bygones be bygones

[groundrules]

BYGONES BE BYGONES

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Welcome to the finale log event, stretching until 22 February. You can find a summary of recent events here. The finale log is broken in four sections:

■ Anurr’s attempt to enter Hatthevar by corrupting party members

■ The citadel’s increasing hauntings and abductions (largely CR-building scenarios)

■ Investigating a ghost ship, for final clues

■ The fall of undead creator Matthias

Thank you for being here & enjoy!

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WALLS, WAILING

The tide of war are turning: his scorpions and sand lurkers defeated by Emilia, Wrath and Benedict, the undead Brotherhood’s foremost general, Rathakku, pulls back his armies. A handful of monstrous creatures remain and will grudgingly serve the trio as their new masters.

Wind master Anurr, foe of the Brotherhood and its maker Matthias, continues assaulting the citadel with ceaseless blizzards. Those exposed to the storms may hear dark or saccharine voices that corrupt, threaten or woo them to open one of the four (north/west/south/east) gates of the citadel and allow Anurr’s forces inside.

■ Those prone to loneliness, despair or self-doubt are the most vulnerable to Anurr’s coercion and can easily turn aggressive, if anyone attempts to prevent them from their goal. A burning need to free the winds and a hatred of Hatthevar overwhelm you, while Matthias’ very name sets you off in a rage.

■ Those coerced are invulnerable to Anurr’s blizzards and the broader cold but highly susceptible to heat and flame. Their skin turns pale, limbs stiff and nearly gelid. They are slower but much stronger, and their touch can chill. They must be warmed — either by fire-side or trapped into heated rooms — to regain control of themselves. It may take up to 48 hours before they’re fully back to normal, waking up at night with a longing to walk into the wind.

■ The gates of Hatthevar remain guarded by enormous man-eating ghosts, but these sentinels have been worn down by war and are more easily overcome. Pass them and your companions and open the gates — and you will win Anurr a healthy advantage.

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A HAUNTED PLACE

Two of Matthias’ beacons have been conquered by Vanessa, Wrathion and Five, who retain them as long as they stay along. Inevitably, they are often hunted by spirits.

Not realizing why his summons have weakened, Matthias directs more and more energy towards the three beacons under his control. The turbulence agitates the spirits of Hatthevar, who become secretive, paranoid, prickly and increasingly riotous.

■ Some scatter quickly as they see you — others gang up, mutinously targeting ghost slavers or anyone who reminds them of those who wronged them when they were alive. Hauntings multiply, while ghost slavers take advantage of the riots to conquer parts of Hatthevar.

PART & WHOLE

Combative crowds, often led by ghost slavers, are especially drawn to characters who own any of Matthias’ limbs or organs. Promised rewards, they seek to abduct such owners or anyone unlucky enough to be mistaken for them, dragging them to decrepit, barely standing and abandoned Whispering Houses while they barter payment from Matthias.

■ Ghosts are fiercely attentive but also superstitious watchmen: spook them, organise a rescue party or sneak out.

■ Watching the walls, you see ink brush paintings of the silhouettes of men, their beady eyes sometimes shifting to look at you. At other times, their limbs seem to shift minutely, as they begin to run towards you, until shadow men burst out of the wall to detain you. They pull back, if you also stop moving.

■ Those who possess Matthias’ parts may find ghosts are unusually submissive to them. Their tokens will likely get seized, if they are captured.

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TROUBLED

Hatthevar succumbs to hauntings, friendly or foul. On any given day, you might experience:

■ THE BURIALS: Come morning, your shoes might be missing, buried in the nearest dirt patch — or you yourself might be entombed in the gardens, forced to dig yourself out before you suffocate. The crystalline sound of chiming bells can lead rescuers to you. Ghostly hands might try to hold onto you, if you are dragged out.

■ THE FACELESS: Lithe faceless dancers dart through the crowds of the ghostly bazaars, carrying demonic wooden masks that they place on the faces of stunned passers-by, fleeing thereafter. The victims now look like the demonic masks, while the masks have copied their likeness. If this happens to you, run after the faceless dancers, steal the mask and put it back on your face to recover your original appearance.

■ THE WATCH: Walking through the streets of Hatthevar, you find yourself visibly, unmistakably watched by an increasing number of people. First, they only steal glances; then, one or two point you out; small groups begin to whisper about you; finally, you notice whole crowds are standing eerily still, watching you covetously and seemingly struggling to keep themselves back from assaulting you.

MASTER GAO’S HUMBLE HOUSE

Least said, soonest enjoyed of Hatthevar’s new fashion of culinary delights. Amid a pick-up in crime, the street food vendors disperse, leaving behind a smattering of secluded establishments drenched in dizzying incense and patroned by… ethereal diners.

Master Gao’s family restaurant promises a once-in-a-lifetime experience, amid ghosts, ghouls and the monstrously dead. Take a seat at a private table, where you are treated to a pleasantly sweet, liquorice brew — then informed politely that you have been lethally poisoned and will die within two hours. Already, you feel your body feverish, overly stimulated, your thoughts given to wonder.

Focus, focus: the antidote, says the listless waitress, is in one of the numerous incoming dishes. A game to focus you on enjoying your meal. Even one bite will heal you.

THE MENU

Still on the fence? Reviewers say:

★★★★☆ Came for the bao buns, stayed for the screams of endless agony.
★★★★★ most places on lotus street went to the hell dogs, master’s gao stays lit, the demon bacon’s sizzle drizzle
★★☆☆☆ Two stars for the incredible heart of virgin sacrifice, cooked al dente. But this will be our last visit, after unprofessional staff treated us as if we were at our first cannibal rites.
★★★★☆ Hand-made blood pasta, rolled like grandma used to make.

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THE HEADLESS DANCER

Five and Wen Kexing share that word on the street is Matthias has favoured two hideaways. The most widely known one, where you are headed first, is the Headless Dancer: a ghost ship that appears on nights of the full moon in the misty lagoon near Hatthevar. Half-sunken and ragged, the Headless Dancer appears like a conglomerate of titans’ bones, carved and welded together. It is a proper sea vessel, atypical to sail through a lagoon.

Your objective is to search the ship for any sign of Matthias.

■ As the vessel passes, you hear a staggered, loud rattling: the chattering teeth of the skull heads that shape the ship’s hull. These hungry mouths reach to crush and gnaw you, if you fall in the waters close to the ship.

■ A pirate crew is hard at work to keep the vessel afloat. At first, the men appear normal, but their skeletal, corpse-like appearance is revealed when they come under moonlight.

■ Many crew members ignore you, chained to each other and the deck and condemned to perform their tasks while singing their ol’ song. Only the captain speaks liberally: cursing, whipping his men and carrying a bundle of chains as he makes his rounds. Hide — at times helped or betrayed by crew members — or risk getting chained down by the captain, your powers entirely muted until you are released.

■ Midway through your visit, the ship sails back into the fog, beneath a strange wave of clouds shaped like enormous fish and sea life . Spears and chains that resemble fish spines plunge down to pin the ship in place: they fly across the deck, at times skewering and stabbing crew members. Take cover or jump overboard.

■ After a few moments, the spear-chains latch onto the vessel’s sides, turning it over and submerging into the lagoon. Instead of sinking, the Headless Dancer breaks water, once again upright… in strange new sides (the ‘Other Side’) in the middle of an intensely violent storm of blood. The previously skeletal crew and captain are now fully human and are struggling desperately to keep the ship from sinking, despite furious winds and the vessel taking substantial amounts of water. You understand quickly this is an illusion or memory of some kind: there is no saving the ship. Spend the last few minutes before the Headless Dancer sinks trying to stay afloat and search the captain and main passengers’ cabin for clues. Within 20 minutes, you hear the mast of the Headless Dancer give way, while the rapidly flooding of the hull causes the ship to break in half. You fall unconscious, waking up battered but alive in the real-world shores of Hatthevar, the splinters of the Headless Dancer’s deck stuck beneath your nails.

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HE BLEEDS

Following our latest vote, the People have overwhelmingly chosen that undead creator Matthias will die.

Carrying out the plan is open to everyone, whether you did or didn’t get involved with the voting — jump in freely!

Matthias will be discovered in the second lair location uncovered by Five and Wen Kexing — the Whispering House of Hatthevar’s foremost wish maker, the Red Lady. He dwells on the first floor, which has been turned into an immense room decked in dark mirrors, whose windows have been entirely barricaded.

There are two types of mirrors: some show you exactly what you most wish to see, progressively captivating you while rapidly depleting your stamina and vitality, until you are reduced to dried husks and bones within the hour.

Looking into the second type of mirror, your character sees a person of tar that reaches out to touch them until their hand exits the glass. Upon contact, your character is overcome by a feeling of intense, spreading coldness, as if their insides are being infested by a rapidly propagating alien creature. They may feel its highly primitive, emotion-led thoughts: a jumble of jealousy, the wish to have a shape and manifest, hatred that your body is not malleable, fear, hunger. The creature takes your body over within the hour.

You can escape both types of mirrors if you cover them, do not look into them, or if someone breaks the thrall (by taking your attention away from the mirror or by physically removing you).

Matthias is often away from his hideaway, giving you valuable time to plot and tinker.

Killing him will involve:

■ Scouting the Whispering House. The Red Lady, a powerful sorceress, is unlikely to allow intruders to go where they please inside her home. But the ‘I’m just a poor wish maker, looking for the bathroom’ excuse is a time honoured classic!

■ Using Matthias’ severed limbs and organs to reduce his power: this can be done by destroying the parts. Fire will do the trick.

■ Setting down traps (tentacly or otherwise!) in Matthias’ quarters to detain him.

■ Creating an illusion or shapeshifting someone to look like Matthias’ daughter Cosette and distract him, when he returns.

■ Feeding Matthias a memory potion that will force him to remember his part in Cosette’s demise.

■ Killing him. Per RNG gods, Emilia gets the dubious honour of delivering the killing blow (most likely, with help from a special tool obtained from the Headless Dancer). Everyone else is still free to char, sting, entrap or force feed memories to Matthias!

Since several people might get involved, it’s probably logistically easier if you play out prep work or threads in groups of no more than 2-3 and assume other party members are around.

You can either NPC Matthias yourselves in your threads or ask for mod involvement.

Note: everyone who threads out any of the events of Matthias’ capture or demise can “inherit” some of his power over undeath once he is killed. Your character will then have to choose what they do with this power (keep, transfer or disperse it).

QUESTIONS

Comments

[groundrules]

Up to you and what you do with it, basically!

[groundrules]

Thanks!

[groundrules]

And coming back to this for a hot sec:

Basically, back in the stone age of Arc I, Anurr was stripped of his powers and heavily secluded by Unhalad and the invading undead. His power was captured in a small mirror of black water, which Winnie and Five broke.

Unhalad was one of the weaker members of the Brotherhood, and while Anurr has greatly recovered and expanded his ability since, that power would still be exceeded by the total force of Matthias' power (which the group would own, as a sum of what's in his body parts + what they 'inherit' from him). If you want to use Matthias' power to do something to strip Anurr of his powers and lock him in his body again, go for it.

[massrez]

[ He huffs out a quiet laugh at that. There's some truth in that, in the Light fused to his very bones. The pains that shoot through his broken body when he acts unkind or unjust.

And yet how had that injury that almost killed him come about? By trying to bargain, to reason. To search for a kernel of integrity and honor in a warchief who possessed neither. ]

No. Kindness never hurts anyone. It is what people choose to do with that kindness that can cause true harm.

[ He lowers the food, still untouched despite the impending danger. But his expression is steel. ]

Others would argue that to be kind is to show weakness. I'd argue it takes every sort of strength to be kind in the face of the worlds we have seen. And I pray to the Light every day that that strength will endure.

[wifedup]

Well, you still look hearty.

( But he heaves a sigh, steps away from the building that houses Matthias and lets his gaze scan the street. )

I have it on me. ( Voluminous robes are a great hiding spot, even for severed limbs. Some people might think that's a little disgusting but Wen Kexing has lived amongst cannibals. There have been worse things hidden away in the fabric. ) Will he come when he feels it dying, do you think? Do we need to be further away?

[wifedup]

( They land, Wen Kexing does not try to hide how his first steps from the sword are unsteady. He might be able to use his qinggong to take to the skies but there is a difference between that and holding himself stiff on a blade's edge, and so he takes a moment, hands moving over imaginary wrinkles and a deep, greedy breath of air pulled into his lungs. When he looks Lan Wangji's way there is something in his gaze, assessing and then softening. )

I suppose you have.

( He might be more inclined to morality than Wen Kexing is, but it is still a choice, is it not? The same way Wen Kexing himself is not actually wholly evil, Lan Wangji must not be wholly good. He feels things just the same as everyone else. There is a sigh trapped in his chest that he lets out with bluster, straightening himself out and turning towards the other man. Then Wen Kexing clasps his hands together, gives him a shallow bow. )

Thank you for helping me. I find myself as ever fortunate that Master Lan has been raised to be righteous. ( He glances up, a quick flicker of something at the corner of his mouth. ) And who knows, maybe one day I'll start believing you.

maybe they're off somewhere hot and nice together who knows.

[wifedup]

( He looks at them anew, somehow strangely jealous of the world in which people like Wei Wuxian and his husband cohabit. What he would have given for skills like that. Though the thought is a strange one, and one he immediately tries to shake off. There is no use in wondering, it is what it is. And so Wen Kexing dedicates himself to the task of placing the talismans, more fastidious than he might have been had there not been so much at stake. )

We're lucky that we do have those talents available.

( Cheerful, friendly, posting the last of his stack up with care, narrow eyes drifting down the corridor for one still, suspicious beat. )

Sometimes to survive people must do the unsavoury. I think it's boring to judge anyone who might. ( Said idly, his hands moving to his sleeves to pull free his ( recently rescued ) fan. ) Though I still wish we could simply set the place on fire. ( A quick grin, tossed aside. ) Your husband told me off for suggesting arson though.

at least something's getting to relax and kick back!

[weifinder]

( No surprise in his heart when he hears his husband was against arson: even if fire were less fickle and consuming, it was fire that destroyed much of Gusu Lan in the carnage leading up to the war almost two decades ago.

Fire in this city, ready as it is already to combust? There'd be so little left to rebuild from. Certainly, there just be those who would. )

I understand the sentiment. Both for letting fire cleanse this place, and for survival not allowing for pretty and clean morality.

( How one survives in a land seeping with death, where nothing grows, where water had to be purified... no. There's no need to speak on how that progresses.

He has a feeling that they both understand that, to whatever degree. )

Boring or interesting, it's all in perspective, isn't it? Boring to me is getting to certain you know all of the world that you stop questioning any of it. Why live like that? Of course, few thank you for thinking creatively.

( He places the last of his own stack, then fishes into his robes, pulling another three out with a sly grin. He offers them to Wen Kexing, now befanned, by fanning them between his fingers to display. )

Promise not to set the whole on fire?

( Seal script, and visible: these are fire talismans. )

A touch of qi will ignite these in whichever direction you face. Not a long, sustained burn, but more than enough.

[downswing]

( ...ah. A wise fear, truth-bearing. The menace, in and of itself, stings. He purses his lips, briefly considering, before allowing: )

Eat. ( To start: so that she might survive to rescue her daughter. And softened, trickling after: ) Five is... a unique proposition.

( Unlikely to be imitated, a state only one child-like ancient could reach. Truly, he is of a kind. ) Allow him the privilege of singularity.

( And such a... particular... temperament. ) Dare. Little to lose.

[downswing]

( But is the requirement of strength not to say that kindness, then, is unnatural? That it requires choice, performance, showmanship and exertion? Should that which pertains to a person and his soul not be entrenched in him, coalesced and glistened?

He does not answer for far too long, dragging and dividing more of the brunt of the dishes equitably between them, for all the vinegary acidity in his stomach will likely prevent more than a token few mouthfuls, to explore the antidote. All the same, a distraction.

They are two men without purpose, drifting. All talk does not weigh as much as a single deed. )

And if it does? ( If you do not? )

cw: scorpions! and gross

[matermali]

[ It feels as though she is fighting the entire city at times, and it’s to her benefit that she can cast illusion for camouflage, but sometimes it’s as if they sense her. It’s left her haggard from the constant chase, having become separated from Five before they could find a fire source. But it seems even some who don’t carry parts of Matthias are receiving less than amicable treatment from some of the city’s denizens. As she slips free of the bazaar to head toward the water, a familiar scent catches her. Something beyond the blood, for once.

Rin seems formidable enough to have gotten herself this far, but she has encountered a mob of her own. These ghostly denizens have had their anxieties turn to violence.

One person in the crowd is suddenly causing a ruckus, distracting the others around her with her stumbling and gurgling and bumping into them. When she falls to her knees, she claws at her face as though digging something out, while several somethings seem to crawl just beneath her skin in spreading ripples. Only a moment later, and her body contorts and breaks backward, with a swarm of tiny pale scorpions spilling free from burst eyes and gaping mouth. From a shattered skull and broken bones they tear through her flesh, bloody and endless, and they’re quick to find others once they drop to the ground.

Chaos erupts as anyone around her becomes swarmed by skittering Deathstalkers. From behind Rin, where Vanessa cleared a path for herself, she speaks up. Her voice creeps low enough to be heard beneath any cries of panic. ]

You have gunpowder.

[revengeisalie]

[ Indeed, Rin found herself in quite a pinch when the mob closed in on her. She tried to ask them what they want from her, but they weren't very forthcoming with answers, and when they started grabbing at her, she took out her sword and lashed out with it -- methodical slashes, the kata she'd learned from her father and what she'd taken from Manji's training.

But it's not enough, it's never enough, and they are too many for a half-trained girl like her to ever be able to beat.

And then they suddenly let up, seemingly swarming around one of them, who........ oh EWWWWWWWWWWWW ]

HI-- HIYAAAAAAAAH!

[ Yes, that's Rin full-on screeching in shock at the sight of the scorpions crawling out of the spirit's body, thank you.

Then she hears a voice right behind her and shrieks even louder. She whips around to find Vanessa there. ]

... hrgh.

[matermali]

[ She could kill them, but not all of them are slavers, and they have yet to actually attack her. For now, Vanessa is trying to assess where she can even escape to if this is the sort of welcome she is going to find anywhere in the citadel. More and more, the hostility grows.

She is focusing on a few who look particularly antsy, and there's a moment where the pale of her eyes begin to cloud with the black of spilled ink.

Five's sudden appearance startles her out of the temporary bloodlust, and blue eyes cast him a quizzical glance. ]

It's safe.

[ She isn't about to offer it up while they're surrounded, but where exactly can he blink them to that isn't a danger? ]

[traaaaaash]

[ Yeah, he's right outta luck. Eda's grip with her harpy hand is strong, much stronger than your average human's -- or witch's. She grabs him and hauls him in the direction she saw Allison go.

Unfortunately, she's lost sight of Allison, so yelling it is. ]

Hey, lady! Where are you? I got one!

[matermali]

[ The sounds Rin produces aren't exactly confirmation, but it wasn't a question. She's scanning the girl to discern where it is when a couple of the spirits try another attack from behind. One of them is suddenly knocked over by a growling shadow, and then among the carnage there is a black hell hound tearing into anyone who manages to escape the scorpions and head for its mistress.

The other is knocked away by an exasperated backhand after Vanessa darts around to behind Rin (again!) in the blink of an eye. Those who know what she carries are beginning to focus their attention on her now, so there's no point in playing coy. ]

We need to burn the heart.

[revengeisalie]

[ All of this is very confusing and very horrifying, but Rin is kinda out of shrieks right now, so instead she draws a deep breath and focuses on what Vanessa is saying. ]

Huh? The what?

[ ... okay, that wasn't much better. ]

[matermali]

[ She isn't about to bring out the box here and now. Her recklessness does have limits...at times.

As tedious as it is to explain, there shouldn't be too much explanation needed when violence is everywhere one looks. What's a little more? ]

Matthias wants it. It needs to be destroyed before he can re-acquire it.

[revengeisalie]

Ah! [ Rin nods, finally understanding. ] Right.

[ And then she recalls what Vanessa first said to her. ]

Gunpowder! I have it, yes.

[ Unfortunately, one of the spirits comes dangerously close to her, so Rin takes a swing with her sword at them. ]

Maybe somewhere not here?

[matermali]

[ Fresh blood is everywhere now, settling with the dark puddles left by the earlier rain. By now she's grown accustomed to it, enough that she isn't about to become consumed by bloodlust.

That doesn't mean she doesn't thirst. The scent is difficult to focus through, but she has managed thus far without losing her wits. (Beyond the first day...!) ]

Go. I will follow.

[ Less informative, but if the girl can find somewhere to hide, then Vanessa can set up a barrier and permit them some time to set to their task. She will keep anyone away from Rin in her escape. Violently.

If she does take a second to rip into one of the more tangible spirits for a taste before discarding them, who can blame her? Snacking is important for keeping those hunger pangs at bay. ]

[revengeisalie]

[ Rin nods, determined now, and turns around to make a break for it. Along the way, she frantically looks for a place to get away from the mob and buy enough time to do what they must. She's in luck when she passes what looks like an empty warehouse. At the door, she turns around. ]

Let's try here!

[matermali]

[ For now, they seem to have avoided being followed, thanks to her demon dog doing well to cover her escape. The warehouse draws a suspicious glance, but she can sense nobody hiding within, so she'll appear at Rin's side to scan inside as soon as she turns. ]

Well enough. Inside.

[ With sharpened nails, she slashes at her own hand to draw blood, and wastes no time in finger-painting it on the wall just beside the entrance. In moments, it will take the silhouette of a scorpion. ]

Ready a fire.

[valeas]

Ooooh, yes. Rakel said Wei Wuxian would suggest sealing Anurr into his current body and locking away his powers, and Emilia would agree. So let's do this!

[groundrules]

Sure thing, that can (grudgingly, for Anurr!) work — you guys can play that out if you are inclined, but we'll assume it done either way. Let me know what you each want to do with the power after, disperse or take home!

[revengeisalie]

[ The hound... the scorpion... yeah, you know what, Rin isn't even going to deal with that, she'll just busy herself with the fire.

Which is when she realizes that maybe an inside space wasn't the best choice for this particular endeavor -- but then, what else could they have done. ]

Uhm, I'm gonna make it far in the back. We should stand back when I ignite.

[ She takes a few small bags filled with gunpowder out from beneath her clothes and arranges them on the floor.

Which would be well and good, except there's a scorpion sitting on one of them. ]

Eek! Vanessa, are these yours?

[matermali]

[ The little arachnid releases a friendly, high-pitched hiss in passing as it skitters on out of Rin's bags and over to Vanessa. She casts a glance down only after it's climbed up her leg to then creep out from her sleeve, and she pauses in her task to upturn her palm for the creature to crawl onto.

After seeming to peer up at Vanessa with another shrill hiss, it sinks down as if melting into her skin. In seconds there is only the imprint of a scorpion on the flat of her palm, before that too fades, and she returns to finishing with her sigil. ]

Something like that.

[ Once through with the tail, she fishes the box from her skirt's pocket. Lucky that it isn't the original box she received the heart in, or this would be a more difficult task. ]

Here.