Nightmare on Index Street

[keeperoftales]

Nightmare on Index Street—

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After the final hours of Halloween are coming to an end and everyone is slowly beginning to gather their things and return to their homes to prepare for the clean-up to come in the later days, a strange, eerie silence falls throughout the Index along with a mysterious gray fog. It seeps over the ground like a veil dragged behind an invisible bride and soon engulfs the entire city. The sound of hooves clattering over the cobbled streets echo over every street like an army followed by a chorus of loud, high maniacal laughter. In the next instant everything turns pitch black, as if the light of the world had been shut off.

And then just as suddenly, the light returns. But the sight that greets those who bear witness sends chills down every spine. Pumpkins lay smashed along the streets, cobwebs cover almost every window and doorway, and scarecrows swing from nooses tied to various branches. A cold, black frost covers the ground, steam rising from the thin, icy sheet before a new sound echoes around.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Big, heavy footfalls and then—

VRRRRRMMMMMM WHEEEEEEENNNNN

An ear-splitting roar of motor and metal as sparks fly from a giant chainsaw. The thing wielding it? A giant skeleton several stories tall, its mouth open wide as another shrieking laugh erupts, its eyes glowing fire. As it laughs, those closest to the abomination scream in terror before it suddenly swings its weapon out, cleaving everything and everyone in its path.

YOU THINK YOU CAN DESTROY ME, OUTSIDERS? YOU THINK YOU CAN BECOME HEROES? I'VE EATEN THEM ALL, DEVOURED THEIR SOULS AND TAKEN THEIR POWER. NOW I WILL TAKE YOU AND YOUR WORLDS! I WILL CONSUME EVERYTHING!!

From its open mouth a black vortex appears, growing larger and larger until it hurls outward to smash onto the street in front of it. At first nothing happens—only a gaping, black hole exists. But then the first claw reaches out, the first tendril, wing, tail, head. Black, hellish creatures rise up and locals scream the words,

"Erasers! It's the Story Eater's minions run for your lives!!"

By now the journals of each Aspect will have begun to burn, a loud buzz drumming in their ears as the Storyteller reaches each and every one of them.

Aspects! The Story Eater has sensed of your arrival and has breached the barrier of this world. It must be repelled, but there are only so few of you and it has grown so strong. We fear you will not survive if you face it now. But with the aid of the one known as the Father of Christmas, you may be able to weaken it enough. Quickly, find his gifts, use your powers, and weaken him until I can write a new barrier to expel him. Please, hurry!

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§ prompts.

¶ I. Unwrap Those Presents! So what are our would be heroes to do? The Storyteller is utilizing the essence of—if you haven't guessed already—Santa Claus to create special presents that will help damage and delay the Story Eater. Again, it won't be enough to defeat it, but it will give the Aspects that extra oomph and time to chip away at that giant HP bar for the Storyteller to do its magic to reconstruct the shield and expel the Story Eater.

There are four types of presents:

1. Big Red. Big red presents will summon giant snowmen that will fall either on top of or around the Story Eater. They can't really attack, but they will create a lot of ice and snow in attempt to freeze the Story Eater place. It will also help make parts of the Story Eater a bit more brittle, so those who do try to do direct attacks can deal some damage and chip away some of that bone structure. Nothing massive, but at least some cuts and small bones can be hacked off.
   
   
2. Polka Dot Blue. Blue, polka dotted presents come in various shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing when unwrapped and opened—create a lot of noise. Technically they're choirs singing various Christmas Carols, but doesn't really sound like it up close. Fortunately, they also come with special ear muffs and a small note saying, "Cover your ears before opening," but if disregarded then those who hear it will find themselves stunned and a little hard of hearing for a good while. Closing the flaps will silence the noise. What needs to be done is to direct the opening of the present towards the Story Eater. The "music" will amplify and stun it, giving a few precious seconds of vulnerability.
   
   
3. Orange Gift Bags. Large gift bags with black ribbons tying them close will unleash an explosion of pumpkins once opened. These pumpkins will rise into the air laughing before raining down in a wide area and explode on impact. So be careful! These will need to be brought over near the Story Eater to deal damage.
   
   
4. Black Envelopes in Black Stockings. These gifts are a bit harder to find, but it's also easy to notice a giant sock hanging from somewhere and a black envelope sticking out of it. They're up high, so some climbing or flying will be required. But once reached, opening the envelope will produce one of two cards. A card that is labeled "TRICK" can be used and thrown at the Story Eater. The card will expand in size and turn into steel to slice at the Story Eater, dealing a lot of damage. A card that is labeled "TREAT" can be used to help heal or boost those fighting, even allowing characters to immediately learn abilities that could help with the fight.

And around all these presents will be Erasers trying to reach and destroy them first. Some will be easy, but some may require a bit of fighting, so be prepared!

¶ II. Erase the Erasers. Erase the Erasers. The Erasers are pouring out of the black vortex and it seems as if there's an endless army of them. They are going after the citizens, so try to intercept them and defend the populace. They come in all shapes and forms, some even looking like creatures straight out of the lost stories themselves. Alternatively, try to see if you can plug up that massive hole. Perhaps a few well placed snowmen and pumpkin bombs? The gifts will also be effective against the Erasers, although it might be a little overkill.

¶ III. Help the Injured.The site where the Story Eater’s avatar landed has been reduced to rubble, and the monster is bent on more destruction as it plows through the city, any citizens caught in its wake bursting into torn pieces of ink and paper. Not everyone’s essence or heart is geared for offense, and there’s more than one way to help save the day. Those who still wish to help can try to save those who haven't been lost, or perhaps heal them if they have the knowledge or power at their disposal. Don't forget there are magical healing potions that everyone received on their first day, and it's not too difficult to find more, possibly buried underneath the rubble. Finally there are the "TREAT" cards that could also be used to help heal the injured.

¶ V. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt! Especially in regards to the festival, anything can really happen.

[Mod note: Refer to the accompanying Game Notes for more information!]

Comments

[sparrowrain]

[ Aya appreciates the optimism, but there's still one problem. ]

So how do you propose we get these - [ She taps one of the boxes ] - over there?

[starseeing]

I am of two minds.... [ She begins. ] One, that we plant these where we believe the Erasers will pass through, and from afar we activate them-- and that is where your arrows might come in handy.

As for the second, and perhaps better for closer combat, is that I would toss them up into the air and you shoot them to break the seal of these gifts. Or better yet: I can augment your strength so that when you fire your arrow, you will pin the gift bag to the enemy. A second arrow will destroy the seal, and it will be a concentrated attack on a single enemy.

[ She looks to Aya, awaiting her thoughts on her ideas. ]

[sparrowrain]

Well, the first I can understand.

[ She's actually rather impressed at the plans, and the first seems most logical, if they had any information about where the Erasers might travel. Still, that's kind of a minor point, because they can be placed strategically in areas that would likely see the most traffic. But, she's almost more interested in this augmenting strength business. ]

But I didn't know anyone could do something like... changing my strength. Pinning the boxes to the enemy sounds like a much more interesting way of going about it.

[starseeing]

Doesn't it? And perhaps a bit safer, I might add. [ So that they're further away from the enemy. ] Supporting a fighter is more of my specialty than... actually engaging in combat. [ She adds quickly, sheepishly, but then begins to walk towards one of the buildings. ]

Come, let us find a vantage point.

[sparrowrain]

All right, let's give it a try.

[ her voice sounds brighter than it did; coming up with an actual plan with someone has made their chances much better than they were. She keeps the package in hand and follows the other woman toward the buildings. ]

I'm still a little curious about how this is going to work, but I'll do my best.

[starseeing]

[ As soon as they climb the stairs and make it to one of the apartment balconies, Ophilia begins scaring the area for any signs of Erasers. Luckily (or unluckily), she spots one soon enough, and she waves the other girl over, pointing. ] There, two of them.

[ And completely unawares of the two that's about to snipe them. ] Prepare your bow.

[ In the meantime, Ophilia will ready her spell, and as Aya equips her weapon, Ophilia's hand will raise and begin to glow. A moment later Aya might feel her focus and strength greatly increased, and if she looks towards the Erasers from this distance it will seem as if she can now see them in detail. ] Ready?

[sparrowrain]

[ She's in the middle of a breath when the spell takes effect and it almost - almost - takes her breath away. Amazing - but she's too focused to comment on it as she takes aim. ]

Ready.

[ She nods, her bow drawn, the eraser and the box in her field of vision. ]

[starseeing]

[ It only takes a moment for Ophilia to throw the gift back up into the air between Aya's bow and the trajectory of the Eraser. ] Now!

[ And if all goes according to plan, then Aya's arrow will skewer the gift bag to the Erase while simultaneously piercing it open. From there, the Erasers will be caught up in a neat explosion from which they cannot even run away. ]

[sparrowrain]

[ The shot's good and on target, backed by those enhanced senses - the package pops open with an explosive rain of fire, and Aya can see it all too well. She smiles. ]

That's amazing! We did it!

[starseeing]

[ Ophilia rushes over the edge as she looks over the explosion. ] It--.... we certainly did! [ Beaming and feeling just a bit of rush of adrenaline, she looks back to her. ] That was an incredible shot, and from so far away, too! You did marvelously.

[ It seems she's giving much more credit to Aya that she would herself. ]

[sparrowrain]

It wouldn't have been half as easy without that magic of yours! I wish I could do something like that.

[ Aya's just as eager to share her own compliment! Still, she's grinning from ear to ear. ]

[starseeing]

[ If only Ophilia knew about hi-fives, she would give her one. ] Oh, no... Not at all. [ Waving a hand. ] And I shall tell you why:

[ She leans forward a bit, resting her hand upon her staff. ] My spells only augment what is already inside. [ Ophilia's golden eyes twinkle with delight. ] Which means... you have quite the amount of power and courage within you already, don't you?

[sparrowrain]

I've never heard of anything like that.

[ Well, she knows she's pretty good, but that's not what she expected. Still, her smile doesn't fade. ]

Thank you. I appreciated the help.

[starseeing]

[ Ophilia beams, straightening up. ]

Alright! So. We know our plan is working--.... [ She's pacing now. ] So what we have to do now is repeat it. [ At least until Aya runs out of arrows or Ophilia's magic depletes. ] The limiting factor-- and the most dangerous part of this plan-- is going back down to the streets and finding those gift bags once more.

[ She looks at Aya. ] ...Are you up for a few more rounds, then?

[sparrowrain]

Of course! There's no chance I'm going to stop now when we're just getting started.

[ She tucks her bow away for the time being. ]

Let's go.