eastbound | Entries tagged with arcane: vi

I know who killed Vataz and the others. It's--

[Her voice is strained. She sounds as though she's in pain and out of breath.]

It's complicated. We need to be cautious not to worsen the situation any further. Someone else was killed. A woman. Her death is what started it all. There's someone else I need to question; I'll be able to share more once I have.

[There's the soft thud of someone's back hitting a wall.]

For now, young men should stay out of the Wards and the Keep, if at all possible. The killer can't distinguish between its true target and other men who appear similar. And don't go down into the glacial lakes. It isn't safe.

[Another pause, followed by a wince.]

If any medical personnel are able to spare supplies, I could do with a bandage.

inferus

( The video opens on the largest fissure in the Room of Seals, revealing the stairs that lead into the dark. Black eyes dart into view and then fade. The imagery shifts to the many other cracks filling the room. Wrath speaks, voice hard and ancient in the way of war: )

This version of Hell grows more restless by the hour. The dark water we've encountered before infects it. Every act of violence and rage, every death and spirit feed it further.

( Wrath's hand dips into the largest fissure. The dark liquid smoke pouring out of it wraps around his palm and the length of his arm. As if greeting an old, almost-familiar friend. He spreads his palm out and the smoke obeys, skittering back in through the crack.

The temperature in the room dips then. Ice pours from him across and within the fissure, sealing it. The ice continues to spread from his point of contact across the floor and walls, spilling into the hallway. The ground quakes as he pushes back against the power attempting to shove its way out.

The video then turns to Wrath: his gold eyes flash with anger, with violence that he pulls back within himself. His jaw locks as he surveys the room. )

...this will not hold long. These fissures will split the room open, but we may buy them time to replenish their forces and allow for more of their people to escape.

If you have magic or power, if you are capable of guarding and sending messages in the days to come, go to the Room of Seals. I will be waiting.

bravelyrunsaway

Hello, loves, bit of an update for those of you tracking after whatever has been tying white string around wrists and leaving all sorts of young males dead since before we arrived. Whatever killed Valtaz wasn't human, wasn't natural. The scent it left on him is the same one down I tracked down that new stair, back to the lakes in Gut's Bind.

Go take a look at what dead creature turned up on the shore. Whatever killed Vataz also killed that thing. Smells oily, burns the nose like some paints do.

( he sounds disturbed, but also: really, wants people to go look at the lake. his nose is a bit burnt out for the moment. )

clavesregni

[Caitlyn has found a small corner somewhere in the Wards that she's turned into a personal headquarters. Several sheets of paper, covered in incomprehensibly messy scribbles, are stuck to the walls, and there's plenty of room for more to come. She's even found some colored string somewhere and has started to make connections between the papers with the strings.

She speaks very enthusiastically. Nothing makes Caitlyn's whole being light up like detective work.]

I've begun working on solving the series of murders that have occurred here over the last eleven weeks.

The victims were all male, between the ages of twenty-two and thirty-five. There are no other obvious connections between the victims, no common physical characteristics, profession, or origin. We'll need to dig if we want to find any commonalities apart from sex and a rough age range. And, with only five victims, we can't entirely rule out the idea that the commonalities we do know of may be coincidental.

There are rumors circulating of someone referred to as the 'Reaper,' who is punishing the people here for abandoning their duty. I don't know if that's the killer's true motivation; why kill only young men? There's something more going on here.

There are two clear points of interest:

First, none of the victims have an obvious cause of death. Some have wounds, but nothing that would be fatal under normal circumstances, and none appear to have been ill. How is the Reaper killing the victims?

Second, all have a white string tied around their wrists. This must be some sort of calling card, though what it means is not yet clear. If we can determine the meaning of the string, it could give us an insight into the killer's motivations and perhaps their identity.

I suggest we collaborate in our work to find the killer.

jatharin

( The first transmissions is recorded footage, clearly captured by a pendant held by a shaking hand. Before it, legions of heterogenous, misshaped demons part for the gilded palanquin of Duke Rathakku, his long tendril legs seeping off his cushions.

Beneath his litter, death hounds feast on the fresh remains of a man carrying a peace stindard.

Rathakku appears untroubled, unhurried, indifferent: )

Tell your new king... he will have the peace of the old. And we, we will give it to him. If you can reach him.

( Only more seconds capturing footage of fumbling feet and gracel, the pendant carrier stumbles back, starting to run —

Before the transmission switches to the lightly amused face of Alem's king Deimar, whistling: )

...friendly sort, isn't he? That was four months ago. He's softened since. I'd say the colder weather agrees with him. It's good for you new recruits to see that. To see him. It builds character. ( A pause, then helpfully: ) ...spoils appetites, too! Means less dinner for you, more supplies for the morning. We've all won here.

( But the joy seeps from him. ) I know what you have come for. The beacon. I accept you. It's honest trade, we need the hands. Hells, fond welcome. And to those of you serving as envoys, we'll raise a cup to you first. I should hope there's meat on your bones!

Now, a few... guidelines! As it were. What are you? Madmen, criminals, thieves, mercenaries? I don't care to know. Under my roof, I'll have none of that quarrel. ( Steely: ) No squabble, no torture, no rape. We're in tight quarters, blood runs hot. But you'll somehow prevail over any instincts. No... innocent stabbing. There's enough of that in the Wards of late.

I understand some of you are joining the watch towers. I'll come see you. It's ugly work, and you won't thank me. But I thank you. If that bitch Irenia flies by, remember: she's an ugly, slow whore, and you can take a sharp stick's end to her throat. ( Silence, then breezily: ) I don't mind if you do that our merchant friends, either. Just make sure you've learned where they've stored their grains first. ( Light coughing. ) Don't let Haiva hear that. We're to be friends with one and all! Even when they skin us for gold.

As it stands, the day's news: we prepare to evacuate new convoys of our weakest civilians every five days. Unfortunately, Rathakku is... either remarkably intuitive or well informed. He seems to find our escape corridors in the mountain and blockade them. So! We start anew, with fresh escape routes. Do help. And if you can keep our vulnerable on their feet and not trip up the paladins who are working in the Gut's Bind, even better.

By the way, we cut any hands laid unkindly on healers. We can likely spare you more than them.

And the punishment for snitching to uncle Thyvault where the last of the good wine sits is worse than that. I'll deliver that one personally.

Now, good to have you! Die well.

( ooc: welcome to Alem & threadjack liberally c: )

reparo

[ooc: backdated to Sand In Your Eyes (end of)]

Hello, Hermione here, currently writing this from the exit of Ra'esh's temple.

We've found water for the sandworms in a pool, in a cave. We also found a woman in that cave. Her name was Marath, she was alive, and she was tied to the altar and chained. We've set her free - and if anyone has a word of criticism about that decision, by all means, convince me why any living soul should be chained to an altar and left to rot and to thirst and to die. I'll wait.

Anyway, Marath's people are the ones who occupied Uruksithar. She claimed she was left behind because she warned them not to go into the desert. Once freed, Marath ran (rather athletic for someone of her condition if you ask me) and left myself and Vi locked in the temple.

Don't worry, we're out now. Keep an eye out for Marath, if you can. And don't drink the water from the cave if you make it there, it felt...oozy.

[ooc; If you'd like some context, here you go.]

traaaaaash

[ Sand. So much sand. But in the middle of the sand, something else: a giant sand worm carcass. From behind the camera comes Eda's voice. ]

Well, look what I found!

[ She sounds very proud of this fact. The camera swerves around to see her grinning from face to face. ]

I know it's probably not a trash slug, but hey, it looks close enough, so --

[ She produces a pickaxe seemingly out of nowhere. ]

I'm gonna investigate its insides.

faceblocker

So, I saw the blood, I just wanted to see if someone was really shitty at hiding bodies, but—

[ Out by the trio of wells, Vi's sporting a cozy red jacket that she 'liberated' before leaving Serthica. This close to the pocket watch, the scarring on her lip and brow is visible, along with her nose piercing and the VI tattoo under her left eye. She isn't wearing a hat despite her short hair and undercut, and when she leans over and swings the watch to face down, it's visible she's opted to do without gloves for the moment, too. One hand gripping the well is only protected by some dirty hand wraps.

The well she's leaning over is the one that should be lidded, but...that lid is a little bit broken and leaning against the side after a certain someone wrenched it off.

It's not easy to see from this high up, but the well is mostly empty, and down below is a skeleton dressed in a gown. ]

Not the kind of dead body I expected.

[ The pocket watch is tied around her belt so anyone watching can enjoy some Hardcore Henry motion sickness as Vi hops over the edge of the well and ping-pongs off the narrow sides to keep from dropping down into the three feet of what looks to be very dirty water. Somehow she manages to keep a grip without falling, but the watch stays on her waist so she can have both hands free.

Down here, the skeleton's dress is visibly tattered, and the water is filled with silt. The partially submerged skeleton is posed...almost like it's sleeping?

Just as Vi's trying to scrape closer for a better look, one of the innkeepers is heard fretting up above to not disturb the skeleton's napping spot. Something about the sun's glare. Since there's nothing else to see, Vi concedes and climbs back up, the pocket watch bringing the innkeepers into view when she lands back on the ground. Vi's husky voice can be heard 'asking' for (demanding) an explanation: "Sorry, but, what the hell?"

The innkeepers explain that they suspect the lady of the bones forgets each night where her final resting place is and keeps trying out each of the very similar wells. They lid the well they find her in every morning. The water returns in that well, nicely purified, once she's out each night.

It isn't until the lid's back on and they've left that Vi looks back to the video, more disturbed than when she had started. Are they getting their drinking water from magic haunted skeleton wells? ...Probably still better than the water she had back home. ]

Feels like we ought to pour one out for her. [ A softer mutter: ] And she should have a better grave marker...

hatejakku

[ The feed clicks on to reveal Finn and The Doctor, probably an unlikely duo to find on the network at this hour. The former doesn’t give anyone time to speculate, though, and just jumps right into it. ]

Ma'am Mariol contacted a few of us. She said that Serthica is pumping some sort of gas into the Mouse House, something that makes people slow and tired. She's convinced it has to do with heating, but she also told us it happened before, right after the coal sickness.

After our conversation, I went down there to investigate the composition of the gas and its source. All that we know for now is that it contains many of the sedative and memory loss ingredients discovered recently by those in our group, Caitlyn and Vi.

Everyone's okay for the moment - well, I use that term loosely - but how long that lasts, we can't be sure.

[ He's also worried about his little buddy, Gavroche, who was unusually skittish and reluctant to explain why. He's put a pin in that for later. ]

Not the easiest, going back and forth there and getting through customs, but I'll plan to visit with them again in a day or two, make sure they're still well. [ Checking in over the pendants isn't satisfactory enough for him. He'd be going back and forth more frequently if he could, but he has to operate within the limitations of their present situation, which frustrates him, to say the least. ]

Some of us had spoken previously about organizing efforts to help their situation down there, but that was before we realized what they're doing to them. Everything's changed now.

[ Finn, who’s been watching and chewing on his bottom lip, jumps back in. ]

They need our help. For one, we have to find the source of this gas leak. Whether it’s intentional or not, whatever the gas is, it needs to be stopped.

Second-... Well, I’d like to get her and the kids out of there and bring them to Minaras but that’s going to take more money than the Doctor and I have. Hard to say it’s really safer up here, but I think pooling money together for this could be worth it, anyway, if for nothing else than to just improve their situation once we handle the gas.

If anyone has spare change or more ideas, we’d appreciate it.

[ ooc: Finn's red, The Doctor's blue ]

clavesregni

[Caitlyn enthusiastically shows off a small wooden box. Visible on the lid is an insignia of a Minaras governmental medical facility. Over Caitlyn's shoulder is a redhead looking wholly uninspired by this discovery.]

This was found following an altercation with a group of drunk individuals. One man was tall, must have been a little over six feet, with a blond beard, head shaved, and some sort of tattoo visible on his neck. Another was a few inches shorter, clean-shaven and close-cropped black hair, wearing a rather ostentatious, if tattered, blue coat. The third was a few inches shorter still, also clean-shaven, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and several scars along the length of his forearms.

[Vi rolls her eyes as Caitlyn rattles off these descriptions. Caitlyn, oblivious, continues:] Does anyone know who these men might have been? If they could be identified, they could perhaps be located and questioned as to how a box belonging to a medical facility came into their possession.

[Vi mutters,] Probably going to sell whatever it is to the highest bidder.

[At the interruption, Caitlyn glances over her shoulder to respond to Vi. Her tone is less critical and more like she's excited to brainstorm possible motivations.] We can't assume that.

[Caitlyn turns back to the contents of the box.] Yes. Um. There are herbs inside, they smell-- [She takes a whiff, wrinkling her nose.] --earthy. Musky. And faintly of fruit. And... [She smells again, and a horrified look crosses her face, as though she's just smelled the most odious smell imaginable. She quickly moves the box further away from herself, looking at it as though it's done her a great personal wrong.] Urine.

[Vi shouldn't look so amused at the posh description, but she does.

Caitlyn holds up a few of the whole dried leaves and flowers: foxglove, wisteria, passion flower, and valerian. There is a small sack visible inside the box containing more herbs ground up.]

Are there any herbalists in the group who might be able to identify these? What purpose could these serve, either individually or in combination?

[Vi leans in closer and says,] And by the way, I need to talk to the resident hextech genius.

[ooc: for the herbalists out there, this combination of herbs leads to memory loss]

pulvisetumbra

( White sound, fragments of murmurs. Two men and a woman drowned by the tinny crescendo of a strained musical instrument. The music rises shrill and shrill, until it nearly deafens — then all is inexplicably quiet. At last, a man’s voice: )

...good afternoon. Following your... discoveries in Serthica, it appeared only prudent to reinforce every measure that protects our conversations. Our discretion is your survival.

You speak to the Merchant. We number a wealth of new... associates. I bid you welcome. Know this: whatever trials await you in your travels, they are as nothing before the ruthless undead enslavement the warlords would have intended you.

( A pause, then carefully: ) You are in Serthica. My initial recommendation was for you all to investigate which of the citadel’s halves houses undead and unnatural creatures. Since, Karsa has relayed the results of your efforts.

If I follow well, then you have unveiled the Remembrance insurgent group whose mannequins gain human likeness. I hope we have not chosen to bring home cursed dolls. ( His gritting teeth suggest otherwise. ) You have found that the old sickness that once splintered Serthica remains... alive. To that end, I salute the sacrifice of Master McCoy. We shall aim to recover your health, sir. And there is the matter of dragons, some living, some... troubled.

( A long, deep sigh rip from him. ) I fear Eidris and Minaras may have both been compromised. I first urged you to keep your head bowed and await the yearly opening of Serthica’s Neutral Zone beacon. We can no longer afford this passiveness. We must know what we protect against and how deeply the rot of Serthica runs.

The great Neutral Zone clock of Vassarizhia is the old heart of Serthica. Its beats regulate the rise and fall of Eidris and Minaras. Before the sundering, it was Serthica’s foremost watchtower, with vantage across the citadel whole. Karsa toils to finalise magical instruments that will allow us to forcibly but briefly reveal the state of this world, if you can reach the topmost levels of Vassarizhia and its enhanced telescope and watch monitors. I understand security will ease within the week, when Eidris and Serthica hold further summits.

( And now, a sprawling silence: ) As for the... white wanderer. I thank the consummate professionalism of Master Constantine and Mistress Pitts in delivering the uniforms of Ellethia. I understand one such garment was worn by the man who visited you during the Unwinding. The same intruder who haunted Ke-Waihu.

Let us be candid. I believe we speak of a former member of the institute of technology and magic of Ellethia, where the undead first surfaced. If this is correct, I can only recommend caution. I cannot say if the white wanderer is friend or foe. I know my preference.

Irrespective of this: onwards, upwards. To Vassarizhia. I leave this with you.

( ooc: threadjack away! You will get further details on the tower infiltration and our Halloween event mid-week for your plotting purposes. )

groundrules

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Entries tagged with arcane: vi

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