he rode in, a king

[groundrules]

HONEY, WE’VE GOT VISITORS

Sa-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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Comments

[lancifolium]

As a testament to her naivete, she had chosen not to press the matter of his affiliations back home when she agreed to watch his back. She had wanted to make prudent, advantageous decisions (as Horace might have done), only to realize that perhaps she had given far too much credence to the comfort of familiarity. Because of it, she had failed to examine the situation further. It was prudent to ally oneself with the only other wizard, it was quite stupid not to find out what kind of a wizard it was you were making a deal with.

The fiendfyre had answered all her questions for her, likely far more succinctly than Regulus would be willing to - but a deal was still a deal. She'd used that awful Dangling Jinx to hoist him into the air and get him out of harm's way after he lost consciousness, propping him up against one of the farm's surviving walls until exhaustion won out. In her defense, she had executed some care getting him into the bag and had made great efforts to always set the bag on something easy to climb off of, leaving it open for him to climb out of when he woke.

She had watched his back, as promised - and then some, given the picture his spellwork painted for him - and felt absolutely no guilt when he climbed out of the bag at long last and complained about his accommodations.

"Would you have preferred I just kept you floating by your ankle?"

It wasn't like a besieged and battered farm was brimming with accommodation options for the discerning unconscious wizard.

"I want to talk to you," Lily said firmly, using her wand to make them both a cup of tea out of the leaves she had foraged earlier that day. She didn't sound angry, exactly, but it was very clearly not a request.

[royal_venant]

Regulus dusted off his clothes and gave certain spots a good tug to make them sit right again. Then he took to checking his bag for Patricia and the other items he'd shrunk and put inside.

"Ya?" he said, sorting through his bag. "What do you want to talk about?" He was still a bit disgruntled from the indignity of being shoved into the makeup bag.

[lancifolium]

Drawing a breath, Lily believed she knew the answer to the question she lingered on the verge of posing, asking it anyway, as a judicious sucker might.

"Are you a Death Eater, Regulus?"

[royal_venant]

Regulus stopped adjusting his clothes, hands frozen on lapels, his head snapped up. His eyes slightly narrowed at Lily but other than that his expression was fixed at neutral.

"No," he said. "I am not."

It wasn't the whole truth, but he was taking the question at its most literal interpretation. Was he presently a Death Eater? Did he currently align himself with the Dark Lord and His followers? The strictest answer to both was that he was not and he did not.

This didn't cover the past in all its grotesqueness, nor all of its heroism. He wanted to explain neither. No judgment, no accolades. Not now. Not when he could barely think about the culmination of his choices to himself. That wasn't for sharing with others.

[lancifolium]

She considered him for a long time. His denial had taken some of the initial fire out of the impassioned rebuttal she expected to deliver. Lily didn't believe him exactly, his ability to wield Fiendfyre was more than just a subtle hint - it was dark, difficult magic. Regulus had known what he was doing.

In her normal life, the choice would be easy to make - but being here complicated matters. Willful ignorance was something she'd extended before under similar circumstances, and those had come to a terrible end. In the back of her mind, there were a lot of regrets about that particular friendship's very dismal end, and while Lily didn't address them directly (even on her own), they compelled her to keep talking.

"We agreed to watch each other's backs. I intend to continue to uphold that, what happened here more than demonstrates the merit of it." She tilted her head at him and held up a hand, gesturing that there was more to her thought.

"This time I could help, but I can't, I won't help you if it means you expect me to use magic like that." She would always throw a timely counter-curse, but if it came to casting those curses themselves, Lily didn't have it in her. "Do you accept this condition?"

[royal_venant]

Regulus narrowed his eyes further because this felt like the redirection of judgment.

And it annoyed him because, "Last night, did I ask you, tell you, coerce you, force you in any way- did I Imperious you to perform anything against your will?"

[lancifolium]

"No, and I hope you continue to do that," for now it would mean she would not address the seemingly blatant lie he was attempting to pass off on her. She didn't like the position this put her in or the sort of magic he used. She didn't want to be an accomplice to dark magic, it seemed best to put her foot down now, not knowing what would be waiting the next time he called for backup on the quartz.

[royal_venant]

Regulus scoffed.

"That's a promise I can keep, Evans," he said while backing away, his expression flattening into something unreadable. He didn't give any other explanation, his leaving should be clear enough.

He adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag and turned around. There was probably food somewhere and he should probably find it.

[lancifolium]

"Then how?" She spoke up abruptly. "How do you know how to do magic like that?" Lily looked apprehensive.

[royal_venant]

Regulus stopped, and he sighed, because he could have kept walking, just ignored the question. But he turned around - or half turned. He didn't really understand why, though. A quandary for another day when the undead weren't a fresh thought in everyone's mind.

"You know of my family." It wasn't a question. But he didn't spit it at her. It was just the actual answer.

"You don't grow up a member of the Black family without being taught every curse there is."

[lancifolium]

Lily nodded, looking back down at her tea. She wasn't entirely up on the finer ins and outs of his family, but the ancient pureblooded legacy was at least one thing she had caught at school.

"Well, it was very useful knowledge the other night." She didn't know what else to say. Too much had happened in the last two days. She didn't like the idea of commending the dark arts for any reason, but Regulus had helped the group greatly with them. "Do you feel like you've recovered completely?"

[royal_venant]

"I knew what it would cost me," he said. Most of the Dark Arts took a certain amount of conviction to perform correctly. And there was always a price. Some of them balanced the ledger in more horrific ways than the spell Regulus had used the other night. He knew. But vanquishing an army of undead trying to destroy them first gave a person one hell of a reason to pay up when the cost could be localized only in the castor.

Regulus knew he could still turn around and keep walking. Let the awkwardness hang between them. Because what was Lily Evans to him? The answer was: the only person he'd known from home. Home. Whatever that had been for him. A face still far better than the Dark Lord's.

"I won't ask you to do any magic you don't want to perform," he said, filling in the awkwardness with debris to build that bridge again.

[lancifolium]

When he mentioned the cost Lily looked away from him and down towards the floor, her thoughts lingering on Severus for a moment, and the cost she didn't want to imagine him having paid as Regulus did, and probably had for a while. "Rest up while you can, word's coming about where we're meant to go next soon."

Venturing another glance at Regulus, she nodded. "Thank you." Lily paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, before she ventured the smallest smile imaginable, seeking to break the tension as well.

"You were brilliant, by the way." It had been completely terrifying, but he had succeeded in what he meant to do and helped them all.