☆ Event Log: Snatched, Part One

[faileas]

Event Log: January, Snatched - Part One

I. The Fires (14th) Though it began this month with petty vandalism, before long, things escalate. On the evening of the 14th, when many are settling down for the night, fires blaze to life simultaneously all over the city, though they seem to cluster in places that Mirrorbound and refugees frequent. Homes, businesses, market stalls, the Barracks, the Residential Districts, they could pop up anywhere, but the worst of them seem to hit different locations within the Haven. The refugees stand to lose a lot in the fires, everything they've built up since arriving here at the end of September, and Mirrorbound stand to suffer damage to the homes or businesses they've built in Aefenglom. No doubt everyone is quick to catch on, but with so many locations burning at once, help is thin on the ground. As soon as they're alerted, the Coven sends out a call to all Witches, Merrow, water-based Dragons, anyone who can manipulate water or ice to help put out the fires across town before they can spread. With the city plan so tight and buildings so close together, it's a real worry. They'll accept all hands, even those with no particular water-based talents - anybody can carry buckets, after all. Bucket brigades made up of mostly Monsters form from the River Temese out to pass water to where it's needed most. Others with fire magic or resistances are asked to search the buildings still on fire for anyone still trapped inside. On the streets, more set up stations to treat burns and smoke inhalation, and to check people over for worse injuries. It takes a couple of hours to put out the last of the flames, but thanks to quick action, no lives are confirmed lost. The City Guard is present at the sites of the fires in the hours afterward, questioning witnesses and determining the sources with both magical and Monster-ability-based methods, but as the chaos calms down, it quickly becomes clear that 1. this is a case of purposeful arson, and 2. not all witnesses are present. Maybe it's your friend, or family member, or just an acquaintance you know you saw go into their house at the end of the day, but they're conspicuously absent from the crowds gathered on the streets. Those who are Bonded to a missing person feel it first, though - a horrible sensation like a pillow over the face or a tightening in the chest, smothering their Bond to barely anything, except the very rare flicker of something, a tiny spark lost to the darkness as soon as it's felt. The sudden absence of them is like a case of phantom limb, something that should be there suddenly isn't, but yet it isn't quite an annullment or breaking of the Bond. It's still there, just muted and tamped down. It feels a little different for everyone, maybe painful or maybe just uncomfortable, or maybe, in the cases of new or less-close Bonds, it simply feels as if it never existed. Regardless, those Bonded can't be found through Bonds. It's like those loved ones have vanished, without a trace. The City Guard and Coven representatives alike will seek to make a comprehensive list of all who have gone missing, but Mirrorbound cooperation will be needed for that; they would know better than anyone, because the missing ones are all Mirrorbound or refugees.

II. The Lost Souls (14th - 20th) CW: Torture, captivity, restraints. You were spirited away in the middle of the night. Maybe you were out, or maybe you were safe in your own home, but either way, someone managed to get the drop on you. Upon waking, everything is fuzzy, until clarity returns suddenly and violently. It's possible to remember a struggle, an enchanted darkness that might have enveloped you, maybe even a glimpse of the face of the human or Witch who grabbed you, but now you're stuck in a small, stone cell, the only entrance covered in shiny new bars thick enough to hold back a rampaging Dragon. The hall beyond is also stone and dimly lit by sparse magitech lights and the soft, runic glow of spells drawn on the walls and floors. There are more cells like yours, filled with more Monsters and Witches like you. What's worse, maybe you're alone, or maybe another poor soul is trapped with you - the space isn't exactly large enough for two, but the comfort might be nice. Witches will find their magic restrained, tamped down with a spell similar to the Coven's punishment for lawbreaking. Monsters' restraints are more traditional - muzzles, chains, manacles, and particular weaknesses that differ from Monster type to Monster type, such as silver or iron, water, or the lack of water. Even if, by some small mercy, a person finds themselves with their hands free, all of the captives' Watches have been taken, along with most other belongings on them. The uncertainty of your new location doesn't last for long. It's only a matter of time before people pass through the cellblock in pairs or trios, talking to each other and ignoring the captives behind bars, checking up on the spells that line the room. Those with keen memories will realize - these are not the same people who took them in the first place. All are human, and they all share a familial resemblance - black hair, violet eyes, pointed noses, and unpleasant sneers. Over time, with observation (and what else are you going to do, while you wait for the worst?), maybe frequenters of the Coven will pick out a familiar face, a haughty, unpopular Witch named Constance Rathmore who refuses to associate with Mirrorbound in classes, or those familiar with the law might pick out a mid-ranked member of the City Guard named Godfrey Rathmore, who perhaps looks the other way when refugees are harassed. As the hours tick by, it becomes obvious that there are maybe 22 of the Rathmore family, the only ones with access to this corridor. Other voices, maybe familiar from the kidnapping, can be heard outside the main doors at times, but they never enter, and seem none the wiser as to what is actually happening. a. The Torments And what is happening? Something sinister. It's usually a different set of family members, a pair of cousins, the daughter or the son, occasionally even the matriarch and her son and daughter-in-law (who may be recognized as long-time members of Parliament). Their methods and motivations may be a bit different, but they share one thing - innate cruelty, and a hatred for those they see as a plague on Aefenglom, those harbingers of unwanted change. Sometimes they inflict pain on captives right there through the bars of the cells, with nasty spells or physical instruments, but more often, they choose a victim or two to remove from their cell, still in restraints, to take down the hall, through the heavy door at the opposite end from the entrance. The wide room at the end is a place of horrors: instruments of torture lining tables, heavy restraints, and glass jars to receive any bits or blood they might separate from the original owners, to sell on the black market. The runes on the walls and floor in this room are different as well - this is advanced, forbidden magic, practiced by the daughter Constance on brand new test subjects. When the family members have grown bored or tired themselves out, they return their current playthings to a cell - not always the same cell with the same cellmate, not always with the same restraints, but every time they ensure that it will be difficult to escape or fight back. b. The Whispers While the Rathmores do not often speak directly to captives, they speak to each other quite a bit, as do the others who occasionally pass outside the heavy door at the entrance and simply seem to serve as watchmen outside the corridor. It's easy to get snippets of conversation between the horrors. What else are you going to do, besides wait, and listen, and plot your escape? "Shame about Uncle Rodolphus. Scarred by the mist, his Black Market business raided." "None of it would have happened if they hadn't provoked Dorchacht. It was Drummond's Witch in our city who unleashed that awful gas, as retribution for what they did over there..." "...-Destabilizing a whole city like that, and there are only a hundred of them give or take. Imagine what they'll do to Aefenglom if we don't stop it." "They'll all want to leave after this, surely. We'll go for another batch in a couple of weeks, once Godfrey convinces the Guard to stop looking." "Good. Maybe Dorchacht will take them. Them and their brutal revolutionaries..." "...-Father thinks we can control them if he manages to get in touch with his contact in Dorchacht. They had that spell, you know? Like the collars, but better. Maybe then we can sell them off, make some money back to cover our losses..." "...-All this pushing for equality. The whole economy will collapse. Everyone has their place in a functioning society, right, sister?"... "...-heard from Mr. Rathmore himself they're doing magic in there. A spell to send the Mirrorbound home, and the refugees along with them." "Then why did we have to grab them like that? You'd think they'd want to leave." "The Coven wants them here, obviously. It's a power-play, there's no way they'd allow Mr. Rathmore to do this..." "...-I don't know about this, the Rathmores always seemed a little extreme-..." As a reminder: while this prompt contains a general content warning for torture, please make sure to leave decently specific content warnings in your headers for anything that may be uncomfortable for other players to stumble across. The level of torture experienced by each character is up to the individual players - please respect each other's limits!

III. The Ones Left Behind (14th - 20th) Meanwhile, out in the city, the atmosphere is a new kind of tense. The papers pick up the story pretty quickly, so before long, it seems that everyone knows about it. In the days since the fires, repairs seem to be on the backburner; the remaining refugees especially worry for their missing friends and loved ones, and the missing Mirrorbound. The graffiti stops entirely, as do nasty comments in the streets. The upper-class, when they come into contact with the remaining Mirrorbound, cannot meet their eyes, or even react with genuine sympathy, a rare few even saying in hushed murmurs that they hope they find their people. Vandalizing their property is one thing, it seems, but people simply vanishing, Bonds being smothered... that's another. Even if they don't worry for the Mirrorbound, they worry for their own safety in Aefenglom now. On the other hand, residents of the Western Residential District, primarily Monsters but including a fair few humans as well, stop by the Haven more often, bringing food and kind words, and asking after the disappearances with real concern. The City Guard is an increased presence on the streets, trying to track down witnesses who may have information, but without warrants, their hands are tied in a lot of cases. Some Mirrorbound are asked quietly by the Lead Investigator if they wouldn't mind looking into some of the sources of the fires, and trying to track down anyone who might have seen something - they can operate a little more loosely, not being bound by the same bureaucracy as the Guard. They're promised Guard and Coven cooperation and support in this. The demand for artists increases in the days after the abduction. Many of the refugees especially will seek out anyone who can draw to help them create fliers about the missing people to post around town, to raise awareness. Maybe they want to make posters of another refugee, or maybe they want posters made of particular Mirrorbound faces who helped them in the past. They're distressed, but they're pulling together as a community - and it's clear they consider all the Mirrorbound a part of it, judging from how they'll try to pull anyone in to their efforts to put the 'missing' posters up around the city. The Coven, too, is in a flurry of worry, second only to the refugees, who are missing some of their own as well. Many of the regular classes are disrupted and become impromptu Divining sessions, circles of Witches holding hands and chanting in rooms filled with incense smoke, making concentrated efforts to determine the location of their missing fellows. After all, many Mirrorbound are their classmates, and they want to see them returned safely. Anyone passing through the Coven may get pulled into one of these sessions - Witches to lend their magic to the circle, Monsters who know any of the missing to act as foci. Unfortunately, nothing concrete turns up in the fleeting visions they do get, and the backlash is immense, resulting in splitting migraines. It's magical interference for sure. Luckily, Miss Aerianna, the middle-aged Arachne caretaker to the Dreamers (who, she'll say, are currently unreachable - they're trying to suss out the missing Mirrorbound as well), is well-versed with Divination headaches, and is around distributing her supposed cure-all, which smells like swamp-water and tastes twice as bad. At least it works on the headaches. While the part of the city who wanted to see the Mirrorbound gone have quieted down some, the part of the city that welcomes them has grown louder, providing what support they can to try to find those lost souls who have vanished. The investigation briefs will be posted under location-specific headers down below! Feel free to thread underneath them with others investigating the same area, or collaborate with other teams to share information. We decided to go ahead and allow for everyone who signed up to investigate whichever area they're interested in rather than splitting characters into mod-decided teams, but we encourage working together!

Welcome to Part One of January's event, Snatched! The sign-ups thread is here - it's not too late to get involved. Only the kidnapped characters who will escape on the evening of the 20th is closed out to new sign-ups. Headers for the investigations are here. Part Two of this event will be posted on the 21st and will include the escape, rescue and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

And a note for all! If your character does anything significant during Part 1 or Part 2, we want to hear about it on the city tracker! Make sure your submissions are in by Feb. 3rd, because a special aftermath post will go up on the 4th.

Comments

[selfishwish]

I'm still learning how, quit being a jerk!

[He's in no mood for your sass, Viren! This is all very serious. His sass is still allowed, though; it's part of his process.

For now, he sticks the lockpick into an inner pocket on the jacket he's wearing, then stands up and brushes himself off, stepping just inside.]

Nobody's seen the guy who lives here since before the fires, either, soo...maybe he's in danger, too? I'm just going to look around for a minute.

[Totally condone-able! He absolutely doesn't sound like he believes that, but it makes sense, right? And if they don't find anything, then they don't even have to tell the City Watch that they went inside...!]

[bloodwit]

Or, he would be on the run. [...] It is a convenient time to go missing.

[ but he's agreeable in that: the eastern district held promise for a few reasons. there had been a reason, the first they met, that viren had been interested in exploring some of the boats. or breaking and entering, as required.

he quietly slips inside afterward. if it's the cellar they've found themselves in, it's likely also rather dark - it will take his eyes a moment to adjust. ]

[selfishwish]

Maybe. It'd be kinda dumb for them to go missing all at once, if they were just doing bad stuff together, right...?

[His criminal conspiracy background is pretty thin, but that seems like a tell! Although, it's not much better if they're just in hiding or silenced, for their purposes...

He shrugs, carefully slipping the door shut. Predictably, that leaves the cellar close to pitch black.]

Oops. We prob'ly need a lantern--umm, one sec--

[Beside Viren, he crouches down, moving almost on all fours. His eyes haven't changed enough that he can really see in the dark, but pawing and sniffing like this doesn't feel that unnatural right now. Plus, it guarantees he won't just trip over anything in his path.

Poking around in the dark is still pretty creepy, though!]

Let me find the stairs up...

[bloodwit]

[ viren's been here long enough that the boy proceeding to crouch to all fours and snuffle about doesn't arouse any bafflement; hell, if he were more reflective, maybe would be baffled that it ... doesn't. funny, how this place acclimatizes people to the otherwise odd.

anyway, he's pleased to have a solution to this. momiji might hear the noise of rummaging. from a pouch, he pulls out a stout, reddish candle; there's a puff of flame in the darkness as his breath ignites it. although it's of a petite (travel-sized!) proportion, the candle's glow softly lights their immediate surroundings. ]

[ he holds it out for momiji to accept. ]

Here.

[ he would draw another of his own out (it's a dark mage thing, having candles around for. reasons) - but for now, he'll conserve the supply. ]

[selfishwish]

[Oh, well, okay. That's a slightly more convenient (and cooler) solution.

Momiji scampers back to Viren's side, straightening up to accept the candle. Its light is enough to show a well-apportioned but unremarkable cellar: They're posed near a rack of wine-bottles, and much of the rest of the cellar-space appears to be occupied by a few resting ale-casks and some older furniture. It's organized but all very dusty.]

Thanks. I don't hear anybody upstairs, I think-- [Though he listens hard, all the same, creeping around towards the stairs up to the house's first floor. He's not sure exactly what to be looking for, beyond a bunch of Mirrorbound chained up in the corners, so probably they should see if anyone's home first...?

He creeps up the stairs and checks the door, finding it unlocked, before pulling it open.]

If anyone jumps out at us, you can fire-breath them, okay...?

[This is a responsible plan.]

[bloodwit]

That I would prefer to leave as a second option.

[ buuut still an option. ]

[ viren removes a handkerchief from the pouch, then, buckling the pocket back together. he will take just a moment to look at these wines, removing one with the handkerchief in hold and blowing on its label, likely having to light his mouth again to see what it reads.

but, replacing it, apparently the bottle isn't alluring enough of that he thinks to pilfer it immediately. it's cumbersome. trying not to dawdle too much more, he climbs the stairs to join momiji.

and keeping his voice low, taking a peek around the door, ]

You've the ability to change form, yet?

[ —he hasn't an issue with going ahead, regardless; he will, if the puca doesn't move to do so first. ]

[selfishwish]

Just if they look scary, I mean!

[But for now he just nods, waiting for Viren to follow him up the stairs, then leaning out from behind him to steal his own glance out into the hallway. The house is silent, so far as his big ears can tell, though obviously well-tended. Which by itself is suspicious, right? This place isn't as extravagant as some of the homes in the Aristocratic District, but it plainly still belongs to some low-level nobleman or a very well-off member of the commercial class, at worst. Shouldn't there be maids or a butler or something hanging around, even if the boss is away?]

Uh-huh--

[He nods up at Viren at that question, and then immediately takes in a deep breath. For a second, he looks like he's trying to physically puff himself up--and, then, it's Viren's own face staring back at him, with an uncharacteristically bright-eyed expression.

It is theoretically possible that he's mostly practiced this power by imitating people he knows when they're not around.]

Do you think I should change into something sneaky to look around?

[He says, before poofing unceremoniously back into a pint-sized rabbit-kid. He can't resist showing off, but Viren's a little too big compared to him to hold for long!]

[bloodwit]

Momiji—

[ wow jesus that was a loud exclamation. hopefully the house is truly empty. but viren did not, even if perhaps he should have, expect to see him staring back at himself with a comparatively youthful expression. ]

[ pucas have too much power... is his conclusion. ]

[ he's bristled, glowering down at the boy. ]

Yes, change into something sneakier! [ with abruptness in just getting that answer out of the way. more darkly, ] And I hope you wouldn't use my guise for nefarious purposes.

[selfishwish]

Mm, I don't have any nefarious purposes! All my purposes are extra nice.

[The boy beams innocently up at Viren for a second. Even in these dark times, he can still savor getting that much of a reaction out of him.

But: Fine. Sneakier! "Rabbit" is the obvious choice for keeping himself small and out of sight, but he's not sure it really qualifies as stealthy? At least indoors. So, instead, there's another moment of steeling himself, closing his eyes tight--

And then there's a black cat, just shy of full-grown, curling itself around behind one of Viren's feet.]

I'll take a look, hold on!

[His voice is strangely unchanged like this, as he slinks himself out into the hall and immediately ducks into a study a short ways down. A quick circuit of the rooms on the floor finds no one lurking, at least not that his ears or nose detect--until, finally, a meow sounds from the hall's far end. Coast's clear!]

[bloodwit]

[ viren presses x to doubt ]

[ he watches as the little cat darts off, resisting heaving a sigh. and then he listens, pointed ears pricked, for an update. it's not long before the signal's received, and he finally lets out a breath. ]

[ he steps towards the source of the meow, glancing about the area; while he's keeping attentive for any mysteriously alluring artifacts, he hasn't forgotten their alleged purpose in searching for clues. ]

[ he stops just short, halting at the study. he peers over a stack of books, turning his attention to a desk. ]

Come here. Maybe there's something worthwhile in these papers.

[selfishwish]

[A skitter of claws across the floorboards follows immediately upon that request, and soon the cat rounds the corner, scampering straight for the desk and leaping atop it.]

Do you think? Everything down here smells empty--you can tell people live here, but they're all leftover smells. Like they all went on vacation.

I can't tell for how long, though.

[He advises, and then, since that sort of moots the point of sneaking, there's a boy seated back on the edge of the desk, feet kicking at his front at he peers at the books along a shelf above its surface.]

Maybe there're letters that say where they went...?

[bloodwit]

Perhaps. Some sort of correspondences. Notes. Names or an address...

[ he blinks as the cat disappears and the boy reappears. "like they all went on vacation" has him assuming momiji didn't note any immediate signs of struggle. he begins shuffling through, glancing over papers with practiced speed. when he's gone through one stack, he'll yank out a drawer, even, perusing through its contents.

that drawer doesn't hide anything particularly fun: quills and ink, some clips, a giant wad of dry rubberbands. there's a frown of disappointment. ]

The lattermost may be too much to hope for, though.

[selfishwish]

Right! They had to leave something.

[Momiji declares with a confidence that is 100% forced at this point.

Maybe all of the bad guys have been holed up at their evil lair for weeks now, after all. If he was going to commit a whole bunch of arson and kidnappings, he's pretty sure he wouldn't take his work on it home with him! And he usually couldn't even filch extra snacks from the main Sohma house back home without getting caught, so it's not like that insight required a criminal mastermind.

Still, they're already here, so they may as well look, huh? So, he hops down off the desk to pull open one of the bottom drawers along its side. It's mostly not any more exciting: Blank paper and envelopes, some folded letters that on inspection prove to be invoices for mundane, household deliveries...

But then there's a notebook, what looks like a day-planner, pushed to the back. Momiji pulls it out, plopping it atop the desk and flipping it open.]

It doesn't look like this guy wrote much. This just has a few lunch-dates and stuff for the past few months...

[He sighs, disappointed, as he thumbs through the entries. Maybe there's an elaborate code to this guy's occasional socializing with fancy people, but at first glance none of the other names look familiar.

Then, however, he flips to the very back cover--and a torn half of an envelope slides out onto the desk's surface, bone white save for looping script setting out a Haven address.]

[bloodwit]

[ viren's eyes light up as the bit of envelope drops from planner; it's just covert enough of an item, apparently, that he thinks it promising. abandoning the heavy textbook he'd been shuffling through, he reaches to snatch it from where it'd fallen. he squints to parse the looping script.

he gives the envelope an experimental shake to see if anything more falls from it. but then he holds it closer so momiji can see, examining its address. ]

What do you think? [ he does know a single address may be a lot to place hope in (he doesn't recognize it as being the location of some street cafe, anyway), but his tone likely betrays him regardless: ] Promising...?