[Event] Where The Wild Things Grow

[trpmods]

As the exploration of Eorzea ends, a compulsion comes to the He Rows, a need to return to the ships. The timing is perfect, for even as the last He Row arrived on their ship, the portal that had brought them to this strange new world reappeared. A tear in space, or perhaps space-time, and distantly present through it, the vision of Agra-10. It was time for the Pilots of their little fleet to set their courses and return them all home. Scant hours later, under careful hands (and the occasional instance of auto-pilot for an unfortunately bumpy ride), the ships began their descent toward the hangar in the city of Temba.

Of course it is easy to see from the cockpit that Temba is not at all how the He Rows left it. The rampant plant growth that had begun in June clearly hadn’t taken a month off. The closed roof of the hangar grows covered over with thorny vines and moss, vines that are thankfully torn apart and off as the roof opens to welcome the return of the ships. Slowly they settle into the hangar, this one now filled with its own glowing moss, like that found in Sh’Ka’s hangar, though this pulsed first in a shade of pale yellow, then in a more lurid shade of orange as the ships settled down, one after the other.

Before the systems of the ships powered down enough to allow hatches to open, the speakers crackled to life once more, conveying the quite distressed tone of Ga Re.

He Rows we need they!

Brought back more soon than want. No know if have all Seek Rats of Eorzea. But while gone big Storm came. Storm only on Temba and Sh’Ka. Make big plants bigger. More angry. Plants with points and needles. Plants with spores and bad fruit. See kree tours eat bad fruit, get sick, not move. Some safe, some not. Some plants grab and squeeze. Plants grab and squeeze Temba. Plants spread and grip Sh’Ka. Grow and grow and not stop!

Please save we home. Please save they home. No save world if no place live for He Rows. Maybe Seek Rats help. May bee find place to hide or work. Whale Comb Sent Her seem safe. And Green House, we unlock tools for they. We hope will help with plants.

Have care. Not touch needles, not let plants grip. Try and help Agrii will. But be quick!

At last the hatch doors open, allowing He Rows to leave their ships and step into the new state of Temba. The hangar for now seems safe enough, so the question is what to do. How can He Rows possibly deal with such overgrown plants? What tools did the Agrii unlock? Is Sh’Ka as bad as Temba already looks? These are all questions that are worth asking, but perhaps it’s not a bad idea to make plans soon because, beyond the distant and open door of the hangar, things are clearly going on. It looks like… are those the thorn covered vines that had covered the roof, growing fast enough to be seen and starting to cover the door?

That isn’t the only movement though. The sharp of eye or perhaps the more patient willing to look longest might see little moving things in the lurid orange light in the hangar. But is it really possible that you’re seeing little, brightly colored mushrooms moving over the floor near the distant walls of the hangar, fleeing in a line toward a small hole in the side of the hangar? Yes, they might well be. Strangely enough, when the little mushrooms approach, the colors of the mosses on the walls dim, and as the first little mushroom reaches the hole it stops and starts to twirl and weave on the spot. The other mushrooms seem to join in and the mosses fade in color before retreating back.

What’s going on here?

It’s a good question that right now He Rows don’t have any answers to, but perhaps they can find out. After all, this is their home for the time being, and if nothing else, winning back the safety of the cities might be important to continued survival and the hopes of one day getting home.

As the first day progresses it’s clear that something is wrong. The plants here seem different, even the familiar ones. Walking through a taller than average patch of once familiar grasses may result in horrible rashes, or trying to step over a vine might find it wrapping quickly around a leg, and that’s just the start. And as the sun sets there are new noises spreading through the city, something that almost sounds like grasses constantly rustling even as bundles of dry twigs breaking. Noises that move, approaching any wandering He Rows. Perhaps there are more dangers in the new burst of nature that has claimed the cities than the light of day could reveal.

Have care, Ga Re had warned. Perhaps it’s best for He Rows to take her words to heart as they look for an answer to this new problem.

FAQ
What is the date range for this event?

August 11th through September 8th. It is theoretically possible for the He Rows to complete the objectives needed to end the event before this date, but whether they succeed on all objectives or not before the end date, things will change starting on the 8th of September.

Is it possible to Opt-Out of this event?

Yes and no. All characters not on hiatus will be affected by the general setting changes, but no He Row is obligated to take part in any section of the quest to save the cities directly. It is possible to cut your way to more secure places like the Whale Comb Sent Her, the Greenhouses, and established player residences (except the Temba Library) and avoid the rest of what is going on. Or characters can stay in the ships, which will be designated safe zones as well. The only note is that it will be unsafe to be outdoors at night, when more actively dangerous plants become active.

What about new characters or those coming back from hiatus?

Let’s start with hiatus. Those characters who were on hiatus in July can either have rejoined their fellow He Rows on their ships back during the Eorzea event, or can return at this point. However, it is important to know that all returns will happen on the ships, not at the fountain. Characters can then either stay there, go to opt-out areas, or join the event.

For new characters, the earliest you will arrive on Temba is at the start of the event. You will also start on your newly assigned ship. You will still feel the urge to go to the fountain to touch the arrival datapoint, but these He Rows will be able to avoid the compulsion if they wish to. And, regarding your TDM threads: if you wish to keep those canon, the best option we can suggest is to treat it as if your character arrived, then was immediately sent on a ‘mission’ by the Agrii that they do not remember, only to return now.

Can we travel between the cities?

Only by ship. Those who make it to the train station terminals in either city will find the train is not present, and the mouths of the tunnels it travels through on either end completely overgrown with impenetrably thick vines.

Is the beach still accessible?

Yes, and given its distance from Temba, things seem normal enough there.

Actively dangerous plants?

Temba and Sh’Ka are overgrown, and not in a sort of ‘returning to nature’ sort of way. Were a He Row to push past the limits of the cities and into the wilds they’d find those areas unaffected. But in the cities themselves, mixed in with your more commonly overgrown plants, vines, trees, shrubs, and grasses, He Rows will find hostile plants. These can include things like the Blood Vines and Holdfast Vines in Sh’Ka, plants in either city covered with large thorns or poisonous sap, and even actively carnivorous things that will try and lure you into becoming a meal.

Nor are these the only threats. Plants that are commonly familiar and normally deemed ‘safe’ to interact with like Big Cherries (commonly known as Red Fruit) that grow on trees in Temba may be altered to have other effects like sedation, hallucinations, minor poisonous characteristics, really the list goes on. Even those plants previously seen only in the Greenhouses may have spread outside and have new, unfriendly manifestations.

Wait, are you saying we can be creative with the dangers currently presented?

Oh my yes. In fact, we highly encourage players to either create entirely new plant species to find in the two cities that were always dangerous and are more common now, or create new versions of old plants already present on the Flora Page to present dangers to other He Rows.

If you are going to be writing a new, altered version of an old plant, we ask that when you fill out the name, add [Altered] after it so we can record it properly. And be sure to give details on where this specific dangerous variant occurs and just why it’s so dangerous. We will give you extra applause if you include a way to treat any negative effects beyond general injuries, as our medical datapoint users may have to be fighting for new treatments in the face of plants trying to hurt the He Rows.

Why is it so bad to be outdoors at night?

In various parts of Temba and Sh’Ka areas of thick shrubbery hide clearings of deep purple blossoms growing on the ground, blossoms larger in size than your average glownie. When the sun sets these blossoms open and out stride large plants the size of wolves, seemingly made of twisted grasses with teeth made of massive rose thorns, legs of sturdy branches and twigs, and lashing tails of thick vines. In form they look like some sort of plant-wolf hybrids, and as they move they make the sound of violently rustling grass and breaking twigs. These mobile plants move in what seem to be packs, following noises and tracking moving animals with no discernible eyes.

These creatures will come to be in the Dick Shun Airy Flora listings as Thorntooth Hedges. It accurately describes them as predatory plants that move in units, each pack moving as a single unit. They ‘see’ not through proper vision, but by sensing heat of living animals, and chase those heat signs down. Any caught by them that are not torn apart might well be dragged back into their clearings, where they are soon wrapped up in leafy pods. While the creatures can be fought, a pack is not easily faced alone, and it is advisable to just not be where they can access at night, such as behind securely closed doors, or on ships. When dawn approaches the Thorntooth Hedges slink back to their groves, and retreat inside their blossoms. Any out in the full light of day quickly begin to wither and die, and are beyond rescue by the return of night.

How do we stop the Thorntooths?

You don’t, not really. While enough fighting can sunder pack dynamics and send them fleeing, or you could escape them, ultimately the Thorntooth Hedges will rise every night, the same number, over and over, in each city. The best thing He Rows can do is hide when it gets dark. Good hiding places include any previously mentioned ‘safe area’, as well as the ships. The ships must be cautious, though, as the hangar doors in both cities will not close, leaving the ships vulnerable to Thorntooth attacks.

Pilots will be able to, however, take the ships into the skies at night, leaving them in a carefully monitored hover a few stories over the cities, so they can provide the maximum amount of safety to their crews. But to those who want something else, it is absolutely possible to barricade oneself inside of He Row residences that have doors, or above any point where climbing is difficult, as the Thorntooth Hedges cannot jump.

Can the Thorntooths be fought against?

Yes. Most conventional weapons and even magic can have some degree of effect on them. Ice is particularly effective as like with many plants they are vulnerable to freezing. Fire is also useful but given their nature as grass and wood, fires could spread quickly and be a whole other threat to He Rows and native Fauna (such as has survived) alike. Bladed weapons and crushing weapons are good too. The main things that will not be very effective will be projectile weapons such as guns, arrows, and other small arms. They will still be able to deal damage, but not as effectively. If another form of attack hasn’t been covered here, feel free to ask below.

You say the Greenhouses are safe. If the plants are going crazy, how could that be?

That is one of the mysteries up for the He Rows to try and solve. However, it is true. While some species in the greenhouses seem to have gotten out and made trouble, the greenhouses themselves are safe, and once inside, the spaces are as orderly and cared for as ever, almost as if they were still tended for the entire month that He Rows were gone.

And the Tools Ga Re mentioned?

He Rows exploring the Greenhouses in both cities will find there is now a door that hadn’t been visible before, hidden as part of a wall, that is now open. In Temba this is in the basement’s seed vault. The door is now unlocked, giving access to more seeds of the plants growing in the buildings, as well as a secret door that has popped open. In Sh’Ka the door will actually open into a large tree in the middle of the highest floor of the greenhouse, which it turned out is a number of trees grafted to grow together around a supply room. In both there will be agricultural tools, like hoes, trimming shears, baskets for harvest and buckets for disposal.

Most useful to He Rows will be the energy scythes. These tools will look at first glance like long metal staffs with a hole near the top. When picked up by any He Row with the Security expertise, the whole stick will seem to hum in their hand before a wire extends from the stick, taking the general shape of a scythe. One extended purple light descends from the wire, creating a blade sharp enough to cut through any plant, tree, and yes, body parts. The blade immediately flickers out if it comes into contact with blood, or if the staff isn’t held by someone with the Security datapoint. These will prove to be great weapons against Thorntooth Hedges and amazing for clearing overgrown plants.

Can the energy scythes become damaged?

Absolutely. Repairing them requires a crystal rod and the attention of a He Row with the Engineering datapoint. Tools for repairs will be available in the secret rooms in the greenhouses, in a series of drawers that only open at the touch of an Engineer. These are not completely flawless tools, as they were not truly meant for combat, or things being grown over this much, and so will wear down.

Can we KEEP the energy scythes after the event ends?

These will remain something that can be used by those with the Security datapoint going forth. Otherwise, they just make good sticks.

What’s up with the glowing orange moss in the hangar?

Touching the orange glowing moss will result in it puffing out a cloud of spores that will leave anyone who inhales it itching for at least a day, or until they take a long shower on a ship.

What was up with those little mushrooms in the hangar?

Oh, you mean the darling, lovely, sweet little Funfronds? That’s right He Rows, you got a glimpse of an illusive group of creatures. You can find more details about them on the Fauna page. These creatures are primarily nocturnal, so the fact that they are moving around in daylight now is something a bit shocking. A great description of them is available on the Fauna page.

What did the little Funfronds do?

Close inspection of the area they slipped through will show that the moss around the hole they slipped through has been changed back to the same sort as is found in the hangar in Sh’Ka. It’s just nice, friendly, glowing moss. Something the Funfronds did has reverted the plant to its ‘normal’ state. Which could mean that the Funfronds might have answers for how to help you with what is going on.

Can we communicate with the Funfronds?

If you can find them amid the ruins of Temba, yes, very much. They speak through dance and hand gestures, so far as a He Row can tell. Those with the Communication datapoint can understand this method of communication with study. However they are shy creatures that flee easily, so first He Rows must find where they are staying, and open conversation carefully, in hopes of finding help.

Are there Funfronds in Sh’Ka?

While there are some Funfronds that stay near Sh’Ka’s quarry, there are other possible aids in Sh’Ka. For the first time someone lands in the hangar in Sh’Ka, they will see a similar situation of little figures calming the luridly orange moss in the hangar, though these look less like a variety of different mushrooms, and more like round, dark purple berries with paler purple arms and legs, and glowing yellow eyes. These always travel in groups, and their communication seems to be based on percussive rhythms. Once more, Communications datapoint specialists can come to understand these creatures and communicate with them.

Will these Funfronds and Barrys be able to help us?

Communication will tell. We welcome players to assume they find and start communicating with these creatures. Please comment below with a link to a thread if you need mod assistance with an NPC for conversations. We will, though, be able to provide some general answers below if questions are asked here too.

Are there any places in Temba/Sh’Ka that are more dangerously impacted by the plants being messed with here?

A few. Let’s start with Temba.

Blue Six - Museum (AKA Former Jedi Temple) - This area is heavily impacted, where there are many plants outside that are actively violent and aggressive. Attempting to approach could find one lashed with sharp edged vines, find sharp spines shot at them from angry looking flowers, or even distracted and misled by puffs of pollen that lead to hallucinations. It seems the plants brought into the Jedi Temple gardens, clearly non-native flora, have been more violently affected by whatever change has happened than other plants in the city. It is important to note that sibling plants to these planted in the greenhouse are unaffected.

Green Twenty - Palace - Previously some He Rows discovered the space infested by a massive plant that spread hypnotic spores. This infestation has resumed.

Yellow Eight - Library - Tony Stark created a maze recently. It’s expanded. The maze seems to have decided to keep growing in the absence of the He Rows, and as grown so far as to make it impossible to access the library without solving the twists and turns. Unfortunately the maze has grown a bit more menacing, and those who walk its twists and turns might find themselves attacked from all sides by unkind plants.

As for Sh’Ka there are two major centers of higher danger.

Pink Nine - Transport Station - As before the area outside of the station is overrun by Blood Vines, and now they seem to be moving of their own accord. Any going into the area should be well equipped to hack their way through, as the vines are in the mood to gather more blood with which to feed themselves.

Pink Nineteen - Estate - While the area was very well cultivated and carefully managed by the droids it seems the plants here are particularly intent on fighting back against the careful cultivation going on here. Each day the battle between plant and machine is waged, and it’s never clear which will come out on top.

Just wondering, but does having the Agricultural Datapoint tell us anything about what is going on?

Indeed it can help, but not much. Those with Agricultural datapoints, and who have experience with tending to plants outside of the Greenhouses, likely have over their tenure on the planet noted that those plants brought from off planet and planted outside of the greenhouses require a lot more careful tending than those inside. They grow sick more easily, and can sometimes develop strange new leaves, buds, or other structures. This is more true the further one gets from the greenhouse. However before now it really hasn’t been a major concern. A bit more careful fertilizing, a bit more active care, and they’ve been fine. Until now.

All of that is well and good and all, but what of the glownies/birbs/moth cats/other animals on the planet?

The glownies are, as ever, safe at the Livestock Nursery where they have been kept since their arrival. Other animals that have been kept as pets have also managed to avoid trouble with plants. However those which have not been kept by He Rows have had a harder time, and many have fled the cities.

Okay, last month’s Seek Rats, the wooden boxes. What do they have to do with this?

Whether opened before or only just now upon returning to Agra-10 (as if they were not opened before, landing and disembarking will cause boxes to open), He Rows will find that, upon closer inspection, some pieces of the painted imagery are a bit more familiar now. Are those… Funfronds and Barrys painted in the corners of images? Little dots in the right colors or little colorful mushrooms, yeah, that looks about right. All of them there, on each piece. Somehow the Barrys and Funfronds have something to do with your painted rocks. Still, you don’t have the complete picture. Other things painted there seem to show off places in Temba. Maybe you can find where they go, and there will be more answers there.

Where DO those pieces go then?

There are a few places that characters might consider looking to find where these pieces might go. Those who are very familiar with both Temba and Sh’Ka’s geology would be able to suggest these are more likely to belong in Temba. Good places to look might be the hotel, library, estate, memorial, palace, and ruins in Pink 2. And who knows, maybe some He Rows might have ideas from their experiences in Temba.

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Both sounds good. But definitely at least patrolling.