{ Isola Starter Call ! || @allhesaid ! }

It worked. Their rickety, slapped-together, pitiful excuse of a portal did what nothing else could and took him mind body and soul out of the Constant.

Scrambling back from the edge of the cavernous pit next to which he’s landed, Maxwell casts hasty glances around. He could hug Mr. Higgsbury, kiss him even! They’re free! They’re free!

But Wilson is nowhere to be seen.

Had the portal broken behind Maxwell? He feels a surge of regret so strong it surprises him, but he shoves it down and pushes himself to his feet. If he had to choose between freedom for himself or his pawn, he’d choose himself, of course. He’s paid his dues to that wretched place and those wretched shadows, and he’s never, ever going back.

…which means that he shall have to reacquaint himself with civilized society.

He knows as soon as he steps through the portal that he’s not in his original dimension. That’s frightening, yes, but nothing he can’t handle; it seems he’s not the first person to arrive here from a different world, and although some of the technology is completely new to him (what is this item he’s been given? It certainly doesn’t look like a phone!), he’s creative, resilient, and determined to make his new home better than his last.

Armed with nothing but a book (has the Codex rejected him now that he’s escaped Their grasp?), he warily accepts the offer to be transported to his new lodgings and readies himself for the next chapter of his life. Checkmate, hands shaken, the game is put away for good.

Starvetober day 27: siblings little jack and william!! Klei please give us a short with them both I beg you

"It would seem so." He's not shocked by any means, but he's still intrigued. Prior to his arrival in Spirale, Maxwell had been under the impression that there were only two realms-- the "real world," and the world of shadows. It's interesting to see that someone who appears so human could be from a different Earth entirely. One without Italy! Imagine that.

Maxwell arches a brow, skeptical and amused. Ah, yes, she's from a good mafia. How quaint.

"You don't need to pretty it up for me. In fact, I think the two of us could help each other if you were honest about your 'values.' It must be difficult to thrive here without the support network you're used to; maybe we're both in need of allies?"

"What is it you hope to accomplish in Spirale, exactly?"

@codexvmbra

◈ "Italy? I apologize. If that's a country, then I have never heard of it. I could only surmise our worlds are very different, good sir." The woman bowed apologetically. She'd been speaking to this man for a short while and her name had been given. Evidently it reminded him of a land from his own world.

"I am a daughter of the nation of Rinascita. The Montelli family is a well known one there, and I do believe you wouldn't be incorrect to refer to it as a "mafia" based on traditional definitions. But I assure you we value our bonds with the people far more than wealth and power."

"Mira, then." He'll forget her name in no time at all and go back to calling her "child," or perhaps "the observant." Maxwell tends to characterize his pawns by what they do, rather than who they are.

...! "Was that--?"

The victim's ghost...?

Color him impressed. It seems his Mira can do more than just raise Max's spirits.

What an intriguing thing she's turned out to be.

Maxwell is no stranger to ghosts. One of his past deals revolved almost exclusively around keeping one of them tied to the physical realm. He's seen Abigail play, fight, rest, and everything in between. Verbal communication was not her strong suit, at least not to anyone other than her sister, but... still. She was capable of expressing something. Can this spirit not at least give them a hint regarding their killer?

"How did you do that?" he asks Mira with gentle, genuine curiosity. And then: "Did you get anything of use out of it?" Or was she just taking pity on the spirit, allowing it to leave rather than sit around watching people fail to help it?

There's no stopping the utter confusion on her face when he's outright laughing loudly, very uncertain why such information is making him laugh like he is. Was such things funny truly? And it's even more confusing when he's saying such information isn't going to help find this murderer. Then why was he asking?

"Blackmail...?" Mira murmurs out as he's explaining it. This, blackmail makes them rich? Being rich involved money did it not? Which, honestly wasn't something she needed really. Then, he's pulling to stand besides him along the wall, and she lets him for now even if she jumps at the sudden contact, still unused to touch.

"Kid? I am not the age of a child, far from it. Others have taken to calling me Mira."

Gently, she's taking hold of his hand to remove it as she moves away from his side, towards the body in question again and seems to pause for a moment. While it's unseen to the others right this moment, she's watching the soul of the recently deceased as it flickers above it. She knows others touching her physical self don't trigger seeing into their memoires, but does touching a soul in it's purist form for her trigger it?

Without a word, she reaches out, seemingly grabbing at air before suddenly there's a tiny flash of light and floating above her hand is a white form of energy with various spikes rippling and pulsating, giving it the appearance of a multi pointed star. There's an almost pensive look on her face before walking towards the nearest window and the star shaped soul slips through the glass and into the wildness, floating away.

"I am sorry I cannot guide you..."

Her little display is enough to make others focus more on themselves for now and split further up.

Maxwell is still sneering, pride wounded and temper high, but he listens, eyes narrowing the longer the Librarian speaks.

The fox is still interested in an exchange, even after the turn this conversation has taken.

Fine.

"I may be convinced to continue with this-- if you apologize."

He'll even make this a fair trade and write in Common, as expected. It's not as though he'll be giving up any of his power by sharing pages of the Codex, after all; he's Their favorite, and unless They think They can get to him through the Librarian, it's exceedingly doubtful that They'd grant the fox any real abilities. The singular benefit of having Their "favor"...

"A pleasure," Maxwell says flatly, offering his hand again.

He took in the man's words, his ears swiveling atop his head.

"Hold a moment."

"If I were back from whence I came I would have no words for anyone who encountered me. But...I am not there. And I am glad of it. Away from the cyclical suffering.

I want to learn as is my nature now. You want to learn. I have no grand plot to try and return to that place, thus the learning is for learning's sake.

Perhaps we drop all the preamble. We do not need to give one another all the answers. It is not true study otherwise. But I've an aching curiosity and if possible, I would like to fulfill it. You want to know too, don't you?

Great Maxwell, was it? I am the Librarian."

Our epic tale began on a cold, wintery eve. Under the dim light of a moon hidden by snowy clouds, the city transformed. Walls creaked and crumbled, rebuilt in an instant in new shapes; new forms. The modern metropolis was replaced with a realm crafted from sugary treats. Gingerbread walls, gumdrop roads, cinnamon stick trees, candy castles. For this was now a fantasy candy land: the realm of the Candy Witch.

"AWAKEN, WOULD-BE INVADERS!"

The witch's voice would boom, a thunderous sound with a tinge of familiarity to it. "You dare encroach upon my land? The Candy Witch's kingdom? Well then, I challenge you. Find me at the tippy top of my castle tower, but not before my trials are passed! Only then might you challenge me and, if you win, I may consider a way to send you home!"

In front of every non-NPC entity in the city a holographic paper appeared. A character sheet. "But the witch would not leave you without a means of accomplishing your tasks," Another voice spoke. It sounded similar to the witch's, but was much gentler. Almost as if there was a singular actor playing two different roles. "Will you take up a blade as the noble HEARTBREAKER? Perhaps you would prefer to cast the spells of the PASSION CASTER? Does the healing power of the LOVE DOCTOR tickle your fancy? Or does the path of the thieving HEART STEALER beckon to you? Fill out your character sheets and review the attached quest list, and let your journey begin!"

THE VOICE GOES SILENT

While the people of Spirale would hear nothing else for now, in a dark lab a young woman turned off her microphone. "I'm an android, I'm not supposed to be an actress..." Ofiuco rested her cheek gentle in front of her keyboard. "Oh well. I've always wanted to try LARPing, so why not give this a go? I think everyone could use something a little silly for a change, especially with Valentine's coming!"

═══════════════════════════════════

OVERVIEW

Welcome to our 33rd event, SUGAR QUEST IV: THAT MOMENTARY SWEETNESS! This event was inspired by a mix of old RPG games and silly mobile game events. So what's going on?

The people of the city are awoken to the sound of a familiar voice claiming to be the Candy Witch who issues you a challenge: pass her trials and find her at the top of the castle tower.

Everyone will fill out a quick character sheet that can be found on this page, which will determine your stats, class, and abilities!

The wards of the city have all been redesigned with a candy fantasy aesthetic, and you can find these changes listed in a section below. For the duration of the event you cannot access the branches.

Trials will be offered in the form of quests that can be chosen at your leisure. Participating in a quest is not mandatory for acquiring participation, but you will receive a flat 200 Stars for your character's account. You can only claim this 200 Stars once, so doing multiple quests will not net you more.

If you're just interested in event participation, any interaction will count regardless of whether it's in a quest or not! We'll also be offering Oficucotot, Bringer of Love as an exclusive event reward! She's a six inch, Ofiuco-shaped drone that follows after you and shoots tiny arrows at your foes. Not lethal, but very annoying! The item description reads: "Watch Your Eyes!".

YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT CLASSES, LOCATIONS, AND QUESTS HERE.

The event ends at 11:59:59PM on Friday, February 28th.

F.A.Q.

Will this event have a part 2? No! There is only one part to this event. There will be a raid battle during the last week of the event where everyone can face off against the Candy Witch, however.

Can we use our regular powers and weapons during this event? Unfortunately not! Your character has been stripped of their powers and had their physical abilities reduced to that of a normal human. You can only rely on the abilities and weapons provided by the class you choose and your character sheet stats! For non-humanoid characters, please reach out to the masterlist for accommodations!

Are the listed monsters the only ones in the setting? Nope! Those are just suggestions. You can design your own monsters to face, and even the ones listed alongside the locations are open to visual interpretation aside from the traits already listed.

Will my character undergo any visual changes during this event? Your selected class will grant you specific gear and weapons as part of that selection. Otherwise, nope! At least unless you disturb the fairies in the forest...

Are we required to use the quests for our threads? Nope! You can use them if you want the 200 Star reward, but it isn't mandatory to do a quest to get participation and the Ofiucotot, Bringer of Love. You can just do a different thread in the setting!

He continues to scowl at her; he knows what it would look like to the rest of the passengers, a grown man telling some poor girl to take the hit for him. Never mind that she volunteered, people tend to look down on those who aren't brave (foolish) enough to go gallivanting into trouble. So, yes, as far as he's concerned, she did call him a coward, and she can stay right there between him and the rest of these people.

Max's irritated expression slowly fades into surprise, then curiosity, then delight.

"You heard all of that?" What an observant creature she's turned out to be! And a humorous one, too; subtlety and propriety don't seem to be her strong suits.

Max grins unkindly at the couple, barely stifling a laugh at their embarrassment, then scans the train car for his new weapon's next target.

"What about those ones over there?" he says, nodding to another pair. One of the men looks sweaty and nervous, and the other looks downright terrified.

"Are they scared of the corpse, or do they have some other juicy reason to look so afraid?"

The pending murder investigation hasn't been forgotten, of course! But, well. If Maxwell's partner happens to be just as good at sniffing out shameful secrets as she is at solving mysteries, the magician is certainly going to take advantage of that fact.

Mira raises an eyebrow upon hearing his huff, unsure what she could have said to cause such a reaction from him before catching him making the comment that he isn't a coward, which makes her eyebrows knit. That wasn't what she had said, unless, the words she had spoken could be taken as such?

"....Unless words have suddenly changed their meaning, I did not call you a coward? But, I know I don't have all the meanings understood yet."

Although, she isn't sure how she can stand behind him to make sure he isn't stabbed in the back if he's keeping his back towards the wall of the train car, but she'd worry about that later as she listens to him go on what he'd do.

Then, when he's making mention of the pair near them, Mira tilts her head towards them, blinks for a moment before shaking her head.

"..No- They where arguing amongst themselves, a lovers quarrel I believe is what it's called. He's seeing his mistress or something more than she's okay with and this train ride was supposed to be time for them and he found out she's seeing another man."

Sadly, one skill she didn't have yet was tuning out conversations of others she wasn't supposed to pay attention to, so when she's just, telling him all that, the pair can only look at her wide eyed before looking extremely embarrassed and move along to the other side of the car further away.

Maxwell's stony expression softens into a smile, and then sharpens again, his grin all teeth.

Finally.

"Waiting for one to fall into my lap, rather."

As expected, his time here in Spirale has been nothing short of paradise. His mind has been blessedly devoid of Their whispers and demands, he has been provided with all the necessities and none of the dangers he offered his own captives, and he has even found his Codex returned to him for what he can only assume was good behavior.

He's happy. Content.

...bored.

That's the true price of peace, he's found. No risk means no reward, and no challenge means no satisfaction of beating it. He's thriving, yes, but is he living?

"Your move, my friend." He gestures grandly to the board. He has already set it up in anticipation of a game, and has placed himself on the side of Black.

"I have no timer with me, so please, don't rush. Consider your moves as carefully as you'd like."

"Do you require an explanation of how to play? I'd hate to begin on unequal footing."

@codexvmbra

The burning sun above brings heat to the Land of Burnt Umber; unseasonable warmth did nothing to deter the locals and the travelers from gathering around the caravans of one of the smaller desert towns. Merchants peddled their wares, speaking loud and enthusiastically to attract the attention of those preparing to embark into the shifting sands of the wilds.

Legato had been drawn to this place out of sheer curiosity. Some of the merchants had quite the collection of oddities and curios-- artifacts that seemed arcane in nature, or downright strange. Curiously, he inspects some of these stands, trying to avoid a conversation with a far too energetic young man who was hellbent on selling Legato a new water skin.

Fatigued by the conversations and the bustling of the crowd, he slips away, opting to find a quieter place to linger. In doing so, he comes upon a shady veranda attached to an old building, drenched in the shadows cast by the sun overhead. A break from the heat was welcome, but, something else tugged Legato's attention--

There sits a man dressed in rather dapper attire, face pale like marble. Before him, a small table, a chessboard placed upon it, and an empty seat longing to be occupied. Hmm.

Without a single word, the stoic man saunters forward, and claims the seat, golden eyes looking across the game board.

" Are you looking for an opponent? " Legato inquires calmly, the winds of the desert audible in the background.

Oh, how he wishes he could sic his hounds on this fox in true hunting party fashion.

"Yes, yes, fine!" he grinds out, throwing his hands up in defeat. "If you apologize and if you make it worth my while to see this agreement through, I'll transcribe everything perfectly legibly in our common tongue. I expect you to do the same. No tricks from either of us. Happy?"

"Your end of the deal. Hm. May I have an inquiry?" He did not actually stop to see if Maxwell would give him the go ahead.

"Is the knowledge you possess written in the common language of this island?"