the mouse house

[groundrules]

Welcome to Serthica’s Mouse House — a mini plot roll for recent newcomers, lasting until 11 August. Characters who opted in are in a different physical location but can contact the group at sea through their communicators. You can use the log post below to top level and mingle, or you can make your own logs and posts.

THE MOUSE HOUSE

---

Characters awaken in the dessert, unburied from high sands, recovering in medical tents or drifting towards a caravan. After a day to mend, they are presented to the caravan leader — the Merchant, who provides them translation and communication devices.

He explains they are outsiders who have reached the world of Akhuras, where undead factions wage war with each other and the living. The undead summon otherworldly conscripts, to enslave or weaponise them in the conflict. The Merchant finds and transports such newcomers east, where beacons might return the visitors back to their home worlds. Other otherworldly guests are currently travelling the haunted Crossing Seas — the Merchant offers their names.

The group at sea will reach the beacon-bearing clockwork citadel of Serthica within days. Caravan newcomers are supplied 10,000 coins each, blade weapons and ship passage to the impoverished Mouse House — the underground outskirts of Serthica and home to beggars, smugglers, contrived thief networks and mercenaries. Here, they must complete a set of tasks to wrangle, muscle, thieve or bribe coveted Serthica passport papers for themselves and their incoming comrades. Good luck!

Image source.

CHEESE FOR THE WHINE

■ The Mouse House is the literal industrialised underworld that surrounds Serthica. Coarse and labyrinthine, it has the gargantuan width of a very large vessel (50m). Here and there, crumbled makeshift stone roads show defunct rail tracks underneath. One train still runs in the outmost pathway of the Mouse House, taking daily imported coal shipments from the port to Serthica.

■ Often filthy, dangerous and entirely cavernous, the Mouse House comprises several crammed community homes — ‘rat mounds’ — some small illicit trade and forgery shops, and hideouts for opiate suppliers, slavers and thieves. Sleep lightly and watch your backs.

■ A pathway leads out to the ports. There are no windows, and the stuffy air is unhelped by limited ventilation. A strong scent of sedative incense blooms in the air to keep the criminal population tame(r).

■ Characters are taken in by Ma’am Mariol, the benevolent matronly leader of a ring of orphans who provide courier and espionage services for the various overlords of the Mouse House. Enjoy her hospitality: dried bread, questionable soup and a resting place in her breezy enclosures.

■ Ma’am Mariol looks after 12 valiant urchins. You can enlist their services but expect they’ll want pay.

■ Twice a day, at 6:00 and 18:00, the Mouse House suffers a dull shudder for a few minutes, as if suffering the echoes of a distant, rippling earthquake. Ma’am Mariol shares this is because the two city halves of Serthica are starting to swap places: Eidris comes up in the morning, while Minaras is overground at night. They only meet for one hour during the swap.

Image source.

✘ PRIME OPPORTUNITY

Win passage into Serthica by completing quests from the list below. Multiple people can tackle the same assignment. Report in by 23:59 GMT on 10 August for your gains.

PLOY & PLUNDER

Highly superstitious gang leader Artemius Bale is holding a festivity to celebrate conquering the territory of former rival Edward Three-Hands . The crème de la crème of the Mouse House’s underworl attends in a bustling, tight space. Despite his recent victory, Artemius remains heavily paranoid and keeps his cronies on guard.

■ Steal decent garments and function invitations from attendees to join the party.

■ Ease the pockets of the many criminal merrymakers, while they’re enjoying their fine wine. The more coin you can collect for later bribes, the better.

■ Pass for one of the many séance holders and ‘necromancers’ Artemius Bale has commissioned to entertain his guests. Coax attendees that the dead want them to patron incoming travellers — You may need to pair up and simulate a few ‘haunting’ tricks to persuade them of your great necromantic talent.

■ Why not pull a fast one on old fox Artemius? You could even persuade him he has been cursed by Edward Three-Hands and will fall deathly ill or unable to enjoy his gains if he does not make amends for his wrongdoings… to your benefit.

ALL ABOARD

A time-honoured fixture of Serthica, the single coal train typically enters the Mouse House each day at 11:00 without threat or trouble. Loaded to brim, it brings in fuel and smuggled goods.

Come early morning, Ma’am Mariol’s orphan scouts mention the latest 6:00 shake has toppled large pieces of stone and metallic debris over a segment of the railway. As the train approaches, Serthica officials send word that anyone who breaks their backs helps clear out the tracks by 13:00 will earn considerable good will with the citadel’s distraught customs office.

■ Grab a shovel. Use it wisely.

■ Careful with the various oversized rats that haunt the filthier depths of the Mouse House — they typically avoid groups of humans, but will jump you if you’re alone.

THE SCRIBE

Serthica’s most skilled forger, Rayssa is returning to the Mouse House after months of imprisonment in the citadel. She brings along decades of experience crafting passport papers — and a wealth of debt collectors who want the coin she owed before her disappearance.

It is widely known she will visit One-Eye Calliope’s tavern as her first point of call, to enjoy a first drink in freedom. Her pursuers will be waiting for her, armed, prickly and ready.

■ Win Rayssa’s good will and services by rescuing her from the inevitable bar brawl.

■ Head into her heavily watched quarters in the Mouse House to collect her tools of trade — inks, parchments, pens and stencils.

■ Hold her watch or her hair while a heavily inebriated Rayssa writes up your forged passport papers.

LADY LUCK LOVES YOU

If you’re no fan of honest looting, leave your fate to chance: the Mouse House’s various taverns and gathering places host nightly gambling games, from cards to bone dice, arm wrestling and a local favourite, mouse races.

Pair up to rig the games in your favour, and win coin, passport forgeries, clandestine passage or a crime lord’s patronage. You never know what favour the right name can earn you later!

QUESTIONS

NPC CONTACT

GAINS

GRAB A FRIEND

Comments

[hatejakku]

I can probably handle them, too, but-...

[ He just looks over his shoulder. Is it worth it?? ]

Ah, anyway-... They said this train runs from the ports, right? And there's more than just coal coming in. I was actually thinking that they could maybe be used to smuggle in... people?

[ Is that crazy? ]

[growlies]

Red stares openly in confusion at him during that silent moment where something shifts even if she can't tell what. It feels like his aura grows brighter almost, like it reaches around her even as he stares at her. She is trying to read what's happening but has no idea. The confusion etches further even as she shakes her head.

And then like that, he blinks, the aura fades though still brighter than anything she's seen before, and the conversation shifts back as if nothing on Earth has happened. Of course, he's right. She's blunt as hell, and she's tempted to ask what exactly happened just there?

What is it she's reading from him? But she doesn't. This isn't the time. They're in the middle of the party, but that doesn't mean she'll forget it happened or forget what she's sensing from him. She can't really let this one sit. Something happened. Something changed. She feels weirdly vulnerable.

"Later." Her voice is blunt but insistent. But manages to gather herself up again: "Okay, okay, Sherlock. Shit. Might have to change your nickname to Sherlock. That's good. The old guy seems kind of like an obvious route. He'll want the ghosts on the other side to welcome him to it as gently as possible, which means taking care of the lost souls here on the living side of things, but-" She wrinkles her nose. "The woman's harder. How can we use this as a way to get back? Like a guilt trip? I did this for you now do this for me?"

[growlies]

"I'd like that," Red admits even as she tilts her head in confusion. "You can make them run away from you by only carrying a sword?"

Red's definitely very capable of making people run away from her if she shifts into her other form. It had its effect on spirits hanging out in Purgatory High too, and they were already dead but they could still get hurt if her teeth got around them or her fire burned them... Well. She doesn't even know if she still can do that. Maybe she left that in the Underworld and now she's... what?

Maybe she still can. She can feel it at the edges of everything but can't really grip hold.

"Your mother could fight too? That's seriously cool. Runs in the family then."

The question posed her way makes her pause. She doesn't want to lie, but she also doesn't know how even to describe her existence.

"...it's complicated. Definitely never learned how to fight from masters of the craft."

[growlies]

Uh, how early do you wake up?

( Red is getting used to actually needing sleep so... sometimes she sleeps weird hours or more or less than most other people seem to. Usually more.

Still she follows close to Fei, following her gaze to the walls. )

...I should be good. ( Time to channel that ancient inner strength. ) Wanna go over there? See what we can find?

[thedreamer]

[ The Doctor has a way of doing that, it seems. Not always filtering very well at all, often saying all the wrong things.

But though he doesn't know his companion very well at all, he believes in her entirely. He's also more than happy to go along with her suggestion as it gives him a chance to avoid hurting anyone while still doing what they came here to do. ]

Oh, very, very many times. [ Well, not exactly this precise scenario, but danger and chaos tend to accompany him wherever he goes, and he's good at getting out of tight and tricky situations. He tends to thrive on it, really. ]

I'm quite good in a tricky situation, you might say. Things go wrong, they call on me. Or, they have. Elsewhere in the universe. You do what you're good at it and I'll do what I'm good at: protecting, helping.

[thedreamer]

When the young girl looks to him, he surmises from the expression briefly in her eyes that she's wondering what he can really do, what the extent of his ability is here. He's not entirely sure, but that doesn't stop him from grinning his characteristically bright smile for the briefest of moments, accompanied by a little wink. Cocky, perhaps. Few people would argue otherwise about the Doctor, even his closest friends. But he's very often proven to have good reason for his cockiness.

When her eyes close, the Doctor takes a deep breath and steps a little closer, pressing the thumb of one hand to the man's temple and closing his own eyes. Immediately, he realizes his own powers are muted. He should have been able to see everything play out in perfect view. He should be able to see every single memory with complete clarity. He can't, and he's instantly frustrated, though he doesn't betray any of that outwardly. He just sucks in a breath, steadies himself, and focuses on what he can sense in the other man. He can feel what he feels, the emotions, the wish to be a hero, the way both he and his sister had cared for one another. He can hear the echo of their names, too, and that gives him something else to hold on to.

When he's sure he has enough to go on, he opens his eyes briefly and speaks, "Belle. Your sister. She's with us now, I can feel her." He reaches out then to just very lightly touch his partner's hand, not wanting to startle her, hoping that his voice will have alerted her first.

"Belle and Henry. Just the two of you, eh? Two of you against the world." The moment his young companion accepts the touch to her hand, the Doctor will transfer every thought and emotion and he can feel over to her.

"You're still that boy deep down, aren't you? She knows you are. Your story isn't over yet, Henry, it's just getting started."

The chance to do good, to be better, to make a difference. It's all right there. If they can hone in on that, maybe they can get what they want now.

[hatejakku]

[ He has no plans, no, but- ] That sounds like a good idea. They'd love that. I should have plenty of coin to spend.

[ Sure, he's managed to get a lot for the passports and such, but he's not about to deny some kids a little extra luxury in their lives. Even if just for the day. ]

The only plans I had was a walk on the tracks. I think they're going to like you more before this is over.

[growlies]

Red isn't prepared for it. There's no way to be.

She sensed her accomplices' power and age when she saw his aura before, and she sees it still as she looks up at him. It's impossible to miss - such a unique feeling of cozy, warm blanket with holes that seep in this dark, ancient feeling, this creeping cold. She's not prepared for the feeling that comes with the touch which she easily accepts. She is not prepared for how much he can share with her.

If it was thoughts only, images and visuals, it'd be one thing, but it's the feelings. She has never had a family, never known what it is like to be someone's sister- to love someone like that, to care for them like that, and then to lose them. It's overwhelming. It's hard to breathe through. Her heart always longed for connection without realizing how damaging it can be, how painful.

The tears that appear at the edges of her eyes are real. They're hers. Her eyes open. The tears slip down her face, and her breath is shaky when she releases it. Fuck.

The man is already affected by what her accomplice says. The words are plucked directly from his mind. How could he not be? Henry stares up at the man, shaking his head in amazement and grief, hope and fear. "You- She'd always want more for me. We wanted it together." More from his life, more for his story. Anger returns to his voice: "...but hers is. Hers is over."

"Henry," Red says, and her voice cracks - she doesn't recognize her voice. "I don't want you to be angry anymore. We came here for a better life and not for you to change from my brother who only ever wanted to help."

Henry looks to her, and his own eyes well with tears that he fights back. "Belle. Is it you?"

Red can only manage to nod. Her hand clenched tightly into a fist on top of the table.

[hatejakku]

[ He huffs a laugh. ] Thanks. It kind of is, yeah. I'm just so used to it, though. It's normal back home. But that doesn't seem to be the case for the others here.

[ Which raises even more questions, not only where they are, but where did they all come from? ]

You... don't mean just underground and above ground and... things like that, do you? I've never heard of those places.

[matermali]

[ She absolutely is no one in this world despite knowing an excellent psychic (not a word she's thought of), at least that's how she knows it's supposed to be. These strange little social challenges won't break her like Satan hopes, but every count of familiarity here does seem to be met by just one more rug pull.

She knows of the undead, but why would they want to interact? She suspected it was always the 'mystery' of the thing that drew others to séances in London, but in this realm it seems like a point of fact that everyone accepts. Perhaps being aware of the risks make it even more enticing, here. ]

Such talk is worrisome, even here, isn't it?

[ Her eyes follow his only a moment before returning to consider what this means for her. Her brow is furrowed, but not so much to make her look sour. Just a touch of worry. ]

Not from the east, but some dear friends sent word ahead of recent dangers, nearly caught up in their own 'skirmish', as you say. People surely died. ...And so, I dare ask something else of you, good sir.

[ A pause, and she bites her lip. ] I worry that...my world is in fact too small, with too many doors closed, so that I will not be able to offer my dear friends the refuge they require when they reach our shore. [ Another glance towards all the 'necromancers' he was able to afford. ] You are powerful enough to open doors, aren't you? You help the needy. Well, if you will forgive my brashness...my friends are desperately in need.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn balks when the Doctor brings up the shovel again. He's very sorry!

But then he's quickly distracted by the she'll turn up line. ]

Wait, your ship? You came here in a ship?

[ Oh, poor Finn, he's gotten all excited. He's already thinking crazy things like "where'd you last see it" and "we can retrace your steps" and other desperate nonsense. ]

[hatejakku]

My luck has been pretty... all over the place. So, maybe so.

[ Just huge swings between bad and good luck. It's his lot in life. ]

It's... probably just not that great. Probably better up in Serthica.

But, ah- No, no. I kind of grew up all over the place. I've just never had much taste for alcohol. Now that I'm thinking about it, though, it could be the same reason why the wine here isn't great. I've just never had the good kind.

[ So he keeps trying it and keeps hating it. Again, his lot in life. But like with all liquors, it gets better the more you drink. ]

[sansdoute]

( Caramel apples. He tries the words on his tongue, finds them sweet with residue. He wants this again, another — ...fruit? And so he nods, effusive and fond of his iminent prize.

Only, the doctor hasn't said — )

...and I'll have some?

( After all, him bringing the apples doesn't mean he'll be fast to share them. In fact, so few are. )

I'll be good. I'll... I'll... shine yer shoes? Or stitch your buttons? Your cuffs? ( What's a gentleman wanting? ) A hat, if you've got one. I'll clean it?

[sunnydaymonic]

"All right."

Later. Meaning not right now when he very much has no intention of explaining anything about what just happened. Later meant he had plenty of time to keep pushing it back into "never." And she wasn't wrong, about the way that the elderly man could be persuaded. He was clearly reaching out toward someone or something long gone. A spouse, a child, some other loved one. But the woman,

"Don't teenagers like using their parents money as a way to get back at them? She is angry at being here. Allow her to get revenge on whoever put her here by using their wealth. She certainly has money to spare on her."

[sansdoute]

( And now, then, they've come to the root of it. Of course, a favour. In this life or the next, will beautiful women ever come to him for aught else?

It flatters inklings of him that are root without grown branches, to be their provider. To think there is a part of him, inescapable, whom they might seek out first.

They come to him. For all he is an uneducated man of primitive means, with neither rank nor luck nor looks, to him.

And he smiles back, feral. )

So's every rat on the street. What'll they give?

[growlies]

Red's staring again after a moment. She's never seen a parent-child dynamic- a parent-teenager dynamic, but he's been right every single other time. She'll trust him on how those types of relationships go and what teens might do. So finally, she nods.

"Okay. I'll do that."

...and not likely come back after that weirdness beyond to share whatever the results of duping all the three of their marks was.

She goes to the old man first, talking about the fragility of life, how important it is to have a smooth transition to the other side, those that may be waiting for him there. It's not hard to convince a dying man to secure his way over. It's the woman that's a little bit more difficult. Red pushes at the anger part of it - use all that money for what she wants especially if it'll piss off the one who brought her here.

There's less ghosts this time, but she understands anger and she gets the point across at least. Hard to say if the woman will follow through, she looked eager at the idea of spending that money somewhere. ...then she gives up for the remainder of the night, finding a drink and a dark corner to be quiet in. It's been a long night, but she will be seeking out Sherlock later. No doubt about that.

yuki & red

[growlies]

Yuki and Red strategize which marks are best at the party alongwith ways to convince people to offer up their money for a Good Cause - Yuki does the Sherlockian observations and Red is the "relatable, blunt" one delivering the message. They hit up 3 npcs here.

[matermali]

[ There is the coin in her purse that she's gathered tonight, certainly... And that of the others. She can't know yet just what everyone has scraped together, but she knows that nobody in her company has been idle.

That smile. No doubt, he'd take it all if she offered it. Better not, then. Better not to go pointing fingers at any of her companions, either, without better testing the ground. Would they trust her with the money? It's a risk to assume, but everything here is a risk. ]

They need not barter their few remaining belongings after losing so much. I would offer whatever is needed to ease their passage. [ She needs to watch her words better than that. She might offer a divination, but she's wary of it putting him off too soon. He seems about control, this one. ] Coin can be provided.

[groundrules]

Sounds awfully like four passport papers and 22,091 coins to me.

Reward

[growlies]

I really enjoyed this thread, and I'm so excited for them to thread more! Red's definitely seeking him out later. I just wanted to show you that I submitted this thread, and they were rewarded for their efforts. Red would split the money with him. The passports would likely go to the group as a whole.

[thedreamer]

The Doctor's eyes lock on to his young partner's face for a moment. He's slow on the uptake sometimes. Can't always read subtleties and emotions the way humans would. It's why sometimes he may inadvertently come across as cold when he really doesn't mean to be. There's nothing subtle about this, though. No, this time he realizes what's happening to her is genuine and there's nothing to be done right now about it. They'll have to keep going.

"You're wrong, Henry," the Doctor quickly takes over. His voice is gentle, but very assured, almost calming. "Her story isn't over. Not the way you think. When we lose the ones we love, this moment right here, this is what we always want, isn't it? To speak with them, always, to say those last things we never got to say. You have that chance now to say it and you should. Don't lose it again."

And then, because he does genuinely care that they leave this man with some hope, he adds, "Her story won't be over after this, Henry. Not if you live your life the way she wants you to. She'll only be really gone if you carry on like you have been. The ones we love only ever really go away when we stop carrying them with us. And you did stop; for a long while, you stopped because it hurt too much. I understand that. But you have a chance now, a very good chance, to do something right."

He can say all this quite easily because it's how he lives. All the people he's traveled with, all the friends he's made all these years, his family, and he's never looked back; he couldn't, because it would have hurt too much, but he's always, always carried them all with him. They sleep inside his mind, safely tucked away. Everyone he's ever loved and lost.

[sansdoute]

( So, then, they are beggars and they have dignity. They won't offer the coats off their backs, or promises they cannot deliver.

He knows the sort, honourable to a fault. Hard business, quick to renege a pledge, if matters... complicate. His mouth sours and thins, and he wonders, to the heart of him, if it's worth taking the risk.

And then, the pieces come together. )

They for... up? ( And hastily: ) You ain't from here. ( Clear, for how she speaks, how she holds herself. ) Are you going up with them?

Re: Reward

[sunnydaymonic]

Thanks for the heads up! This was a fun thread and I think they worked very well together. Can't wait to toss them at each other again.

[thedreamer]

[ He's more than happy to reassure him otherwise, that he need not give him anything in return. ]

You know, in all of this world and the next, the up and the down, the east and the west, the universe, in fact - I don't think I'd find a better shoe shiner, button stitcher, hat fluffer - oh, that's a thing I just invented - anyway. I wouldn't find a more talented person at any of that than you. But when I return, you will have all the caramel apples I can find. And you don't owe me anything at all. Promise.

[thedreamer]

[ Oh, Finn, bless. He's very happy to find someone whose interest is piqued at the mention of a ship. ]

Just before we woke in the desert. I was tinkering with her circuit board, all well and good, on my way to pick up a friend and then - well, what happened to me happened to you. We're connected, though, her and I. She'll find me, I'm sure. Eventually. Unless I find her first. Bit tricky just now, I don't have my usual tools.

[ He pulls out a small device from his pocket and shows it to Finn. ]

My sonic screwdriver. Just a screwdriver at the moment. So being here, it's sucked the power out of this. And this screwdriver can do everything, literally everything. [ Well, almost. He may be exaggerating a little. ] Now it's just a screwdriver. [ The look in his eyes, though, says, For now because he doesn't give up so easily. ]