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

Jiang Yanli | MDZS / The Untamed - Merrow

[rootstalks]

[goblin market]
[ You would think buying food in a market wouldn't be a tremendous task, but two hours and countless potion and tincture merchants later, and she still hasn't found anywhere that will simply exchange some of her jewelry for plain ingredients and a pot.

Frustrated, she gives up for the time being, and begins to look for a friendly face instead. Ah, maybe-- ]

Pardon me, could I ask a moment of your time?

[wilde hunt]
[ She isn't one for night hunts usually. Turning into some kind of aquatic monster, while equipping her with fins, a set of needle-like secondary fangs and golden scales that are slowly creeping along her skin, doesn't actually help. Neither does her set of ornate robes and weighty hairpiece. Fortunately she isn't alone, having fallen literally into the arms of her husband on arrival, and so now she has graciously ushered both Zixuan and A-Ling off to hunt and exchange pointers while she waits in a sheltered pool just off the main river through the Wilde.

A little boring, maybe, but she would rather determine the extent of her change in private, where she can panic in peace. Besides, the water is oddly soothing. More so than usual. ]

[wildcard]
[ Want to do something else? Grab me on evildoers or on Elle#2335 on Discord! ]

goblin market!

[weiward]

[it really is a 'market' in the loosest sense of the word, mostly filled with fakes and swindlers. but there are innocent people too, new mirrorbound who arrived without proper information, half of which are going through some changes that they would try anything to stop. wei wuxian can relate. it took him time to get used to his own monster changes.

he was a lot quicker at figuring out how to use them to his advantage. that's what brought him to the market today, to show off a few tiny bottles of his "luck potion" to the vendors. swindling the swindlers with a bottle full of water, a few herbs, and a single white puca hair straight from the source. he's not sure lan zhan would approve, but weddings aren't cheap, and he's determined to handle his own part of it.

he'd taken a seat to count out the coins in his pouch when he hears a warm and familiar voice nearby. wei wuxian looks up, golden eyes widening at the sight of one of his very favorite faces.]

Shijie!

aaaa the smile is too bright my eyes

[rootstalks]

[ having arrived in the Wilde, her understanding of the settlements is... hazy, to put it charitably.

Near-absent, to be truthful. She has almost caught the attention of an older gentlewoman with curling ram's horns when she startles at the greeting. ]

A-Xian? [ It's a reflexive answer to the familiar voice and tone, and it sends such a strong feeling of relief lancing through her that she barely falters at the strangeness of his form. With the safety of anonymity, she hurries over without hesitation. ]

of course, for her

[weiward]

[the coins drop and roll across the ground, likely to be collected by quick and sticky fingers before he even notices their absence. and maybe it's deserved considering how he gained them in the first place.

right now it's the last thing that matters. wei wuxian rushes to her, jumping up to keep her in sight when a much larger monster crosses the path between them. he stops in front of her, taking her hands while he takes a long moment to just look at her.]

It's you, you're really here! [he can't stop grinning. maybe he'll never know any other expression ever again.] Shijie, I've missed you so much!

sobbbb

[rootstalks]

It's really been too long! [ Any length of time is too long, but his absences used to be brief things, never the unbearable spans of recent years.

She looks him over with a brisk but fond efficiency as she tightens her own fingers around his. The strain she'd gotten used to seeing around his eyes has been replaced with... well, what are quickly becoming familiar animal-like features. But they look particularly fine on her brother, she decides, even as she also laughs at them. ]

Let's find somewhere to sit. I want to hear how you've been.

[weiward]

[he doesn't need to sit. suddenly wei wuxian feels like he has enough energy to run around the city. twice. but she would be more comfortable, so wei wuxian nods before guiding her way from the stalls and the crowd. he wants to squeeze her hands in return, maybe hold onto them tight enough that she can never leave again, but he's especially mindful of his claws.

wei wuxian sits down after she does, beaming at her.]

Everything is fine here. I'm a puca - a monster rabbit. It's all Lan Zhan's fault. [but he laughs as he says it.] We're Bonded, and we're gonna be wed, and this is the best gift I could've asked for.

[he closes her hands in his, eyes shining with tears as he presses a kiss against them.]

[rootstalks]

[ Given that her own hands are starting to grow soft scales, and claws of her own, he can perhaps be a little more at ease. ]

I don't believe that-- [ That someone as upright as Lan Wangji would knowingly turn you into a monster rabbit, she wants to say, but then he keeps talking, and she gasps. ]

Bonded to Hanguang-jun, and to be wed? Oh, A-Xian! [ He looks so happy about it that any reservations she could possibly have had are banished immediately. She waits for his grip on her hands to loosen again, so she can move them up to his face and stroke his cheeks and forehead, and back into his hair. She blinks away her own sudden tears, and tries to look as stern as she can at short notice. ]

You have to arrange a meeting, and I want to know about your plans for the wedding.

Re: Jiang Yanli | MDZS / The Untamed - Merrow

[radishlobbyist]

[ Not much of a fighter herself, Wen Qing has mostly been circling above the hunting grounds to stretch her black and red harpy wings and keep a sharp eye out for anyone in need.

The pool looks nice and refreshing, and the perfect size to make for a harpy-shaped birdbath.

She lands by the edge of it, wobbling only a little as she has been practicing, and looking around to make sure she is alone. That's when she catches sight of...

She shakes her head. ] Jiang Yanli? It can't be!

<33

[rootstalks]

[ She startles; paying attention to the sky hadn't occurred to her, so Wen Qing's appearance is more of a surprise than it ought to be. Quickly, she starts to rearrange her skirts over her finned calves. ]

Lady Wen? You're here as well!

Re: <33

[radishlobbyist]

You... [ Wen Qing's eyes are immediately going towards what Jiang Yanli is trying to hide, a doctor's attentive eyes searching and mapping and she takes half a step forward, mouth already opening to demand that Jiang Yanli stop hiding her changes and let her examine her.

Then she catches herself and realizes it is really not her place to do so here and now. Here, Jiang Yanli is not her patient. ]

Have you been here for long?

[rootstalks]

[ She shakes her head quickly, gathering herself up to greet her properly. It's a little awkward with her still standing in the pool up to her knees, but she thinks she manages. ]

No, not at all. I only arrived today. [ One of the reasons the changes are alarming her - from all accounts it ought to be gradual, but she's already not sure she'll be able to put her shoes back on when it's time to move on. ]

[radishlobbyist]

How strange. My brother and I took longer to show physical changes. [ Strange? More like, it concerns her. Even A-Ning's change had already concerned her, though that is also due to her always being concerned for A-Ning.

It's enough to have her step closer, after all. ] But you are not in any pain or discomfort?

[rootstalks]

[ She's ashamed that it's taken her this long to remember that Wen Qing is primarily a renowned doctor. If she were to trust anyone with these problems... ]

Mm, no. As long as I stay near the water. [ She pauses, and then pulls one heavy silk sleeve up to her elbow, revealing scales of soft pinks, purples and golds, and a thick, frilled fin that runs along her forearm. ]

Please, is this normal..?

goblin market, i am here for elle threads!!!

[electrod]

[ The market is a good place to observe people, overhear conversations. And wallow in the misery of all the new bird features suddenly granted by this place. Though this particular harpy is rather used to be just an observer now— active participant.

Yet here's the lady asking questions. ]

You could ask for more than just that, sugar. [ Because that's what you do on the first meeting, flirt. ] What'cha need?

smushes face against!!!

[rootstalks]

[ Normally she would offer a smile along with her brief, polite bow, but she wasn't born yesterday. She knows better than to encourage someone who thinks calling a strange woman pet names is acceptable. ]

Directions to a grocer, please.

yells happily

[electrod]

[ She's a proper lady, alright. Too bad between him and Rude, it's Rude who is the chivalrous one. ]

You're in the wrong "market" for that. [ Illegal markets usually deal in various trade, but given what he had seen on these stalls— ] I wouldn't trust any "food" you can find here.

[ He looks around, looking for a high enough point of interest, ah a lighthouse is visible that means harbor is that way ]

Real deal shopping district is nearby, that's your best bet.

[rootstalks]

[ Her manner thaws somewhat when he starts giving genuine instructions, and she follows his gaze to the lighthouse. ]

Near that signal tower?

[ It seems odd that a market with little to no legitimate goods is so full. She looks around again, slightly dissatisfied. ] Why is such a market encouraged..?

[electrod]

[ He shakes his head and just waves the arm— to the left of the tower. That's an actual, real direction given. It's her second question he answers with actual words ]

Because someone is being paid to not raid and close it just yet. [ That's what he assumes with a wide shrug. Illegal activities in the broad daylight usually come from some higher-up either not caring enough, or being "convinced" to not ]

[rootstalks]

[ It's a pity, a legitimate market this size full of minor wonders would be a sight to see. But she has her directions. ]

I see. Thank you, ah... I'm sorry, what should I call you?

market

[chifeng_zun]

[Not the friendliest-looking (he has resting "you're grounded"-face, it comes from raising Nie Huaisang), but Sect Leader Nie might be a familiar face at least. His style of dress definitely stands out in this world, robes and saber marking him fairly clearly to anyone from their world. He's only passing through the market with no interest in the wares when he hears someone speak to him - and glancing down, he almost does a double-take.

They don't know each other well, certainly, but he has seen her around at gatherings with the Yunmeng Jiang, remembers she had a wedding to the Jin heir and the one month ceremony for her son. Then Nightless City, the siege on the Burial Mounds... Well, he's dead too, so no need to make things awkward.

He bows politely, stone face smoothing out into something more neutral.] Of course, Jin-furen.

<3

[rootstalks]

[ It's the familiar robes that have her call out to him rather than recognition, so when he turns it's a pleasant surprise. She's been facing the world's most honed "you're grounded" face from birth, so his washes over her like water off a duck. Besides, it's not like she's not attended sect banquets before.

If anything, it's reliable, as is his formality. She can't help a soft laugh as she gathers herself into an appropriate bow. ]

Well, I was going to ask about grocers... But since it's you, Chifeng-zun, I was hoping to meet with you... and offer my assistance with A-Xian's and Hanguang-jun's wedding.

[ Well, she'll get involved either way, but she wants to do things properly. ]

[chifeng_zun]

[He knows what kind of talk goes around (went around) about his temper, but he was raised as an heir of a great clan, and he had his manners beaten into him at a young age. Formality is the default for a situation like this.

He isn't surprised when she mentions the wedding, and maybe the line of his shoulders relaxes just a little when it seems she isn't offended. Wei Wuxian had asked it of him, but now that he has real family here, he hadn't been sure if his assistance was still required. If Wei Wuxian mentioned it to his shijie, then he supposes it is for the time being.]

Of course. Wei Wuxian's family should be involved in whatever aspects they wish. [He will definitely concede to her expertise.] I can escort you to the grocer and we can speak on the way.

[rootstalks]

[ She beams at him. Any remaining intimidation from his rank has been lost now that they're co-conspirators for a wedding, and his ever-easy acceptance of her and A-Xian's sibling relationship. And besides, he was raised as a clan heir, and she was raised to support a clan heir. Woe betide anyone who sets against them. ] That sounds perfect, thank you.

[ She's just glad that there is actually some kind of grocer here - she's heartily sick of alchemy and trinket stalls, even if they were exciting for the first ten or so. She falls in at his side, a little closer than would strictly be appropriate, but in this case is permissible given the width of the streets, the press of the crowd, and their need to be heard over both. ]

I admit, I was very glad to hear that you would be presiding.

[chifeng_zun]

[Caring about a sibling is something he can understand, having raised his own from when he was a teenager. He doesn't know all the details of their personal situations, but he's glad not to see much lingering resentment toward the man who - yes, made some very poor choices after the Sunshot Campaign, in his opinion, but has not shown himself now to be anything but a young man who wants to get married and do right by his spouse.

Nie Mingjue doesn't mind it, if she walks a little closer than propriety allows. It's all for the better anyway; he knows there are pickpockets out and about. He's quite tall, at his full height, and with Baxia strapped to his back, he's a deterrent for petty crime in himself, and happy to subtly shoulder away anybody who might get too close.]

I could not refuse. Wei Wuxian wishes to do the honorable thing, and he is wedding my sworn brother's younger brother. [A nod accompanies this statement; he approves of the idea of wanting to do things right.] It is good to see he will have family present after all, however.

[rootstalks]

[ The deterrent is appreciated; Yanli is fairly certain that the only reason she hasn't been robbed is that her only wealth is firmly pinned into her hair and ears.

The sworn brother link makes it even more legitimate. She tallies that to her list of ammunition against anyone who could possibly think of objecting or causing mischief. ]

I'm glad to be here for it. It... seems I wouldn't be, otherwise. [ There are no social precedents for politely implying that you are aware of your own impending death, or the death that would await her, should she not have been spirited away. Changing the subject might work. She elects to try that. ]

-- which means it is of utmost importance that I prepare the kind of banquet he should have had in the Lotus Pier.