arc iii: house of ravens | arrival

[groundrules]

Hi, everyone! Our Arc III arrival event covers 20 Feb-11 March and doubles as a test drive. Participants don’t need an invite to apply by 11 March. Reserves live here. Try to label if you’re a test drive tourist or an old timer — and have fun!

COTTAGEVORE

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TDM TOURISTS | OLD TIMERS | COMMON PROMPTS | NOTES

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TDM TOURISTS: THE SCENIC ROUTE

You flinch awake, hand weighed by a sharp stick, stone, or makeshift torch. Your clothes sit stiff, splattered with dried dirt and dusted leaves. Here and there, scratches and shallow wounds litter your limbs, the marks of days of dazed survival alone that you mistily remember. Your strength and supernatural powers are currently largely depleted, but should recover within two to three days.

As they journey, characters discover stretches of the eerily silent forests briefly transform into woodlands or recognisable spots of nature from their home worlds — perhaps they’re now seeing the meadows outside their home towns, their backyard orchard, or a fondly remembered lake pier. These images are short-lived illusions that other characters can also see.

Mind your steps: the mirages try to lure characters deep into the forest, where unfriendly animals and hidden pits wait.

A. THE MORE, THE MERRIER

Trailing through the labyrinthine woods, you stumble upon a group of heavily armed bandits who are already herding several captives. Depending on how agitated you are, expect shackles, leashes and tusk pendants that allow characters to speak and glean local tongues — including the thugs' barked instructions. The outlaws are on a three-day voyage to cursed village Ke-Waihu, where they intend to sell their prisoners to the Hok-Shinn criminal clan.

■ Ensure fellow captives survive the trek, avoiding leg-hold traps, snares and hunting nets.

■ Beatings continue, but morale never improves: help mouthy prisoners with their tasks or wounds.

■ Capture or forage food — and stop naïve captives from going deeper into the forest to follow glimpses of beautiful (wo)men or cries for help. There’s nobody there.

■ At night, prisoners are locked in stitched-shut tents — get friendly quickly.

B. JUST CRUISING

The bandits never saw you coming — but you’ve been watching them collect their prey. Perhaps you’ve even found others like you — also spared enslavement, but condemned to trail after the thugs towards Ke-Waihu. Characters can pick up discarded translation and communication tusk pendants, scraps of food and frail weapons.

■ Beware: superstitious thieves frequently patrol at night, while woodland predators are emboldened by the absence of fires.

■ Leave messages or instructions to the bandits’ captives (tree husk carvings, anyone?) and maybe try to rescue them.

■ ...or leave them for dead and trot on to Ke-Waihu. You savage.

» GO CAMPING, THEY SAID

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OLD TIMERS: CURSES FOR ONE, CURSES FOR ALL

After a bumpy ride aboard the Salamera II, the party arrive at idyllic village Ke-Waihu.

They are greeted by Hok-Shinn Weisi, the slippery mayor who officially helms Ke-Waihu, while his brother Sairen leads the clan’s heavy underground ventures. Weisi’s flippant and spoiled son Taksui is the Merchant’s local liaison. The botanist Enam and his apprentices set out to explore, taking the group's baggage along.

■ Weisi was told the party members are families of Taravast refugees, seeking finer fates in Ke-Waihu. Each family has been assigned a humble but serviceable dwelling — see what luck has in store for you.

■ Weisi officially welcomes the newcomers in Ke-Waihu’s main bustling marketplace. Every merchant, fishmonger and beggar stops to watch as foreigners are briefly stripped of their ostentatious jewels, clothes or weapons, soaked in iced water and told to embrace the village by accepting its old, its new, its ugliness and its truths.

■ To join the community, characters must absorb and redeem the wrongdoings of a deceased ancestor. They are served flasks of a thick, bitter brew that slides down mildly corrosive and cold.

■ The brew’s effects vary: some drinkers feel only a sudden, electric awareness of the story behind the curse they inherited. Others feel scalded from the inside, agonising for hours. The ancestral curse effects start to take hold that night.

■ Characters are sent off to their new homes in Ke-Waihu — but are contacted within hours by one of Enam’s anguished apprentices. His master and his peers were captured by bandits while inspecting the elusive forests for plant specimens. These wicked men took everything: your goods, your Ellethian high fashion, your extra weapons, even your Sleeping Zenobius. Go get’em — but beware the deadly illusions of Ke-Waihu’s forest.

» DUDE, WHERE’S MY COMATOSE SLEEPER?

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ALL TOGETHER NOW

The thugs, the old timers, the test drive prisoners and their creepy watchers collide in the mist-drowned forests of Ke-Waihu.

A. BANDIT BANE

■ Infiltrate the thug group in, kick some outlaws’ teeth on the way out.

■ Release and escort roughened-up newcomers to Ke-Waihu, picking up strays along the way.

■ One of the thugs snitches that the remaining stolen loot is hoarded in a nearby secluded cave, drowned under foliage. The entrance is watched by large, agitated boars with startlingly hard, but not impervious skin. With gold, gems, guns within reach, anyone for pork dinner?

■ After speaking with the new arrivals, party botanist and guide Enam confirms they have been summoned to serve as weapons in this world’s ongoing conflict between warring undead factions. The Merchant, Enam’s collaborator and the party’s patron, is leading otherworlders east, where forgotten beacons might return them home.

■ The villagers Ke-Waihu, Ke-Waiar and Ke-Waicai reportedly know the location of such a beacon. They will unveil it if the party breaks the curse of the House of Ravens.

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B. THE BLUSHING BRIDE

When the group returns, Ke-Waihu is celebrating the joyous procession of dozens of lavish 'weddings.' The (false) rites are carried out to commemorate the marriage of a huntsman and his fox bride...

■ The roads are awash with flower petals and rice, houses extend their hospitality freely, and the rich give away coin. Even Hok-Shinn clansmen don their finest garments and hand out gifts and favours, while lawmen grant pardons to captives held for minor offences.

■ Villagers pose as 'brides' and 'grooms' to play act public weddings. Characters are asked to participate as brides and grooms, or to join the wedding retinue of a NPC villager. Characters can unknowingly marry, but not become foxes.

■ The evening culminates in a grand market fete, with stalls offering sickly sweets and strong alcohols. Poets recite love songs, professional weepers wail to strangers that they lost their children to insidious in-laws, and petty clashes erupt among merrymakers.

■ Some of the NPC fox 'brides' seem to grow wide-eyed and alert, suspicious of the many hunting dogs that watchmen walk around the marketplace.

■ Come nightfall, 'wedded' pairs are escorted to suites in a large and extravagant inn. For each 'couple,' accommodations comprise one room for the retinue and a linked conjugal bedroom.

IF CHARACTERS MARRY A (FOX) 'SPOUSE':

■ They are handed three pieces of parchment before they are locked into the marital suite with their consort and their retinue.

■ Once alone in their 'marital quarter,' characters first enjoy polite conversation with their spouse, whose eyes start to glimmer golden, while their teeth and claws lengthen, their mouths distort to snouts and their hair reddens. The fox brides do not seem aware they are, in fact, foxes, but try to scratch, bite or maim their partners. Viciously quick, strong and prone to thralling their victims into spells of lethargy, these foxes could get the best of you — happily, the little parchment papers you received can share some survival tips.

■ Fool the fox spouse into thinking you are already married or pledged to someone in your retinue. Affronted, the fox bride will exile you out of the wedding room. Refresh the salt lines that surround the conjugal room, and gently steer the fox back if it flees overnight.

■ Your retinue and you should impersonate a hunting hound, down to howling, running on all-fours and sniffling. The fox will hurriedly isolate itself in the conjugal room, but will actively try to escape at night. Keep every inn door and window closed.

■ Become a widow(er). Call your retinue and make the best of your fists and a butter knife. You will need to kill the spouse a few times before they stay fully dead, each time reviving more and more fox-like in appearance.

AS A WEDDING RETINUE MEMBER:

■ Awkwardly hold watch outside the conjugal bedroom of the dashing NPC cannon fodder groom and his fox bride.

■ The NPC groom might request help as above — or might fall deathly silent. If that happens, villagers instruct, character must loudly ask if the wine pleases the couple. The flushed, visibly fox-like bride will then open the door to complain their new consort — clawed dead in the marital bed — won’t even share a wine cup with them. The fox does not seem to grasp they have killed their groom.

■ Defeat the fox at drinking — the fox bride can hold its cups, but slipping in some of the relaxing opiates on hand will help the cause. Sneak the NPC groom's corpse out with a buddy when the fox drops asleep.

■ Or prove you are a fairer marital prospect by verbally wooing the fox or doing battle with your retinue companion, to prove your worth. Your wingman may wish to throw the fight, feed lines, or generally smoulder. The fox bride will offer the NPC corpse as a betrothal gift.

Come morning, the villagers open the now-delapidated inn. Those who survive fox weddings receive braided bracelets of red, golden and tangerine rope, earning good will in the village. The murderous fox brides have disappeared — in their place, yellowed and dust-drenched bones 'sleep' in the marital beds, covered by withered and torn wedding clothes.

Villagers share the whole story: a huntsman encountered a fox goddess in the forest, when she had taken the shape of a beautiful woman. Lovestruck, he brought her back to Ke-Waihu as his wife — but the horrified villager slaughtered her and her husband on their wedding night. The fox god cursed the village to relieve yearly 'fox weddings,' during which the bones of those murdered during the previous 'conjugal' festivities rise as brides to terrorise new spouses.

Skipping the fox wedding rites, villagers say, shrivels their crops and depletes their food stocks for several seasons.

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C. A-HUNTING WE WILL GO

It’s all fun and wedding games, until one of the victims of the recent nuptials is the son of influential wine merchant Saguk Chaomin. He vengefully sponsors a a hunt to finally lift the foxes’ curse.

■ Saguk Chaomin assigns weapons — from knives, spears and sharpened sticks to bows, arrows and rifles operating on gun powder — alongside lanterns and climbing rope to the brave adventurers. The contingent splinters into smaller groups to avoid detection.

■ The forests now aggressively conspire to lead characters to their deaths: whether it’s through fostering illusions that trip them into gullies, or decrepit bridges that crumble, sending travellers into whirling river waters. Animals (excluding wolves) attack travellers fiercely. Keep a hunting hound close.

■ Characters with unusual physical features or suspicious behaviours — from supernatural powers to a fear of dogs — are accused of being shape-shifting foxes.

■ Fox spirits assume a mortal but resilient shape the day after the wedding — strong, large, feral and willy. They’re quick to bite, and their presence dulls the senses of hunters.

■ To exorcise the foxes, kill their mortal bodies or obliterate or repair their small, decaying forest altars. These are stone rings the size of one’s hand, often hidden at the root of ancient trees. Cleanse the altars of filth, vermin and predatory creatures, and replenish the stones with fresh river pieces. Beware rare fox spirits that come to protect altars or hide their young.

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D. WELL, WELL, WELL

In the wake of the weddings, characters head to their abodes, while test drivers are garrisoned in communal temporary shelters. Over the next few days, everyone may notice:

■ Villagers have a marrow-deep fear of the Hok-Shinn clan, whose members behave as if they are immune from repercussions.

■ Villagers tell eerie tales of strange encounters in their locked stables, abandoned houses or wells — they have seen a creature with the head of a beautiful woman, whose hair braids to form her snake-like body. 'She' slithers away once discovered.

■ Word spreads across the marketplace that dark waters have returned. A farmer’s well has dried, leaving only a thickened, tar-like liquid at the bottom. Another villager shamefully admits his well also dried a month ago, clogged by dark filth — the fount was old, and he assumed it had naturally depleted.

■ Horrified villagers speak no more of this, but superstitiously volunteer flower and food tributes for the Ka-Sanwon volcano. Mayor Hok-Shinn Weisi intercedes to reserve the resources for the upcoming return of the patron lord of the volcano’s three villages — the undead Beastmaster.

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QUESTIONS

Comments

[naturalization]

Just a few days. The first day, one of them found me. [ caitlin directs a flat look outside the cave. ] They didn't really try to kill me, so I found a rock... and then I kept finding more rocks, so why fix what's working?

[ she would have killed exactly as many bandits as it took to get free and find the kids, but her skill with a big ol' rock made that level of collateral damage unnecessary. ]

And then Lorna and I found each other. [ that compression of events leaves out a universe's worth of nuance, but contained inside that nuance is the glaring absence of anyone else in that story outside the bandits. caitlin knows marcos intimately understands the mix of fear and self-assigned failure she's feeling, but if she says it out loud now that she's settled enough to be less numb, there's a non-zero chance she'll cry.

she goes for light sarcasm, instead. ] I heard you guys have been busy with zombies. Sorry, psychic zombies.

[ she is nowhere close to letting that little gem go. ]

[soloritur]

[ He raises an eyebrow, but he can't exactly question her results. And with absolutely no offense to Caitlin, it does make him slightly more relieved that the bandits seem to be human and not... super powered mind-controlling bandits. They've seen some things.

That doesn't mean the forest is safe, but as Lorna has apparently already told her, it could be worse. ]

Psychic... zombie witches, if you want to be precise about it. [ Somehow he still feels guilty about the witches. What happened to them might not have entirely been their fault, but he helped bury a lot of them before they left. He's not sorry that Caitlin missed that.

She's only been here a few days. It doesn't make sense, but that would explain why she's confused. Not that he's much better. Marcos never really thought that the portal could have sent them to different places at different times. He'll have to figure out what that means later. One of the others might know. ]

That was only the start of it. We thought we had problems at home, but I guess we can say at least we didn't have the undead to worry about. [ He's trying to joke along with her, like it's reaffirming to have someone around to recognize how crazy this all has been, but he's also watching her closely. Checking for any visible injuries she's keeping quiet about while they make light of this entire ordeal.

He nearly asks if she came through the portal alone, but changes his question at the last second. ]

Did she tell you about the mermaids?


ooc: no, you're amazing. I'm thrilled to bounce off Caitlin :>

[naturalization]

Being imprecise about psychic zombie witches is a big worry in my life, so good to know.

[ the ability to adjust to new heights of weird has served caitlin well. life with the underground only enforced her predisposition towards evolution. things happen, and they keep happening whether or not she understands why. fighting that pull has never ended well while leaning into it has. better to embrace gallows humor and deal with what comes next.

to wit: caitlin shakes her head, mouthing ‘mermaids’ and laughing, because why the fuck not. mermaids. ]

No, I didn’t hear about the mermaids. I’m okay, by the way. I can take a few new bruises. [ marcos’ careful study doesn’t escape her. a few bruises is underselling the damage slightly, but that’s standard underground injury report procedure. caitlin lays a reassuring hand on his arm, more for her own comfort than anything else as the weight of his borderline weaponized sincerity hits her. damn this sunshine man!!! & etc ] I didn’t even get shot. So far, this is going better than—

[ the last time they went looking for their kids together. caitlin’s smile cracks into a million pained pieces and falls away entirely. time to belly up to the world’s worst bar and say it. ]

They weren’t with me. Andy and Lauren. Lorna said you haven’t seen them, either.

[soloritur]

[ Marcos was prepared to distract her with his encounter with feral mermaids, but she sees right through the look he was giving her before he gets the chance. His brow furrows as she puts a hand on his arm and dismisses her injuries a little too quickly. He doesn't doubt that there's more than a couple bruises she's shrugging off, and he decides then that the bandits are damn lucky they were already out before he caught them striking her. Although she reminds him that she got shot when he was standing right next to her, so... maybe he hasn't been the best influence. Just because she can take a hit doesn't mean she deserved that, and who knows what they would have done if she hadn't fought back.

His heart sinks when she answers his other unasked question. Caitlin just lost her husband, and now she doesn't know where her kids are. At least he had Lorna when he came here, and the knowledge that Dawn was somewhere safe, but she doesn't have anyone. Just the two of them.

He hesitates, carefully holding her gaze, then slowly shakes his head. ]

We haven't seen or heard anything from anyone since we came here. [ Months without a sign. He'd been trying to convince himself that they'd taken a portal back and were just waiting for them to find it. ] If John were here, I've got to think he would have found us by now.

[ He shoots another quick look in Lorna's direction. The truth is that they haven't even been looking, and that fact weighs on him when he tries to muster up the hope he's been struggling with lately. Finding Caitlin is proof enough that they can't give up. ]

If the portal scattered us through time, maybe they just aren't here yet.

[naturalization]

[ the dim hope lorna was wrong—or not actually lorna, or lying, or a million scattered snatches at reworking reality into a kinder framework dies a final death when marcos confirms it.

as far as caitlin is concerned, lorna brought andy home; the particulars of how exactly those events unfolded aren’t as important as the fact that if caitlin couldn’t be there to protect him, lorna was. all the same, she doesn’t know lorna like she does marcos. he wouldn’t lie about the kids—or if he did, he’d be worse at it. ]

Okay. Okay. [ she nods sharply, trying to think about anything but reed’s face and the potential that last goodbye was kinder than not knowing.

maybe nobody clue her in about the potential of people from earlier in any given timeline arriving just yet. baby steps. ] If I’m here now, then…

[ caitlin has absolutely no idea what then, but that’s never stopped her before. ]

Maybe John’s here, but something’s blocking him. They could have a telepath, or… I don’t know. Maybe the portal didn’t scatter us through time, maybe we just don’t remember everything. [ even caitlin can hear the ragged, frantic edge to her voice. wincing, she tries to modulate her tone, but she can’t hide exactly how little of this has anything to do with genuine theorizing. ] They could be here, Marcos. I just have to find them.

[soloritur]

[ After what she must have experienced the last few days, she held it together longer than most people could. Marcos can tell she's spiraling, and he tries his best to hold her gaze and keep her grounded. ]

You're right. They could be. [ As much as he hates that idea, he can't deny that it's possible. Nothing sounds too crazy after what they've seen. ] And if they are, we'll find them. We found you, and to be honest... we didn't have any clue you were coming. I sure didn't.

[ If they do find out that John and the others were locked up like he and Lorna were all this time, he's not sure how he's going to live with himself. But the fact remains that they virtually ran into Caitlin out in the middle of nowhere. He's sticking to the theory that if any of them came here, they'd know. ]

We'll keep looking. [ His eyes dart once more to Lorna, and he already knows what she thinks their odds are, but he's sincere when he makes that promise. Right now she's hurt, and their priority is getting her out of these woods. ] After we regroup, we'll figure something out. There's others like us here, that are just as lost as we are. We need to stick together and help each other through this.