memestertrucks | MARCH EVENT/TDM

Entry tags:

The Convoy leaves the mountains behind and sets off across a long expanse of strangely bleached and tangled up land. The landscape is littered with both Husks and spent moon shards alike… Along with strange ruins and remnants that clearly don’t belong to the wilderness.

And always on the horizon is a mass of buildings; a shining city that doesn’t seem affected by the chaos and ruins dotting the landscape. The Convoy database continues to try to update, but can only label the location as “Nirvana” and leave the information corrupted.

The surrounding landscape is match for the database: These lands are twisted. And navigating them to reach Nirvana is going to be a task.

01: PATH OF SPIRES

Dotting the landscape are tall spires glowing with ominious light. Moonshards have been gathered together and carved into radio tower spires and fixed with glyphs that mirror Sigils. Various Husks rest against the spires, and it’s clear that they gave their lives up to create these structures. The worst of the environment twists are centered around these spires, like they’re acting as magnets to Warps and sparing the rest of the area. Drawing close to the spires results in whispers in the ears of the Drifter, and seeping in through the speakers of their phones or vehicles.

“We can’t let them destroy what we’ve built. They’ve already sundered so much of the world… Whether it’s Tears or Wardens, they can’t be trusted. We turn our backs on them, we renounce what we used to be.”

Skeletons of monsters drift around the spires, orbiting in weird halos. Coming into contact with either the spires or their halos results in the spire trying to absorb the Drifter, even as it heals them of any wounds and tries to pull their changes out of them. The Spires also try to broadcast any thoughts or strong the emotions the Drifter is feeling to those nearby; that transmission disrupts the spire just long enough to pull at trapped Drifter free.

02: SUMMONING CIRCLE 

New Drifters arrive in a bleached out garage, looking like color and life has been drained out of the structure. Broken down walls are crumbling away, which at least makes it easy to get outside. A collection of spires rings the garage, but many of them are broken and give off sparks instead of drawing Drifters into them. It's enough to let people make a break for it, into the wilds.

There’s dark shapes prowling around the periphery… And strange metal, humanoid Husks gathered all around the towers. The towers give off faint, whispering messages that can be heard through the radios lining the garage.

“Nirvana… Imminent. Last leg of the journey almost complete. Advised to find your vehicles, and adjust to your powers and forms.”

03: START UP

Outside of the ruined garage, one can see there are various cars ringing the structure. Most of them are parked near the garage, but a few of them are placed near the towers. Approaching them increases the odd humming transmission in the Drifter’s ears: various snatches of information about Nirvana, and how it is only weeks away. That it is a safe haven from the rest of the chaos.

There’s also a certain connection between different newcomers and cars. Something that suggests a particular vehicle is theirs, backed up by possessing the key to that vehicle. The key to the vehicle may already be in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on their person, ever since they woke up in that garage. Either way, Drifters have the keys to the vehicle now.

…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them the sort of thing that requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.

04: CROOKED PATH

The landscape is twisted, even on the road. And the further one travels, the warping of the land becomes more volatile. Stepping off the road results in hostile terrain that fluctuates depending on the time of day.

During the daylight hours, the grounds are rife with streams of aether. The aether behaves almost like water with how it flows and refreshes those who come in contact with it. But while contact can heal, it also transforms Drifters by imparting Angel traits. Staring into the aether streams can also show people visions of "could have beens" in a Drifter’s life in a positive and hopeful way, and share those wishes with other people.

At night the landscape begins to burn, with streams of fire and lava. The unchanged aether currents react by flowing upwards and away from the fires as far as possible. It’s possible to ride the aether currents; either on wings, on feet, or on very swift and lightweight vehicles. Those who can’t avoid the lava will either be burned or forcefully turned into demons. They will also catch visions of potential disasters and nightmares that could happen in their lives… And these visions are easily visible to other characters.

05: THE HUNTER

Something else stalks the twisted lands; something that travels in a pack, and dwarfs even the Convoy. It walks on taloned legs that shriek with rust and metal on each thundering step. It keeps a maw full of steel teeth close to the ground, seeking out prey… And when it opens that mouth, a distorted roar spills out.

Once it comes into view, the Convoy screeches to a halt and throws up its shields, while blaring an alarm. An automated voice urges Drifters: “Remnant monster approaching. Seek shelter in the shields or retreat immediately. Remnants are hostile weapons of the Steel Wardens, seek shelter immediately.”

And as the monster sees an old, rusted car and pounces on it, it becomes clear why the Convoy must hide behind its shields. The Remnant monster looks like a dinosaur built out of machinery, and is hungry to absorb more… Or to simply make a meal out of any flesh and blood creatures it can find. The database urgently blurts all of this out... Even as the Remnant turns towards the Convoy.

05-A: THE CHASE

The pack of robot t-rexes attack the Convoy, trying to beat down and break the shields. This close up, Drifters can see all the various vehicles and scrap that make up the robot… And worryingly, how some of those electrical components look almost human or cyborg based. They could easily have belonged to the Steel Wardens. A strange droning sound emits from the speakers; sounds that could be a creed or a doctrine, all blended together with snarls and roars.

It’s clear the Convoy won’t be able to last forever under this assault. Fast Vehicles are needed to act as bait, and lead the Rexes away from the Convoy. Meanwhile, Tough vehicles need to brave the off road warp conditions to see if they can find something to help weaken these monsters, or find a hiding place.

05-B: THE DOCTRINE

During this time the Remnant gives off a piercing roar while attacking and chasing vehicles. And now there’s words audible in that roar:

“We are denied a place in Paradise, because of our zeal… We do what we must, what we know. We hunt.”

The Rexes do their best to run cars down, trying to throw them off their wheels or paralyze the drivers with a thundering roar and shaking footsteps. The Warden’s Doctrine also spills out of the speakers, causing adverse effects for any Drifters who listen too closely. At close range The Doctrine weakens monsters by driving them feral and activating all of their monster traits at once.

Those speakers will need to be silenced if anyone wishes to go toe to toe with the Rexes. And since no one can get in close at the moment, that means either ranged attacks and magic to temporarily silence the speakers. Fortunately, there’s a tool for disabling the speakers permanently, close by.

06: SPIRE ANTENNA

The burnt out moon shards forming the towers aren’t that burnt out, after all. And they seem to be providing some power to the spires, along with a strange and almost melodic hum. There’s a build up of residue that needs to be torn off the towers, as they seem to be muffling the transmission…

And there’s still the Rexes prowling the landscape. But any time the robots get close to the towers, they reel back in pain or confusion. It seems that once these Spires are cleaned, their sound should be boosted. The coating can be burned or washed away.

And once they do, the hum is amplified and overwhelms the Doctrine; the speakers on the Rexes short circuit, busting out completely. It leaves the Rexes reeling and retreating away from their attacks on the Convoy. Other attacks can also short circuit the speakers, leading to similar results.

07: SHATTERED TEMPLE

The closer the Drifters get to the city the more old ruins crop up; they look far more ancient than many of the structures previously encountered, like they belonged to an ancient temple, long since exploded and had various pieces thrown across the landscape.

There’s still some strength left in the old stones, and it’s possible to duck into the ruins and evade the monsters swarming the lands. Old cloisters can also be turned into improvised parking garages. And while the hazards outside are kept at bay… There’s the various altars to investigate.

There’s always an altar in each of the ruins, along with the usual incense smoke and stained glass decorating the halls. The symbol of the Silver Tears has been painstakingly, artistically carved onto each one. Along with a scripture. Coming into any contact with the altars, or even staying there long enough to read the inscriptions can also activate event monster traits… Or swap them between Drifters.

Those who visit more than one shrine may also find their monster forms becoming more fluid, enabling them to swap or fuse as they need to… Which may prove to be very important in facing against the robot T-rexes.

07-A: SCRIPTURE

Snatches of the following text can also be found all over the shrines:
“Those not forsaken by the moon, we’ve called to you across worlds. We are no longer worthy of carrying the blessing, so it falls to you. Bring the gift back to the Moon, where its body lays shattered… Just beyond the reach of Nirvana.

Listen to our tale, know the truth of your blessing and our woe. When the creator shaped our world, a spark of brilliance and madness was placed in us. A fragment of the divine. But our flesh was too weak to hold such a thing. Our bodies needed to change to better accommodate that blessing, to wield the magic and knowledge. Sometimes. Many times. It drove us mad. But we were determined to master it… Until the Creator took pity on us, took much of the power and sealed itself and the blessing into our moon. Trying to protect us and purify the blessing… Though pieces still found their way to Revan. Moonshards to transform us, test us.

But of course, the wretched Wardens viewed it as a curse. Hunted the blessed to ‘safe guard’ humanity, unaware how they stifled us. Almost hunted the blessing to extinction. We’ve had no choice but to try and awaken the Creator, to break the moon open and release the secrets once again… No matter what it may do.”

08: MONSTER SHIFT

Due to the twisted energy and moon warps wracking the landscape, Drifters can also find themselves gripped by changes in turn. Two monsters reflect two extremes of the landscape and try to manifest in Drifters. Angels and Demons are both available, with the following traits:

+Chaos Pull: Drawn to places of chaos and conflict. The wilds are an especially powerful draw.
+Order Pull: Drawn to places of order and tranquility. The Convoy shields are a powerful draw, as are the shrines and temples.
+Light Switch: Monster powers and traits grow more powerful when bathed in light, whether that's daylight or headlights.
+Night Switch: Darkness powers up monster traits and powers.
+Hellfire Surge: The nighttime lava and fires cause hellfire powers to grow in power, but also lose control and fires grow more chaotic.
+Heavenly Surge: Contact with the aetherstreams boosts holy and light powers to a high degree, but leaves the Drifter half blinded from using them.

09: METAL MOSH

Since the Doctrine speakers have failed, the Rexes are all the more eager to hunt down the Drifters and consume them and their vehicles. Fire leaks out of the jaws to try and melt metal. And equally worrying, the dinosaur can combine that with a sonic scream/roar, to make a combustive hunting cry.

The Rexes try to use this cry to ignite anything in a cone in front of it; flesh, plant, or anything flammable. If there is nothing to take the impact, it super heats the ground and turns the dried sand to glass. If the Rexes manage to weaken anything with their roars, they try to close with fang and claw. The robots also become briefly disoriented after using its roar, leaving them vulnerable.

The Rexes would sooner be destroyed… Which considering the capacities of fused and empowered Drifters, is more than doable. Due to assorted attacks and mishaps with the tower spires, there is also one Rex that is too weakened to fight back, and all of its vital circuits are exposed and open for reprograming. When the Rexes are reduced to scrap ~~and exactly one is tamed due to player feedback~~, the Convoy can finally continue on.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

1. Twist: The landscape isn’t always content to stay in the same shape. In fact, it seems conflicted between being a bleached out desert and badlands, and warping into a landscape populated with venomous and vivid plant life. Said plants have a way of causing wracking pains or vivid hallucinations with too much exposure; either way it’s advised to step carefully.
2. Torment: The pathway off the roads is sometimes lined with spikes, ready to pierce all but the Toughest tires and feet. And if the ground draws up blood, it eagerly drinks it in and begins to shape a calcified echo of whatever it bled; the pale sculpture looks like it is in pain and shifts between various monster phases and forms the Drifter has experienced.
3. Warp Weather: The assorted moon shards have been pulled toward the towers. Gathered together their warping nature is channeled towards the sky. And various weather starts to unfold; auroras snake across the sky before turning to thunderstorms, then rain shifts into a fog that distorts sounds and melts into bright sunlight. The weather is wild and varied, and often hostile.

NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shortly after reaching the ledge, Rock then hoists himself after Donnie onto the roof. It took a while for him to finally lift his foot over the edges of the roof, but Rock was eventually able to pull through and get his entire body onto safe ground.

"Doesn't seem to be anyone around right now," Donnie says, turning to scan their surroundings for the direction of the Convoy. Surely they must have stopped somewhere, but then he's not sure if there's an adequate area to do so when there are metal giants roaming.

Either way, he doesn't like staying down here. The sky stretches above them, and it has been far too long since he's flown.

"Come on," he says, his only warning before he pushes off, wings flapping, gathering the winds. He'll wrap his talons around Rock's arms and take off if the boy doesn't put up any resistance.

Whew, OK. Good to know.

Rock follows Donnie’s gaze, his eyes trailing up to the Convoy. But before he could open his mouth, Rock would immediately find himself off of the roof, his arms wrapped up by Donnie’s talons.

“Whoa, waoh —“ Rock almost trembles in Donnie’s grip, forcing himself to look above rather than below.

Donnie already has enough on his plate, and he certainly doesn’t need any more if they’re going to be so high in the sky to avoid those mechanical T-Rexes!

Up they go, Donnie using the winds to spiral higher, quicker. He doesn't want to risk being spotted by something, and while they'd be high enough to avoid being chomped, he knows sound can carry.

They rise higher, and Donnie circles wider as he looks around to seek out the Convoy. There are more ruins around, and when everything else seemed so open, would be the best choice for some sort of shelter.

"There," he says as he spies a few familiar vehicles parked within what must have been a sort of courtyard.

“Your friends, right?”

Rock’s eyes focus on the numerous vehicles within the area of the Convoy, attempting to peel his gaze away from looking down his feet. He can do that whenever he’s on the ground proper. Not worth risking if Donnie’s putting all the effort to carry him over.

"The Convoy," Donnie says, but there's relief in his voice.

He makes one more circle to be certain that nothing is around to have seen them in the sky before he makes his descent. It's a bit of a dive at first, but be breaks off into a slower spiral once they're closer to the ground.

Rock couldn’t help but smile at how utterly relieved Donnie sounds from mentioning the Convoy.

However, the boy almost yelps out upon taking the dive, his frame tensing up. Luckily, his frame relaxes upon the slower descent and slackens into Donnie’s grip upon touching the ground.

“Thanks, Donnie,” Rock managed to breathe out, his eyes shuttering in relief.

He makes sure Rock's feet are solidly set on the ground before letting go. Then he's dropping down right after, remaining on his legs for a moment as he looks around.

"...should be safe here. Once night falls, the shield will be in place. If you need a place to stay, you can use the main train. There are small rooms there, with beds if you want to rest."

“Th-Thank you,” Rock almost collapsed to the ground, attempting to catch his breath. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go, but thank you …”

Donnie's tail loops around him to save him from a spill.

"After all that, I think that's probably the best place for you for now. You can work things out from there. But you're not alone anymore."

Rock collapses right into Donnie’s tail, which helped serve as leverage from falling right onto his face. He then pinched the bridge of his nose as he shakily got to his feet.

“I think so,” Rock managed to say, now clutching at his head. “There was so much going through my head that I don’t even know what to do anymore …”

He then lifted his head to face Donnie.

“Do you ever get that? Like you come in here thinking what happened before then was a dream, but as it turns out everything was real all along?”

"...I get that. Still happens sometimes." There's no helping when his overthink kicks in, but it's easier to weather if he's talked through it with his friends and family.

"I think I've been here long enough that I know better. And I've had plenty enough experiences that haven't just been awful dreams to hope I might be proven wrong."

Rock nodded along quietly, the silence now filling in the void of an empty atmosphere. Eventually, the silence became unbearable and Rock finally mustered the courage to speak up again.

“Donnie … do you remember how you first got here? What was the last thing you were doing before you woke up here?”

It was so long ago...

Donnie looks out past the ruins, like he could see through time itself.

"...I don't remember exactly. But...we were still recuperating from an alien attack on our city. That's why I didn't have anything with me, my battle shell or my bō..."

“Oh crud, it must’ve been really scary for you to end up here all alone and defenseless, right?”

Rock was immediately reminded of the blackout that has affected most of the city back at home, especially under Ra Moon’s control. It wasn’t exactly an alien attack, mind you, but it definitely involved a nefarious alien supercomputer hellbent on destroying all inferior life beings!

He then swallowed dryly.

“Donnie, I don’t know if this is normal for everyone else who has arrived here before, but I was supposed to be dead by the time I got here.”

Ouch.

Donnie grimaces. "Yeah, that about covers it. I've never been apart from my family before, or away from home like that. But then I found out my brother was already here, had been here for at least a couple months before me."

He blinks, looking at Rock with that revelation.

"...I don't know. I haven't heard from everyone about their situation before they arrived here. Leo... my brother, he believed that he'd died from the alien invasion and this was where he ended up. But that's only because he'd been pulled here just before the point that we rescued him. But he was in bad shape here, since his injuries hadn't gotten a chance to heal, and it didn't help that he started turning into...a ghost."

Donnie is very lucky that he still has his family on his side. Rock … not so much, but at the very least he could stick by someone who knows what it is like to have a family.

He then stared wide-eyed at Donnie, horror beginning to dawn upon him.

“M-My injuries weren’t there when I first got here, but I still felt everything that Ra Moon placed upon me during that fight …”

Crud …

“Does that mean that I’ll become a ghost too? I don’t - I don’t even know —“

He then drops down to his knees, now clearly distressed.

“I’m OK, I was damaged, but I’m fine. I didn’t die, I didn’t die, I didn’t die …”

"Wh- No, Rock, that's not it," Donnie says, blinking as the boy's words sink in. He comes closer, shaking his head.

"You're not dead," he says firmly. "Anything that happens here is due to this world. I can't say you won't turn into a ghost, because I don't know what sort of creature this world might twist you into, and even those changes may not be permanent. But for lack of a better way to put things, you should consider the happenings of back home, and of here, completely separate."

Rock doesn’t know if Donnie’s words are reassuring enough to pull him out of that spiral. Donnie definitely had good intentions, and even proved himself to be as such upon their first meeting, but being told that he could be transformed by this world … definitely not something he needed to hear as true as it is.

“I don’t want to change,” Rock began to shake his head. “I can’t change. What if I become evil again? I don’t want to be evil and end up hurting everyone I care about. I can’t — I’m supposed to help everyone, not hurt.”

Donnie had thought that that part was more than obvious. It's not like he's sporting wings and claws as a fashion statement, after all.

"...none of us came here wanting to change, not like this," he says quietly. "But I don't think we can classify it so simply as evil. We'll do things we may not want to, but...in the mindset of a creature, it's different. Driven by response, by instinct. Thought patterns aren't the same."

Rock nodded along quietly, still clearly unnerved.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I do end up changing,” Rock said, now exchanging looks with Donnie. “It’s something that everyone has to eventually accept over time, right?”

The turtle-harpy-cerberus hesitates.

"No. It isn't. We shouldn't lose ourselves. It seems easier for some more than others to maintain a sense of self. A lot of the time we're fighting against it, if we're able to."

Donnie sighs, turning to start closer to the vehicles.

"But some don't mind the changes. In some ways, it's helped them."

"B-But don't they worry about losing themselves too, even if transforming did help them, Donnie?" Rock solemnly stared right at the vehicles, before attempting to follow him, "Did transforming help you at all? Or your family in particular?"

"Ed doesn't seem to mind. He seems to have reached some kind of middle ground with the creatures that influence his traits. I can't blame him for preferring the changes though. He's able to 'see' again, if in a different way than with his eyes."

Donnie fall silent again. Turned on him, that question is less easy to answer, in a way.

"...no," he says, because there really haven't been any benefits. The journey has been wrought with pain and frustration for the most part, and Donnie dislikes losing control of himself.

Ough, oof.

On Ed's part, that was definitely understandable. He must've grew accustomed to the transformations to realize it in such a way, especially if it gave him the sight he desperately needed in his life.

For Donnie . . . sheesh. No wonder he came off as a tad world-weary, even on the first impression.

Rock then gripped his own hands, his fingers lacing together.

"If it helps . . . I'll see if I can join everyone in finding Nirvana," Rock said solemnly, keeping his eyes trained to the ground. "This includes you, Donnie. I hope you recognize that."

MARCH EVENT/TDM

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)