Event Log: January, Return to Dorchacht

[faileas]

Event Log: January, Return to Dorchacht

I. A Tarnished Reality The teleporter to Dorchacht becomes operational by the 4th and the ambassadors return to their city with the first open, ceremonial operation of the device - along with any Mirrorbound who wish to join them, and Theodore Rosethorne and Sowilo, who make the trip as representatives of the Coven to ensure that all is well. Those who missed the first teleportation, never fear! Now that both waypoints are functional, Mirrorbound and others may travel freely between Aefenglom and Dorchacht at any point they choose to. Notably absent from the group, though - most of the Dorchacht refugees originally smuggled into Aefenglom. Only three or four are going back with the ambassadors, and they're primarily Witches. The rest have chosen to stay. Upon return to Dorchacht, it's obvious that some major changes have been made with the new regime. The sky is overcast, but it's merely fault of the weather at this time of year - the oppressive fog that used to hang over the Black City is gone, along with its effects on the natural lunar cycle. The auction blocks, damaged in the fires of the event the locals now call "The Rising", have been fully torn down, not a trace of them left to sully the streets. Where the triple stars of the Resistance used to be worn in secret, a majority of citizens now bear them openly (and in many cases, proudly) on pins and on clothing. In fact, any Witches who do not display the triple stars on their person somewhere, are generally regarded with suspicion, disgust, or fear unless they're recognized as Mirrorbound Witches - careful not to be mistaken for a Drummond sympathizer. The Monster citizens won't be outwardly cruel to any Witches, but will be somewhat fearful, hurrying their children along or crossing the street to get away. Recognizable Mirrorbound, those who were there during The Rising and before, are treated a bit like celebrities on the streets, though any Mirrorbound are given a warm welcome, albeit a little less warm for Witches. Storytellers share tales of how diplomats treating one another, Witches and Monsters alike, as equals so publicly and openly within Dorchacht gave them hope that such a life is attainable, or how a band of Mirrorbound snuck into the city under the cover of darkness and helped give their Resistance a leg up in the good fight against Drummond's extremists. Others share stories of being rescued from burning buildings or cruel Witches during The Rising by brave heroes. Many of these tales are shared in the form of song, as homage to those Mirrorbound who brought hopeful music to Dorchacht through the radio, which is still operational and playing a selection of music with a little more variety. Still a bit soft, their speakers and songs are, but as time passes, they grow a little more experimental, branching out from the lullabies that used to be played. Overall, the Black City is much less black these days, a little greener and brighter from the plants left by Mirrorbound before. Where the old Dorchacht could take your breath away with its feeling of barred oppression, many of those barricaded windows have been opened, reinforcements on the doors broken down. Though things are never perfect after a revolution, and it's clear that the work continues. Armed Resistance guards patrol the streets in trios, normally two Monsters and a Witch, to keep the peace. Their first priority is the protection of Monsters, many of whom still seem anxious and scared as they go about their days - not of the guards themselves, who they often greet with smiles, but of the Witches and humans they pass on the streets. In some cases, keeping the peace means breaking up fights between their own and those humans and Witches who do not want to accept Monsters as their equals, and in some cases it means putting Drummond sympathizers in their places with intimidation and force. While they do their best to keep skirmishes out of Mirrorbound sight, it's clear that despite the improvements, Dorchacht is still no utopia, and the road to a true peace is fraught with speedbumps. As noted, characters are free to travel between Aefenglom and Dorchacht by teleporter as often as they'd like! The waypoints will remain open even after this month and travel will be unrestricted; we will note if this situation changes in the future. Dorchacht quests are also now available ICly!

II. A Few Alterations a. The Coven Major changes are still underway. One of the biggest that Mirrorbound will notice is that the new administration of Dorchacht have moved the Coven. The old building is in a state of disrepair right now, doors and windows wide open, the interior stripped of trappings. The library has shed its books to somewhere else. The basement where so many horrors took place is abandoned. Instead, a sign has been erected outside it, stating that this center of Drummond's operations will be turned into a museum to remember their unpleasant history, and to memorialize those who lost their lives fighting for freedom. It's still a work in progress, and not high on the priority list when survival and care of the citizens have to take precedence, but inside, characters may still find small shrines set up in various places to Resistance members who died there. Instead, Dorchacht's new Coven is currently based inside an old manor located just a handful of blocks from the town square, and it's a much more informal affair. Magic lessons have continued with Resistance Witches, though the subject matter has changed instead. They experiment with different types of magic based on their own interests, but many are studying plant magic, medicine, and defensive spells that can be used out in the Wilde. Anything that will prove to be practical going forward. Lessons are also open to Monsters now, so they can see what their magical brethren are learning (and know that the compulsion and control spells that Morgana loved so much are no longer being taught). With the Coven being moved, visitors from Aefenglom are offered places to stay either within the manor of the new Coven, or in various empty houses around the city. Stay as long as you'd like, they say, and apologize that the accommodations aren't nicer - reconstruction is still obviously ongoing all over the city, repairing damages from The Rising and the fighting that happened afterward. They don't really have anywhere as nice as the rooms their ambassadors were given in Aefenglom. b. The Walls One of the biggest on-going projects in Dorchacht right now is removing the Monster control spells from the set of enchantments on their city walls. High on the list of priorities is making sure that Monsters can feel safe again, secure in their own minds and bodies. As the spells are made visible, particular sets of runes have to be ground down and smoothed over. A spell is either cast or provided to soften the stone temporarily, and then it's basically going at it with magitech-powered sanders created by Hilda. The particular runes that need to be gotten rid of will be provided on reference sheets - please don't touch the others, they chide! Those are to protect from the Cwyld, and are still very important. While help is welcomed with open arms and enthusiasm at most sections of the walls, those guards posted at one particular small district, guarded with trios of Resistance members at each entrance and warded with alarm magic to warn of escape, turn Mirrorbound away; these runes are being altered, not removed, to help contain unruly Drummond loyalists, they say. The people who now live in that guarded district are all human, whether they're Witches or no, and all refuse to bear the triple stars. "Troublemakers," the guards will explain grimly. "We have to contain them for now. It isn't a perfect solution, but they've hurt people, or tried to hurt people, since Drummond was run out of town." c. Bond Lessons Bonding is a bit of a tricky subject in the new Dorchacht. Many Monsters are afraid of the idea, as it was once used as one of the collars around their necks, but the Circle of Three recognize it as an important way to wean citizens off the lullabies and calming draughts that prevent going feral during full moons. As part of encouraging others to form Bonds, partnerships at the very least the way most Resistance members describe theirs, there are demonstrations and public seminars that pop up around Dorchacht on the regular. They may be as informal as a circle in what's going to be a park or as official-seeming as a talk held inside a shop or lecture hall, but they have one thing in common. Many of the citizens are keen on getting Mirrorbound in on it -- mostly by dragging them in, asking if they have a Bonded, and if they do, they tell the Mirrorbound to talk about their Bonded. They're interested in the ups and downs (but mostly ups) of having one in order to show that if the Mirrorbound are into it, you should be too! They accept all stories but prefer the happy ones - the aim is to encourage their Monster citizens and help them be less afraid of taking that step with Witches. And for those who aren't in a Bond, or decline to talk -- well, they get what amounts to a "flour sack baby" in the form of a Dorchacht citizen of the opposite role of their own (a Monster would receive a human/Witch, a Witch would receive a Monster) that they must hang with for a day, ensuring no harm comes to them, bound by one of the temporary Bonding potions so popular in the Wilders' ranks. (As a note, for the second option, you have free reign of the NPC; do the personalities you find fun, be they cooperative or mischievous, shy or loud, abrasive to your character or someone they can genuinely get along with. They are all willing - no one is being forced into this. No Fae or Dragons allowed for Monster NPCs, unfortunately, as they are still very much not about.)

III. Ahoy Mateys! With Dorchacht opening up again after the last few months of closed off internal fighting, plenty of trading ships' Captains are ready and raring to go build business relations with the new regime and find a new market for some of their wares. There has been increased interest in finding a shorter route to Dorchacht by sea - the teleporter is useful for small groups of people, sure, but it can't handle much cargo. The only problem? Ships are being turned back, barely halfway there, with significant damage to their hulls. Brave individuals looking for a seafaring adventure are asked to come aboard and help the crew navigate tumultuous waters, hopefully figuring out along the way what's causing the damage to previous ships. It's a three day trip to Dorchacht if the waters are kind, and characters can simply teleport back home once there. On board the various ships brave enough to return to the sea, Mirrorbound find the problem halfway through the trip: a colossal squid that's made it home at this point, thrashing ships that come too close to its den. While uninfected, it does have injuries on its body, which may be the source of its lashing out. The ships are able to bring themselves close enough for longer ranged attacks, and the Harpy on board are careful not to be captured by the churning waves caused by the thrashing, but there's others who want to seek a less violent mean to end this surf and turf conflict. Killing, healing, subduing, or relocating it are all valid options, but getting in close to do any of those will be difficult, as it has a tendency to ink up the waters around it and reduce visibility to nothing. Be careful of any creatures swimming around that are interested in the weakened squid as well, such as various carnivorous fish, sea-plants, and things that appear alike to Merrow, but rely only on instinct. The Merrow cannot be spoken to, nor are they infected; the Captains of the ships will explain that they're "wild", and refer to them as distant cousins to the Merrow that sparsely populate Aefenglom itself.

IV. Back At Home Back in Aefenglom, the stir caused by the Circle of Three's arrival takes time to calm. It's the talk of the town for days - many seem happy about Morgana Drummond's apparent demise. "Good for them," is the general sentiment in the residential areas more populated by Monsters and the Harbor District. They're glad to know that things are on the way up there. Others think this is a boon; should anything happen, now Aefenglom has an ally city to stand with them, one in their debt. Others still don't really care either way, and go about their lives as if nothing's happened. The refugees, in their neighborhoods on the far reaches of the Haven, seem happy to hear news from home and find The Dragon/Starlight/Fafnir freed, and while a few of them choose to return to Dorchacht, having never put down roots in Aefenglom, more still don't wish to leave the homes and families they've formed here, or the Mirrorbound who have helped them so much over the months. Some even doubt that things are as good as they say, and choose to remain for that reason - slavery and ill treatment from the upper class in Aefenglom instilled in them a sense of (well-earned) paranoia regarding the intentions of Witches, especially those back home. They hear that things have changed, but don't necessarily want to find out for themselves. Even still, the mood is upbeat, with a general consensus that if Morgana is really gone, that's at least a solid step in the right direction. In the Aristocratic District, though, the atmosphere is sour. The general sentiment is that they wish the refugees would have left with those ambassadors. The kinder ones think Aefenglom should focus on its own citizens - the people from the Outer City brought in to weather the blizzard have never left, after all, still living in the neighborhoods with the refugees. Those who are more vocally outspoken about the Mirrorbounds' presence in the city think they should have all left to Dorchacht. Let another city shoulder all the misfortune they bring with them! Many of the people grumbling about that are ones who were directly affected by the Mists back in October, either through temporary changes themselves or through being attacked by ferals. Some of the more hot-headed young people try to spread this message - through graffiti, on homes and businesses in the Haven and the refugees' district, though if caught, they're quick to run away and not willing to enter into a confrontation. The graffiti is wholly mundane and not particularly difficult to remove, just unpleasant, telling Mirrorbound and refugees alike to "go home" or "go back to Dorchacht", in so much colorful language. Seems there's still some work to do at home, as well.

Welcome to your establishing post for the current situation in Dorchacht! This log takes place through the entire month; characters can come and go as they please. As always, you can direct all your questions HERE. This month we're also putting up a City Tracker for PC actions, both in Aefenglom's plot later on and Dorchacht's log here. Let us know what your character is doing, good or bad! The cut-off for the tracker is February 3rd.

Comments

3

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede was of two minds about returning here--fittingly. The dream was horrid. The city in her waking memories was...boring. She had severe doubts that the city was really as changed as those ambassadors--people whose job it was to upsell such things--made it seem to be, yet the free and open travel between the cities made more of an impression on her than mere words.

The decision to return with Maria was, by contrast, a very simple one. The presence of someone else in her mind had so far been very...favorable, in more ways than just fending off the Monstrous hunger. Maria's thoughts had been calm and disciplined--at times, it was difficult to tell where Kaede's mind ended and Maria's began. Sometimes she didn't need to say anything to draw the Witch's attention to something, which Kaede appreciated. Though there had been some sparks of irritation and annoyance, but more or less at the same things Kaede would have been aggravated by. People wandering off and needing retrieval like errant ducklings, people disregarding basic instructions.

This was something else. This was not calm. This was not quiet.

This was spun from memory that wasn't her own, a shambling, charging, screaming horror that cut into her mind with the pressure of a bursting dam. Kaede staggered, wobbling on her feet as if she was the one struck, raising her claws to fend off whatever it was--

Claws. She had claws. She was here, not in that beast's domain, not in a memory she didn't recall--and there was an enemy here. Something more manageable, and something attacking Maria.]

Mar--

[A shake of her head, a futile attempt to clear the echoing screams from her mind. Why wasn't the Witch getting up?]

Maria!

[The Chimera lunged--no time to draw her swords. She slammed into the creature's side, claws latching on like a lion securing itself to prey. Kaede had no illusions that her weight alone would wrench it free--but a clawed hand dug into the back of the creature's neck to yank it back. The coarse mane defied her claws, but Kaede was nothing if not driven by stubborn determination.]

[whomthebelltolls]

[And Kaede is not Alex - she is not a gentle, soothing presence in Maria's mind; there is no gentle fall of water to wash away the blood from this source. In fact, half a world away, the connection with Alex feels distant, tinny, like listening to a sound on the breeze, but not being able to make out anything distinguishable about it. It makes her miss the connection, but she knows they can just... return whenever. Theoretically. And her mana is cycling just fine about the spirit, or body, or whatever it is that cycles mana, of the Monster that's actually here with her.

It was why she'd brought Kaede in the first place. In case this whole thing was just a trap. In case things were more dangerous than they'd been led to believe, and they needed to fight their way back out. So far, it had been unfounded, but that didn't mean the situation wasn't dangerous; the Wildes of Dorchacht were almost worse than Aefenglom.

Like the teeth in her shoulder. She growls in pain - the pain a sharp and sudden reminder that this isn't Ludwig. This isn't one of her Hunter companions from the early days, and if it was, this one bite would probably have taken her arm off wholesale. There's a flash of stripes and feathers and a voice she knows - something aggressive and stubborn that helps feedback into her own mind and shake her bleary mind: wake up, Maria.

The yanking just tugs against her skin, the teeth set into her clothes - it'll pull her over if she doesn't do anything, and she barely gets the chance to turn one of her daggers about, flipping it across her hand, and driving it deep into the gut of the creature on her.

That makes it scream, and its teeth release her shoulder - Kaede's strength helps rip it backward and off-balance and away.

Her arm is sore, but the bones feel intact - it'll just be a nasty bruise, she thinks, as she backs away, and grabs for the larger sword end of the Rakuyo to meet the next lunge.

It rages and throws itself against the walls, huge and monstrous and screaming, trying to escape, trying to kill, trying to die, trying to do anything, but achieving nothing because it is a Beast. It's not Ludwig; it is Ludwig, but in his most primal state. It has no real mind of its own.

And she's so, so sorry that things had to turn out that way. For all of them.

It may just be the guilt that's the worst thing.]

It comes again... trip it!

[long_live_the_queen]

[The horrific image in Kaede's mind flickered but didn't fade, the beast under her claws thrashing like the thing spun out of memory. But this one was smaller. Fewer...legs, that would have just kicked her right off its back. Much easier to deal with.

The Chimera met resistance, significant resistance dragging the creature back; the human head turned to snap at her, but on its stumpy neck it hadn't the range of motion to do so. Each pull dragged Maria with the creature--until she woke up, suddenly, her consciousness snapping back to her mind. The memory remained floating in the Bond, weighed down with guilt, but the taller Witch moved on her own now. The flayed monster rounded its back around the strike to its gut, unbalanced--and Kaede took full advantage, twisting and wrenching its equine head away from Maria.

Its constantly shifting bundles of muscle and lack of skin made even a taloned grip precarious--the Chimera's feet scrabbled off the creature's side and back, claws gouging long slashes as they tore free. The horse-monster's long neck reared back even further, dragged by the Chimera's grip and carrying her weight alone--the human head snapped again, tearing loose a mouthful of feathers. Kaede grimaced, but the pain registered as just a blip in her mind--Maria was talking, Maria was awake. Before she fell off entirely, before the creature could buck her off, Kaede slammed her talons into the side of the creature's back leg, crunching bone and straining tendon.

The beast screamed, toppling to its side as the Chimera touched down on solid ground again. Seeing her feathers in the thing's mouth made pain stab through her elbow again--and the pain made her angry. How dare this fucking thing.]

[whomthebelltolls]

[A horse's strength is mostly in its size and mobility, and in this case, Kaede's very quick reaction helps, as the strong Chimera kicks into the legs of the creature, sending it stumbling down.

There's something that flashes in the back of Maria's mind, skitters through the darkness of the Underground Corpse Pile and her memories of Ludwig, like a flash of lightning, scattering the thoughts. It's anger, and she doesn't care where it came from, it's more clarifying than the horror her mind is remembering.

It spurs her into action, but a split second afterward, and she lets the furor drive her onward. She leans her considerable size - and weight, though she is not overweight, dense muscle and a huge frame means her scale tops out a lot higher than it seems like it would - and pushes forward with a vicious slash into the belly of the beast. The Rakuyo cuts easily into the muscle, deep into the bowels, severing muscle and wavering a little only through the thicker ligaments and tendons, and only stops when it bites into the ribs and pauses half an inch buried into the cage. Then, Maria rips out and backward, and the creature squalls again, in rage, in pain, in vengeance, and she steps backward, but the "step" turns into ten feet as she flashes magic, and teleports well out of its range of motion as it flails back at her, and misses, stumbling between the gutting and the wounded leg. Her pants are soaked nicely in blood and viscera, but she doesn't seem to care.

Won't take much now.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[The images in Kaede's mind cleared, leaving blood and a screaming--but smaller--monster thrashing on the forest floor. Brutality was something she was familiar with, but in this sleepy world Kaede had allowed such memories to lapse. The sight of Maria's sword flashing bright silver one way, then stained red on the way out, the iron-stench of blood and spilt organs, the sound of flesh and bone tearing apart and the changing note of the beast's screams, twisting into an agonized shriek. It was repulsive. It was exciting. The deer wanted to flee, but the tiger and the maybe-human parts of her mind were drawn in like jackals to a kill.

The monster wasn't so much of a threat now--but it was still trying to get up, gather itself for one last charge. That wouldn't do. And with the Witch out of range--far out of range--Kaede could strike with impunity. The horse head was thrashing about too much, but the human head was a tempting, familiar target. The Chimera drew one of the curved short swords she carried with her, stepping back to avoid one of the creature's lashing hooves. It only took a moment of watching the beast's movements for her to lunge into action. She still knew how to make a head fly. Even if she needed to sever the spine with steel now.

The body kept moving, even after one head was severed. Kaede drew her arm to her shoulder again--but it proved unnecessary. She knew those spasms--the last motions of a dead thing. The Chimera lowered her sword and shook out her shoulders, glancing around the clearing as one waking from a daydream.]

I don't-- [whoa that sounded way too much like a gravelly growl. Let's try that again.] --I don't see any others, yet. [Much better.]

[whomthebelltolls]

[Maria's ready to strike, to behead the horse half if it so chooses to come up to her, but she holds her swords, and her grounds, while Kaede dispatches it. If that doesn't kill it, the disemboweling will, eventually.

Actually, now that she's thinking about it, they probably shouldn't let the body rot, where it could attract more predators. She steps closer, and only vaguely eyes Kaede at that tone of voice. It's not really surprising that it sounds like that... probably. The Beasts at home snarled, too.

They're not Beasts she reminds herself, even though the memory of Ludwig, Beastly and screaming, still feels like a scabbed picked open to bleed anew.] I'm going to burn the body, to ward off predators. Hopefully, that will keep things safer, this close to the city.

[There's a rustling of brush nearby, and while it sounds like a larger animal, it also sounds like an ungraceful one, which can only mean-] You can come out, now. We'll take care of the body, and then head back to the city.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede's ears flicked back when Maria looked at her like that, the Chimera's mouth settling into a mortified grimace. With two Bonds pulling her thoughts back into place, the blood-thirst quickly unraveled and faded to the recesses of her mind. She shook her head, to clear the last traces of it--and snapped it around at the rustling noise.

Whatever-it-was made a rather undignified but very human squeak of alarm when the Chimera stared at them. But, the would-be Wilder was made of sterner stuff. They swallowed, audibly, and emerged out of the undergrowth.

Kaede stared at him for a moment longer, and shook the blood off of her sword to sheathe it. The new human in the equation took that as permission to speak.]

"What--about the others, miss?" [The Wilder addressed Maria--then caught himself, and dipped his head to Kaede too.] "Those...beasts scattered the lot of us."

[whomthebelltolls]

[And as he appears, Maria assesses him, top to bottom. He doesn't seem to be injured - or at least not badly enough that he won't make the trek back to the city, just dirty, rattled, and concerned.

Once Maria is sure he's not going to keel over on them, she nods.] There are other Mirrorbound and people from your city out canvassing for the rest of you. [She looks back in the direction of Dorchacht - though they haven't gone too terribly far from the city, the tall walls are completely invisible for the thick overgrowth of the Wildes.] You need to be checked out, and it will be easier for us to return as a group than just send you on ahead. If the others are not back by the time we get to the city, I'll be glad to head back out for another expedition.

[She pauses, and eyes the slowly-growing pool of blood around the flayed horse creature, looks at the would-be Wilder, and then back to Kaede.] But first, let us pile the dead leaves atop this creature and clear the area to dirt, then burn this body.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede looked at the fledgling Wilder, too, but found nothing to conflict with Maria's assessment. He wasn't hurt, and wasn't going to hurt them. Safe to be ignored. He nodded, relieved to not be returning alone--the Chimera had already turned away.

She still had...questions, though. Later, when they had less of an audience. For now, dirtying her claws with earth instead of (s̷c̵r̴e̴a̸m̶i̷n̴g̷) beast blood would do just fine. The Chimera set about raking the torn roots and uprooted plants onto the monstrous corpse, digging through the dead leaves down to the dirt, like Maria said. The Wilder assisted after a moment--with a bundle of branches instead of his bare hands. Not everyone came equipped with their own shovels, and he...didn't particularly want to come anywhere close to that thing, even in a galactic sense.

After awhile, he piped up again, in a thin and nervous voice.]

"Are...things like that, they've always been here? Outside the walls?"

There are worse. [Something of an affirmative.] Cwyld likes putting eyes where there shouldn't be.

[The Wilder turned a bit green, managing a faint "Oh."]

[whomthebelltolls]

[Maria eyes their hapless ward, and motions him closer. It may be he's a little afraid of Kaede and Maria as well, but he seems emboldened by the motion and seems more enthused afterward.] There's a lot of things like this or worse in these places. You've probably heard of the Shades. Just wait until you have to fight one.

[Then it's not just screaming flayed horse monsters, it's screeching, rotting, shambling corpses of screaming flayed horse monsters that bleed magical ichor and are somehow even more aggressive

and contagious.

But Maria is quick to help scoop everything onto the horse, and once she's sure she's not going to burn the forest down to ward off predators, she motions to the rest of them. ] I think we'll be good here. Let us get this burning so it we can get back. I'd rather not end up with the sun going down and only one of this band found.