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[groundrules]

This log covers 7-25 April, drawing from previous discoveries. Feel free to tag in here or make your own posts/logs!

Sign-ups for NPC threads remain open until 23:59 GMT on 9 April.

THE LION’S DEN

---

WEN QING’S RESCUE | THE HUNTRESS’ CURES | THE HUNT | THE OLD MOUNTAIN

Image source.

SWEET HISSED NOTHINGS

CONTENT WARNING: MENTIONS OF SNAKES, SERPENT CREATURES

Prior to the Huntress’ arrival, the group’s healer Wen Qing is captured by a feral half human, half serpent creature. Characters might overhear visiting woodsmen who say a woman was heaved into the woods at night by a large serpent.

After journeying through the illusion-casting forests of Ke-Waihu, prospective rescuers discover that traces of struggle lead them to a 20m-deep, wide pit on brittle pale soil, close to the Fortune fetters ruins:

■ If you cross the Fetters, local prophetesses cryptically advise you to shed torches or clothes and to run to cold streams, if you encounter danger. A distressed Hyang-Tai pleads kindness for ‘ancients’ and ‘children.’

■ The surroundings of the pit are eerily silent.

■ Rescuers can spot a sleeping Wen Qing at the bottom of the pit, patches of her bared skin covered in a slick shine and showing the start of growing scales. She is surrounded by dozens of dormant snakes and nagas, tightly and peacefully coiled around her.

■ Wooden stakes have been thrust into the pit walls — serving as challenging, but workable steps.

■ Some snakes are poisonous — with many cures available in the forest or back in Ke-Waihu — but most bite viciously without venom. Some nagas emit phlegm that briefly impairs the vision or blinds.

■ Watch your step! The creatures are drawn to warmth, fire magic and sound. They stir and climb the pit to attack if they feel threatened.
■ Rusted weapons and broken shields litter the bottom of the pit, dropped in by previous… visitors.

OBJECTIVES

■ Remove Wen Qing from her dire straits.

■ Wen Qing is left with serpentine sensitivities, instincts and scales. To cure her, healers advise a seven-day brew treatment of widow’s lace — an opiate plant found in large forest bushes.

■ Grab a few flowers at a time and store them well — collectors exposed extensively to widow’s lace experience four-six hours of light euphoria, paranoia or bizarre visions — swindling foxes and philosophical parrots are apparently commonly imagined.

Image source.

THE MAIDEN’S WATCH

The Huntress joins the group, deprived of her powers and absent her steed. She pointedly stares at the ground, but those who meet her gaze may revisit harrowing moments in their lives.

Following group conversations, her shelter is rotated between two locations: a shallow forest cave and the now deserted snake pit that previously hosted Wen Qing.

Take turns shielding her from the animals that seem drawn to besiege her. The Huntress spends her time in tears or penitence and speaks in a maddened tongue. Voice coarse and wet, she summons the composure to share her knowledge:

■ The Beastmaster and she both seek to witness the imminent eruption of the Ke-Sanwon volcano, expected within a month. The Beastmaster will become more human as that time draws.

■ Ravens excepted, local animals obey the Beastmaster and spy for him.

■ To avoid the pull of the Beastmaster and his Hunt, seek out:

THE SHRINE

Trek through Ke-Waihu’s haunted forests and find the village’s only shrine devoted to ravens, outside of the elusive House of Ravens.

■ Wear pebbles or wood splinters from the shrine to disrupt the Beastmaster’s thrall on you. These items must be replaced after three days.

■ Fox spirits have raised dozens of illusionary copies of the shrine. The stone of the original altar is marked for ravens in a small wooden carving, while copy shrines worship foxes.

■ Young fox spirits imitate ravens or play distant bells to distract travellers from finding the raven shrine.

■ Sometimes, fox spirits swarm, offering to show the way if visitors perform a small dare or tell them a meaningful secret.

■ If asked, Ke-Waihu locals share the shrine was raised by a wanderer, who spent a month in the village many years ago. He was disgusted with the arrogance of Ke-Waicai’s zealots, who insist ravens are sacred and can only be worshipped in the House of Ravens.

THE BRIDGE

Ke-Waihu has briefly reopened its gates to the nearby village of Ke-Waiar — to which it is connected by a fragile and narrow bridge high above a misted abyss.

■ Wind gusts shake the ropes of the rickety bridge, and several wooden steps are putrid, dangling or loose.

■ Ad you near the bridge’s end to Ke-Waiar, you may find a couple of fox spirits are purposefully rattling the ropes to unsaddle travellers. Plead or barter: you can offer anything from riddles to treats, a good performance, a poem, a favour, a shouted confession of true love…

■ The village gates open between sunrise and sunset. Characters who arrive early find many villagers sleep until late in the day. By sundown, some locals become frantic, alert, increasingly irritable.

■ Water can be freely taken from any of the wells within Ke-Waiar to satisfy the quest. Villagers offer it gladly — they too suffer from resurging drought and dark waters.

■ If you arrive at sunset or night, you can see villagers turning to werewolves in various stages of transformation, between humanoid and large wolf beast. They are lured out of Ke-Waiar, gates closing behind them, and released into the thick, vibrant woods — with you.

■ Take cover in the forest, to escape the pack of werewolves and wolves. Some might prove lenient if they catch you, while others feel compelled to draw blood.

■ To wait out the night: climb the forest’s sturdiest trees with help of the ropes purposefully bound from tall branches. Some trees even host rudimentary treehouses.

Image source.

THE HUNT

The Beastmaster, his xenomorphic creatures and mutated animals arrive in Ke-Waihu to behold the ‘imminent’ volcanic eruption.

The Beastmaster’s creatures possess sharpened senses and hearing, intense speed and hard carcasses that provide additional but imperfect protection from blows and missiles. They often hunt in packs, but behave themselves in Ke-Waihu during daytime.

The Beastmaster excuses himself from the underground Hok-Shinn clan’s attempts at a welcome celebration, taking residence with his beasts in his village hut. He may be encountered walking the village beside five or six of his creatures, inspecting the markets and even advising new huntsmen — his manner slow, speech rough in a way that suggests oral injury beneath his facial bandages.

THE TRIBUTES

The Hok-Shinn and an envoy of Ke-Waiar each present 10 distinguished but eerily listless youths of their village to the Beastmaster.

■ These tributes are then held in groups of five across four abandoned homes, each closely watched by six-seven men of the Hok-Shinn.

■ Team up, rescue some tributes — and get out alive.

■ For easier infiltration, try the forest-facing back of the houses, or the generously large, defective chimneys. Beware slippery or broken roof tiles

■ Hok-Shinn guards possess great brute force… and gratefully accept liquor.

■ Some tributes might fight their rescuers and attempt to alert the guards. Some claim it is their privilege to join the Beastmaster, while others say they should be sacrificed to the volcano Ke-Sanwon for their families.

■ You can hide the rescued tributes in the witches’ huts or the Fetters — gather them coin so they can book seats on the next ship out of Ke-Waihu.

THE HUNTING SEASON

The Beastmaster’s creatures are mannered during the day, but join the Hunting season that kicks off after the full moon:

■ Participation is (OOCly) optional.

■ For five nights, come moonrise, some characters feel compelled to flee into the forests and run, hide or avoid detection — alternatively, they join the Beastmaster’s creatures as hunters, chasing this quarry and forest animals.

■ You can chase each other or ‘pack’ up against a common target or enemy.

■ Anyone can ‘hunt’ or ‘be hunted.' Roles can swap across the five nights.

■ Characters can develop overnight instincts akin to an animal of hunt or prey of your choice, and they will be helped by these animals for the night. Snakes and ravens do not participate.

■ Hunting can be vicious (seeking to injure, kill or consume prey) or symbolic (just violently giving chase).

■ Certain characters feel especially compelled to join the hunt and to protect the Beastmaster outside of it. These include characters who are given to war, hunting, violence, wrath, gluttony or feral/animal characteristics. It also applies to those who previously turned xenomorphic during the Beastmaster's trip in Taravast, or whom he marked.

■ To avoid the hunt, stay out of the forest, apply the Huntress’ cures or lock yourself firmly indoors.

A couple of fun locations for hunt participants:

■ A tree enclosure where characters can hide for up to an hour, invisible to their pursuers. They can still be heard or scented.

■ A small lake, silvered at night, in whose waters you can breathe freely.

■ A fox spirit shrine, where a group of four-five vulpine friends defend you alongside their territory.

■ Abandoned wells and the forest streams previously touched by dark waters. The Beastmaster’s creatures seem very curious about the liquid, but ultimately pull back, as if obeying instructions.

■ Areas with strong fire or utter dark deter the Beastmaster's creatures.

Image source.

OLD MAN MOUNTAIN

Dormant volcano Ke-Sanwon shows signs of upcoming eruption: soil swells, increases in local temperature and small, low-grade earthquakes.

■ Characters with magical powers may find their strength sometimes fluctuates, suddenly swelling or briefly waning completely.

■ Dark waters fill out some of the ground cracks that follow earthquakes. The liquid is cold, settling as if it were iced. This dark water heals shallow wounds on any skin it touches, or gently revives vegetation over one-three days on any ground it is set on.

■ The strength of the dark water fades over a week’s time.

■ Digging through the ground cracks reveals thin rivulets of the dark water are present all around Ke-Sanwon.They are more numerous the closer you get to the volcano. Dark water also smears the mouths of hell.

THE JEWELLER

A few days after the earthquakes state (after 20 April, for network posts), characters wake to distant screams, as a group of 10 of Ke-Waihu's masked concerned citizens drag handsome young jeweller Dong-Yun out of Ke-Waihu.

■ The group is taking Dong-Yun through the predatory forests.

■ You can play out finding the captors’ convoy separately, or tag into the jeweller’s rescue here.

■ Bring the jeweller back to Ke-Waihu. Dong-Yun can share that his abductors intended to sacrifice him to the Ke-Sanwon volcano. One of the participants in the rescue: please share with the rest of the class!

”I’ve heard, but I’ve never — they used to, when my mother was young… she told, me even when she had me, all the mothers hid their young. She told me, they used to give them to Sanwon. The prettiest, the smartest, the most skilled. Give it all to Brother Sanwon, give it to… so it won’t take everything else. Give it our best, and it will leave us the rest. But this doesn’t happen anymore. The mountain doesn’t want it.”

Image source.

QUESTIONS

Comments

[traaaaaash]

ARRIVAL | FOR LILAH

[ So this is new. Oh, Eda is no stranger to worlds different than her own -- but well, last time, she went willingly. And this place is neither the Demon Realm nor the human world, that much she can tell. As much as the foggy feeling in her brain will allow her to recognize, at least. She feels disoriented, like waking up after turning into the Owl Beast used to be, but worse. The fog is on the outside too, enveloping the stems of the trees all around her. Well, at least it matches, she supposes.

Trying to focus, she takes a good, hard look around her, trying to see if she can find any landmarks. ]

Hello? Anybody there? Luz? King? [ A beat. ] Hooty?

HUNTING SEASON | OPEN

[ Nightfall overcomes Eda. It's been a while since the Owl Beast simply took control of her, and she is none too happy about it. In her endless gray mindscape that they share, it looms, overbearing; its hunger stronger than ever before.

On the outside, Eda turns into her old owl beast form, and she will hunt. ]

[ In the morning, Eda finally returns to her human form again. She stumbles into the village, exhausted, until she finally falls onto her knees and retches. She coughs up an owl pellet, which breaks open and reveals a confused bird, which blinks for a moment and then flies away.

Eda puts her palm to her forehead and groans. ]

Really? A whole, live bird?

[ In the end, she just kinda... flops onto the ground. ]

Ugh, I thought I was done with this!

[downswing]

[ The broad back of the road, partway to the village keep. Lan Wangji has been sieved of his energies by the time the sun licks lukewarm stripes on his drained back, abandoning him as more an instrument of motion that's forgotten to still than a man, whole.

Each night of the hunt leaves him more bereft of himself, an animal in shifted skins. Hours before, he might have sworn himself in possession of claws and fangs and mounting the husk of a tree to wrench free birds from their nesting place, he might have plunged after Five, after rabbits furred and small, after snakes starved for shelter in low burrows.

Now, he drags himself no better than a corpse, fettered in the black of Wei Ying's silks, absent a blade, but his hands red-torn for the sacrilege of the night's passage, kicking and spoiling and stirring rubble at each step —

And hastening, all at once, not to catch the traveller ahead who retches heavily down the pathway, precisely, but to sit his arm as a barrier a few hair's width beneath her, to catch her should she fall down. His head turns, affording her what little modesty and dignity he can to the moment, so that he need not witness her humiliation whole. ]

Easy. Spill your waters. [ Whatever poisons her belly must be expelled in its entirety. ] I have you.

[traaaaaash]

[ ... excuse her? Someone coming to her rescue?

Well, that's. new. People in the Boiling Isles generally aren't this helpful, especially not toward the infamous Owl Lady. It seems she's got some work to do to build a reputation here. Not that she plans to stay for that long, but from whatever that Taksui fellow told her, it sounded like getting home might unfortunately take a while.

Still, Eda sits up and waves a dismissive hand. ]

Eh, it's fine. It happens.

[downswing]

[ Fine. It — happens.

Perhaps, to others, before indifferent spectators. But Lan Wangj is a deft hand with war horses, learned in the way of taming animals to ease, himself to patience. The ebb and flow is this: she dismisses im. In pure fluidity, he draws back, Wei Ying's dark linens shrouding him like ghoulish smudges of cheap, ill-coalesced ink.

Around them, the road still sleeps, butterflies a staccato spread of furled ink points. He feels silence on his skin, like the start of the sun's warmth.

It happens, she says, but appears to carry no pouch of herbs, or the help of a friend or family to escort her, if she is so often given to sickness. It happens, but she walks to this world unarmed. ]

You require medicines?

[traaaaaash]

[ Well, it's nice that he wants to help and all, but is she gonna tell some random stranger about her curse situation? Heck no. She raises a hand in dismissal. ]

Nothing you can give me.

[ It's unfortunately true that she has no elixir on her, which would normally keep the curse in check. She keeps it at home, where she takes one daily in the mornings, and that's usually enough.

She sure wishes she'd stashed some in her hair right now.

But the other thing is -- she hadn't turned into the Owl Beast and lost control like that in a while now. In fact, she kinda thought she was over it since she made peace with the Owl Beast in her head.

Maybe she should try that "talking to it" thing? That seemed to help last time. She closes her eyes and gets into contact with the Beast, muttering to herself as she does so. ]

What, you don't know either? You were surprised too?

[ She opens her eyes again, lets out a deep groan and balls her hands to fists at her sides. ]

Just what I needed, dang it!

[downswing]

[ She... speaks to herself, also, past her sickness. Mutters and mumbles, and it is not for Lan Wangji to question those stricken by madness or foolishness or haunting. He does not presume, but for the sun that blights his eyes, how it drenches her hair in unearthly pallor. No, there is physical affliction married to the spiritual, and if she requires — escort unto trustworthy company, he is tasked to deliver it.

Eased of her, his hand slaps at the lower curvature of his back, a sword seeking the natural hilt of thoughtless, time-honed forms. She speaks, and, head turned, gaze astray, he — does not listen.

Discretion is the better part of value. His hands will come empty, ill supplied, if he does not take this moment to exercise it. Leave the troubled girl her peace. Then, once the cadence of her speech has tired, and he seizes opportunity: ]

I travel south. [ Another eighth of a shi, to the village keep. To whatever depths of fresh-faced hell await him. ] If we may join path.

[ Let him escort you, strange woman. ]

[traaaaaash]

[ Honestly, Eda didn't really have an idea of where she was going, beyond "out of the forest". And maybe somewhere to rest and sleep off the curse hangover. A headache is still throbbing behind her eyes and the nausea has not fully worn off, though she's unlikely to throw up again. (Your precious robes are safe, Lan Wangji.)

However, she might as well walk a bit with this stranger. Maybe get some information out of him. ]

Sure, sure, whatever.

[ She gets to her feet, rubbing her head a little. ]

You from here?

[downswing]

[ Transiently, but then they have their deceptions to uphold, their veils of obfuscation. He cannot confess his provenance any less than he can abandon the girl to her meandering, absent an escort, in her state of dubious composure.

So, then: a timid, stuttered negotiation of walking, each step sparking clatter when the overgrown weeds of the road tear and pebbles upturn. Perhaps Ke-Waihu will not gain an earnest reputation for its excellently manicured gardens, all too soon. ]

Of late. [ Truth, in both pretence and nature. His eyes slant, gaze squeezed thin by concentration. ] You hail from elsewhere?

[ Lethargy and bruising still reduce him, instincts cloyed, thoughts slow. He thinks there are still the extensions of the Ke-Waiar delegation, cluttering the village of Ke-Waihu — but he cannot well say.

Mere days divide him from the start of the hunting season. Decades. ]

[traaaaaash]

[ Not forthcoming with the info, is he? Well, two can play that game. ]

You could say that.

[ She does note that he has round ears, but seems not especially concerned about her pointy ones. No one does, really. In the human realm she's familiar with, she has to hide them because boy, the way some people get there about witches... she does not have the energy to deal with that. It's enough of a hassle to figure out what they pay with over there.

However, this is clearly another place altogether. Whatever, she's good at going with the flow. ]

So what's a girl gotta know around here? Do you take raccoons for payment?

[downswing]

[ A... raccoon. No, perhaps a legion. There is a contingent of exotic, strange and bemusing creatures that men can trust to encounter on the road, a subset of carefully crafted and curated oddities.

And then there is this exchange and its twists and turns, steeper and more convoluted than the pains of the winding path beneath their feet, and he does not blink or stare or sigh or give territory to any of the ample hallmarks of his long suffering.

Only turns them, gentle in the steering, cutting their path so they need not cross the tallest portions of grass or garden, and decimate any insects or innocent creatures that lurk within. There is a deceitful, silent lushness of weeds and greenery that speaks of calm, and not the cracks that wrinkle the ground beneath, the start of dark waters. ]

We greet Ke-Waihu. Its people... have known suffering. Droughts. Curses. Eruption. [ Behind them, the looming heft of the Ke-Sanwon volcano breathes out hard warmth. ] Lend them care.

[ Not ridicule, not raccoons. ]

[traaaaaash]

[ Oh, wait... care for these strangers in a random place? Nah. She's not about to. It's not that Eda doesn't care about people in general, but she usually minds her business and lets others mind theirs.

She just shrugs. ]

Eh, not like I plan to stick around.

[downswing]

[ ...a fickle creature, perhaps lessened in the generosity of her spirit by her recent sickness. Lan Wangji cannot fault her, when so many are poisoned and bereft and estranged of their kindness, in the wake of frailty, when their bodies surround them with evidence of their organic limitations.

Still, his voice stiffens, gains a steel edge, rust. Callous negligence need not be rewarded. They walk, after all, on the start of roads that gentle hands of the village set down for the privilege and consideration of their peers.

They breathe and live and receive hospitality at the village's largesse. ]

You are of the merchants? [ Intent, therefore, to flee with the next vessel. ]

[badlypoisoned]

You speak as if you used to eat birds live and whole.

[He sounds and looks amused...but his expression is still a little strained and he's a little pale.

He bends over and hands her a container of water.]

To wash the taste out, if you want.

[traaaaaash]

Honestly not the strangest thing I've eaten.

[ And she's not usually the greatest at accepting help, but right now her head is pounding hard enough and her mouth tastes awful enough that she just takes the container and takes a big gulp. ]

Ah! Yeah, that's better.

[badlypoisoned]

Well, I'm glad it helps.

[He doesn't have the sort of temperament that made him susceptible to the Beastmaster's thrall but it has been exhausting all the same. Running and fighting isn't normally a problem but his health being what it is makes it a terrible ordeal. Still, he does his best to hide his exhaustion behind a smile.]

Though now I'm curious about what other strange things you've eaten.

[traaaaaash]

Last time this happened, I think I ate half a playground.

[ She says that absolutely deadpan. It's cool, really! She's made peace with her Owl Beast!

... well. Or so she thought. ]

[badlypoisoned]

[Sorry playgrounds are not a thing where he's from so there's no translation for that that he'd understand.

Which is why he looks a little puzzled.]

Forgive my ignorance but what is a 'playground'?

[traaaaaash]

It's a place to play. You know, for kids. It has slides and swings and stuff.

[ Does. Does she need to draw you sketches. ]

[badlypoisoned]

...I know what swings are but I have never heard of a slide.

[He says slide but it may have been translated to him as a 'slippery ladder' which he has definitely never heard of in Great Liang.]

I suspect there is no equivalent object where I'm from. Normally, children just play in gardens and courtyards.

[traaaaaash]

Well, it's a thing that goes like this.

[ She makes a motion like going down a slide, then realizes what she's doing. ]

Whatever. Point is, beastie likes to chew the scenery.

[badlypoisoned]

[...yeah, he still doesn't get it. But he smiles anyway.]

I can't imagine why. Scenery doesn't often taste good, does it? Unless it is a farm, anyway.

[traaaaaash]

Can't be worse than the voles!

[ She says cheerfully. So cheerfully. ]

[badlypoisoned]

[Voles wouldn't be the worst of what he'd eaten...even so!!]

Voles are hardly much better...though I suppose unlike scenery those at least have some fat on them and can be roasted.

hunting

[enucleation]

[ night hasn't been any easier for Kaneki, who opted to lock himself up somewhere, completely on his own. But keeping a ghoul locked is hard, keeping a crazy ghoul locked up is even harder, thus Kaneki decided to find the Shrine and take pebbles from it, as the Huntress had told them to do. It works - barely, kaneki would argue - but at least no one got hurt and at least he didn't go on absolute rampage.

Once there is light outside, he comes out only to find a woman laying on the ground. A bit confused, he approaches, if only to make sure she is alright ]

Is everything okay? [ clearly not. but mostly he is asking her if she's hurt ]

Re: hunting

[traaaaaash]

[ In the grand scheme of things, she's kinda so-so. Not the first time she woke up like this but boy is it always a bummer. Headaches, nausea, gross mouth taste -- the works. But she's fine. Or she'll be fine soon enough.

Eda drags herself into a sitting position and waves at the stranger. ]

Eh. It's gonna be.