westwhere | the sunken

THE SUNKEN

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Welcome to the first log of Arc VI: the Sunken, which covers 15 May – 2 June and doubles as a test drive meme.

Back/forward date as needed! The calendar date suggestions are indicative.

The TDM is open to everyone! If you decide to apply to the game, you can get an invite from current players or the upcoming enabling meme — or participate in the test drive meme and get in touch @

groundrules to chat things over. We currently have 13 slots available for new players.

Test drivers can use this post for logs and network posts — old timers, please make your network posts at

eastbound.

LOST AT SEA | TEST DRIVE TOURISTS

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You wake, gasping, in a stormy sea, your thoughts slowed to a confused trickle. Skill, floating wood or a kindly stranger — who you can’t understand — help you to reach shore.

Villagers discover you collapsed on sand and provide critical (if rickety) communication and translation devices. They say you are in Sunken Yancai, a fishing village progressively overtaken by waters and cursed by the secretive ‘ladies of the lake’ to transit through time.

■ Rescuers group newcomers and supply questionable village couture, warm meals and accommodations in abandoned, half-flooded homes or spare small boats anchored in Yancai’s waterways. Huddle up, recover your strength and don’t think too hard on why your memories are hazy over the next three days.

■ Come morning, you visit village leader Quanze Tsaymien, then the sorceress Karsa — who explains you are otherworlders summoned into Akhuras by undead lords who wish to weaponise you in their battle against humans and one another. Karsa is an associate of the Merchant, who leads otherworlders towards ancient transport beacons east.

■ One such beacon rests dormant in Yancai. The group must infiltrate the village and wait a few weeks until it shifts to a point back in time when the beacon was active.

■ Newcomers are handed passport papers with their new identities in Yancai, where they may be known as a bankrupt merchant, perpetually drunk sailor, whale hunter, raft surveyor, mermaid who has just gained their legs, crab collector... feel free to invent a dutifully ~~hilarious~~ apt role for their seaside sojourn.

OLD TIMERS | THE DRIFTING

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You dragged yourself here in a haze. You arrived long ago, as if in a dream. You were born and bred in this village. In truth, your memories of reaching lively Yancai feel nebulous and alarmingly inconsequential.

Characters are facilitated new identities and dwellings by the Merchant, or believe they have had them all along.

■ A weary Karsa warns to say nothing to party members with altered memories, until the sorcery that affects them runs its course.

■ Memory-altered characters progressively regain their memories within three to five days (by 20 May). They have their memories partially or fully back at night ( midnight to 5 a.m.). Throughout the day, memory regains can trigger migraines, eerie confusion and paranoia.

■ Hauntings begin once characters have fully regained their memories.

■ Once everyone is ‘back to normal,’ Karsa explains that Yancai periodically transits through time. The memory alterations are a magical solution endorsed by the village council, which ensures locals mentally weather these shifts. Villagers continue to blithely accept you as part of the community.

(DON'T) HOLD YOUR BREATH

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Karsa reunites the existing party and newcomers, issuing first assignments. The Merchants’s information suggests the beacon of Yancai will be online once the village travels in time within weeks. A dubious Karsa asks the party to check on the beacon, located in the former House of Commerce of the largely inundated merchants’ district. Reach it by rowing boat.

■ Villagers say the Master of Commerce, a famous musician, took precautions against intruders.

■ All ground and lower floor entryways of the palatial House were boarded to restrict flooding. To enter, pick locks or climb the putrid stairwell towards upper balconies.

■ Inside, the hissing of running water — and, in the lower levels, of thin, slippery leeches whose bite numbs your limbs, while they attempt to feed. You seem to experience pronounced vertigo when entering any decaying rooms covered in black mould.

■ The beacon is located on a dais in the basement vault room, where water rises near 1 meter. Only a few scattered scrolls and golden decorations remain among decorations, while a large ceiling carving writes, greed deafens man to the cries of his conscience; music sets him free.

■ Some tiles of the marbled floor stand out as you wade — step on one, and all doors abruptly slam shut, while dozens of obscured holes in the wall start to rapidly spill water, threatening to fill the room to the ceiling within the hour. You hear the tinny, waning sound of a village song played from a hidden source.

■ To stop the pouring water and open the doors, sing the song you hear, or find the music box that produces it amid debris on the water-covered floors. Wind it, and it plays its song in reverse, revealing the voice of a laughing elderly man who says, Depressingly, Anurr was right to worry.

■ Don’t forget to check the beacon — and report back to Karsa that it looks structurally untarnished.

THEY SLEEP

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After surprising revelations at previous citadels, Karsa tasks you to investigate just how… permanent death is in Yancai. Villagers share that their dead are buried in a strange rite at sea — part of which will take place within days.

■ The dead are ‘entombed’ in one-man sarcophagi ships with carved and chained lids that depict their likeness. These burial boats are set at sea on the first day of each season and return three months later.

■ Join the harbours around 22 May, when mourners gather to receive the burial boats. Characters must pretend to be greatly anguished relatives, acquaintances or debt collectors to join the grieving.

■ The boats float towards you, seemingly of their own volition. Gaze afar and spot a boat carrying a man in black — the same who haunts some characters — who observes until the last burial ship has reached the piers, before he disappears.

■ Sailors draw up the boats and unpeel the untouched chains and lids, to reveal… no corpses. Peer closer and find neither biological signs (stench, liquids) of discomposure, nor the magical chillness of spaces where cadavers have lingered long. Scratch marks litter the inside of some boat lids.

■ Mourners seem grateful that the waters have ‘accepted’ the bodies. Some say that their relatives whose boats have yet to return must have been stolen by the ‘ladies of the lake,’ a villainous witch coven. Speak to mourners or sailors for clues.

■ Linger long near opened burial boats, and you feel tempted to throw yourself into the sea, slowly losing consciousness — until someone rescues you.

AMONG US

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On 25 May, village leader Quanze Tsaymien drags the chained and half feral mistress Miang-si to households and Yancai’s largest market square.

The young woman, he says, was seduced by the ladies of the lake — the furtive witch coven that condemned Yancai to time travel. Luckily, the village elders have… coaxed Miang-si back onto the righteous path.

■ Miang-si is brought door-to-door to point out her 'accomplices.' Ill at ease, villagers whisper of similar witch hunts leading to false accusations and blood-curdling repercussions.

■ Both men and women are suspected and brought before Miang-si. Perhaps she takes an eerie interest in you, getting especially close to catch your scent, touch or remark on (in)visible hurts, or even dotingly kiss you. If you whisper quickly while she’s near, you might be able to ask one question.

■ If you are patient and kind to Miang-si, she briefly squeezes your hand as she withdraws. Within the hour, you find blood writ on your palm that warns, Our fat moon rises red.

■ If you are agitated, or if Quanze rushes her during your visit, Miang-si erupts into sudden, side-splitting cackling — while you find yourself croaking like a toad, or transforming into one and retaining human speech. The spell dissolves after eight hours.

■ Quanze’s long-suffering men say this sorcery breaks faster if you kiss one of the curmudgeonly emerald toads that hide in some of Yancai’s lakes. Catch one such delightful, slime-spitting creature or barter it from merchants at a costly premium.

ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT

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A full moon is set to rise within days of Miang-si’s visit, on 27 May — just as Yancai shows signs of time shifting. Villagers are prone to stilling and staring askance, seeming lost or adrift.

The village itself evolves: one moment, the same house appears freshly new, then drowned, while waterways overfill with water, then seem barren. Overall, the village deteriorates.

■ That day, the sun suffers a midday eclipse, while droves of black birds circle the woods and village outskirts, attacking those who come close.

■ The waters increasingly thicken and darken, preventing boats from entering certain waterways.

■ An exceedingly bright moon and a diffuse lunar replica rise with nightfall. Come midnight, the village is alive with the sounds of ripping, structural collapse and shrieks. Tar-covered corpses emerge from the waters, clawing on and climbing up piers. They swarm, drawing passers-by into waters to drown them. Help them — and foremost, yourself.

■ Light and fire keep the dead at bay. On some waterways, wildfire now spells, WHAT IS WET WAS WRONGED

■ Weaker alone, fresh corpses climb into your rowing boat, pretending they are innocents who seek shelter. They betray themselves by speaking very slowly, struggling to keep track of the conversation or obliviously peppering it with details of their death. They stubbornly ask questions about you, repeating your answers, and become violent if you say they are dead. Push them into the water at first opportunity.

■ Quanze Tsaymien and other men of the village take arms, urging villagers to barricade in the nearest home, harbour or warehouse and weather the night. They advise to be silent and beware the dead who imitate living voices, warning not to touch any black mould or water that suddenly appear in your home — which alert the dead of your presence within.

■ Some dead try to tear you apart, while others seek to feed you a disgusting, tar-like black mould. A small taste of it makes you sluggish and feeble for two-three hours, while an entire fistful can kill.

■ If the undead infiltrate your house, hold your breath, do not move and keep from screaming. The dead have weak sight and olfactory senses and might pass you by, as long as you stay silent. It can be more efficient to fool than kill the dead.

■ By 5 a.m., houses start to replenish themselves, gaining a new appearance, while water and mould retreat. The dead withdraw into waterways. Outside doors have been marked with blood: vertical lines tell how many living people remain inside; horizontal ones count how many within died overnight.

■ You step to seize a brave new day — while Yancai enters a new time period (further details due in the next plot update).

NOTES

■ The game enabling meme goes up on 25 May.

■ Hit up available NPCs here or in their new inbox!

■ QUESTIONS.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ his small smile widens with mild interest-- probably genuine, but it's hard to tell with hua cheng. regardless, there's no apparent fear of him, which is a pleasant change. but then, this human doesn't actually know who he is, even if he seems to have a good idea of what. ]

We linger for all sorts of reasons, [ he corrects absently, his only comment as he otherwise listens politely.

when the stranger pauses on the rather unsettling compulsion--he's right that hua cheng can feel the call of it, though thus far it's been something he can brush aside--he hums out a noise of consideration, eye drawn to the scratches again, then out to the waters beyond. ] .. What do you imagine might be the cause of it? [ it sounds as if he has some theories, at least, and it's not as if hua cheng has anywhere else to be at the moment. ]

True. Though most I've had to deal with lingered for grief or anger or some kind of love. Why did you?

( said with a sigh, because it has an unfortunate tendency towards truth when so many of the dead energies, those resentful energies he'd coaxed or directed, came from people murdered outright, not simply dead through accident.

here, well. a different case altogether. )

Something related to why boats go missing. A curse either on or transferred to the boats, calling people to the waters. Then down, which would make one of the mermaids perfect to discuss with if any were in these waters and either deceased or amenable to fish.

( also known as bribery, though mermaids went for larger meals, and the dead ones have never been so chatty in his experience. at least their energies and minds are more familiar after two years of traveling this world and encountering them at various occasions. )

Oh well! Might see how strong the compulsion grows, none of it feels like drowning.

( he hums his own note of consideration. )

[ he remained behind for love. a singular, all-encompassing love that he's felt since he was a dirty, despised child. he'd wanted to support and protect his highness more than anything in the world-- more than acknowledgment, more than peace, more than anything. he would have gladly taken on any suffering if it meant sparing his god from even a moment of pain. ]

Hm, I wonder, [ he says instead, head tilting faintly, earrings chiming with the movement. ] It's been a long time.

[ he wouldn't be surprised if it's a curse. if the dead aren't allowed to rest because of something their living loved ones did, then it's only natural that they'd resent that. it's only natural to want to drag everyone into unrest with them.. perhaps.

it's a shame that he xuan isn't here. he'd be more useful in the water than hua cheng pretends to be. their realms are separate for a reason.

his glance cuts sideways to the odd mortal, brow lofting over his eye with questioning amusement. ] Oh? Are you not concerned about where it might take you?

( wei wuxian, a man who pretends to forget far more than he actually does a good portion of the time, merely hums a note of acknowledgement, stating: )

Advanced age does have it's drawbacks.

( no way someone this powerful feeling isn't also some kind of old, though it's harder for him to judge, after this place. here young creatures, ghosts, devils, the dead can be disproportionately strong for the length of their existence. things not granted on their own efforts, be that consumption or anything else. )

For all our sakes, ( he says, glancing towards the ghost, ) I hope the Huntress or any of the other lords of death here find you too much will of your own to influence in the ways they can when they try.

( because some people as a consumed energy would be far more dangerous than others, and also, he can't resurrect a ghost??? thanks sir this is not part of his own techniques or the learned magics of this place.

that said, his eyes are back on the waters, and his smile wry, eyes shadowed and serious. )

Can't be hell, we just left there and sealed the way behind us. And I can still hum underwater.

( where is lan wangji to stare at his husband being ruthlessly practical but self endangering? yet he doesn't move forward: he knows better than to charge blindly these days. )

[ his small, polite smile widens, small fangs on full display for a brief moment. ] I can assure you, I would certainly not make it a simple matter for them. [ what is a lord to a king? certainly, he's vulnerable to the particulars of his existence like any ghost is, no matter how powerful, but as a calamity, he's much, much harder to deal with than any common ghost. and perhaps more importantly, his wrath knows no end when it's roused.

one long finger trails down one of his small braids, then rubs the small coral bead still laced into it, and after a moment, his glance follows the stranger's out toward the water once more. ]

Not if you forget how, you can't. Not if you think yourself another person. [ .. like his highness. could that have something to do with this compulsion, this curse? are the two related in some way..? if he wants to find out, he should just let this human obey the call, even if it's dangerous. they might learn something, and if he should die, what's one more dead human? perhaps he might even return as a ghost fire. perhaps hua cheng would then have mercy on a new little ghost, and keep him until he disperses or grows.

but unfortunately, he never has been as cruel as his rumors say. it would have made life as a ghost much simpler at times if he had been. ]

Is there someone you love? Here or elsewhere.

( he only smiles, inclining his head for the acknowledgement. he doesn't doubt this ghost, strong as he feels, has reason to believe as he does. yet this world isn't any of theirs, and that seems to create a soft scale on every belly, the dragon scale none of them might have expected to have. he still has hope, cautious, this ghost is right.

a soft sound, laughter, not meant to carry. )

When I had forgotten here, music never left. I am employed as minstrel. What was forgotten was why I was so familiar to, called to respond to, death and life.

( he doesn't mind saying things which are obvious, even when he is nothing as far as reading a threat: no golden core to hold energies beyond his own, just a body better than average, circulating energies with a cultivator's skilled awareness. he hasn't called on death in energies or bodies, has nothing of it here to try unless he's lost all sense and reason and would call to the one he speaks with now, and he would not short of distracting him from a more powerful sway. break the song, such as it was.

no, he sighs for exactly the reason put forward in the question asked. though he is embarrassed, on some level, a touch of heat coiling in his chest, because a dead man is far more capable of speaking directly of love than a man who would have died, if improbable circumstances hadn't thwarted his broken, grieving effort.

so it goes. )

More than I bear affection for myself. I won't leave any of them to mourn.

( and it is why, each call he makes, calculates his survival. lan zhan will break if he's made to mourn again. sizhui will have to contemplate a personal loss when he's had two years to settle with the hidden ones of his past. jiang cheng will fracture into pieces losing his brother again, truly. wen qing will find and haunt him true, even if her spirit shatters here, as he was informed it must be back home, with her and wen ning's supposed ashes fed to the winds.

he won't lose any of them by anything he can manage. he won't let himself be lost. )

Yet even if I lost each of them, I wouldn't be quick to seek out death, so no. It'll be a more calculated attempt to understand the weaving of this curse, of the magics attached after it began.

( he guesses. curiosity stifled by responsibility, as often needs happen in this shifting landscape they navigate. )

the sunken | part i

don't look at how late this is

moving has left me very slow you're all good

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