westwhere | Following Sairen [closed ]

WHO: Kaneki, Hermione, Akira, Five
WHEN: Beginning of March
WHERE: Ruins near the fortune fetters
WHAT: Stalking Sairen
WARNINGS: Violence, some limbs being lost, some limbs being eaten (cannibalism), gambling. Will add as needed.

Pursuing Sairen at one point leads the group to the highly knocked-down ruins of a fortress near the fortune fetters. The stone remains now crudely host a gambling arena, with fierce thugs and associates of the revered Sairen waging bets on anything from dice throws to card games, snake fights, arm wrestling and various challenges or games of wit. The stakes range from coin to some men pledging their services, others their freedom, and a scant few even volunteering their body parts in gory, ad hoc amputations. All play and pay, to Sairen's entertainment.

The infiltrators will need to pretend to be servants or gamblers and participate in the games, to avoid arousing suspicion. They might also wish to steal some ritual stone masks from the participants already in attendance — everyone in the den is wearing such a face covering, including Sairen.

While Sairen nominally presides over the Hok-Shinn, he appears too distracted to partake of their petty cruelties and retreats in wine and the gossip of his counsellors. He sometimes passes judgement over conflicts among his generals, receives or awards gifts and is introduced to new clan conscripts.

Feel free to spend some time 'mingling,' drinking exceptionally strong swill, gambling and smoking opium by the fires — as well as perhaps overhearing or remarking:

■ Sairen's guests seem to include visitors from other villages,

■ Some guests question 'old man' Sairen's ability to keep the younger, more aggressive rising stars of the Hok-Shinn clan from rightfully taking over the fellow villages of Ke-Waiar and Ke-Waicai and 'teaching them who is truly in charge.'

■ Word is that Sairen has been... fretting about the iminent return of the the Beastmaster, who was dissatisfied with the previous, nondescript Hok-Shinn offering during his previous visit.

■ A group of drunkards whom Sairen refuses to receive into the Hok-Shinn murmur that the day will come when the entire clan falls, once it is no longer the sole custodian of a certain substance that helps revive the highly arid and infertile agricultural terrains of Ke-Waihu.

■ One drunk mutters that the white wanderer who brought the first vials of the chemical to Ke-Waihu handed it out freely, before disappearing. Since then, it has been monopolised by the Hok-Shinn, who charge an arm and leg for this substance, withholding it from any farmers who rebel against their rule.

By sunrise, the crowds start to dissipate, with some leaving their masks behind by hanging them on the branches of an ancient willow tree. No one wears their mask back into Ke-Waihu, making it difficult to figure out which villagers participated.

Threaded | Flat

Gambling

[ getting in was easy; Kaneki is stealthy enough to takea stone mask for himself, but he also realizes his white hair might be a quick giveaway, thus he opted to use mud on it in order to darken the white strands. Not exactly the best thing to do, but he can wash later. Plus, a lot of the people around the ruins look like they haven't showered in a while as well, so they are among friends.

Gambling is not something Kaneki does but it's something he can do. And he is good at it because he sticks to cards and he can count cards. Naturally if he is found that will be problematic, but he has the mask and that is actually helping. Which means after this round he ends up with money, a slave (someone offered up their own freedom, it seems), and three actual fingers that have been cut - he did insist he had no use for them, but because he is trying to avoid arousing suspicion, kaneki ended up accepting all of them.

He promptly lost the slave in a game of dice afterwards, which was a huge relief.

While he does this, he naturally spies on all the people around them. He listens to conversations which is easy for him thanks to his ghoul abilities; sure, other ghouls would probably be even better, but Kaneki still has enhanced hearing if compared to a normal human. Sometimes, he is found to be very still while further away from the crowd - he is actually listening in on conversations, and naturally anyone from his group can approach ]

Food time (CW; cannibalism)

[ He wasn't able to lose the fingers so far. He got three of them and somehow more pilled up. In fact, he has a badly butchered hand as well and Kaneki has to wonder why would anyone see value in having someone else's finger. But ultimately he thinks everyone in this place is just insane; they are drinking curses and living in cursed land while playing pretend-weddings with deadly foxes.

But there is a problem with being around all of this gore: Kaneki is always hungry. And the more he eats, hungrier he gets. He has been feeding thanks to the witches he befriended and that's enough, but when he is involved in people cutting off their limbs to gamble them away, the scent of blood and flesh is a trigger. And when he finally had enough, Kaneki moves away from the crowd even further to find a hidden place where he can sit down and...

well. eat the hand and the fingers. ]

One haunted doll

[ Kaneki left the haunted doll behind when he and the group decided to go on this small mission. He had hoped she would give him at least a couple of hours before she came back to him - and lo and behold, Kaneki was in the middle of refusing some opium some drunk guy just shoved at his face (he will vomit if he takes a drag, that much he is certain), when he looks to the side and the goddamn doll is there.

Another man laughs as he picks her up, waving the "toy" around ] Fancy some toys? Who even brought this along! [ and everyone laughs except Kaneki who mutters a very clear "FUCK" under his breath.

This fucking doll!!

Immediately he stands up, stone mask still one, but voice soft as honey ] I apologize, it belongs to my little sister. She must have put it with my belongings before I left. [ a lame excuse, but believable enough for drunks, he hopes. And they do believe it, but now they see this as an opportunity to gamble further ]

Tell ya what, boy, we fight. Winner takes it.

[ of course he had to say that. kaneki can only sigh; the man is drunk and completely immersed in opium, there would be no way for him to win this fight. It's but a waste of time - thus, Kaneki ends it quickly. Kaneki suddenly springs towards the man and lands a punch right to his gut - the drunkard falls to side, vomits the contents of his stomach, and passes out from it all. Luckily Kaneki held back, and yes, that was him holding back.

The silence that follows is interrupted by the voice of a singing child: the doll.

It never shuts up, does it? ]

Edited 2022-03-11 23:11 (UTC)

[If anyone asks why, exactly, she came here, she might end up blaming Five. Not like he's doing the man (old man? apparently?) a favour, but he did mention something shady was happening around some ruins and did she think that was a good chance for her to go and see if it was a ritual.

Somewhere in this village, there must be people who cast magic, people who speak to ghosts, people who understand rituals. People she could go to for some guidance, when it comes to her ancestral curse.

It turns out this is not the place.]

Stay close. [Whispered to one of her partners for this adventure.] If things turn sour, I can make us disappear - wait. Should we be wearing a mask? Can you tell what they're saying? [A lot of disconnected questions, but hey! Up ahead, from their hiding place behind a big boulder, they can see the gamblers wear masks.]

[Stealing a mask for himself takes very little effort, and he steps out from behind a half-downed column with it carefully in place. He makes his way toward one of the gambling tables, doing his best to blend in as he settles down and starts playing.]

[He does decently for himself as far as winnings go and even better when it comes to picking up information. He does thankfully manage to lose the offer of a marriage to someone's daughter, because just no.]

[He does try to keep himself a little apart from the rest of the group, keeping an eye on Kaneki, Five, and Hermione through the evening in case anyone needs help. This whole situation seems like it could go bad very quickly.]

Kaneki Ken // cw; cannibalism

no subject

Akira Kurusu