Audio | @silent, @parker, @riku | open

[callada]

[ It has been hours since the lighthouse crew returned to Beacon. You may have seen them around already - checking up on friends and strangers alike, making sure people are safe from the forest spirits and their violence. So it’s some time after that the audio file is posted to the network. ]

Riku: It’s done. The lighthouse is connected.

Peter: That’s the good news. [ a beat; frankly, peter’s tired and it’s reflected in the audible exhale of breath that follows the brief statement. ] Which means we can now communicate with the Lighthouse Keeper and she can communicate with us. I know— things didn’t exactly go as planned, at the lighthouse or — here, but Winters said there’d be a risk. [ the word’s enunciated carefully, with weight; it’s accompanied by the brief sound of movement. that they all knew there'd be the risk of death going into this doesn't change the gravity of what had happened, and though there's more to it than this, peter continues with: ]

—The spirits attacked once they figured out what we were trying to do. [ breath of a pause; amendment. ] Once they thought they figured out what we were trying to do—.

[ in person, peter's attention flickers between rosinante and riku. ]

Rosinante: They came for us immediately when they found us. We ran, but Winters was at the rear and they got him first. Five was first to try and help him, and they killed him too.

[ Said bluntly, matter-of-factly. There’s no desire to beat around the bush, though he does sound solemn as he continues. ]

I can’t speak for the others, but I’ll be here at the Invincible for now if anyone has questions, or needs somewhere to hide.

[ For now, all three are there around the tables by the bar, looking tired and covered in blood and dirt. Worse for wear, but alive. ]

((Feel free to either reply via network or come find them in person!))

Comments

@scientia; text @ anyone

[reigniter]

[He's texting because he doesn't want to draw attention with his voice, in case there are more spirits are patrolling nearby.]

What happened? Everything was going well until the horn went off.

[He wants to write 'what did you do' but that sounds accusatory and now's not the time to point fingers.]

And what happened with people that were on the lookout?

[callada]

Don't know. We weren't expecting the horn. It started after we finished up like it could detect the restored connection.

Didn't see the lookouts on the way back. They didn't make it back before us?

[shit.]

[reigniter]

Did no one knew about the horn?

[Is he seriously telling him that Keeper didn't know about it and Winters, who survived entire wipes, also didn't know about it and didn't warn them?]

I do not know. The spirits went mad- some were scared and ran away, most of them became aggressive and attacked us.

[He almost literally had to drag Noctis away because he refused to fight spirits he befriended.]

We have been hiding ever since. There are still some very angry spirits roaming the streets in the Village.

@dr; audio whaaaat also this is open to threadjacks

[donttalktome]

What do you mean they got him first?

[He sounds like he's out of breath, maybe. Where even is he?]

Only one of you went back for him?

[callada]

We were all being attacked at once. Five was just the first one to get there, it's not like we abandoned him. Or either of them. But there were too many, and they see a lot better than we do in the dark. He was right there, it was...

[Fast. Awful. But he steels himself, because it's not the first time he's lost a companion to combat.]

We all tried to help. But at some point you have to go before the body count climbs high and every time you lose one, it gets harder for the rest to fight back.

[donttalktome]

You don't need to tell me what they're like.

[It's a little snappy, like he's intending to cut off any further description.]

God that bitch. [And now it sounds like he's muttering to himself? Did he forget he was talking to someone?] Can't keep her goddamned dogs on a leash for one night. When did the foghorn start? What were you doing?

[Oh, guess he didn't forget after all.]

@parker

[webshoots]

I'm sorry, Doc. [ peter doesn't know if they were friends — or if will even has friends — but the fact that it's will's first question says something. there's a 'we did our best' on the tip of his tongue that he doesn't quite get as far as verbalising, because it'd sound like an empty platitude and he knows it.

BUT THEY'LL BE BACK, RIGHT..... ]

[donttalktome]

[Unfortunately, Will's reaction doesn't exactly shed light on the nature of his and Winters' relationship. There's a noise that could either be a sniffle or an attempt to catch his breath, and then he sounds mildly offended.]

What are you apologizing to me for? You're not the one who let those things murder him. I'm not stupid, I know there's only so much you could've done.

@Grandmaster

[paletteswap]

Is it worth sending someone to look for them? Or is that a lost cause?

At the church I mean.

[callada]

Let's wait. Maybe the spirits will settle down and make travel easier. There were several living at the church, right? And the medics were there often. Best to message them if they don't see this and let them know they might have company in a few days.

[paletteswap]

A few I think. And whatever is in the trapdoor.

I'm not sure where the medics were making camp, but I'll see if I can find them. People have been scattered since the party.

@subzero, text, open

[saibot]

So this little endeavor failed. How unsurprising.

@parker

[webshoots]

We got the Keeper connected. I'm not really sure what else you were expecting us to achieve.

[ no deaths? yeah, that'd have been absolutely great, peter would have loved that, but that's not what happened and if they'd died and been unsuccessful in getting the keeper connected? that'd have been a waste, for all involved. ]

[saibot]

Yes, you did at the cost of your companions.

[voice] @kingofwei

[pure_havoc]

They attacked you before the horn sounded?

[he's just looking for a point of clarification, that's all]

[callada]

No. The foghorn sounded first, and we were attacked almost immediately after.

[pure_havoc]

I see. Then it was in fact a signal.

The attacks were not instantaneous here, but the sense of panic was, as was the appearance of unknown spirits in the trees around the town. Many spirits fled at the sound.

None of this sounds good in any sense. Whether you take it as betrayal from the lighthouse keeper or merely a mistake in communication, I have significantly less confidence in our holdover residents - as well as the spirits.

@cgriffin, audio | threadjacks fine!

[colonists]

— Winters is dead? [ so are many others she's spoken to, apparently, and that thought sets a pit of dread in her stomach, but. there are other things to tend to now, in the wake of the attack. ]

How many of your group was injured? Do you need a medic?

@riku; audio

[equinoctials]

...Yeah. I'm not sure any of us would've made it back otherwise.

[ Even Five succumbed to his wounds en route. There was nothing he could do when his magic should have been enough. To say the experience was humbling leaves out the hefty dose of survivor's guilt they're all carrying.

And then, because Riku is super bad at asking for help: ]

Not to speak for the others, but there's plenty of injured who need a medic more. Where are you?

@cuttingedge; text for anyone

[knifecollecting]

They got Winter?

What do you mean what they "thought"? Is that why they attacked?

@parker

[webshoots]

They attacked after the foghorn went off - which implies it's either a signal or a warning of some kind for the spirits, but to what extent and what for, your guess is as good as ours.

We didn't exactly get chance to stop and ask why.

...And yeah. They got the Captain.

@oracle | voice;

[spitefullight]

You're-you're kidding, right?

They can't be dead!

[ Elden definitely sounds panicked, maybe from the mixture of the attacks, his own magical tank beginning to run low and exhaustion he's feeling a bit unnerved. Especially the fact Winters is dead. Did the time limit on his spell run out? Did it even WORK?

He tries to keep his voice from shaking but it's definitely desperate;]

Are any of you injured? [ Even if two people were dead he was going to at least try not to add anymore to the pile of bodies. ]

@riku | voice;

[equinoctials]

[ Riku feels numb in the wake of everything. It's the obvious distress in this voice that pulls at him. ]

I can't speak for Winters, but Five's lantern... I don't think he's coming back.

[ It would be more cruel to give someone false hope. ]

Sorry.

[ Are any of them injured? ]

There are people who need it more. If you can't get to the Invincible, I can escort you.

[ He might have a heck of a limp right now but he can still defend others. ]

Action, open

[featherknives]

[If there's one word to describe Xayah right now it's "murderous". She didn't mingle within the party, but when the things went down- they went down. And almost took her along. Her cowl is missing, her feather ears are flat and almost melting with her hair. Her clothes are almost all ripped, she has a bandage around her wrist and cuts all over her face.

She doesn't know how she survived the attack of the spirits but here she is, piercingly staring at the group while mixed in with the crowd as if that will get her answers. She didn't read the network of course. She lost her device (not on purpose this time) when spirits attacked.]

There were five of you, [she states, walking up to where Rosinante was sitting with the others.]

[callada]

There were.

[Rosinante would stare her down but he's tired. He's spent all day hiking in the forest, lifting cables, messing with rusted-out electronics. Fighting. Running. Witnessing people he cares about - even if he doesn't know them well - die despite his and the others' best efforts.

So he hunches forward a little, elbows on his knees, as he looms over the others in his seat and smokes his fading cigarette.]

The other two didn't make it back.