Intro Log: November & Event: Nothing to Be Drone About It

[faileas]

Intro Log: November & Event: Nothing to Be Drone About It

I. ARRIVAL 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. A moment later, you feel a tug, and you find yourself stumbling into a dark, musty room. Behind you, a mirror stands ornately decorated with reminders of home wrought in brass and wood: the faces of people you know, and symbols important to you; all things that send a pang through your chest with the desire to return to them. Touching the mirror's surface does nothing but leave the stain of your fingerprints. When you turn to survey the room, you find there are hundreds of other mirrors. None of them are as decorated as yours - they're plain and dusty, speckled with age. Then you realize a second thing: You're not alone. Distantly, the ringing bell of a clocktower can be heard. But no matter its distance, the time is clear to make out: it chimes three times, stark, resonating like a pulse of something in this mirrored hall that you and others have found yourselves in, along with... several items, perhaps even creatures scattered across the floor around other mirrors? For those familiar with magic, they might feel the power of the witching hour upon them, though it will feel different from what they're used to - in fact, everything does. You're certainly not the only ones here, however. On the first floor, with the doors wide open behind them in the foyer, is a small group headed by two individuals. As people begin to arrive, to come from the higher floor, they're waiting - and they're waiting for you, and your questions. Explore the rest of the mirrored halls you've now found yourselves in, or proceed to the foyer? Leaving the Looking-Glass House makes it obvious that the clock striking three was for 3 AM - the night sky is faintly cloudy, but the stars are dim in the face of two moons. The Looking-Glass House is rather nondescript two-story cottage made of grey brick, sitting at the edge of The Coven's courtyard; stones which glow as you step on them mark the path to and from the two buildings. While fairly small and plain on the outside, the inside has been enchanted to be the size of a large library, with hundreds upon hundreds of mirrors hanging, standing, and resting inside its walls. Some are broken, some are cracked, and some seem completely uninjured - but all of them are just as plain as the cottage itself, showing age in the silver beneath their glass and in the greening of their metals... Well, all except a character's personal mirror; to characters, one mirror - the one they came through - will be decorated lavishly with metal-and-wood-wrought reminders of home, and the surface will be as clear as a brand-new mirror.

II. THE WELCOME PARTY Whether you've decided to find a way out of the building you've arrived in, or decided to explore the rest of the Looking-Glass House - and perhaps finding a few familiar faces among the crowd - you feel a pull towards the foyer of the first floor. It's like a firm suggestion, as if to take you by the hand and draw you to where it begins, and the source of it becomes quite apparent upon finding one's way to the front room: a tall, comfortably-dressed older woman and her even taller wolfish companion, along with those which feel to resemble yourselves in a world-traversing sense: Mirrorbound, they're called. "Just a few of you this month, hm? Don't mind the junk across the floor where you came out, someone is sorting that!" The woman sets her hands on her hips, with her Bonded casting a glance at those looking confused - newly arrived - and those who may have followed them in to talk to the newest addition of their mirrorbound bunch. "About time for introductions though- this here's Mhairi Ainsley, ambassador to the Parliament and my Bonded, and I'm Nerissa Bell, Head Witch of the Coven - but you can just call me Miss Nessie, you can," she adds, winking. "The lot of you must be as tired and confused as the last batch - hullo to those who've joined us, too! - so just a moment, dearests, I'll set all you right up—" With nothing more than a wave of her hand, rows of seats are summoned; despite their wooden nature, they're all sturdy and comfortable, filling the foyer and spreading out a ways into the lawn behind them, making room for all of the new arrivals as well as the previous batch. After all, they'll find this just as interesting. The Witches and Monsters that accompanied Nessie and Mhairi move to make room, and some disperse into the building itself to see if there's anyone who needs tending to. Mhairi steps forward as the chairs materialize. "Please, those who are able, join us for a moment. There are many questions that I'm sure you have - we will do our utmost best to answer them, and you may take any that we can't as a promise to find some sort of solution or answer." NOTE: If you wish to interact with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here for a handwaved, summarized answer to your character's burning questions. For those that'd like a more player-based interaction, Aefenglom has its own Welcome Wagon! These are players who've volunteered for the role, and those that didn't sign up may assist as well if they'd feel their character would -- have fun, and make friends. Additionally, those with notable injuries or sickness will be attended to ASAP by Coven-based witches, and should anyone be curious about what they are - if they have magic potential, or if they swing a different way - then this can be done during this and the general hour or so the new arrivals are within the Coven's grounds. There are ongoing classes on magic, monsters, and Bonding as well, though they take place more during the day than at night - feel free to have your characters attend them at any time!

III. THE HAVEN After an hour or two of general chaos, questions that the natives attempt to help with, and injuries tended to for those who arrive in poor condition, it's time to make a trek to where you'll be staying while Nessie and Mhairi continue to search for a solution to the situation. As you're leaving with a few Bonded for guides, peculiar-looking devices - watches, the native Witches explain, compliments of Parliament - are passed around to all the new arrivals; they're given a quick rundown on their functions and bid to test them out when they can. They can even do it as they make their way out of the Coven's courtyard and to the Haven. Formerly part of the Aristocratic District, The Haven is just as well-kept and brightly-lit as the district it hails from. The houses err on the tall and ornamental-side, large enough to fit several families (or, according to the upper class, their one family, several dozen servants, and guests), especially closest to the Aristocratic District. They become a little more modest and smaller as one gets away from the realm of high society and nearer to the Residential District proper. Newcomers are shuffled here and invited to find somewhere to live - the Coven is currently handling expenses for the houses themselves in a program implemented by the Parliament, though if your character wishes to have anything extra - like maids, chefs, and so on - they'll have to pay for them themselves with their own earned money. Much of the landscape and fixtures are the same as in the Aristocratic Districts, though it lacks formal emergency services due to its roots as part of a district that already did. Much of the housing already has furnishing due to the speed at which homeowners were relocated; they were given enough time to collect their valuables, but standard furniture such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind for those moving in. Other houses appear the same, but the dust on the floors suggest these houses were left before the new arrivals even showed up - a reminder that the Cwyld can strike just about anyone, regardless of standing. Another portion of this district has been opened up to the new arrivals: the barracks, the row of buildings pressed against the very edge of the Bright Wall. As the city's military force no longer has the same presence it previously did, the barracks have gone into disuse, and a cleanup effort has been in place since before the new arrivals came through the Looking-Glass House. For those who desire something a little less opulent, the barracks might just be the answer. The barracks can also be used for business, for a welcome center, a communal space, for anything that the residents of the Haven see fit to use it for - so long as the legality isn't questionable, on the surface. To help with filling up the larger houses - and even some of the smaller ones, and the shared rooms in the barracks - the Witches put together a little roommate finding service, on a smaller scale from the grand opening of the Haven. For those who aren't entirely sure who they want to shack up with, they have a small survey for them to fill out and post on the board they've magicked up in the center of The Haven. The board also very helpfully reads aloud each form for everyone to hear in a cheerful, monotone voice. It isn't able to be shut up, nor is it easy to ignore, being imbued with a kind of amplification magic. It reads simply the information you've offered up yourself, or that someone might have written up for you, should that be their idea of fun.

IV. Nothing to Be Drone About It While a handful of mirrors in the Looking Glass House at 3 am on the 15th spat out people - new Mirrorbound or perhaps returned Mirrorbound - many other mirrors poured forth items or small creatures, all on their own. The night cleaner resigns himself to a long night as he has to deal with mess and confused folk, but he isn't terribly surprised. It was around this time last year that something similar happened with the mirrors. They may not understand it, but it looks like it may be a pattern, relics of the Mirrorbound's lives reaching out to them from home as gift or curse. The night cleaner fetches Miss Nessie to handle the arrival of a handful of new Mirrorbound, and then returns to start tidying up everything else. Luckily, she assigns him some help in the form of a young Witch named Emmelie, eager to prove herself. Not wanting to crowd the Looking Glass House, in the ensuing hours, she turns to an invention of hers to sort out the stuff littering the room with the mirrors. The goal, of course, is to get each item back to its rightful owner, and she firmly believes in better living through magic innovation! Unfortunately, it becomes clear fairly soon that Emmelie's brass flying saucers, which she had hoped would effortlessly deliver each item based on magical signature matching, could use a little... fine-tuning. The big saucers complete with six segmented mechanical 'arms' to hold the cargo in place are persistent as they zip around the city, often trying to take the shortest path to their programmed destination - whether it means they bump endlessly into barriers such as walls, get stuck on rooftops or in the River Temese, or knock over people, natives and Mirrorbound alike, who happen to be in their flight path. Some of them end up at the wrong Mirrorbound, and bump incessantly into them until they take the offered item, uncaring if they're who it belongs to or not. Of course, some deliveries go smoothly, exactly as they are intended to, but... they're in the minority. By the early afternoon, Emmelie is sending out a voice message that can be heard by Mirrorbound anywhere in the city, her young voice panicked as she explains what happened with her inventions and your mementos of home, adding at the end: "Ahh, it's such a mess! Look, you've got to help me, and please don't tell Miss Nessie, she'll never trust me with anything important ever again! I'll owe all of you so much if you'll just help find and return everything to where it needs to go!"

Welcome to November's combo Intro Log and event! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs. The network system is free to use once characters have their watches as well; information on that can be found at the bottom of the Setting page, while any extra questions about it can be found in the FAQ index. Quests can be picked up as well right over here at November's Quest Pickup thread. Finally, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans, let the mods know and if you have any questions about the log, ask them here!

Comments

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran lets out a huff, a bitterness in the way his eyes narrow.]

Of course they'd like you after you saved them... [As much of an idealist as he's been in the past, his worldview has always had a solid place for people who took advantage of people whose kindness they didn't deserve... on the dark side of a black-and-white morality. He can't stand the thought of them.]

But I'm glad that... you don't have to deal with them if you don't want to, now. [It sounds like the world is her oyster, so to speak. The freedom to leave... he hadn't really considered how important it was when he'd lost his home, but now he envies it.]

[prettyrocks]

[ Tsutha gives Ferran a small smile at that. She really would rather not turn the conversation to make it all about her life and her problems. But that's just because she honestly doesn't believe her problems are that important or even interesting. She's always cared more about what other people need or want, and in this instance, she cares about making sure Ferran is feeling better. ]

You, too. Now that you're here, you don't have to deal with anybody if you don't want to. You can have a fresh start.

[noblegarnet]

[Eventually they're going to get into nice fights about whose issues should come first, but for now he lets the issue go, if just to think about the idea of a fresh start.

As much as being here is something like a nightmare, it's true that he's not under the control of the man who ruined his life. And he's met a number of wonderful people already who've been willing to help him, who have made it all easier. Maybe if he wasn't so stupid about everything in the past year, it wouldn't have turned out so badly back home... He sounds almost wistful when he replies.]

Yeah... I guess that's one way to think of it.

[He chews on his turkey for a moment, staring down at the blade and bag of armor. He doesn't know that he wants to deal with Onyx's belongings any more than the man himself, but he feels sort of responsible for it.]

But it would be easier if things from home didn't get tossed at me. [He's only half-serious, now—the statement is undoubtedly true, but he's not nearly as anxious about it as he was moments ago.]

[prettyrocks]

[ At least he's beginning to sound a little better. Tsutha hopes that talking to her about it has helped him in some way. ]

Yeah... That would make things a lot easier.

[ Just then, another little drone whizzes by overhead, carrying some small wooden drum to some monster or witch in the area. Tsutha looks up at it, raises her fist and shaking it while yelling at the thing soaring by. ]

Keep your dumb presents, you hear me?! We don't want 'em!

[ The drone, of course, doesn't hear her, and so it continues on its flight. But she glances over at Ferran and smiles, going she lightened the mod a little bit. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Tsutha's attempt is a success, if his gentle laughter is any indication. It doesn't quite erase the fatigue that's come over his demeanor, but it's a genuine sound. It'll be easier to get past the gloom from here, with the bright light she's shone onto his day.]

Well, at least you got a free meal out of it.

[prettyrocks]

[ The laughter, soft as it is, puts Tsutha more at ease, and she relaxes into her position next to Ferran, lifting her turkey leg and taking another satisfied bite. ]

Yeah. That's better than nothing, I suppose.

[ She's always happy to share a good meal with a friend. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran takes a few quiet moments to eat, thinking about things that aren't his awful experiences.]

Or maybe it's kind of a buy-one-get-one... [He understands the idea of Tsutha getting the same food she'd already eaten as well as he understands getting something that decidedly isn't his, which is to say barely at all.]

You said you recognized it, right? From a specific time.

[prettyrocks]

[ Tsutha has never heard of a buy-one-get-one sale in her life, so she's a little confused by Ferran's observation... But when he mentions her bucket of turkey, she nods. ]

Yeah, it's from a wild night me and my friends had in Meadowwilde once. ...Well, me and Marzia had a wild night. Walter stayed in his room studying the whole time. But it was great! I took a really long, luxurious bubble bath, and Marzia tried to throw a party and almost got arrested!

[noblegarnet]

[A bubble bath... and a party. It's charming how she refers to it in those terms.]

"Wild," huh...?

[Admittedly, getting any police involved with most things would qualify, but the other things? Not so much.]

What was she going to be arrested for, exactly?

[prettyrocks]

[ Compared to the many, many nights the trio spent traveling the back roads of Shartis, being able to lounge in a bubble bath was wild enough for Tsutha. ]

Well, the city of Meadowwilde is basically all taken up with this big wizard school-- like the Coven here, but way more serious-- and when we got there, it was the middle of finals week. So all the students were supposed to be studying, and throwing a party in the middle of all that was illegal.

[ She chews a bit more on her turkey leg, adding with her mouth full, ] Also, Marzia totally charmed this halfling guy named Ranndy into bringing us booze.

[noblegarnet]

[Illegal? Damn.]

You weren't kidding about it being more serious. [It sounds like the school ran the town if they put something like that into law.] I'm sure there are rules like that for universities where I'm from, but they'd just kick you out at worst, not put you in jail...

[prettyrocks]

Yeah, they were pretty upset about the whole thing... I think the only reason they didn't lock Marzia up on the spot was that Walter's related to the king, and he wanted to have an audience with us the next day, so they kind of had to let us go.

[ Sometimes it pays to have friends in high places. Not that Walter would describe himself as being "friends" with any of his relatives. ]

[noblegarnet]

That's pretty lucky...

[Geez, Tsutha's friends with royalty? Or royalty adjacent. Even if it's just what sounds like a weird university-city-state, that's still a big deal in his mind.]

It sounds like you know a lot of interesting people.