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Ken Kaneki (金木 研) ([personal profile] enucleation) wrote in [community profile] westwhere2022-03-11 09:47 pm

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.
reparo: (accio)

[personal profile] reparo 2022-03-12 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]
joker_wild: ((j) Wake up)

Akira Kurusu

[personal profile] joker_wild 2022-03-14 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.]