HONEY, WE’VE GOT VISITORSSa-Hareth-brand
Cassandra tries to flag the future, gets left on read.
True story — and then, the dead come.
His offer neglected, a desperate Unhalad resorts to sieging the farmhouse in search for the mirror
that was previously on the Imperious.
He’s in for disappointment, while the party prepare for... house guests over the
early-morning 16 June to 17 June period.
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Around 3:30am (16 June) of a storming night, those who are awake or sensitive to the supernatural may hear the winds and fleeing rats whisper that something comes.
At 3:45am, Karsa’s wards around the farmhouse set off, briefly shrieking. Within minutes, Unhalad’s undead infiltrate the farmhouse, with one slight creature first entering down the kitchen chimney.
A small faction of undead remain on the roof, while a swarming majority circle the farmhouse. Throughout the night, they attempt to break in through doors and windows, making slow progress. They are warier of the forest-facing back entrances.
The attackers comprise droves of undead, some clearly only recently converted in haste. They are weaker for it. |
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Over time, the undead drip into the farmhouse. They lack the coordination for a concerted effort. Attempting to exit within the first three hours of the siege will prove disastrous, as too many undead wait outside.
The undead will seek a mirror, being first and foremost drawn to Winnie, who carries a similar item on her person. Fox and Five will also be of interest. Fox can escape attention by discarding the shards.
Any character that was bound to Anurr’s tree still bears the lingering marks of Anurr’s undeath is especially perceived as an enemy. Regulus enjoys the same treatment, given his extensive recent stay with the free people.
The undead will savagely wreck the house in their hunt, striving to kill those in their path. They can be slain regularly. The older, "properly" summoned undead (identifiable because of their clear state of rotting) should be incinerated or severely amputated to avoid further resurrection.
Because of the overwhelming number of undead, it is best to keep lean, mean and mobile within the house.
Karsa joins the farmhouse around 6am. She’ll teleport in, but the density of undead outside will prevent her from teleporting out safely. Alongside three party volunteers, she reinforces some of the wards, decelerating the advance of the undead. Her group will also throw away any of Unhalad’s markings (salt and ash) out of the house and into the inner garden pond. |
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Come sunset (16 June) Unhalad himself will ride outside of the farmhouse, holding distant vigil over the hostilities with his retinue. On his arrival, unbound farmhouse animals will flee into the forest.
Unhalad will be recognisable because of the immensity of raw power he emanates — a feeling of great and overwhelming despair and hunger.
Options to evacuate the chaos include sneaking out, fighting the undead, calling on reinforcements from any local allies, or holding position until around 8am of 17 June, when Unhalad’s last-minute forces start to disintegrate because of the haste in which they were summoned.
The minority of Unhalad’s forces that were summoned back alive with the appropriate diligence will not break down and will need to be banished.
The free people will not intervene, unless they are called in. |
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If you’ve made it this far into Sa-Hareth’s worst hazing ritual, congratulations. A few more days of crud to go.
Over the next few days before the 21-22 June departure, characters will have to make do with their shattered lodgings and dearth of supplies, or can seek sanctuary back in Sa-Hareth. Any money spent on accommodations will have to come out of the travel fund. You're on your own, kids.
The animals can return from the forest, and the free people might spare some food and water, gifted to those who stood out during Anurr’s trials. The Anurr cultists of Sa-Hareth could also part with a few provisions for their good friends, Xie Lian and Xiao Xingchen.
To opt out of the event, have characters out of the house on the night of the siege. It will be difficult to re-enter. The OOC plotting floor is yours! |
FARMHOUSE LAYOUT
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westwhere2021-06-14 07:23 pm
iii - sometime between option i and ii
"Nice sword," Regulus said to five on the other side of that body. At another moment, it would be amusing how fast Regulus had acclimated to the sight of someone wielding a sword. Now, he just looked the other direction down the corridor and blasted two undead lumbering towards them.
no subject
There was no shortage of undead crowding him wherever he went. If Regulus hadn't spoken first, he might have kept right on slicing, and it still took him a moment to lower his weapon.
"You again." He took a few deep breath while he watched Regulus dispatch two more of them, using that same wand from before. Not that it made a huge impact when he could hear the sound of a window smashing in the distance, and the shuffling of bodies tripping over themselves in the direction he just came. He flexed the sword in his hands. "I don't remember calling for backup."
no subject
"You didn't," Regulus said, turning with a sigh to look at the undead coming towards them.
He raised his wand and aimed a simple curse to lock the legs of the first lumbering undead. That one promptly fell. There was no joy in the way Regulus cast the spell. But then he cursed the next three in a row trying to get over the first one and thus starting a dam of undead of sorts. He let that fester for a moment.
"I was just out for a stroll and I came upon you." He checked the slow-building clog. Still, he took no action. "Everywhere I go there are these bloody arseholes."
He tipped his chin to the side and gave the tangle another moment to get bigger, and when he was finally satisfied at the size of the bundle of undead, he raised his wand and sent that first curse he'd used before hurtling down the corridor at the undead. The whole pile of undead burst into dust.
"You look like you're having fun." He pointedly looked at the hacked-off limbs and chunks of torsos.
no subject
At his prompting, he looked behind him, frowning at the decidedly less tidy hallway.
"Loads," he sighed, as if he hadn't gotten carried away in the moment. There was also something pained in his expression that he was doing his best to ignore. The proximity to the undead seemed to make it worse, which was a problem.
Those few that had started to approach must have signaled their friends. In seconds they multiplied tenfold, all rushing towards them in the crowded hall. He gripped the sword and looked back at Regulus. Either he try that trick again, or...
"I can take us outside." The man had proven useful before, so he offered. Otherwise he was leaving without him and seeing if he can test the theory that they'd follow.
no subject
Regulus wanted to throw a tantrum at the sight of the new, incoming rush of undead. Couldn't they just have one, fucking peaceful moment?
He set to casting off the same dust-making curse at the advancing undead, taking out as many as he could while he simultaneously stepped with care around the violence-strewn floor towards Five.
"Alright, let's give your idea a try." Five was welcome to grab him and take them who knew where.
no subject
As soon as he was in reach, Five latched onto his arm and ripped them through space to land as far outside as he could manage.
"Oh." ... Not far enough. From their new elevation they were given a full view of the sheer number of undead swarming the farmhouse. Even in the darkness, they looked like a massive dark cloud about to swallow them whole. Several seemed to be immediately attracted to the light his powers gave off and broke off towards them.
He didn't give Regulus much time to react, instead grabbing him roughly by his shirt and teleporting once more.
Another blink, with a landing that was a couple of feet higher than intended, and they were in a familiar shed. Blissfully free from the undead for the moment. Five stumbled back on his feet, but thankfully avoided impaling himself or Regulus with the sword in the process. He looked around, catching his breath while he listened to the sound outside.
"Okay. This is bad." Let them acknowledge how bad it was. Then he could calm the hell down and figure out how to solve it.
no subject
"That is an army of undead, alright," Regulus said, rather calmly for someone now processing the breadth of their troubles.
"What are our options?" he asked. "How often- and how far can you teleport people?"
Regulus' first inclination is to just get out. Though he figured he shouldn't just leave everyone. He'd made a promise to Lily to have her back, and she being a Gryffindor would make it very difficult to convince to just cut and run. So, that meant if they left, it would be everyone or no one.
no subject
Regulus' questions got him to stop for a moment. It reminded him briefly of his Umbrella Academy days, when Luther was trying to assert his authority as Number One to get the team working together, and he shook off the memory.
"Not a great option. It's harder with more people, and I'd run out of energy before I got them all out." He was already running low, and he didn't expect everyone to be as cooperative as his new buddy there. Not to mention whatever else was going on when he was around the undead. He looked at Regulus like he'd really like to ask him if he felt it too, but he held back just in case he was imagining the whole thing.
Other options.
In the worst case scenario, he was going to have to time travel back to before it happened, and that... was something he really didn't want to have to do unless the world was ending. More than a few seconds and the odds of him screwing it up were too high.
"They warned us this would happen," he pointed out with a scoff and a bitter smile. Even if stating that wouldn't help, he was allowed to vent his frustration. This entire thing could have been avoided if they hadn't been so stubborn. The farmhouse was as good as lost. All he'd bought them was a few moments of respite before the undead found where they disappeared to.
"You wouldn't happen to know who got those pieces of mirror they're looking for, would you?"
no subject
They had indeed been warned. And Regulus had liked Winnie's plan. But in the end, neutrality won out. Another great lesson in the perils of inaction.
"I've only heard about the pieces of the mirrors. I don't know who has them."
Regulus fell into silence as he listened to the horde outside. He considered his options and reconsidered them. And he found he really only had two choices, and one could only really be considered when all was absolutely lost. So he would continue to fight.
"It's moments like this that central leadership would be helpful," he said, which was not at all helpful to say.
"What other powerful individuals do we have here?" Look, Regulus was still new. He hadn't had a chance to meet everyone. "If we cannot get everyone out, who, with destructive powers, can we get into locations that are the most helpful?"
no subject
He raised an eyebrow at his first statement, but he didn't have a follow up question. Regulus wasn't the only one he'd heard about having some form of teleporting, and it wasn't the time to delve into the particulars. The options available to them weren't much improved by that revelation. If they could both teleport, and they knew where the pieces of the mirror were, they might have had something. It was more likely that it was too late for that.
The pacing resumed. Individually, the undead were barely a threat. Mindless and easy to eradicate one by one. Some so weak they collapsed when they got near him. But that was before he saw the insane number of them, and it was harder to think clearly enough to come up with a plan. Something kept distracting him from focusing like he should. An internal pressure that made all of his thoughts and movements just a little more erratic.
Then Regulus went and mentioned destructive powers and Five looked up sharply. Yes, his sister could take them all out at once, but she wasn't some weapon to turn on and expect there to not be any consequences. If he hadn't found Vanya when he did on that ship, she would have blotted it out of existence, and that was just a fraction of what they were facing.
"Some of them are too destructive. We're waiting for a bomb to go off." He rubbed at his neck and muttered a curse when he could hear the undead already rattling outside the walls. Hurry up and think.
"Do you have anything else? Magic barrier?"