the harp(y) was a big winged lyre | event + test drive meme

[groundrules]

Hello, hello! Fresh out of the box is the action spanning 14-31 July, also serving as our second test drive meme (TDM). The event is broken in three parts: one exclusive to TDM participants, one that's for the existing crew, and a communal section, as... sparks literally fly, when characters cross paths.

OOC planning & questions are HERE. Existing players can use this log to party, or you can alternatively make your own logs & network posts. Our TDMers are stuck in this playground only, but — to replicate the game experience more faithfully, they can ask questions and briefly interact with NPCS HERE.

Tiny reminder: eastbound is an invite-only game for size control, but if you found yourself here, love the setting or the playerbase but don't know anyone — PM @ groundrules, we'll figure something out. You're welcome to make a note in your top-level comment title, if you're a TDMing newb, shiny and chrome!

TDM TOURISTS | OLD TIMERS | COMMON TIMELINE | NOTES

TDM TOURISTS

A great day to be alive, chipping manicures and clawing out of a salt mine just in time for a befuddled undead cavalry to whisk their visitors away, one by one as they're recovered.

TDM characters receive quartz stones that function as translation and (network) communication devices, before they are presented to Haltham.

Cursing his luck, Haltham informs newcomers they are in the frozen citadel of Sa-Hareth, controlled by undead warlord Anurr. Characters were wrenched free from the mines of deposed death king Unhalad and... two weeks behind the eastbound caravan that is the Merchant's troupe — their one ticket home.

IS THERE AN ACCOMPLICE IN THE HOUSE?

As Haltham brokers their getaway, newcomers are foisted on Caspar and the Lucky Hands, a gang of thieves set to hijack a port delivery of silvered powder. The Hands handle the theft on D-day, but pairs of newcomers are each saddled with a stolen pouch to transport furtively across Sa-Hareth.

They must escape frequent sentinel searches and other petty thieves to rendez-vous within a day at the dark, dusty and overpriced Hog & Mead tavern in the Merchants' Arena.

Anyone caught by local enforcement can spend a few hours imprisoned in a converted fishermen's warehouse, guarded by three underpaid officers, before breaking or talking themselves out. Thank your predecessors, who ruined the only decent jailhouse.

ALL ABOARD

The travel hell punishment fits the larceny crime: after rendez-vous, Caspar, Haltham, two undead and the TDM tourists join some noble passengers, who seek refuge in Taravast after vocally supporting Unhalad.

They board a seven-wagon streetcar pulled by twelve mechanical horses, heading out of Sa-Hareth down the haunted Stairs of Sighs passageway.

To keep the peace, newcomers must pretend to also be disgruntled Unhalad supporters — and to know nothing about the many bags of exotic opiates that Caspar has dragged aboard.

As they advance down the Stairs canyon, characters may observe each night brings a full moon and blood rains that disappear without trace, come morning. They can also hear the melancholic, indecipherable song of a woman — and find themselves dreaming nightly of burning alive, or being buried under hot tar. They will wake alert and increasingly distrustful of their companions.

At one point, the express train horsecar will pass by a galloping arctic bear, which will stop to salute. Do not feed it.

Characters receive a red helleborus brand on their left wrist to identify each other. It disappears within a week's time.

Test drive questions HERE.

» THE NEXT STOP

EXISTING PARTY

THE WAR IN WORDS

The recent emergence of the dark tar-like creatures gradually unsettles Lord Arha and his ghostly armies into violent outbursts. Throughout the day, the legions become progressively corporeal, no longer flickering out of existence and retaining their memories. They remain dead.

The following morning, the harpies throw down their usual homages of splintered aged bone, now alongside withered parchment. The strips feature excerpts from the letters of Arha and the Lady Hatisse — which Mazyar and his people can translate.

After reading one such parchment, a soured Arha takes unasked command of Mazyar's caravan, imposing benevolent but firmly enforced curfews. Grim-faced ghost soldiers start to keep watch of characters at all times. Some will accuse caravan travellers of being witches or spies of Taravast's Attaryl school.

Those crafty enough to pick up Arha's discarded letter can see his hands have smeared it bloodied. Translated, the missive encourages Arha to turn back with his armies from Taravast.

DON'T HARP ON ABOUT IT

All hell breaks loose as Allison, Lily, Wei Wuxian and Five follow tar harpies inside their makeshift "nest" — going down a steep pit into one of the canyon mountains, and reaching the cavernous and shifting corridors of a stone temple. The passageways lead to small chambers that host stone tombs, many opened and still holding the remains of bones and drips of tar.

Angered by the intrusion, the laired harpies turn aggressive and exit into the canyon, starting an attack spree. They throw rocks, claw or fly down and pick up stray animals and humans. Arha and his army can help you defend against the creatures.

With their main entryway compromised, some harpies will leave the lair through the fissured canyon wall, creating a crude and claustrophobic opening. The sorcery contained within the temple will seep out, with magically sensitive characters finding they can no longer quite tell the difference between the living and the dead. (All) characters can now sometimes briefly see the flickered figures of people they deeply miss around them.

Existing character questions HERE.

» AND THEN YOU GET VISITORS.

OLD TIMERS & TDM TROOPS

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BU—

Gone rogue, some harpies will target a rapidly incoming seven-wagon streetcar, destroying or flying away with eight of its 12 mechanical horses, and the sad coachmen. The remaining steeds are completely unmanned.

The existing crew can wave their handkerchiefs as the train horsecar speeds by the caravan, set to crash into a canyon wall — or lend a hand to evacuate our TDMers, more Sa-Hareth refugees, and... our good friend Haltham and two of his creatures. Also, opium.

TDMers can meanwhile (haphazardly) board off or try to take control of the mechanical horses.

Write your starters as you will, or plan out the fate of the train horsecar HERE.

FRIENDS & FAMILY PROGRAMME

Following their unlikely survival, newcomers can join the existing party as part of smuggler merchant Mazyar's prosperous caravan. They will receive food, decent clothes and a donkey, horse or elk mount — a rare upside from the ongoing blood rain weather forecast, and the tar-drenched harpies that throw down aged bone.

They will also notice that Mazyar's caravan has been escorted by a ghost army led by the Lord Arha. He travels to free his lover, the oracle Hatisse from her alleged imprisonment by the witches of Taravast. All characters will experience a blood-curdling dread whenever they think to tell Arha or his men that they are dead — but speaking the words is now possible. Report HERE, if you'd like to break the bad news.

As the caravan stops for a few days, the existing party and newcomers can make merry, recover or raid the open haunted temple — where they may find several untouched stone tombs, including one engraved with a sculpture of Lord Arha. It will prove highly difficult to remove that lid without a group effort... but for that, or any other tomb questions, GO HERE.

NOTES

FRESH MEAT GONNA EAT

TDM events count as game canon, if you app in.

You can do network-style posts & log starters. Invent a username for communicators — but you're stuck with it after!

You can use the two allied NPC undead during the train horsecar disaster portion. Deploy them as you see fit to keep your character alive. The undead come with higher strength, speed, hunting instincts and a... disturbingly cold presence.

Haltham can make last-stand miracles happen for you, but at a heavy price. Inquire here.

OLD TIMERS, THINE WRINKLES SWEET

Existing characters won't be able to tell whether the newcomers or each other are living, dead, memories or ghosts, as a result of the (temporary) temple magic.

...yes, any leftover opiates are up for grabs. Hooligans.

You're welcome to respond to network posts from TDMers — but please keep your network posts in eastbound, think of Ye Olde AC.

Comments

[inferus]

[ The longer Wrath studies him the easier it is for him to tell that it's not that there is nothing at all magical about him. There is something off magically speaking for someone who uses his abilities without needing magic at all. He is radiating this off-ness like someone cursed, radiating dark emotion more than what could ordinarily fit inside of one person. No, it seems to be different flavors of anguish, and as much as Wrath feeds from such a dark cacophony of feelings, it isn't normal.

Does the small human realize it? He must feel something is wrong even if he might not know the reasons why.

Wrath has been cursed for a long, long time. He has felt the weight of it for longer than any of the mortals in this group have likely been living. ]

I believe it is more complicated than that. [ A pause then as he straightens his shoulders, seeing the switch. ] The Salt Mines. Before that Palermo, Italy, but I imagine you're asking something else.

[ Wrath has no interest in hiding, pretending to be mortal. ]

[somebadnews]

[ It is more complicated than that. Those are the exact words Five would use. Although it's a fairly common phrase; he shouldn't let his paranoia get to him so easily. He's been too far off his game to guess what he's after, and that does nothing to improve his mood.

He often tells people that he came from Texas in the 1960's rather than get into the complex issue of time travel, so he's familiar with why he might go with the simpler answer. The implications in this case are a little too outlandish to name. ]

Do you find a lot of demons in Italy? [ He's been to Italy, he's been everywhere, but to be fair he never really stayed long enough to notice. ] You seem to have experience.

[inferus]

Recently? Yes.

The gates of Hell have been weakening so Italy has been particularly full of demons. [ Of course, Wrath did not come through the gates. He was summoned and eternally bonded in almost-matrimony to Emilia di Carlo, but many more demons than ordinary came through in his time anchored to Italy.

He takes a step closer to Five, sensing the paranoia, the defensiveness, but Wrath's own body language is incredibly casual. If Wrath was not so curious about the magic curse inside of him, he might simply walk away, but he doesn't. He is no big bad - not the boogeyman many people believe him to be, and he can sense that this small human is an angry one in general, which means Wrath is helplessly drawn to him. ]

...is that truly what you wanted to know?

[somebadnews]

[ Should it surprise him that Hell exists? He's very familiar with the concept of the afterlife, even before the ghost army joined them, and his brother once claimed to meet God. The timeline is so fractured at this point, that he can't refute that Earth wouldn't be flooded with demons. Although the possibility of that being a sign of another doomsday makes him ill.

He's snapped out of his musings when the man takes a step closer into his space, and he visibly tenses as if he's anticipating an attack, no matter how casual he acts. If that question is meant to unsettle him, he's being alarmingly successful. Five is too tired to figure out if he's reading his mind or if there's something more to it. ]

Who are you? [ For someone acting so familiar, there's really only a couple of options. ] What makes you so interested?

[inferus]

You can call me Wrath.

[ It is telling enough. Not that he ever intended on hiding (that is not something he is capable of doing on a long term basis). He stays exactly where he is (too close), seeing the way the small human tenses in response to his advance. Wrath means no harm, but he does give off an aura that is predatory, and certainly within his investigation, it would only be more apparent.

If people are not attracted to them, they are put on guard by him (sometimes both). It's the nature of being one of the Wicked, being a demon at all. ]

As for what makes me interested, I want to learn what power exists in this world as anyone else must in order to understand the world they have been dragged into against their well, and you may not use magic to teleport, but- [ His gaze sharpens, and he studies again what his senses are telling him. ] There is magic in you, and it's off.

[somebadnews]

[ Five lifts an eyebrow. He's heard a few colorful names during his time in the Commission, and he'd almost assume that's where this one came from if he'd made any outward signs that he knew who Five was. Usually he could hold his own with anyone, no matter their stature or presumed powers, but everything is harder lately. There isn't much hope that he can be intimidating when he's barely able to focus on an enemy standing right in front of him.

The answer to his second question calls attention to the agony he's been pushing down and ignoring until he had the time to address it, that had become all the more unbearable after the harpies attacked.

Of course he's known that something is wrong for a long time now. This isn't the first time someone has picked up on something going on with him, but he can't help feeling defensive. Somehow 'Wrath' can take one look at him and see the mistake he made, and he's leery to reveal how little he understands. ]

What do you mean by that? [ He doesn't deny it, which says something about how desperate he's starting to get. ] How is it off?

[inferus]

[ Wrath pauses at the question, tilting his head curiously that he should be asked at all The small human doesn't know then, but he must feel it. It would be impossible not to if Wrath can sense it so easily- the dark emotion is thick like smoke.

It would take an extreme level of avoidance and sheer stubborn willpower to ignore it. His gaze narrows, and then he shakes his head as he doesn't have enough information yet to understand. Not about this world, not about whatever this young human tangled with which may have led to such an outcome. ]

I am not certain, but you must feel it.

[ He studies him for what must be an unnervingly long time - more to see if he can get a better sense of what he senses and what he feels in the magic itself. ]

The magic inside of you doesn't belong there, which would explain why you are absorbing dark emotions that don't belong to you either. [ The emotions aren't anger, but something else, something that is not quite a sin so more difficult for him to put a finger on though Hell is full of suffering. ]

[somebadnews]

[ Five scoffs when says he must feel it, and his face splits into a humorless grin. Yeah, he feels it, like a poison slowly rotting away his sanity. The more attention is called to the anguish inside him, the more difficult it is to keep it from showing, and the harder it is to keep his temper under control. Having such a huge vulnerability exposed puts him at a severe disadvantage. At best he can suppress it, and make it out as less than it seems, but whoever this man is, he can see inside him and how the fuck does he fight against that.

He bristles as he continues to stare, then — oh. He's absorbing dark emotions. Hearing that stated so simply makes it seem obvious. He suspected, especially after the harpies and Allison in the temple, but there was always something more important to deal with. All that time he dismissed what was happening, it was building. Now anyone walking by can see his mistake. Because of one bad deal, he lost control and put his entire family at risk.

He flexes his jaw and tries to get a handle on himself. He needs to do something about it, and this stranger seems more familiar with it than anyone he's met. ]

...Say you're right. It doesn't belong to me, and it came from here. But if you're curious how it happened, I'll want something in return.

[inferus]

[ Five is now speaking the language of Hell.

Nothing is ever given for free - certainly not information, which is far more valuable than many know. If someone were to walk into a House and demand information, it would be seen as a great insult, and they might be immediately punished for it.

Wrath only spoke freely of what he did about what was happening to Five because he wanted to see if he could find out more about it. He knows the magic of his own world, but he is still learning about the magic in this one. He lifts his eyebrows then, but does not look surprised at the request. ]

And here I thought I was already doing you a favor - free of charge.

[ He inclines his head in Five's direction - the barest hint of a smirk tugging on his lips. ]

What is it that you want in return?

[somebadnews]

[ He lifts his chin, and manages to do a decent job of seeming less rattled than he feels, but it doesn't do much to make up for the height difference. If Wrath just arrived, he can bet on why he decided to do him a favor, and he doubts it has anything to do with concern. Which honestly makes it easier to handle.

Five may have come up with framing it as a deal in the moment, but it's at least a relief that mind reading isn't part of his skill set. The thing is, he only has a vague idea of what might have happened to him. It's a logical one, but he dismissed it weeks ago. Now he's forced to reconsider what he's dealing with.

And figure out how to handle it. However the magic works, it's with no intention from him, and it's... detrimental. Wrath might already know that much for all he's been staring. ]

Aside from keeping any word of this to yourself. [ A given. ] Tell me about your abilities. You can see magic, is that all? Or can you tell what someone can do just by looking at them?

[inferus]

[ Wrath surveys him at the offer, curious that he is not interested in this information getting out. Isn't this crew supposed to be a team? Granted, he can understand. He does not like to speak of his curse with anyone else - its a vulnerability, a means of weakness.

There is no one in this crew that he can trust. Trust is not offered easily or at all. The trust he had built with Emilia was wrecked when he returned to the mortal world to collect the soul she signed away to Pride, but still he understands her and her motives now. Their alliance now is based fully on his ability to take her back to the Underworld so she can marry Pride and be queen of it. He tries to keep his feelings about her out of it, and he fails far more often than he would like to admit - a vulnerability of his. ]

I will keep it quiet so long as you do the same.

[ Otherwise, his hand lifts before he answers the question. The deal has not been properly laid out yet. Information is powerful, and he has many abilities. Revealing them all at once would not be smart, and Wrath is strategic. ]

A question for a question. The question should be specific. I answer yours and then you answer mine until one of us runs out of questions or answers to give.

[ He lifts his eyebrows to wait to see if this arrangement is acceptable to Five before he speaks. ]

[somebadnews]

[ There's a certain weight in the way he responds, and Five gets the impression this he's familiar with this type of arrangement. That isn't a surprise; he gives off that kind of vibe. The Corrections division was full of people like him, who were used to living by a series of contracts, verbal and written alike. Five was one of the few to break his and live, but he always was a head above the rest.

There's a risk involved in agreeing, but he's already uncovered the worst of it. What's a little more context?

Before he answers, he casts one look around them. The crowd is still spread out, and his sisters aren't anywhere to be seen. He looks back and nods. ]

That seems fair. I'll let you choose which one you want to answer first.

[inferus]

I cannot tell what someone can do simply by looking at them. I do not see teleportation written on you, and if you have any other abilities, I do not know what they are.

[ The only reason he knew Five could teleport is because he had seen him do so, seen him do so while bringing others with him. For Wrath, he can only transport those who explicitly agree to be part of his House (or Pride's), and the experience is incredibly painful for them.

It creates the sensation of burning alive so he never does so unless it is absolutely necessary and only with explicit consent. With one question answered, he asks a question of his own. ]

What is inside of you?

[somebadnews]

[ Is that because his teleportation isn’t magic? Still. That means he doesn’t know about his time travel abilities, and that might help to eliminate some possible questions.

The one he goes with in return is expected, though he still doesn’t like his phrasing. Five’s brow furrows as he works out what might satisfy him enough on something he’s unclear about. ]

I only have a theory. It’s possible that it came from a cursed mirror. [ Which is a story in itself. ] It was meant to be used against the undead.

[ Though actually saying that out loud reminds him of the Merchant’s reply when he confronted him. He had been convinced he’d been setup until then, and afterward he thought he was just jumping to insane conclusions.

Frowning again, he studies the man in front of him. He could ask more about his powers, but if he’s being given the opportunity, he might as well satisfy his curiosity. ]

What are the Wicked?

[inferus]

[ Wrath takes in this information. He knows of many objects of magic, objects of power within his world, but a cursed mirror which could be used against the undead? How?

He knows so little about the undead currently, especially the ones here - some seem to be able to speak and some seem nothing more than animals. It seems strange to fathom it. However, the magic itself did feel more like a curse than anything. It lines up with what he feels from the magic itself.

He lifts his head surveying the small human in front of him. His eyebrows lift then with an expression of being mildly impressed that he took this opportunity to ask a question about something else. In his own world, the Wicked are wildly known though many assume it to all be superstition. They still know the stories. It is strange to meet someone who does not know about it. Does his world have a Hell at all? A Heaven?]

The Princes of Hell.

To be more specific, demons, more powerful than any other. Each with a House in the Underworld.

[ Another pause. ]

How do you believe this cursed mirror was placed inside of you?

[somebadnews]

[ Princes of Hell. Does that include him? He tilts his head, trying to decide if that's a thread worth pulling. Honestly, he never gave much thought to Hell, but he lived long enough in the Apocalypse that he can't fathom anything worse. Given the choice, he'd pick Hell in a heartbeat.

Before he can dwell further on that, he asks the next logical question and Five debates if it was really wise to make this agreement. All he has are assumptions, but revealing how he thinks he got it... if he's right... could be an issue if he tries to take it from him.

After a slight hesitation, he gives a light shrug. ]

It would have come from someone I killed. The mirror didn't belong to them either, but I was told afterward what had been transferred into the body.

... I could be wrong. I didn't see anything, but the timing is suspect.

[ He's had a long time to ponder this, and hasn't spoken about it once since his conversation with the Merchant. Until recently it hadn't really gotten any worse and he'd been able to push it out of his mind. Even as he said it, he's aware that he could be revealing something that can easily be turned against him.

So he'd better make his questions count and see who he's dealing with. ]

Do you have a House?

[inferus]

[ Wrath quiets at the explanation as he describes what it is that happened to him. A curse passing from one person to the next is not unheard of. Curses are powerful. They must be fulfilled. He is unaware of many other ways to handle it, but given it is an object within him, a magical cursed object... there may be other methods.

He squares his shoulders, releasing the breath caged within his chest. His next question is one that makes the most sense to ask, but he has no further questions to ask Five in return for his answer to that one. It may be easy to assume or to assume Wrath wants him to assume the answer to it.

Regardless he takes a step back at long last, still aware of the radiating of dark emotions and offness of the magic within him. ]

Your theory seems likely given what I know of cursed items, magic. I do not believe I have any further information to seek from you about the situation, especially given how little you appear to know about it yourself.

[ An expert in what has happened to him would be required to go any further with it, and Wrath doesn't know the way magic works here well enough to understand it. ]

I will give you this one last piece of information freely: It will get worse if you do nothing about it.

[somebadnews]

[ That lack of an answer says enough for him to jump to the conclusion he seems to want him to make, and Five continues to watch him as he steps back. There's no way to prove Wrath is what he implies, but for as little as he knows about Hell, he fits the part. Ironically, in that moment he can understand the threat that others felt by mistaking him for a demon. How long will it take them to notice this time?

It grates on him when he comes to the conclusion that he doesn't know anything else worth sharing, but it's an irrational reaction to want to keep his interest just so he can learn more. He confirmed what he needed to, and everything else he needs more time to process. Hopefully it was worth it, even if it meant exposing his own ignorance for the privilege. (Really, it's ridiculous that this is where he's at, distracted from what he needs to be focused on by a goddamn curse that a demon had to point out to him. Just his stupid luck.)

That last piece of advice doesn't give him any more direction than he had before, and he laughs, short and mirthless. His tolerance for suffering is higher than most, but he does understand that it's a problem. He has a limit to what he can suppress before he loses his mind. ]

Well. This has been enlightening. Always nice to get an expert's opinion.

[ He holds his gaze, searching for any hint that he's leaving something out, but his leverage is gone. Better to cut this short and not risk revealing how affected he already is. ]

I'll let you know how that all works out.

[inferus]

I believe the true expert would be someone from this world.

[ But clearly, Wrath knows more than the small human does and knows more than anyone else he has encountered thus far. He does not know if there will be answers in Taravast, but someone in this world must know more about the curses of this world and the mirror apparently inside of him. ]

Please do.

[ More information means he would be more willing to share more about himself potentially.

He has to be careful, and he knows this. Wrath has no interest in hiding who he is, what he is. He is ancient, and he has been through far too much to simply pretend to be mortal for how ever long he is in this world. However, this world has already changed the playing field for him. He is weaker. He bleeds more readily, does not heal immediately as he is used to.

Wrath is aware he has to be careful and strategic, especially if he wants to keep Emilia safe too (and he does- how ever she may have betrayed him, how ever angry he may be, he needs her to be safe). After a weighted moment, he turns and strides away in the opposite direction, knowing it will hardly be the last time they speak about the mirror and its curse. ]