder as an abrupt thanks and good luck all at once, then heads upstairs with his lantern.