With the slow but steady growth of the city, the demand for more grows every day — more housing, more retail storefronts available for rent, more space for businesses of every caliber and category. To create said space, the administration has begun the process of clearing a section of forestland on the southern edge of the city's boundaries. Far enough removed from the downtown area and the Welcome District, the sounds of construction should have little impact on the citizens' and volunteers' daily lives... that is, until construction is ground to an unexpected halt with the discovery of a long-forgotten glen in the woods.
The construction project is naturally put on hold while the administration begins to investigate the discovery, but in its inactivity, the space becomes a natural lure for the curious and the questioning alike. What's so special about an abandoned patch of rock and stone, or the nearby pool of softly bubbling water? As with any mystery, rumors abound as quickly as smoke from a fire, twisting and changing with each whisper from person to person. The game of telephone has never been a good way to communicate.
Some say the water is simply an extension of the city's springs and cave pools, nothing more or less than a shallow pool of water trapped by the stone walls that surround it. Others say it is a medieval mock-up of a reservoir, rain waters collected over the years and forgotten amidst tall trees and brush. Still others whisper of magical properties — waters once contained in a glorious wishing well that has since crumbled under the relentless march of time, waters that give impossible things to those that drink of it or that bathe in it or simply cup it in their hands. The rumors, much like those that visit the site, are many and varied; it can be almost impossible to know for sure which are truth and which are simply wishes.
Of course, should the allure of an unsolved mystery appeal to your inner meddling kid, there's plenty of clues to uncover and even more questions left to solve at the site.
▸ In the very center of the clearing, a pool of water gently laps at its stone surrounding. The pool itself is small, barely four feet across, but its waters are kept clean from the dirt of the forest floor by a carefully laid stone barrier, two inches tall, each piece hand cut and carefully laid in place. Though the waters are clean, they are not quite clear — looking in, it is not immediately obvious just how deep the water goes, and though brave souls who climb in will certainly float, those who attempt to dive to the bottom never quite reach their goals before the need for air pulls them back to the surface.
▸ It's clear from the smooth surfaces of the stone that surround the pool that this place was once somewhere of grave importance, though what purpose it may have served is murkier than the depths of the pool itself. Adding to the mystery are the three stone benches, surrounding the water on all but its northern boundaries. They are long and cool to the touch; the surfaces remain smooth even after untold years subjected to the mercy of nature, and still hold weight of those who may choose to sit on them.
▸ At its northern edge, where the water seems to lap most often, there is no bench to sit on. The stones here are well-worn, the faintest hint of footprints left on the surface, as if someone stood upon the surface here more than anywhere else. Just past the stone barrier rests a chest — stone as well, and obviously made with care. Its lid is heavy, though someone with exceptional strength (or a friend) may be able to slide it open, and bears what must have been something important etched on its surface. Time has not been kind here; though the letters were once legible, only a few remain so today: wishing and water being the only full words left to view.
What does it mean? Will you follow the rumors? Will you drink of the pool, or perhaps dive in? Will you, instead, dismiss it as fanciful dreaming? There are no wrong answers here, only possibly more questions to consider... and, of course, the wisdom of a well-known fairytale: be careful, dreamer, what you wish for.
Oooh, spooky! As you may have guessed, this event is our take on the popular wishing well trope. Unlike Snow White's well that offers to grant her dream of a prince who may or may not come, this pool of mystical water isn't quite so straightforward. (Is anything straightforward here?)
The wishing pool is here to grant your wishes. Or, more specifically, to try to grant them. Characters who touch the water and make a wish will find their wish (be it spoken out loud, thought only to themselves, or one lingering in the subconscious mind, unbeknownst even to them) granted within the next 72 hours — though, in most cases, the magic lingering in the water they've touched will be limited to short term effects only.
How your character chooses to engage with the water is entirely up to you! Maybe they'd like to take a hesitant sip, or they're a more brave sort who wants to drink of it until they feel sick! Perhaps they want to simply stick a hand in to test the temperature — cool, surprisingly, but not cold — or they'd like to dive in! There are no lifeguards on duty, though... so swim carefully. Stone and skulls don't often clash with good results.
Of course, we do have to warn: wishes made aren't always granted in the ways one might expect. The wishing pool is quite out of practice, and though it gets a gold star for effort, it's not usually very successful — unless, of course, your wish happens to be remarkably simple to grant! Wishing for something vague, like being happy, might result in wearing the face of a beloved storybook character or a friend of a friend rather than emotional adjustments or a sudden burst of cheer. Similarly, wishing for the knowledge to impress your date might bequeath the wisher with the knowledge of every romantic comedy known to man — while admittedly useful, it's probably not what you were hoping for.
If you have any further questions specific to this event, we encourage you to ask away on our QUESTIONS COMMENT here in this post. We're glad to give suggestions on ways your characters' wishes can come true! If you have general questions, or prefer a more private venue, our GENERAL INBOX (and SCREENED INBOX) is always available for you. In addition, if you've got an idea for a future event, feel free to drop us a line at our EVENTS SUGGESTION POST.
Have fun — we're wishing you all the best! |
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cuddlecity2018-02-17 12:14 pm
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[Well, this is more fun than expected. It seems he still has the ability to make people ill at ease, even as a weakling human. Reassuring.]
And what is your home world, metal-man? Are you so certain I am not real there?
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Probably.
[ He is not the most tactful, Loki. Just so you know. Be warned. ]
I'm from Earth. And as far as I know, you've only ever appeared in mythology books. But honestly, I didn't think time travel was possible until recently, and yet it's definitely a thing, so.
no subject
[Not that all their ideas have been remotely correct, but still, the seed had to have been planted somewhere.
But the mention of time travel gets his attention much more than the mythology books.]
You have traveled through time? How?
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Deviations on history, Chinese whispers as it was how history was told. A heavy lean on folklore and religion to conceive the inconceivable. Some people with a lot of imagination.
[ Not believing in this stuff is the work of his entire life. Sure, everything he's been sure of has been rocked and thrown upside down since he made it to Cadelle, but he still believes that Mythology is just that.
At Loki's question, Nate shrugs again, wondering exactly how much is safe to say. He can't say he trusts someone called the God of Mischief. ]
A ship. In the future, we develop time traveling technology.
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But he puts that aside for now. Time travel is a much more fascinating subject.]
I cannot imagine that is without its dangers. More than the usual amount. What might prompt someone to venture through time?
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Technically, the point is to safeguard history. There are people that have gained the ability to travel through time, and like to switch things around. So we're meant to make sure history stays the same.
[ As terrible as some historical events can be. It's not their place to make things better. It's their place to make sure things happen as they should. ]
I'm a historian, and I specialize in historical deduction. My job is to find these subtle changes in history that indicate someone's screwing with the timeline. The metal skin, that's just... an added bonus.
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[Until now, Loki had successfully maintained his air of detached amusement, pleased to find it still came fairly easily to him even while human, but now he can't help revealing that he's fascinated at the idea.]
And your work is to study history and find the places where something has changed? Does the change not reflect itself through history to your current time, and disrupt your understanding of the way history had lain?
[Congrats, Nate, you've unlocked the nerdy scholar side.]
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Well, here's the thing. Time takes time to solidify. When someone goes back in time and changes something, even the smallest thing, it takes time for that event to ripple through the whole timeline. So there's a chance to detect these changes, and correct them.
[ Time is fascinating. ]
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[Yes, he is fully fascinated now, forgotten entirely about his own trapped-in-a-weakling-human-body woes and, amazingly, about the fact that the man he's talking to is currently magically cursed to be a glistening sex object until the wishing well loses power, or interest.]
I would very much like to hear more about this. ...incidentally, I've just come from a magical tailor shop that may be able to help your... [A vague gesture to all of him.] Situation.
no subject
[ There's something about Loki's tone that is slightly worrying, like he's getting all of this information with the plan of using it later, but Nate just can't help himself. Also, there's nothing he can do here, in Cadelle.
But he shifts gears immediately when he hears about this tailor shop. ]
Oh yeah? Now you're talking my language.