Event Log: September, The Price of Revolution p1

[faileas]

Event Log: September, The Price of Revolution Part 1

I. The Freedom Festivities Behind the fortress-like walls of Dorchacht, what was once a gloomy, imposing city is lit up for the festivities to come. Septeril brings with it many mixed emotions for the citizens of what used to be called The Black City, though the overwhelming atmosphere is positive - this is a celebration of freedom hard-earned and prosperity hard-fought-for. The triple stars of the Resistance, now the current reigning party, feature heavily in decorations and in clothing: in pins, on hats, golden stars enchanted into fabric to dance merrily across skirts and cloaks. Stars light up the streets in decorative strings hung from lamppost to lamppost, flickering gently over the cobblestones. Mirrors, as well, feature into the decor, tiny round ones hung in multitudes from awnings and in windows like ornaments, catching the light and playing it across the otherwise-utilitarian architecture, lending it a sort of understated beauty. Much of Dorchacht has been rebuilt and repurposed by necessity since the uprising last year, and many new small businesses and restaurants are being featured at the festival - their goods or their foods on display in markets of street-side stalls or on the feast tables. Local handmade wares and crafts are out for sale for modest prices, and every sale helps out both the small business, many of which are started by former slaves, and helps the local economy, which is better these days but still recovering. The festivities go for six days, almost a full week, with feasting and bonfires every evening, and tours and tales of the city by day, as they display the changes for the better they have all made. And then, on the final evening, all are invited to watch a grand fireworks show that will be put on in the skies over Dorchacht, presided over by the Circle of Three themselves. Mirrorbound are welcomed warmly, whether they were present last year or not, and treated much like family - get ready to be pulled into activities and plied with food left and right. a. Join the Fun The children of Dorchacht are out by the dozens during the festivities, excited by all the freely-offered, special sweet treats and the magical sparklers and poppers being handed out by the fistful. The poppers explode when thrown to the ground in bursts of bright colors, completely harmless, and the sparklers are enchanted not to burn little (or big) hands if mishandled. Mirrorbound passing through may find themselves roped into elaborate pretend games of revolution by eager faces: the children name themselves either Resistance members or Mirrorbound, and 'do battle' with their magic fireworks against scarecrow-like constructions cloaked in dark bed sheets as 'the bad guys'. Depending on one's perspective, it may seem dark, but this is what these children have known very recently in their lives, and their caretakers or parents (there are more of the former than the latter, especially for the young Monsters) let them play as they will. If asked, they'll just explain that some of those kids even remember the fighting when it happened; this is just another way that they try to understand how the city has changed. More organized, family-friendly reenactment performances are also common, with several of the orphanage groups putting on small plays about the uprising, or moral plays about kindness and togetherness between Witches and Monsters. This includes a prominent set of performances by the Mirrored Hearts Home for Children - maybe you're helping out with their sets or costumes, or maybe you assisted with their scripts and songs. Those Mirrorbound volunteers will want to see the kids do well, right? They'll be heartbroken if you don't show. Of course, kids aren't the only ones doing reenactments. The newly formed Dorchacht Historical Society, dedicated to protecting Dorchacht's history going forward, puts on several - and may drag in passers-by to play different roles! Only the luckiest are begged to play the role of The Dragon, who valiantly rose up against their cruel former master, Morgana, and helped lead Dorchacht to where they are today. b. Forget-Me-Not While the overall air is celebratory, among the adults who are old enough to understand just what was lost as well as gained, there is an undercurrent of sombre remembrance. Many visit the burned-out Old Coven, left as damaged as it was when the fighting ceased, as a monument to how freedom fighters suffered and fought. Plaques dot the grounds and buildings there seemingly at random, until you realize that each metal plate bearing names is laid where someone died. To decorate these plaques, and homes and businesses as well, there are tables set up in the yard of the New Coven, heavy with a rainbow of small magical flowers called Forget-Me-Nots, and the supplies to make remembrance wreaths. In this new tradition, the flowers are chosen with a dead, missing, or simply absent loved one in mind, and woven together with glass beads, small wooden charms, and a spell written on a slip of paper. The enchanted fragrance of the Forget-Me-Nots allows whoever smells them to witness short, happy memories of the person the wreath was made for - whether they knew that person or not. The memories come from the wreath-maker, and are only short flashes (less than a minute long) or mere impressions, but all are pleasant or warming. With the spell woven in, they'll last for an entire year without wilting or losing their effects, a souvenir from the festival to take home. Mirrorbound are encouraged to join in, and make wreaths of their own, whether or not they lost someone in Dorchacht's uprising. It can be for someone who has disappeared from Geardagas, someone who died long ago, someone living they miss from home, anyone who is not currently with them.

II. The Uninvited Guests On the 25th, the final day of the celebrations, the partying lasts all day. Food and drink are abundant on every corner, upbeat music is played by street performers and over the radios that can be found in nearly every household and shop, and the bonfires have been enchanted to let the flames take fanciful shapes. Drinking games and dancing, storytelling and general partying all last clear into the evening, but once dusk falls, everyone gathers in the center square of the city for the fireworks show. The Three are there - the Witches Bryn and Hilda, and the Monster known as The Dragon, Starlight, or formerly Fafnir - with Nessie and Mhairi as guests of honor, and Hilda is the one to set off the first enchanted fireworks, after a brief speech thanking everyone for coming out to celebrate a year of freedom and independence with them. It's with bursts of colorful light in the night sky behind her that she seems to appear from nowhere: tall, dark and imposing, a sharp-eyed Witch that exudes power. Morgana Drummond is not alone, either, flanked by a dozen rough-worn Witches and a host of others. The chaos that ensues is immediate and violent. "All of this for me?" Drummond sneers. Attacks bounce off her, no matter how powerful - even Nessie's considerable spells. Witches will be able to sense the strong barrier spell close-fit around her body, and the others around her will not let Monsters get close. It's The Dragon who speaks, voice rough from disuse but loud enough: "How dare you return here-" "I built this city in all the ways that matter. I was never going to let you have it. You burned away my Dorchacht, so now I will make sure there is nothing left of yours but ashes." a. To Sleep, Perchance Unreachable, Morgana Drummond's form limns in a sickly violet light, the circle of a spell forming beneath her feet, steadily growing as her power gathers. So much magic gathered in one spot is bound to be felt by all the Mirrorbound, Witch and Monster alike, oppressive in nature as if it could steal the breath from your lungs. Perhaps it truly was a fluke that she was driven from Dorchacht, a happy accident caused by a timely distraction. The spell circle spreads, glowing, until it envelops the entire city, and it pulses once, blinding, before it sears itself across Dorchacht's streets and buildings in burnt lines and symbols. The fireworks continue to pop and burst overhead, casting shadows that seem suddenly sinister. Nothing happens for just a moment - and then all the people of Dorchacht collapse in waves. Next to a stunned Nessie and furious Mhairi, Bryn, Hilda, and the Dragon fall into a heap as well, the final three bodies to hit the ground. Mirrorbound and citizens of Aefenglom do not fall prey to the sleeping spell despite being in its area of effect. It happens in the span of just a few minutes, and then Morgana is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving her people to sow terror on the sleeping city. b. Battle on the Streets While she brought with her only a dozen Witches from her former Coven, she's collected a force in the Wilde. Blank-eyed rogue necromancers, mind controlled the way the Monsters of Dorchacht used to be, storm the streets controlling in turn their dead Monsters and creatures. A few even have with them dead Nuckelavee, which will require multiple fighters to take out. Wilders from Dorchacht gone missing on expeditions in the last year bear the signs of mind control as well - the ones who aren't dead, shambling around the necromancers. Maybe you recognize them, maybe you don't. Maybe you can help them, or maybe you can't. The mind control enchantments can be dispelled with a lot of effort or with the specific spells used often by the Resistance a while ago, for those who still remember it. In the slums of Dorchacht, the people who were convinced of Morgana's return, those who want to return to the days of slavery and terror, break free from the now-sleeping guards and failing wards that kept them contained and join the fighting, manic in their glee. The spell that put the rest of Dorchacht to sleep seems to slip right off them, perhaps sensing their loyalty to terrible causes. It is chaos, as the insurgents set fires and attack at will with magic, claws, weapons, anything they have. Mirrorbound will soon realize that they and the visitors from Aefenglom are not the only targets. The sleeping people of Dorchacht are ripe for the killing, unable to react or defend themselves. The fighting will continue into the night until the invaders are all dead or captured.

III. The Aftermath When the fighting ends, the work begins. An entire city deep in the throes of an enchanted sleep is a worst-case scenario that none of them could have predicted, even those who had a hunch Morgana didn't die out in the unexplored Wilde. Miss Nessie and Mhairi will remain on the scene helping to direct the aid efforts in the aftermath of the battle. Fires must be put out, corpses must be rounded up to be buried or burned, captured attackers must be secured and questioned, sleeping citizens must be whisked from the streets to safety and shelter, and buildings ensured to be safe in the meantime. Aefenglom's Coven are called in to assist, anyone who is available, and Mirrorbound help is more than welcomed. They will need everyone they can get to make sure not all is lost in this tragic attack. Nessie herself will ensure the Three are taken to safety in Aefenglom until the people of Dorchacht can be woken. Action needs to be taken quickly. Morgana needs to be found as soon as possible, and capable hands will be needed to search the Wilde far outside Dorchacht, the most likely place for her to go. More urgently, however, are the sleeping citizens. Nessie announces late the next evening, the normally-bubbly woman gone solemn and serious: "I believe I've found a counter-ritual for the spell that nasty woman used, I have. I will need your help, though, Mirrorbound. Volunteers only, of course, of course, as it's likely to be quite dangerous, though the Dreamers and I will take every precaution we can. Discuss among yourselves, decide if you're willing. Those who are, meet at the Coven at midnight on the 27th. It's not right to just leave them all like that, not right at all..."

Welcome to September's event log, Part 1 of The Price of Revolution! This event will continue in the TDM posted on the 21st, with a foray into purposeful dreamwalking. It will be a hybrid test drive and event that current characters will be allowed to top level on as well. Quests into the Wilde to search for Morgana will currently bear no fruit beyond small clues, but Part 2 in early October will deal with her whereabouts and her final fate. As always, direct your questions about the event HERE! And finally, for those who are wondering what's up with Dorchacht, we have a Setting update for you.

Comments

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard accepts the child and nods. This is perfectly fine. It hampers her movement a bit since she can't transform into a bat and just go, but she can make this work.. She's more than capable of doing this quietly, thanks to her strange new abilities. So, she moves. Quick, silent, she hops up onto a stack of crates. Another jump carries her and the child up onto a balcony, and then she's got to leap and catch the lip of another, hauling herself up with one hand and the child under another arm.

Up she makes it, the final bit of climb made a bit easier by a service ladder. One vampire down, one turnskin to go.]

[finesseblade]

[ Felix waits, keeping watch at the corner of the alley with one ear cocked in Edelgard's direction, until he hears her boots hit the roof. Good. One last check to make sure the Nuckelavee are still moving down the street with their backs turned, and Felix ducks back into the shadows, scooping the boy up into the crook of one arm.

He follows her path up the crates and onto the balcony ledges, claws scrabbling and digging deep to catch himself. One, two, and then the service ladder.

He's almost to the top when the rusted metal creaks under his weight, an innocuous sound under any other circumstances, but one immediately met by two howling shrieks from the far end of the street and a chorus of pounding hooves.

Well, shit. ]

Get down!

[ Felix doesn't know if these things can climb, or even jump as well as the two of them, but he climbs the last couple of rungs and flings himself onto his side on the rooftop, child clutched to his chest, low enough to stay out of sight. ]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard deposits the child on the rooftop quickly, moving to help Felix up if he's struggling. When he clears the rooftop, she steps back, ducking low and taking her burden back up, ready to move quickly.

The hooves below clack and clomp, and there's a disturbing snuffling sound as the Nucklavees attempt to suss out where the two of them have gone...

Putting a gloved hand over the child's mouth, Edelgard waits, wondering and hoping that these monsters can't climb. For now, they seem okay. But only for now.]

[finesseblade]

[ The silence stretched for what feels like an age, broken only by the sound of hooves dancing about the mouth of the alley below and the harsh sounds of a horse's sniffing, trying to suss out where their quarry has gone. Felix doesn't move. He doesn't dare to breathe. If they don't find anything, maybe they'll move on, and then—

The quiet fractures on the edge of a shrill whinny and a wooden crash that sounds suspiciously like a hoof puncturing through a crate.

Felix doesn't think. He snatches the dagger on his hip from its sheathe and flings it end over end with everything he's got, sending it spiraling out across the front-facing street to clatter down somewhere on the far side of it. The Nuckelavee shriek, hoofbeats chasing the sound. ]

Go.

[ He's not waiting to see how long that distraction works; he's already on his feet, sprinting for the far edge of the roof and hurling himself over the gap to the next building with child in tow. ]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard doesn't need to be told twice. She'd waited with her hands over the mouths of the child, keeping her quiet...and for those tense seconds she wasn't sure if she was going to make it. Her hand grips the girl by the waist and she charges after Felix, vaulting across the gap.

Vampire speed helps her keep running, making another jump and clearing it ahead of Felix.

In the distance, a block or so away, a shriek goes up.]

Faster!

[finesseblade]

[ Felix grunts an affirmative, bounding after her just on her heels, vaulting across gaps he never would've dreamed of attempting before this world changed him. He keeps his ears peeled for the sounds of the Nuckelavee pursuing them, but he suspects they're still ground-bound, which will slow them down—harder to catch up when they have to weave through Dorchacht's streets chasing a target moving in a straight line.

But what they lack in maneuverability, Felix knows they make up for in persistence. Which means as soon as they're far enough out of range that even Felix can't hear the beasts' hooves any more, he stops, motioning to Edelgard. ]

Those things aren't going to give up, and neither of us can run forever. Have our own people established any kind of safe area where we can take the children until they wake?

[ He frowns, and a moment later, quieter: ]

If they wake.

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard gives him a look, nodding her affirmative, and her agreement.]

Yes. The area around the portal has the greatest kind of defenses, and the highest concentration of Mirrorbound and Aefenglom's Coven. If we can get them there, we can secure them and aid in the defense. That might be the best use of our talents.

[Since neither one of them is really cut out to fight these beasts. If she had her armor and Aymr, not to mention Hubert, she would consider fighting one but not three.]

[finesseblade]

[ Felix listens, his expression grim, keeping one ear cocked to the wind all the while. By now it doesn't surprise him that he agrees with her assessment—whatever their differences, she's competent, and she knows what she's doing. ]

Then that's where we have to go.

[ He glances at her then, and flashes her a quick, fanged grin. ]

Never expected to be talking strategy with you—but I guess it doesn't matter now, does it? Whatever gets the job done.

[ And then he's off, getting a running start on his next leap. ]

Try to keep up, Your Majesty.

[unyieldingmarch]

Desperate times. But I trust you, Felix. Let us go.

[She trusts the other version of him quite a lot thank you, this one...they've been through enough together that it's easy to accept his aid too.

Her feet churn as she vaults to the next roof, and hurries to keep up. One of the benefits of being dead was not having to worry about lactic buildup in the muscles. And, you know, breathing.]

[finesseblade]

[ Trust. What an odd turn of events to hear that, after everything that's happened in their unlike worlds. The word keeps ringing around in his ears long after it spoken.

Fine. Yes. Maybe he trusts her too. Enough to put his back to her, and enough to let her pass him moments later without so much as flinching.

Minutes pass, in which they close some of the distance to the portal, but then there's the familiar screeching of one of the Nuckelavee again, closer this time. Felix stops, glancing over his shoulder, scowling. ]

Damn.

[ A growl rises in his throat. He glances back at her, unwinded, not even breaking a sweat. ]

Can you carry them both?

[unyieldingmarch]

Yes.

[She reaches out a hand, ready to take the other child, unhesitating.]

I can. But...I know that you're planning something foolhardy. Intending to try and lure one away?

[finesseblade]

[ Felix flashes her a wry grin, baring his teeth at her, all of which seem to be... a great deal pointier than they usually are outside the full moons. ]

They won't catch me.

[ And yet, much as he'd like to believe that wholeheartedly, his own heartbeat thrums loudly in his ears, reflecting his restless agitation. He gingerly hands her the boy in his arms, then straightens, cocking his head to one side. ]

If you're truly concerned, however, just know that I intend to head for the riverfront. I believe I can lose them there.

[unyieldingmarch]

Alright. I will look for you at the riverfront then.

[She gives him one final nod.]

Good luck.

[And with the children in hand, she starts off, moving at a hurried pace and leaving Felix to do what he'd volunteered to do.]

[finesseblade]

[ Felix waits, mouthing to the count of ten until he's certain she's gained some distance from this place. Then he reaches for the more beastly half buried inside him, seizing on it and dragging it kicking and screaming to the surface.

It's not an easy shift, and it hurts, but he feels his body shift and grow, and the enchantments on his clothes shift to accommodate.

When he's fully changed, he throws his head back and howls, letting his pursuers know exactly where he is. He leaps to the street, running the moment his paws hit the cobblestones. And behind him—the screeching of the Nuckelavee as they home in on his location.

It's fine, though. His lips curl back from his teeth in a faint grin. The smell of the river is in his nostrils, and he knows exactly where he's going. ]