EVENT ✨ Tournaments & Trust

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This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask OOC questions/plot/view event notes HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only.

SUMMARY: King Arthur needs to go meet with Queen Elphame. Celliwig holds a tournament to invite other people to come with during the communication and celebrate their newfound friendship. A temporary barrier was put up so the river is currently mostly impassible. After the departure from Celliwig last month, the people of Celliwig have been working hard to make the area around their town safe again from the angered specters. For now, there are makeshift barriers that are preventing anything from crossing the river, dead or alive, except over the Pure of Heart bridge. It will, at the very least, prevent more from coming over and overwhelming the land surrounding Celliwig again. The city is open and, while the Elphame traders have stuck around to help train people in the proper use and treatment of mounts, the safest way to speak to Elphame is through Celliwig's hall of mirrors. King Arthur, Merlin, and a couple of other members of the royal court entered to speak to Queen Elphame directly in order to find out what information she knew about the Calamity and to begin discussion of what it would take to reclaim Excalibur. With the magics of Avalon having recovered significantly enough to not be at risk of falling apart if some of the otherworlders leave while still maintaining the barrier to keep Avalon safe, they need to begin discussing action. At the same time, in celebration of King Arthur's arrival and a royal wedding within Celliwig, a tournament is underway! Celliwig's tournaments work a little differently, however, and focus on a little more than just combat skills-- a modern tournament for the modern person. (Though there is fighting as well, of course.) Celliwig's Top Talents Tourney hasn't been held in a good many years since it's been closed off, so everyone is invited to participate. Invitations have been sent to all of Camelot's residents. The tournament categories are as follows: Cutthroat Cooking - For the chef's out there! Compete against other chefs to show off who has the best culinary skills. All contestants start with 2,500,000G which will be theirs to lose through the course of the tournament. This money can be used to purchase sabotages to use on other chefs throughout the course of the competition. Vicious Vocals - Singing competition. Anyone may participate, there are no auditions. Each contestant will compete solo first, then have to do a competitive duet with another person who moved onto the second round. The final round involves performing and singing at the same time, so you may want to go find friends to give you tips between each round and help you come up with an awesome set-up that will wow the judges! Speed Sculpting - This one's for the artists! Celliwig is really big on art, in particular sculpture. Any decent sculpture can be sold whether it wins or loses. Sculpture form can be made with anything you want-- glass, sugar, and ice are popular choices in Celliwig because of the city's aesthetic, but any materials are possible-- plants, stones, clay, chocolate, fabric, whatever you want as long as it stands on its own after you're done creating. (You can use your magic to sculpt if that's what you want.) Melee Mania - Fight your fellow competitors one-on-one. Weapons and magic are both allowed. Healers will be paid generously for assisting after combat is finished. Familiar Feud - Let your familiar have a little fun and combat each other! They're the star of the show here and otherworlders are only there in a support role. Mario Party - It's literally a series of Mario Party games. If you win your block, you move onto the next round and so on. 4 max players per game. If you don't rage quit at any point, you get free energy drinks throughout the day because this party isn't stopping. Silent Assassin - This competition will take place throughout the course of the tournament. All competitors are kept confidential, but required to wear a hidden body cam so that the experience can be shared online for audience viewing later. All competitors are given fake weapons (paintball guns, rubber knives, and so on) with sensors in them and have to find and "kill" the other competitors throughout the tournament period. Anyone who shows up to either participate in or watch the tournament will receive 50% off a hotel room and a single (Potion) Counter-curse. How the tournament will be run is a little different from an OOC standpoint. Any characters can participate, but in order to determine a winner, we will need anyone who thinks their characters skill is great enough to win to comment to the name of the tournament they are entering HERE! If your character would have canon advantages in a category, write +1 advantage in your comment. (So if you are from an idol series, you'll have a leg up on singing, or if your character is a skilled assassin in their canon, they could gain a +1. It won't guarantee they win, but it will give them a leg up so we're not ignoring their skill!) If you do not think your character has any chance at winning, please do not comment. (Someone who's never cooked a day in their life isn't going to magically win the cooking competition, you know?) If you think/want your character to lose even if they may have skills, we do not need your information. This is only an RNG for potential winners. We will RNG the winners from those who comment for each competition as linked. ICly, anyone who wants to thread any part of it out, go for it! You can thread out watching, you can thread out participating, interfering, anything you want! Thread out having an intimate moment with a healer after a battle, a tearful failure and hurt/comfort consolation, buying a round of vodka flashes for your fellow losers. Whatever you want! Just have fun. SUMMARY: King Arthur & Co. are still in chambers. A woman shows up and claims they're in danger, argues with Glwelwyd that she saw it despite that those abilities are not possible right now. Players voted to determine the next course of this prompt. (This section may be skipped for prompts now, but is still posted for reference.) The day after the end of the tournament days, all seems well and peaceful as usual within the city of Celliwig. The mirror hall that King Arthur's party had gone into is still closed shut. The Hall is guarded by a 7 foot tall man with a long, scraggly beard and huge rippling muscles named Glewlwyd IV. (You may have seen him around at past events.) None may enter until negotiations are completed, and it is his sacred duty passed down by his ancestors to ensure that none shall pass his guard. Most in Celliwig won't even try, knowing the futility of such an action, which is why it is particularly peculiar that Gwion can be found yelling outside of the halls that they need to be let in. After an argument and a call to action, some other worlders chose to find Gwion and ask questions. "Listen to me, there's something wrong, you need to let someone in there! Look for yourself! I saw it!" "Time is frozen, the future cannot be seen. A dream is but a dream, not a prophecy. Disrespect from the people of Celliwig interrupting a meeting of the fae and King Arthur's party would spell much more certain fate. After one more failed attempt to get past him, the woman stomps off to a nearby bar to blow off some steam, and ends up posting to the AOL Network instead. The King's party is in danger. No one is allowed in or out, but they're going to die if you don't work together to get past Glewlwyd. You can ask how I know, but it's a real long story and we're real short on time, so I'm kind of going out on a limb here. I'll be at Celliwig's bar if anyone wants more details. SUMMARY: A very close battle ensues in front of the Hall of Mirrors, with the doors eventually being forced open to reveal a dark, possessed hall. Reflects prey on characters' deepest insecurities and anyone who falls victim to them are trapped within the reflections. King Arthur and the Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul Mirror used to communicate with Elphame are possessed by angry specters trapped on Celliwig's side after the river barrier was put up. After the drama caused by Gwion's warning, the city of Celliwig is rather unsettled. There's an air of tension thick enough that you could hear a pin drop, and enough people who thought it was more important to protect the integrity and wishes of the fae than to worry about the unlikely chance that a seer had a vision while time was stopped. A large number of people have shown up to stand by Glewlwyd's side and defend the Hall of Mirrors, a show which will not be forgotten by the people of Celliwig... However, the strength in both numbers and battle goes to those wishing to enter the Hall of Mirrors. The battle is strenuous, a mixture of both Celliwig citizens and Camelot's otherworlders, and anyone wishing to play out part of it should put either defense or offense indicators in their prompt title to clearly attract those wishing to play out the fight. Those who manage to break through the line will make it into the Hall of Mirrors. The first and most notable thing once the door is open is that it's as dark as night. Not at all conditions for a meeting. And it's cold, condensation and fog forming at the door where the freezing night of the hall and the summer heat outside. It is not at all like it was the first time visitors were allowed in to place their Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul crystals in the mirror to communicate with Elphame. There is absolutely something going on, and those on either side of the battle may want to redirect their attention to the Hall. None of the party seems to be seen. Those who dare to venture forward into the hall will find themselves rather quickly at a loss for where the door went. There is a dim light still visible from it, highlighting the other people in the room and the edges of glass and mirrors throughout the hall. An eerie blue glow reflects through the number of the mirrors, but it seems to move about as if passing impermenantly. Those who try to chase it will find themselves further lost from the entrance, until they find themselves face to face with a reflection that doesn't seem to follow their own movements. This reflection will begin to speak with the character's voice, then immediately target the character's deepest insecurities. Every bad thought that they've thought of themself is fair game. If the character can remain calm and keep moving forward, then they will not fall victim to the trap. However, should they react with a burst of emotion, argue, or be unable to move forward when faced with their own insecurities, they will find themselves trapped in the mirror, replacing the reflection. Those who manage to pass the mirrors will find themselves at the Pure of Heart and Brave of Soul Mirror. The communication is still open to what appears to be an ornately decorated, natural throne. The Queen is long since gone, having been escorted to safety to keep her safe from the cursed mirrors. Notably, every crystal lining the edge of this mirror seems to have been infected by the blue, almost spectral color. Approached, a chilling laughter echoes from the possessed mirror, but the laughter is finished by King Arthur himself, back turned and facing the mirror. He turns around and wields his sword, ready to defend the mirror, eyes filled with the same blue as the mirror. As more people approach, reflections of Arthur seem to walk out of the mirrors as well to fight more and more people. It's hard to tell which is the real one, so can you really kill him to get him out of the way and get to the mirror? Fight the small army of King Arthurs and gather enough death mages to exorcise the spirits out of the mirror.. or maybe just smash it. Did you think this was the last choice you'd make this week? Please refer to the plotting post for any additional plotting needs and to check added notes for the third prompt. Timeline-wise, the new/third prompt doesn't start until the 23rd. The poll for it is here.

Comments

[sighsheavily]

I'm not the priority here! Go do what seems right to do, and the rest will fall in place!

[that's strangely how things go, contrary to reason. instincts, both natural and magical, seem to win the day more often than second- and third-guessing.

her familiar glows, and from its horn a jagged vein of lighting jumps into Cecelia's hands so she can mold it and send it chasing after the figures trying to close in on her.

once enough have staggered out of their shared line of sight, she fixes an urgent look at her protector.]

Go!

[mayoninofukucho]

[He hesitates. Damn it, if only he had brought his new shield and chainmail-enforced cloak, then he could leave either or both with Cecelia now. Alas, all his new equipment is still waiting to be enchanted with ghost-repelling death magic spells at Darin's forge back in Camelot, given that Hijikata wanted to focus on honing his offence during the tournament. All he has on him right now it his unenchanted sword, which wouldn't be of much use to a presumably untrained person like the ambassador.]

Okay, but withdraw if they push you to the limit!

[She doesn't strike him as recklessly self-sacrificial, seeing how she seems to hold a pretty important function back home as well, but he'll tell her anyway! They're on the same page about trusting their gut instinct, if nothing else, so Hijikata doesn't try to argue after hearing her decisive tone of voice. He gives her a sharp nod, then makes a break towards the large mirror. He really hopes that some other heavy hitter will take his place and protect Cecelia, all the more since the exorcism will preoccupy him to the point where he's unlikely to pay further attention to the battle.]

[sighsheavily]

[...well, she had been pining for opportunities to really flex these latent magic muscles of hers, right? and simply casting spells into the open air means quite little in the long run.

whether Arthur would forgive her or not, these copies, be they connected to him, are going to be mildly cooked for encroaching on her space too much. likewise, others may find themselves enjoying minor concussions from being blasted into walls with quick, precise gusts of wind.

all this, and not a single dragon scale to be seen on her hands! goodness, it's almost like her childhood dream turned reality. shame she doesn't like it anymore.

so while the would-be demon of sorts flocks to like-powered others to try and put a cork in this endless madness, Cecelia keeps herself quite busy, and doesn't waste time to get other more athletic and martial bodies between herself and the clones.

only time will tell if the exorcisms taking place will really do the trick, and all Cecelia can do is stand by and stay alert amidst the cacophony.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[This sure isn't how any of them thought they'd be spending the last day of the festivities (or that they'd attend in the first place, in case of those who hastened here unplanned). Hijikata does get his first valuable experience as an exorcist in, and he's ruthless in forcing the ghosts out of the grand mirror, but once the flood of fake Arthurs subsides and the fallen copies littered around the hall disappear they'll have a number of shattered mirrors and a gravely injured king on their hands.

Just another day in Celliwig!]

[sighsheavily]

['wounded, yet alive - apt to survive.' that's the report Cecelia manages to glean once the battle with the mirror images has concluded and the captive court retrieved. by then, Cecelia is very well near her limits in stamina, even with how conservative she'd been in expending her magic. still, there's no time to rest until she has that report...and maybe some clearer direction on what comes next.

that latter bit is still pending, which means she is left to wander and wonder with the remains of those catching their breath within the chamber. this leads her to the supposed-demon who had backed her up earlier.]

...I trust you've sustained no mortal injuries?

[mayoninofukucho]

I'm fine.

[That's a bit of an exaggeration. He wasn't injured, but he's feeling so drained that he's struggling to keep himself upright, which he masks by "casually" leaning against a pillar as he smokes (sorry, Celliwig, he needs his nicotine, hallowed halls or not).]

You?

[He sure is sparse with his words now compared to his blathering earlier... regardless, he scans Cecelia for injuries (not that he could do much for her beyond calling for a healer, most of which are crowded around the king or anyone else seriously harmed).]

[sighsheavily]

[save for the exhaustion and some nicks and tears on her attire, she seems rather damage-free herself. and if she is, she doesn't seem bothered by it, her attention instead on procuring a handkerchief from a dress pocket, holding it out to him. he's gonna have to reach a bit, because she's not encroaching any closer (egads, what is it with her and being drawn toward sour-faced, dark-haired men who smoke those nasty things?).]

Living, for now. Though every moment we collectively linger here can alter those odds, I daresay.

[mayoninofukucho]

I'm going to tail-light us out of here. It'd suck if all the death mages ollied out and then the ghosts came back, right?

[Also maybe if he gets to rest and recover for a few more minutes he'll be able to walk without black dots wobbling around his vision. It takes him a damn long moment to notice the offered handkerchief.]

..? What's that for? Is something on my face?

[Run while you can, Cecelia, this one has worse habits than most of them, probably.]

[sighsheavily]

[without missing a beat:] Yes. You look dreadful.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He makes a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh, wordlessly accepts the handkerchief and wipes his face, then holds on to it for a moment, apparently unsure if he should give it back, before concluding that she doesn't need his grime and cramming it into his jacket pocket (can you tell that he doesn't often receive handkerchiefs from ladies?).

He looks over at the king again as he's put on a stretcher to be carried outside and, hopefully, to the nearest hospital or whatever other safe recovery space they've got around here.]

Someone must've taken him for a copy and gone in no holds barred.

[sighsheavily]

[even if he is lacking in manners, SURELY someone of a decent sense of propriety will advise him to clean it and RETURN IT.

SURELY........................


yeah, nah, she's not holding her breath; that thing is as good as gone forever.

in any case, her gaze trails off to the receding shapes of the king and retinue.]

Ridiculous. Avatars of pure chaos are willing to play fair to help resolve the calamity, yet we must collectively be beset by such nonsense?