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

allison hargreeves | ota

[rumorate]

Pick a scenario, I will write a starter!

Hunting down ghost slavers and ruining their day.

Hauntings - any of the 3 work for Allison, let me know your preference or if there's any you def don't want.

Headless Dancer - Allison will be poking around looking for information, if there's a specific area you want to explore, let me know.

Wildcard - if there's something specific you have in mind, feel free to make your own starter or pm me to hash it out.

wildcard | ben

[rumorate]

[Allison's had three possessions from home on her since she arrived here, almost three years ago. One, the locket Luther gave her as children, now with her wedding rings hanging on them so she doesn't lose them. Two, a copy of From Earth to Moon by Jules Verne, the same edition that her husband had given her. And tucked within the pages for safe keeping, a picture of her and Claire, one of the last ones she got to take before the divorce.

There aren't a lot of moments of quiet in Hattevar, but Allison tries to find them when she can. She's been thinking a lot about Claire lately. It's hard not to see the parallels, to sympathize with Matthias' loss even though she can see that he had gone too far.

It's easy see, if you're on the outside of it.

She's been thinking of her own choices lately, wondering if she's made the right ones. If the life she wants is on the other side of the beacons or on this one. It's hard not to, when they're so close to the end. Eventually she's going to have to make a choice, to stay or go, and for the first time in a long time, she isn't sure what she wants the answer to be.

As she stares at her daughter's face, she catches the sight of familiar shoes on the edges of her room. Ben is one of the reasons she's thinking about staying lately - to get to make up time with the brother she lost so much time with.]

Hey.

[She glances up with a smile before pulling out the picture from between the pages of the book.]

Want to see your niece?

[stomacles]

[ He would never ask her to stay, never want Allison to give up what she fought so hard for. Judging is always easier from the outside, he knows that, both from doing it, and honestly considering - what would he do to get his life back? What would he not stop at? ]

[ If he was Allison? He can only imagine. He's not here to judge - Ben just wants to see his sister, knowing that things are starting to wind down. And while he wants to go back with them, they have no idea if he can. He and Five talked about it, but all of that takes a back seat the second Allison asks if Ben wants to see his niece. ]

[ His lips curl up and he moves to take a seat by her, eyes a little glossy. ]

Of course, I do! We haven't really been able to talk about her since I got here.

[rumorate]

[She smiles, before passing the picture over to him so that he can get a better look.]

She was obsessed with you guys. She always wanted to hear the stories of our adventures when we were kids, and she knew all our code names.

[She wanted to bring her to meet them someday. It was always in the back of her mind, to try and make the plans. Granted, Ben would have never been an option, but she made sure that he lived on for her daughter, even if he wasn't there.]

Luther was her favorite, though.

[stomacles]

[ Ben's smile doesn't waver, but his eyes burn as he looks at the picture. ]

She's beautiful. [ He's not giving it back, yet. ] I'm sorry I didn't get to meet her.

[ There's a laugh. ] Luther, really? What stories did you tell her?

[rumorate]

I'm sorry none of you got to meet her.

[Because that's what she wanted more than anything in the world, but she never tried hard enough. Which sometimes makes her question if it really was what she wanted.]

Her favorite was that art heist we stopped. I mean, I dumbed down a lot of the violence to child level, but she was enthralled, every time.

[stomacles]

I'm sorry, too. [ He sounds hollow for a second. And he does hear what Allison says next, but - ]

Why can't we meet her when we go back? [ Because, okay, it might not work when he tries. And maybe he never will get to, but he wants to try. That badly. He's been thinking, too, about what it might take to get him back home, in a tangible form like the one he's in. ]

The art heist, though. [ There's a dark chuckle - Ben didn't have fun. ] I guess the rest of you looked like you had fun, at least. You.... [ He frowns, though it keeps some of his fondness. ] Did you tell her about my powers?

master gao's establishment of dubious delights...!

[downswing]

( He should have known, when talk of the establishment stokes without simmer, when the restaurant's name lingered on all lips — it would not go as planned. But then their choices whittled and emaciated, and they yet lack the permanence of accommodations that might allow them to attend to their own meals.

A tavern it is. This one, Allison polite and an infinitely more pleasant visage behind him, when they are taken for a wedded pair and afforded a secluded table, at once. Will they be wanting the especial menu? Perhaps low candles and a whisper of romance? Certainly, this fledgling hospitality did not extend to sparing them the eccentric perks of the establishment, communicated after they partake of a clear, starting broth, to cleanse their palates.

You have been poisoned. At first, slow to sense any impairment, Lan Wangji distrusts the pronouncement; then, the core that filters and fuels his energies churns, hard at work, and he steals a glance Alison's way, considering.

The server pledges to bring back their dishes — and the antidotes, housed deep within. He thinks, more fool he, as the dumplings come, to stab the hand that delivers them with a gentle, staggered thud on the table.

He murmurs, in the wake of things: )

Innocent patrons dine here. We should not raze them down. ( ...a reminder more to himself, than to Allison. )

[rumorate]

We could always come back after closing.

[Show them why they probably shouldn't poison their customers. Allison reaches for the nearest plate, leaning in to give the food to a sniff to see if she can smell anything off that might be the antidote. Nothing stands out, so she huffs and starts to pick up one of the dumplings with a sigh.]

Would serve them right for poisoning people.

[Her head is starting to feel cloudy but she has not survived this long to die getting poisoned in a restaurant.]

[downswing]

( Dumplings, pleasantly folded. Lacking the skill that might suggest a staple of local cuisine, but Lan Wangji, too, accepts a piece in chopsticks driven nearly blunt by excess use. No matter. A perfect example of eating to survive.

And killing for the survival of others. )

Do they do this for sport, or to raise profits?

( Local cruelty or a sad venture to persuade patrons to order more and more and more, in hopes of securing their attitude? What if they are not even poisoned, but persuaded? )

Men are fickle.

[rumorate]

If this were back home, I would probably say it was a con to get people to order more. But then again, I can't think of anyone who would pay for food that they ordered because the establishment poisoned them in the first place.

[So maybe it is for sport. Or maybe they have some kind of deal with Matthias, in that anyone who may die gets recruited into his undead army or whatever.]

But I can't disagree with them being fickle, either.

[downswing]

( It strikes him, for a moment gaping, mouth wide and eyes bright and the rest of him stiffened — )

Men cannot consume without payment. They are thieves.

( ...depriving the master artisans who procured and prepared their poison. Yes. Perhaps he is starting to see the argument there, listlessly easing back into a state of calm acceptance. The dumpling, then: a slow chew, long and winding.

He gives himself to appreciate the flavours, for all the poison appears to have incapacitated him to a point where it is all... dust. Decay. Ashes. A wonderful meal. )

When you are returned to your home, soon, teach your peers manners. ( A pause, then carefully: ) Start with Five.

[rumorate]

[She laughs, because the idea of anyone teaching Five manners at his late age is funny, even if she thinks they won't succeed.]

I think is at too late a stage in life for him to care much about manners.

[There's a pause before she tips her head to the side.]

Though I'm not sure if I'm returning, or if he is.

[inferus]

Give me a Headless Dancer set up, please. I don't think any of the places have been searched yet in other threads so any of the options will do!

the headless dancer | wrath

[rumorate]

[The ship breaks the water's surface again, and Allison gasps for a breath as she pulls herself back onto the deck. It's more of a subconscious reaction than anything, given that this ship capsizing should have had her underwater but before she can think about it too long, her eyes spin over the details.

Full, hearty humans rather than skeletons. A ship sinking in a storm of blood. And Wrath, his clothes getting splattered red by the storm, but she can't dwell too much on that. It suits him all the same.]

We don't have a lot of time.

[Probably only until the ship sinks (again) and they're returned back to where they were. She nods up towards the cabins.]

Check the rooms?

[The crew probably won't notice given everything else that's going on.]

[inferus]

( Wrath generally prefers it when the blood on his shirt comes from blood he has spilled instead of directly from the sky - a strange place, a turning point in when it all changed for Matthias then? The skeletons have turned human. Have they simply returned to the past?

His gaze moves to Allison to be certain she hasn't been injured before he nods in answer and then starts in that direction. )

It looks like the blood rain Matthias ordered to prevent others from reaching the beacon in time.

( This must be one of the vessels that were on its way to retrieve it. )

[rumorate]

[She wrinkles her nose a bit, because while she's sure it worked as a deterrent for what Matthias had in mind, she can't help but feel as it's all a bit unsanitary. Then again, she's never been one to fling around bodily fluids.]

How much time do you think we have before the ship goes down again?

[She follows close behind him, feeling like they need to keep the clock in mind in case they have to abandon ship in order to not join the literal skeleton crew.]

[inferus]

( Wrath hears the water as it rushes through whatever hole there is. They are reliving a memory. It's unclear if they are alive here or if they aren't. The information they are searching for had better be worth it, but regardless, he won't allow Allison to die. )

Water's pouring in below. Less than half an hour.

( It's difficult for an immortal to conceptualize time, but the ship itself is starting to tilt further and further, which makes access to the crews' cabins more difficult than usual. He is stubbornly refusing to grab hold of the side of the deck as he walks even though he could not tolerate it if he were to stumble - is the devil really going to be so affected by his pride gravity? )

Be careful.

[rumorate]

[Allison nods, keeping a firm grip on the rail, then the wall as they make their way into the quarters-portion of the ship. Once they make it into the narrow halls, moving becomes easier for her, at least, as she doesn't have to worry about flying down the entire width of the boat.

They reach the point in the hallway where the rooms branch off and she considers their options.]

Captain or crew?

[traaaaaash]

[ Shall these two continue fighting ghost slavers? ]

part & whole | eda

[rumorate]

[If the slavers wanted less of Allison Hargreeves' attention, they probably should have left her brother alone.

She knows that it's likely not within their control, to an extent. With Matthias gives orders, people jump to attention. At the same time, however, the slavers weren't on her good side to begin with. So she's decided to make her annoyance their problem.

She moves through the square, seeing if she can catch any of the familiar faces of slavers she's seen before. She doesn't not at first, but she does catch sight of Eda wandering through the crowd, and she catches her attention with a smile.]

Fancy seeing you here.

[traaaaaash]

Oh hey, it's my gal with mind control magic!

[ Yes, that's Eda giving you finger guns. Then she turns serious, though, and looks pointedly around them. ]

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like our liberation efforts stuck.

[rumorate]

They've been coming after our people too.

[Specifically for things they have, but that Allison doesn't really think matters. What matters is the fact that they're messing with her family, and she can't have that.]

I was going to come and remind them why that was a bad idea in the first place.

[traaaaaash]

Intimidation, huh? That just might work.

I'm trying to see if I can get any clues as to how we could stop Matthias.

[ Because hoo boy, it's going down now. Eda is going to do what she can to stop this mess. ]

[rumorate]

[She nods.]

If we can get a hold of one of them, I can try and see what they know?

[Rumoring people to tell the truth is easier than you'd think.]