Event 001: The Potions

[atonementmods]

Characters: All.
When: February 1st
Where: Town Square
Warnings: None. Please put any warnings in the comment subject if it progresses that way!


As of this morning, there will be a steady rain over Penance that will darken the skies to black and fall as if somehow tainted and muddied, followed by a cold and harsh wind that will chill one to the bone if they dare to venture out in it... which may be necessary. The ground and roads will be slick and muddied, but there will be power outages due to the weather so staying in may not be necessarily more appealing. The rain will continue steadily for a week and be intermittent the rest of the month.

However, should anyone venture to the town square in search of warmth, there will be a large tent set up that is entirely illuminated regardless of whether the rest of Penance is or not. There will be supplies such as food and water for the taking, as well as a few old blankets for people to huddle under while they wait out the storm.

That's not all, of course. It wouldn't be atoning in the slightest if things were made too calm and cozy during the storm. There will also be letters left to each of Penance's new citizens detailing what this month's punishment entails.

It's time for your hosts to be a little less kind than upon arrival.

A table set up under the tent has five different kind of vials on it, plenty of each to go around. They have the following effects:

• Pink. Allows for one to hear the true thoughts of others, including what is thought about them for 24 hours during all interactions. This is to cause some self-reflection and insight into how they're viewed.


• Green. Allows for pain to be given to another for 24 hours. It will be agonizing pain and sickness. While this is extremely frowned upon, it will mean that the person in question will have participated in punishments this round and will be excused from drinking any other potion. However, remember that the actions we take now may have consequences in the future. It should also be noted that you won't get to choose who experiences the pain due to your decision, so no trying to take a grudge out on anyone.


• Purple. Allows one to feel the pain they caused another during their lives for 24 hours. They will feel what that person felt entirely. Hopefully this will cause some reflection and remorse for the actions that caused another to feel hurt.


• Blue. Forces honesty for 24 hours. No lying and one may even be compelled to spill their deepest, darkest secrets and sins to anyone who will listen. Transparency is key to atoning for past sins.


• Red Causes significant pain for 24 hours. It may be general pain like an ache in your bones that can't be soothed, or it may manifest in physical injuries such as cuts, bruises, etc. They say pain can be cleansing...

For those eager for punishment (which your hosts love to see), you may take more than one vial to spread out over the month, although taking multiple potions at once may not be entirely wise for most. Citizens may opt to try to avoid punishment this month, but again, remember all choices may have future consequences. Your hosts are here to see that you pay for your sins, not just scrape by.

With your letter collected, you may stay and get to know each other a little better while you wait for the storm to pass or insist on grabbing your items and brave the return to your home. The choice is absolutely yours.

Comments

ii

[preciousbrat]

Eren was about to leave the tent. In his opinion there was no need to stay here any longer. An old-looking bag was hanging from his shoulder, filled with some canned goods and bottles of water. The purple vial was still in his left jacket pocket. While he had stuffed the cans into his bag he was thinking when he should drink it.

Part of him wasn't sure if once he would be at home he would try to ignore it. He had reached the exit of the tent when suddenly he decided that he didn't wanted to return home so soon. When he would reach his lodging, he would be wet to the bones.
Lost in his thoughts Eren went to one of the benches, not paying much attention of the ones already sitting there. A deep sign came over his lips.



Should I? he asked himself, while looking around to see if there was someone who could possibly be of help, since he wasn't sure whose pain he would feel. He tapped on the shoulder of the man, who was sitting next to him. "Please don't be scared if you might hear pain expressions. The vials you know ..."

He stopped with his excuse but because he got the impression that it was needless but then he knew that he would be scared if someone, who was sitting next to him would suddenly cry out in pain.

[thereneverwas]

Eren couldn't have picked someone less likely to be scared, or bothered, both because he is well on his way to being drunk and because before that he was already concussed. Rufus leans over to listen, then smiles with a shrug and raises the whiskey bottle he's holding as if to say 'yeah, whatever, cheers'.
"Have at it, kid."

[preciousbrat]

The smile combined with the shrugging shoulder was a gesture Eren had seen in his life a couple of times. When he was younger he was having a problem with people who liked to drink but as he grew older, he could see the appeal of it. Alcohol could have a welcome side effect, a much more pleasant one than the vial he was holding in his hand.

Eren returned the smile, realising that since he had arrived in Penance a smile was something rare on his face.
He looked at it, opened it. "Cheers. I hope this will have at least a decent taste."
This was one wish too much. It tasted horrible and Eren was glad that there was only one gulp in the vial.
"Disgusting." He commented the taste out loud, waiting for anything to happen.

[thereneverwas]

Doubtful that any of them have a decent taste, Rufus actually laughs when Eren tries the vial and finds it lacking. It's a warm, booming sound, sympathetic while still genuinely amused.
"You don't sound surprised," he remarks with a grin.

[preciousbrat]

"I wasn't expecting the sweet taste of fruits. In fact it tasted like brackish water on a hot summer day. The colors are just there to fool you."

And when do I feel anything?
The seconds passed away and Eren slowly began to assume, that this was all a joke from their host, when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his right leg. In the next second he felt as if his back was about to break. Between the waves of pain he asked himself, who's pain he was feeling.

Could only be some ...Some what?
Eren couldn't find the word he was searching for. Suddenly his head was hurting as if someone would have tried to cut his head in two halves.

[thereneverwas]

"Well that's no fun," Rufus replies, and then his attention is caught by the boy convulsing slightly. Sitting there stolidly, he takes a pull from the bottle and watches in vaguely drunken curiosity.

[preciousbrat]

He buried his face in his hands. His eyes were hurting as if someone had thrown a big hand full of sand into his face. Through gritted teeth he was cursing.

Then ... Nothing. Must be a break. he assumed. "I still have over twenty-three hours ahead of me" Eren laughed with dry. "I will survive them somehow." Perhaps gallows humor was the only way to endure this suffering.

The pain was back with a pang, or rather with the feeling of getting thrown down from a great hight. His back was screaming in pain, just like his legs and the back of his head. He got the impression as if all the air had vanished from his lungs. He breathed in but got the impression that no air was getting inside his lungs.

[thereneverwas]

"That's quite a few," Rufus intones, still watching with a smile that seems detached at best. The boy seems to be suffering. That's too bad.

[preciousbrat]

"They will pass." He couldn't think of something else to add and the waves of pain were slowing blocking his thinking.

Someone how he had a vague idea whose pain he was feeling. It belonged to a recent happening when he had been still alive.

Out of the blue a question crossed his mind. "Say ... what do you think will happen, if the victim whose pain I'm feeling died?"

Between statements of pain and deep signs he spoke out this question. It was common knowledge, that the best distraction from pain is talking.