out you go, shoo

[groundrules]

READY TO ROLL OUT

That awkward moment when even a brothel won’t have you.

Characters will end their sojourn at the House of Dew early morning, helmed by Haltham (and his murderous goat, chomping on his prosthetic wooden hand for splinter nutrients). Courtesans and attendants will send the group away with parting gifts: a few sacs of grains, handfuls of spice, a small barrel of brew, several of water, thin blankets and four fat chickens.

The decrepit farm stands an hour’s walk east of Sa-Hareth, bordering the forest at the foot of the mountain. ...and it has not wanted for company. Monstrously overgrown wolves prowl the region, with some of the pack settled inside the farm. The wolves are halfway between dead and living, instantly aggressive, sharper, faster, smarter and blue-eyed beyond natural expectation. The wolves are drawn to heat and fire-bearers. They can be slain, or pushed back into the forest. If the brawl drags on, the wolves may receive reinforcements. Distantly, characters can observe silhouettes of pale-eyed, humanoid creatures in the forest, covered in animal skins. They seem to speak to the wolves, though it is unclear if they soothe or set them to attack.

Once an elaborate woodsmen’s station, the 'farm' is a generous, sprawling outpost built, home to now-barren inner garden. The farm spreads across kitchens, bathing rooms, hefty storage barns, a handful of isolated rest halls and broader communal areas. A study room has been crammed with accountancy tomes, papers and other books, many torn alongside glass shards on the floor. A shakily furnished barn was coarsely repurposed for banquets. Set up, inspect, repurpose. There’s enough dust and mildew to go around, and several walls and roof stretches will need reinforcements. “Ah,” characters say innocently, “Surely the cold will keep away vermin —” You have rats. Large, uncuddly, distinctly violent, prone to swarming once the sun’s downed. Enjoy that first night. Haltham will provide some base construction supplies over a few deliveries, along with a personal gift: a herding dog, to watch over two fluffy sheep. Flex those green thumbs: many moons ago, enchantments were set in place to warm the garden to a tolerable level that will allow the expedited harvest of an arctic patch. These spells will need to be activated and periodically recharged every few days by characters donating recoverable amounts of magic or physical stamina, by touching a nearby rune. But, hey: potatoes, turnips, kale, mmmmmmmmm, a balanced diet.

“Never open your doors at night,” Haltham says on parting. Lend him an ear — and, once the moon rises, hear the forest whispers. Some voices will beg rescue from the cold, others will tease and taunt, a few will imitate enemies or kin. Some will even disrupt dreams. The voices will seek to lure characters out of their shelter. Those who heed will find themselves compelled to walk into the forest, entranced and ignorant of the cold that slowly envelops them. They will be vulnerable to the elements, tundra predators and the woodland creatures, growing increasingly feral. Those who survive the night in the forest will wake to find themselves floating in a chilled, but strangely not-yet frozen lake in the morning. They can have faint recollections, as if they themselves lived any of the following events: a friend taking a dark path, the loss of a dear skill, years in a coffin, a close friend parted, a beloved reunion, a lost brother, a tender romance and rare bliss in poverty. At the bottom of the lake, they may spot the still corpse of an undead that feels too heavy for anyone to lift. His arm has a tattooed red sleeve. During the day, characters who visit the forest will find it eerily silent, with some trees showing signs of scratches and lingering rope. The lake can still be found, but entering it during daytime will not allow characters to experience foreign memories.

Karsa will reconfigure everyone’s quartz pieces to translate outside of the House of Dew and communicate in a private channel. Still nothing like individual inboxes at this time! Up to player discretion if Karsa had the time and humour to change their usernames, or stranded them to their House of Dew identities a little longer. Characters will also be able to access a secondary local fishermen’s network and listen in on their schedules, local gossip and daily weather updates. Woodsmen, tradesmen and miners will be surprised to see anyone inhabiting the farm, with some men pulling away, calling the place cursed.

Comments

[somebadnews]

The way he stops himself mid-explanation makes him raise an eyebrow. That 'you wouldn't understand' vibe is something he's very familiar with utilizing, and he doesn't appreciate it being directed at him. But he can admit that he isn't an expert on the dead. Seeing what his brother went through as a kid, he never particularly wanted to be.

In either case, it doesn't make a huge difference if he's successful or not. They can eliminate one threat or be stuck with the ones they started with.

"Right." It still feels strange. Makes him uncomfortable not having total control over this plan, but what choice does he have? Despite what he said earlier, he doesn't see a way to avoid going into the woods alone with him if he's going through with this. Whatever he digs up, and however he deals with it, Five will be there to witness himself.

For a moment it seems he might just disappear with the agreement that they'll meet in the morning, but he holds his gaze a moment longer in thought.

"Do you see the ghosts, or can you only sense them?"

[darkeststars]

Arche hesitates again for a moment at that question, but -- well, he has just agreed to work together for now, so offering a little more useful info as a sign of good faith would probably be a beneficial move. And it's honestly a little refreshing to have Five actually ask him for information instead of stalking his conversations with everyone else to find out things about him. After that second has passed, he finally just gives another shrug.

"Both?" He gives a brief glance out the window again before making himself turn away entirely at last. "It's not an exact science, ghosts are great individuals. If they're powerful and aware enough to have any interest in an outsider's presence, usually they will show themselves to me. If that is the case, most likely you will be able to see them as well. But there's no telling, really. I can conjecture all I like, but with this place's track record so far, only experience will tell us if things here work remotely as I am used to."


( Hi, once again I'm so sorry for dropping the ball on this! They're close to a stopping point here, so are you good with maybe wrapping up Five and Arche's evening and just handwaving that they didn't find anything conclusive in their daytime search? Let me know if it'd be more useful to do something different. )

[somebadnews]

That's an intriguing response. Arche attracts a specific type of ghost, otherwise he might expect the old farmhouse to be full of them. From his understanding, his brother would see spirits who came to him because they were tortured in some way, usually traumatized beyond help. Klaus had only recently figured out a way to manifest their dead brother, however briefly he saw him. To have them appear without a conscious effort is... something to look out for.

Well, notable but maybe not entirely useful in this case. Five's curiosity ends with a sigh.

"I assumed as much." He shakes his head, suddenly feeling tired. This could be a waste of time, but on the off chance it isn't, it's preferable to sitting around hoping the voices don't get to him again.

"We'll meet here in the morning." Their agreement settled on his end, he gets up to leave; abruptly turning around and disappearing in a ripple of light without waiting for a reply.


( Completely fine! Five could have blinked away in the tag before this, so it's very realistic for him to do so now because he's this way. We can handwave that it wasn't conclusive, but he has more to say on it since then in light of kidnapping and newcomers so I'm sure there will be follow up of... some kind. )