(event) WAY DOWN WE GO

[vestigemods]

AUGUST EVENT: WAY DOWN WE GO

AUGUST 14TH - 24TH

► THE BASICS

Sup, scrubs. We've still got quite a bit of time before the meat of the event, I'm just getting this post (and the log) up early like I mentioned in August's Infopost to give y'all more time to plot + to actually thread at your own pace throughout the event - so there's no need to worry about scrambling to do any of the above Right The Fuck Now.

This month's event is structured a bit differently from the last - rather than 'here are circumstances that happen to your character', this one is a multi-step problem-solving event, and will feature environmental horror (with mild-to-moderate psychological horror depending on how well your character handles the environmental horror).

The circumstances surrounding this event (the state of the lake, as discussed below) run from August 14th - 24th, with the actual actionable section of the event taking place over a few different stages in the shorter span between the 17th - 22nd. The event log will be going up in the next couple of days, but feel free not to hit it until you're satisfied with your plotting.

This event is a bit experimental, in that it's something that characters need to opt into in some capacity in order to be involved + no alternative 'for those who aren't participating' is really being provided to avoid having too much happen at once. Additionally, this is the first event in which players/characters influence the outcome, so there's bound to be a little bit of troubleshooting in that whole process. I'll have my eye on the success of this event + what I can do to improve these various experimental features in the future!

Content warnings are a lot milder this month - we'll be dealing with dark tight spaces and threat of drowning.

THE REVEAL (14th - 17th)

THE LAKE.

As mentioned in the August Infopost, the lake's prevailing water level has been dropping at a rate of 3-4 inches per day for a week now (between the 7th and 13th). This has been mostly inconspicuous, though perhaps more observant characters have picked up on it... But even the unobservant will have a hard time missing what's to come.

Characters at lakeside on the 14th will notice that they can quite literally see the water level dropping, like a tide that never quite washes back in. Each hour that passes reveals five more inches of shoreline - of lake bed, as it quickly becomes. Throughout the day the water level drops ten whole feet, a full 1/3 of the lake's total depth, and continues to drop at a rate of ten feet per day over the next two days, and if anyone dares to swim out near the center of the lake, the inexplicable heaviness from last month has intensified to near-inescapable levels. Hardly peaceful now, this new heaviness feels as though you're actively being sucked below the surface, pulled by some force unseen.

But as the water level drops further and further, characters might notice an oddity at that very spot. Something dark and rectangular along the lake bed, terribly conspicuous now as the turbulent water around it washes away the silt that has hidden it from view so far.

At about noon on the 17th, the water level stabilizes at a depth of about 1.5 feet - save for the mysterious lake-bed object, which now sits above the surface on a muddy little island about two yards across. Upon further investigation, it turns out to be a hatch.

THE HATCH.

The hatch is weathered on the surface but otherwise sturdy and intact, bearing a barely-legible insignia of an eye encircled by arms. Most notably, it has been knocked fractionally askew on its hinges, leaving nearly inch-wide triangular gaps at the front and one side - certainly large enough holes to drain a lake (though whether it could drain it so quickly is up for debate). To each side of the hatch lies a padlock, broken, half-buried in mud.

The hatch door opens easily enough (in fact, doing so straightens it back on its hinges), revealing a six-foot laddered drop into a cave, long and narrow and steep. The floor is at no less than a 20° incline, though the floor seems clean enough of most rocky debris. The only light in the cave is that which filters in from the hatch.

One could certainly choose to just close hatch back up like it should have been from the start, to walk away and wash their hands of this mess... But the insignia on the door seems ominous, important. What's more, the second a sincere suggestion that they explore the hatch reaches the air, everyone in the Containment Zone receives a text with no listed sender:

Close the hatch. Stay away from the hatch. This is your only warning.

That's certainly not ominous or suspicious.

Now characters have a choice: Do they investigate this hatch that the Technicians want them nowhere near, or do they steer clear as instructed? Note that it is a completely viable choice to close the damn hatch and move on with life - I'll toss out some sort of half-assed alternate event and it'll be fine. But if my faith in our merry band of intrepid (and wary) explorers is well-placed, it's time to talk about...

THE CAVE (17TH - 19TH)

EXPLORING

Whether your characters take the day to prepare or dive right in, let's skip ahead to the part where they find themselves crawling down the hatch and into the cave. The floor is very damp, almost but not quite muddy, and so are the bottom ~2 feet of cave wall. The walls are narrow, six feet wide at the widest point and often too narrow for two people to walk side-by-side. The cave also seems to turn distinctly to the left at approximate ten minute intervals, doing so two separate times before the incline levels out to almost completely flat and a faint, rhythmically-intermittent red light can be spotted a few yards.

Thus leads to their first and only discovery.

The light, as it turns out, is a circular beacon at the top of an almost clinical-looking (if dusty) sign fastened securely to the cave wall at just under eye-level. It seems to be for navigation: One side, with an arrow pointing back in the direction from which they came, is labeled ZONE 2 MAINTENANCE HATCH. Another, with an arrow pointing the way they've been traveling, reads, EMERGENCY EXIT. Opposite the sign is the first offshoot-tunnel the cave has offered so far, but it's not much to speak of: the path is thoroughly caved in just a couple of yards from the intersection, with the top left corner of what looks like it was once an elevator peeking feebly out of the debris.

The only options, it seems, are to return to the surface or to see where 'EMERGENCY EXIT' leads. At the very least, that tunnel also seems to ascend back toward the surface.

CAVE-IN.

Should characters choose the latter and continue down the EMERGENCY EXIT path, the response is immediate: The ground gives a shudder, cave walls rumbling in protest for a long ominous moment, and those looking down the tunnel ahead will see the cave ceiling begin to collapse in what almost seems like a wave rippling down toward them, thundering to an ominous stop at precisely where the tunnel starts to incline (though some of the debris does cascade out into the flat part, such is the way of things). Those who may have made the wise choice to flee back toward the tunnel from whence they came are met now with a hollow stone crack of warning, and a section of this ceiling comes down now as well.

It seems that our poor spelunkers are trapped.

Though the EMERGENCY EXIT path has been thoroughly destroyed, the debris blocking their path back up to the lake isn't nearly so deep - in fact, light shined at the pile-up filters out to the cave on the other side through many a gap in the rubble, though none are quite big enough to crawl through.

The concept of moving the debris seems slow at best, dangerous at worst - a well-lit glance at the ceiling finds bits of it leaning heavily against the uppermost debris, threatening further cave-in if the wrong bits of supporting rubble are removed. Despite the danger, it may prove to be one of the better options available.

Those who try to use their phones find that network service exists even here in the caves, though the quality of all audio/video transmissions are grainy and choppy, sometimes cutting out altogether for a moment, and any attempt to text instead takes multiple attempts to convince it to send. Here's hoping the reply even makes it through.

And if you want a little extra yikes with your cave-in, characters who were standing too close to either cave-in as they occurred may have been injured by falling rocks, or may even have ended up with an arm, leg, or even their torso pinned under heavy stones and debris.

PROBLEM-SOLVING?

At this point, characters (both spelunkers and those who initially stayed outside the cave) need to brainstorm and work together to figure out how to get everyone safely out of the caves. I have no right or wrong answer in mind, and I leave it entirely up to your discretion how quickly the rescue efforts will feasibly work given the circumstances.

With any luck, a solution will come together that gets everyone out safely before anything gets any worse... But if they happen to still be stuck on the 20th, they've officially run out of time to waste.

THE WATER (20TH - 22ND)

THE LAKE.

If the cave-in itself wasn't reason enough to worry, this most certainly is: Early on the 20th and with no discernible point of origin, the lake begins to refill.

Those outside the hatch will notice the lake waters rising until they've swallowed up the little island and begun pouring mercilessly into the hatch. The waters rise no further from there - all of the water that would be refilling the lake now seems to funnel down into the cave.

As for inside the hatch, the news breaks much more alarmingly. What could almost be considered a waterfall now pours down the center of the long narrow path, colliding with the fallen debris before properly seeking out gaps and holes to pour through into the space beyond.

THE FINAL STRETCH.

The trouble is, that very 'space beyond' - the one in which our spelunkers are trapped - is the lowest point in the tunnel, ascending at each exit. The water that funnels here has nowhere else to go, puddling outward from the wall of debris until it covers the floor of the room and gets deeper and deeper from there.

It's best to hurry things up a bit, because though the room seems to be filling slowly enough, it will be too deep to sit down and rest in by morning of the 21st (my condolences to anyone who tried to sleep at reasonable hours and woke up with a mouthful of cavewater), it will be up to an average man's neck by nightfall of the 21st, and by noon on the 22nd there will be no air pocket left for even the strongest swimmers to breathe.

BACK TO NORMAL.

The lake will finish filling back up to its prior water level by July 25th. Further attempts to swim down to examine the hatch will find that opening it reveals nothing more than a harsh concrete slab beneath.

QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, & MISCELLANY

RE: THE CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN NATURE OF THIS EVENT

So as much as I obviously have this all worked out down to the possibility that everyone drowns, I'm absolutely not requiring that this event go that far. Like I said near the top, characters can literally just close the hatch from the get-go and not even fuck with it, or they can turn back at any point pre-cave-in, or the rescue mission can be quick and efficient and nobody will have to risk drowning.

All of which means that the plotting for this event is pretty critical, since the ideas thrown out in that are what decide how this goes down. Please, utilize the RESCUE EFFORTS plotting top-level below specifically to coordinate how characters are going to solve this mess, so that I can keep an eye on it and help keep the masses informed about how this is shaking out.

Q: CAN THE HATCH BE CLOSED?

It can be! It will leak somewhat even if it's properly closed, but nothing near the amount of water that would drown those trapped below. This is, however, a double-edged sword: A closed hatch means that the lakewater has nowhere to go quickly, so it will begin to fill up properly and leave the hatch submerged.

Q: HOW WIDE IS THE PATH AT THE CAVE-IN SITE?

It's a little over 6 feet wide, and the ceiling in this section (as well as the trapped area beyond) is about 8 feet high.

Q: IF LITERALLY OUR ONLY PLAN IS CAREFULLY DIGGING, WHAT'S OUR TIMEFRAME?

Rough estimate, between the time it takes to identify which debris is safe to clear without risking further cave-in and the time it takes to actually do so (big rocks! very heavy!) there would be a safe enough gap to climb through by the time the water is at a little over waist-height (mid-21st).

Q: MY CHARACTER WOULDN'T/CAN'T GET INVOLVED IN ANY OF THIS - WHAT CAN I EVEN DO THIS MONTH?

Well firstly, don't sell your character short! Those down in the cave working on solving the problem will certainly need food, water, and other supplies along the way, which your character is welcome to help collect/supply or even to be the runner who carries things up and down from the hatch to the rescuers. Other less direct opportunities to help may arise as plans or formed, so keep an eye on the plotting post replies!

As for non-event things, our August Infopost had quite a few things of Unusual Nature to interact with. Of particular interest include the somewhat concerning tree (see: ANOMALIES, it has moved and is possibly doing shit), the obscenely hot weather + methods of coping with it (especially with much of the lake gone), the erratic wildlife behavior, the party-inducing effects of the Party Pack slap bracelets, the mouth/throat numbing blackberries, and the alarming hands sticking up between the slats of your character's porch. :')

That's it, folks! If you have any questions, toss them into the top-level below. You're free to use this post for plotting purposes, though I also recommend linking it on the discord/modplurk for those who may not check the comments! You're also free to make a plotting comment independent of the three mod-issued plotting top-levels - those are primarily just for coordinating efforts within specific groups.

Godspeed, and happy digging!

Comments

QUESTIONS?

[vestigemods]

Ask 'em!

[shivving]

hello! not event specific but joel's character tag doesn't seem to be on the list and I'm not able to create new ones.

[vestigemods]

that's odd, it says the tag exists on both comms - the way dreamwidth works, you do have to type it in manually the first time before it will show up on the list. did you try that and it still isn't working? if so, i can totally delete/remake the tags for you!

[shivving]

OH never mind, I was looking at Ellie's and trying to put in just Joel's first name to match that one. It's working now, thank you!

PLOTTING: RESCUE EFFORTS

[vestigemods]

Please utilize this specific top-level to coordinate rescue efforts, in order to try to keep everyone on the same page + keep Trace informed so that she knows how things are going. All ideas, plans, strategy, etc should go here!

Since characters can communicate (and even pass small items) in and out of the cave-in area, trapped spelunkers are more than welcome to chime in here if they might have ideas to contribute.

[casner]

So hey, remember that handy dandy list Graham has been keeping? If your character contributed a skill (JC the strong swimmer, Green the android who doesn’t need to breathe etc) he thinks could help, expect an inbox thread in the very near future.

This spectrum of thing is like. Exactly what he’s equipped for professionally so unless someone else wants to take point he’s going to jump into a leadership role automatically.

[subroutined]

In addition to not needing to breathe, Green can literally transport his body between wifi/data signal enabled devices. Which means that he can travel back and forth between the caved in group and the surface, provided at least one person has their phone on them in each place to accept the file transfer.

[casner]

Graham’s only concern about that is how spotty the signal apparently is; would Green be okay if it dropped while he was in mid transfer, so to speak?

[subroutined]

I could either be nice and say that if the Ash.exe file can't be completely downloaded, then he just stays in his original location...

Or I could be mean and say he ends up splinched somehow.

I will have to think on this.....

offering: potentially holding the ceiling in place, temporarily

[mannerless]

Wei Wuxian has no interest in the initial spelunking, but you fucking bet he's going to be Very Very Driven to rescue them once they get trapped.

His primary contribution, apart from digging (which... he isn't even the best at compared to plenty of other people here, what with his lack of golden core and thus normal ass human strength), would likely be his talismans. Specifically, he's confident in his ability to secure a specific segment of ceiling in place to keep it from falling down if debris underneath it is removed. It's temporary, but he can make it last at least a couple of minutes - not a great window, but maybe enough in a pinch.

(He'll definitely need someone to half-carry him out of there if he does, this shit drains him, but that's irrelevant.)

ideas re: if the cave starts to flood

[skittering]

After great amounts of inner conflict, Lalli is going to avoid this fuckin' cave like the plague - until he hears about the cave-in.

He honestly isn't much actual use with a rescue - he's a noodle with basically no strength for digging - but he does have an uncanny knack for like, scraping together a plan to keep others alive even under super dire circumstances. I'm not sure what help he'll be idea-wise during the initial rescue efforts, but I do know that if it starts to flood, he'll immediately recommend figuring out some sort of signal and sealing off the hatch (whether just closing it or finding a way to seal it temporarily). By his logic, it at least averts the immediate threat of drowning and gives the rescuers time to finish digging them out + gives those on the surface time to figure out how to avert the quickly-filling lake away from the hatch once everyone's ready to come out.

If that's shot down, he'll recommend trying to find a way to block off the hatch - effectively the concept of using sandbags to stave off a flood, but it has to be more effective than that.

[callidus]

So Five will be a part of the rescue effort, either helping to get the spelunkers out, or the ones who are holding the ceiling in place after everyone else is out. His warping ability will allow him to get in and out, and he can warp another person with him (it sounds unpleasant for anyone who isn't used to it, but so it dying :D). He'd probably opt for one person at a time (if that's how he ends up utilized), tho the power usage is gonna wear him out then warping will become a go no. Then he can be put to use elsewhere.

Recon is also an option of course, if people feel the quality and timeliness of network communications just isn't good enough

[casner]

Graham is gonna put him on recon duty; that might dovetail into like, who would be most useful out here, can you get them out

And I am so excited by how much he’s going to have to swallow his pride about teleportation

[callidus]

He's on it! But not because of Graham, which is very important to note!

God I am looking forward to that :D It was totally worth mentioning after all, wasn't it? See how useful it is?!

[coolmotivestillevil]

Geralt's gonna be among the people trapped in the cave. He'll constantly and carefully clear debris, while also trying to brainstorm ways to support the ceiling. Could they find wood and make poles? Maybe find something else that's long and sturdy? Metal??

He also has a spell of sorts that could probably temporarily secure some pieces of degree in place in case it looks like the thing is about to crumble, and he can do it a few times over, but if he'll be clearing debris he won't have all the energy in the world, so.

[singularwidower]

So Daemon can like...phase through solid objects. So he can ostensibly (much like Five's warping), just leave. He can take one person with him at a time, but it's dangerous and exponentially draining. His ability to phase through stuff requires the magic equivalent of atomic physics calculations on the fly, and if he gets the timing wrong (like if he's tired or low on power) he'll leave bits behind as they get stuck solid. So wobbly hand gesture, depending on how many people are down there, he can help people at intervals over the course of the trapped phase. :)

[obeir]

K's going to be recruited by Graham to help with the rescue effort!

No handy magic or teleportation for him, but he possesses superhuman-level abilities (enhanced strength, endurance, etc. and can survive in conditions a human couldn't) and an all around solid skillset that could help fill in any gaps left by the others, depending on what's needed. He's more than capable of swimming while hauling a couple people with him, and can help clear debris, or hold the ceiling, or administer emergency first aid...

Because humans have historically been massive roboracist assholes to him, that might be the limiting factor on how far he's willing to go to save any human strangers. As in, he isn't going to die for them. But he will help them if he can, and will especially want to look out for any fellow androids like North who may be trapped. And of course his number one priority will be keeping Tech Boy safe at any cost, if he's involved in any of this.

[casner]

Omg K

It’s okay, Graham doesn’t require that you die djdjfj he will in fact insist that he not put himself in actual danger

[facelikeyours]

Simon is more than willing to help take care of injuries, after everything is said and done!

[goingtobefun]

David can lift up to 1000lbs, so he'd definitely be useful in holding parts of the ceiling up. He also doesn't need to breathe, so that would be helpful in parts that are flooded.

[misplayedmelody]

Vanya isn't going down into the cave without coercion, but she's going to want to help with the rescue efforts. She's not advertising her powers, but she can blow debris away with more power than dynamite and with pretty fair accuracy. She does have trouble controlling her power sometimes and will be hesitant due to the possibility it may put others in danger. (She's working on it.)

One of her brothers may have to suggest her volunteering in this manner, or someone else who has seen her use them could ask her, or the situation could be dire enough that blowing shit up is necessary/the only option.

[hierophante]

The OA will be volunteering to venture down the hatch as soon as it becomes apparent there are people trapped down there. This will not be a joyful experience but it will be, for her, a familiar one: she spent seven years of her own life trapped underground. So, you know, that's a thing.

She's going to be focusing on keeping people as calm as possible and supporting rescue efforts in whatever way she can -- in this case, helping to organize the rescue efforts in the tunnel by, i.e., ensuring people are where they need to be, that they rest when they need to rest, and that they have the supplies they need to continue working.

While she has no particular superhuman talents (none that can be harnessed without the help of at least one other person, in any case) she's steady and stubborn and determined to do absolutely everything she can to help. This could theoretically include staying with anyone still trapped once rescue is no longer feasible, if it comes to that.

PLOTTING: SPELUNKERS

[vestigemods]

Who's going in the cave in the first place? Plot here with your fellow intrepid explorers. Does the party prepare first, or zoom right in? What do they bring with them? Is anyone getting wounded in the cave-in? Chat about these things and whatever else comes to mind!

[brickbat]

North will definitely be on team cave in large part so I don’t have to thread with my dang self. Unlike Casner, thank Christ, she is much more likely to back a competent leader than try to take charge herself. Ideal roles include pointing her at something and telling her to stab it.

She also doesn’t need to breathe and is very rAR STRONG LADY snarl so other contributions include lifting the heavy things.

Re: PLOTTING: SPELUNKERS

[legbreakings]

Jiang Cheng is going spelunking as he is itching to find a way out of their lovely cage.

He... would want to prepare but he also has no experience with spelunking so good luck with him actually bringing useful things. He'll bring water, food and some rope? He's more focused on fighting their way out once they do find an exit than the exploration part.

Oh yeah, I'd be absolutely up for him getting injured.

ETA: He is getting his right leg smashed by rocks.

[coolmotivestillevil]

There is no way Geralt will ignore something the Technicians don't want them to poke at, so you can bet he's going down. He'll also likely be one of the first to do so, without telling anyone (except potentially Jaskier). He'll be very cautious, however, looking for tracks and listening for sounds just in case the Technicians are actually in there somewhere. If anyone's with him, he might try to convince them to leave when he spots the caved in tunnel, because that doesn't bode well for the integrity of the rest of it.

He will stay there until the ceiling caves in on them though (and sigh heavily about it). Will type more things up in the rescue thread, but basically he's strong and will work on clearing the debris, plus try to make plans for finding new support for the ceiling. Maybe he'll actually use the network?? Gasp.

Maybe I'll have him get hurt for funsies. Get an arm or a leg caught and screwed up a bit. :|a

ETA: Link to rescue effort ideas.

[singularwidower]

Daemon would absolutely be among the party heading down into the depths. He can provide light and can/will shield (kinetic/physical magic shield thingy) one or two people out of reflex whenever the roof comes down on them starting with whoever he thinks is most vulnerable of their excursion party. Since that's an unconscious determination, that might be amusing/offensive to whoever he ends up shielding. :D

Plus Daemon can phase through objects to help with rescuing himself and others?

[deferences]

sizhui's going to check out the cave-in! he'll most likely prepare a little bit before just rushing into the fray, thank goodness, but curiosity definitely killed the cat here. if there's a chance they can escape through this hatch then why shouldn't they try it?

if anyone gets wounded, he's got some basic healing magic and as always, he'll have his sword on him for Reasons.

and if i'm being honest, i'm totally fine with him getting injured, too! because of course i am

[keeperofkeys]

Fran would LOVE to explore this mysterious cave system! I'm also open to her getting wounded during her explorations.

[shittalk]

this seems like as good a place as any to slam in what is technically an intro post!! i've just apped this lady here (parker ryan, an oc!), who is a fledgling vampire who's pretty sure but not 100% that she is in fact a vampire. she's high on energy and low on remorse, in a nutshell. the cave sounds like a GREAT place for her to spawn in, and she's fresh from some gunfight or other, bloodied up, and hungry! who wants to make a new friend??

[kinkprofessor]

what a better place for quin to make his appearance but a creepy cave

the scientist in him would probably drive him to investigate right off the bat and ofc he'll use his extra appendages to find out what he can. an unexpected tentacle monster is the BEST thing to find while spelunking, right? i'd absolutely be down for people mistaking him for a monster-monster instead of just a figurative one and attacking, too!!

PLOTTING: SUPPORT

[vestigemods]

Not a rescuer, but wanting to help? Maybe your character gathers food or water or other supplies, or maybe they transport supplies down to the rescuers. Maybe they have healing skills which can be used through small gaps in the debris - that's sure to be useful, even if they can't do much else by way of rescuing. Anything your character can and/or wants to do, feel free to chime in here!

[porndealer]

Huaisang will probably be mostly support, partially rescue, but he's one armed now and not exactly the strongest out there. If you need someone to whine about how goddamn hot it is and bring food and drink, he can do that much.

[soups]

yoooo yanli knows where her talents lie, and it’s certainly not in spelunking. she is, however, quite good at supply gathering and more resourceful tasks, like finding potentially medicinal herbs and making food for everyone.

If push comes to shove she’ll be capable of some rescue tasks, if only by sheer force of will, and will likely be playing a more supportive role in that task as well.

[enchangement]

This will depend greatly on whether or not there's a Simon to get involved but River will be like "this seems dangerous" and not do an enclosed space like a cave underwater. However, she will want to help with whatever doesn't involve going directly down if there's any sort of organization.

[chaleureuse]

petra doesn't have any obviously relevant skills but she'll be at graham's disposal for busywork to support everyone who does!

[casner]

Moral support? Alcohol?

[theprezident]

Rhys would prefer to not go down at all if he can help it, but if people are needed to run supplies down there and none or few are volunteering, he'll do it. Otherwise, he'll simply help gathering together anything that the spelunkers might ask for.

[gusumouthcannon]

Jingyi has baby Lan skills (field first aid, survival stuff), so he'll be able to help as support! I don't think I'm sending him down, for Reasons, so he can be a gofur for stuff and help anyone who is pulled out with their injuries. :)

[keeperofkeys]

After she's rescued/gets out of the danged hole, Fran will still want to help. She has her backpack and she's ready to gather supplies!

communications

[brandnewtech]

Tech Boy is not exactly a team player and has no physical prowess to offer, so he won't be much direct help in the rescue mission, but he definitely has an "in" on the communications racket. He can likely boost phone signals to facilitate rescue mentions... ooooor he's a literal technology god. He can digitize himself and travel between phones (in one and out the other) and transfer messages like a carrier pigeon.

[backpacking]

no way joel lets ellie go into the hatch, so instead she'll be helping out from above ground! she has decent medical/survival training and can help patch people up if they're hurt below ground. if she can bring a man back from impalement via rebar, she can do this! probably!!

PLOTTING RECAP so far

[vestigemods]

So this comment mostly exists to compile what seems to have been gathered into one key location so everyone's on the same page! I'm freezing this comment so I can edit it as needed.


( ! ) THE GAME PLAN!

OKAY so a general game plan to put everyone on the same page based on the plotting efforts:

• The plan, as it stands, is for super strong folks to team up and hold the half-caved ceiling up (in shifts, for those who aren't inorganically strong/efficient) in order to let the diggers dig more quickly without worrying about further cave-in.
  
  The goal isn't to clear the rubble entirely, just to get a big enough hole for everyone trapped to get out safely.
  
  Then, in theory, those with magic/talismans will basically secure the ceiling in place on a super temporary basis, just long enough for the strongboys to get out from under it and clear of any potential cave-in when it comes loose.
  
  
  
• The timeline, in that case, means that once we factor in the time it takes to organize, to get all involved parties down the tunnel, etc., the rescue attempts finally succeed in making a sufficient hole in the wee hours on the 20th, and the last few spelunkers and rescuers find their way back up the sloped cave quite a bit slipperier as the lake finally begins to pour down into the cave.
  
  
  
• Thread whichever parts suit you! Anything you've volunteered your character to do help-wise can be threaded or handwaved at your leisure, and you're also welcome to handwave having someone (Graham, possibly, or Wei Wuxian, or any ally your character has who is also involved) contact your character to get them involved. You can also literally handwave 100% of their involvement and only thread periphery threads, like going up to the surface and getting food or something, if that's what you'd rather do.
  
  (Because of this, I'm considering the below list + the individual volunteering comments a somewhat definitive list of what everyone's up to, just for handwaving purposes.)

Go forth, have fun - and if you want to touch bases with any of the individual players for more plotting (e.g. 'would Graham get in touch with my character?' or 'maybe one of the teleporting boys could rescue my character so they could help on the outside?') you can totally do that.

( updated: 8/14, 6:45 PST - basically just adding in the final volunteers )


THE SPELUNKERS.

The team based on the spelunking top-level seems to consist of North, Jiang Cheng, Geralt of Rivia, Lan Sizhui, Fran Dagenhart and Daemon Sadi, as well as two new intros (Parker Ryan and i'm just gonna call him Quin) who are there entirely by accident.

Strategy/approach: For the most part, they seem to be going in immediately/shortly after the hatch is revealed, with a couple of them rushing to prepare a few supplies first.

Resources mentioned: Jiang Cheng is notably bringing a few survival supplies (water, food, rope). Daemon can provide light for the trip. Lan Sizhui is capable of basic healing to stabilize bad injuries.

Injuries mentioned: Geralt, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Sizhui may be getting injured somehow, so far undecided.

THE RESCUERS.

According to the rescue efforts plotting, volunteers to help the rescue team so far consist of Graham Casner, Wei Wuxian, Lalli Hotakainen, Number Five, the OA and KD6-3.7 from outside the cave-in and Geralt + Daemon both from the inside. (UPDATE: Rhys Strongfork volunteered on discord to help keep rescue efforts on-track and organized.)


Leadership:

On the surface, Graham will be contacting his network of skilled individuals and generally gathering people to send down to the rescue efforts down in the cave.

His contact downstairs is Wei Wuxian*, who will be spearheading the rescue efforts in the form of leading by example + helping put together a somewhat solid plan. From there, he'll be relying on Rhys (for project management skills) + The OA (for resource distribution + morale/calming influence) to make sure that whatever plan they've settled on is seen through, as Wei Wuxian himself is going to be throwing himself into the actual physical digging/ceiling-holding/whatever.

( * ) If anyone else with a leader-type character wants to take this role and spearhead the actual rescue effort, please let me know! Wei Wuxian is just filling a void here, I never want to hog plot roles as a mod.

Rescue Ideas:

Most people seem to be on the 'support the ceiling + dig them out' strategic track, and are providing thoughts/resources there -

Geralt is brainstorming constructing supports of some sort to hold the ceiling in place, perhaps out of metal. (Possible plotting thread: Support-oriented person might be tasked with looking around for objects that might work?)

K, Geralt, David, and a couple of others on Discord who need to reply to the plotting comments still (I'm remembering Wen Ning specifically) are Very Strong and could probably collectively support the ceiling well enough for diggers to dig the spelunkers free. (Doing this also takes strong people off of the task of actually digging and moving very heavy rocks, so that's a double-edged sword.)

Wei Wuxian and Geralt are able to use talismans/magic to hold the ceiling in place, especially if they spam those talismans/spells. (Depending on how many 'we're strong enough to hold up the ceiling by hand!!' types we get, maybe these magics can be what gets everyone out safely at the end?)

Five and Daemon can teleport and transport others on a limited basis. However, Daemon's is very risky (bits of the person might get left behind + he himself likely is wounded in the process) and probably limited to a total of 2-3 people, and Five has a very limited number of teleports in him (1-2 at most, if carrying another person with him).

Lalli was going to get on the 'oh shit, the lake is refilling, time to figure out a crisis plan' end of things but it looks like we have enough rescue ideas that it won't get to that point.

THE SUPPORT STAFF.

According to the support staff plotting, the volunteers for whatever supportive assistance is needed are Nie Huaisang, Jiang Yanli, River Tam, Petra Seydoux, Rhys Strongfork, Lan Jingyi, Technical Boy and Ellie.

Resources mentioned: Yanli is a bomb-ass cook and good at finding medicinal herbs if necessary. Jingyi has survivalist first aid skills. Rhys is grudgingly willing to climb down the hole if he has to (aka run supplies). Simon (who replied in the rescue efforts comment but will be remaining outside the cave) will be offering medical care to those injured, as will Ellie if needed! Technical Boy can make sure important messages go through to their destination.

Otherwise everyone is mostly just ready for the rescuers to tell them what's needed.