[Open] Send Shivers Down Your Spine

[tantailizing]

🧙 WHO: Zidane Tribal and You!
⚔️️ WHAT: Catch-all for October feat. Fighting, Quests, and Stealing... not in that order
🕒 WHEN: Throughout October until the next Event
🗺️ WHERE: New Camelot, Ruins of Celliwig, Forest of the Fallen
⚠️ WARNINGS: Violence in fighting, and blood might pop up. Other than that, not going into gory details I don't think.

I. Don't Lose Your Way Head

He knew some people came back to the Ruins that were once Celliwig, and he did too. While mainly to check up on them, make sure they had their own food or supplies if they intended on staying, he would then stay around to help recover bodies or build grave markers before heading back to New Camelot.

However, subsequent visits were... tense to put it mildly.

It's not the first time people had been scattered by the sound of hooves pounding against the dirt, the disembodied laughing, and blocking the Headless Horseman's swing as he attempted to behead one of the many visitors to Celliwig. Zidane's daggers hold and he managed to redirect the swing - at which, the horse reared and carried its rider away, but they'll be circling around. He never left after one clash.

Zidane took that moment to look back.

"Go! Hide!"

II. Bunker Down

From fixing fences to building up bunk beds, he's becoming a pretty efficient at building things. It was always just whatever set they needed before and then those small repairs around the hideout, but hey, he didn't mind this. It's a repetitive task maybe, but it's keeping him busy and they were going to be used. Really, he was happy to be able to help out.

"Alright..." He wiped he forehead with a wide grin. "This one's all ready! Let's get to the next one!"

III. A Quest from Locksley (mingled with Suns Out, Guns Out)

It made sense why the landlord had been tight-lipped about whatever occurred at his house now. Originally, Zidane had dealt with the gang that came to his new home saying he had to pay some 'protection fee'. Well, he said that hadn't been in the contract, had a fight break out, and left them in the dumpster where they belonged. After what happened in Celliwig and Lestari, he'd let refugees move into his home, completely forgetting about the gang before.

Imagine his surprise to see those two-bit wannabe thugs bothering the family he was housing - and then hearing how they did that to the whole neighborhood.

He's not exactly sure about this new gang forming, but at least they wanted to help the refugees. And hell, if it meant killing two birds with one stone - IE, dealing with that cheapass aristocrat that set up this gang for a little illegal tinder on the side, fine with him. Donning a new black cloak and mask, Zidane was gonna see this aristocrat and all his friends deciding to withhold aid were gonna pay their own dues.

[OOC: Open also to people who might be deciding to hustle refugees for protection fees because Zidane's not having that. And people who are Robin Hoods or trying to stop said Robin Hood types, let's go!]

IV. Forest of the Fachan

The once Forest of the Felled was pretty much just as they'd left it after the encounter with the Stone Giant: too quiet save for the small fauna and wind. And seeing the Giant sit in slumber again just reminded him how they failed, but he digressed. They weren't here about that; they were here about removing wards that were now rendered pretty much useless.

All was going pretty well until the sun started to go down... and then things began to change. He felt the fur on his tail and hair on his neck rise, and eventually had to stop with his group.

Wait, group? But there'd been so many people moment's ago. How'd they get separated?

But he brought a hand to his dagger and prepared himself, the rotted stench of decay and death reaching his nose faster than whatever had started talking minutes before.

... The hell was that thing approaching them!?

V. Wildcard

[OOC: Interested in an unlisted prompt or we planned something else entirely? Then wildcard is for you! And if you would like to plot something else, come message me at demidemonLove]

Comments

[tantailizing]

Sure, but even I didn't go through that joint alone. That would've been a bad idea.

[Pulling back, Zidane checks one more time and nods. Yup, those bits are all drilled in. They're good!]

You going with someone else makes sense. You're a reliable guy to take along.

[flamekthunder]

And I would have refused if someone asked.

[And he really did Tifa just managed to force him inside instead.]

[tantailizing]

Yeah, and then you ended up there anyway.

[He wondered who might've dragged him there.]

Anyway, don't worry about it. That quest is long over.

[flamekthunder]

[Just gives Zidane a withering look before sighing and grabbing some more boards and screws. Whether he went or not he's just going to move on.]

Hold the frame up so I can put these screws in.

[tantailizing]

Got it!

[Hands on the frame, he keeps it leveled and waits for Eustace to get to it. Really, there are no more questions about the quest... buuut he also wants to know what the hell happened still.]

[flamekthunder]

[He'll have to keep wondering because Eustace is tighter than a clam with its shells welded shut.]

[tantailizing]

[Eustace, don't weld clams shut, that's rude. Meanwhile, there's something funky about the board on one side of the frame. Mmm, nothing to be too worried about, right?]

[flamekthunder]

[He will weld it as shut as he wants, thanks. Anyway, he won't be able to see it since he's on the other side, so he'll continue to set the other board in place and start drilling the screws in.]

[tantailizing]

[But that's a waste of food. Zidane has finally noticed something's up with the board when it wobbles. Maybe a bad nail? Did the screw crack it? Was the board stripped too thin? The frame's been compromised.]

Hey Eustace...

[flamekthunder]

Hm?

[He did notice something was off, but he stops and looks over at Zidane.]

[tantailizing]

I think someone shaved this board too far.

[Maybe the wood itself had been rotten and someone thought it could be spared. And... that is a cracking sound.]

[flamekthunder]

[He flinches a little at the cracking sound.]

...Damn. [A small click of his tongue.] Let's remove it for now and replace it with another piece. We'll have to get another one later.

Is that the only one?

[If on board is faulty in the set, it wouldn't be too surprising if there were others.]

[tantailizing]

Right. [But dammit, this sucks.]

[Tilting his head, Zidane looks at the supplies they have.]

Lemme check. You wanna look at the beds we got together? Make sure we didn't use any in those?

[flamekthunder]

I would imagine we would have noticed, but I'll double check.

[It's always possible something happened after they finished and never hurts to look. So off he goes to check on the completed beds.]

[tantailizing]

[Nodding, Zidane will look over the boards they still have and fully checking them over. They should've done this before, but it might be the wood itself being unsubstantial material for their taste that someone else had neglected or been unaware of. There were lots of people that probably didn't consider those things.]

[But, it could also equally as likely be intentional sabotage. Anything to give refugees a hard time, right?]

[Either way, Zidane's now separating out some boards with a scowl - not a lot, but enough that they would be down two or three beds total if they didn't replace them.]

You've gotta be kidding...

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace is also frowning. At the time it all seemed on the up and up, but perhaps now with the weight of the entire frame together, the weaknesses are finally showing.]

...We have some problems here, too. At least two of them need to be completely redone. Where'd these come from?

[tantailizing]

[Walking over and crossing his arms, Zidane taps his foot.]

I don't know. We have to ask the person who organized this about the suppliers.

[The woods were treated differently. He doesn't think only one group contributed.]

[flamekthunder]

There's no point in us continuing then...

[He runs an aggravated hand through his hair.]

C'mon, let's go speak with them.

[tantailizing]

Dammit...

[He shakes his head. Someone's making a problem]

Hold on a second.

[Approaching the already built and bending bunks, he's going to take a moment to carve 'X's on the sides of them. Hopefully that was clear enough... if the way they were folding wasn't already evident of an issue.]

[flamekthunder]

[He's already considering dismantling some of these so they can at least salvage of the pieces—but then again, they could be compromised as well. So he just watches in understanding approval until Zidane finishes.]

Ready?

[tantailizing]

Yeah, let's get this straightened out.

[However far this rabbit hole wants to end up going, he was gonna see.]