Adventure Log - December 25, 2023
The Wish Giver
As the timer winds down, the sound of jingling bells can be heard throughout the Square. The tree becomes dim and larger somehow as the entirety of Central District goes silent. It is here.
All of the signs are dark.
No one is out in the streets. Not even the animals are active.
The next morning, judging by the atmosphere, many people are confused. Confused as to why it was so quiet. Confused as to why gifts were given to them out of nowhere.
A commotion begins to rise.
Audible from the hotel.
They have arose such a clatter. Many in the stores throwing open the sash to see what's the matter.
When Riri wakes up the next morning, a wrapped gift box is at the foot of her bed. Red and green wrapping with a red bow on it. No tag. Riri rubs her eyes as she wakes up in the morning, the faint sound of bells ringing in her head as she spots the wrapped gift at the foot of her bed. "Huh, who was even in here?" Riri picks it up and shakes it slightly to see if she can figure out what is inside. Just by shaking the box, it's not possible to discover what's inside. The box is about the size of a shoebox. "I'm sure it'll be fine." Riri hesitantly removes the red bow and starts to work at the wrapping. Riri turns her head as she finishes it. It's empty save for a single piece of paper. On the outside of this paper is the phrase, "From the WISHGIVER, to Riri."
"Huh?" Riri seems scared slightly, turning the paper over to see if there is anything at all to find.
On the back of paper in fancy golden handwriting is the message,
𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓽 𝓡𝓲𝓻𝓲,
𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭.
-𝓦𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓖𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻
Riri is disturbed by the return of the bells, trying not to make any noise. It probably doesn't make a difference, but she is too scared to do anything else.
== THE HANGOUT SPOT ==
|
Luna - Merry Christmas! Hinata - Yooooo merry christmas LUNA'S MIND! Riri - You too! But, uh, something strange is happening. L - Eh? H - What do you mean? R - I woke up with a wrapped gift in my room with no tag and no name on it. I have no idea who left it here and I hear people outside in the streets too. I'm a little scared. L - ... H - Lu? That's not-- R - I received a note that I really, really don't understand. L - what is it? H - ...what was the note? R - It says "You are one of the good ones. You will be spared." and is signed by the Wishgiver, whoever that is. L - ...Wish Giver. a creature of legend. H - Shit. L - Riri, can you please check on the central square. I have a really fucking bad feeling about this. |
Riri fights her fear and gets out of bed to check the central square from her balcony. The crowd in the street looks up. Many are pointing to the sky, some are even screaming and panicking. The chaos in the streets grows louder. The Christmas tree is even taller now. The lights on the tree projects lights on the ground, with many of them swirling and flashing. It's like a glowstick rave in the streets except no one is dancing or having fun. Just then, people begin to collapse under their own weight seemingly caused by whatever effect these lights are having. The jingling bells from Riri's dreams return and fill the square with chaotic sounds and snow.
|
R - I'm looking from the balcony and everyone has passed out on the ground. I'm a little disoriented, there are so many lights spinning around out there. L - ...Hinata? H - Luna. L - Battle time. H - Let's do it. L - Wait, what? H - Riri, you said they're using swirling lights and bell sounds. That's hypnosis magic. R - I did see someone floating out there before I turned my head. What do I do? K - I mean the note said you're spared. Are you feeling sick in any way, or really tired? If not, I think that might be WISH GIVER telling you you're not affected by whatever magic is being used. R - I feel nervous but I'm not sick, only upset that I'm standing here instead of helping. L - Then meet us in Central Square. I have a feeling we have a battle on our hands. H - We'll protect you, but you may be our greatest weapon here. R - I'll be down as soon as I can. L - Thank you. |
Riri changes as fast as she can before picking up her backpack and pocket knife and leaving her room. Then she walks out to the elevator, hoping that the strange situation hasn't done anything to it. The elevator works as intended.
Riri presses the button to take the elevator to the ground floor.
In the elevator, this plays.
The elevator seems to be a bit slower than usual, almost a torturous level of slow.
|
R - I will patiently note that this elevator sucks. K - What do you mean? R - I swear this thing is slower today than it was yesterday. K - Ah. Yeah, sometimes shit can get jinxed. You need something to go fast and then boom fuck you traffic jam. The Many Gods of RNG are cruel. |
"I should have taken the fucking stairs." Riri curses under her breath, impatiently crossing her arms and tapping her fingers.
Eventually, the elevator opens. Riri starts to run on ahead and catch up with the team.
Everyone is knocked out and on the ground. The lights in the courtyard are overwhelming, bright and swirly. And floating just above the chaos is what seems to be a rather muscular white bearded human in a red and white suit and a beefy reindeer with glowing red eyes. The Creature of Legend - 002 - WISH GIVER has arrived.
Luna and Hinata walk into the Square and try their best to not step on anyone accidentally. They face down WISH GIVER together and wait for Riri.
[A CREATURE OF LEGEND HAS SPAWNED. COL - 02 ~ THE WISH GIVER]
BOSS THEME - THE BELLS TOLL FOR CHAOS
"I made it!" Riri waves to them both, slightly out of breath after running as fast as she could. "I had to make up for the time that elevator wasted somehow!"
On reaching the team, Riri will notice piles of bodies on the floor, unmoving. The lights continue to flash and swirl even brighter. The now night sky seems mostly clear but a few snowclouds persist and snow falls around them. Also notably in the sky, the Full Christmas Moon watches over the Square.
The man, the WISH GIVER, holds a white burlap sack on his black gloved hands. On it, a symbol very well-known to Luna and Hinata, the logo of the Full Moon Syndicate, is easily seen.
WISH GIVER speaks in a booming voice, though not loud enough for it to hurt, "Ho ho ho. I see you've brought me a welcoming committee. You two," it points to Luna and Hinata, "have been very naughty. You shall be captured. The Full Moon Syndicate requires your presence."
"Fuck that!" Luna snarls at the Wish Giver, "I ain't going back to those cunts!"
"What she said! I knew you were real, but to be part of those assholes? You're a Creature of Legend right??" Hinata yells.
"Why, what the heck did they even do?" Riri tries to call out to him, though she is not sure if she can be heard.
Strangely enough, the only one Wish Giver seems to respond to is Riri, "They are required for The Eclipse. And as for the Dog, they are no more than an obstacle. I am to grant Wishes. It is nothing personal."
The Wish Giver pulls out a new bell, one very well known to Luna and Hinata. The Wish Giver rings this bell. And Luna and Hinata immediately grasp their head and scream in pain. "It is.. nothing personal, dearest Riri. You will be spared." The Wish Giver chuckles as his eyes glow a deep red. The reindeer snarls at Riri.
And from her bag, something seems to glow and vibrate. It feels warm.
"I'm sorry but it is personal if it involves my friends." Riri is distracted by her backpack warming up, reaching back to see what is in there. It is her knife, though it is a lot longer than a knife now. It is now a glowing purple crystalline longsword. Just by holding it at its hilt, she feels stronger than before.
The Wish Giver raises an eyebrow, "and what is this? A toy? Hohoh." His voice is gruff and deep.
Luna and Hinata are on the ground still screaming from pain from The Rhythm. "I'm up to find out if you don't stop ringing that bell." Riri holds the sword tightly, trying to hide how nervous she actually is.
THE WISH GIVER calls Riri's bluff, increasing the intensity he rings the bell. Luna and Hinata's eyes are slowly beginning to flicker red as they get pushed into BOSS MODE. The two begin to walk towards The Wish Giver entranced, their minds fully hypnotized by the Lights and the Rhythm of the Bells. They walk over the bodies, trampling many.
The Wish Giver laughs, "Hoh! Is that so?" Then, bending his knees, he leaps from his sleigh towards Riri, landing around ten feet in front of her, part of the street cracks from the landing. "Then come on!" He snarls. Standing around 8 feet tall, The Wish Giver seems to allow Riri the first shot, his eyes glowing an intense red. Something on his chest begins to glow and flash red, like a weak-point in a cheap video game. The sword Riri holds glows even brighter.
Riri steps back a bit with the sword still held by her side. She takes a deep breath to calm herself. Riri tries to rush at the Wish Giver and swing at his chest, specifically at the source of the glow.
Due to the massive bulk on The Wish Giver, he doesn't have any time to respond as something seems to crack from the sword swing. On further inspection, it seems to be some kind of a pendant. When it cracks, the red glow on The Wish Giver seems to fade for a moment before intensifying again. The Rhythm pauses for a moment and causes Luna and Hinata to pass out once more.
The pendant is still intact as The Wish Giver attempts to send a slow and heavy kick towards Riri's side.
Riri briefly considers blocking it but realises she has no chance, trying to jump to the side and avoid it instead.
Due to how slow the kick was, it is easily dodged. It seems The Wish Giver never wished for speed or dexterity, just muscle. He is slow but powerful.
The pendant continues to glow as The Wish Giver seems to be slowing down from exhaustion.
Riri tries to follow this up with two more swings to the chest while looking for the bell the Wish Giver had. The two follow ups work perfectly! The pendant, which seems to be something with the Full Moon Syndicate's Logo on it, shatters. The Bell causing The Rhythm is still in The Wish Giver's hands as he continues to ring it, though much slower.
With the pendant gone, his eyes begin to return to normal. Slowly.
Luna and Hinata are still knocked out, though it seems the red glow from their eyes is finally gone.
The reindeer's eyes have returned to normal.
Riri will notice a new glowing weakpoint, this time the bell. Riri aims at the bell in his hand as she swings again, trying not to harm him in the process.
The bell falls to the ground and shatters. It seemed to have been made of glass and metal, such that the part that rings is the only part that survived the impact. With the bell gone, the lights in the area dim and the chaos in the streets have calmed. The Wish Giver has fallen to his knees, looking much different than before. Instead of ripped and scary, he's returned to being pudgy and tired, though a smile persists on his face.
After a few minutes of resting, The Wish Giver looks up at Riri. "Wh-what happened? I was on my route and the next thing I knew, I was..." He looks around at the carnage in the scene, "oh Gods, I hurt people. I... actually hurt people. The people who believed I exist."
Riri's sword returns to its usual size, it's a knife once more. It still feels powerful though, like while Riri holds it, she still feels like she can kick ass and do it confidently.
"It isn't your fault at all." Riri puts the pocket knife back in her backpack and tries to find a piece of the pendant she shattered. "It sounds like something strange happened here."
The Wish Giver looks up at Riri with his tears flowing, "I promise I never intended for this to happen. I don't even know how it happened."
The pendant, much like the bell, is in many tiny pieces on the ground. It seems to be the same material as the bell, ceramic glass. There are no pieces big enough.
Luna and Hinata finally wake up with their eyes returned to normal and they walk to Riri.
Riri doesn't notice them at first as she is too busy trying to reassure him with a hug.
The hug is accepted as he wraps his arms around Riri. This seems to cheer him up significantly, a resounding chuckle coming from him, "oh ho ho! Ahh.. thank you for saving me, Riri. I... don't even want to imagine what would happen if this had continued."
The reindeer, of which there are more than just one, closer to eight, walk up to them. They seem to be friendly. Then The Wish Giver realizes something, "Oh ho-- ohhhh noooo I better get on my way! I still have lots of presents to deliver!" He releases from the hug.
"Okay, and stay safe!" Riri steps away and turns around, holding on to Luna and Hinata without a word as soon as she sees them both.
"Merry Christmas Riri, and thank you. Thank you for everything." He says before disappearing with his reindeer. In its place, another wrapped gift is on the ground, this one with Riri's name on it.
"Holy shit, you've saved us," Luna says, crying and hugging Riri.
"Thank you. Thank you for being there for us." Hinata nods.
Riri spots the wrapped gift and picks it up. "I was so scared. I'm sorry that it took so long. I shattered some pendant with that Full Moon Syndicate logo on it. Is that normal?" Riri is still under stress despite it seeming safe now.
Luna looks nervous by the revelation, "no that's really not normal. And considering that was a Creature of Legend, I don't like the sounds of that."
The gift is just like the other one, red and green wrapping with a red bow. This time, the tag says, "To Riri - From The WishGiver" and seems to be wrapped with more care and love than before.
"...so wait, they wanted to capture me too? I can only imagine how bad that would've gone,," Hinata nervously laughs and whimpers.
"I think they need you both, they talked about a thing called the Eclipse." Riri nods and turns back to the wrapped gift. "I figure I should open this here while we're all still safe and together."
The gift seems to be glowing in Riri's hands, but only Riri can see this glow.
"Yeah, I'm curious what you got," Luna says
"Yeah! Let's see!" replies Hinata.
Riri smiles as she takes the wrapping off of the box slowly, trying not to damage whatever is inside.
A golden necklace with what seems to be a plastic-like ball of snow and a figurine of a deer inside of it is in the package. Alongside it, a note from The Wish Giver reads,
"To Riri,
You've saved us. You've saved Christmas, you've saved my reindeer, and if my understanding of everything is correct, you're one of the Heroes destined to save our world. Please take this gift to help you along your travels and give Luna and Hinata my best. Thank you for everything.
- Oloric Frostbeard, Saint of Ice and Snow"
To Luna and Hinata, they don't see the note and the necklace seems rather ordinary. "Whoa, nice gift!" Luna exclaims, her eyes bright with wonder and excitement. She seems to be back to normal.
Hinata tilts her head but smiles regardless, "that's cool."
"I'm glad you're both safe is all." Riri puts the gift and the note away in her backpack, seeming tired as she hugs them both again. "I'm not sure who Oloric is but their note said to give you both their best."
"Oloric? So that was Santa?! What the heck?? I thought he was a myth!" Hinata looks shocked as Luna puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Told you Hinata! Why do you think I never stopped believing!" Luna chuckles
"If things went worse, either one of us could've become a myth there." Riri nervously laughs at the realisation.
The sky becomes cloudy and the air frigid. Seems the Christmas Moon is no longer out and the feeling of being watched fades.
"Haha... ahhh man, I just wanted to enjoy Christmas for once," Luna sighs, looking down at the ground.
"Cheer up Lu, we're still together. But," Hinata gives a deep yawn, "We should be heading back. I think things are back to normal?"
The crowd of bodies formerly on the ground are now awake and confused as to what happened.
"I think so too. I want to sleep, my head hurts a little." Riri yawns with them. "I wish we had a safer day together but being with you has been a gift of its own. I can't complain."
"Same here!" they both say at the same time.
"Anyway, see you soon Riri?" Luna says and smiles.
"I like the sound of that." Riri seems a little sad. "I wish Elara was here today. I want to get her a gift at some point but I don't know how."
Hinata smiles gently, "I mean if you want some money, here," Hinata pulls her wallet out and pulls out a couple hundred dollar bills. They're somewhat multicolored and have a portrait of some balding man on it, very similar to the current US $100 bill. "Hope this is enough?"
"The perks of being the heir?" Luna chuckles though tiredly.
"Yuuup. I refuse to take over Solaire, but that don't mean I won't spend his money!"
"Wait, what the heck?" Riri accepts it but feels a little bad because this is a lot of money. "Isn't this a little much?"
"I spent nearly a couple thousand on a bar trip for The Gang a month ago. I'm pretty sure $200 is no problem," Hinata reassures Riri, "besides, I owe you one for saving our asses. Or 200 in this case."
Luna nods in agreement, "besides, we meant to get something for Elara too, but we didn't have time to shop."
"I'll take a short trip to the stores around here before it gets too late then." Riri nods to them both with a smile. "And I'll sign a gift from all three of us."
"You might wanna hold off on that til tomorrow. Doubt many stores are open on Christmas." Luna says.
"I forgot about that." Riri sighs with embarrassment. "I can wait for now, she might be too busy today anyway."
Luna and Hinata both nod.
"Alrighty. Uhm, well see you soon then. Maybe tomorrow? Depending on if Viper comes by." Luna asks, seeming extremely tired.
"I'm down for anything on any day." Riri answers. "I'm pretty sure I should head home too."
"Sounds great. See you soon."
Luna, Hinata, and Riri all disappear.