riverviewlogs | exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

Entry tags:

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: exploration mingle: rescue mission!
when: June 15 - August 15
where: The River Structure
warnings: violence and/or torture; please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

captivity

One of the major and most highly-valued cultural concepts in Riverview is that of exploration, expansion. Especially now that, with the recent influx of new arrivals, as the portal kicks into high gear for reasons not entirely known, the Inhabited City, already comfortably full, is rapidly becoming overpopulated. With all the refugees from other worlds pouring in from day to day, the city's safe space and resources are being taxed to their breaking point.

Right now, exploration and expansion is key, and each month, the government has decided to focus on a particular objective, in order to unite citizens in expanding, securing, and supplying the city for everyone's benefit.

the story so far

Exploration & Expansion Progress Report ● The Guardians of the Deep ● What Lies Beneath ● Plotting & Questions

After some serious flooding at the banks of the river, the cause was discovered to be the Guardians of the Deep, creatures protecting a circular labyrinthine structure underneath the river. Residents of the city explored and mapped the structure, and dealt with a good portion of the traps and other dangers, until they found a little piece of history in the Central Chamber of the structure, revealing that it was inhabited by the first people to live on the moon.

While this news has been exciting scholars and historians in the city, something a little more pressing has been bothering the average citizen - an ever-increasing number of missing persons. People have simply been disappearing all over the city, and only now are residents starting to realize why...

how it works

● Phases: Each prompt is a different phase of the operation. Characters may partake in whichever part of the operation they choose, whether it is a large and prominent part, or a more of a backseat or support role. Characters may participate in as many phases as they wish.

● Completion: When next month's exploration mingle goes up, the mission featured on this exploration mingle will be considered complete, and game canon, providing the entry has 200+ comments on it.

● Entry Reward: The reward for completion of this month's exploration objective will be...well, the safe return of everyone who was kidnapped. And some sweet hurt/comfort.

● IMPORTANT NOTE: Having observed how the pacing of exploration mingles has been going and how they are tagged, I have noticed that posting one exploration mingle each month has been a little hectic, both plotwise and for me as a mod (writing three mingles a month has been tough!). I have decided to space them out a bit further, and post an exploration mingle once every two months, starting with this one - the next exploration mingle will be posted in August!

phase i: the abducted

People don't simply go missing, they don't disappear into thin air, they have to be somewhere. And while those who are missing people keep frantically searching, those who have been kidnapped are the only ones besides the kidnappers who do know where they are.

Abducted by a group who have taken up residence in the structure under the city after last month's exploration died down, the missing are trapped in the Central Chamber, in fear of the kidnappers. Their abductors are a group of people that is starting to slowly take on cultist tendencies, believing that the remaining spirits of the First People still live in the structure, that it is a temple, and that those First People need offerings of host bodies to inhabit so they can return and bring their wisdom and magic back to the moon. Things are getting a little hairy - there's no agreement among the kidnappers as to how 'intact' the host bodies have to be and whether or not the sacrifice is in the form of alive or dead captives. Even worse, some of the kidnappers are only with the group to enjoy having power over others and using it to hurt them.

Captives are held in the Central Chamber of the structure, with next to no amenities. Blankets, food, water, and other necessities are in short supply, and they are kept huddled together, constantly guarded and either restrained, wearing or in the presence of a power suppressor to keep them subdued. But the captives haven't lost hope - they are working on getting a message out, finding a way to contact the outside world so their loved ones can rescue them...

This prompt is to play out interactions among the captives before they are rescued, and may include violence or other character suffering. It is also to enact plotted plans for the abductees to find connections with the outside world to summon help.

phase ii: distraction and infiltration

Once would-be rescuers become aware of where the captives are being held, they start making plans to rescue them - whether someone they love has been taken, they're just a good person, or they just want to feel like a big damn hero, there are lots of people willing to take the plunge and jump into the rescue. But the cult group has been in control of the structure for a while now, they definitely have the home team advantage. They know the lay of the land and where the traps are, and have used some of them to their own advantage.

It's not going to be as easy as storming the castle.

There are two parts to this phase of the rescue: a distraction and an infiltration. Distractions are planned to draw as many of the kidnappers away from the hostages being held in the Central Chamber as possible, while those who are stealthily infiltrating will try to find another entrance into the chamber so they can surprise and surround the remaining kidnappers.

This prompt is to play out any plans for distraction and infiltration. If you have plotted something out on the plotting post, feel free to post up a header for specific groups for threading rather than an individual character top-level.

phase iii: the brawl and after

Distractions only last so long, unfortunately, and so eventually the whole thing is going to break down into a big fight. Rescuers versus kidnappers, on the kidnappers' home turf, and surrounded by traps left over from the First People, while pieces of stationary tech throw out auras and waves of power suppression. It's going to be a doozy of a fight, so prepare for an epic throwdown!

And once the dust settles, there's going to be a lot of injuries to tend to, a lot of people traumatized and hurt and frightened. A lot of hungry, suffering people will need to be transported out, given medical care, and brought supplies.

This prompt is to play out the final fight between the kidnapping cult and the rescuers, as well as anything in the aftermath of the fight.

phase iv: wildcard

Have an idea for a mission-adjacent plot, or want to make up an unexpected plot twist or problem and solve it with your character? Just write up a starter, and don't forget to give yourself props by submitting it for the Progress Report.

navigation
[Asterion - Environment Art: Ariadne's Forest by Nicolas Mendoza]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The tunnels were there before, uncovered from the river. I helped clear them of monsters myself.

[For a moment, Breq goes stiff, and quiet, gesturing for Lucretia to do the same. She gives it a few moments, listening intently, before continuing the quiet.]

Whatever sparked these kidnappings, I doubt the cult sprung from the air. Someone was there before, and already organized. They just needed a target.

(She opens her mouth to think out loud about that but Breq silences her with a sharp gesture and she bites her lip, glancing behind them. Nothing seems to be following them, however. A false alarm. She exhales slowly, relieved, and lowers her voice a little more when she next speaks.)

I think you're right. I've had a run-in with a cult here before. I don't know if these people are a part of the one previous, though... I thought that we– uh, eradicated them last time they popped up.

(Honestly, Lucretia really hopes they are the same. One violent sect per planet is quite enough.)

Easier to find during the mop-up.

[And with that grim pronouncement, it's time to start moving once again, off toward more cells.]

(Hey, it's nothing Lucretia doesn't silently agree with. She lowers their voice as they approach the cells.)

You aren't opposed to resorting to violence in situations such as these?

No. They've made their choice.

[There's steel to Breq's voice, even if her attention seems to be on preparing them for this rescue, more than the conversation.]

I won't kill if I don't have to, but I won't put others at risk to avoid their deaths.

(Lucretia nods gingerly in full agreement.)

I– must admit, there's a slight element of revenge to this on my part.

(Revenge. It's an ugly word; deliberately harming children? Hurting her friends? Chaining people, sapping their morale, their powers? Ugly actions. They're befitting of each other. Lucretia grimaces as the line of cells comes dimly into view.

There are quite a few that haven't been broken open yet: some of these appear to be empty, others still have people inside.) I'll cover you, (she whispers to Breq. She doesn't have a lot of forceful spells that can help with breaking things open, but she can certainly keep anybody from noticing them, though.)

Just don't do anything stupid for it.

[That response-- maybe surprisingly pragmatic, maybe not-- is all Breq says before she's nodding and moving forward. Her steps are rogue-light at first as she makes her way toward the cells-- the shot she fires, parallel to the line of the cages, to strike the bars and the locks, is decidedly less so. So is the second one, fired at a lower level than the first.

The shots don't quite behave like normal bullets, either. They move through the bars like they're butter, but only for the length of about a yard, at which point they seem to lose all momentum. Breq pays this no mind, and instead sets to knocking away the mostly-destroyed bars.]

(It is pragmatic; Lucretia nods silently, and winces, and from then on the two of them fall into full on caution mode. Lucretia is particularly aware of how exposed they are standing right out in front of the cages like this but they don't seem to be drawing any attention– and then Breq shoots at the locks. Which is loud.

Perhaps she should have expected that. In any case, Lucretia casts silence about them with a mutter and wave of her hand to muffle any further noise they make completely. They can talk in here now, too.)

Better late than never.

(Lucretia is trying to keep an eye on the entrances, but it's hard not to notice Breq's atypical weapon. She had assumed it was a gun, but the bullets do not ricochet off of the metal they are fired against. Which is a good thing, obviously.)

What are you doing?

Breaking the bars. The bullets are designed to travel a certain distance after they hit anything.

[Realistically, she should have given warning, but at this point, any cultists near enough to distinguish the sound of the gunshots were likely enough to find their group and the prisoners they'll shortly be escorting out. There's a battle going on outside-- a cultist might wrongly assume that the shot cam from there.

What comes of it will come of it. Breq simply focuses on knocking down the last of the few upright bars, then beckoning to the prisoners held within.]

Help each other and get moving. We're escorting you to safety.

(Breq is a touch clinical, especially with her rescue speech: Lucretia is quick to notice that several of the people inside are children, still wearing power suppressors. It's quite hard to keep her temper when faced with a sight like that.)

Here, (she offers, and holds her hands out to show that she means no harm as she approaches; she helps take the collar off one of the older children, and then the rest of the fall into a sort of line to have theirs removed, too.)

Can you help, Breq? (There are so many of them. Lucretia has to be mindful of her spellwork to keep her spells nice and narrow, only targeting the metal. So it takes her a little while to get each collar off.)

[The answer to that isn't verbal-- Breq just nods, tucking her gun away so that her hands are free, but it's easily retrieved.

That accomplished, she falls in next to Lucretia, stepping in to help where it's needed. Her face is blank, expressionless, as she undoes the collars presented to her. If anything, her attention only seems to be half focused on the children themselves. She spends plenty of time glancing up to evaluate the entrances and look for any incursions.

Still, her hands are gentle, as she assists in removing the devices. In particular, she slows for one crying child.]

Be brave, now. You'll be home soon.

[Once that's complete, she nods to Lucretia, attention lingering for a moment.]

How are you holding up?

(Once all of the collars have been removed, Lucretia is quick to corral them into a semblance of a group, finding the child who appears to be the oldest and imparting strict instruction: as they start to shuffle off, she throws a shield around them that should hold until they're closer to the entrances. She'd go with them if they didn't have more people to free down here.

She has to take careful stock after that last spell, aware that Breq is looking at her.)

I'm– hmmm... (She fails to hide a large yawn behind the back of her hand,) yep. I can't lie, I... think that spell casting is taking more of a toll than I thought it might.

(It makes sense: she's hungry and tired. Of course her spell work isn't up to snuff.)

What's your limit? At an estimate.

[Lucretia already expressed her desire to continue helping, and despite her earlier concerns, Breq seems willing to take her at her word, until she says that she can't do any more spells.]

The rest of this block shouldn't take much longer, unless we run into trouble.

When I literally can't concentrate long enough to cast a spell. But I'm not there yet, thankfully.

(It's... getting to be a close thing, though. She pinches the bridge of her nose with a sigh. It's frustrating, to feel useless.)

I can finish this block, but I'll have to turn in after that.

[Breq nods. Hesitates a moment, then lays a hand, briefly and gently, on Lucretia's arm. Her expression is one of concern, but it seems to sit oddly, as though she's unsure if this is the right sentiment to express in the moment.]

There are other teams. They'll get out even if we don't do it, and you've already had a hand in rescuing those children. And yourself.

(No, it's a very good expression. Lucretia feels comforted by it, even if that doesn't show while she stares at Breq, her mind racing.)

I know.

(A sigh. She glances away.) I– should probably go, leave you to it. (In her current state, she's really only putting Breq in danger when she thinks about it. If she runs out of energy in the middle of a fight, Breq will have to expend energy looking after her. She just hates the thought of leaving anybody behind.)

[Breq lifts her hand away slowly, letting it hang in the air for a fraction of a second. In the end she pulls it back, even though for a moment it seemed like she wasn't ready to give up the contact.]

There's still groups to escort to safety. We can see to them.

[Like those children, she thinks but does not stay. And if that trip ends p in one of the safe havens the rescuers have established where Lucretia can rest, then that's for the best, isn't it?]

... Okay.

(It's a good compromise. Besides, while she could always pass a shield about the little group they've freed and send them on their way, there's no guarantee they'd make it right to the surface without running into some kind of trouble. It's a good idea.

Lucretia sighs, and runs a hand lightly over the top of her hair, resisting the urge to iron her fingers across her forehead where a tension headache is starting to build.)

You're right. I'll stay up there with them when we reach the surface.

[Breq's steadying hand returns, then draws back again just as quickly. In the end, she simply nods.]

It's decided, then. We'll set off for them, before they can stumble into any guards.

[It's probably not serious. ...Probably.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

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