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TOIL AND TROUBLE ❄ PART 1
TOIL AND TROUBLE ❄ PART 1
The streets of Burgess under attack. They fly through the air on broom sticks, spreading in all directions, under the direction of the three who offered them something special: immortal life.
And at the expense of children, no less!
The Grand High Witch has made her orders clear. All witches are to cause chaos and draw the attention of those who might stop the Sanderson sisters from recovering the book and brewing their potion. The dark being that explained things to them made it very clear: after this All Hallow's Eve, when dawn comes, all of them might disappear or be drawn back into their worlds.
The Sandersons may be doomed but even for the other witches, being drawn away from such a precious possible source of immortality, one that will allow them to drain the life from children, is unthinkable.
They need to draw the attention of these Guardians they're expecting to see. They need last longer than the dawn.
And so the witches descend, casting broomsticks aside as they land, their cackling scaring the children. In areas where they land, the children go running in fear into their homes - but tugging on their parents' arms and trying to draw attention to the problem outside is to no avail.
For one, the adults cannot see the witches outside - they're myths in this world, after all. And two, a powerful spell has been cast on the area causing them to mindlessly continue their normal activities. Parents are staring at the TV like zombies, or washing dishes over and over, humming to themselves and not answering. Leaving their children only one recourse: hiding in their homes or trying to run away and hide somewhere else.
The Witches are fortunately able to be pegged as witches on sight, taking off their massive hats and wigs to reveal bald heads, wearing their frumpy outfits and sensible shoes. They have wide mouths and jagged, rotten teeth, nails like claws, and smile wickedly as they snap heir fingers to magically open the locks on doors.
They are delighted to have such extra power right now, and so many extra allies, and such free reign tonight to find all the ways they can possibly eradicate disgusting little children.
PROMPTS
a) Work, Witch
The children run and are chased through woods and parks in their little Halloween costumes. Or after finding that their parents are locked up and frozen, mindless like zombies, they lock themselves in their rooms and hide under beds and closets, sometimes grabbing siblings, cousins, or the nieces and nephews of much older siblings, and making them hide with them. Some silently cry themselves as they hold baby family members in their arms, trying to hush them and keep them quiet so they won't be found.
The old ladies wander through houses that don't belong to them, ignoring the vapid and nonreactive parents, sniffing and following the scents of the children to try to find them.
"Ooh, dearie. No need to hide. I'm just a dear sweet old auntie you've never met yet. Why don't you come out and introduce yourselves? I have chocolate."
The Guardians are going to have to take this fight house to house, stopping the witches at the doors or fighting them inside. Despite the guise of older ladies, the witches are young and spry, able to do damage with their claws as well as their magic.
The children run and are chased through woods and parks in their little Halloween costumes. Or after finding that their parents are locked up and frozen, mindless like zombies, they lock themselves in their rooms and hide under beds and closets, sometimes grabbing siblings, cousins, or the nieces and nephews of much older siblings, and making them hide with them. Some silently cry themselves as they hold baby family members in their arms, trying to hush them and keep them quiet so they won't be found.
The old ladies wander through houses that don't belong to them, ignoring the vapid and nonreactive parents, sniffing and following the scents of the children to try to find them.
"Ooh, dearie. No need to hide. I'm just a dear sweet old auntie you've never met yet. Why don't you come out and introduce yourselves? I have chocolate."
The Guardians are going to have to take this fight house to house, stopping the witches at the doors or fighting them inside. Despite the guise of older ladies, the witches are young and spry, able to do damage with their claws as well as their magic.
b) Sanctuary
A local rec center has nothing going on today. They did their Trunk R' Treat event the Friday before and close earlier on alternating week days. Since it's a community rec center and not a specifically child-oriented place like a school, it's the perfect place to funnel some of the rescued children and teens.
They need to be brought here where they're safe. When there, they need to be soothed and entertained, given food and drinks, and need to be told why they have to wear sound-canceling headphones in case Sarah starts to sing her song.
Those who aren't used to children will be a little challenged here in having to do the most important part of a Guardian's job, in convincing the children they're taking them to safety, and that they're safe while there. They need to be prevented from panicking and running.
Those who truly struggle at it still can find something useful to do. Salt and some of the Pole's supply of dream dream sand needs to be poured in massive protective circles around the edges of the basketball court. The court fortunately doesn't have windows, it's in more of a large warehouse-like room, but it does have doors that need to be reinforced.
Fortunately, it only has to be a staging area, Bunny is able to tunnel the children to temporary refuge in the Warren. But doing them one by one by one would be quite the effort. It's easier to collect them together in the rec center, temporarily keep them safe, then tunnel them there in groups.
A local rec center has nothing going on today. They did their Trunk R' Treat event the Friday before and close earlier on alternating week days. Since it's a community rec center and not a specifically child-oriented place like a school, it's the perfect place to funnel some of the rescued children and teens.
They need to be brought here where they're safe. When there, they need to be soothed and entertained, given food and drinks, and need to be told why they have to wear sound-canceling headphones in case Sarah starts to sing her song.
Those who aren't used to children will be a little challenged here in having to do the most important part of a Guardian's job, in convincing the children they're taking them to safety, and that they're safe while there. They need to be prevented from panicking and running.
Those who truly struggle at it still can find something useful to do. Salt and some of the Pole's supply of dream dream sand needs to be poured in massive protective circles around the edges of the basketball court. The court fortunately doesn't have windows, it's in more of a large warehouse-like room, but it does have doors that need to be reinforced.
Fortunately, it only has to be a staging area, Bunny is able to tunnel the children to temporary refuge in the Warren. But doing them one by one by one would be quite the effort. It's easier to collect them together in the rec center, temporarily keep them safe, then tunnel them there in groups.
c) Grocery Run
The rec center refuge needs a lot of supplies. The Warren has food Bunny has grown and water, but they still need that staging ground for the kids to be gathered first. Right now the basketball court is surrounded by a ring of protective dream sand and salt - but the salt ring could afford to be thicker. They could also use more ear plugs and noise blocking ear phones. Toys, too, to calm the younger children.
Fortunately, human adults just can't comprehend their wares just walking out the door on their own and entirely glaze over what might be causing it to happen. Unfortunately, witches seeing myths carrying armfuls of salt canisters and toys are kind of noticeable.
For those who need a breather, they may be able to catch a quick chat with an ally without interruption. For others, it will be the grocery store run from hell. At least stores have lots of produce to throw, or shelves to knock down on enemies.
The rec center refuge needs a lot of supplies. The Warren has food Bunny has grown and water, but they still need that staging ground for the kids to be gathered first. Right now the basketball court is surrounded by a ring of protective dream sand and salt - but the salt ring could afford to be thicker. They could also use more ear plugs and noise blocking ear phones. Toys, too, to calm the younger children.
Fortunately, human adults just can't comprehend their wares just walking out the door on their own and entirely glaze over what might be causing it to happen. Unfortunately, witches seeing myths carrying armfuls of salt canisters and toys are kind of noticeable.
For those who need a breather, they may be able to catch a quick chat with an ally without interruption. For others, it will be the grocery store run from hell. At least stores have lots of produce to throw, or shelves to knock down on enemies.
c) WILD CARD
Got something else in mind? Go for it!
Got something else in mind? Go for it!
❅ Plot Parts: This part of plot is open to all characters, and players can have their characters be in more than one prom[t. Part 2 of plot will have several plot parts with sign ups, such as talking Halloweentown into helping, the plan to sing and blast speakers to drown out Sarah's song, etc. Player sign ups for the 2nd part of plot will be limited to 1 character per player, with each player only allowed to pick 1 prompt. Part 3 of plot will go back to letting all characters in on it, in taking the Sandersons down.
❅ NPCing: The mods won't be npcing in this particular part, but players are free to npc any witches. Handwave the levels of magic you want them to have, ranging from magical fireballs to transformation to stealing a lock of hair and improvising doll proxy they can injure to induce injuries. Spells can require chanting as needed (such as if you want to have a spell interrupted.)
❅ Enemy damage: Players can have their characters successfully kill the villain npcs. There just will be more of them, they'll just keep coming.
❅ Status effects: Witches have magic and that means curses and other injuries the myth healing might not instantly fix. (Magical burns, etc.) You can play with this as you want. Spells and effects can either wear off in a short amount of time, wear off when the plot is over when day breaks, or need magical healing intervention at the Pole. Player choice.
❅ Long-term effects: Players who go with some kind of status effect for a character can optionally have long-term consequences from it if they like.
❅ Environment: Feel free to manipulate the environment. You have a whole town to work with. You absolutely can hotwire a car to run over a witch.
❅ Experimentation: We'd like to encourage people to experiment! Obviously ask other players if they're down first, but it could be fun to do something other than 2 person threads, like maybe 2 PCs banding together to rescue an overwhelmed 3rd.
no subject
Good man just doesn't have the same ring to it.
[A flirty ring, as it were, since he might be kind of useless in the romance department but he's been around long enough to know how to flirt.
Sort of. As long as no one flirts back and he gets flustered.]
Oh, don't worry, princess, the diapers these days are miles better than what you'd be used to, and I won't even make you change him.
[The fact is that you can't go several millennia presenting as a woman without ending up on baby duty a few times, especially when child rearing was more of a communal project. He's likely changed more diapers than Jaskier has had hot meals.]
no subject
If he's looking a little flushed, that's obviously just the aftermath of an invigorating performance and the nervousness from holding a tiny, fragile human.]
Oh, thank Melitele for that. I haven't even held care of a baby in...
Ever, now that I think on it. And you're trying to distract me, you dastardly man! But I shan't be provoked. [He is so easily provoked.]
What was that you were singing just now?
no subject
The skeptical look remains while Jaskier tries to claim he isn't easily provoked.]
That sounds an awful lot like a challenge.
[In other circumstances, he might rise to it, but they do have to focus on making sure a whole bunch of kids don't get eaten, or whatever it is the witches plan to do, so he shouldn't get too distracted.]
S'just some old nursery rhyme, you pick things up over the years. Might be Etruscan, I spent a bit of time there a couple millennia ago.
no subject
[Why do his friends live to vex him so?]
You'll have to teach it to me. [
Perhaps a private lesson in one of their chambers?] I try to pick up what I can wherever I travel. I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot from this place.[Jaskier looks down at the babe in his arms. What a strange, vulnerable creature. He hums a melody, then softly sings. Unlike before when he was entertaining the children, this is not a performance.]
Like stars above the path, your eyes; like a cup full of pleasure, your lips; today I'd like to see; my former love, at least a shadow.
no subject
Suppose it can't hurt.
[It absolutely can; Jaskier is an incorrigible flirt who can't be stopped.
Crowley will shut up though, if only to listen to Jaskier sing. Not that he hasn't caught him singing more than a handful of times, both tonight and around the North Pole, but it usually isn't gentle lullabies.
He's polite enough to wait until Jaskier is finished, and if he looks a bit soft about it, no he doesn't.]
You're not singing songs inappropriate for children, are you?
[It's fine, they don't speak Polish.]
no subject
The question gets an exaggerated scoff and eye roll. Jaskier knows that his friend understood every word he said.]
Of course not. That song won me several prestigious competitions when it was debuted, and most of those don't allow you to enter with the fun stuff.
[He would know. There's a few he had to skip for several years after being accused of a... let's say, liberal interpretation of the rules regarding appropriate subject matter.]
no subject
That's the problem with prestige, it never lets you have any fun.
[Not that he's thinking about Heaven or anything.]
But I can see why it won you a few competitions.
[It's free compliments.]
no subject
Exactly. A proper bard should be able to charm the dankest of taverns as easily as the noblest of courts. Failing to relate to the masses doesn't make you superior, it makes you an out-of-touch, pompous ass.
[Which is when he remembers the small, sleeping child in his arms. Luckily, the babe is still asleep.]
no subject
It really is a shame that Will's long dead, you two would've gotten along like a house on fire.
[Note to self: take Jaskier to see some good* Shakespeare plays.
For now, though, he holds his arms back out and nods at the kid.]
Here, gimme that one back, I'll see if I can't find somewhere to put 'em down properly.
[*Funny.]
no subject
Oooh, a mysterious figure from your sordid past. [He's assuming.]
Do tell.
[Jaskier looks at Anthony with poorly disguised panic when he asks for the child. The baby got thrust upon him, how is he supposed to safely transfer him over? Both he and it are helpless little things who need a handsome savior to come to their rescue!
Anthony help!]
no subject
That'd be William Shakespeare, the playwright.
[If only it were actually sordid.
But he will observe the panic and step in to gently remove the baby from Jaskier's arms, using just a tiny bit of a miracle to ensure the process goes smoothly.
Something something the rituals are intricate, you know how it goes.]
You might've run into some of his work if you've been poking about the library, he got properly famous, despite being a bit of a wanker.