let's set d o w n some (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groundrules) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
westwhere2023-09-15 07:10 pm
groundrules) wrote in westwhere2023-09-15 07:10 pm
Entry tags:
- arc vii,
- asoiaf: daenerys targaryen,
- assassin's creed: jacob frye,
- ephes,
- game of thrones: jon snow,
- kingdom of the wicked: emilia,
- last case of benedict fox: benedict fox,
- legend of fei: xie yun,
- lockwood & co: anthony lockwood,
- mcu: america chavez,
- mcu: kamala khan,
- oh! my emperor: beitang moran,
- penny dreadful: vanessa ives,
- star wars: cal kestis,
- star wars: merrin,
- tian guan ci fu: xie lian,
- umbrella academy: five,
- untamed: lan sizhui,
- untamed: wen ning,
- warcraft: anduin wrynn,
- warcraft: wrathion,
- warframe: kahl 175,
- wheel of time: lan mandragoran,
- word of honor: wen kexing
the chainings
Escorted by shepherds, the party reaches most decadent Ephes — a citadel with a newly-raised, lethal army and ambitions of imperial expansion. The undead lady Messalina has approached the Senate of Ephes, asking for the citadel’s forces to liberate the unliving from the undead Brotherhood that “enslaves them.” In exchange, she pledges Ephes any territories she frees.
Ephes hides a beacon within the main temple of the world-making and world-ending chaotic Chained God, currently closed off while Senate leader Caius Justus considers Messalina’s proposal.
OBJECTIVE: Survive Ephes until the temple opens.
This first event of Arc VII lasts until 3 October. Use your character roles, pursue leads or nudge NPCs for clues!
POLITICS
Politically-minded characters take residence with their benefactors and receive two iron chain bracelets, which represent the Chained God. These bracelets and the red-purplish trim of your white cloth identify your political standing and attract the nagging, desperate or aggressive public pleas of your petitioners.
You hear, hastening to attend Senate sessions, that long-serving leader Caius Justus is unlikely to earn a new mandate. His peaceful, sedentary governance is unsuited to Ephes’ military ambitions.
Pair up with party members and submit threads by 23:59 GMT on 27 September of bribing, cheating or outright fulfilling the needs of one of the politicians below, to secure their vote for or against Messalina.
- ■ War veteran-turned-politician Sextus Longinus wants to leave his mark permanently on Ephes.
■ Senator Publia Secunda has been struck with court summons on charges of tax evasion. The court claims it has proof she has been passing the precious wares on her ships as geese.
■ Senator Ovidius Petronius’s wife fled home, ruining his image as a family man, after he was caught in compromising circumstances with another woman.
■ Severus Silvanus was overcome by sickness and wishes to throw a party worth remembering as he lives out his final year.
■ Once a formidable soldier, Senator Cassia Floriana has been for years denied an audience by the priests of the temple of the Chained God because of the blood on her hands.
■ Maximilianus Tacitus wishes to eliminate his reputation for stinginess — while spending not one coin.
Note: if multiple players go for the same Senator, we’ll assume they had more than one vote to cast!
GLADIATORS | non-gladiators can spectate or patron
Those assigned as gladiators are received by arena leader Laetio and housed in single or shared barracks cells in grounds near the largest stadiums.
Accommodations are scarce — pallets, hard stone ground — but food, healing and care are generously provided. Veteran gladiators are frequently measured and assessed. Strife is contained, and brawls are forbidden, while priestess of the Chained God visit periodically to bless warriors as ‘his children of chaos.’
At times, as you train or sleep, you sense you are watched. On other days, you wake from violent nightmares to see your wounds and bruises have vanished.
- ■ Newcomers are paired and taught how to throw fights, exaggerate their reactions and create slogans and outrageous personas. They are offered tattoos, haircuts and makeup.
■ You experience the first day in the arena around the OOC date of 18 September, when gladiators re-enact the Chained God’s first defeat and Chaining.
■ Characters can fight NPCs, each other, or demonic large beasts. These hefty creatures attack head first and thrash the arena, often striking spectators.
■ Injuries can happen when fighting beasts, but unlikely from other gladiators. The highest official attending a fight may choose the loser’s punishment, but must pay exorbitant fees for losses to the arena. After a noble boy orders a veteran gladiator severely beaten, you hear Laetio threatening the child’s anguished father with repercussions from Narula, leader of the Hand.
■ Submit a fight thread by 23:59 GMT on 27 September for the winner/s to address the stadium.
■ Other party members can pay or coax Laetio to receive their ‘favourite’ gladiator(s) overnight at their villas. Return by dawns.
WHITE NIGHT
One night (OOCly: 24 September), after gladiator games on the sixth of twelve Chainings, you wake up in a bleary haze, your thoughts and movements slow. Stifled screams and heavy footsteps erupt distantly. In pitch dark, you spot the slithering, deep silhouettes that are checking cells — progressing towards you.
- ■ If you glimpse their coarsely carved masks depicting wolves, you are overcome with a sudden, insurmountable terror and the certainty that your visitors are inhuman.
■ Stumbling, you flee your surprisingly open cell, overcome by dread that won’t abate until you find living company. Some of the emptied cells you pass by have been clearly ravaged. On the walls of three untouched cells of veteran gladiators, you see a wolf’s head coarsely painted in fresh blood. Hide with your companions, until sleep suddenly claims you.
■ The next day, you wake back in your sleeping quarters. Laetio accuses some gladiators of going mad from last night’s celebratory drink and destroying the cells. Servants have been cleaning attentively, with all blood paintings gone.
■ Your memories of the night are increasingly diffuse: at times you describe the intruders. At others, you speak of creatures or people from your own past that terrify you.
■ A veteran gladiator, the Beast of Brenne, is absent from the morning call. Laetio regretfully informs he perished from wounds incurred in yesterday’s games. He calls a toast to the Beast of Brenne and bans drink for the rest of the Chainings.
THE HAND
Characters reach the barracks as part of a set of 100 new recruits. They are subjected to three days of intense training, ranging from running and parkour basics to weights and strength building, basic dagger combat and surviving hard (magically induced) weather conditions. The recruit batch is overseen by Hand leader Narula and members depend on each other for food or care.
Throughout this, recruits are made to heavily depend on Brother Narula, who negotiates and awards privileges and regularly visits for interviews not unlike interrogations. Recruits are largely orphans, convicts or disinherited — lone wolves, says Narula, who only find their pack in the Hand.
Every ten days of the 100 after recruitment, the worst performing five conscripts are removed from the ranks, stoking vicious competition and internal sabotage that Narula allows on the premise of soldiers needing both brawns and cunning.
Permanent injuries are banned. Beware blades left in your shoes and itchy, ground nettles powder on your uniforms.
HONEYED
Within days of receiving your assignments, you must shadow a group of Hand veterans and guard a Hive — an agricultural cluster outside of Ephes — during a grains transfer.
- ■ New recruits follow veteran soldiers into the eerily silent, vast farmland dominated by high rows of wheat and corn. You feel watched and something touches your legs and thighs. Within farmers’ hearing, veteran soldiers laugh it off as rabbits, snakes — but privately tell you to walk outside the line of vision of scarecrows littered in the fields.
■ The transfer proceeds peacefully until midday, when alarms blare, and a brawl starts near a defunct watering well: a dozen Hand veterans have gone berserk and attack indiscriminately. They are dark-eyed, heaving and struggle with speech and coordination. They seem less wrathful than anguished, desperately calling to ‘Make homes’ as they slaughter and sever limbs.
■ Immobilise the attackers, or take civilians to safety in warehouses.
■ The berserk soldiers are removed — allegedly taken for healing and discipline, but never seen again. At the barracks, Narula says the incident was the result of heatstroke.
MESSALINA’S INFILTRATORS
Some party members join Messalina’s group as paid campaign aides. Stationed in the Senate’s summer villas outside of Ephes, the lady’s eclectic group comprises volatile magic users and necromancers, the undead and demonic creatures — who coexist in tenuous peace. It’s every wo/man to themselves after dark, when the villa walls and defences are drawn up and gates lock to prevent the indiscreet exit of a blood-thirsting demon.
Mid-summer
It becomes rapidly clear that Messalina does not trust the good will of Ephes and wants to cut a deal quickly by bribing, blackmailing, or interceding with Senate leader Caius Justus. She also seems unsettled by the Chained God, who she fears is a hidden undead liege controlling Ephes.
”Not every Sleeper sleeps deep.”
Messalina assigns party members to bolster the campaign of Maximus Faustus — previously a young, promising and popular politician with hopes of becoming Senate leader… who has been replaced by demonic shapeshifter Alir.
- ■ Infiltrate noble functions and learn what would steer patricians towards Faustus’ cause.
■ Patricians widely feel that Caius has been too sympathetic towards plebeians and neglectful of his own people. They want to see more grand gestures celebrating Ephes’ noblest class. See to it.
■ Some superstitiously associate Caius with the cult of the Chained God, whom the Senate leader brought back to forefront.
■ Alir is fiercely intelligent, quick-witted, dry — with little regard for humans, beyond their delicious hearts. Watch him while in public, as he succumbs to his hunger and lures innocents in dark corners to rip out their innards and feast on their flesh. Pay off or exterminate witnesses.
■ A derisive Alir questions Messalina’s plans for peaceful coexistence and the innocence of Ephes. He urges his caretakers to inspect Caius’s private home on the night of the full moon (OOCly: 20 September). You may take along other party members.
■ That night, Caius’ villa is well lit, bursting with song and closed from the inside. Scale the walls to enter and find a feast held by shadowy silhouettes of Caius’ ancestors. First they interact with you, then ignore you, then, increasingly inconvenienced, seem to recognise there is something wrong about you, before giving chase, daggers in hand.
■ On a high table in the great reception halls, you can find the entombment masks and personal effects of all of Caius’ ancestors who are present at the feast. Caius’ personal study contains nearly year-old letters of trade, reports on the fragility of the then-6,000-strong Hand and a broken worship tablet depicting the Chained God’s fourth Chaining.
■ In the kitchens, you find well-secured barrels of fish and wine — jump in together, or hear movement from the servants hidden within. You have time for one question.
CIVILIANS
Characters assigned civilian roles may safely assume their Ephes posts for a handful of days, before the religious celebrations of the Chained God’s twelve Chainings start. The all-Father of the universe, the Chained God is set to birth, consume and rebirth the world, and was chained twelve times by the first heroes of humanity to contain his destruction.
- ■ The numerous priests of the Chained God wander the roads and mark the foreheads of civilians with salted ash — which briefly brings out your anger, greed or selfishness.
■ Priests say you feel the frustration of the bound Chained God. Some of those ash-touched experience visions of a heavily fettered, amorphous creature, struggling in agony in a cavernous room. Those with supernatural powers find their abilities are volatile for a day.
■ Those who ‘see’ the Chained God are brought and tested for holiness by Priestess Valeria, for it is known the Chained God chooses brief emissaries during the days of Chaining.
■ Newer acolytes greatly defend the religious cult: a great earthquake rattled the main temple of the Chained God last year during the Chainings, and falling debris only spared the faithful who prayed within.
Off with his —
On the sixth day of Chaining (OOCly: 23 September), the news shouter of Ephes’ main marketplace receives a pouch containing the decapitated head of Tavernus, brother of Ephes army leader Narula.
The shocked newscaster drops the head, shakily reading out the message stitched on the pouch: Animals die for men to live. Men die for gods to prosper. — a quote attributed to the Chained Gods and carved on his main temple’s outer walls.
Locals may share Tavernus was a taciturn man who previously served as Narula’s lieutenant in the Hand, before retiring five months prior and taking up agricultural trade.
Group up to investigate — and throw your hat in for a RNG pick to win the head.
NIGHT OF KNIVES | EVERYONE WELCOME
The twelfth day of Chaining (OOCly: 29 September) ends the yearly religious festivities of the Chained God with multiple street celebrations and private dinners.
Popular political upstart Maximus Faustus holds his own night-long banquet, opening his doors to all.
The affair sprawls over multiple floors of Faustus’ enormous villa, with entertainment ranging from poetry, theatre, artistic and magical recitals on the lower floors to a gladiator performance and heavy opioids upstairs. Conveniently, the guest list includes every figurehead of Ephes and their main political and financial backers. Patricians seem amused but flattered by Faustus, who was ‘no one’ before Messalina’s support, but who has been generous in his appreciation of the city’s elite.
- ■ Sign up for a RNG draw for a conversation with Faustus by 23:59 GMT on 18 September.
■ No better time to publicise your feats or generosity. Why not have your character (including gladiators) perform or bring an offering?
■ Servants apologise as you smell an excess of musk and oud, hiding, they say, spillage from an accident caused by a fired manservant. You can still glimpse glinting trails of cleansed lamp oil.
■ Messalina attends the banquet for two hours, but hastily withdraws at midnight, after receiving a letter.
■ Towards the middle of the night, priestess Valeria asks to conduct a religious séance, allowing one person to channel the Chained God and speak to Ephes.
■ After 2 a.m., torch lights dim down, as twenty masked pantomimes enter the main banquet halls, shushing the rooms silent. In good spirit, they ridicule the partygoers, even poking fun at you with inside jokes they should not know about…
■ …before slashing the throats or stabbing some of the high-profile Senators present, sparking a chaotic stampede.
■ The main villa doors have been closed from the outside. Fire broke out within and spreads rapidly, after the rims of main halls curtains were drenched in lamp oil. Rescue some of the Senators, or help the crowds escape Faustus’ burning villa.
■ The assassins are exceptionally strong fighters whose combat style some might recognise from the Hand’s drills. They fluctuate between having physical bodies and merging with shadows.
■ Come morning, a list is found on the main hall floor of Faustus’ villa with an assassination contract for the murdered and targeted Senators. All had intended to support Messalina. The contract is signed with the seal of a ring showing a wolf in profile.
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[After all, Wen has already proved himself a provider of fine booze. Jacob's just proved he can drink it. Not the most useful of skills.]
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( Confidence is key! Besides, if Jacob fails then Wen Kexing is sure he'll have other uses. It's always best to keep your options open. )
If you can't find me once you're done, ask at any of the pleasure houses. I make sure they know where to locate me in case there are issues.
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My dear Wen, if I couldn't find you, I'd be a bloody useless spy.
[And with that, he's heading out the door.
It's three days later when he returns, the rain having soaked through the cloak wound about his shoulders removed and discarded on the back of a chair before he moves towards the bar. He carries a small amphora and a satisfied look as he settles in a seat not far from where they'd sat before. He makes himself comfortable as the barman comes over, and rather than order a drink, Jacob gives the man a coin, and a message:]
Tell Wen Kexing I brought him a beer.
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Hello again, Master Frye.
( He slides a cup over, arching one eyebrow as he flicks open the fan to lazily waft it. )
I hear you brought me a treat.
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[He replies, taking in the vision that appears at his side. How many sets of those things does he have? Lan Wangji said that there were seven layers to his robes, and while he's not going so far as to count the number on Wen Kexing, he'd be surprised if it was any less.
But he supposes being a brothel madam means playing the part. And Wen does it so well. It's hard not to grin at his arrival, even if there's something sneaky and scheming to that beautiful face.]
I was told you don't come empty-handed to a house of ill repute. Or good repute, in the case of your very fine and well-regarded establishments.
[He gestures to the amphora, grinning.] You want this one first?
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( He's doing a very good job running those houses, but not all of them are fine. Some people prefer the shadier aspects. He still makes sure everyone comes away satisfied, whether that's from a good fuck or from enough coin. )
Obviously. This is the beer you were so set on, isn't it? Not that I'd judge your taste but I'd like to see what all the fuss is about.
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Just like I don't judge yours. But don't be expecting beer to be like wine- it's not. It's for after you've built up a sweat, for playing darts and skittles and singing bawdy songs. Not fancy ballards in mansions.
[ He opens the amphora, pours a small measure into one and a much healthier serving into the other, and the forces the cork back into the mouth of the clay vessel. He takes the one that has the lion share, and offers the other to his host.]
As we say back home, bottoms up.
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( It's idle curiosity, nothing more. Wen Kexing has carefully curated a particular outer presence, he's aware of what most people believe. He wonders, briefly, what Jacob would think were he to know that he'd spent a not insignificant part of his life crawling around in the dirt, but like always he has no interest in sharing the grim particulars of his origin. And so he takes the drink, mimicking Jacob's way of cheers, taking a sip of the beverage. His face twitches slightly. It's not unpleasant, more earthy than wine, somehow ... meaty, though he's not sure that's exactly the word for it. It's fine, he thinks, taking another deep gulp. )
So how soon should I start singing Eighteen Touches, mm? If this inspires bawdy songs. ( A laugh. ) It's not bad. I think it could grow on me.
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[Maybe because he's clean, his clothes are well cared for, and extremely elegant, and he speaks in a manner that indicates both intelligence and education. That makes him a cut above the majority of people in London. Not better than, but fancier, that's for sure.
The examination of Wen's appearance done, Jacob watches him now for one thing: his reaction. He doesn't know why it matters, but he wants this man to like beer. Mostly because Jacob likes it. He doesn't want to embarrass himself by favouring something Wen will think is bad, disgusting, or whatnot.
The twitch makes him think he's buggered, but Wen doesn't spit it out. In fact, he swallows it. And his comments make Jaco let out a breath he normally only holds during Leaps, and laugh heartily. ]
As soon as you like, honestly. But most manage at least three pints before they start singing. As you're dainty though, you can do it after two.
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I could drink you under the table, Master Frye.
( He's had enough practice after all. )
The singing can wait. Nobody appreciated my efforts in Unkharil. ( He'd played his xiao for coin, that's similar enough. ) How have you been? No drama, I hope?
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[He's grinning wide now, almost from ear to ear, with no real consideration that his words might be offensive, impolite, or otherwise unwanted. Jacob may be short, but he's broad, and he's been drinking beer all his life. There's not really any other choice when the water is tainted. He's fairly sure he can keep pace with Wen Kexing.
Even so, perhaps challenging someone you're in business with isn't the best of ideas. Or maybe it's a great idea, an excuse to bond and joke and talk late into the night.]
None of my own making. Plenty of other people's problems going on.
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( The pleasure house is busy tonight, enough so that he doesn't think they'll be overheard amidst all the noise and chatter. Still, Wen Kexing sweeps a keen eyed gaze from behind his fan, making sure. His other hand turns the cup between his fingers, easy and idle, like he hasn't a care in the world. )
Dire enough we should take this conversation elsewhere? I have an office now, you can bring your beer. ( Then, sly. ) Unless you're worried for your reputation.
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[He says, still smiling as he takes a swallow of beer, making sure they're both on the same page before Wen makes his offer. He considers it, briefly, and then reaches for the amphora.]
Lead the way. I suppose I'll trust you to keep your hands to yourself.
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( The smirk certainly doesn't help prove his innocence, and yet it's right there as Wen Kexing gathers his belongings and leads the way towards the back of the building. They pass several bodies in differing states of dress, but he pays them no mind, taking Jacob through a doorway with a beaded curtain and further out back. His office is tucked away, a smallish room filled with crates of wares, a desk, chairs, a low oil lamp that he lights upon arrival. He waits until the other man has taken a seat, shutting the door behind him, before he moves across to the room, plucking up his drink as he does so. )
Mm. So the rumours are true, then?
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[He tries to be as helpful as he can be, but he is carrying beer, amphora and gathering up the wet cloak. No offense Wen, but he's had plenty of stuff nicked in pubs and brothels before now.
He follows him without any real gawping at any of the people they meet on the way, opting not to delay and give anyone an audience, relaxing a little once in the little office. And it really is little isn't it, modest even. It makes him like Wen even more.]
Seems to be. The neighbours around old Petronius’s place seem to think he's been going out a lot more than a devoted husband ought to be. So I thought I'd follow him, like you asked.
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And? Are there more than one?
( A single affair can be a mistake, repeated offences on the other hand -. )
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[ Jacob says in reply, taking a seat on the other chair and leaning back, taking a drink and pleased that Wen is enjoying it.]
I followed him around for three days, two nights. He didn't go anywhere very suspicious during the day, but on that first night he went to another house in the neighbourhood where all the rich bastards live. On the second night he went to one closer to all the warehouses.
[ Another swallow of beer. ]
At first I thought the warehouses would be where side-piece was living, and fancy house was where his wife had gone to stay, you know, with a friend or a sister or something. But that was not what I found. Do you want to hazard a guess at what I found, Wen?
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I wouldn't dare, go on, tell me what you've found.
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Side-piece lives in the fancy mansion. Villa? Yeah, villa. The husband is also in the senate, but he's off in a province on official business, so I don't think he has any clue.
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( The act of apologetic, sorrowful husband wouldn't stand up either, were he to be found in another bed. Wen Kexing drinks again, thoughtful, long fingers tapping against the wood of the desk. )
What about the warehouse? Or was that official business?
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[ But Jacob has to admit, its probably not a great career move.]
Ah, that's... a bit of an unknown. Doubt it was official, in the middle of the night. But he met up with a couple of men and talked for twenty minutes, then left. Couldn't hear much apart from a discussion about a fee. Trying to find out what that's all about might take a day or two more.
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( It means blackmail's an option. He eyes Jacob up from where he's sat, brows knitted thoughtfully. )
What do you think of the place, Master Frye? Politically, I mean?
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So he drains the beer to cover it, and pours another.]
I don't trust any of them as far as I could spit. There's something wrong with this place.
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( He leans over, holds his cup out to Jacob with the most pleasant of smiles, like they're discussing the weather and that alone. )
Have you heard of the shapeshifter?
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[ He pours Wen another drink, as that's what he seems to want. That smile should be banned for making promises it won't keep. ]
Shapeshifter? Are you talking about ghosts again?
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