the clock tower

[groundrules]

Happy Hallow-elevator! The clock tower event lasts between 22 October and 8 November. ICly, the tower incursion stretches around a week, and you’re welcome to have your character investigate something else, if they finish early!

THE CLOCK TOWER

---

ALL IS AS ALL WAS| TRIAL & NO ERRORS | THE TOWER

Image source.

ALL IS AS ALL WAS

Play it cool, as Serthica’s customs officers pore over your passport papers, before grudgingly allowing you overground. Minaras, you hear, is hunting a delinquent.

Both it and Eidris fare well, with no sign of the damage that preceded the Unwinding. Locals no longer behave eerily, dragons and clockwork droids roam freely, and everyone hates taxes.

Yet perfect strangers insist they know you. Your assigned address leads to a different house. The roads, buildings and architecture look ‘lived in,’ but changed.

No one remembers the Unwinding.

■ Burlap mannequins sometimes watch from mirrors, windows and reflecting surfaces.

■ You might hear shifting and scratching in Eidris walls.

■ Minaras has doubled its bounty for a man not unlike Leonard McCoy.

■ Black fungal spores are found on the increasingly voluminous experiment vials, specimens and supplies thrown out by Minaras medical facilities.

■ Frail and confused, Ellethia survivor Zenobius finally awakens. A short thread is up for RNG grabs.

Image source.

TRIALS & NO ERRORS

The guard troops that Eidris and Minaras assign to the Neutral Zone now protect King Thivar and High Councillor Arabella during the annual Sanctuary Reckoning trials. Both adjudicate cases that violate the ceasefire.

Prolonging the trials buys time for your companions in the clock tower.

■ Create a distraction — flood the judgement hall rooms? Fire? Illusions?

■ Pose as trial participants: perhaps you are of Eidris, and you caught this wicked Minaraian raiding your home? Mayhap this wretched man of Eidris stole your girlfriend? Wait, you’re a Minaraian who wants to kill King Thivar?

■ …organise breakouts, if Thivar or Arabella have your jailed. You are first imprisoned in makeshift Sanctuary cells — all but poorly locked, glorified closets. Get a trial sentence!

■ Thivar and Arabella treat the trials as a box-ticking exercise.

Image source.

THE TOWER

As Eidris and Minaras play court, you can infiltrate the Neutral Zone clock tower of Vassarizhia.

■ Only token security remains. The door is unlocked.

■ Karsa supplies paper talismans that must be burned in the watch fire at the tower’s top level.

■ Each burned talisman amplifies the reveal spell that Karsa activates. Link a finished burning thread by 8 November to help the cause.

■ A November mod post will describe how much of Serthica’s ‘undeath’ characters can see.

■ Placing Magnus’ dragon eye before the tower’s telescope will allow characters to always see Serthica’s undeath, moving forward.

Image source.

✘ ELEVATOR ETIQUETTE

Imperfect stillness dominates Vassarizhia: your footsteps do not click, words die in your mouth. The tower’s rickety gear slither silently. Your heartbeat aligns with the clock’s tick… tock.
You have the growing, gnarly certainty that you have invaded something ancient and alive.

The tower’s entryway level is large, deserted, stacked with gears. At its core is a dilapidated open elevator shaft.

A large sign says to find and pull the floor lever, if elevators stop.

■ There are two elevators. Each narrow lift can hold up to four people, crammed. The upper half of the carriage is chain-link fence, while the floors contain hatches that sometimes open mid-travel for 30 seconds. Hold on to ceiling-bound leather straps.

■ The ropes holding the elevators are thick, but tattered.

■ The elevator’s creaking squeals can awaken swarms of 1m-tall bats and bat wyverns. They rattle the lift, but ultimately withdraw.

■ The elevator can stop at as many levels as you want (or none!).

■ Beyond the second level, you feel intensely paranoid and see your companions as the persons you most hate/fear for five to 10 minutes. Reaching the top, you are tempted to cut the lift ropes of those who follow. (The ropes and elevators recover, after crashing to the bottom. )

■ On each floor, as you exit the elevator, a nearby wall shows a different scratched instruction, signed by DAVID.

LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH| LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR | LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS | LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)

Image source.

LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH
CONTENT WARNING: MINOTAUR, BODY HORROR

Step into a jail maze, flooded to knee level. Confusing corridors narrow, widen and contort, while wall torches dim.

Intermittent howling reveals you’re not alone. Hiding, you see child-like chalk drawings of forest animals on walls — and a great minotaur. Keep silent.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY.

■ Collect some of the many discarded daggers or axes. Rope bundles float in water — use them to paralyse your captive or briefly force them under your control.

■ Don’t linger in one place: rotting, bodiless hands surface to restrain you.

■ Bad news, if you swallow water when the minotaur or dead hands try to drown you: your skin stretches and bursts, while your bones pop and extend. You mutate into a half human, half woodland creature, all bloodlust. ( Inspiration, anyone? ) Your companions should still recognise you; between hazy memories and constant pain, you might struggle to remember them and even attack.

■ Morphed characters can (painfully) return to normal within minutes of re-entering the elevator.

■ A smaller and distressed three-headed minotaur also roams the labyrinth. Two of its heads sob, while the third urges you to hide with it when brother approaches. It tries to throttle you with a noose to make brother happy, if you follow. David did say.

■ The minotaur and its sibling have poor sight. They cannot enter a corridor where you’ve drawn or laid down a line.

■ Pull the lever, and a straight corridor leads you to the elevator.

TOP | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR
CONTENT WARNING: GIANT SKELETON, BLOOD DRINKING

Here, only barren stone and thin rivulets of fresh water pouring from wall fountains with sharp-tipped ornaments — your spilled blood quickly infects the basins. Knives, pins and bowls have been abandoned nearby.

High pressure and vertigo overwhelm you. Follow a rhythmic heaving to where the upper half of an enormous skeleton — the Ancestor — has broken through a wall. White, silk thread fetters it. Dried blood rims its cracked mouth. Before it, the stone floor has been tarnished, up to a 5m radius.

The Ancestor appears dormant, a crown of iron thorns on its head. It clutches the lever tightly in its right hand. Above it, an engraving urges, SPILL WINE FOR YOUR ANCESTOR.

■ David S P’s elevator scrawl says, WATER TO WINE.

■ Dally staring and you feel dizzy, nauseous, depressed and compelled to share your close-death encounters. Before you know it, you are stepping into the Ancestor’s radius…

■ …where it plunges for you, if you don’t bear a filled cup. The silk ropes keep the Ancestor from reaching beyond 5m.

■ Two carvings under his fists read HONOUR THY FATHER and DISHONOUR THY MOTHER.

■ Quickly distract the Ancestor from crumbling his captives, tearing their arms or attempting to eat them.

■ The Ancestor is instinct-driven, consumed by thirst. It cannot see or smell, and only remembers taste. Sounds divert it.

■ Improvise: there is no actual wine here. Infuse water, spill blood, or vocally pretend you are delivering wine, and the Ancestor might spare you.

■ If sated, the Ancestor releases the lever.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

Image source.

LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
CONTENT WARNING: SCARECROW, SKINNED CREATURES

Enjoy pitch dark, dread and bile spreading in your gut. Take a candle from near the elevator and roam through small, unlocked rooms that feature tattered beds, strips of tanning leather and blood or wax spilled on the floor.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, O CATCHES IT.

■ Ahead, you see candle-bearing mannequins that dance a hora to the same song played by Jim Kirk’s music box: “Up the mountain, in the grove, hand in hand to Ke-Waihu, fresh harvest’s a treasure trove, each fall we feast anew.”

■ The creatures are patched abominations of wax, skinned flesh and burlap. In the middle of the hora is a wiry scarecrow, eyes blazing with candle fire as it points a large cleaver. In certain lights, the scarecrow’s face briefly contorts into that of your mother. It wears priestly robes that Arc III survivors may recognise from the House of Ravens.

■ As the dance finishes, you notice the lever in the middle of the circle, where flame spells out TAKE THEM, NOT ME. The game begins.

■ The abominations run, gleefully manic and screaming TAAAA~AAAAAG. YOU’RE IT! The scarecrow unflinchingly cuts them down while pursuing you. Hide in the abandoned rooms, or risk snuffing your candle to avoid detection.

■ Some abominations slap you, hold you, or alert the scarecrow. Others offer shelter. A few peel off wax skins from their limbs — showing black fungi beneath. They murmur, IT NEVER GOES AWAY.

■ Parchment strips fall from the scarecrow’s sleeves, reading, HAPPY NAME DAY, MOTHER KNOWS BEST, THE SIN RAN DEEPER THAN SKIN, IF YOU CAN BEAR IT, IT’S A GAME.

■ Bless David: draw the scarecrow into a drawn or makeshift circle to trap it.

■ Intense, paralysing fear arrests you, if the scarecrow catches you. The wax abominations chant, TAKE THEM, NOT ME. One might even take pity and move your numbed mouth to utter the words. Say them — and the scarecrow lands deep cuts on your arms, then pursues your companion.

■ If you betray someone, the abominations take the appearance of your worst version: whether physically mutated, with a temper that amplifies your worst features, or both.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

Image source.

LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS
CONTENT WARNING: MANIPULATION, MENTAL COERCION

You enter a quiet room. The lever sits on a table, beside rope and a dagger. As you approach, your surroundings transform: perhaps your dearest dead appear to warmly welcome you. Crowds of your doubters celebrate your success. Or you are in a calm oasis, where nothing hurts.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, THIS DREAM IS A NIGHTMARE.

■ Whatever your deepest wishes, the room’s vivid illusions provide. With time, your beautiful dreams deteriorate into horror. Sometimes, you hear whispers of, Make a wish.

■ The room increasingly drains your life force. Within half an hour, you have gaunt flesh, brittle bones and a hunched back. Or you might feel compelled to harm yourself, clawing your arms and face, or pulling your hair out.

■ The damage comes undone minutes after reaching the elevator.

■ The room focuses on one person: if someone joins you, they see fainter echoes of what the room shows you, but they are not enthralled. They must coax or drag you away.

■ If you are under the room’s influence, it forces you to make any later intruders stay.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL V

Image source.

LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)
CONTENT WARNING: PLAGUE, THE CHILD

At the tower’s open-sky top, fire crackles from a small stone pit, shielded by a familiar, immovable blood-spattered white umbrella. Nearby, discover an immense rusted telescope and other discarded astronomy tools.

You trip on rain-battered yellowed bones at every step. One skeletal hand holds a watch piece, engraved for Mr. David Sebastian Pumpkins.

■ David S P’s has only scrawled his signature.

■ You might reach the flame easily, or be overwhelmed by sickness, black fungal spores blooming on your fingers, while you cough blood and experience intense fever. The symptoms wane once you reach the fire.

■ Burn paper talismans and link finished threads to help Karsa’s spell.

■ The child with a fox mask from the Unwinding could appear. Sign up for one of three short threads, which must finalise by 3 November.

NOTES

■ Some of the bigger plot clues have been emphasised, to help navigate through the horror details.

■ You can hit up some NPCs during the trials.

■ Check out plotting posts for last-minute team-ups.

■ Back to the top.

QUESTIONS

Comments

Arabella

[beitangmoran]

[Inbetween hollering for justice at the trials, Moran will try to find a moment to approach Lady Arabella, giving her a bow of his head in greeting.]

My Lady, I hope you have recovered from the senseless assault that happened last time. Rest assured, if anything should happen, we will see to your safety as we did then.

[sansdoute]

( She is introduced to her guests now, perpetually if inconsolably escorted. Noting about 'Beitang Moran's appearance surprises.

And yet she shudders on her makeshift throne, clasping the arms with tight conviction. When she speaks, it's with the robotic affectation favoured as polish in Minaras: )

You are. Very. Of course — correct. I am. Protected. We are all protected. All hail. The. Truce.

[beitangmoran]

Ah, the Truce, yes.

[Will Remembrance even be happy about this, given that they were telling their soldiers this was the goal of the first attack?]

I trust you have not been... coerced to acquiesce to it, my Lady?

[sansdoute]

( Her reaction delays, lost to her thoughts, mouth drifting agape. She seems fleetingly troubled, before the last of her distraction wanes. )

I am — pleased. To. Preside.

[beitangmoran]

I am glad to hear it, my Lady.

Will we be graced with more of these occasions, then? Or even better, an actual summit between you and Lord Thivar about the city itself?

[Is that going to make her malfunction? Let's see....]

[sansdoute]

( Now, she leans back in her chair, finally at ease, coaxed back to a familiar topic of conversation. )

There are. Several. Occasions to discuss. What wants discussing. ( The wave of her hand, slow. A servant nearby produces a goblet of water. ) Minaras is. Not — opposed. We are only. Purveyors. Of truth. And, of course, the welfare of. Our. People.

[beitangmoran]

Of course, of course. We were always willing, it was only the manner of asking that was wanting.

[Although....]

Talking about the welfare of our people, is anyone going to clean up that black gunk in the streets? Extremely unsightly, that is, and it looks very bad for the health.

[sansdoute]

( She pauses, seemingly caught aback — if not by the complaint, than by its circumstance. This, after all, is a court of legal matters, not the arena of janitors. )

What. Are you — referring to?

[beitangmoran]

The streets, my lady, are littered with refuse from the medical facilities, covered in a black matter that appears decidedly unfit to be in contact with humans. And nothing seems to be done to dispose of such things in any kind of sanitary manner.

[Let's see if easing it forward as a matter of public safety will yield any results, but she seems not to know what he's talking about even though she must have gone through those same streets to come here.]

[sansdoute]

Medical facilities. Must. Conduct. Their work. Do you not — agree?

( But she hardly waits on his answer, twirling her fingers emptily, as if she cannot decide whether she is dismissing his objection, or calling another servant close. She decides, whimsically, to ask her private attendant for grapes. )

We must all. Support them. As citizens. Good. Citizens. Of Minaras. A little — inconvenience. Is. To be expected.

( When the grapes arrive, she pops a bead between perfectly shaped, artificially white teeth, crushing it down. ) All hail. The medics. Who preserve us.

[beitangmoran]

Of course, they must. But surely, not at the expense of the citizens.

[Honestly, she looks the most synthetic he's seen anyone look in this place. She's always acted like an autmaton.]

Wouldn't it be terrible is the sickness spread again?

[sansdoute]

( One by one, carefully peeled off the stalk, each bead meticulously chewed and savoured. She is aware, distantly, that she is watched &— by her guards, by this man, by the many, countless onlookers who would enjoy bedding or killing her.

It is the way of power, she supposes. It creates fools and martyrs. )

Remedies. Do not spread — sickness. You are. Without. Need for. Concern, citizen. Minaras will. Provide. Believe, and you will be — protected. As always. As before. As ever.

( And flatter still: ) Do not worry. Do not worry. Do not worry.

[beitangmoran]

I do not wish to worry, but it gets difficult at times, my Lady. What with that man they are looking for, too. Frightful times, frightful times.

[But yes, it seems whatever stance she is parroting, it is the one that says there is nothing to see and to move along.]

[sansdoute]

( A rare misstep: when she next speaks, her voice has shed the carefully curated robotic pronunciation that marks the higher echelons of Minaras, spilling into human warmth. Later, she will chastise herself for the uncouth presentation.

Now, she shoves another grape in her mouth and stares. )

That man. Have you seen him, citizen? Do you know where he is? You should do your duty, if you do. We are all bound to each other's safety. All of us, citizen. My welfare is yours, yours is mine, and together, we are Minaras.

[beitangmoran]

[He's going to raise an eyebrow here, and not even disguise his surprise because... Well, he did not expect that. She looks and sounds... actually human, like this. None of the others have mentioned sensing anything particularly different about her so he's still working on the assumption she is as much of a puppet as the others but... who knows.]

I have not seen him, unfortunately. I have only seen the wanted posters. But they did not say why he was being investigated or what his crime was, really.

The lack of information was... troubling. It makes one wonder, will I also be arrested at unawares? How am I to know that I am doing the right thing in the city, if I do not know what this man did to get on the wrong side of the law?

[sansdoute]

( And just as easily, she drifts back into her learned manner, her affectations. A civilised woman of a civilised leading class. )

He interfered. With. The workings of. A medical. Facility. He intruded. Without. Permission. No better than a — thief. How can we be safe? With. Such individuals. Roaming. Freely, citizen?

[beitangmoran]

That sounds quite serious indeed. I will make sure to keep my eyes open, but as I said, unfortunately, I have not seen him around at all so far.

[That little loss of control earlier, though... That was interesting.]

I have taken much of your time, my lady. I should let you return to your duties.

[sansdoute]

You... should. Thank you — citizen. Be. Well.

( And she does, for the better part of a few minutes, retire into dozing indolence and the gallery of her bureaucratic duties.

Only, her interest in this conversation returns — and with it, the nagging certainty that a man doesn't simply happen on the subject of a wanted criminal without ulterior motive.

To honour that, Arabella assigns four men to shadow the fine fellow over the next few days. Leaving it up to you — and the McCoy player — if they are successful in tracking McCoy down by following Beitang Moran down. )

[beitangmoran]

[Well, Moran doesn't know McCoy's location - and since there is nothing he can do for the man at the moment, he's not looking to learn it either.

He will, however, spend every moment he is out in the street being visibly and vocally disgusted by the spores, vials, and random specimens to be found in the streets.]