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

[makemeasong]

[ Clara nods and gestures for Vanessa to follow to where she's found rope and hooks. ]

Movies make it look so easy. [ She mutters that more to herself than to Vanessa, though she isn't exactly quiet. But she exhales and closes her eyes for a second, trying to think. The Doctor absolutely can't know, which means they both have to get through this unscathed. ]

Fitness challenge in school, I had to climb rope so I can at least do that. That's the first question, then: can you climb up and down a rope?

[ It's a genuine question, she doesn't imagine that's the sort of thing women do in their spare time in Victorian London. But then, she's been surprised in so many other ways, it still makes sense to her to ask. ]

[matermali]

[ She's familiar with the rope and hooks by now from watching the raiders, though she isn't exactly practiced in using them beyond the initial handling. So much for the hope that Clara might have happened upon a magical artefact that could allow them to levitate.

The odds seem rather impossible, and especially against Vanessa's favor. Of course, that has rarely stopped her. ]

I have never been given the opportunity to climb a rope, but I am not as frail as I may appear.

[ And they don't really have time to waste with practice. Still... Perhaps they can find a path that's more forgiving, but either way she knows they'll require the hooks. She remembers well the knots that the raiders showed her to make while scavenging with them, at least. How she had wished for Sir Malcolm to teach her such things, once upon a time.

Their new friends have been quite helpful, really. She knows that she would perish from heat exhaustion on the climb without the cooling suit she's wearing (though the hood is off for the moment). If she and Clara do succeed in their quest, she'll have to thank them on Mother Death's behalf. ]

I'll fetch some extra water and perhaps some dried meat. [ She can't know how long the trek might be. ] Perhaps you can best ascertain where we might begin our climb.

[ It will be easy for Clara to call her over using the pocket watches, no matter how far she wanders. ]

[makemeasong]

To use a phrase from my time that my students love, you look like a badass, so I completely believe that you'll be able to handle the rope.

[ Clara's version of a pep talk. Maybe trying to get her to muster even a small smile. ]

We'll divide and conquer—wait!

[ Clara unwraps her suit just a little to tug a bag out. Kneeling, she carefully pulls out a small bouquet of gold-tipped roses. Showing them to Vanessa, she explains. ]

I was thinking about something to help us climb but if there's danger, one rose petal plucked will turn you invisible for half an hour exactly. So, there's that. Confuse something that might chase us by blinking out of sight.

[ As she puts the flowers back in her bag, she wonders if two invisible people can see one another or not. Once the bag is secured, Clara puts her suit back in place, her hood relaxed, too. ]

Back to divide and conquer. I'll try to find the path of least resistance. I've never gone climbing, but I do hike, I'm good at looking for trails. If you can't see me by the time you get back, send me a message?

[ It's easy when they're on the same page, and Clara looks as confident as she always does when heading into the unknown. She's capable—they're capable—and she doesn't want to let Mother Death down. Her own mum was snatched away in a flash of fire and confusion, there was nothing Clara could do. This has turned personal on some level, a sort of attempt at closure. ]

[matermali]

[ A "badass"? She can tell by the context that it's meant to be a compliment, but even Vanessa is momentarily distracted by the negative implication. More exotic slang for her to memorize and then keep in her pocket, never to use.

Before she can wonder how she's meant to respond to being a 'badass', the magic roses are an enchanting distraction. Absolutely fascinating! Terrifying in the wrong hands, and she's glad that Clara isn't an enemy. Impressed, Vanessa will nod in agreement to their possible use, though she hopes they don't run into too many predators. So long as they complete the climb before nightfall, though ought to be well off. One hopes. ]

You have my faith. My eye is better suited to other details.

[ Together, they may be quite capable indeed, even without prior experience. She's conquered plenty without logic or experience to guide her, and given that Clara is a schoolteacher who goes on adventures through time and space, Vanessa is willing to bet that she also has managed to seize victory despite regularly facing the unknown. ]

I shouldn't be long.

[ An abrupt, if temporary farewell before she turns to leave. It really shouldn't take her long to gather anything they need, unless she runs into the Doctor, but she ought to be able to avoid him unless he's specifically looking for her and cheating. She can gather some basic supplies, anything that won't slow them down, all while avoiding anyone who might get a bit carried away with silly things like 'concern'. Completely doable. Not easy, but doable. ]

[makemeasong]

[ It's quite possible that Clara is going to get yelled at later by the Doctor, but he knows her, and he'd know the minute she was given Mother Death's ashes, there'd be no going back.

Donning the top covering of her suit once again, she sets out to find the best route, trying to use as much logic and common sense as she can. When it seems like there aren't any better options, she sends a message to Vanessa; when they're reunited, it's slow going until they get into a good rhythm. By the time they get to a solid surface that seems wide enough to simply hike—carefully—Clara pauses with her hands on her knees. ]

This is officially more work than running after the Doctor. That's a feat, believe me.

[matermali]

[ It's quite possible they're both going to get yelled at, but that is then and this is now. Always better to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission, by Vanessa's reckoning, which...has rarely served her well until now, but old habits die hard. She is her own creature, and there are times when she's quite possessed by herself, if such a thing might make any sense.

This doesn't mean she can't know regret, because it does eventually filter in when the two of them have made enough progress that she's panting for a deep breath she can't seem to find, at least not until she gets a few moments to better center herself. Her muscles cry out at the thought of moving again. No amount of walking up until now has really prepared her for what climbing actually entails.

She might sit (how she wants to), but then it will be too difficult to get back up, and they need to make it back down before nightfall. ]

I can imagine.

[ She can't say she's done much running after him... It's been quite the reverse, but then they haven't had the opportunity to go on as many adventures. Given what trouble he likes to get up to, and how distracted he can get, Vanessa has imagination enough to picture it impossible to keep track of him if he were to get carried away by something shiny enough. ]

Do you think he'll appreciate that when he finds out?

[ Maybe a pat on the shoulder and nothing more? If wishes could manifest. ]

[makemeasong]

[ Grateful for the suit, Clara's still slightly damp despite it. She can't imagine how much worse it would be without. Grabbing water, she takes a long but careful drink before handing it over to Vanessa. This is taking longer than she thought it would, but there's still the need to see this through burning at her. ]

He'll say he needs to double his efforts to find something that makes him run faster.

[ There's a slight laugh in her voice at that, shaking her head. ]

I'm gonna have to tell him a sandworm almost ate me, so if the worst part of this is the climb, I'll take it.

[ She doesn't want the Doctor to find out because someone else told him. He'll be cross enough as it is that she was in danger. Never mind that she has no control over something that's hunting from underground. ]

We should keep going, even though my calves hate me for saying it.

[matermali]

[ The remark on him doubling his efforts manages to get a lopsided grin, easily believing it.

She has her own water, but given that she'll readily share her own should Clara run out, Vanessa doesn't hesitate to take a proper drink for herself. Though she may be more resilient than she looks, this kind of extreme weather isn't something she was ever prepared for, especially not directly after adjusting to the snow of the mountains. ...Is it really still winter?

She wipes at her mouth with her sleeve while handing the waterskin back, sand and dirt smearing against the sweat prickling at her skin. She feels horrid. But as she straightens up to take a moment's appraisal of the progress they've already made and the stretch of desert already within sight, a pang seizes her chest. What would her mother think of her now? What would Sir Malcolm? She thinks of him. Is he now standing up high gazing upon an even grander vista?

The wind stings her eyes, and she blinks furiously at it before turning back to Clara so they can continue their progress. ]

Did you say that a sandworm almost ate you?

[ Yes she heard that. ]

[makemeasong]

Hasn't that happened to everyone?

[ It's a cheeky reply, she knows it, and she begins their journey again. Her hands are going to have blisters, she can already feel it, and she spares a thought for all her muscles that will be angry later. But at least they can pass the time by talking - when Clara feels like she has the oxygen to spare. ]

It came out of nowhere. I was talking to someone who just arrived and then suddenly, a sandworm. Brasso saved my life.

[ She's still thinking about that for more than one reason, but mostly because of how she felt when she thought he was dead. She hates it, that tug on her heart acting as a reminder to keep him and everyone else at a distance. She doesn't want to lose another friend, another person she's let in. ]

[matermali]

[ For however much damage this trek will do, they'll likely require the help of one of the group's medics to avoid looking too battered, but if blisters and sunburns end up their worst injuries, then they'll be luckier for it. So far, Vanessa hasn't seen or sensed anything approaching with malice.

Though, with how easily that old woman had come upon her, Vanessa knows she can't entirely trust her senses in regards to their surroundings.

People are still easier to read than ever, though, especially in certain matters. Through her concern at hearing that Clara had happened upon danger (again), Vanessa drifts closer just as she feels a familiar pang in Clara's last statement. Someone has risked themselves for her. ]

Did he slay it?

[makemeasong]

Tricked it.

[ There's a lift in her voice when she says those two words, clearly impressed. ]

I thought he'd managed to win a trip down the thing's throat, but no. He confused it, then waited it out until it went underground again. I had no idea what he was doing, he just told me to run.

[ Clara'd been scared for him, and when he'd disappeared from sight, she'd felt her stomach drop. But then, there he was, and at least in that moment, no one had ever looked better. ]

We talked for a while, he's nice. Hell of an intro to this place, though.

[ As long as Clara keeps moving the parts of her that are already so angry at her, she can't stop to focus on exactly how angry they are. The conversation is a distraction, too. Who doesn't do a little gossiping when on a mission for Mother Death? ]