blood & sand

[groundrules]

Hi folks! Welcome to Eastbound’s last test drive meme and the second event of the Ephes Arc, stretching until 25 October. Applications next open over 20-25 October, with invitations required for new players (but not returning ones). Individual cast and game caps are off.

Test driving characters can use this space for both network and log prompts, as well as play both the newcomer and shared prompts. Enjoy!

BLOOD & SAND

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NEWCOMERS-ONLY PROMPTS

You wake to the creaky swaying of a large wooden cage, in the back of a cart. Balmy sun pinches your cracked, dried skin. Haziness and nausea assail you, your legs weak. Your supernatural powers are muted, due to recover within 48 hours. Several other carts trot by. You share your cage with a dozen others — largely farmers — and sacks of freshly harvested wheat, their bottoms stained dark.

The farmers point you towards a heap of rusted pendants that allow you to speak and glean local tongues, and access a network. They say you were recovered following an earthquake at a Hive — one of the agricultural clusters feeding the extravagant Senate-led city of Ephes. The Ephes army, the elite Hand, was patrolling nearby and is taking you to the citadel for healing.

■ Gather your bearings and distribute the scant water that Hand soldiers dole out — the earthquake, you hear, has dried the Hive wells.

■ You quickly learn why the Hand encaged all of you, as one of the Hive farmers starts to jerk, growl and shake, weeping black water as he strikes at anyone around him. Fend for yourself, before the Hand soldiers come to remove him!

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You arrive at the main gate of Ephes, where crowds vie for passage. Your carts are inspected, and an irritable woman enters each cage, checking each passenger — before taking you and a handful of others for ‘further customs investigations.’

In the back of an alley, she introduces herself as the sorceress Karsa — and says you are otherworlders brought into the realm of Akhuras by undead lieges of the Brotherhood, who seek to weaponise you in their wars. Her patron, the Merchant, leads otherworlders to ancient transport beacons that can deliver you home.

One beacon sleeps in Ephes, where the rest of Karsa’s party is scattered. The citadel has mysteriously accrued an elite, nearly supernaturally strong army that the undead lady Messalina seeks to borrow from the Senate, in her quest to free her undead companions from the Brotherhood. The Senate is yet to vote on her request.

The black water that has touched you, Karsa says, has previously been found where the undead rally. For now, Karsa gives you a little coin, passport papers identifying you under various civilian roles (player’s choice, but keep it Ancient Rome-themed) and an iron pin of an eye with a sun for a pupil to identify other party members.

SHARED PROMPTS

Decadent Ephes is overrun by rumours, after several Senators who intended to support undead lady Messalina were mysteriously assassinated at the banquet of prominent Senator Maximus Faustus — who, Karsa informs, is one of Messalina’s shapeshifting creatures. Messalina offers her protegees demonic hound escorts.

Hand army recruits protect official buildings, while the rich hire gladiators to watch their homes. Both move freely.

The Senate fears further retaliation against those who champion the dead. Senate leader Caius Justus distantly mourns the Senatorial murders from seclusion at the temple of the Chained God.

Civilians face increased tensions and whispers of curfews in the market. Crowds frequently quarrel over undead allegiances

Following an exercise in divination, priests of the city’s patron, the Chained God, spread word that the deity holds strong despite his Chaining, and he still wishes to destroy and rebirth the world.

Karsa informs the existing party that more otherworlders joined Ephes and wear iron pins depicting an eye with a sun for a pupil. She gives the party similar pins for identification purposes. Newcomers and old timers can recognise each other by their pins or engage over the network!

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THE PROSCRIPTIONS
OBJECTIVE: procure proscription lists.

You hear from the city crowds that partial target lists are circulating with the names of politicians targeted for bounties. Karsa tasks the team to recover the lists, which can be used as political currency. Find them by either:

■ Infiltrating a tavern run by the ruthless city gang of Livius Decimus and packed with unscrupulous bounty hunters, thugs and professional assassins.
A local ‘delicacy’ drink of wine and pickle juice is often inflicted on strangers. Brawls erupt randomly. Coax shady patrons to share target lists.

■ Visit the empty marketplaces just before dawns and raid the chained wooden submission boxes of news shouters, who receive anonymous tip-offs about fresh bounty lists. The boxes are pinned to the ground and tightly locked, but rusty from the cold seasons — allowing you to break them or pick their locks, while someone keeps watch. Tampering with a news shouter’s box is a jailable offence.

■ Turn in a finished thread to receive a clue!

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AT SEA
OBJECTIVE: investigate abandoned ships and rescue sailors.

One early morning (OOCly: Oct. 13), as you entertain sailors for gossip on the docks or fish breakfast, you witness the port authorities screaming for help as several small merchant ships appear abandoned at nearby sea for reasons unknown.

Lookouts spot no activity on board, while sailors organise rescues.

■ Row a small boat some 15-20 minutes to one of the merchant vessels. All merchant ships have roughly three hours afloat, as they slowly sink from numerous small erosion holes in their sides.

■ You find no crew on deck, and doorways to the cabins below are locked from within. Below deck, you find numerous sacks of wheat from the Ephes agricultural clusters, the Hives. A black liquid, thick and tar-like, is seeping out of the sacks — corroding the ship’s wood and creating leaking holes.

■ You find a handful of dazed sailors who claim a dark, slithering creature knocked them out. They were selected by Narula, leader of the elite Ephes army of the Hand, to transfer grain onto the vessels of the ‘merchant’ Matthias, much farther at sea. If you mention Matthias to Karsa later, she reveals he is a man (?) who potentially created the undead Brotherhood.

■ Seven sailors who did not know each other were chosen to man the ship. Eight men are in the room, meaning one ‘man’ is the assailing creature. You must decide who to release upstairs for evacuation.

■ Tips: the creature, disguised as a human sailor, has no pain receptors and isn’t afraid of typical dangers (fire, drowning). It does not bleed if hurt. It sometimes forgets to blink and increasingly, unwillingly, slowly morphs its features into yours, the longer it speaks with you. Lastly, the creature has a tattoo on its forearm identifying it as a soldier of the Hand.

■ Once found, the creature turns violent, dissolving into wisps of shadow and materialising once more to strike from behind you. The shadow creature cannot be outright killed — but you can lock it inside the ship.

■ Leave by small boat before the vessel sinks & claim a question if you saved sailors. Merchant vessels can be patched up, if successfully returned to port.

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THE RATTLING
OBJECTIVE: survive & explore the arena.

To stoke her popularity in Ephes, undead mistress Messalina organises a sumptuous gladiator game at the Colosseum (OOCly around Oct. 20), inviting plebes, patricians, politicians, soldiers — and you.

Gladiators may be hired (or coerced) to perform, while servants supply copious amounts of wines, oysters and honey pastries. A tiny mechanical golden mouse, passing by each seat, drops folded pieces of parchment with fortunes and riddles, ranging from teasing to morbid to philosophical or sweet. Pick up yours and make sense of it with your neighbour!

Politicians often interrupt the games to announce donations or make elaborate speeches. Toss peanuts to signal your discontent — or join in with your own speech.

■ The games start with matches between humans, but are building up to face-offs with reptilian demons, mounted rhinoceros and flying gargolyes whose voices thrall you frozen put.

■ During the games, you feel slight vibrations, and — if supernaturally sensitive — an undefined magical tension. By 15:00, this ramps up into earth tremors that worsen over 12 minutes — as columns and seats topple over, and the ground breaks in deep rifts, releasing black, chilled, tar-like water.

■ Crazed mobs rush for the exit, stampeding carelessly, while columns and decorations tumble down.

■ Dozens of the monsters brought to gladiate free themselves and hunt down spectators. Soldiers of the army of the Hand — disturbingly fast, strong and disciplined — intervene but it’s best you look after yourselves. Some spectators shout these Hand recruits practise some of the techniques performed by a recently missing gladiator — the Beast of Brenne.

■ Passing by the earthquake rifts, you see wisps of the tar-like liquid that gushes from them is gradually assuming the shadowy shape of humans. Stalking after you, they do not speak or bring you harm, but slowly steal your likeness and drain you of vigour and stamina. You get the sense that all they want is a shape. Encountering shadow creatures leaves you with a sense of bitter loneliness that only living company can soothe.

■ If you study the arena, you see the same black liquid is gathering around freshly downed corpses, slowly reanimating them. These newly-crafted undead struggle to walk and speak naturally and remember their lives, often unaware they died. Anguished, they beg help to escape, before inevitably succumbing to the instinct to harm you. Remind or convince them they are dead, and they withdraw.

■ The largest earthquake rift in the arena is overrun by the black liquid and by nearby undead. Within it, you notice a bloodless hand that seems to never sink — Enter a RNG draw to collect it and its clue.

■ As you gather your wits outside, you see followers of the Chained God rallying in the streets, comforting the traumatised crowd that all will be well now — for the Chained God’s destruction will be mercifully swift.

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THE QUIET HOUSE
OBJECTIVE: Explore the abandoned gladiator barracks.

NOTE: a Halloween special, this area is entirely opt-in and features several frights. Mind the warnings!

As chaos consumes the Colosseum, you notice the earthquake has destroyed a previously locked arena gate, revealing a decayed tunnel. The corridor leads inside a closed-off barrack whose doors and windows have been barred from the outside with wood planks and chains. Touch these restraints, and your unhurt hand leaves behind a fading blood print.

The barracks building is withered and clearly abandoned, with scarce furniture and a few weapons in a training room.

Several discarded torches stay alight on wall fixtures. Pre-prepared braziers have been filled with spirit-fending incense of sandalwood and sage. Explore for clues.

■ THE HALLWAYS ( cw: guilt haunting ): corridors flow into each other, often leading back where you started. You run into shifting wall engravings, some listing the name and ranks of Hand soldiers, or precepts such as GODS OF THE ARENA and BECOME AS STRONG / AS FAST, AS NIMBLE / AS GLADIATORS. A large portrait of Hand leader Narula is increasingly more scratched, every time you encounter it, while the painted man looks healthier, younger and stronger. Inevitably, you hear heavy steps — a deep-shadowed spectre, the Drillmaster, who starts to stalk you with slow persistence. Visible to you and your companions, the Drillmaster fluctuates between assuming the appearance of Narula and the distorted, monstrous figure of someone from your past, who heavily criticised or intimidated you. The corridor lighting changes depending on your proximity to the Drillmaster: green for safe passage, white to tread lightly, red to stop. You can make the Drillmaster disappear out of your way by facing or acknowledging whatever weakness (true or self-perceived) you have that has caused extensive criticism or self-doubt.

■ THE BATHS ( cw: doppelgangers): a long marble hall featuring a large swimming pool, now drained and filled with mould and debris. Steam overwhelms the room, except for a wall-length black mirror at the end of the hall. The more you look into the mirror, the more the black substance that covers it slips down, flooding the floors and also dripping from walls and the ceiling. As the mirror clears, you see your black-eyed reflection that suddenly screams out verbal abuse or plunges at you. Once you subdue the doppelganger (claim a clue), it dissolves into more black water, while the mirror shows scratched inscriptions of A RIGHTEOUS HAND SHAPES EACH OF ITS FINGERS.

■ THE DORMITORIES ( cw: membranous cocoons): hollow, empty, quiet, the dormitories sport strange membranous cocoons in the walls, from which shadowy hands reach out. You hear young wo/men, whimpering and murmuring that they aren’t afraid and want to change to make Brother Narula proud, before erupting into screams or laughter. Break the cocoons without getting trapped into their webs — only to find nothing inside, except stone dog tags, engraved with the names of Hand soldiers. On the floor, you find primitive tattoo needles and ink.

Luck strikes at sunset, when a previously barred door opens to release you from the house — back into Ephes.

NOTES:

■ QUESTIONS

■ NPC inbox (for test drivers)

■ Event title shamelessly pilfered from a gory gladiator show!

Comments

night before the colosseum erupts | closed to Natasha

[somebadnews]

[ Five refolds the bag he used for Alir's last feeding, and stuffs it into his jacket as he walks in the shadows to where Messalina has taken up residence. A demonic hound keeps pace beside him, alert to everything Five isn't focused on as he mulls over what the shapeshifter told him.

Of course, he could have simply teleported there, but he has too much on his mind that he's still working out as he winds his way through the undead encampment. He's avoided speaking to Messalina directly while he was still moving the pieces around, navigating the narrow paths she has to come to an agreement. Unfortunately, even the undead can run out of patience, and he's seen firsthand how Ephes operates. Even politicians that could be swayed have been quieted, assassinated or otherwise, and he can't say he didn't expect her choices to come down to this.

Neither option appeals to him. Since he arrived he's been actively trying to bend this opportunity in their favor. With the sudden appearance of his brother, it's more important than ever to make sure he's taking the right risks. Alir also isn't entirely the most reliable source. He's so far curved his impulses, thanks to the workings of their group, but it's a temporary solution. His frustration might be coloring his assessment, and the only way to really find out what's on Messalina's mind is to confront her directly.

A low growl steals his attention away from his thoughts. It softens when it seems to recognize his stalker, and Five frowns at the figure emerging from the darkness. ]

I see you're keeping busy. [ Whatever she wants, he knows half of their group is just waiting for him to tell them that Alir has used up his uselessness, but for Five, that's clearly left to be seen. He's ready to make that case if she decides to insist. ]

[redhourglass]

( she hadn't really intended to follow the kid —

but five had a furrow in his brow when he passed that she recognized and hadn't even really looked up at her, two unusual things that had her slipping in behind him. the dog will notice her first, probably, but it's worth the risk, even if she can get a better sense of what it is that five is thinking about.

(when five thinks about things, bad things usually follow.)

she only manages to follow him for a few more corridors when the hellhound growls, and she steps out from behind a column. )

I had some free time on my hands. ( neutral, impassive. her eyes land on the bag hanging partially out of his jacket. ) Went to see our favorite homicidal demon?

[somebadnews]

[ Five sees where she's looking and reaches to conceal where the bag had been slipping out while he was lost in thought. Before he'd been less inclined to recycle, but he's brought him so many hearts at this point that it made sense not to leave the evidence lying around. ]

Our arrangement is holding, for now. [ He figures that's what she wants to know. ] He has a few complaints. The bodies in the morgue are getting old, so we might make adjustments.

[redhourglass]

They're getting old —

( she has to cut herself off. pause. gather her thoughts, suck in a longer breath, then let it go slowly. the heart thing hadn't been her top choice, but it'd been a better option than she originally thought of. killing alir was more trouble than it would be worth, if they could keep him away from innocents. )

Right. So he wants fresher meals on wheels. That doesn't explain the look on your face.

[somebadnews]

[ He raises an eyebrow at her emphasis. The bodies in the morgue have been decaying for a while now, and they haven't exactly been able to stick them in a freezer to keep them fresh. He's handled enough of them to see why Alir is complaining.

For a moment, he doesn't know what she's talking about. If she's trying to get him to admit to something. Since it's fairly obvious where he's headed, he gives her that much. ]

Our demon friend isn't the only one getting impatient. I thought it was time to check in with our employer.

[redhourglass]

( she's not ordinarily squeamish — the dead are dead. what are they going to do, complain? it's the more the fact that alir is complaining, when by all rights they ought to have just took him out back the last time he messed up. )

Aren't you her right hand man? ( er. kid. whatever. ) I thought you two were having regular meetings.

[somebadnews]

[ That's politics for you. They don't have the luxury of doing whatever they want if this is going to work. Calling him Messalina's righthand man is giving him a little too much credit, but it's nice to know he gives that impression. ]

When I have something to say. Working out a strategy where the living will back the undead isn't easy. If I show up empty-handed, it hurts my credibility. [ He's already alive, so that's one strike against him. ]

I may have waited too long to have this one. Now I need to see if Alir was exaggerating or not.

[redhourglass]

( natasha's eyes roll, 'hurts his credibility'. it reminds her so much of home for a second that she wants to sigh. coulson had always been the political animal; fury, when he had to be. hill, when pressed. her as a final option, the least likely of the avengers to cause an incident which had resulted in her testimony on capitol hill. )

Right, your credibility. ( as if she cares about that. not that she doesn't sympathize with the effort; she's been trying to dig up leverage to turn some humans to their side, too. it's slow going, believe it or not. )

Exaggerating how?

[somebadnews]

[ The eye roll isn't missed, and his frown deepens. Yes, his credibility. He'd go on to explain why that's important when put in a precarious position of convincingly advising an undead mistress of the dead, but it might be a waste of breath.

Besides, he's got a task at hand. He could tell Natasha less, but she gives off the vibe that she'll do her own digging with Alir if he doesn't at least give her a broad overview. ]

With how close she is to making a decision that could erase everything we've been doing here. From the way he tells it, she's on the verge of abandoning her hopes of winning over the Senate. [ Which would be bad for all of them. ] It's yet to be seen if she'll take my advice when her chances of a peaceful resolution seem to be slipping away.

[redhourglass]

( she knows — well, she thinks she knows that this is important. it's honestly hard to keep track of all the moving parts and politics in this place, even for her; maybe because the frame of reference is so far out of anything she's experienced. some things, though, don't change — no matter what planet or world you're on. the intricacies might be different, but the themes? those stay the same. for example: an absentee leader and a growing military force right under ephes's nose was apt to cause ire. )

She's that easy to spook? I didn't think she'd care about the army that Caius Justus is spinning up. ( not considering they're standing in a well-armed citadel right now )

[somebadnews]

[ From his perspective, her paranoia is justified. She's the odd man out, not part of the Brotherhood without the long history that Anurr has that gained him followers. She may ultimately be just as bad as the rest of them, but the uphill battle is something he can sympathize with. ]

Why do you think she's here? She needs bodies. [ She wouldn't be so patient if she didn't see the benefit. ] ...Caius is a problem. Alir may have been better utilized taking care of him.

[redhourglass]

( alir ... still, a sore spot. the hearts were a stopgap, for all that they might not be working anymore. but using him as an assassination mechanism? unlikely that he wouldn't be discovered, and the entire thing would just come falling down around messalina's ears. )

He'd be caught. He's not .. subtle. ( you know, in case you haven't noticed. the tentacles. etc. ) I don't see how this gets us closer to what we need.

[somebadnews]

[ He shrugs, albeit a little more stiffly. Alir isn't the ideal demon to lean on, and he knows it. They could potentially get Vanessa to take on Caius' appearance in a pinch, but he only trusts her a fraction more. ]

He's convincing enough when they're in session. [ They've been none the wiser to what he eats, thanks to them. ] We're never going to have an ideal situation. The undead are persistent, but there's a time limit to what we can accomplish.

[ As they approach he slows his pace and gives her another look over. He's used to people expecting to have all the answers. If that's what she's expecting him to offer, she'll be disappointed. ]

I'll be sure to fill you in afterwards.

cw brief gore mention

[redhourglass]

( natasha catches the sudden shift in his movements, hides a smirk under a duck of her head. they both know that she's right — alir will give himself away, eventually and it won't matter how convincingly he plays the political game when he's got one of his tentacles in deep in someone's small intestines. it's just whether or not they can get what they need first.

still, five's last words give her pause and her eyebrows go up. )

You've got to be kidding. ( flat. come on. they're right in front of the door, behind which messalina lurks. ) I'm coming with you.

( it's not a question, or a request. )

[somebadnews]

[ He had a feeling she'd insist. He could guess why, but it really can only be a couple of reasons. ]

Afraid I'll leave something out?

[redhourglass]

( as a general rule — trust is part of it, as he implies. it's not really anything personal with five, either. she wouldn't trust many people to go into that room and give her a fully accurate recounting of what happened. but in addition to that... )

More like you'll want a witness if she murders you. Someone should be around to tell your sister. ( fighting a little dirty there, but she does it with a smile. )

[somebadnews]

[ His gaze turns cold and his smile sharpens the moment she mentions his sister. His fault for having such a well-known weakness, but that's a card she shouldn't play often. ]

How considerate. [ It's not quite enough to have him reach for the door. ] You don't think it's a tad suspicious to walk in with her hired assassin?

[redhourglass]

( always nice to see when a blow lands the way it should, though natasha is careful not to reinforce it with anything threatening. after all, she's not the one who wants to murder five (right now). she's just the one who'll try and keep it from happening. )

We'll say we have something to report together. Or I'm watching out for you. ( a shrug. ) She has no reason to think I'm not just doing my job.

[somebadnews]

[ Five bristles. 'Watching out' for him? Like he's never handled a hit being put out on him.

He could easily blink inside without her, and it's tempting, but then it really will look like he's hiding something. He isn't well liked as it is if Natasha wanted to spread rumors. ]

If we go together, you can't contradict me. We're walking a fine line here, and I won't be the one who pays for it if you screw it up.

[redhourglass]

( she can tell the moment he takes it as an insult — and doesn't bother explaining. if it had been meant that way, she'd have made it count. but she's past the point of believing that people don't need anyone looking after them... even her. and if he's too proud to play the 'kid' card, that's a major advantage that he's deciding to squander. but that's his choice. )

Fine. ( doesn't bother her to be sidelined, not about this. he'd been theo one who talked to alir, anyway. ) This isn't my first rodeo.

[somebadnews]

[ He's tried playing it a couple of times. Not well. Most of the time when he's given an assignment, it's poking some kind of fun at his apparent age or his size, so a respectable position is still a novelty.

People underestimate him anyway. He's looking at one of them. Although, to her credit, he does believe her when she says that. ]

I doubt that's a coincidence. [ The teams were chosen for them. He shakes his head and looks to the door. ] Should I announce us, or do you want to do the honors?

i think fade into the other thread here, maybe?

[redhourglass]

( he rolls over a little more easily than she'd expected — maybe because she'd brought his sister into things, maybe because he knows she's right, maybe just because. in any case, she just shrugs at him, folding her arms over her chest and eyeing the door for a second. )

I'm just here to be seen, not heard, remember? ( she's got her 'thank you for your cooperation' smile on, though she reaches for the door for him. he can announce them once it's open. )