sand in your eyes

[groundrules]

And onwards, through the cursed desert. The mini-journey Arc covers 6-21 January and doubles as a test drive meme. Participants do not need an invite to apply this round. Have fun!

SAND IN YOUR EYES

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TEST DRIVE TOURISTS | ONE SAND WASHES THE OTHER
A HOUSE UNITED WILL SAND | SOILMATES | A PYRAMID SCHEME

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A SANDING OVATION

Sand in your eyes, down your throat, stifling. You wake half-buried in high dunes, crawling towards helping hands. Thirst vanquishes you.

You are quickly offered a translation and communication pendant and introduced to the leader of the caravan that saved you — good Mazyar, who thanks the stars for your most incredible luck to be rescued by his generous and humble self. For he is not a man for idle praise, but he has sold salt to salt makers, he was courted by seven of the five great trade guilds and brought peace to the Stairs of Sighs…

Mazyar reveals you are in Akhuras, where undead lieges seek to weaponise you in their war for dominion. Mazyar’s good but less successful friend, the elusive Merchant ferries otherworlders east, where ancient beacons can transport them home.

Retire for now and regain your strength. Come morning, further otherworlders will arrive from Serthica — and your journey may begin.

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ONE SAND WASHES THE OTHER

The veteran party reunites with newcomers in the desert, and with the merchant Mazyar — who once guided them through the Stairs of Sighs. His caravan is protected by the Scavengers —deathly a tribe of hardened desert raiders. They bring water flasks, supplies, cooling suits and tents to share. Their snail-like carriage mounts can transport the weak.

You are bound for the seized citadel of Alem, swarmed on each side by undead battalions. To access it, you must obtain one of the enormous sand worms that trawl the deserts, which can be deployed to create underground passageways.

The Scavengers will lead the caravan through haunted dunes, the worms’ traditional hunting grounds and temple-fortress Uruksithar.

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A HOUSE UNITED WILL SAND

The group first reaches the Valley of Unchaining, bordered by high cliffs and fang-like stones. Here and there, discover bloodied footprints, half-buried shackles and red chains. You might even stumble upon an eroded tombstone inscribed, H R SL EP THE UNCH IN D. At its feet are dulled dagger blades and rough calcar stone.

COULD DIE FROM LAUGHTER

You fool, never eat alone. Happen by the camp’s outskirts with your dinner, and you might glimpse the silhouettes of starved desert hyenas, their eyes glistening green. They will come close if you bear raw meat or bleeding wounds.

■ Scavengers say, if you see the hyenas, throw them food or a cloth drenched in fresh blood, then run without looking back until you no longer hear their cruel cries.

■ Some hyenas mimic rasped human voices, begging help or calling your name. One feeble hyena wears a chain of red shackles around its neck.

■ If you look back while chased, you find the green stare of the hyenas fixed upon you. You are gradually overcome by starvation, violence and the urge to dismember prey and feast on raw flesh. Player’s choice on whether characters can resist this compulsion, which disappears at dawns, or if they taste blood.

■ Scavengers will deny you entrance into the camp if you appear possessed in this way.

SANDIMENTAL VALUE

You walk the Valley, Scavengers say, and Mother Death walks with you. A once handsome crone might appear beside you, bare-footed and dressed in clean linens. She remains silent unless spoken to and flinches if you move suddenly, as if she fears being struck.

■ Treat the Crone kindly, and she entrusts you with a small pouch holding a fraction of her ashes, which she wants scattered from the hills.

■ Use rope and climbing hooks and take cover behind stone formations. Beware the violent sand whirlwinds that batter the cliffs, threatening to plunge you down or choke you with sand.

■ If you succeed, the Crone appears to watch her scattering ashes and bless you with good luck for the rest of your journey. Your kindness, she says, reminds her of her daughter.

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SOILMATES

The three-day walk to Uruksithar traverses the sand worms’ hunting grounds, where dunes shift periodically in sharp, tectonic waves. Watch your step and don’t be surprised if your tent sinks at night.

■ The Scavengers organise daily reconnaissance parties in the desert hills. Stay with them to unbury dune treasures.

■ The brave & brazen can try to catch sand worms. The massive creatures erupt overground periodically, catching prey in their large mouths, or crushing it beneath their heft as they plunge in the depths — creating large sinkholes in the process.

■ On its back, each sand worm has a few darker scales that draw the shape of a rune. To tame a sand worm, you must find its rune, then write the symbol on the worm’s back using blood from your hands. Report your catch by 23:59 on 17 January!

■ The sand worm bonds with you for three weeks until the next full moonrise, or until you draw the same rune on your cut hand.

■ Those who secure a sand worm find it grudgingly follows them underground for the rest of the journey. The creature can only be steered or ridden.

■ Some sand worms are vicious, old and sufficiently magical to retaliate by taking the link over and forcing their bonded humans to experience their lives — briefly sensitive to light and strong sounds, or unable to speak. Some might experience mild fevers. All symptoms disappear when the bond breaks.

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A PYRAMID SCHEME

At last, welcome to Uruksithar, former jewel of the desert — now reduced to rusted gates and tattered walls of wind-lashed stone.

The abandoned palace-fortress features a row of minor temples and barren gardens that surround a great, ruinous pit. The state of residential furnishings suggests the grounds were lived mere years prior. Walk north to find a a large pool of thickened black water that exudes a cold, unsettling presence. Veteran party members know what to expect.

Nail scratches on some temple walls read, we, who did not sleep or i ask the wind to grieve our chains. By the pit, a stone plate helpfully says, drop by drop, even base water turns to poison.

The Scavengers disperse to raid the temples, advising you to carry water everywhere. One raider mentions that the local Temple of Ra’esh stores silver waters that can woo sand worms.

OCTOPUS PRIME

Uruksithar’s great gong strikes every two hours, to groans and shudders from the abyssal pit. Scavengers immediately take cover behind walls, bind themselves to columns or rush into crumbling residences.

■ For five minutes, as the gong sounds a pathetic dirge, a bouquet of tentacles erupts from the pit, sweeping nearby streets to capture living things.

■ Throwing water on the tentacles forces them to retreat, while black liquid from the northern pool burns them down. Further tendrils emerge until the gong quiets.

■ Should you fall into the pit, use your climbing hooks to latch onto the walls and don’t look down. A grotesque, sharp-toothed mouth awaits below to devour you, amid the squelching sounds of the tissue and material it has been masticating for decades. It won’t give up its lunch easily.

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TOMB AND GLOOM

Ra’esh the Bright-maker, he who saw but peace beneath the skies. His humble temple is anonymous among numerous worship grounds. Scavengers say, four years ago, a wanderer sculpted an eye with a sun for a pupil on the entrance door. Take a torch and head in.

■ Long-stripped of its glory, the maze-like Temple of Ra’esh is now cold stone, stale window-less corridors and heavy doors that snap down from the ceiling.

■ Distant susurrations of water point you towards your destination.

■ As you walk in, pay attention to the engravings near the entryway of each temple room. Some depict arrows, forecasting spikes will burst up from floors tiles. Sculpted drops hint pouring water in this spot will open a door. Open a door with an engraving of large serpents, and… well. The engravings can help characters navigate the maze and completely avoid its traps. Feel free to make up your own engravings & traps, if you want!

■ The altar room contains a pool with pearlescent waters that surround a woman fully bandaged in gauze, her sight obscured. She is bound to a column with chains and shackles akin to those found in the desert. Rare peeks of her skin show it rotting or sickly pale.

■ She asks either if you are her mother, come for her at last. Do you engage?

■ Take water from the pool, and you can lure a sand worm to you once you have exited Uruksithar. Hazed, but sweet-tempered, it will follow you underground and allow you to ride it for the three weeks until the next full moonrise. These sand worms won’t give you a hard time during the bond period. Report your worm too by 23:59 on 17 January!

NOTES

■ Test driving & in-game characters can top level logs here — test driving characters can also put up network posts in this space c:

■ Feel free to investigate the mystery of the chains and shackles, but no pressure — it’s not critical to Arc V.

■ Hit up NPCs!

■ Navigation top.

QUESTIONS

Comments

locked to Vi;

[reparo]

TOMB AND GLOOM AND DETOUR FROM THE MISSION AT HAND;

[ Mother, is that you?

There are times when Hermione wishes she did not have the talisman around her neck, that lets her understand what others say. The voice of the the woman (dead? alive? she does not know, she cannot tell) will haunt her for a very long time, and perhaps she can understand now why Harry was so traumatised by the Inferi.

She sucks a breath in through her teeth and stands, frozen in her spot, looking at the fettered woman, at the chains holding her in place, her stomach in knots. It slips out, without Hermione noticing if anyone else has made it to center of the maze and stands in the room with her: ] Who's done this to you?

[ And the words come from the woman, eventually, giving Hermione something she apparently desperately needed: a cause. ] How can I undo these chains? You can't - I won't leave you here alone...

[ And she will try to find the key in the pool, first. Fills her waterskin with water, just in case, then aims her wand and summons light to the tip of it, to divine if she can see anything. ]

[faceblocker]

[ She's been all action since showing up, and that's an easy state to be in, but this? This leaves her stunned, at least at first. Like a grotesque scene from a painting.

As soon as the woman starts speaking, before even giving any cause, Vi's splashing through the slimy water to see if she can force the woman free. It itches, but at first she ignores it. Who is she? Who knows. She's a captive, and that's all that matters. But somehow, even with Vi's hextech gauntlets, they won't break apart. The woman's sob story might leave Vi shaking if not for keeping the goal in mind (her own mother? how?). ]

Hey, can you—

[ —"hold out a torch" she would have said, but that magic with Hermione's wand is pleasant surprise. Frustration is momentarily traded for a grateful little nod as she drops the heavy gauntlets next to the pool and yanks off her jacket before splashing back in, using the light as a guide. It burns even more, now, and although she might not be bothered too much by the disgusting consistency of the water, the spreading rash isn't like standard pain. A punch to the gut would feel better, and Vi is gritting her teeth through it and trying not to begin flailing to scratch at her skin. Splashing would only make it worse. ]

Fuck, don't come in here!

[reparo]

[ She didn't even notice the other presence in the room, not the splashing sounds, nothing, until she points her wand forward, lumos spell lighting the cave, and gives a startled gasp.

Vi - her hero, from the inn - drops her gauntlets (gauntlets? she will want to discuss those) on the edge of the pool and then shoves her actual hands in the water and starts feeling around.

(It would be a nice moment, of solidarity with a woman wronged and scorned and imprisoned unfairly. And she would be glad to know she's not alone in this absolutely consuming need to free this lady, because nobody should be forced to unlive like this. Except:) ] Merlin's balls [ Ron would be proud of her for that one. ] Vi, you're sizzling -

[ There must be something with the water. It might be poisoned, or burning, and Hermione is given a choice: stand there, waiting for it to be over, or admit that two pairs of hands search better than one. ]

Damn it. [ She pulls her cloak off, drops it on the edge of the pool together with her bag with all her belongings, and gets inside, at the same time as fuck, don't come in here. ]

Too late!

[ Oh, it is agony, for sure. Nothing, nothing in comparison to Bellatrix Lestrange's crucio. She holds the lit up wand in her teeth, and shoves her arms in the water too, starts feeling around. Her teeth marks might end up on the wand, but at least then she can say it's truly hers, and no longer belongs to that bitch. And it's fine, she can curse now, since she's getting her skin burned. ] 'esh 'tho 'eeshy!! [ It is. It is so itchy. ]

[faceblocker]

[ Vi's no stranger to tainted water; hell, she expects it. The consistency isn't even like water, though. She doesn't know what it is, but the viscious consistency just enflames the burns on her skin the more she digs around in the pool, keeping her mouth clamped tightly shut whenever she's leaning over. If this splashes into her eyes, she...doesn't want to picture that. Because of that, she doesn't move as fast as she normally would, remaining remarkably (at least by appearance) controlled given the worsening condition.

At least, until Hermione joins her. Nobody listens! She whips around with a frustrated groan. She'd grab Hermione and toss her right out if that wand wasn't so useful. ]

Yeah, it's like fire! You should have stayed put, you don't know what it'll do.

[ Even saying that, Vi will stick near Hermione so that she can see through the murky liquid better. Occasionally her shoulders will bunch, rolling a bit as she resists the urge to just get out and start scratching. Ohhh this is a different kind of hell, and she's keeping one eye on Hermione in case it looks like it might be too much for her. ]

gonna just leave this icon on for the whole thread

[reparo]

[ She stands for a moment, shaking off the unpleasant feeling of the water - is that water? when it feels like that? - off her arms so she can spit out her wand and answer patiently: ] Burn. That's what it'll do, it's what fire does.

[ Although, now that her hands aren't touching it, the sensation has faded a bit; something to put to the side for later. She braces herself with a deep breath, aiming her wand properly towards the bottom of the pool. When she sees something glitter in the murky maybe-water, she exhales and shoves her hand back in, and grabs it.

And emerges with a key. ] Ha!! Aha! Okay, let's get out of here quick.

[ With a grossed out shudder, she scrambles for the edge of the pool, caution tossed to the wind, not stopping until she's climbed out. ]

i am not complaining rly...

[faceblocker]

[ Vi's quick to leap out and grab for Hermione's sleeve to help pull her from the pool once they're on the edge. Her skin is crawling, but oddly, as the slime manages to ooze off, the...itching abates. That's interesting. No real repercussions? ]

You okay?

[ Vi's impressed that Hermione's gotten this far and been the one to find the key. Now, though, they need to free the woman, who she glances to and calls out, "Just a sec, we've almost got you out!" But there's no reason to suffer if they don't need to, so after a moment's consideration, Vi glances to see what Hermione's doing. ]

I can get us across, burn free.

[reparo]

[ She's already reaching inside her bag for something as close to Essence of Dittany (meant to magically heal all wounds!) as possible, when she notices the itch and sensations have definitely abated. Interesting.]

Well - clearly the water's cursed or something, to discourage us from going in. [ Not that it's stopped them. She quickly does a scan of Vi's arms - wow, those arms - to visually ascertain if she is at all injured and might need healing, and when she notices the same lack of burnt skin as on her, she lets the summoning spell on her potion go, and takes her hand out of the bag.

(Vi might note, actually, that for the bag being not larger than a messenger bag, Hermione's arm went in there quite deep. Magic!)

She gets up, dusts herself off and keeps hold of the key, staring at the distance to the altar. ]

You can? How?

[faceblocker]

[ Vi can only imagine having had a bag like that for heists back home... One job and they could have been set for life.

The question brings her back to the present, and in an attempt to shake off the melancholy thought, her smirk is a little extra as she winks and leans over to pull on one of the monster gauntlets. She then turns and drops to one knee, jerking her head towards her back. Vi already figures she can carry both women back across. ]

Hop on. Hold on tight.

[reparo]

[ She hangs the bag over her shoulder at least, because her bag is always important, and then pauses, as Vi drops to one knee and points to her back.

Is she going to smash a tunnel with those gaultlets or what? ]

And you'll do...what, exactly? Cannonball into the pool? [ Retrospectively: a shudder at the texture of that water. ]

[faceblocker]

We won't hit the...water. You look light, and I can jump pretty far.

[ Especially with her gauntlet giving her a little boost.

She sighs and holds out her other hand. She could have gotten them over there already. ]

You're wasting time. Give me the key and I'll go.

[reparo]

[ If anything, the impatience just makes Hermione hold onto that key tighter, and very nearly take a step back, very nearly shields it to her chest, very nearly says no, I found it. Vi is right, though - the fettered woman has suffered long enough in that state, and time is precious. ]

I'll do it, I'll get on - bloody hell, you're impatient. [ She'd fit well with Hermione's friends.

She steps closer, nods for Vi to get read again. ] Alright, jump with us there. I can cushion the landing. [ A cushioning spell aimed at the altar, so they don't break bones on landing, will make it feel like hitting pillow instead of stone. ]

[faceblocker]

[ A woman is chained up like as a creepy sacrifice, of course she's impatient!

Hermione's hesitation gets a suspicious squint, and she considers swiping the key and going on ahead. Luckily, sense is found, and Vi is curious to see what that kind of magic spell will feel like. She had planned to just grab onto the pillar with her gauntlet and drop them down. Personally, she prefers the feel of the landing. It lets her know when to roll and when to slam. In this case, though...rolling...wouldn't be good.

She waits for Hermione to grab on before reaching up to give her hand a little reassuring pat. She said to hold on tight, but Vi won't let her fall even if she lets go. Hyperaware of the proximity as she hooks her bare hand under one of Hermione's knees to help give her more leverage, Vi gets to her feet and backs up a bit further. Hermione weighs...nothing. This will be easy.

If Vi won't need to grab onto anything, she might not need her gauntlet, but she keeps it on just in case Hermione's spell doesn't soften the landing. With readied breaths and tightened muscles, the sprint from the door to the pool's edge gives her momentum to launch high enough so that they sail clear across to the center.

The cushion of the fall nearly throws off her balance, even with the warning. Nearly. ]

[reparo]

[ She really doesn't! It might've held true in the beginning, when she'd gotten here right after the war and the running for her life, but she's had a steady diet of rice and great vegetables (and sugar) ever since and listen, she's not a leaf in the wind.

But she does close her eyes and hold on tight, not opening until they land on the altar. ]

That was - you're very impressive. [ She pats Vi's shoulder, awkward, in congratulations. ]

You can let go now. [ You first, and then she will get off. ]

[faceblocker]

[ With a start, she nods and lets go of Hermione's leg, letting her drop to her feet with a little smile. ]

Not so bad yourself.

[ Making note of all these spells because they're useful as hell, but the priority is freeing the strange woman, so she'll let Hermione tend the locks on the shackles while Vi finally tries to get a closer look at the woman. Something's...off. Not off enough to abandon her. ]

[reparo]

[ Asking the woman's name might be important, or even telling her neither of them are her mother - but so it getting her freed. That was the plan. Once on the ground, she goes for one of the chains holding her legs - the shackle attached to her left leg first - and fits the key through the lock, carefully twists, and unlocks it.

Feet first, for many reasons: if they release her hands first, she might fall on her fact expecting her legs to be released as well; if she is dangerous at all, and they both live to regret this, at least the arms will be released last and let them know.

So, left leg first - and when nothing happens, and the woman stays patiently silent, Hermione moves on to the right one to unlock it too. ]

[faceblocker]

[ Vi's not too surprised that the woman might have some trouble moving her legs if she's been like this for awhile, and her expression is sympathetic. What she doesn't expect is for the woman to collapse to her knees, and Vi crouches down to check her legs when she starts muttering about everything being fine since it was the first time around.

No stranger to creepy movements or mutterings by now, Vi squints in confusion while trying to make sense of it. Her voice gets a little softer, trying to pull the woman's attention back to the two of them. She knows what forced isolation feels like. She's seen what drugs and fucked up mental problems can do. This could be anything. ]

Hey, don't worry, you're not alone anymore. I'm Vi. What's your name? [ A beat. ] What do you mean, the first time around...?

[reparo]

[ At first, she thinks she might be hurting the woman by releasing the shackles, which is probably ridiculous to think but still makes her say: ] I'm so sorry, I'll try to be quick about this.

[ But being closer to her legs means that she sees - and smells - the rotten flesh, so it does dawn on her. They're numb, from being tied up. Necrotic, maybe, from being...god, who knows. Maybe she's undead, but coherent. Maybe this is a mistake.

It doesn't take a genius to take one look at both Hermione and Vi's determined faces and know that neither of them would be comfortable with leaving this place, knowing this woman is tied up here. With gods know what creatures, hungering below.

So, come what may. In for a penny. They didn't put her in Gryffindor for nothing, she gets to make some mistakes.

Once the legs are freed, she waits until Vi catches the woman, and unlocks her arms as well, liberating her right arm first. ]

[faceblocker]

[ She'll stay near with one arm held out, ready to catch the woman if she collapses again. The silver water seeping from the bandages makes Vi all kinds of tense, but she doesn't back off. Rather than look disgusted, Vi frowns in confusion, glancing over her shoulder at the 'waters' around them, then to Hermione. Hm.

The signs aren't looking good. It probably is a mistake, but she feels confident they can handle themselves if things go sideways. What if Caitlyn hadn't given Vi a chance to be free? Vi hadn't exactly made it easy for her, in hindsight. She only wonders why Hermione's bothering to risk herself.

At the request for water, Vi moves quick, ripping her water pouch from her belt and holding it out for the woman. ]

[reparo]

[ She sees that glance, the brief moment where she makes eye contact with Vi, out of line of sight for the woman, and tries to ask again, silently are we doing this.

As far as Hermione Granger is concerned, she will not leave someone - a living soul, human or not, undead or not - shackled and emprisoned. Even if Vi chooses to go, she will unlock the last shackle.

But first, she notices how hungrily and desperately the woman drinks, and takes quick note of the way her skin starts to look like it's recovering - a miracle, by all accounts, or powerful, or strange. She swallows around a knot in her throat, and tries again: ]

And I'm Hermione... I'm afraid we're neither of us your mother, or sent by her - at least I don't think we were. What's your name?

[ This they learn, after the woman drains the water. Marath. ] And who were your people, Marath? [ This they also learn: the people of Uruksithar.

The very ruins they've sorted through, to get to the center of this maze, to get water for the sandworms. A cold chill travels down her spine, and she asks: ] How long have you been here? [ But the woman, Marath, has no concrete answer. Days bled into each other, she lost count, and they've kept her bandaged up.

She looks at the last unlocked shackle, and shifts to her feet, to get to it standing. With a glance towards Vi, she asks:] Why did they leave you here like this? What possible reason could - why?

[ And the answer comes, because I warned them against heading for the desert in droves, and with a bitter taste in her mouth (anger, and blood from where she bit the inside of her cheek in anger on Marath's behalf), Hermione unlocks the last shackle, and frees the woman. ]

[faceblocker]

[ Vi is extremely curious about why Marath was warning her people against going into the desert, but no matter what their excuse was, she can't help but empathize with how the woman describes her days bleeding together while trapped in isolation. An interrogation can come after she's taken away from the creepy sacrifice room, maybe.

Normally she might just tell the woman she was about to be picked up, given she already has one arms slung around Vi's shoulders, but there's a special consideration for someone else who's had their agency taken away for who knows how long. ]

Marath, you mind if I pick you up? We should probably—

[ Vi takes the smack to the face so completely that she's left stunned at first, befuddled to the point that she doesn't resist Marath suddenly fleeing the both of them. Assuming she might just be in a hurry at first, Vi glances in confusion to Hermione while rubbing awkwardly at her cheek.

Then she sees the door slam shut, and realizes that her waterskin just got fucking stolen.

...They're also probably trapped if that door is locked. Let it not be locked. ]

Of course!

[ Not bothering to ask this time, Vi's grabbing Hermione and racing after Marath whether or not they make a soft landing, always prepared to absorb the impact. ]