☆ 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

slides on in here!!!

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr has likewise been quieter than his cheerful, curious wont, content to simply ... sit, and wait, and silently pray on behalf of those who'd been kidnapped, rather than initiate any conversation himself. Something of a measure of where he's gotten to with Viren that he doesn't at all mind the Dragon's company for companionable(?) silence.

Everett's eventual arrival leavens the gloom a measure; Myr even manages a smile as the other Faun settles beside him.] H'lo, dearheart. Productive meeting?

[He, of course, knows--in a foggy, inexact way--what Everett had been up to, but it's far from gentlemanly to tell on one's Bonded that way. He'll leave that up to Everett to report or not.]

[rollfordiplomacy]

[Everett does really give away much, he likes to pretend he's utmostly discreet in all his affairs. This just gets a quick acknowledgement and an even quicker wink to Viren. Which could easily be misconstrued as his usual flirty demeanor]

Most productive! In fact, this location is the first of my leads. [he leans in a bit closer, speaking in more hushed tones]

I've heard tell of a certain regular here. An ex-sailor whom make have done some suspicious deliveries as of recent. Tools and supplies that might lead us to our quarry.

[bloodwit]

[ viren, indeed, does interpret it to be everett's typical flirty behavior. the explanation to follow, however, has him pleased in his presumption. he leaned forward, less conscious in doing so, though denoting his interest in what's to be revealed. ]

There are plenty of sailors and ex-sailors here.

[ he remarks, giving a glance around the joint. ]

I hope you were able to get a description?

[rollfordiplomacy]

Unfortunately, his looks match half the men present as it is. Apparently, his voice is more distinct of him. I was told to listen for a nasally, raspy tone with a higher pitch than one might expect of a robust sailor. He is want to complain and grieve his misfortunes to any who will listen. [Everett' drums the table once his with fingers]

Especially! I am told, to those willing to ply him with a free drink. I am going to set up a tab with the bartender and have him send any man with such a description our way. Should he be so noticed. We should all keep our pretty, long ears out for ourselves. [he'll push the suitcase along the floor to Myr, just playing a mild bit of footsies with him before standing]

I'll be back swiftly. We'll need a modest round for ourselves to blend in. [which is great because he could use a whiskey. Everett will swear they're not going to get smashed. This won't turn into another masquerade evening. Fun though it was, there are much too serious of stakes at hand!]

[faithlikeaseed]

[A description of their target's voice, thank the Maker for small miracles. Myr's interest piques visibly at that (and the compliment to his ears).]

We might get lucky early, [he remarks.] There was someone sounding not far off that in the room not too long ago. [Whether it was their target remains to be seen, but!

Let it also not be said that Myr is ever averse to a game of hoovsies with his Bonded, even if the dire situation require it be largely perfunctory.

Though he will keep a hoof on the suitcase for safekeeping, too.

...And to Viren,] All our pretty long ears?

[bloodwit]

[ higher-pitched, raspy, nasally.. viren almost pities the man for what must be quite the grating sound. everett, alas, does earn a suspicious look for the drink announcement (fauns, after all) - but he nods, obliging in the intent. ]

[ and myr, regrettably on viren's part, can't see the glance he shoots his way. he look forward again, accompanied with a sigh, ]

Yes, Myrobalan. I will keep an ear out.

[ a purposefully ambiguous affirmation, that! ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

[Everett is to the bar and back quickly. Rather than whiskey, he decided to buy a bottle of wine for the table, returning with that and three glasses in hand. Easy enough to share at their leisure between them and nothing too wild. The tender happy to open a couple drinks worth of a tab for a man meeting such a description.

He'll uncork that and pour them each something to drink, before sitting again.]

All set. Hopefully, all we need now is patience. [he notes Viren's particularly haggard expression, he'll just. Top the man off a bit more. There we go.]

Still down from the cold weather, my lord? That should warm you up.

[faithlikeaseed]

Hmm, [is all Myr's got to say to that ambiguous response. Much as he can be motivated to be an absolute brat now and again, his heart's not in it--nor's it kind to Viren.

He feels for his wine once Everett's finished pouring, caging his fingers around the cup.]

We could sweet-talk Caster into giving him a statue of his own, dearheart, if that's the trouble. [Ever the helper.

Ever, also, sensitive to the idea this might be a different sort of trouble that doesn't want prying into. Did Viren have Bonds? Was one of them kidnapped? ...Damn. He should've asked.]

[bloodwit]

[ viren's shoulders tense at the mention of his demeanor; ah, much as he tried (a right poor attempt, possibly, espeically with individuals as empathetic as these two) to conceal don't feel, it hadn't gone missed. ]

[ slowly, as if exploring each syllable, ]

It ... would be the cold weather, yes.

[ he takes his glass, careful in balancing it so that wine doesn't spill over its edge. he takes an appeasing drink so it's more manageable, settling it back down. ]

But it's nothing I would let affect our search, of course.

[rollfordiplomacy]

Something must truly be amiss, you're usually much better at- excuses.

[He almost said lying, but that felt overly harsh and accusatory. It's a call out rooted in caring! He's not used to Viren looking so... distracted? He's a very focused man, after all.]

I would never doubt your capabilities, Viren. It's merely a concerned inquiry of your well being. Our ears are open to you, as well.

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr lifts his cup in salute to Everett's words. With his Bonded--who's more of an, ahem, rapport with the Dragon--leading the charge, he's more than glad to follow.]

The search is important, no mistake, but so're you, messere. And we may have some time to wait--so if there's something burdening you, best to set it down now.

[GET CARED ABOUT, VIREN]

[bloodwit]

[ viren stares into the deep red of his wine several seconds, consciously resisting another sigh that would likely add weight to their points. it's something to feel gratitude for, he knows, having these sort of friends. so he loosens his hold on his glass, allowing the hand to settle on the table. ]

[ it must look silly, to complain of his hardships, when there are people missing en masse, but he presses on, ]

I believe... both of my housemates have disappeared, recently. [ the house is -- burnt, a mess. they both know of the fires that have plagued aefenglom, so he won't explore that. ] People disappear to their home worlds, what feels like everyday -- though I didn't realize I valued their company as much as I did.

[ frankly. even lightning, a thorn in his side though she was. he's yet to experience the bond would disappear in a few days. and adding harrow's birthday to his list of grievances seems ... trivializing. now frustration bleeds into his tone, because yes, much of his sadness is a fallout from anger, ]

I saw my son in that shared dreamscape that occasionally affects us Mirrorbound. He's turned against me, but I cannot tell you why.

[ he finishes, then, on a point they all know: ]

Ieneuer has just been a ... trying month.

[rollfordiplomacy]

[.... whelp, that was a lot more than Everett expected. He doesn't balk, however, always having an attentive manner towards other's woes. It's never easy to know what to say, what might help or comfort someone in their need, but Everett's a genuine man. That's usually all he needs to be]

Trying would be saying the least of it, my lord. You're finely composed under so much stress, I do say. [Some flattery tends to put Viren at ease, Everett's not frivolous with it, keeping it to a kind reserve]

If any have gone missing in to the abductions, we'll surely discover them. For those who have made their way home, I hope they are safe.

[Viren's son, though, that's... a whole other matter.]

... I don't believe you've mentioned your son much to me, Viren. If he was being uncharacteristic, perhaps it was a trick of the dreamscape?

[faithlikeaseed]

[...That's also a lot more than Myr expected, but much like his Bonded he's not about to turn aside from anyone in need--let alone a friend. He makes an empathetic noise to underscore Everett's words, adding to them quietly,]

If this were back home, I'd say it was surely a spirit playing with your emotions, in a trying time like this. [But so far as he's been able to work out, that's not how dreams work here in Talam...

...and seeing someone from back home in a dream could be an ill omen indeed, if one would rather the person in question remained home and safe and not subject to Aefenglom and all her vagaries.

(How much of a wreck would he be if Van had been in the dream, on top of Caster and all the others missing...)]

Maker's love, [they've surely all the need of it,] to have that to worry about on top of everything else; I am sorry, Viren.

[bloodwit]

[ it was, quite a lot, on his mind to divulge. perhaps there is more at work here, but he's more often been disposed toward melancholy. and it's because of that he can't immediately lighten up (not that he thinks they should expect that of him), but he'll continue to take comfort in their company. ]

[ there's a slight movement of his shoulders -- he's not one for shrugging, but some of their tenseness is lost. and for a moment, he doesn't know how to respond, either, so he's quiet. until, ]

I know that it will just take... time.

[ perhaps one of the more both passive and hopeful approaches; he detests the former. but in that time he would have to take action, too. ]

We will be successful tonight. [ in the small way that they can. it's agreement, as well as a welcome distraction (woefully selfish and trivializing as the idea is). he leans back with another sigh, his eyes darting off towards the rest of the people within the pub. ] This, at least, is something we have the power to change.

[rollfordiplomacy]

I do so admire your tenacity, my lord. We'll discover some manner of lead, I'm sure of it, as well. [a respectful raising of his own glass, taking a sip. More sailors are arriving by the moment, the night readying to be busy and louder, as bards begin setting up some instruments to fill the space with music soon. That might be trouble.

Everett leans in a bit closer to the other two, before wryly asking...]

... is it in poor taste if I pay the bards not to play?

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr gives a sharp nod of agreement to that.] We will. I don't know if either of you have heard aught else of the folk who did this, but they've been careless--

[And then a low huff at Everett's comment.] In a time like this? I think it's in poor taste they're going on like nothing's happened. [A creature of deep and absolute feeling, our Myr. Everyone he knew and cared about was suffering; let the world at least pause a moment to recognize that before spinning on its merry way.]

[bloodwit]

[ much as his gaze remains quick with darting between the newly-arrived sailors, ears pricked for that distinctive voice, viren... openly groans at the appearance of the bards. ]

Please do. If you don't, I will.

[ he can't care if they must make money somehow. rarely is he in a mood for strangers singing at him (friends at his birthday is an important, if embarrassing, exception), but now especially. how are they supposed to hear their target's awful voice if this persists?

alas, the bards can't read viren's thoughts. they continue with their setup, giving a few experimental strums of instruments. one even meanders somewhat closer to their table -- have to ensure any potential patron can hear, after all. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

Ah, actually, yes. It might be best if you do so, my lord. I've already paid off the barkeep. I feel if I do so to another, someone might catch on to target me for coin purse...

[he would rather not get stabbed for throwing around money much too easily, in a place such as this. Viren would be less conspicuous, at this stage.

Though, as Everett finishes speaking, the lead singer seems keen to practice a few bars. Everett swivels to see him and... Oh. Oh... that is not exactly a pleasant sounding voice.

Nasally, raspy, surprisingly high pitch for the man's size. Everett's ears flutter as he turns back to the other two]

... what fortune. I think we may yet have our lead.

[faithlikeaseed]

[The face Myr makes is exquisite in its agony as their target starts warming up.

If it weren't enough his hearing is sharper than most's, growing up in a culture with sacred music at its heart has left him...sensitive...to the awful, awful things being done to that song.

Faintly,] He's not even in key. [Pause.] Is there even a key?

[In a funny, awful way this is almost a relief because it has him worrying about something other than their missing friends.

At the same time his distress is so acute he's entirely missing what the song's actually about, which is probably a....very good thing...

"Trav'ling from Aefenglom fair
Came a fine valiant pair
To rescue our dear City from disgrace;

One a Witch from the Mirror
To whom none was dearer
Than the Monster he longed to embrace,
A blind Faun who knew not his face..."]

[rollfordiplomacy]

A key all his own, perhaps- [... Everett's still listening to the lyrics, every the curious sort, and wait. What song is this?

He waves to Viren for him to not get up,]

Wait, wait, is he singing about Myr? I must hear this...

[this sounds like it's going to be a really funny story to tell later]

[bloodwit]

[ oh, gods-

a good thing everett gives that indication, because much longer and viren has half a mind to storm over. in a way that's.. discreet, that is. and that's still a possibility that remains on the table. but so he sits back and listens, an eyebrow arching as he glances between the two. ]

[ but mostly, he does look to myr to observe his reaction. viren does, really, only know of one blind faun... ]

[faithlikeaseed]

[Myr, for his part, is nigh on to urging Viren to storm over there when the topic of the song catches up with him.

He goes very very still, more alarmed than flattered someone's singing about, apparently, his escapades in Dorchact.

(Given a better context than kidnapped friends and the city burning, he'd be charmed. But right now--)

"The Faun, a hart of high spirit,
Felt for our City and cheered it
With flowers grown in their bright array.

And the Witch, dark and proud,
With his song wooed the crowd
Famed voice distracting Coven guards of the day,
While star-clad heroes stole Monsters away!"]

...that's not right, [he mutters, mostly to himself.] I hardly even knew Linden then-- [And what even is this about singing???] --Everett, did they mistake you for a Witch? Do you sing?

[w t everloving f someone is telling LIES about him in MUSIC

would someone really do that?? just go into a tavern and sing lies?]

1/2

[rollfordiplomacy]

No, no- I-! I had made up a story about a famed opera singer-

[which is just, fitting into place given those lyrics and

o m everyloving g]

Heavens, it's about yourself and Viren..!

[rollfordiplomacy]

[Everett immediately puts BOTH hands over his own mouth, covered the wobbly expression of just. Sheer and utter hilarity. He snorts loudly into his palms, doing little to stifle the noise.

Oh no, that's the funniest thing he's ever heard. Everett's shoulders are soon shaking trying not to burst into laughter raucous enough to overwhelm the singer.

He wants to know how it ends! He must know!! No laughing over it!]