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

[valeas]

[ turns out they will not need it.

at least, not with haltham. a cold and rational man, he lays out their situation with succinctness that wrath likely appreciates. they are not in any position to deride him for it, besides: he brokers their getaway and is the only reason they find themselves on a wagon headed east.

after escaping sentinel searches and a rowdy pack of thieves, that is.

she is bone-tired, though she isn't yet ready to submit to it. emilia's seated in the corner of one of the seven wagons, a wool blanket covering her frame. night has fallen, and it's so cold. she is used to the brightly burning sun of palermo and the endless warmth it gives. quietly, to wrath: ]

The moon is full again. [ the fifth night in a row. she'd like to think that means the goddess of night is sending a message to a moon child, but she knows better. there's a strangeness to the stairs of sighs passageway that leaves her entirely disquieted. ]

[inferus]

[ wrath can sense how tired she is, how cold even wrapped up in the blanket as she is. he shifts from where he is seated. if he were to move closer, he could warm her by his presence alone, but they have not quite spoken since their argument with his dagger pressed to his chest - a moment from plunging in.

he could attempt to warm the area, but he has tried before, and it does not quite pierce the biting cold at present. it only dampens it somewhat. his gaze lifts to meet her own when she speaks so quietly, and then he lifts his gaze toward the window to watch the full moon.

it is unnatural for it to be full so long. it is unsettling even to him because he does not know what it means. if he doesn't know, he can't prepare for what is to come. ]

Five nights in a row. The blood rain will follow. [ it is dark, but he can smell it- the blood as it falls. ]

[valeas]

[ eerie full moons and blood rains are concerning, but it's the wailing emilia finds most unbearable. it speaks to an emotion that reaches beyond sadness, the sort of grief she's patently starved herself of in favor devouring the anger. it wasn't pride she summoned upon completing the bone circle.

it was wrath.

without meaning to or even noticing, emilia tugs on the roots of her hair as she watches the bloodlets start to fall. wrath can smell it — ]

What would happen if you were to ... taste it?

[ the things that come out of her mouth now, bless the stars. ]

[inferus]

[ wrath grimaces at the question though he has considered it himself. any avenue to discover more information about this place. usually, he can taste a blood oath in blood - perhaps something magical if it were magical.

here all of the rules have been thrown out the window. there is no telling if he would be able to sense the same of the magic in the sky, no telling if there are other demons around. his gaze flicks from her to the open window, watching the night, smelling the blood in the air, rolling his shoulders back. ]

I have no idea. If it were demonic or magical, I might be able to sense that.

[ but his abilities have shifted here, and magic is different here as well. he's not sure what use knowing if it were either would do them. in the end, he decided it wasn't worth the risk. ]

[valeas]

[ her eyes narrow.

it doesn't surprise her that he refuses to make this decision lightly, no. wrath is someone that values strategy, and prefers to consider every angle before taking action. he may not admit it to her, or say so out loud, but the fluctuation of his powers has thrown him. it's thrown emilia, too.

no, what almost clenches her jaw is the lack of urgency she detects in him. ]

Careful, demon. I'll start to think you've little intention in finding a way back.

[inferus]

[ his gaze flicks up toward emilia at the words, but his expression remains casual, almost bored despite the wealth of emotions twisting inside of his gut.

her jaw doesn't clench, but he can feel her immediate reaction- annoyance, anger. she is eager then to make it to his brother. no, wrath is not so eager. he has no desire to watch her be anywhere near his brother. let alone near him in the sense she might marry him. that his brother might attempt to take some ownership over her (he will).

the thought makes him sick. but he smiles at her instead of the sickness twisting inside of him, the ache opening up within his chest. the smile is something wicked like the demon he is. ]

And we wouldn't want that, witch. [ he looks through the nearest window at the blood dropping down. ] Do you truly think any answers lie in the rain of blood?

[valeas]

[ her eyes only narrow further at the sight of his smile. restraint is difficult for her these days, most especially when it has to do with her beloved sister. every second they are here is a precious second that robs her of her chance to find vittoria's murderer. she doesn't ignore wrath's question, though.

emilia's gaze follows his to the window. when the devil stirred the seas of palermo and turned the moon blood-red, the gulls would not touch the sardines that washed themselves onto the shore the next day. because they are no fools. her grandmother would tell her to be like a gull.

but she is desperate, and furious, and unwilling to accept they're stranded with no recourse.

she swallows and looks away once more. ] I don't know.

[inferus]

[ wrath turns back to her and lingers on her face as she sits there with her head turned toward the window. he breathes in sharp, and he feels it in his chest- the tightness, the sharpness. he swallows thickly, lowering his head briefly. his hand rests against the outside of the window. ]

If I thought it would tell us anything of worth, I would.

[ he does not want to return, but he does not want to remain unknowing in this world, to be uncertain of what exists around them, to be unprepared. he pulls away from the window to look at her.

his expression is one of quiet concern, and he sinks down against the wall then, turned away from the window. ]

We will learn more where we are going. [ but they need to be rested to be at their best ]

[valeas]

[ emilia hears the underlying sentiment behind his words.

she finds she cannot disagree with them. wasn't she the one who once shooed away the almighty general of war so that she could get some much needed sleep? she wants to be alert. she wants to be at her sharpest and at her best. she can't do that if she keeps fighting the inevitable.

even if staying up to continue sniping at him is highly tempting.

she lowers herself down to her blankets and bundles herself up in them with a shivering sigh. it won't be long before she falls into a deep slumber, exhausted that she is after the past several days. unfortunately, she can't quite control the way she mindlessly seeks body heat after the fact.

just. ignore the way she scoots a bit closer, per favore. ]

[inferus]

[ wrath watches as she lowers herself down, seeing the way she shivers as she bundles herself up. with effort, he lifts his gaze from her out to the window as if he will simply guard it, keep her safe from whatever might threaten them, but she scoots closer to him. in her sleep.

and so does he, close enough that she will be pressed slightly against him. he radiates heat, and he wants her to be warm.

he doesn't need sleep like she does. many things within the world has changed, but that is not one of them, and he glances over at her as she shivers, being certain to increase the heat radiating from him until she can feel it too.

he is not prepared for the dreams that will follow, the nightmares that come next. ]

[valeas]

[ the dream(?) starts with a feeling.

it takes hold of her chest, sudden and sharp. sticks to the walls of it, her chest, as her lips part to seize an unsteady breath. emilia fitfully rolls over to her side, pressing closer to wrath without intention or notice, and her fingers catch in the fabric of his shirt. it's all heavy, all endless, the mark of a desolate thing.

and it hurts.

a steady drip, somewhere in the distance, like static in her ears. ]

[inferus]

[ wrath does not sleep, and he senses the change in her immediately- her breathing alters, her pulse does too, and then she rolls over to his side and grips hold of him. if she were awake, she would not. he is aware of this, but more than that, he reaches out, thinking he might be able to reassure her in sleep. he does not yet realize she is feeling actual pain or he would wrench her from her sleep in an instant.

his hand tightens at her arm. there are so many things she could have nightmares about, so much that could be haunting her. ]

...Emilia?

[ his voice is soft at first like he may be able to reach her through the nightmare. ]

[valeas]

[ the dream shifts with a suddenness that would dizzy her if she were standing. flames lick higher around her, suffocating and all-consuming. she will die, is dying, in the very way she's feared all of her life. there is no pyre, but she burns. screams peel from her throat and no one can hear, can do anything. and somewhere in the distance is a song, is a memory, is antonio. antonio and his certainty that this is what she deserves and this is where she belongs.

all witches are born evil.

she can't break free of this dream right away, despite some lucidness returning to her. she chokes at the attempt to scream outside of this mental prison, but a hand tightening at her arm, her arm with a tattoo that also tries jarring her awake, finally does the trick.

emilia's eyes peel open, stunned to find herself so still and quiet otherwise. her skin intact, her lungs unharmed — only the wetness of her cheeks evidence of a greater turmoil, and her clenched fist at wrath's chest as she struggles in vain to safely draw in breath. ]

[inferus]

[ his expression has shifted into one of concern as it seems he is unable to wake her from the dream even when he says her name, even when he tightens his hold on her. it reminds him too much of the time following lust when he couldn't reach her at all then either even holding her hand. she couldn't feel it. he couldn't reach it.

a spike of anxiety in his chest until she finally does wake up. and distantly he is aware the rest of the train is filled with the same- anguish, fear, torment. is everyone having nightmares at once?

his mouth parts. there is the briefest brush of his thumb against the wetness on her cheek to wipe it away before she can even realize what is happening. his hand tightens on her arm over the tattoo as if in reassurance- that is what he attempts to send through even as he struggles to grip hold of the icy exterior once more. he can't in this moment when her expression is in such pain, such horror, when there are tears in her eyes. ]

...are you okay?

[valeas]

[ a silence lingers. emilia doesn't know how to answer, and she's all too aware of the intimate position she landed them in while trapped in her nightmare. she'd almost prefer the icy indifference — her heart would bear it much better than this gentle concern she can't logic away.

in the end, she takes a page out of his favored book and foregoes addressing the question altogether. she swallows, fingers loosening their vise-like grip on his shirt. carefully, she extricates herself from his arms and unfurls to her proper height. she ignores the fact her legs don't feel quite so steady. ]

We should wake the others.

[ if their dreams are anything like hers, they're in pain. they believe they're dying. ]

[inferus]

[ wrath follows her up, standing on his own feet in a mere moment after she has brought herself to her own feet. he can sense her unsteadiness. his hand rests against her arm briefly if only to help her find her balance even if she wouldn't want him to. he looks away from her down the line of cars- wagons and the people, the turmoil that he can still feel them having.

he is a breath away from her - the question clear in the intensity of his dark and gold eyes. ]

...what was it of?

[ he releases a breath, knowing she is unlikely to answer despite his concern. still he asks. ]

[valeas]

( emilia knows one word from her would stay his hand.

whatever she may think of him now, think of what the two of them shared, she knows this to be true. it's always been so, even at their most volatile and angry. call it a wrath thing, call it damned demon etiquette — if she wants him to stay back, he'll stay back. and she hates that she fails to want it. )

Nothing that will serve you. And why do you care?

( he's made his own stance all too clear. )

[inferus]

[ wrath straightens as he stares at her. why do you care? as if he hasn't shown time and time again that he does despite his better judgement, despite him knowing exactly how dangerous emotional entanglements are.

does she think even when he held her hand after she had been so deeply carved out by lust was part of some plan? does she think she would urge her to eat and play games with her because he did not care?

he is crossed between offended and hurt, angry and insistent.

he opens his mouth to reply, but that is when the harpies choose to attack, and they have more pressing matters to attend to. ]