serthica: war & peace

[groundrules]

Clockwork Serthica’s arrival event stretches til around 3 September. You’re welcome to hit up this log or make your own entries. Characters not assigned to a region can still access it, as long as they’re discreet.

Please share cool plot clues via network — and have fun!

WAR & PEACE

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SUMMARY: The Merchant assigns the group to determine if the dead lurk within Serthica’s adversarial halves. Eidris and Minaras hold a summit to normalise trade within Serthica’s elusive Neutral Zone — while a resistance movements attempts to capture Minaras lead figure Arabella. In Eidris, locals must calm a maddened dragon and her cohort and retrieve her hatching eggs. Minaras hosts its eerie civic indoctrination that seeks to extirpate physical and moral decay.


FAIR FORTUNE | SWITZERLAND | EIDRIS: THERE BE DRAGONS | MINARAS: EYES ON YOU

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FAIR FORTUNE

The party at sea is smuggled into Serthica with help from false passport papers secured by their Mouse House companions. The two groups meet at Serthica’s port customs, in time for the Merchant’s private transmission:

”Good afternoon. I salute and thank the efforts of our recent additions. You performed exceptionally.

You will hear Serthica is sundered by war, sickness and irreconcilable differences. In truth, she is likely divided by the interests of those who weaponise fear and manipulate opportunity.

In Eidris, they claim Minaraians are not human. In Minaras, they speak the same of Eidris. Disgust, dismay and paranoia have created a… system of profound physical avoidance. If this is mere fearmongering, it is distasteful, but inconsequential. However… if one of the citadel’s halves has succumbed to the dead, who now know to feign they yet live… this marks a dire escalation. You must study this.

Your transportation beacon sleeps in the holy grounds of Vassarizhia. It will light within months, when the Heart’s clock quiets for its annual winding. You may visit the grounds during the upcoming trade summit.

While in Serthica, your only objectives are to survive until the beacon’s eye opens, and to discover the dead present. I pray but question you will prevail.”

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SWITZERLAND

After a lengthy inspection of their passport papers, the party is steered towards the Sanctuary of Serthica’s Neutral Zone — a vast institute near Serthica’s great clock tower. Here, representatives of Eidris and Minaras assemble at midday for peaceful negotiations to improve distant trade relations.

■ The Merchant recommends mingling to broaden your investigation into Serthica’s dead. Even Minaras leading figurehead Arabella will attend.

■ For peace-keeping, entrants to the Sanctuary must surrender their weapons or allow them to be sealed, if they want to carry them in. Weapons are released on departure. Physical enhancements that characters cannot remove (ex: vampire fangs) are excepted.

■ Those who are unwilling to give up or seal their weapons can head on to Eidris and Minaras.

■ Summit attendants receive badges reflecting their Serthica identities, or can divert the greeting droid and liberate the insignia of a delayed delegation. Higher-ranking badges earns you more lenient treatment and higher security clearance.

■ Eidris attendants receive golden armbands or scarves, those of Minaras dark blue.

■ In bustling halls, officials negotiate grain exchanges, new train railways, the currency exchange rate and the saddening conditions of Mouse House exiles. Alas, if only someone (not them) could help.

■ Those drafted into the talks are toasted with a green, mint-like potion — an unadvertised truth serum intended to keep negotiations honest. The potion’s effects last two to four hours, compelling truth but not speech. But do talk: candour wins answers.

■ Artisans display their finest novelty items in the main reception hall. Aggressively enthusiastic traders seek testers and investors for their wares — potent opiates, goggles that show you the world in 10 years’ time, even detailed plans for luxury teahouses offering droid companionship. Extricate yourself with as much coin and dignity as possible.

SLEEP, CHILD, SLEEP

■ The great clock of the Neutral Zone strikes 18:00, triggering a light three-minute earthquake and the rise of nocturnal Minaras.

■ The Sanctuary loses all electric power. As servants rush for candles, you might notice some native summit delegates behave peculiarly: their eyes look glassy, faces trapped in an expression of comical, exaggerated dismay. Many are frozen in tense positions. Others move in sluggish, uncoordinated and jerky spasms. One might catch your wrist and attempt to speak in staggered, guttural croaks.

■ Lights return once the earthquake finishes. Locals resume regularly and do not seem to have noticed any erratic behaviour.

SLEEP, CHILD, SLEEP
CONTENT WARNING: TERROR ATTACK

■ Starting her speech, Arabella of Minaras calls a tribute for those lost to the great Culling sickness that struck Serthica mere years before. The vigil is interrupted by a fusillade of rifle shots fired from outside, through the Sanctuary’s wall-long windows.

■ The bullets exclusively target Minaras delegates and do not contain gunpowder, but a thickened, pale liquid. Once shot, those wounded experience a hysterical, incontrollable terror and the certainty that their greatest fear is hunting them. Many of the shot delegates develop an instant flight response and seek to claw their way out of the Sanctuary, with no care for whom they trample in their path. This terror lasts 30-60 minutes. Please content warn if you graphically describe your character’s greatest fear.

■ As rifle gunshots die down, a voice from outside introduces the Remembrance coalition, pledging safety if the summit surrenders Arabella.

■ The Sanctuary activates emergency measures: protective magical wards start to slowly reinforce, while attendants risk their lives to return characters’ weapons.

■ You could team up and help Arabella’s few remaining guards to escort her to safety in Minaras. Drop a line if you take this route.

■ Outside, you find the Sanctuary’s grounds have been drenched in a thick fog that barely allows you to see steps ahead. Your senses dull, and you are gradually prone to sleep — while masked men close in with rifles and vicious droid hunting hounds.

■ Help Sanctuary guards take out the assailants — and submit your character for a RNG draw to interrogate a lone captive.

■ Characters who later investigate the Sanctuary can find some of its windows have been very carefully pricked, fissured or even minutely holed, easing the way for attack.

Crawl back to your home base in Eidris or Minaras — you need the beauty sleep.

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EIDRIS | THERE BE DRAGONS

Eidris’s relaxed atmosphere might balm your rattled nerves after the Sanctuary’s disasters. Startled citizens gather to offer you help settling in, while dragons seek you out to curl up and nuzzle.

Eidris is governed by natural order and harmony, achieved through firm etiquette, consideration and reminders to slow down. You can hole up in a room in one of the many abandoned and repurposed villas, or group up to take a whole house. Local technology is a blend of mechanical gears and magic that substitutes fuels. Sorcerers are frequent, boastful and admired.

Dig deeper, and you’ll find the people of Eidris are unwilling to linger on negative experiences and gradually lose memory of them. If queried, many natives have normalised intermittent amnesia, with some using their link to their dragons to stay anchored in the present.

■ Acclimate to your roles in Eidris and enjoy the sweet welcome of neighbourly gifted meals and knitwear and a personal, signed letter of support from king Thivar.

■ Eidris prepares for the rare hatching of dragon eggs, lain by the beautiful fire-breathing Aiva — one of the fewer martial dragons used by Eidris’ military. Two weeks into your stay (around 25 August, forward date at will), word spreads that Aiva’s mate has been deeply injured by a Minaras scouting ship during the 6:00-7:00 overlap period when the two citadel halves are both overground.

■ A panicked, distrustful Aiva collects her silver-shelled eggs from the formal nest quarters, hiding them on the rooftops or in the balconies of tall, dangerous buildings. Several other martial dragons assist Aiva by guarding these hideaways until the young dragons can hatch.

■ Eidris calls back most transport dragons to avoid altercation with their fire-breathing, paranoid brethren. This might strand some riders on the nearest decrepit rooftop, while testy dragons fly by. They don’t initiate attack, but are more prone to warning tail sweeps or light charring, if you come close.

■ Dragon lord Cain d’Ubiq urges riders that can reconnect with their dragons to help retrieve the 1m, 50-kg eggs and deliver them back to the dragon grounds nest before they hatch by sundown — terrorising the baby dragons that wake alone and ripping into local architecture. Other riders are needed to spread a trail of deep incense smoke in the air that can soothe dragons from their outburst. Lend a hand!

■ Characters who enlisted for dragon riding on arrival could be middling riders by this point.

■ Aiva’s children hatch moments before the clock ticks 18:00 and Minaras also surges overground. Characters linked to a dragon feel the birth: first as an overwhelming exuberance, then as an all-consuming and irrational dread that briefly reduces them to inexplicable tears.

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MINARAS | EYES ON YOU

A sharp departure from Eidris’ laissez-faire is watchful Minaras, where citizens obsess with schedules, orderliness and time — as if every second is both borrowed and wasted.

Newcomers can choose between one-person 2.5x2.5m ‘sleep units’ in packed industrial homes, or pool funds to rent small refurbished alcoves that once served as hospital or science halls. Space is a luxury, silence a myth: helper droids constantly fuss after their masters, steam engines cough outside, and the gentle thrum on the streets betrays the current-shifting omnipresence of large Watch ships.

Civic sound systems periodically bleat reminders for citizens to STAY HALE, STAY WHOLE, alongside tips for basic droid care, the latest in scientific discoveries, paid ads and reminders not to park your robotic carriage near hydrants.

■ Quickly learn the ropes of your assumed identity, as Minaraians have a duty to report peculiar behaviours.

■ Watch ships prevent lawbreaking while Minaras is overground. Crime rates spike rapidly when Minaras falls underground.

■ More than violence, Minaraians appear to fear their pocket watch times being wrong, filth and sickness. The smallest cough earns a stern glance and a wide berth.

■ As part of Minaras’ periodic social indoctrination, you are robotically escorted alongside your peers and other unrelated Minaraians to a civic integration centre. Here, you take turns before a mechanical droid sphinx labelled ASCLEPIOS that asks, ”What rots you? and compels an honest answer (this can be emotional, mental or physical sickness, minor or severe).

■ A painless tattoo appears on the back of your hand, listing your Decay (ex: ‘malnourishment,’ ‘a choleric temper’). Others in the indoctrination centre must help you mend through acts of care (ex: cooking you a meal, helping you meditate). The tattoo fades after 72 hours, or once sufficient acts of care have ‘cured’ you.

■ After one week (around 20 August, but feel free to forward date), a transmission from Arabella informs watch, aerial, military and health units that Minaras is changing the daily schedule of its scout ships. The last scouts will now be deployed at 4:15am and return to base by 5:00am.

QUESTIONS

Comments

[inferus]

Wrath can tell it is Five who comes near to him. It would be impossible not to. No one else within their group has that unique cocktail of cursed-despair and rampant paranoia. He knew the post would do little other than to increase it in Five. All that he has believed about the group proven especially when they brought his family into it as a means of... convincing him.

"This world continues with its surprises," he says in agreement deceptively calmly, but he's certain Five feels the cold. Still he did not walk the other way. It isn't as if his anger is aimed at Five, but there were times when his wrath escaped him and many suffered for it regardless of whether or not they caused its explosion. He has a better grip on it now after centuries of practice, which is why this entire half of the city hasn't been iced over for its crimes.

None of the people flitting around have approached him. They take a wide berth to avoid him in fact almost comically so - the fear he can inspire in mortals by his simple existence striking more powerfully than temptation at the moment. "It may be both. They seem to have a compulsion to fix whatever they deem to be broken or sick." There's the slightest hint of a wicked, predatory smile. "I would half like to see them make an attempt."

To 'fix' him. His sharp, gold gaze finally flits to Five - he looks as horrible as he imagined he would, maybe even more so.

[somebadnews]

Five's eyebrow twitches up at his smile, but he understands the sentiment. If Wrath decides to take revenge on the entire facility he won't hear a word of protest from him. He's well aware of Wrath's feelings about magic compulsion. They've talked about it at length, and Five has his own complicated relationship between what he's been forced into here and what his sister can do. The difference is she's never used her power to get him to admit his greatest insecurities.

He doesn't mention the cold. There's no need when he already knows what it's about. Their methods remind him too much of the Commission, conditioning him to be reintegrated into society after a lifetime of solitude. Five let them get away with more than he would have if he were in the right frame of mind. Just like he did back then.

"They might try. None of them seem particularly bright." More than one person hugged him and lived to tell about it, oblivious to the risk they were taking. Five doesn't think it's a coincidence that they would brand him with that particular insult so soon after he was betrayed, but he has more questions about Wrath's tattoo. He's never heard of a curse, for as often as he's brought up the mirror inside him. He'll have to think back and see if it reframes some of their past conversations.

"Were they the first to find out?"

[inferus]

As much as Wrath would enjoy giving into his impulse and allowing the fury inside of him to take hold for what they have done to the king of hell, he is aware it would not be an intelligent move. It would only cause more trouble.

Still it's nice to imagine what it would be like so he appreciates Five does not attempt to talk him down, but simply goes along with the idea, suggesting it might actually happen. This is why they're friends. Thankfully, the mortals who are attempting to fix people continue to actively avoid the demon in the corner. Some even step toward him, catch a glimpse, and run in the opposite direction.

His gaze drops to his hand when Five speaks. Curse. As if countless centuries can be summed up in one word. In many ways, he supposes it can - the ice of Hell, his brothers insisting on breaking it by any means necessary regardless of the harm it may put Emilia in within the process, his wings still locked in an amulet hidden under his shirt.

"Emilia is aware." She is not as aware as she should be given how much it affects her as well, but- "But other than that, no one else here."

A pause then as he is aware they have spoken of curses for multiple times given what continues to reside inside of Five: "I am unable to speak of it much."

[somebadnews]

Unable. If part of the curse prevents Wrath from mentioning it, that would explain why it's never come up. Could also be why a curse was the thing that drew him to Five from the start. What would happen if he tried to tell him more? Is it like Five's nosebleeds whenever he attempts to call up memories that were taken from him? Or is it more like Allison's rumors that compel him to stay silent? He has limited experience to draw on, but enough that he can sympathize with the concept.

As if talking about it would help anything other than his curiosity. Emilia might tell him more if he asked, but he doesn't think Wrath would appreciate him trying to pry into his weaknesses.

"...I didn't get the sense that they learned more than what you told them. So it's probably a good thing you couldn't explain." Unlike Five, who practically went on a tirade at the slightest compulsion, only to be branded with an insult. "Whatever they're trying to get out of us, they have limits."

He doesn't know what it is they want, ultimately, but it's more than he's willing to give for the sake of blending in. Looking at Wrath, he's just as eager to get him out of here before he's subjected to anything else.

"That doesn't mean they aren't still listening."

[inferus]

Wrath appreciates Five does not attempt to ask any more about it. There are ways he can skirt around the truth of it, but it's best if he does not attempt. No harm comes to him, but he has to be careful and he has to maintain his control, and it is difficult to do that on a regular basis but especially at the moment when he struggles to pull the monster within back into its cage.

He takes in a breath and then releases it again, managing to warm the temperature around him to a certain degree.

And finally, he nods his agreement, pushing himself to a standing position. Everyone here clearly wishes to 'help' which means they are attending, listening, watching even more.

"This entire half of the city appears to be closely monitored, but any place would be better than this one."

He starts to walk toward the exit, but he is on alert as he moves, watching the people around them as they walk. Most part for him as they pass, giving a wide berth even now to him until they are out on the street.

[somebadnews]

If he hadn't known about Wrath, he might not have noticed the way the temperature shifts just as he pulls himself together. Five uncrosses the arms that he'd subconsciously wrapped around himself in the cold, then slips his hands back in his pockets to keep from flaunting his own mocking tattoo. He follows him out of the simple desire to get away from any eager onlookers, and if they hadn't already been keeping their distance, he might have blinked ahead to the street.

Their exit is notably different with his present company. It nearly makes Five miss the days when his reputation was enough to give him that same space. Back when he looked his age and he didn't have to put so much more effort into being intimidating. It's a conflicting thought, as much as he didn't enjoy the killing aspect, he realizes how much he needed that buffer. His freak out earlier is proof enough for that.

It's dark outside, but thankfully no one trails them. Five waits until they're some distance away to say anything else.

"They're lucky they didn't get what was coming to them." He tries to sound conversational, and not like he'll snap if one more person tries to touch him, but it comes out harsh and bitter. As much as he wants to dive into how they were set up yet again, he's oddly self-conscious about spreading conspiracy theories after they'd placed a label on him. Like anyone could blame him. He sighs and shoots Wrath a pained look.

"Emilia is on the other side?" She wasn't with him, so he can assume she's wherever Diego is.

[inferus]

Wrath hears the harsh, bitterness of the way Five speaks about getting what was coming to them. He is aware of all that has happened recently before they even entered a center which forced a truth from them, slapped it on their hand, and left them vulnerable in more ways than one.

In this instance, he cannot blame him for the tone at all.

The center is, indeed, lucky that Wrath knows it isn't wise to unleash the full strength of his fury upon it. Most of those wandering around inside are unlikely to be responsible for the sphynx like creation that infuriated Wrath so much to begin with. They are equally lucky Five did not snap, and he seems far closer to it than Wrath is.

"Yes," Wrath says, and it is another source of utter infuriation for him though at least Wrath can transvenio to her when she is able to find a place they can do so privately - assuming there is privacy at least in the other half of the city. It appears this one is under constant watch. "I spoke to Allison earlier. Diego?"

[somebadnews]

He frowns when he confirms that assumption. They've been through this before, so he can't be surprised that he's been separated him from his family again. It's not enough that they go along with their assumed identities, they aren't even given a choice of staying near the people that matter to them. Wrath understands, and it's just one more insult after running them through the integration centre.

"With any luck, Emilia is keeping an eye on him." He doesn't like how he left him, after Five had been shot. Diego can get some crazy ideas in his head when he wants to be the hero. "Nothing new there. The time on the ship was the longest I've been able to keep them together since I got back to them."

That isn't Diego's fault. He'd think it'd be easier with only two siblings around to keep track of, but that hasn't been the case. Of course, there's a difference between getting assigned to different sides of a palace or separate huts and being divided into places like this. He survived the constant surveillance in the Commission, but he didn't want to see his family subjected to it.

"Hopefully he can hold it together until I get things settled." He needs to find a safer place for the artifact, figure out where Allison is staying, then try to come up with a plan. So long as he doesn't unravel until then. "Have you heard anything else about where they went?"

[inferus]

"She is," Wrath says without having to ask Emilia, but it is spoken with confidence regardless. At some point throughout their voyage, this group has become one of alliances with each other. This has resulted in looking out for one another. Emilia cares about Diego, which means she would be looking out for him as much as she could. "And yet, on the ships, we were all almost too close."

He did not appreciate the confined quarters though he can understands Five's relief to finally be near enough to his siblings to keep an eye on them at all times. The ships, in general, simply meant Wrath was intensely aware of so many mortal emotions and supernatural abilities and curses at once.

And the pirates themselves were terrible people he frequently wanted to cut the tongues off from.

There's a long pause from Wrath following the 'getting things settled' and the question too. He shakes his head.

"I haven't," Wrath admits, and then while being purposefully vague (they are both aware of what needs to be settled, they are both in understanding about the tongue in Five's possession): "Have you considered the safest place to stay?"

[somebadnews]

If it were anyone else, Five might have questioned that confidence, but he only studies him for a moment and nods. He can also sympathize with Wrath's aversion to crowds. Aside from having to stay hyper-vigilant around them, his mirror curse works by proximity, and it's no surprise that it worsened on the way here. But the last leg, with their smaller group, was more tolerable. It might have been their last reprieve for a while.

Five doesn't have to mention the tongue for Wrath to know what he's talking about. It'll be harder to conceal it here. He's already been getting messages asking to study it, and as much of a burden as it's become, he's determined to keep from repeating past mistakes.

Which brings up the next problem.

"No." But he makes him think about it. He assumes Allison is going to insist on looking after Kamala, as she should, and he doesn't feel comfortable sharing a space with an actual child. Which means getting his own place.

His siblings lived in the real world, but this is a first for him. All along their journey, accommodations were already provided to them. Even working with the Commission, his hotels were pre-arranged, so he's at a loss on where to start. It only occurs to him then that he might meet some resistance finding somewhere willing to rent to a teenager, but he'd rather not acknowledge that possibility.

"I don't think I'll find a conveniently abandoned building." Even if there is one, he doesn't have the energy to blink around searching for one. He wishes he'd asked his sister more questions about it before he left her. "They must have a residential area where everyone is staying? I'd rather go somewhere away from the group, but I might not have a choice."

[inferus]

"There isn't much in the way of space in Minaras, and with the surveillance, it would be hard to tell which buildings are truly abandoned even if you were to find one. You could end up inside only to be recorded by a hidden mechanical... creature," Wrath says in quiet thoughtfulness. Droids do not exist in his world, and they certainly do not exist in Hell.

They're strange. He doesn't know what to make of them beyond disliking being watched at all times.

It seems there is little they can be offered in the way of housing from what he has heard. Every building appears to be occupied in one way or another whether it is for academics, medical, or other businesses.

It's honestly difficult to tell which buildings are meant to be residential and which are not. Droids walk among them, and he does not know

"Do you have any gold from previous travel? It may be safer kept nearer than in another building as it is, but you would want it to be one where you could have at least some amount of privacy. I have gold of my own."

They could perhaps pool their resources together, and Wrath did say he would help with the tongue. It would likely be smarter to keep Wrath near to it so he could be certain it wasn't having any unwanted effect upon Five.

[somebadnews]

This feels like an awkward thing to discuss. Things like 'where to sleep' and 'what to eat' don't usually list high on his priorities. Food and shelter have been readily available here, so he's never been that concerned. Privacy is what he sacrificed that security for. He has no idea what a room costs, but he should have plenty of coin.

"...I've got some saved. The last village paid me to leave." They somehow got in their heads that he was a ghost. A ghost who took bribes. There's a reason Five doesn't think much about the intelligence of the average person around here.

Ironically, he doesn't entirely pick up on what Wrath is suggesting. He wants to have the artefact nearer to him, presumably. Maybe he was going to offer him a loan if he didn't have enough.

"Do you know where you're staying?"

[inferus]

Wrath stares at Five for a long moment following the question.

He thought it was obvious where he was going with this line of questioning, but either Five is more sleep deprived than he originally thought or he really cannot imagine Wrath would make this suggestion. Either way it's time for Wrath to clarify. He stops in the middle of their walking to turn toward him.

"I thought we could pool our resources in more than one way and stay in the same place."

There's a long pause.

"If we both offer up some of our gold, we could each keep more of our earnings than if we were to venture off alone. It appears finding single dwellings is incredibly difficult, and I can utilize my own skills for protection once we are there. I did give you my word." Wrath won't repeat it now, but he's certain Five will remember that he said he would help him protect it. "This is only if you are amenable to the idea, of course."

[somebadnews]

Five felt him staring, and he seems puzzled when he stops walking to turn to him. His furrowed brow slowly rises once he clarifies what he was getting at.

"Oh." He wants to share a room. Maybe Five should have picked up on that before he spelled it out, but it's never come up with anyone before, when they weren't forced into the situation. It's certainly not the first thing he thought they'd be discussing, but once they are, he seems to understand why he'd want to get off the streets.

Objectively it makes sense. Out of anyone, he has no reason to doubt Wrath's motives. Artefact aside, it would be convenient to discuss strategy with one of the rare few with opinions he cares about. And it would save him from having to threaten any landlords who might have tried to deny him a space.

He'd rather not think that he's offering in order to keep an eye on him, so for once, he decides to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"That's not a bad idea. Practical." He looks up at him again, and he knows he's waiting for his verbal agreement after he'd been silently debating. There doesn't seem to be a way to answer that doesn't come off as awkward, so he just runs a hand through his hair and nods. "Okay then. That's settled. Between the two of us, we should be able to negotiate some kind of arrangement."

[inferus]

Wrath nods at Five's acceptance and then without speaking again, he starts to walk once more. It's imperative they find a place to stay more for the tongue than anything else. They are both aware of how well it is being sought out even now. While Wrath is confident in the wards on it, the pirate crew is still out there somewhere, and they easily could have followed them here.

While they may not recognize the entire group, they did interact with some of them, and they do have Captain Vane at their side. Any of the above could be questioned, and it would lead them directly to Five.

The sooner the box is safely placed away within wards that no one but Five or Wrath could penetrate the better.

So they find an alcove to stay in. They have a lot of money but there are not many options so nautical themed it is. There are winding stairs at the back on separate sides that lead up to small rooms with private beds at least even if there isn't much room within those rooms for anything else. They pay their gold, move in with their items, get alcohol and candles (well, Five gets very special candles), and Wrath gets to work.

There were a few items he needed to make more powerful wards, and he is able to find and return with them - a splash of demon blood makes it all the stronger. The box is warded, but he means to do the same to the alcove. He walks over to the bottle of bourbon and pours a glass full for himself as he turns to Five.

"It's done." His guard-dog droid is at the entrance of their alcove, staring at the door. "I can do the same to the alcove."

[somebadnews]

The alcove they found isn't what Five was picturing, certainly not thinking they'd find something so ornately decorated, if small. He keeps all of his possessions in the same magic box, so it's not as if he takes up much room. Then there's the droid that's taken to following him around that seems to match the nautical theme. He isn't sure what to make of it, but paired with the eccentric displays, it feels oddly... nostalgic, all things considered. The droid even helps him arrange the candles they procured as it moves around to tidy up the room.

It's an adjustment, but at least being away from so many people has calmed his nerves. He's more settled by the time Wrath returns to finish his wards.

"That's fine by me," he says as he eyes the bourbon, contemplating getting his own glass. It's notable how he's deferring to Wrath's expertise, and trusting that everything is in place when he tells him, since he has no way of knowing. "How does it work? We choose who can come in?"

[inferus]

Wrath notices the way Five is eyeing the bourbon, and so he pours him a glass and hands it to him. It may help with the frayed nerves Wrath can still sense from his roommate. He does appreciate the trust Five shows in him when it comes to this, and he even understands Five agreeing to stay in the same space as him is another expression of that trust. They have been through quite a bit to get to this moment, and they both deserve a long drink (or several - Gods, but he misses demonberry wine).

He takes a long sip from his glass, eyeing the candles as he knows them to be Emilia's...... But one thing at a time.

"Yes. I will at least need to meet or have already met anyone who is allowed in." He needs more than name alone to go by. "The ward can be altered though it would take time for me to add or remove anyone from the list."

Time enough that it could not be done in an instant, but not much more time than it takes to set up the wards to begin with.

[somebadnews]

Maybe it's not quite mind reading, but he's not surprised when Wrath pours him a glass. He's always been a good host, even if that isn't the situation they're in now. He nods his thanks and takes a drink as he explains. It sounds simple enough, and he's had a long enough day that he's willing to go along with whatever security he wants to install.

He wonders if that robot dog would attack on command. They weren't given much in the way of instructions.

"I don't have a long list. You probably already know who's on it." His family. A couple others. Explicitly not the entirety of their group. Although, it occurs to him that there's someone he's only been working with lately. "One I'll have to introduce you to."

Exhaustion is already pulling on him, so he blinks away and returns with one of the lit candles to set near them as he returns to his drink. Not mentioning it, he continues their conversation.

"What happens to everyone else? Can they not see the door, or is it like a forcefield?"

[inferus]

Wrath nods as he takes a longer drink from his own bourbon and then fills it again as his cup grows low. "I imagine I can guess who would be on it, but who would require an introduction?" It didn't seem like there are many lately who really would have earned that spot when it comes to Five especially after what happened with the network post. It was a mess.

Granted, even if someone does have access to this alcove, they would not be able to access the tongue without Five or Wrath retrieving it for them. It's hidden both within Five's items and within the alcove itself and then heavily warded on top of that.

"They can still see the door, but they will not be able to pass through it. They will not be able to open the door, and if they decide to go through the extreme measure of destroying the door, they will not be able to pass the threshold. And unless they are magically inclined, they will not be able to see the... forcefield."

That is not a word he has used before, but he can infer the meaning.

"It will be well protected - extensively so."

[somebadnews]

That sounds fine to him. If he didn't have his family to keep an eye on, he'd be content staying inside and focusing on the bigger picture without all the distractions. He has more important work to do than the ridiculous job they assigned him.

"What about someone like me? I'd imagine it's something like it was in the cabin, where something was blocking me from blinking inside." He's mostly making conversation, but he is genuinely curious how it works. All this time, and the only magic he's been able to learn is some potion recipes from his months living with Hermione. And he's not entirely sure how magical those are.

As for the other person, he shrugs.

"There's a woman I met on the ships. She's an engineer from the distant future." Which is a trip in itself, finding someone who survived past 2019. He's putting a lot of stock in the potential he saw in her. And she was notably silent during that entire argument over the tongue, which was a wise decision. "I thought she might have some insights."

[inferus]

"Correct. If someone attempted to teleport within, they would be blocked from making the attempt. A more advanced spell could potentially have you teleporting to the wrong room instead without any indication that that was the wrong room," Wrath says quietly, but the ingredients required for that are not so easily found within this world unfortunately, and it is unlikely that it is even necessary to go that far.

He doesn't know many who are capable of teleportation like Five is.

He looks over at him and then nods.

"I won't work on the ward for the alcove until after you've introduced us, but there should be sufficient protection for the time being," Wrath says and then after a moment, scanning the area. "Has anyone else indicated they wished to study it?" Some did so on the network post itself, but he imagines even more messages got back to Five now that he's been revealed as the one to carry it.

[somebadnews]

Five's eyes narrow minutely when he mentions redirecting a teleport. Something like what happened at the lighthouse, when any attempt to teleport sent him back to that hall of mirrors. That shouldn't be possible, but Wrath would know how. Maybe there's a way around it, if he showed him.

He seems agreeable to that, to introducing them after he's tracked her down. When the conversation shifts back to the tongue, he lifts the glass and downs half in a couple of swallows, then sniffs and nods.

"Wei Wuxian has been the most persistent. He's also wants me to run all my decisions through Allison." He suggested it, more than once, on account of her being more capable of being rational. From his tone, Wrath can guess how well he took that. It was bad enough when they openly talked about using his family to persuade them.

"Someone else approached me privately, but unlike most of them, he backed off once I said I had it under control." He shakes his head and finishes the glass. "I thought being here, they'd have other things to worry about."

[inferus]

"You must have hated that," Wrath says with ease. Even without Five's tone, Wrath knows Five well enough to understand how much both would rankle him. His family is obviously Five's achilles' heel, and they are also what he cares about most in this world. Often the two are intertwined. He would not react positively to anyone using them in any way to persuade or control him.

He takes a long drink from the glass in front of him and then hands the bottle over to Five when he finishes his.

"One would think. They certainly did not supervise those who made the mistake with the weapons so closely," he says after a moment. "Perhaps it is your charming personality. ...Moran seemed to especially hate that you'd called him an idiot."

Mortals. As if being called an idiot by anyone matters. Of course, Wrath has been called any number of terrible things throughout centuries. He simply does not care what people think of him - except Emilia, which is why he was so... afraid for her to learn the truth about him.

[somebadnews]

Wrath hones in on the key difference between other people's terrible plans and their reaction to Five's perfectly reasonable one. It's personal, and that example is the clearest comparison. Five regrets what happened with the mirror, but anyone else wouldn't be hounded like this. They still expect him to turn on them, so he's the only one not allowed to keep any secrets.

Five doesn't need to be appreciated, but that doesn't stop him from being annoyed that they were blatantly trying to teach him a lesson. Like he's an impressionable teen and not an old man set in his ways. They forget that he knows better.

"He was being an idiot." A lot of them were, but Moran especially for thinking he'd trust him more for trying to blackmail him.

He reaches to refill his glass, and frowns at the edge of his new tattoo glaring back at him. If it hadn't been for Moran and the others, maybe they wouldn't have been so quick to brand Five as 'obsessively paranoid'. He's kept from showing it to anyone, but since Wrath seems to agree with what he sees, he lifts his palm for him to read the insult etched just above his umbrella tattoo.

"I was starting to think it was just me."

[inferus]

Wrath takes a long drink from his own glass as he cannot disagree. There was no reason for the network post in particular, because the information was already available to anyone who cared to know it. The Pride of it all reminded him too much of one of his least favorite brothers. He cradles the glass within his hand before his gaze falls down to the tattoo upon his own hand.

It's unsurprising that is what they would write upon it, but Five at least has been given reason to feel that way especially recently.

"Obsessive paranoia can rot a person."

It is no way to live or to survive - total utter fear can overwhelm someone as easily as anger can. In the end, it is all paranoia is ( a form of fear and caution manifested and taking root and lashing out). Out of hand, it can result in seeing what isn't there, which makes it more difficult to see and prepare for the threats that are there.

"But it does not need to be that way. It is about being cautious but not consumed."