Player Plot: The Salvation of Geardagas, Part 1

[faileas]

Event Log: January, The Salvation of Geardagas: Part 1

The Evergreen Circle Something is happening in Aefenglom. A rash of disappearances has finally caught the attention of the authorities, but only thanks to a strange twist: a handful of the missing individuals are starting to turn up again, and not as they should be. It began with a harpy. After a week of nothing she returned, fully transformed into a Shade and too far gone to save. The same happened with a trader the next day. And the next with a witch. All three were infected, albeit to varying degrees, and only one of them was able to be brought back from the brink. Naturally, this is a huge cause for concern. There's little sign that the Bright Wall is damaged and none of the victims were known to have left the city. Questioning the survivor, Owain, doesn't produce any leads either as he can't remember anything before his disappearance. It's only after he's had some time to recover that he notices something off. As the blackening of the Cwyld fades, a small tattoo on his palm that wasn't there before becomes visible. To the concern of the Coven, it's a symbol that's familiar to them as the emblem of a rising spiritual movement favoured by the wealthy called the Evergreen Circle, led by a witch called Cillian Alder. Their purpose, he claims, is to provide hope through interrogating the Cwyld from a scholarly and philosophical perspective. In spite of this, Alder has developed more of a cult-like following than anything. Mirrorbound of standing (business owners, members of parliament, public figures, etc) might have already received one of their pamphlets. Naturally, it's an incredibly sensitive subject. The Evergreen Circle has been entirely peaceful up until now, and with such influential and powerful figures among its numbers, the Coven is reluctant to make any outright accusations. Instead, the task of investigating them has been covertly passed to the Mirrorbound. As outsiders, they stand less of a chance of causing political unrest. However, they explicitly warn against taking any hostile actions for the time being: this is an information-gathering request, nothing more. They can provide basic information about the Evergreen Circle meetings but that's about it. a. Preaching to the Choir (Every Friday Evening, Mid-Ieneuer to Early Feoveuer) Cillian Alder Art by Rachel The hall is buzzing. Though there aren't even enough people here to fill the place, everyone seems to be bubbling with excitement, exchanging loud greetings and introductions. They're particularly friendly to newcomers and are quick to offer up their experiences with the group: "Cillian is a truly free thinker!" "I haven't felt so positive about our future for a long time." "There’s a real sense of hope and community here in the Circle." The meeting convenes at 8 o’clock sharp and silence descends upon the room as a figure takes the stage. With his commanding presence and charismatic smile there's no doubt about who this is: Cillian Alder. A man in his late fifties with greying hair, he speaks with an accent crisp as cut glass and a strong voice, no doubt amplified by some kind of spell to reach around the room. He's hypnotising, those cool blue eyes of his impossible to look away from and piercing in their intensity. "How wonderful to see you all tonight, both familiar and unfamiliar faces alike! You are all welcome. I have only one request." He brings his hands together with a smile. "That you keep your hearts open. How else might our minds grow Evergreen?" Alder's speech is nothing if not passionate. He paces and proselytises, responding to the audience's interruptions and cheers with enormous enthusiasm. Throughout, his message is clear. "Who are we to immediately decry the Cwyld as a curse? Fear of the unknown, of what we have yet to control, can only hold us back! We must instead seek to understand it and be at peace with its presence! This is a test of our conviction! Our will to survive!" It goes on for the better part of an hour and, afterwards, he descends into the audience to receive their praise and questions with the gracious smile of a beloved king. He might even turn that magnanimous presence on you, affording you a few crucial moments of conversation (limited to 2 RNG characters). Will you stick around to find out more or try and slip backstage while everyone is distracted? For such a warm, welcoming atmosphere, there seems to be a lot of security around the doors leading back there so it might take some quick thinking to get through without conflict. Those who are caught will have to face the consequences, but the results might be… unfavorable. b. Spirited Away (late-Ieneuer to mid Feoveuer) Those less inclined to subterfuge won't have any problems finding trouble to get into either. As the month goes on, more and more people disappear, and that might even include Mirrorbound. Whether you're intercepting a kidnapping or fighting off your own, you're more likely to get caught up in it the longer the month goes on. It's easy enough to fight off the attackers but nigh impossible to actually catch or identify one: each is dressed in black and smells of the tell-tale decay of the Cwyld. But even assuming you do manage to apprehend one, they will refuse to talk in anything but vague, confusing comments about salvation and new beginnings. c. Cast Out (mid-Ieneuer to early Feoveuer) Likewise, the number of locals who have been abducted and released continues to rise. The victims, anywhere from badly infected to fully transformed into Shades, require subduing, healing and, in the most dire of circumstances, permanently dealt with before they can hurt anyone. Without exception, they're aggressive, reacting violently to attempts to heal as well as harm them and there are no discernable patterns when it comes to victims. However, the eagle-eyed might spot the Evergreen Circle's symbol on some of their palms if they're not too heavily corrupted.

[ ooc: More information about the event can be found on the plotting post along with comments for questions, and RNG sign-ups for directly interacting with Alder! ]

Comments

[yesdoubt]

[Momo really isn't too fussed about people being restrained, because honestly, he's half banking on none of these people getting loose and deciding to go back to the cult. He imagines he can make a good enough excuse for why he's curing people when they're this far along rather than the lower-tier infections that some of the cultists like to nurse, but he'd rather not have to.

That said, he'd assume a lot of these people are from outside the ranks, so maybe he doesn't have to worry quite so much about that.

He recognises Vex after a moment or two, and nods in greeting as he leads them towards an open bed, ready to take the legs when necessary so they can be laid down.]

I hate to say it, but that's better shape than a few we've gotten in today...being able to communicate in words at all is almost a reassurance. [He's keeping his tone fairly upbeat, but it's in a tempered kind of way - there's only so bright you can be in a situation like this without it sounding fake, and he can only fake it so hard when he's so pissed at the cult for doing all this.] Have there been many coming from that area? I might have to warn my darling if the harbour is a hotspot, it's not hard for a merrow to find their way out there.

so dw ate the reply for this and i didn't see until now :| i'm terribly sorry!!

[moneytwin]

[ Cults have a way of sticking their hooks in you and reeling you back in, willingly or otherwise. But for the moment, the safety of everyone around someone so infected is paramount above all else, and there's some careful adjustments made as the poor merrow is laid out. ]

A couple. I wouldn't even wager its a trickle right now. But that could change. [and could signify a pattern, if they're working different parts of the city in a particular order..?] The harbour master was already hollering for someone 'up the hill' to come on down and inspect in case of contamination, but I didn't see much of it myself.

Besides, [Vex's frown is audible behind her mask] I think they were dumped in the water, rather than held in it. They have signs of dehydration.

that's ok! smacks dw with a rolled up newspaper

[yesdoubt]

[That's somewhat reassuring, but Momo's line of thought runs similarly to the fact that they could be moving in a pattern, and the fact that the harbour isn't a danger zone now doesn't mean it might not become one. It's not like unpleasant things don't end up in those waters every so often anyway.

He nods in agreement at the notion they were probably dumped, leaning in to double-check the merrow's condition and where their infection is worst so he can decide how to begin. There's definitely at least one limb in bad enough condition that he's probably going to need the magical tourniquet style method, and he responds while heading to one side to grab a cloth to use for it.]

Keeping them in water would complicate things a lot, especially since merrow get stronger in it. It'd potentially make it easier for them to escape, definitely not worth the risk. I was just hoping none of them were grabbed from the area, but considering most of the cult seems to be human I don't think they'd want to go toe-to-toe with a merrow if it was actually in water.

[Good way to end up dead. Laying the cloth out on a side table, Momo grabs some fine chalk and starts drawing a set of runes.]