APRIL EVENT LOG

[monstertruckers]

code

The grassland gives way to rougher terrain, green fading to cracked red earth with scraggly sharp-edged plants dotting the landscape. With no trees, the sky overhead feels massive, and almost oppressive with how the sun and moon shine down. It’s entirely at odds with the biting wind that often whips across the flatlands. The ground occasionally breaks open into crevasses or rolls along in arid hills, but it remains stark thorn brush for as far as the eye can see… Save for one strange, ominous tower on the horizon.

01:TOWER OF TRANSFORMATION

The tower looks like a giant fang, trying to bite the sky. A strange pressure emits from it and rests on the skin. Drifters can get closer to the tower, but the terrain is covered with puncturing spikes and sharp thorn brush. It will take a TOUGH vehicle to get close without getting cut. Anyone who bleeds within sight of the tower discovers their cuts are transformed; a monster’s form waits under their skin, and transforms them one injury at a time.

It takes several days to get close to the tower via Convoy, with how the road snakes and winds towards it. Drifters won’t be able to reach it without offroad vehicles until April 15th. Getting close to the tower reveals that it is formed out of a strange metal much like the Husks… And that numerous creatures have been melded into the tower’s surface. A strange red ichor seeps out from these forms. Coming into contact with it heals wounds and can revert one transformation.

Drifters can take some of the fluid with them, if they have means to carry it… But only one extra dose; any more makes the fluid unstable and neutralizes the effect entirely.

01-A: TWISTED MONSTERS

The land here is still littered with Husks, ready to break open to fight… But these monsters are more twisted than usual, and seem to be composed of multiple organisms. Prowling cat-centaur esque brutes called panthera protectors, ungainly catoblepas, reptile energy draining bloodhound dogs, and flying lion-bird anzu are all ready to attack with tooth and claw, to make Drifters all the more like them.

Given the influence of the tower, Drifters can feel their forms twisting, the more wounds they take, and the more the moon begins to form into something almost whole. By April 15th the wounds and moon are almost impossible to resist without either vials or message mementos. And those wounds are determined to drag a change out of Drifters. (Of note, Drifters who took on Harpy or Naga traits last month will find those changes can come back to them unnervingly easily, and blend with other creature changes to become a true chimera.)

These changes grow worse until the moon glow and shards reach their absolute peak on April 20th. At this point Twisted Land occurs.

02: ROAD ATTACK

A week into the thorn brush, chaos starts at sunset. The first warning is a metallic howl echoing down from the hills, followed by a rumble that could almost be thunder… If not for the fact that the sunset stained sky is completely clear. A swarm of metal sweeps over the hills, heading straight at the Convoy.

Running at the lead are more of those canine robots. The Convoy database again identifies them as ‘chromehounds’ and these are clearly in better repair; their fangs and claws are all razor sharp, and they are swiftly closing the distance. Close behind the hounds is a scattered assortment of scrap metal vehicles. The creatures driving aren’t quite human but also aren’t quite monsters; instead they are mechanical forms with just a few remnants of flesh on them. Robot riders and raiders, determined to harry the Convoy.

The goal of the raiders is to crash their vehicles into the Convoy, to slow or halt them. Drifters will need to either fight at a distance… Or hope that their monster side is tough enough for close and bloody combat!

02-A: ATTACK AND AFTERMATH

The attack patterns of the raiders depends on who they are targeting and how transformed the Drifters are. More monstrous Drifters earn full fury, and the vehicles blare with static and a patchy message: “…Purge… Corruption… By steel.” The raiders are determined to kill monsters, even at the cost of their own lives.

By contrast, less transformed Drifters may be overlooked, or only looked at suspicion. But if examined long enough, the raiders will eventually conclude less changed Drifters as still corrupt and attack them, especially if they are associated with the more monstrous!

Afterwards, mechanical salvage can be found to bolster the Convoy vehicles. The machines display a moon stabbed by a sword. It is the same as the symbols on the trap cars from February. Several raiders also carry odd talismans that resemble a rosary formed of tiny computer screens. Many of the screens are broken, but a few carry flickering text: “Your charge: To hunt the Warped. To purify the broken land, purge all sickness that twists us. Only then can Nirvana be opened, and the world reborn without corruption.”

03: OASIS

Just off the road are scattered oases, shining like blue gems in a red wasteland. The waters run surprisingly deep, with monstrous statues submerged in the depths. These statues resemble all 13 types of monsters, some of them even coloring the water depths into shades of green, purple, and red.

The oasis waters can’t fix or restore physical transformations. But it can cure any heat exhaustion with just a few sips, and restore lost strength. Red water can heal wounds, green restores magic fatigue, and purple can stabilize mental exhaustion and strain.

The statues also create a strange resonance on Drifters’ Sigil marks, particularly when Drifters submerge in the water. The statue resonance can’t completely revert transformations but they CAN spread out the transformation between two Drifters and lessen the potency.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, CHIMERA

Peculiar flowers bloom along some of the thorn brush. Drifters who bleed from the thorns will find that their cuts turn into Traits belonging to either Chimera or Unicorns. Chimeras typically appear from red flowered plants, and become increasingly tougher as they gain more traits. The following is also available:
+Tower focus: if growing extra eyes or heads, vision becomes disorienting. Focusing on the tower will help sharpen vision and provide clarity.
+Thermal flight on new wings, as the hot air coming off the ground helps them soar.
+Territorial hunter vs other fully shifted monsters/enemies.
+Blood taste/frenzy: becomes more savage as blood is shed, whether that is their own or others. If it is their own or an enemy, more aggressive; if it is an ally, more protective.
+An increasingly carnivorous and voracious appetite. Plus a craving for raw meat, and a drive to go hunt it personally; the fresher, the better.
+Tough hide. As 3 or more Chimera traits become active, the skin becomes increasingly tougher and harder for cuts and new transformations to occur.
+A sudden roar that cuts into words, easy for conversations to turn into a shouting match.

04: MONSTER SHIFT, UNICORN

As with Chimera, getting cut and bled by flower bearing thorns will impart unicorn traits on Drifters. This typically comes from thorn plants with white flowers. Unicorns have a knack for stabilizing the more violent changes… And perhaps even stopping transformations from bleeding. The following is also available:
+Horn Resonance, a ringing in the horn or forehead the closer one gets to the tower. Can result in either disorientation, or a boost in healing.
+Shift Healing: At the cost of taking on another unicorn/current monster trait, may heal another Drifter of one active trait. This can only be used once per character.
+An increasingly vegetarian diet, including the flowers off various thorn bushes.
+Increased pain or disorientation in the forehead as horn grows in. May also experience pain in feet (hooves) or back (wings or tail) though healing magic can alleviate pain.
+A compulsion to heal the injured or protect those who can. Similarly, a compulsion to protect the virtuous and aid them.
+Fight or Flight response: more likely to bolt at the sign of trouble with increased speed. If fleeing is not possible (or others are in danger) ready to fight to the death in desperate frenzy.
+Urge to run and be outdoors, gains an almost euphoric sensation when running at full speed.

05: TWISTED LAND

Finally the Convoy draws close to the tower and the moon glows balefully overhead, signaling an imminent Moon Warp. Shards of the tower fall away, exposing something encased in the surface. A chimera monster is pierced and pinned to the tower by swords. Elemental blood streams down, glowing in reaction to the Drifters, and causing the blades to glow in turn.

If Drifters make contact with the swords, they explode in a hail of shards, causing more wounds and damaging the tower. The shed blood twists the landscape. Deserts, forests, and swamps all shift together. With them come the hazards of those environments; quicksand, falling trees or strangling vines, terrible draining heat, all blending and switching without pattern. Such twisting weakens the tower. Further fragments break off and turn into monsters, aggressive and ready to fight. The Convoy braces against the twisting, but warning screens say that the shields are low on power. The shields occasionally waver, letting in the Moon Warp and monsters.

With the damage Drifters inflict in their battles, the environment twisting, and the sword shards, the tower crumbles away. It emits a burst of energy that disperses the land twisting, and ends the bloodshed transformations.

06: SALVE

In the aftermath of the warp, the tower has cracked and broken. A column of wavering light takes its place, reaching thin tendrils up towards the moon.

The red ichor leaks out of the tower in rivers, and any Husk it comes in contact with breaks open without transforming into a monster, instead releasing another glowing shard that travels upwards. Drifters can still harness this ichor to undo one change, though the limits still apply. Submerging in the ichor does not undo more than one change… Though it will stain Drifters with red.

The ichor can also heal wounds, and repair those quite thoroughly, acting as a good salve to mend Drifters from past battles.

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.

Twisted Creatures: Local fauna (flying rabbits, jackalopes, gorgons wandering in from the grasslands, etc) gets caught in the thorn bushes and begins bleeding, and turning into a monster. The process is slow and painful, giving Drifters enough time to get away from the scrub brush and the monster if they wish; or enough time to try and dispatch the creature.

Thorn brush: Clumps of thorn brush line the road. A time or two they even grow over the road and need to be hacked through, in order for the Convoy to proceed. The brush is almost like razor wire, with how sharp the thorns are, and how ready they are to slice up skin.

Watering Hole: Rarely, one can find a small oasis in the bleached land. Unfortunately, many of the twisted creatures want a drink from this place as well; it’s a task to grab water and avoid getting on their bad side.

NAVIGATION

Comments

Ruby Rose | RWBY

[guidemyway]

Road Attack

[Ruby was out clearing a patch of thorns from in front of the convoy when the raiders finally made their attack. Her scythe made her an ideal candidate for the job. Unfortunately it wasn't able to fully protect her from earning her fair share of cuts and scrapes along the way. The whole thing was starting to give her a splitting headache. It was that or the two multi-pronged horns starting to sprout out from her head.

Luckily for her, her weapon was pretty capable of handling close and long range combat. So when the mechanical menaces start to approach she's quick to duck in behind her car to shift her scythe into it's sniper rifle form. She'll quickly take aim and move to fire at one of the Chrome hounds approaching.]

Uh- Hey! Might need some back up here!

Aftermath

[By the time the fight is over. Ruby's exhausted, bloody, and sporting a set of razor sharp teeth to go along with her horns.

Unfortunately that doesn't mean there's time to stop and relax. She's picking through the remains of the cyborgs and raiders looking for anything interesting. She's got an armful or metal parts and bullets that she'll find some way to use.

However she comes across one of the weird screen rosery that she pauses for a minute.]

“Your charge: To hunt the Warped. To purify the broken land, purge all sickness that twists us. Only then can Nirvana be opened, and the world reborn without corruption.”

[That was a little troubling.]

Okay. There is a lot to unpack there. But I'm going to be pretty miffed if we get to Nirvana and the door's locked.

Oasis

[Look. It was hot. Thorny. Miserable. And the only cool thing that she had really got to do was fight Cyborgs and Raiders. Ruby Rose deserved a break. And once they came across the next oasis she was happy to take it.

Which is why anyone currently in the water or around it is going to hear a seventeen year old girl shout out.]

CANNON BALL!

[And then she will charge the water, and leap in. She may splash whoever's nearby with water. She pay land directly in beside them. Or she may crash right into them. Either way. They have to deal with Ruby now.]

Tinkering

[The back seat and trunk of Ruby's car has become an odd collection of goods. Basically anything shiny or valuable has been collected and put in there. Along with a variety of guns, knives, and car parts that she's collected from the various fights they have survived.

While she's pretty happy with her hoard she's also feeling the old need to create and tinker. So she's got a little table set up and is working to disassemble a machine gun she found on one of the raiders and is contemplating a machete beside it.]

Okay. ...Now how to put you both together... That's the real question...

Wild Card

[Feel Free to choose your own adventure! Or contact me at jjabarrett on plurk or discord and we can plot.]

Oasis!

[flowersnjunk]

Great minds think alike, which is why Eunie is already in the water, resting her head in her arms on the edge of the pool. It's so cool and relaxing, not to mention soothing to the numerous cuts and scrapes she's gotten over the last few days. She can feel herself just starting to doze off a little when-

-somebody yells and cannonballs into the water nearby, splashing the back of her head and shaking her alert.

"Oi!" She squawks, her headwings flapping irritably. "Can I ever get a moment to cool off without somebody goin' an' jumpin' on me?"

[guidemyway]

If there was one thing Ruby was good at doing, it was turning a soothing moment into something more chaotic.

She emerges from the depths of the water and sucks in a big breath before letting out a sigh.

It's only a moment later that she realizes she may have disturbed the peace.

"Uh- Sorry. I mean- In my defense it's not like I actually hit you?"

[flowersnjunk]

"Ugh!... well, 'least you apologized for it, unlike some people I know." Eunie sighs, now feeling a little sullen. She lowers herself into the oasis until only her eyes are above the water.

Road attack

[refusefate]

I got you. [A blast of energy tags the raiders getting to close to Ruby’s position. Another low whining hum builds in the background as Zero leaps from the top of one car to another, light on his feet.

Too fast for a moment, clearing the last car and landing hard on the ground in front of her car. He draws his saber, the energy blade shedding light as he barks at the raiders.] Stand down and you won’t be harmed! I repeat, stand down!

[But the raiders don’t. He curses and blocks one attack, then fires his buster point blank into another.]

[guidemyway]

Thanks!

[The way his arm canon's blast works reminds her a little of Penny, and it makes her feel more at ease that he has her back.

And she has to admit that she appreciates the way he tries to communicate before going full out on the attack.]

Yeah- I was kind of worried that they weren't going to play ball.

[She rises up from behind the car and takes another shot at the raiders approaching them.]

We're going to want to think their numbers so they don't overwhelm us.

[refusefate]

[He nods and over the chaos his voice cuts through the noise like a sword.] This is your last chance! Tell me why you’re attacking us and stand down. If you don’t, you know the consequences.

[The raiders he hit have been disabled not killed. The raiders all speak but the only thing they say ‘purge by steel…corrupted end them…’ over and over.

It makes things very simple. His eyes close for a moment.] Thinning their numbers is a good idea. Whoever gave them orders might pause to rethink their approach.

These guys…I’m not seeing much of a mind in any of them.

oasis!

[rootlessly]

[And here Vash was, sitting by the edge of the oasis, gently splashing his face and neck with some water to soothe himself from the heat, before there is suddenly a shout and a Big Splash.

...

Hang on, he remembers how this goes from some of Rem's movies. He puts up ten fingers in the absence of a card to hold up.]

Ten out of ten?

[Approval from a (literally) soggy wet man over here.]

[guidemyway]

[Ruby emerges from the water and sees a very wet man giving his approval to her dive. So she will take the chance to proudly bow as best she can while floating in the water.]

Thank you~! Thank you~!

Ruby the great will be here all day-

Or at least as long as the convoy is hanging around.

( tinkering )

[qaw]

[ While Ruby is tinkering a certain, and probably familiar by now, crow will make an appearance. He swoops down, backwings neatly, and perches himself on one of prongs of Ruby's newly emerged horns. He makes a guttural rattling noise in his throat, then drops something onto Ruby's worktable.

She'll probably recognize the 'something' as the firing pin from a rifle. It's in great condition, too. ]

[guidemyway]

[Since learning about her uncle being a crow on his off time, Ruby has become a little accustomed to him landing on her from time to time. It is a little weird when she's trying still getting used to the horns and her head sort of wobbles back and forth unsteadily as fights lightly to keep her balance.]

H-Hey! These are new- new! And you're going to scratch them.

[Which- Really was not something that she was worried about.

But her attention is quickly taken by the firing pin that lands at the table.]

Oooooh- Good eye on that one.

[qaw]

[ Wow, okay. Qrow is not nearly clumsy enough to scratch her horns, and he lets out a single, loud, disgruntled caw at the accusation. But he does hop down from her horns and directly on her head. See if she likes him digging his little crow claws into her hair, then!

But then she compliments his firing pin and he makes that guttural rattling noise again as if to say, See? She never should have doubted his ability to spot shiny things in bird form. ]

Aftermath

[undyingcrow]

It does raise further questions regarding Nirvana...

[Surprise, Ruby! It's Akechi... now sporting those big ol' horns he briefly had in the Moon Warp, along with some spikes down his back. He's rather disheveled, but he's got arms full of pilfered technology and weapons.]

I'm still a skeptic myself, but I believe we should consider the possibility that Nirvana itself holds different meaning to different factions.

[guidemyway]

It sure does, Woah-

[Okay. She remembers the horns from the first time she transformed as well. On the bright side she was not the only one sporting a set at the moment.

She shakes her head to stop herself from staring for the moment.]

Yeah. That would make a lot of sense, actually.

Especially if no one here has actually made it there- We're probably going a bit more on vibes than fact.

[undyingcrow]

That's more or less my assumption as well.

[He tips his head toward the Convoy, seeing as his arms are full of machinery.]

The route has be en attempted before, clearly, but I have to wonder if eventually, we'll reach a standstill and have to chart our own course.

Tinkering

[coffinturk]

[ At another vehicle not so far away, it seems someone else has had a similar idea. Dark hair, long, red cloak, black clothes... okay well, there's no scythe. And he's tall and a clearly a man.

Vincent hasn't escaped injury since the journey through the thorns and raiders began. Yet he seems indifferent to the long curve of horns or the purple furred tail stretched lazily behind him, defying efforts to be hidden under the long cloak. Though there is other salvage tucked in his car, he is currently focused on the guns he chose to keep; disassembling each in turn to be cleaned and inspected for fault.

His tools are pieces of rag and thin rods rather than specially designed, but he hasn't had luck with a bonafide cleaning kit yet, so he'll make do with taking notes.

Make no mistake. He's spied Ruby; she has a certain style he can't help but notice. And more importantly taken some small interest in her activities which seem focused on guns as well; though in a different respect. Is it worth engaging in though?

Only after the machete's put into play. ]

...What are you thinking?

[ Ah. Hey it's that quiet guy across the way. His tone suggests mild curiousity though at the same time, not so energetic that he couldn't easily turn away back to his own work if given that cue. ]

( oasis )

[airskate]

[ Ruby isn't the only one looking a little different right now. Shadow's sprouted a pair of wings since the two of them last spoke. They're spread out behind him as he sits near the edge of the oasis, black feathers shining with crimson iridescence in the sunlight. He was still getting used to them—they had torn painfully from his back just a few hours ago, after all—but this was a good way to get used to them in small amounts. Stretching out and tilting the 'arms' of each wing, fanning out the primary feathers and fluffing up the coverts so that the sun and wind could both help them dry off. He's just about done.

Which is about when Ruby cannonballs into the oasis, making such a huge splash that Shadow is left absolutely drenched in the wake of it. He simply stares at the epicenter of her landing, water dripping off his fur, ears, and (of course) he until recently almost completely dry wings.

Ruby pops back up, and Shadow throws himself at her. He doesn't really think before he goes, and he doesn't really have a plan. He just lands on her shoulders and grabs onto her head, steadying himself with several huge sweeps of his wings. ]

What are you doing?

[guidemyway]

[Oh. This was so nice and refreshing.

Ruby isn't aware of what's about to happen as she surfaces from the water. But one second she is taking in a nice breath of fresh air. And the next she is being grabbed by a very angry hedgehog.

She yelps and she can't look away with how he's currently holding her.]

Cooling off!? If you want to know who took the last toaster stroodle from the convoy- It was Blake- I swear it was her. You can't prove anything!

[airskate]

[ What the hell is a toaster strudel? More importantly, who the hell is this girl to try to throw Blake under the bus like that? ]

Blake wouldn't have stolen anything.

[ That's not the point, but he's not about to let Ruby get away with slandering his friend like that. ]

And this isn't about food. When you jumped into the water like that you splashed everyone who was trying to dry off.

aftermath;

[uragiri]

[ Dazai peers over when he hears the words, curiousity piqued, and then slides over, catlike, to inspect it for himself. He looks like he has also been scavenging for weapons, though he's had less luck since he's hardly a tinkerer. ]

Traditionally, Nirvana isn't "opened" so much as "achieved", and generally either means a complete escape from the trappings of human thought and desire, or an escape from the endless cycle of death and rebirth -- neither of which sound terribly appealing.

[ He just busts this out like it's absolutely common knowledge and he's simply offering his thoughts on the weather. His eyes flicker a little as he considers it. ]

I don't know if I'd want this Nirvana to be opened. What happens if we're judged to be corrupt? [ Dazai looks at his armful of stolen goods. Then he looks at Ruby's armful of stolen goods. Then he looks around. ]

Maybe we don't open Nirvana. [ Looting ... is bad ... right? ]

[guidemyway]

[While Dazai busts that open like it's normal conversation. Ruby's just going to make a face that indicates that she has no idea what he's talking about.

She's really good at making that face.]

Okay. Yeah. That sounds like a mixed bag to me.

[And honestly kind of reminds her of some issues she's having back in her own world. Which is less than great.]

I mean- At worst we're probably all wiped out? But you never know. We could get better.

[Humanity in her world managed a come back. It could happen here.]

We'll probably want to learn more about it before we do anything crazy anyways. But it's where the convoy is taking us? So we're a little stuck until we actually get there.

Oasis

[solitarysoul]

[Levi's crouched near the water gathering some in a bottle. He looks up at Ruby's shout but doesn't have time to move out of the way before he's hit with the splash.

He sighs and shakes himself off like a wet dog.]

Maybe a little more warning next time?

[guidemyway]

[Ruby surfaces and looks over to Levi. Blinking as he shakes himself off.]

I said cannonball?

[This is not the first time she has said something and acted immediately.]

Tinkering

[tokencanadian]

[It's only natural for a Huntress to make do with what she's been given. Pyrrha would be doing the same thing, but she's new here. To the rules and the horrors both.

She might have been quietly staring at Ruby's new horns for a bit, until giving a polite clearing of her throat.]

Ruby? Do you have a minute?

[guidemyway]

[Ruby was doing her best given all the circumstances they were currently dealing with. She had gotten pretty used to making due with the basic tools they had around them.

She blinks when Pyrrha approaches and she feels frozen for just a moment as her brain calibrates talking with her friend who had not been around for a long time. It was awkward.

But she shakes it off and gives a nod.]

Yeah- Of course.

What can I do for you?