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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

[ He really doesn't need to worry much about her, in truth. Even if she's a bit clumsy, Aerith's got enough moxie in her for three more people, so while Fenris tussles with the flower and feels the wash of force-fed fervor, Aerith's listening. ]

Got'cha! [ For someone experiencing a difficult mix of agitation, hunger and confusion— she's pretty amicable and easy to direct in combat. Although she picks up on the notes of concern in Fenris' voice, there's little to say about it in the moment. Maybe later she'll just tell him she's not some priss who needs to be taken care of, but maybe it's easier to just show him.

So while revulsion paints his mood, Aerith's got her staff held overhead and she's calling to the plant like a fool. ] Yoohoo! Over here! Forget about him! [ The plant shudders at the sound of her voice before turning, one vine moving to try and envelope Fenris so as not to lose it's other meal, but how often do you get a little willowy thing offering herself up for a good time like this?

It shudders again, petals moving, hungry and sloppy, and Aerith quips, as if someone actually said it: ] That's all? If you wanna find out how good I taste, come and get some.

[ When the plant lunges, so does Aerith: from the double-ringed staff in her hand comes a beam of light, reverently, as if summoned from the Gods above. It bores a hole into a petal, eating away at one limb eagerly.

Which makes it a sitting duck, as it writhes in— pain? Pleasure? One might wonder with the way it's drooling. ]

[Fenris dodges the vine after him as he watches Aerith out of the corner of his eye, she was brave he will give her that. Hopefully not reckless too. Though she reminds him of Merrell, so when she calls to the plant... well, to say he feels like he should have guessed that is an understatement. He can almost feel his scowl turn flat.

Well, that is until he watches her magically blast the plant like it's nothing. Like something Hawke would do in the middle of the fight, or even Merrell without the blood magic. Or at least he hopes without the blood magic.

Still, he knows enough to have an open mind about such things as magic these days. Magic was so different in other worlds. Less demonic and dangerous, more about the person who was dangerous rather than the magic corrupting someone. He knows this, yet still, he watches the scene before him with some distrust.. but he knows well enough to prioritize the situation than his own issues.

So when he sees the opening? He takes it.]

I did not think you to actually tempt the creature. [He speaks while running forward and plunging his sword into the meat of the plant, rending it open with a hefted strike. The plant writhes and twitches, drooling with an open maw.

Maker, he must be horny if he was wondering if it was pleasure or pain he was delivering.]

Good work. Now come, let us fell this beast.

[ A sense of reckless might only paint the tone of Aerith's actions in the case of someone she cares about being overwhelmed; it is lucky, thus, that Fenris is a seasoned brawler, ready at the helm to give out an order and follow through.

He speaks, evenly and commandingly, somehow. Aerith raises her gaze to him, trying to process his voice and not the plants. While Fenris wonders if it is pleasure or pain he delivers, Aerith doesn't have to question it. The plant's still deeply pleased with this arrangement, voice pitchy and wheezy, overcome with something less agonized and more lubricious. There's a dazed look in her eye as she stares at him, not the flower, the pit of her stomach flopping unsurely before she realizes... ]

...Right. [ Okay, she can do this. With a nod, she lightly jogs over to his side, the plant crying out for an explosive release, as Aerith hefts one of the circular blades at the end of her staff up. ]

I'm good at tempting a lot of things. [ She finally quips, not entirely sure if she should be saying it or not. ] You'll just have to find out.

[ Satisfied, she slams down her staff hooking one half of the plant's wet, inviting maw into a round blade, and tugs with all her anger and embarrassment. How dare it twist something like this feeling so deeply— how dare it bring such an ugliness into her world, and to doorstep of people she thinks so well of!

Really, a normal reaction. Totally. ]

[There is a pause from Fenris because he's too turned on right now to not take that as flirting, to not feel like that's some kind of hint that he's very interested in. Was she tempting him? Was she interested in tempting him? Will he find out like she alludes to? Because right now he's very interested, deeply, achingly so and he doesn't want to assume.

Really the power of where this goes was in her hands.]

If you continue to fight as you have, then color me tempted. [He says it with a hint of something, a curl of his lip, a lightly amused lilt that spoke of want. Something that hopefully communicated that if she wanted to... Whatever aphrodisiac like effect this plant was having was something that was opening him up to the idea of exploring the ways she could tempt him..

He squeezes his eyes against the thoughts and focuses.

Hesitating no longer, he buries his blade into the main stem of the plant, trying to rend it apart with strength that makes his lithe arms show their true strength as they tense. Soon his blade comes free, nearly rending the plant in half along the way. He can feel vines that are wrapped around his legs tense and spasm.

Again, in pleasure or pain it was hard to tell. There was almost like a gasping sound from the plant. Still alive then, but barely so.]

[ It might be the plant's gasp that he hears, but Aerith's own noise of surprise mingles with the sound that erupts from the beast. She watches her fighting companion, the muscles in his arms and the sheen of exertion covering them. Fenris looks lit up from within: like he's taking in the atmosphere and making it his own. For someone who was teasing him just moments ago, she's awful good at playing like she wasn't. Forgetting herself for a moment, she laughs— giggles, really— before quickly remembering herself. Well, if nothing else, she knows she's susceptible now. ]

I'm just here for you. [ A half-truth. She doesn't like the idea of him being used, or manipulated. Doubly so now that she feels some kind of kindred spirit in him. For that reason, she'll do anything to make sure he doesn't fall victim to the plant. Not on her watch. ]

It's still breathing. [ Aerith wrenches her staff through. She fails to pull out one jagged, dripping tooth as she moves, but peels away a petal with ease, instead. A wanting howl echoes from the monster, quivering in some ridiculous display. She looks over to Fenris, from the corner of her eye, before turning her head to him again. One heavy soled boot moved to step on a vine, applying pressure as well as her thin, willow-y form can. ]

I've got an idea. You can keep up. [ She sounds confident of that; he can take it as an implication if he wants. She's almost ashamed to admit it would be.

With her staff free, she can cast a ward. Purple, glowing, something arcane and powerful— she's nothing if not helpfu, at least, she hopes. ] Two's more fun, right?

[ To demonstrate, she casts an orb of ice magic towards the plant: it repeats without her casting again, and upon impact, envelopes the one vine in ice. She batters up with the staff, and slams it in, shattering the vine. The plant shivers, moans. He can't hear it but it begs to be warmed up somehow. Gross, she thinks. Totally. ]

[He watches her form as she steps on the plant, as she giggles and remembers herself. She's beautiful yet not scared of getting dirty, of having to put pressure where it was needed, of getting her boots dirty and the hem of her dress soiled by the viscous fluids the plant beast is drooling from his maw and wounds. It made her beautiful to him, gorgeous in a way that left him feeling high off the feeling.

Something was definitely influencing him, but regardless he knew he would find her attractive in his moment, especially when she comes up with another idea and gives him that look of confidence in it.

It reminded him of Isabela.

Without hesitating, he nods, because of course he can keep up and will keep up. In both senses of the word really, but that was neither here nor there. He isn't sure if what he needs to do is magic, but he moves in and slams his blade down on the frozen parts of the plant, shattering it, while the plant writhes and roars with it. For every part she freezes, he moves in to slam his sword or boot into it, the viscous liquids the plan oozes turning hard and fragile, only to be shattered by their combined efforts.]

An interesting trick, you seem to be quite capable.

[ After a lifetime of being in a cage, there's very little Aerith truly fears; killing a beast that hurts people is certainly not one of them. So she watches him, gaze unashamed and curious. She can't help but wonder what thoughts are floating through the rivers of his mind, making him cast glances to and away from her, from the beast, to the world that cradles them like misfits. She wonders, briefly, if he wears freedom much differently from her.

There's a viciousness in his movements, she notes, the calculated use of his blade and the familiarity of how deep it's cut is; it's a strangely exciting sight to watch him plunge it into the plant. He has no familiarity with abandon, only the presentness of the moment and the control he exerts over it.

"An interesting trick," he calls it. She smiles, twirls her staff, and tilts her head playfully. The plant cries out for more, shuddering in fading throes. She'd feel bad for it if the damned thing didn't clearly enjoy it so much, leaving such a horrendous mess everywhere. The skirt of her dress is catching some of it, the hem drooping slightly.

Focus, Aerith. She can't just keep flirting in the middle of a fight? Well—... but no! ]

Hopefully the rest of them are just as interesting, then. You interested in finding out?

[ Staff spinning with all the grace of a dancer, she forces it through a vine crawling pathetically across the ground, penetrating it deep and severing it from the body. ] Maybe I'm just good at pruning.

[He can't help how his eyes move to find her again when the plant is finally dying. Can't stop the way his eyes track the playful tilt of her head or the way she smiles at him, the way her fingers move as they twirl the staff. Fenris wonders what's on her mind after something like this. She seems so at ease when most would be freaked out.

There is a fearlessness in her that he can admire, a fearlessness that feels so similar, because he also isn't afraid of much - sure he fears another collar, another cage, but all else was nothing in comparison. A giant plant monster felt almost par for the course at this point.

Watching her playful moments, he finishes the plant with one more strike that goes clean through it's stem, severing it in half.]

I believe you have a knack for it, yes. [He pauses for a long second, considering her question.]

There are more of these beasts? [His leather pants were very tight but he didn't want to leave more of these creatures to capture and attack others..]

I suppose if there are more to .. prune as you say, then it would be worth investigating.

[ It is unsurprising when the beast dies, withering away into nothingness. Oddly, Aerith feels a stir she wants to not indulge, but when she looks back at him, over her shoulder, her gaze training upon Fenris as a sensation of want becoming increasingly familiar settles into her...

A short beat of silence follows her stare before she swivels around, closing her eyes. Listening is much easier like this, the swell of darkness letting her pick up on whispers and cries from things that no one else can communicate with. She nods, ribbon bouncing. ]

Yeah. A couple more. [ But— doesn't he deserve better than this? Aerith feels a knot in her stomach, and she remembers what he said at the masquerade: That he never chose to appear at those parties. So, he was the entertainment? And is that what he is now, to her? ]

We could prune them— but, Fenris? It's... okay, really. I could probably do it myself if I have to. You can rest. [ She's not going to say the quiet part out loud. Rarely does she. ]

[He has years of experience ignoring his own wants and bodily needs, he can continue to, he wasn't about to let her go off alone and do this, even if she was fully capable. No, he would suck it up and go with her, even if these plants had an aphrodisiac like effect on his body.

Brushing himself off, but being very careful of his crotch area, he gives her a nod.]

I am aware I could and that you would do well enough on your own, but it will be faster working together. Come, let us handle the rest.

[Leaning his great sword against his shoulder, he gestures to her to lead the way as she seems to know where the next of their quarries are while he does not.]

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