Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

[faileas]

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

I. Boaltinn (1st - 3rd) Boaltinn comes around again. A handful of Mirrorbound will remember the holiday from last year, but for others, it will be brand new. In both Residential Districts, bonfires burn in central locations through the night, frequented by the residents celebrating another summer come to Aefenglom. Curiously, while last year the bonfires seemed quite segregated by human or Monster, this year, there is more of a noticeable mix at each, and Mirrorbound are invited to join the games and festivities quite happily. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire. The city has quite a bit to offer for this holiday: shared rose baths at public bathhouses and pleasure establishments that increase feelings of friendliness and talkativeness, poles draped in ribbons meant to be danced around, wrapping a ribbon around the pole to bring good luck for the summer, food stalls whose offerings are meant to be shared, and fortune-telling set up by Divination students of the Coven, who can tell your day is going to go. To see last year's Boaltinn prompts, you can take a glance right here! Much of it, including the bonfires, baths, and entertainments will be similar this year, so feel free to use those in your top levels.

II. An Unusual Arrival (3rd on) A full year from the arrival of the first group of Mirrorbound, the 1st passes quietly, with no one showing up in the mirror-lined halls of the Looking-Glass House. Dates and times are important in most kinds of magic, and this is strange enough that some Witches of the Coven get together on the night of the 3rd to try a probing ritual, attempting to gather some kind of clues that could be useful in prying out the cottage's secrets. Boaltinn is the best time for such things, when the boundaries are thinner, and magic is stronger. Those who are awake that night at 3 am might notice a pulse of harmless silvery light that spreads like ripples on water throughout the whole city, originating at the Looking-Glass House, but nothing further happens, and the Coven receives no answers. Well, nothing happens in the Looking-Glass House. Before long, the reports start coming in: people are emerging from mirrors, regular old mundane mirrors, all over the city. Anything with a particularly reflective surface could be an entry point for someone from another world! Inhabited homes, businesses closed and locked for the night, pools of still water in fountains or the river, these unorthodox Mirrorbound pop up anywhere and everywhere, causing chaos for the City Guard (folks aren't happy to find strangers in their bathrooms at 3 in the morning) and the Coven both. Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. If you are one of these unfortunate arrivals, it's likely a rude awakening for you, to find yourself somewhere inconvenient, somewhere other than where you've been. It only makes sense to be confused. Hopefully someone finds you and explains to you what's happened to you. Resident Mirrorbound will hear a message from Miss Nessie shortly after it begins, a call to arms: "Dears, I'm quite sorry to disturb you, but it seems your fellows are arriving elsewhere than the Looking-Glass House this month! We're trying to track them all down for the usual welcome, but we could use a hand or several! If you could just bring them by the Coven, the usual spot, that would be lovely." She'll give her usual orientation and pass out Watches, but no doubt the Mirrorbound will be more helpful in this regard, with so many arriving.

III. The Goblin Market (All Month) Life goes on in Aefenglom, despite the addition of so many new residents. With the City Guard decidedly busy dealing with the sudden flood of break-ins (or, more accurately, break-outs?), the vendors of the Goblin Market find opportunity to set up their stalls more openly than they have since the crack-downs some months ago. They pop up all over the city, but clustered more often in the Residential Districts and the Harbor District, where there are even fewer law enforcement agents out and about to run them off. These sellers, while not as devoid of morals as those major players of the Black Market, still have very few compunctions when it comes to lying, cheating, fencing stolen goods, and misrepresenting their wares to unsuspecting buyers. It's also the place to find those things that are- not quite legal, shall we say. They won't say a word if you don't. If confronted, they are quick to pack up their things and slip away, however; they know this city and its hiding places a lot better than you do. With a brand new batch of what the natives assume are Mirrorbound, many undergoing rapid transformations into their Monster forms, many of the wares on display are potions: supposed cure-alls for aches and itches, calming draughts for the full moon restlessness, some even claim their brews can halt changes entirely! Some concoctions are meant to increase a Witch's magical ability, or decrease it, or provide them a finer control. They offer potions that they say will eliminate the need for a Bond, or temporary Bonding potions of their own that they claim are more pure, stronger, than the ones offered by the Coven. Claims are only claims, though. A few remedies for the pain of changing or some regular temporary Bonding potions can be found here and there, but for every potion that works, there are twenty more that have less than pleasant side effects. A brew that will cause everything you touch to turn to solid gold for up to an hour; a potion that will invert your sense of direction - trying to turn right will make you turn left, trying to go forward will cause you to walk backward; a potion that will remove all traction from your feet, causing you to slide around as if cobblestone are the slickest ice. Worse, some shadier vendors sell things more sinister, including a potion that gives you the appearance of being moderately to heavily infected by the Cwyld. Even if you don't drink any, the vendors are not at all careful where they're sloshing those bottles around, trying to show them off, and they all activate on skin contact.

IV. A Wilde Hunt (7th - 22nd) All Mirrorbound, temporary or not, are likely to feel it. Monsters are always affected by the full moons, but this month, it is more. Stronger. Instincts rise to the surface as the Sisters emerge full and visible in the night sky, and for many Mirrorbound, they are undergoing rapid transformations into whatever type of Monster they are meant to be. Curiously, the natives get along like they usually do, noticing nothing out of the norm, other than the increased agitation and restlessness from Mirrorbound Monsters. Monsters' aggression fades when the Sisters start to wane, but as the new moons approach on the 22nd, Mirrorbound Witches will notice their magical reserves overfilling, and will find themselves stricken with the overwhelming urge to use it, until casting spells, pushing one's magical limits, is almost a compulsion. Those who are not in proper Witch-Monster Bonds will feel it even stronger, with no stabilizing magic to consume (for Monsters) or avenues to expend magic (for Witches) other than casting spells. (For those who are interested, the Coven does offer temporary Bonding potions which can be used to help alleviate the effects somewhat.) The Coven Witches notice the signs, and they take decisive action on the morning of the 6th, the day before the full moons. So many Mirrorbound, likely to be so heavily affected by the lunar cycle this month, many of them coming into new features and abilities at a breakneck pace, only spells danger for the city. They barricade off a massive chunk of Wilde outside Aefenglom, largely free of Cwyld and totally bereft of farms, homes, and Wilder outposts. They invite anyone who feels the effects of the moons too strongly to control to come out for a Hunt. The hunting grounds will be open nightly to anyone who needs to work off restless energy or overflowing magic; all participants will be warned that their safety cannot be guaranteed from others, but they won't be able to harm bystanders out here. The woods are thick, with the river cutting through them, and full of wildlife. There is room to run and chase prey, or room to play with your developing magic. Play cat and mouse with your friends or Bondmates, or stalk a stranger. If playing games isn't your thing, there is something else to hunt out here as well. With the deep Wilde entering into Winter, this patch of land so close to the city is much warmer, and fearsome Shades have emerged to search for prey. These were once living beings, Monsters, Witches, or animals, who have been overtaken by Cwyld infection long ago, leaving them dead but for the infection, white-eyed and seeking out sources of magic to consume and infect. Anything could become a Shade, but the most common out right now are the ferocious remains of bears, wolves, and nomadic Arachne and Turnskins. If not killed, these Shades threaten the people of the Outer City, when they inevitably escape the barricade. Careful to limit your contact, though; anyone infected upon their return to the gates will be escorted straight to the infirmary.

Welcome to May's Fourth Wall event, An Inauspicious Arrival! The comms are now open to comments from all registered users and will be until June 1st. Current players, if you don't want fourth wall characters tagging your posts, just say so in your text. Fourth wall characters can use this post for their own network top-levels, or this post for log top levels. This event is game canon; threads from this fourth wall can be used as application samples later and current players may use these threads for AC. As always, be courteous to each other! Let the mod team know if there are any problems and we will handle things.

As always, please direct your questions to this thread!

Comments

[cryptsleeper]

You'll find you are not alone in that regard. I don't know if there's comfort in that solidarity.

[But indulging in curiosity? That is a trait that Alucard can support, and better to be with someone who can at least reasonably sniff out something suspicious than to be duped by some shifty eyed seller.

So he nods assent.]

If that is a request, then I can do nothing but oblige. And you needn't refer to me as a lord. [The technical status of what on earth rank Alucard might hold right now in Wallachia and the night world is something he's hardly considered and frankly, does't want to.] I am Adrian Ţepeş, also called Alucard by my countrymen.

[kindlymeant]

It is a request, then. [ She says the words with a smile, emboldened some by his willingness to join her. As much as she can in the crowded marketplace, she curtsies. ] And I am glad to meet you, Adrian. [ Alucard is something that she wonders at the significance of; perhaps, another time, she'll ask. ] My name is Alayne Stone.

[ She falls in beside him. ]

You seem more used to magic, at least?

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard is a second outing story] Well met then. Although I suspect you should lead, as it's your curiosity that is navigating the market.

[He slows his pace down, just by a hair. It's meant to underscore the point.]

Very much so. I grew up around it and around science. The particulars of this place are new, but they're not a shock.

[kindlymeant]

[ Gotta work her way up to that. She sets a course through the tightly packed stalls readily enough, grateful for his presence. It's pleasant to have someone to talk to, and he's afforded a slightly wider berth than she. His words draw her focus from the wares being offered to them, however. ]

The magic is different, where you come from? [ Wonder, at first, and then she looks faintly sheepish. ] A foolish question, I'm sure...

[cryptsleeper]

[Gotta earn EXP to unlock tragic backstory.]

Very much so, as well as natural inherited abilities. Much of it is to do with how one learns though. There are no organizations that simply teach it back home. [There are no foolish questions, only sharp eyes that look around the world and are careful of passing strangers.]

If you're new then, is there anything you need off the bat in terms of personal effects?

[kindlymeant]

[ More questions brim in her at that, and it's probably plain on her face. She likes learning about people, and magic is something else entirely, a thrill she's never known before.

But she does not want to pester him in rambling like some fool, and she supposes she ought to focus on the magic that's here before she starts concerning herself with whatever exists elsewhere. She considers his question, instead. Her needs so far have been meagre, in part because she does not know how long she'll be here for ]

I... was told that magic sometimes required tools, and materials. But I'd hardly know where to begin. [ She smiles, somewhat ruefully. ] And I doubt that I might source such things here.

[cryptsleeper]

Mmm. And if you did source anything that was of true value, the provenance is bound to be dubious.

[Alucard can say that much with absolute confidence. The market is meant for ill gotten gains and precious little else.]

There's areas of magic one can specialize in, so you may also end up buying things you don't need and whose resale won't get you a fraction of what you paid for it yourself.

[kindlymeant]

But how do you know which to specialize in? [ It's half blurted out, and there is worry bleeding into her face when she looks to him. His observation has thrown into sharp relief how woefully ill prepared for all this she is. She's quick to school her nervous expression to calm, but her hands, neatly clasped before her, are pale as she wrings her fingers. ]

They spoke of lessons. But even so...

[ Her look this time is almost furtive, her voice lowering. ] Are they always right, in saying someone has the ability?

[cryptsleeper]

[The blurting is...different. Alucard tilts his head slightly, because it just seems so concerned over well, nothing. But he came here knowing that magic was well and truly real, possible, and viewed it as normal.

But Alucard's definition of normal also includes big scary vampire for a dad and magical moving castle so checking oneself is essential.]

For those that come through the mirrors? Yes. [The second question is easier than the first. That one just gets a sigh.]

I can't tell you that. There's no secret to it though, you just try and see what you enjoy most, or what comes easiest, or whatever other criteria you use for your own selection.

[kindlymeant]

[ Yes. He says it so simply that it does manage to reassure her some. It doesn't make everything else less overwhelming, but she tells herself that will come. She thinks she's proven an able enough student to Petyr Baelish's tutelage; hopefully the same will hold true with this, esoteric though it is. ]

That... makes sense. [ She feels a mite silly for asking, honestly, but Adrian has not disparaged her for it, and she's glad of that too. ]

Do you specialize in aught, yourself? [ It occurs to her that he hasn't even said he's a witch, but he seems to know enough about it that it's a worthy guess. That, and monsters tend to show it here. ]

[cryptsleeper]

At the moment, I have no specialization. [It had taken a few months for Alucard to be remotely comfortable with the word witch in the first place, given what it had caused for himself and his family in the past. From there, well, dabbling. He's yet to well and truly find what he likes best.]

I had certain other abilities before coming here, and so much of my work has been to find means to have an imitation of those skills before. [This is bound to lead to more questions, so Alucard is careful to guide the next part of the discussion.]

What would you want to accomplish?

[kindlymeant]

[ It does lead her to more questions. She wonders what sort of abilities those were, if he had magic in his own realm - and has he been successful in his imitation of them here? It feels like prying, however, and when his own question follows she recognizes it as him urging the conversation on. It's a tactic she might use herself, and she respects it, keeping her curiosity to herself.

And he does give her thought, anyway. She turns her gaze ahead, quiet. There is much she might respond with - so much, she barely knows where to start, a matter which is only exacerbated by how little she knows of what is possible. ]

I think I would like to be safe, [ she says, eventually, and the words are softly said. What magic would serve her best for such an end? It depends on how she uses it, she suspects. ] And to be home. [ The yearning that admitting as much strikes in her is almost overwhelming. She sucks in a breath, wondering if it's not dangerous to speak so, but she does not think she needs to worry about Adrian outing her; her secrets are nothing to him.

She follows the words with a smile all the same. ]

And to have lemon cakes, whenever I want them. Is there a spell for that?

[cryptsleeper]

[Safe. That's a word that always comes loaded, and Alucard is sure that's the case here as well. He doesn't say much to it though, only nods once to show that he's heard.]

Then you have a lot of options to find what is both effective and most comfortable for you. Defense comes with too many strategies to say more, but I would consider if you want to be purely defensive, or practice defense through offense.

[As for the rest, the dhampir can only shake his head.]

Home is trickier. Cake would require a recipe, or finding the right bakery. Come to think of it, your last goal is the easiest to accomplish.

[kindlymeant]

It usually is. [ The admittance comes with a light laugh, even as she considers the rest of he said. The advice is practical and plain, and even if it remains daunting - she still nurses a notion that she'll be able to do little indeed - it is welcome sense. ]

I appreciate your insight. [ Her smile lingers, softer now - the words are sincere. ] It is kind of you to weather my questions.

[cryptsleeper]

I did the same to someone else once. In this market, come to think of it.

[Geralt is long since gone, and his responses were always gruffer, but it feels correct to repay the favor to someone else entirely.]

And if it was not already done to me once, it'd be an expected kindness all the same.

[kindlymeant]

[ Saying that she expects no kindnesses now feels overly dour, so instead she says: ] Well, even an expected kindness is not something to be taken for granted.

[ It's hard to imagine him pestering anyone for information, collected as he seems, but she imagines the circumstances must be strange to anyone, even those who know of magic. ]

Have you been here for a long time?

[cryptsleeper]

Half a year, thereabouts.

[A long time to be sure, but nothing compared to some of those Alucard has spoken to. Maria's the only person he has met and developed a rapport with to know that she's been here since these sorts of arrivals began.

But that isn't his information to tell.]

But I sit at the edge of most things. If you have truly detailed questions, I'm afraid I'm not qualified to give knowledgeable answers.

[kindlymeant]

Half a year... [ She repeats the words softly, largely to herself. She's heard of others being here longer, but it's still a considerable length of time. So much could happen, either in the Vale or here.

There's no sense in letting her mind stick on that, however. She turns to her companion again, his remark about sitting at the edge drawing a curious glance, a question she doesn't give voice to. ]

I daresay I have questions enough to fill a library. Too many to think of, in truth. But I appreciate the knowledge you have shared so far.

[cryptsleeper]

There's a few libraries here. I don't know if they'd have all the knowledge you seek but--

[He isn't going to be able to help there. So Alucard can only offer the next best thing, and that isn't only getting away from the Goblin Market. It's to make a simple suggestion to the current plan:]

Perhaps we can find lemon bars and call this much a success?