THE SAVAGE LAND, Part I

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RETURN TO CEREBRO

The morning after the repairs to Cerebro are completed, Emma Frost and her established entourage (Kitty Pryde, Manuel de la Rocha, and Illyana Rasputin) return to Cerebro with one aim: for Emma to pin down the physical location of the mutant entity they've been tracking as quickly as possible and then get out. Illyana prepares her magical protections, Kitty and Manuel focus on monitoring the device and the telepath respectively, and Emma begins to search.

Now that she knows who she's looking for and where to search for them, that expansive mind is not easily hidden. She finds it much as she had during their first encounter, preoccupied and engaged with the untethered mind of Charles Xavier. She's tempted to press further, attempt to get a glimpse at what holds their attention or make contact with her former mentor, but forces herself to focus on the task at hand. Obscuring herself as much as she can, aided by Illyana's protective presence, she tries to ground her senses in the body that houses the mind and the physical world around it. It doesn't take long and a location solidifies in her thoughts just as she feels that now-familiar mind turning toward her. Beginning to take notice.

She's able to pull the helmet off herself this time, slamming back into her body with a gasp, flustered but victorious. Because she knows where they are: on the western coast of the Palmer Peninsula, on the northernmost part of the continent.

The celebratory donuts are certainly warranted, but maybe they should enjoy them on the Blackbird. They need to tell the others!

MARGALI COMES CALLING

While the others are utilizing Cerebro, Kurt Wagner is approached by a nervous-looking student who tells him that a 'weird lady' is waiting in the parlor to talk to him. The woman the student describes sounds like Margali. Alarmed, Kurt goes to meet her.

Once he arrives, Margali greets him and tells him that she's aware of their predicament. The threads tying them to another reality and another version of themselves. While she admits that the connections are too potent for her to sever, she produces eight charms: polished stones held in an intricate design of knotted and interwoven cord. The charms thrum with magic and she informs Kurt that if they are worn or otherwise kept in contact with the body, they should prevent the influence of their other selves from being able to reach them and should (hopefully) obscure them from the magical senses of the entity that marked them. These charms could be useful...but does he trust them?

With the charms delivered, she asks Kurt if he's been taking care of himself through this endeavor. Throughout the exchange she hasn't been as cold to him as she was the last time she was here and she seems to have some amount of concern for him now. Regardless, she soon departs.

It will be up to Kurt whether or not he passes these along.

ABOARD THE BLACKBIRD

Not wanting to waste any time, the decision is made to set off for Antarctica within the next few hours, giving the team just enough time to make arrangements. Responsibilities are handed off. The jet is stocked. A flight plan is set. By mid-morning they're in the air.

With Scott Summers and Kurt Wagner at the helm, the Blue Team sets off.

The flight is long and mostly uneventful, much of it spent speculating about what they might find and planning for the worst. As they finally approach their intended destination, they find that it is the midst of an immense, swirling vortex of ice and snow. The force of the wind makes the small plane shudder, even from a distance. They'll either have to land and wait for it to pass or attempt to fly through it. However, Illyana Rasputin is able to identify this for what it is: a potent magical illusion. Something is being hidden. Something is being protected. With this information, Kurt Wagner gives the order to fly through.

At first, it seems like the storm or the vivid illusion might be too much for the Blackbird, which shakes and rattles as it is pushed into the wind. Then, suddenly, the air stills and the ice and snow seem to part like a curtain. Beyond, the world is bright and altogether different than they could've ever expected...

THE SAVAGE LAND

Encircled by massive volcanoes, a lush tropical jungle sprawls out before them. While this is shocking enough, the sudden need for an evasive maneuver to avoid a flock of startled pterodactyls is even moreso. While the pilots aren't quite quick enough, Kitty Pryde is able to push her powers to the limit and make the entire Blackbird intangible just long enough to avoid a collision. That was close!

But where in the world are they?

The dense trees make finding a place to land difficult, but they eventually set down in a large lake and start to get their bearings. Whatever this place is, Charles Xavier and the unknown entity are here somewhere. Emma Frost reaches out with her mind to search for either of them, but comes up empty. Without Cerebro, she's lacking in either the range or the power to locate them. It seems like they'll have to explore the region the old-fashioned way. While she's making this attempt, the others are quick to discover that communications still seem to function...but only within the confines of the magical barrier. Attempts to send a message back to New York are futile. Illyana Rasputin finds that her powers are similarly interrupted; she can teleport anywhere within the barrier, but a quick trip back to New York or Genosha or anywhere else is off the table for now.

Reluctantly, the team sets off into the jungle. The air is humid and hot. The terrain is difficult and the dense with wild flora, some familiar, some seemingly prehistoric, some altogether otherworldly. With no clear direction to take, they have no choice but to explore everything in search of their lost mentor.

Exploring the Savage Land will take the team however long the game collectively decides to spend on it. This will be flexible and can work around levels of interest/outages/etc. Along the way, the team must contend with things like:

• Dangerous encounters with dinosaurs, other prehistoric animals, and enormous insects. While all of these creatures are grounded in things that have existed, the Savage Land has been isolated for a long time and strange forces may've resulted in unexpected changes.


• Survival. While the Blackbird was fully stocked when they arrived, they couldn't have anticipated this situation and so will have to make the most of what they have and supplement by hunting, collecting resources, and otherwise being clever little mutants. Hopefully nobody will starve or eat the wrong berries. They'll also be cooking over a fire, washing their clothes in the river, and the like. Time to rough it!


• Finding a natural spring with regenerative properties. Its waters are cool and welcoming. They also seem to soothe both the physical aches and pains of travel and the emotional pains of endured hardships. If push comes to shove, they may also discover that these waters can heal minor to moderate injuries in moments and can progress the healing of severe injuries considerably. Could it bring someone back from the dead? Likely not. Hopefully they won't need to find out. The properties of this water remain if it is bottled and taken, but only for a few hours.


• Eventually encountering a tribe of primitive animal-like humanoids. While initially hostile, Manuel de la Rocha is able to the deescalate the situation with his powers and Emma Frost is able to establish communication telepathically. The team is invited to spend a night (or more) in their village and gets their story. According to them, they were created by human-like creatures with strange magic or technology many moons ago, though said humans have since disappeared.
  
  When asked about Charles Xavier or the unknown entity, they don't have any information, but they do reveal that there are signs of another advanced creature dwelling there: a structure that shines like the sun on water that appeared on the far western edge of the jungle. Also many moons ago. (...They don't have the best grasp on time, it seems.) Something resides there, but they're afraid to go near it. Some have gone closer in the past, but have never returned.

After learning about the unnatural structure that shines like the sun on water from the tribe they encountered, the team decides that this is the best lead they've got. They head west.

Use the form below to tell others how your character is handling this unexpected excursion!

To keep track of the order of the threads and the events in the Savage Lands, reference the timeline here!

THE TOWER

Eventually, after days (or weeks) in the wilderness, the team reaches the western edge of the jungle. There, they find a sheer cliff overgrown with greenery. Near the top of that cliff, patches of dark stone and what appears to be shiny, opaque glass seem to grow out of the natural rock. These patches become more dense higher up the cliff and, at the top, form into something that resembles a small tower. It thrums with magical energy.

This seems to be what they've been looking for. Better get climbing.

RETURN TO CEREBRO ⮾ MARGALI COMES CALLING ⮾ ABOARD THE BLACKBIRD ⮾ THE SAVAGE LAND ⮾ OOC

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Comments

RETURN TO CEREBRO

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Any scenes before, during, or after the latest use of Cerebro can go here.

MARGALI COMES CALLING

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Any scenes before, during, or after Kurt's visit with Margali can go here.

MARGALI COMES CALLING (Kurt & everyone???)

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

On the table in front of them are eight charms, gems polished to a mirror shine and tied in knotted cords. They might have been mistaken for simple rustic pendants if they hadn’t been personally delivered by a powerful sorceress.

“So as long as we hold onto one of these, we shouldn’t experience that again,” Kurt finishes his longer-winded explanation. Or so she says, lingers on the tip of his tongue, but he wants this to work. It needs to work, for all of their sakes. The way his tail lashes gives away some of his apprehension.

“So I hope you’re willing to make some style compromises.”

ABOARD THE BLACKBIRD

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Any scenes on the Blackbird heading to Antarctica can go here.

THE SAVAGE LAND

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Any scenes taking place in the Savage Land can go here. 🦖🦕

FORMS

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<b>CHARACTER NAME:</b> Character's name. <b>REACTION:</b> Generally, how does your character react to finding themselves in the Savage Land? Is this an exciting adventure, a terrifying excursion, or an exhausting slog? How will they hold up as the days stretch on and the exploration continues? <b>SURVIVAL:</b> How are your character's survival skills/instincts? Do they have any particular skills that would come in handy or are they out of their depth? <b>NOTEWORTHY EVENTS:</b> Is there anything you want to establish your character doing while in the Savage Land that you want other players to know about? Is there anything you want to happen to your character that you're looking to scene or plan out? Outline it here! <b>OTHER:</b> Any other information you'd like to include!

THE SAVAGE LAND: Manuel & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

They've only just set out after reassessing how to handle this unexpected landscape and situation, but already Emma is pulling up her hair and trying not to get too frustrated. At the back of the group with Manny, she's able to let down her guard a little bit - she is not excited about the fact that this mission has a very unclear timeline, and it shows in her expression.

"Shall we take bets on how long this will take? Or will that make it more depressing?"

THE SAVAGE LAND: Manny & Kurt

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

A decent forty feet up in the air, Kurt and Manny are perched side-by-side on a mossy tree branch. The view would be stunning, if not for the pack of raptors circling below them. One of the two is handling the situation a lot better.

Kurt is standing on the branch like a tightrope, tail swaying to keep balanced, unperturbed by the height. He’s pretty certain there are at least three more of the creatures hiding in the underbrush, and frankly, doubts his ability to handle the whole pack. He’d just managed to teleport Manuel to safety before one ambushed them.

“I have some bad news,” he laments, walking further down the branch until it bends slightly under his weight. “I am not the best escort after all.” At least not without his swords or a clear picture of the closest safe spot to take Manny.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Kitty & Kurt

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

Kurt watches as a herd of parasauropholus (parasauropholi?) wade through the blue water, lazily munching on whatever plant life grows beneath the surface. One of them calls out, and it reminds him of a gigantic goose. Several others return the call.

He sighs to kitty and passes her a bottle of water. His fur sticks close to his skin, and his curls are plastered to his head. “I had really wanted to see the penguins.”

THE SAVAGE LAND: Scott & Manuel

[seeingred scott summers ⊗ cyclops]

So, the dinosaurs are real. They'd seen them flying in, but now Scott can confirm that the dinosaurs are one-hundred-percent real after having to fight off five raptors with wickedly sharp claws. He's disgruntled over his performance—his uniform is ripped all over now, and he had to be helped back to camp. He technically came out the winner of that encounter, but the result could've been better. After all of the hours he spent in the Danger Room, he should've done better.

The worst of his injuries are a set of deep gashes curving over his ribs, and Scott unceremoniously tore off that part of his uniform to allow Manuel access to stitch him up. To distract himself from the pain, Scott composes a list of adjustments for the prehistoric training scenario on his phone.

"I knew dinosaurs were smarter than we gave them credit for," he mutters to himself.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Everyone, day one

[allhell magik 🖤 illyana rasputin]

The group is not yet a thousand yards away from the Blackbird when Illyana spots a gargantuan spider web, thankfully sans gargantuan spider, which is as tall as approximately three Scotts.

"Euuuuugh!" Illyana announces loudly, gesturing at the web with her sword to alert the rest of the group to its presence. "Oh, I hate it here."

THE SAVAGE LAND: Scott & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

It's a few days into their trek and they've settled into a sort of routine, one that includes night watch. It's not good, but Emma will take any sense of normalcy she can get, especially since everything about this has already been insane. But she's adapting, and it's with Scott-like precision (thanks to all the survival information in his brain) that she finishes stoking the fire before she goes to take a seat beside him.

Immediately she leans a little into him, her shoulder touching his. Going from nearly constant access to private physical contact with Scott to none is already annoying.

"Not the most romantic date, but at least it's a nice night."

THE SAVAGE LAND: Illyana & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

It's not yet evening but it's approaching, enough that they've settled on a place to camp for the night. Which means they need to start thinking about making a fire, something that is currently Illyana and Emma's problem.

Looking around, Emma hums, frowning slightly. "None of this seems particularly good for firewood." It's all small, and the trees in the immediate area are large. "Shall we search the outer perimeter a bit better? Maybe we'll get lucky."

THE SAVAGE LAND: Kitty & Emma (cw...crocodile blood i guess)

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

Kitty’s standing over a giant crocodilian creature that Emma had brought down with a mindspike, and she had finished off with a big knife. It's for dinner tonight, ostensibly. Kitty certainly looks savage,dressed in rags, her knife dripping with blood. She pauses this tableau to look over to Emma and ask before doing any more cuts, "What's the best part of a crocodile to eat? Like, do we think just the legs?"

THE SAVAGE LAND: Scott & Kurt

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

Kurt has never gone fishing. He’s never even had the inclination to. The most experience he has with the sport is listening to one of his students explain the show River Monsters to him, and show him a video of some man hauling a large catfish out of the water.

It’s fine, though, because Scott is here. And if Scott says he thinks he can fish, then he absolutely can.

“Were you going to try ice fishing?” Kurt asks, catching a large shadow in the water just out of the corner of his eye. He tilts his head towards it, indicating to Scott that he noticed it, too.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Illyana & Manuel, vs spider

[allhell magik 🖤 illyana rasputin]

Illyana's been keeping an eye on the treetops for a big-ass spider since she saw the web on the first day here, so of course when she actually gets accosted by one it's from below and when she only has Empath for backup. A short scuffle later, she's able to dispatch the giant beast with her sword, but not before it bites her leg and wrangles her down into the undergrowth. She has to kill it with an uppercut from beneath its cephalothorax as it's bearing down on her to attack.

The mental image of its articulated fangs coming at her face will play in her nightmares for a long time, certainly. She's still a little frantic as she kicks and squirms her way out from underneath the spider carcass. Still, her first instinct is to let out a long belly laugh in relief as she knocks her head back against the ground and vanishes her sword. She cranes her neck back to look at Manuel.

"You should have seen your face," she tells him, still laughingly, as if she hadn't also screamed like a banshee when the creature had first snagged her. "Help me up," she additionally demands, reaching out towards him even though she is absolutely coated in some combination of jungle mud, her own blood, and spider viscera.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Bobby & Kurt & Taxes

[blauerdamon kurt wagner ⚔️ nightcrawler]

Sitting next to Bobby is a little like standing next to an open freezer on a hot day. It’s the most soothing thing about this otherwise anxiety-inducing conversation. Sometimes it feels like leaving Kurt responsible for his estate is one of the cruelest parts of Xavier’s disappearance.

“I don’t think he embezzles,” Kurt says with 90% confidence.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Kurt & Emma

[frost_queen Emma Frost ♕ White Queen]

Kurt is the first person Emma sees when she returns to the center of camp after checking the perimeter, and with no warning she thrusts her hand into his personal space, palm down. Her index finger nail has the tip broken off, not far enough back that it's overly painful, but enough that it's annoying.

"Figure out how to cut my nails, I can't have this happen again."

THE SAVAGE LAND: Illyana and Kurt on night watch

[allhell magik 🖤 illyana rasputin]

“So is Margali like… your mom or something?” Illyana asks Kurt about twenty minutes into their night watch shift. She’s been drawing what are either proper demonic sigils or just geometric doodles in the dirt with a stick until this comment, which is the best she can do in terms of casual conversation.

THE SAVAGE LAND:Kitty and Illyana

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

Kitty stops as she and Illyana are scouting with a suddenness that befits a much more urgent situation, her hand stretching out as they come up over a crest. She points, feverish, at the tiniest and cutest little microraptor she’s ever seen, all by its lonesome and flopping a wing as though it’s trying to glide but can’t. Kitty’s found another stray. “We have to help.” She decides in a whisper.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Kitty & Scott on Spring Day

[passingthru KITTY PRYDE]

The regenerative spring is the first actually good thing they've happened upon in quite a while. Kitty would be lying if she said she was happy that they'd been here over a week now, by her best estimation, with no sign of the entity, Xavier, or anything but wild lands. But this is a welcome respite, and she knows well enough those are important to grab and hold.

Which explains but not quite why she, perched on a boulder overlooking the spring with Scott, tilts her head, calculating, and then grins at him. "Bet you wouldn't jump down there."

THE SAVAGE LAND: Scott & Illyana

[seeingred scott summers ⊗ cyclops]

Scott's first spear was a failure (split in half from a structural flaw, recycled for firewood), so he's on the lookout for a replacement branch as he and Illyana scope out the jungle. A weapon might be superfluous when there's unlimited energy beams coming out of his eyes, but Scott gets restless when he doesn't have a project.

When he's restless, he starts inventing problems to plan for. Such as: "What are the limits of your stepping discs?"

THE SAVAGE LAND: Manny & Illyana at the regenerative spring

[allhell magik 🖤 illyana rasputin]

Illyana has been in a terrible mood since they landed here for a variety of reasons (too hot, trapped, bitten by a huge spider, barely getting any sleep). This regenerative spring has soothed her of most of these ills, and returned her to her usual impish demeanor.

Not long into the group’s foray into the waters, she surfaces near Manuel and spits a mouthful of water at him like a pufferfish. This is an action she anticipates will have repercussions, but she lurks nearby him nonetheless after she’s made the transgression.

THE SAVAGE LAND: Kitty & Manuel & An Entourage

[empata Manuel de la Rocha (Empath)]

While Manuel is more than ready to be done with this miserable jungle forever, today hasn't been...terrible. He and Kitty had set off to explore several hours ago and, so far, nothing has happened. No getting attacked or chased by vicious beasts. No injuries to burn through the remains of their medical supplies. No surprises. The only noteworthy event is that they've attracted the attention of a pack of petite primates no larger than squirrels with long, striped tails and springy, energetic dispositions.

The creatures have been following them for a while, bouncing along and scurrying around their feet curiously. Either they've never seen humans before or they just don't identify them as potential predators; regardless, they're getting bolder by the minute. As he watches, one leaps from a nearby tree and lands nimbly on Kitty's pack with a squeak, beginning to jam its nose into every nook and cranny and touching everything it can with its little paws.

"...do you think they'll follow us back to camp?" he asks, wryly and somewhat warily, though he doesn't seem to hate the idea entirely. Even if the intellectual part of his brain is quick to point out they could carry diseases or fleas or anything else.

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

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You know the drill. ♥

MOD QUESTIONS

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Do you need clarification on anything? Ask away!