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

[matermali]

[ Oh no. Vanessa's smiling. It's pinched, because she's trying to repress it, but...not with much effort. The image of Fei and Red giving a proper wallop in arm wrestling tickles her. She has no fondness for how men hold their believed superiority.

She's impressed, though not surprised that those two women specifically were able to conquer. There's a distinct pride in the fairer sex upon hearing this news. ]

I am sorry I missed it. [ Truly. It would have felt satisfying. ] Miss Zhou has a warrior's spirit if ever I've seen one. They are lucky it was not a more severe contest, with you two to dominate. I fear I would have been useless.

[matermali]

[ Of all the suggestions, he suggests the one that leaves her even paler than before (which shouldn't seem possible). Flashes of the asylum dance through her mind, and her pulse quickens. Her smile is gone, though she doesn't respond immediately, not wanting to seem too reactive. ]

It seems an extreme measure. What sort of doctor are you? ...An alienist?

[ She should have asked him to specify sooner. A mental doctor is...quite another thing entirely, and Vanessa is now hesitant to play the role she so eagerly offered. Oh, she can lie... She doesn't like it, but she can. To lie about being mad? Possessed? It strikes too many nerves; they are all on fire. Instinctively, she has recoiled, now a few steps back and watching him with a careful eye. ]

[matermali]

[ The touch makes her gasp with a start, her shoulders stiffening, though her eyes remain closed for a lingering moment. His hand burns her. It hurts. She whimpers, but it's ragged as though smoke burns her lungs. So many bodies. Pieces of metal torn open, with strange lights dancing about inside as death seems to find even those without souls.

Her hand rips away as her eyes fly open, and Vanessa jerks backwards so suddenly that her chair rocks momentarily. With her hand clutched against her chest as if it's been scalded, Vanessa stares at The Doctor with a wild tremor keeping her eyes from holding completely steady.

He is a vortex. He will consume you. He's too powerful. He's too Other.

That was no red thread of fated love tugging at their fingertips; it was the silk string of a spider's web, trapping them for a cosmic supper. ]

...You shouldn't be here.

[ Not at the table. Here. In her world. This should be her world, and nobody else's. But he isn't set dressing. He is real, isn't he? He's real. He isn't a hallucination. But he isn't Lucifer. ...Is he? Could Lucifer's deception run so deep? Has she overestimated herself? She's trembling. Terrified. ]

[sunnydaymonic]

[He blinks in surprise. Because he had not thought to consider someone may consider him one of the other forms of "doctor." How foolish of him, really.]

A medical doctor. I am hoping to seek specializations in pediatric oncology and surgery. Ah...a doctor for child illnesses.

[He hopes that makes more sense.]

I did not realize it would be extreme as you were already intending to perform séances.

[His mother--and grandmother--had performed more than one in his life, as a spirit-channeler. Allowing spirits to speak through you with the potential side effects was not unusual. It was a tradition so ingrained that it wasn't treated as negatively as other forms of magic.]

[matermali]

[ After a moment, she forces her shoulders to settle again and her fingers to unclench the fabric of her skirt. She mustn't get defensive. It's clear from his behavior that he doesn't understand the trouble he's suggested, so after a short glance over her shoulder, Vanessa will sigh a bit sheepishly. ]

It is not the same... I did not plan to feign possession. I need not fabricate the details I learn about them. Their memories are ghosts enough, so the séance would be for true. Drawn out, at the most, when pieces are sparse.

[ Though she had been prepared to lie about what she was, where she came from, and what her purpose was to those folks, she hadn't intended to lie about their ghosts. ...Exaggerate, perhaps... She walks a fine line in pretending there's much of a difference. But it's another matter entirely to pretend to be possessed by the dead. It sours her stomach to even think on it. ]

Is there no other...ailment that would better suit your purpose?

[gautiheir]

[ Crazy, not at all. In need of some more research, perhaps. ]

There's definitely enough room for it. Depends what kind of scrutiny it's under, on either end... [ He considers for a moment. ] - or how upstanding the people in charge of that scrutiny are, of course.

[ He is absolutely suggesting bribery if they gotta. ]

[gautiheir]

Best way I've seen, barring some other variable entering the picture.

[ He's not...thrilled about it? But the metaphorical trash was his natural habitat as a teenager, he'll get over it. ]

Get her between us, maybe even one of us can cover her and the other can clear a bit of a path first. Get the shutters off - I can definitely handle that much. [ He may not be as unnaturally strong as his king, but his Crest still gives him a leg or two up on the average guy. ] One out first to clear the way, then her, then whichever of us has the rear.

Her home will definitely be watched, so I imagine it won't be too hard to convince her we go elsewhere to start.

[gautiheir]

Everything? I mean, it looks...fancy, to be sure, but...

[ It doesn't...feel magical, at least, not in the way that he's used to, which begs the question of how much a smallish tool like that can really do...and that's interesting, considering some of the efforts Sylvain's been making to shrink down the magical artillery in his own home. ]

How's it work?

[gautiheir]

The one by the window should be easier to deal with. There's plenty of ways to distract someone who's out in the streets.

[ Throw a drunk fight in his lap. Throw a rat at him. Set fire to the nearest trash cans. The possibilities are endless. ]

[growlies]

( Red sees the smile she's attempting to repress, and it makes her smile too - to have been apart of something that might call up such a reaction. ) I'm sure there'll be another time so you can witness.

( For some reason, she feels like Fei commonly ends up in bar fights. This was a first for Red, but Red does frequently end up in fights in general. She's brash - acts before she thinks, spits before she has an escape plan. Things like that. )

Honestly, she's the one that took care of the entire crowd. I can only call up that strength briefly. ( She thinks? Still figuring out how everything works now. ) And I don't have formal badass training like she does. ( But still it's weird to think of how powerful Vanessa is and yet when it comes to a fight like that, there's not much she can do. )

[matermali]

[ 'Badass' training. Vanessa lingers momentarily on that word, understanding enough from context, but it should be self-derogatory, shouldn't it? She's not about to repeat it to find out. Vanessa Ives, saying 'ass' in public? Not when in her right mind, at least.

Vanessa is curious about the training Fei may have had, but it isn't fit to ask Red about that. Besides, she's much more curious about this strength that the girl claims to be able to summon. But not for long? Why? ]

Only briefly?

[ It is good to know, should they be in danger. This is so very curious. Vanessa knows she wouldn't be able to summon that kind of strength at all, not without losing complete control of her identity.

Oh, when life is threatened, she can fight... She can kill, and she has, but not without taking a beating herself. Not without risking her fragile frame. There are ways she could be stronger, to protect herself, but that power is a last resort. Not something to be used in...bar brawls. Vanessa would rather take a light beating than further damn her soul over such things. ]

Does it hurt? To keep that strength inside? ...Or to release it?

[growlies]

I... don't know. ( The admittance comes slow, and she makes a face, disliking making it especially next to someone who is so powerful. ) This is my first time out of the Underworld. Still figuring everything out.

( Maybe it's temporary. Maybe she can hold on to it longer or do more bursts in a row, but everything seems off. It's the first time she's been in a living body too and so far away from any sense of the Underworld she was created for. It's a wonder she gets to keep anything at all.

Amazing that her powers weren't immediately stripped from her when she landed in the city after swimming through the River Styx to make it to the living world. )

...no, not really. It's a part of me. Then again I'm new to all this like I said so- ( She's not sure if that will change at all. ) Guess time will tell if there's any weird side effects.

...what about for you? ( Obviously she keeps her own power all locked up. )

[matermali]

[ To that, she doesn't want to answer. It's unfair of her to ask about vulnerability without sharing her own, isn't it? She knows she can be quite unfair at times, and this shouldn't be anything to create guilt. But...there's still a sense of responsibility present. She couldn't explain why if forced to put reason into words. This creature—this girl—admits to feeling unsure, after all. From the Underworld. How can it be a trap if it's so honest?

Her thumb rubs anxiously at the back of her own clasped hand, and a troubled gaze drops low while considering the question. She's unfair, after all, too afraid to admit overmuch about her pain. ]

It is never...peaceful.

[ It always hurts, and she can't remember what anything else feels like. It's a piece of her, but it isn't kind. She always feels that simmering pain; some part of her is forever writhing and scratching within. Even when she summoned it from within to banish her foes, a measure of it remained trapped. That near freedom (so close, so close) had been the cruelest suffering.

Her soul curses her thoughts, and her thoughts stab into her heart. She hurts herself as much as the Thing inside does. Vanessa never plans to find out if it would be less painful to let that piece of herself go free. Her control is too precious. Really, she fears...that it might feel wonderful. Then there would be no stopping it. ]

But releasing that part of me would not bring peace... Only pain for others. I would never have it so.

[ Yet, shouldn't this girl be trying to lure it out? Isn't that what anyone from the Underworld would do? Vanessa is wary, but still she follows. When they're out of the matron's, she'll slow, but only because she's looking around, still thinking on something more appetizing for the girl to eat. Vanessa ignores her rumbling stomach. How human. ]

[thedreamer]

[ It's been a long time since someone has recoiled in horror from him, though it's happened. His name, after all, is synonymous with both healer and wise man, and warrior. He brings as much fear in his wake as he does hope, though he'd always prefer to bring more of the latter.

In this case, he's barely been here at all and he's already terrified his young companion. She's tormented, though by what, he doesn't know exactly. At this precise moment, though, it's him. It's what he's done (or so he assumes), it's who he is, the deep dark inside of him; he thinks she must have seen it somehow, or glimpses of it possibly, and it's terrified her. The look in her eyes haunts him, the consequences of what he's done reflected through her eyes.

When she stumbles back, whimpering and trembling, his instinct is to soothe with words, with an offered touch, but that seems to have made all of this worse. ]

I shouldn't be. None of us should be here. [ He's worried about her, desperately so, but his voice is calm and steady, though he keeps a distance between them. ] We'll find our way back to where we're supposed to be, we all will - together - but right now, here is where we are. And you're not alone. I'm here and I want to help, do you understand?

[growlies]

( Red frowns as she explains it all - it does sound complicated, which explains what she saw with her soul, her aura. It wasn't simple. It wasn't only evil and powerful. It wasn't only goddess but something else too, something more human, something that wants different while wanting the darkness too. She bites on her lip briefly. Concern flashes across her face. )

I'm sorry.

Sounds like a prison.

( And she knows what that is like.

Her gaze lifts though to the stalls as they head out. She's following her nose a little, trying to smell if anything might taste better. Honestly, she's not all that used to eating, but even without that, the stew and bread were honestly so bad tasting.

However, with her extra strong senses, she also hears Vanessa's stomach rumbling. ) You're hungry too. Are you gonna eat?

[thedreamer]

Here, it can open doors, locks, loosen a few bolts. Very boring, very standard, nothing interesting about it. But when I'm not here and it's fully sonic, well, it'd be easier to tell you what it wouldn't work on. Wood, for one. It's handy with mechanical things, electronics.

One way or another, I'll find a way to get it working again here.

I'm the Doctor, by the way.

[sunnydaymonic]

[He can tell there has been a misstep. Not surprising, he does it often enough, but he had thought it would be simple for someone with familiarity in the practice to lie about their symptoms for the sake of persuading their audience. But what he suggested was clearly in the wrong. He does not need to see her soul to recognize that.]

I am sorry, as you're clearly uncomfortable with that suggestion. I am more accustom to such things. Reality and entertainment is blurred in this regard where I am from. Any ailments would be reasonable, in all likelihood as long as it is believable.

[sunnydaymonic]

Agreed. [The stairs creak, but Yuki moves carefully to avoid attracting attention of the person in the room next to the scribe's. But he did not head directly to her room, instead looking at the room on the opposing side of their stalker.

Even before he touches the knob he can feel that no one is inside. The door unfortunately seems to be locked.]

Would you happen to have a means of getting into a room without a key?

[matermali]

[ Any verbal response is delayed while Vanessa lingers in her disoriented state, finally blinking away the tears that had somehow gathered. She can't remember the song she was humming, but she remembers the feeling that came with it as her fingertips flutter beneath her eyes to wipe at a damp cheek. With her breathing slowed, Vanessa finds that her lungs no longer hurt. She is still dizzy, but then she was before this reading started. That won't ease. Her sense of self, however, is righting itself.

The fragments of his life that had funneled into her remain, but she can now parse them; organize and separate them from her own life's traumas. His pain, his loneliness and regret, his anger and his hope, all of it still churns inside of her. Her tiny frame shouldn't be able to hold so much, and yet every time, she finds room. The ephemeral has no limit, though it's a wonder it doesn't drive her mad.

No, he isn't the Devil. He carries too much regret. He does what need be done, but without the pleasure a demon would partake in. ]

No. You shouldn't be here. You are not of this world. Not of my world, yet...you are no demon.

[ There's no anger in her voice as she unveils her confusion, only trepidation. He isn't any type of supernatural creature she's met before, and she can't understand how he connects to the Underworld. Unless? ...An angel?

Her fear heightens. If an angel of God was sent for her, Vanessa can't dare hope any longer that it's to save her. If it's come to end her curse by whatever means necessary, to prevent the Hell she's destined to unleash on the world, then she ought to embrace such an end, shouldn't she?

But she doesn't. The selfish part of her digs in, and her nails bits into her wrist as she slowly stands. God's angels didn't come for her when she prayed for them, but now they dare to extend their hand? Cruel. ]

Save your misguided mercy for your own repentance. I know the path that I tread, and it is one of solitude. You answered my call too late.

[thedreamer]

[ It's not the first time in his long existence that he hasn't been there when someone needed him, friend and stranger alike. It isn't possible to save everyone in every pocket of the universe who has ever cried out for help, but that doesn't stop his hearts from aching for just a moment to know - to see - what she's suffered through and when she asked for help, nothing and no one came. He didn't personally let her down, but he can wish that she'd had better. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you needed someone and you were alone. But you are not now, you won't be.

[ Still, he keeps his distance. Can't risk making it all worse for her, she's been through enough as it is.

She doesn't need to suddenly accept his offering, nor would she. He's frightened her and he's a stranger from a strange land. But at least for the time being, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. None of them are. ]

I'll tell you what I am another time. It's more than enough for one day, I think.

[matermali]

[ Any attempt at latching onto the mystique has been squashed, and Vanessa's smile droops into something a little more sheepish. A hand presses to her stomach as if that will immediately silence its willful interjection. ]

...Haven't had a taste for anything. I will be fine.

[ So perhaps she is torturing herself by following Red like this, but she's never claimed to make the smartest decisions for herself. She'll need to hold fast, even if they find something delicious. Her only comfort is that it's unlikely they'll find something to really tempt Vanessa, but hopefully it will be more manageable for Red. Whatever it costs will surely be a drop in the bucket compared to what they need to earn back. ]

[matermali]

[ I'm sorry. She holds her breath, and his tiny little apology echoes with Red's own. Both of them have said they're sorry for a curse they had nothing to do with. They both have something in them—around them—that draws Vanessa in even while she clenches her teeth and steels for the worst.

The two of them are beings who are greater than their appearance suggests. Vanessa had thought that girl-who-was-no-girl was there to tempt her, and now she thinks The Doctor could be here to end her should she give in to that temptation. She can no longer trust that this is a mere hallucination.

Suddenly uncertain if she can trust any of her senses, Vanessa looks from him down to the cards, glaring at the unfinished reading. She's too afraid to continue, and there's hesitance even when she reaches to gather up the cards, as though merely touching them will send her into another fit. ]

I know what you are. I know what you have done.

[ The cards are shoved into her skirt's pocket before she crosses her arms protectively, fingers digging into her elbows in a defensive stance. She keeps her voice low, still, unwilling to draw attention from others at this point in time. ]

You are here to keep me from doing the same. You waste your time, and you underestimate my will.

[growlies]

( Red shakes her head after that statement, raising her eyebrows as she looks at her in a certain way. )

No, I think actually you won't be fine, cause mortals need food. I'm one now so... yeah. ( She needs it too. Without that, she'll pass out or something. That's the way it feels anyway. The gnawing hungry in the pit of her stomach. )

I can't make you, and it's your choice, but-

This place is dangerous enough without passing out cause you're hungry. It's your choice though. You don't trust this place, huh?

( It's clear enough. )

[thedreamer]

You're making a very big mistake assuming that you know anything at all about me. [ A bluff, and probably a bad one at that. He's seen it in her eyes, what she knows of him now. She's surely seen it reflected back in his eyes, too. That he's aware she's caught a glimpse of the darkness in him. She only knows a part of it, though, and he only knows a part of it when it comes to her in return. ]

Maybe not today, but soon, I hope, you'll tell me what it is I'm meant to keep you from doing. [ Again, he knows what she's implying. The total destruction, desolation, to which she's referring. But he wants more of it in her own words. Specifics. ] You see things, certainly, but I'm very sure that what you think you know is all very, very wrong. I am going to help you, one way or another. And I do mean, help you. Not harm you. Not ever. And if anything else is trying to harm you, it'll answer to me.

[ Whether or not she believes that doesn't entirely matter at the moment. He doesn't need her to believe it for it to be true. ]

[matermali]

[ Vanessa can't imagine that the Devil would be this blatant. Fake a possession? It has none of the finesse he has usually attempted with her. To consider anything else, however, means considering that this is a real person talking to her. A real person, or...something else. It's difficult to place. ]

No, you have...nothing to be sorry for. Such things are used for entertainment where I come from, as well. Only...possession can be so difficult to distinguish from madness, you see.

[ Perhaps he doesn't, and she doesn't wish to expose herself further by explaining. Having a doctor 'cure' her of madness in a public space is too horrid to think on. She can still hope for a solution, but she hates having to think up more lies to offer the public. This is going to be a long week, and she will have to repent for much by the end of it. ]

Is there anything else that may apply? Fever and a cough are easy to feign. But, you know your specialties best.

[ Acting dizzy ought to be no issue as light-headed and weak as she already feels having abstained from food and drink for so long. ]