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This is our Open Log for players to have an easy opportunity to tag others and have fun with prompts that deal with current happenings that are not covered by our MANTA Board quests. Sometimes we provide extra quests at the bottom, but oftentimes we just let the MANTA Board cover it. Players are free to include MANTA Board quests in their toplevels!

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated November 25)

ELTRUT

With the Ghoul's Moon festivities over, it's time for everyone to clean up and prepare for the coming winter season. Of course, with the leviathans capable of moving and keeping to warmer waters, it's usually not much of an issue. But it never hurts to be prepared, and the crops and products are always great for export.

One of the biggest products that will be sent off this season will be everything pumpkin. The giant pumpkin shell Eltrut created for Ghoul's Moon will start to shed and the leviathan will need some help in gathering the large chunks before it falls completely into the ocean. Harvesting the pumpkin shell off of Eltrut is no easy feat, but not only is it edible, the rind is also tough and durable.

🔪 Harvest. Using carving knives and pickaxes, everyone must head out of town and into the forests to remove the pumpkin and clean off the shell beneath. Large tubs and wagons will be provided to help haul off the goods.
🐢 Pumpkin Spice Turtles. Drawn by all the pumpkins are small little pumpkin turtles. They are forbidden from being harmed or caught, however, they produce a special "pumpkin spice" and "pumpkin cinnamon" dust that can be carefully collected. While most will respect the law, others will be greedy and try to capture these turtles. Help protect and catch any who try—or perhaps get some extra cash by successfully catching and selling them off.
🔨 Build-A-Pumpkin. To help spur motivation and creativity, there are numerous competitions centered on building the most interesting and durable creation using only the pumpkin rinds. Some small things like nails and bits of wood can be used to help, but it must otherwise be made out of the rinds. From unique artwork to small buildings to carriages to boats and ships—the possibilities are endless. Just don't mind the mess.

Of more concern, both Eltrut and the Naughtilust were weakened from the attack from the Ghost Ship and are dozing a bit for the first week or so. Those in charge are requesting help in preparing special food that will help with their recovery. But to help keep spirits up and to hopefully provide some positive energy to the leviathans, a special hotpot gathering will be hosted for anyone to come and help cook, either for the leviathans or for others. A perfect chance to socialize and catch up with others. Just keep an eye out—someone may try to spoil the food.

To aid the two weakened leviathans, a list of key ingredients is provided for volunteers to head into the forests and out to sea to gather. Large tables and several grills, pots, and other cooking equipment will be provided for anyone to use.

🔥 Fire Sprites. Instead of normal flames, the food for the leviathans needs to be cooked over a special fire created by special fire sprite. They will only appear around campfires or bonfires where stories are told, so time to create a suitable fire pit and get to storytelling! Any kind will work.
🌰 Chest of Chestnuts. One of the most prized ingredients is a special type of chestnut that can only be found in special acorn chests buried underground by squirrel scavengers. These squirrels specifically gather these chestnuts because they are so rare, delicious, and known to have medicinal properties. Said squirrels will also gladly relinquish their store…if they can remember where those chests are. Time to go on a wild treasure hunt!
🐡 Fish Puffing. There is a special type of pufferfish that will be carefully collected and brought to the pier where volunteers must wear special gloves and carefully squeeze the fish to force it to secrete a special fluid that has potent healing properties. Soothe the fish and make them more willing to be handled by singing a cheerful tune. Whistling and other music can help. Feeding them special kelp and gently petting them will also keep them calm and less agitated.
🍲 Cookoff! Whether it's for the leviathans or just cooking a meal to be shared with others, the cooking stations are constantly in use. Who can prepare the most delicious meal?

ELAH

Things are a bit hectic within Baleen, the capital city of Elah. A wild flock of singing turkeys have been set loose and they are running amok, causing a disturbance to everyone. They are getting stuck in chimneys, popping into bathrooms, and swimming in the many fountain pools found all over town. What makes them more disruptive is their singing, which, unfortunately, sound more like nails dragging down chalkboard. While some may be ready to roast them to send to Eltrut for a feast, perhaps some may try to catch them.

And send them to Nogard. (They likely came from there, anyway—)

Researchers would especially appreciate it if these turkeys could be caught and removed as they are busy studying the tombstone relic brought back from the ghost ship. What secrets could it hold…?

At the Archives, researchers are hard at work studying the broken pieces of the black tombstone that was brought back from the ghost ship. They believe it's the reason the ship and its undead crew appeared, but how?

💤 Energy Drain. Although precautions are set, those who are exposed to the relics start feeling a bit drained, as if their energy is being sucked away. Quickly remove any affected and find a way to seal or contain the relics without being affected as well.
🪦 Undeadly Experiments. Although now in pieces, the tombstone relic still holds some power. Thus researchers decide to perform direct tests and experiments to see how it affects the undead. There are requests made to those who have previously died either in their world or this one, and some venture to graveyards where dead and ghosts are sometimes active. When in close contact with the relic, all who have experienced death in some way will become more hostile and aggressive, some even outright attacking any nearby. Help protect those performing the experiment and subdue the affected until they calm down.
🏃‍♂️ Thief! Those damn Corsair, they can never respect important research! A few bad eggs are breaking the agreement and are trying to steal the fragments, perhaps to sell them off to someone else or for some other purpose.

NOGARD

In Nogard, the island the leviathan has settled in is teeming with wild beasts, and perhaps due to being in a warmer climate, they are appearing more and more often, as if coming out of hibernation. It makes for a perfect opportunity for hunters to head out in hopes of collecting rare meat, materials, and hides that can be used and sold. To prevent overhunting, a competition is hosted with rules and regulations that all participants must abide by.

As such, there will be a group to help ensure security and they will even request assistance from Paladins, who are also allowed to participate in the hunt if they wish. Thus those who prefer to go after people will be quite useful to keep track and go after anyone who is poaching, hunting creatures under the "protected" list, or wasting the kills. To any who are caught…well, the Paladins may fare nicer compared to a Corsair.

While most predators and creatures of large populations are eligible for the competition, there are a few notable hunts that will reap great rewards for those who dare. Those who turn in their kills will receive a decent portion of the profits and first choice in what to keep for their own. The rest will be turned in to be sold, with the Elphantin tusks going straight to Eltrut to be used for the recovery efforts.

🦈 Goblin Shark. This deep-sea shark has a distinctive long, flattened snout and protrusible jaws, making it look quite unusual compared to other shark species. All parts of its body can be used so it makes for a profitable hunt—if one can brace the cold depths to take it down.
🐍 Coibara. Head of a cobra, body of a bear, and tail and coloring of a koi fish, this snake chimera can be found in dark coves and anywhere near deeper bodies of water. Capable of sprinting over the ground and swimming, beware of its poisonous fangs, which can also fetch a pretty penny along with its hide. The venom can also be collected for both poison and anti-venom purposes.
🦚 Pexeo. An equine beast with the body and markings of a zebra and plumage and head of a peacock that roams the greener valleys. Although not hostile, it can be dangerous if attacked, its beak revealing sharp rows of teeth that can tear up anything that gets caught in it and its hooves sharp as blades. Rather than killed, the feathers are the real prize and can be carefully plucked instead. But its meat can be considered a delicacy in some areas.
🐘 Elphantin. This giant elephant like creature is considered as the top hunt of the list. They can only be found deep within the forests and only appear at dawn when the foggy mist is thickest. While every part can be used, what makes this the top prize is the medicinal properties of its tusks. But it is very difficult to track and hunt and will take a group of skilled hunters to take down.

Afterwards, a large feast to celebrate is thrown, though of course it can get rowdy and with the alcohol fountain brought in, fights and brawls are bound to happen.

But there will also be a "special guest" rushing into town: wild boars. Perhaps agitated by the hunts or out for revenge against those who targeted them (which was allowed), the boars are crashing and charging into everything they see. While this may look like a good opportunity to prepare some BBQ Boar, the conservationists of the Corsairs would like to drive most of them back into the wilds.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Only a portion. They'll go bad faster than I'll use them...best to package them up to sell back to market. Waste not.

[By now, Naeva's got the fire about ready and she's got the roasting spit prepared, so she's collected the heads to make them into a cleaner, if rather macabre, bundle to turn in for the bounty.]

[ He sets them aside for the moment in a bloody heap, as neat as he can make it. That can be dealt with in time.

He carries the goose, now prepared for roasting, over to a more convenient place for Naeva to handle. That duly handled, he busies himself with cleaning his own clothing, washing the blood off as much as he can. It might require more intensive care later, but he'll be satisfied with getting most of it off before it sets in as a stain. ]

[Naeva takes the goose and puts it on the spit to roast, turning it now and then to make sure it cooks evenly. She's a dab hand at this, even if she'd normally eat the damn thing raw.

It's not until Kimmuriel returns freshly washed she bothers to speak again.]

I don't think I ever got your name.

Kimmuriel. [ He's shaken off as much water as he can, now he's going to sit by the fire to dry the rest of the way. ] And yours?

[ People generally don't tend to think of themselves in third person, or with their names. And it's a simple question to ask, at least. ]

Naeva.

[There's a bit of an echo--her full name is a sore spot, given Naeva dos Martos vir Schwarzwald is the name of made-up vampire royalty and no THANK you, but it's just a brief burst of static to her thoughts.]

Should be ready to eat in about--[Pause. Sniff.] 30 minutes.

[Is this how long it takes to roast goose on a spit? Hell if I know. Pretend with me.]

[ Hmm. He files that away for later.

30 minutes is enough for him to dry off sufficiently and to go through his newly obtained heap of feathers, carefully sorting out which ones he deems worthy for further work and which will be sold or discarded. He barely notices when the 30 minute mark comes, a man fully engrossed in his task, no matter how his body might complain. ]

Kimmuriel.

[Naeva calls out when the food is done, though in truth she's been watching him a bit longer. That kind of methodical focus is, in fact, fascinating to her--and she's keeping a close watch on Thickrump, who is observing Kimmuriel's work with the feathers intently.]

It's ready. Leg or wing?

[ It takes him a moment to respond as he sorts out the last of the feathers. ]

Wing, [ he decides, after a moment. He doesn't have much of a preference, but that just means he can pick at random and be done with it. He scoots himself over, sparing a curious glance at Thickrump's staring. ]

He's going to try and take a feather if you don't watch him.

[Thickrump goes still when he's called out, one paw already slowly extending for the feather paw. No. He's not doing anything. He's very still so you cannot see him. He is invisible.

Naeva chuckles and pulls out a knife to cut off a wing and generous portion of the breast, before pulling off a leg herself. She only had rudimentary seasonings, but the goose is juicy and flavorful itself--seasoned with vengeance. She wraps the wing in a handkerchief to pass over to Kimmuriel.]

As long as he does not take the entire pile. [ He accepts the handkerchief, his body finally getting through to his brain that he's hungry after a great deal of physical and mental exertion. He tears the meat off the bones neatly, eating it piece by piece in a meticulous way. ]

[Naeva nods to Thickrump, who immediately absconds with a feather to cavort and caper around the little camp with it. The sillies have taken him.

Naeva, for her part, eats less...meticulously. Tearing a huge chunk of thigh off the bone and swallowing. She'll clean the meat and sinew off the bone and then crack the bones in her teeth to suck out marrow. it doesn't do enough for her thirst, but eating is still necessary...and pleasant, asides.]

You've hunted before.

[A question, though it isn't phrased like one. She's curious about his...methods.]

[ He doesn't blink at Naeva's table manners. It doesn't bother him in the slightest, it seems. He swallows a mouthful of goose before he answers. ]

Of a sort. [ Hunting is a strong word for what he does. He uses psionics as he sees fit to eliminate targets, nothing more or less. ]

I'm curious what sort does not require any weapons but a sword spontaneously summoned.

[She genuinely is curious--there's nothing like that where she's from. :OOO]

It is psionic power. [ He chews daintily on goose meat. ] Often referred to as mind magic. So named because it can affect the mind, but also because it is a different force from the Weave that wizards access. Psionic power is gathered internally, within the body, rather than from external forces.

[Well she knows some of those words.]

The...Weave?

[She thinks it over, while picking off another bit of goose to give to Thickrump.]

So it functions separately from external magic...and that's why you don't need a tattoo for it, here?

I do require a tattoo in this world, even for my own power. [ He scowls momentarily, obviously displeased by this. ] But in my own world, it is innate. Where magic fails, psionics can still function.

The Weave is essential to casting spells, or so I have been told. It is a manifestation of magic itself, created by the goddess Mystra. When it cracks, it creates places in the world where magic distorts.

The Weave has broken completely only once before. It changed the world much, the nature of magic much, and anything and anyone that relied on magic was left helpless or distorted in its destruction. Many things were lost.

[ He shrugs a little. ] But it seems to have repaired itself, so perhaps it was a renewal. In any case it is the gods' domain, not those of mortals. [ For a moment, there's a flash of irritation. ]

Edited 2023-11-23 02:40 (UTC)

Huh. [The player is still uncertain if they've done the tattoos right and so Naeva will choose not to comment on whether or not she has or needs one, shababa--

She does stare at him kind of blankly though.]

So you're saying the fabric of magic itself is overseen by one god and if anything happens to her or this Weave, magic can fail catastrophically? And that's just...normal for you?

[Naeva you cannot judge a continent for not seizing the means of magic production. naeva. naeva dos martos. NAEVA--]

More or less. It is demonstrably not ideal, but I hear that the gods tend to get angry at ideas to the contrary. [ He keeps eating bits of roast goose in between this. ] But of course they would be angered by such things. They are tyrants - or meddling puppeteers, to borrow the words of another.

...And, I suspect, harder to put to the sword than mortal tyrants. My condolences.

[Naeva you can't just casually contemplate deicide like this. naeva.

She has finished nomming the goose she's gonna nom so she's cutting up bits to wrap up for later. Dividing it up into portions so Kimmuriel can take some if he wishes!]

They do tend to shatter the world as we know it when they are killed. It is most inconvenient. The best we can do is to stay out of their way.

[ He'll take some of those portions and help wrap the rest. Gotta take some lunch home for Jarlaxle and the cat, after all. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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