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

Finn | Star Wars

[hatejakku]

■ All Aboard

[ Finn's been pretty quiet since they've arrived on this planet. Granted he was extremely upset about being stuck in a desert again and didn't want to make a fool of himself by snapping at a stranger in the first five minutes- But even once they were in the Mouse House, Finn's more or less kept to himself. He's spoken when necessary, seemed friendly enough, and has probably been seen having conversations with the orphans more than once.

Truth is, he's losing his mind. The desperate hope that he's going to wake up back home has yet to come to pass, though, so he's begun to get a little more active every day.

Today, that includes literally doing mind-numbing work, which is exactly what he's been needing from the start. And it's hot down here, no wind to speak of, so he's down to a sleeveless undershirt that's mostly there to just hide the scars. He's been using shovels, swinging picks, and stopping suddenly every now and then because of a skittering sound at the edge of his vision... Probably nothing.

About an hour later, he catches a really good look at a rodent of very unusual size as it scurries by about a foot away.

His scream echoes. Also, don't forget to duck, because that shovel just went flying. ]

■ Lady Luck Loves You

[ After a few more days of this, Finn decides he's lost his mind and finally gets a little more comfortable with this whole mess. So he goes out and does something a little stupid. Gambling.

It's not like he has a lot of money or that he's the only one using it (he might have been buying things for the kids lately, whoops). But he's always been kinda lucky where it counts. Plus, he's finally admitted to himself that he has a touch of the Force. How hard could this be?

He loses everything in five minutes.

Thankfully, some guy wanted to make a mockery of him, betted a hefty pay if he could win against them in a quick arm wrestling contest. If he lost, there was some ominous threat about owing them? Anyway, thirty minutes later and Finn has a whole table to himself with a stack of coin with drinks all around.

If he sees you coming in, you're going to get something along the lines of: ] Hey! You wanna play? Want a drink? I'll get you a drink--

[ Let him have this. He's living. ]

■ Wildcard

[ ooc: If you see nothing you like or want to change a prompt a little, go crazy! If you're not sure about something, feel free to ask! I'd love to do whatever.

As a note about the first prompt, because of the Force thing, I figure the rats will probably be chill with him maybe (he's got a history of that sort of thing in the comics), so we can play with that if you want. But he also has a terrible history with animals, so encounters will likely not end well. ]

all aboard

[gautiheir]

[ Sylvain is decently fast. He's also tall enough to make a largeish target, though, so while he avoids most of the shovel without too much trouble, the end of the handle does graze him as it goes past. ]

Ow - what did -

[ And he looks over, to see what the issue is, and...ah. He lets out a low whistle. ]

They sure don't make them like that back home.

[hatejakku]

[ Hand over his chest like he'd seen a ghost, Finn catches his breath before whipping around at the newcomer... and seeing the shovel beside him. ]

Sorry! Sorry. Are you all right? I- [ Glance back into the darkness where the rat disappeared into, like it's regrouping or something. ] I'd never seen a rodent that big.

[ Surprisingly. ]

[gautiheir]

Don't worry about it, I've lived through worse.

[ A vicious understatement, really, but laid back is how Sylvain rolls. He bends down to pick up the offending shovel. ]

It's really something, isn't it? I don't think they'd even be able to find enough food to get that big, where I'm from.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn's also lived through worse but he still wouldn't want to get hit by a shovel. Keeps that quip to himself, though.

Mostly because this guy really is laid back. A monster of a rat passes by, and he just kind of seems amused about it... Finn could use that energy in his life, not that he's thinking it. ]

Now that you mention it, that's a good point. What could they be eating down here?

[ Seems about as low income as it gets and yet- Stars, are they predators!? ]

[gautiheir]

Well, rats of the...regular size are usually omnivorous. They'll eat birds and bugs of a manageable size. So looking at these...

[ Well, he's a little worried about any cats who are being kept around for pest control. Which is all kinds of backwards. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Omni-... Oh, hell no. ]

I think I'm done for the day. [ Just making a 180 turn there, headed back towards Sylvain. Should he tell someone he's leaving? Maybe. He's not gonna. ]

What were you doing out here? Same thing?

[gautiheir]

Yeah, it's not the only angle I'm working on, but even if everything else goes right... [ He shrugs. ] Never a bad thing if we have a little more money to grease the wheels somewhere.

[ He pauses, and glances back in the direction the rat went. ] Not my business if you really want to go, but I'm sure I can handle the wildlife, if that's the issue?

lady luck

[growlies]

( People's souls are different here than in the Underworld.

Maybe because people here are still living and breathing and that complicates things. Nothing's quite settled or simplified yet - it's still in motion, still growing and changing. There's this cozy, comforting feeling that's so unfamiliar to her among the yellow with wisps of blue and purple, and then deep below the layers, there's anger - No, anger's not quite right (some kind of righteous fury ready to explode). Like metal and blood on her tongue - a sharp contrast to the coziness.

She's probably staring so she snaps herself out of it, releasing a breath, drinking from her own personal flask to wash away the taste before she approaches the table with the fellow newbie on it. There's not a lot of them so he recognizes anyone in the group. She whistles at the sight of the stack of coin. )

Damn, you're either really lucky, or you kicked everyone's ass in the arm wrestling contest. Or both. That could be true too.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn turns as she approaches, a little surprised to see her in this place since she seems so young. He's not about to call her on it, though. The surprise melts into a slightly bashful smile pretty quickly. ]

A little more of the second one, if we're honest. My luck's horrible.

You're Red, right?

[growlies]

That's probably for the best. They start accusing you of cheating if you win too many of the luck-based games in a row. But I think they're just sore losers.

( Still she lifts her eyebrows with a nod of approval at all the gold he won. That's enough to buy the passage of a few of the oldbies they're trying to help. Probably. She hasn't looked into the cost of everything yet. )

Yeah, that's me. Hello, fellow newbie. You're Finn?

[hatejakku]

Sore losers or not, they'd still throw a punch the same way. [ And he'd like to avoid all that nonsense, thanks. ]

Yep. It's good to meet you, Red. Um- [ Just gonna shove some of that gold her way. ] You're welcome to take some if you need it. Either way, I probably shouldn't try to walk out of here with all of it on me.

[ Because some of these guys might be thinking he's cheating at this game, too. To be fair, he probably is. Finn's certainly been trying to use the Force to help him. Considering his stack of gold, that's probably worked? Unclear. ]

[growlies]

Don't mind if I do, oh Victorious One. Thanks. It's all going to the same fund of winning passage anyway, right?

( Red sits in the chair next to him with her knee pressed up against her chest as she starts to gather some of the coins to place in her pack. She sets her flask on top of the table and then looks over at him, reading the very comforting vibe his aura gives off. He's probably got the most comforting aura of any of those in the newbie group. Even the anger, it's familiar in a sense - it was anger that pushed her to escaping, to trying to get out of the position she was in. )

Can I ask you something?

[hatejakku]

I hope so. [ Idly and quietly said. Not that he thinks anyone in their little team is planning to abandon everyone else or something. He's just hoping all of this actually works.

But then he's quickly distracted. ]

Hm? Yeah, sure.

[growlies]

Has anything like this ever happened to you before? ( She stacks up some of the loose coins to organize them, to give her something to do with her hands. A puff of air leaves her as she shakes her head realizing how vague the question is. )

Not the arm wrestling, I'm sure you've got some experience there, but the universe hopping or world falling? Or whatever you'd call... ending up in this place.

all aboard

[thedreamer]

[ His reflexes kick in quickly enough and the Doctor manages to duck with time to spare. Of course, he's more curious than anything. Curious, and ever so slightly amused. ]

You've set us back a day, at least. I was working on his self-esteem, he'll have a complex now. Struggling to make friends, and here we are, hurling shovels at him as he goes about his business. [ His slightly judgmental expression belies the jest behind his words. The Doctor has long been a champion of sentient life the universe over, though admittedly, there are some creatures that are just unsavory. ]

[hatejakku]

Set you-

[ He looks between the Doctor and where the rat had been. ]

He has low self-esteem!?

[ Never mind that this man is apparently helping him with it. Or that it completely misses Finn that he was joking. ]

[thedreamer]

[ Easy to miss, really. He carries on so seriously. ]

Well, wouldn't you? Imagine going about your day and being screamed at for just passing through. Not to worry, we'll have a chat later, I'll set him right.

[ Despite the temperature outside and the manual labor they've engaged in, the Doctor has barely broken a sweat. Blessed Time Lord physiology. He doesn't think about it much except in this particular instance, he does genuinely wish he could help with the unpleasant conditions those amongst his group are currently grappling with. He'll come up with something. Maybe. Possibly. ]

I'm the Doctor, by the way.

[hatejakku]

[ Great! Now he feels bad for yelling! ]

Oh, um- I'm... just Finn.

[ Not really "The General" around these parts. But also, is this guy like the Merchant or something? ]

You're new here, too, right?

[thedreamer]

Finn! Very good to meet you. Officially, that is. Though, having a shovel hurled my way is one of the more unique ways anyone's said hello.[ Don't worry, Finn, all is forgiven. He didn't hurt the rat, at least.

The Doctor is already on to the next most important topic at hand: getting to know the young lad he finds himself trapped in this place with. ]

Indeed, and very far from where I need to be. [ Home would be the logical word to insert here. Home is his TARDIS. Home was also, often, Earth. ] Bit turned around from my ship here, but she'll turn up. She always does.

[ He is, perhaps, a bit more optimistic than the situation might call for, but he doesn't particularly have a reason to be dour yet. ]

[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. ]

lady luck

[snowcleave]

[ To say that she is not used to being greeted so gregariously would be an understatement, but to her credit, Zhou Fei only backs up a step after Finn's cheerfulness takes her by surprise.

Eyebrows raised she looks over the table while walking over. ]

You're a gambler?

[ If so, that could prove useful for the group. The sooner they had the gold needed together, the better off things would be. Someone with a knack for winning would get the job done.

After setting her sword down on the table, Fei pulls out a chair and sits in front of it, watching Finn with interest. ]

Have you got any wine?

[hatejakku]

No, but I guess I'm pretty good at it.

[ Gambling's never been his style, even on the slow days in barracks when troops bet meal rations on dice or cards. One would think this one isn't much of a risk taker, and they'd be right if they were looking at it from a financial stand point.

Anyway, his eyes immediately land on the sword, curious on several different levels, before she speaks up again. ]

Oh, I do, actually. Never had wine before, so I'm not sure it's really any good or not.

[ Someone left him with a bottle instead of coin (actually, there are a few things here instead of money) and about a quarter of it is gone, straight into Finn's glass. And now he passes her the bottle and a spare glass both. ]

You like wine?

[snowcleave]

[ Surprised by the notion that he hasn't done this before Fei nods at him approvingly. Gambling isn't something she has much experience with either, but she knows enough to know newcomers don't generally make it out of their first wagers so well. ]

Perhaps you are good luck.

[ His question makes her think of home, and Fei nods with a frown, chasing the thought away as quickly as it came on, aware that dwelling would get her nowhere quickly. If they were stuck there, then they were stuck there. ]

The wine where I come from, at least. Here it is always so dry and sour, but I don't know if it is meant to taste this way or if it's awful, but I think the latter.

[ As she criticizes it, Fei pours herself a glass and sets it down in front of her before she levels her gaze at Finn once more, curious. ]

There's no wine where you live? Is it a desert?

[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. ]