EVENT & TDM 020

[sticksandbonesmods]

BITTER WINDS HOWLING

WAKES AND AWAKENINGS

Are you one to find yourself plagued with nightmares? Do you dream at all? Well, worry not, because tonight you find yourself in a somewhat alarming peace. You’re asleep. You’re aware of this. Yet, you feel incredibly lucid, all the same.

You hear the sound of water, like you’re under the ocean waves. You don’t see anything, but it’s almost as if you can feel others around you, despite not touching anything at all. They’re your… family? No. Friends? No. You don’t seem to be able to find a word to describe them. They’re important to you! …You think. Who are they, again?

You think they’re trying to speak to you, but all you can hear is the sound of gentle currents and air bubbles. Or maybe this is what they’re saying to you? You don’t know. Dreams are weird, aren’t they? But then they sing. It’s the prettiest sound you’ve heard. It’s the most haunting sound you’ve heard. It encourages you to move, at last. You didn’t realize you could. There’s a light that filters through the surface of the water…

…and you wake up. You feel strangely refreshed, like that’s the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages! You also feel… distantly sad, like you’ve just remembered something horrible that happened a long time ago.

It’s probably nothing.

For the rest of the month, you find sleep comes easy, and dreams are soothing. How uncharacteristically nice! Maybe don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

A BITTER ARRIVAL

You wake up to bitter cold. It's dark, the winds howling and whipping through the air, snow battering anything not sturdy enough to stand tall against it... and even the trees seem like one more push could knock them over. This isn't a forest you know, yet it seems like home. If you're not prepared for the cold, the warm lights of a small town will guide you, call to you, and your heart yearns for warmth. As you stumble through the heavy snow and harsh winds, something heavy hangs from your neck and the winds begin to form words with your own voice- SACRIFICE... END THIS WINTER WITH SACRIFICE.

As more voices join the wretched wails, your eyes feel heavier. You're almost to the town, though. Is it one of the houses that you wind up knocking on? Or do you manage to get to the inn, big and tall and radiating more warmth than anything you've ever felt? Regardless, you are no longer alone, but the cold still aches and clings, and something with your voice still calls it's omens outside. Only when you melt the heavy snowflake-shaped amulet hanging around your neck in the fires does the cold abate and the foreign copy of your voice fall silent.

A COLD RECEPTION

In the forest of the lost, the worst winter you've ever seen has finally set in full. The lake and river are both frozen over completely, and even the most hardy of beasts have hidden away from the cruel blizzard. The sky is dark, the winds are sharp and the freezing temperatures permeate most buildings, creeping in like a thief ready to steal the breath from your lungs if you aren't careful. Even fires seem to bend to this cold, save for the ever-burning, ever-blinding light of the fireplace in the inn- though she's long since gone, it seems one woman's faith still protects those in the Grove. Shadows haunt the clearing and amongst the winds and even the deafest ears can hear the voices howling alongside the storm, always demanding the same thing: a sacrifice.

When shadows flicker across the window, that is when you know you aren't alone. Ghastly wraiths of frost and ragged sleet fly through the air, and it's hard to tell if they are commanding the winter winds or if they are working in tandem. Regardless, the cold seems to be enhanced by their presence and if they catch you alone outside, they curse you with a frost so deep it pierces the heart and spreads. To some, it may be familiar, like turning to ice from within. To others it may be entirely new. But it spreads slowly and with agony while the wraiths make their demand once more and then vanish. Thankfully, a bit of kindness can melt the ice, but the winter wraiths are always willing to inflict the curse again...

... But you are not powerless. So long as you don't go alone, so long as you have a weapon, you can fend these things off, for a time. But they will be back.

They must have their sacrifice, after all.

BEACONS

Not everyone can fight though. Not everyone should. The only peace that can be found is in the sleep that follows that odd dream... but eventually the large shadow woman known as the Trader, Ydalir, makes her way through the snow to find you. With a warm furry blanket and a cup of tea, she gives you a small kit.

"Build these lanterns and hang them in the window. Be a light in the dark, loves." Is what she says.

The lanterns consist of wood, paper and a little cup for a candle. They can be in any shape and color, and when you hang them in the window the candle sparks into light. As frost clings on the other side of the window and the snow shrouds the outside world and veils what lies beyond, you can see other lights. Other lanterns, shining brightly. It may not be much, but it is still a sign. A reminder. You are not alone in this blizzard.

Spark Notes

summary

wakes and awakenings will bring you into a strange dream of being with many being, important ones, and a haunting song. Despite the melancholy feeling, it also brings a month of restful sleep no matter what.

a bitter arrival is how our new arrivals find themselves: lost in the woods in the middle of a terrible blizzard with only the faint lights of the Grove to guide you to safety. While you wear the snowflake amulet, the winter wraiths can use a mimicry of your voice to make their demands and curse you with a lingering freeze- only melting the amulets in a fire will set you free and silence the copy of your voice in the cacophony.

a cold reception shows just how bad the winter's gotten, with impenetrable ice freezing both the lake and the river solid. the wraiths curse whoever they see with turning to ice from within, but a genuine act of kindness or love will save their victims. the wraiths can be fought, but only with a companion or two, and definitely not with your bare hands. ... they will return though, again and again.

beacons grants perhaps a bit of hope in this dark winter- ydalir brings people supplies as best she can since the cold doesn't affect her shadowy body and there is nothing for the wraith to freeze, and she also brings a gift- a lantern to craft and hang in the window to show the others in town that you're all still here, cutting through the darkness.

out of character

Welcome to the first TDM of 2025! Regular AC resumes this month and as you can see, we're changing things up a little. TDMers are welcome and encouraged to reach out on our plotting post linked below. We're so excited to start the new year with everyone, and may the horrors stay in writing... because they are resuming now.

updates

❖ AFFOGATO COOKIE has used a magical artifact as a sacrifice. This has resulted in the blizzard lessening but still being present and the wraiths being banished from the grove, but still haunting the forest. There are further effects but they will come in to play during a player plot. ... Get your sacrifices in still though.
❖ MAYOI'S prayer to Ourania the day of the fight with Suri invoked a blessing: an aurora shines through the sky, and anyone in it's lights will be gradually healed and soothed.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ January Plotting (Open to TDMers)
❖ Sacrifices (Plot relevant, open to all)
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

[finalprint]

Thank you.

[He is grateful for this mans indescretion, honestly. With one arm protectively holding that bundle to him still, he slides his glasses back on and reaches out with his other.]

[While he does put some weight on Jiaoqiu to stand, he does not weigh very much to begin with, and hopefully won't pull him down by accident. He's clearly not very stead on his feet and he absently wipes his mouth once he's let go.]

...Your fan. It was blowing warm air, was it not?

[healinghotpot]

[ --ah. What is that bundle...? Jiaoqiu turns his ears and nose toward it, but he doesn't really hear anything. There's the scent of something, but he can't place what it is...

Oh well. Not important at the moment. He pulls the man to his feet, steady as anything. He doesn't seem to weigh much, and he notes that absent movement, as well. The blood splatter on the snow. Someone that's already in frail health? ]

Hm? Oh, yes. It was. Why do you ask?

[ Like his mind hasn't just been wandering and analyzing the man he's rescuing. ]

[finalprint]

[Yes, he would be more attentive to that if he were not standing on death's door currently. As it is, he's sort of finally registered that this guy has fox features and he's suddenly wondering if he's being saved by an adeptus.]

[Well, he can address that later, he thinks. He will risk being too forward if it means he can live to see tomorrow. Or even the next 20 minutes.]

Here, she may be in worse shape than I. Would you be willing to try and warm her back up?

[He will uncover the bundle just enough to show the white snake curled up tightly in his arms.]

[healinghotpot]

[ Having the bundle thrust toward him is actually the opposite of what Jiaoqiu expected, but here it is anyway. He peers at the bundle, and when he pulls it back just enough--

Oh. ]

... yes. I will try. But we should get to the inn as quickly as possible. Can you walk?

[ All said as he's taking the bundle into one arm. If he lights his fan again, it may not be warm enough, but he is considerably warmer than his charge here. He pulls open his fur-lined coat, very gently and carefully tucking the bundle inside. ]

This should warm her for now, but I can treat her more effectively when we get back and out of this cold. My flames don't seem to be as strong as they should be.

[finalprint]

[A faint sigh of relief and he allows this man to take Changsheng into his arms. Their lives are a touchy balance and while he knows she's no ordinary snake, he does not want to risk her falling to the elements like one might.]

[Of course it will mean nothing if he is the one that dies, too. All would have been for naught.]

I will manage. She will be quite cross with me otherwise.

[Says the man actively coughing up blood in a hell blizzard while wearing a crop top.]

You have my sincerest thanks for your help. I'm afraid I've managed to get myself quite lost, and I'm relieved to hear an Inn is even within the vicinity.

[healinghotpot]

Well now, we don't want that, do we?

[ Jiaoqiu rests one hand over the secure bundle inside his coat, and then... he walks. Better keep up, Baizhu, because he is not intent on stopping. ]

Think nothing of it. You're hardly the first. You're lucky I came across you when I did, though. Too much longer out here and you wouldn't be here now.

[ He's already plotting out a warm meal for the return. Warm, and something that may help with the symptoms he's already aware of. It's a bit concerning... but he needs to get a full report first. There may be more that he isn't able to tell on the surface. ]

I am Jiaoqiu, by the way. I didn't get your name...?

[finalprint]

[He'll keep up, or die trying!! Haha!! Cough. Luckily he's been given a second wind. He is expecting to be bed ridden for a few days after this at best, but that's better than dead. Knowing there is some civilization ahead of them is very motivating.]

Truly, had you not happened by, I shudder to think what might have become of us.

[Which is a nice way to say they would be turbo-dead. Irrevocably.]

Ah- where are my manners? I am Baizhu of Bubu Pharmacy, it's a pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances, haha.

[healinghotpot]

[ Hmm. His name and the name of the pharmacy don't ring any bells, but at least his name sounds like something he'd hear back at home. Could be another place on another ship, perhaps. Or maybe even another world. ]

A fellow healer, then. I am the military healer of the Xianzhou Yaoqing.

[ To see if it triggers any recognition. Just in case. ]

And what's the name of your little friend here?

[finalprint]

[Likewise it is something of a surprise to not be recognized. While he wouldn't say he has fame or anything of that sort, he does have a reputation and he's well known across the lands back home for his work, what with the traveling he does to smaller villages when he does leave the harbor.]

[Especially if this fellow was also a healer. How interesting.]

[The name he rattles off is unfamiliar, too, so much so that he has a hard time putting his finger on where to begin.]

Her name is Changsheng, and she is my treasured companion and my partner in medicine.

[Which maybe sounds a little wild to say about a snake, but whatever his reaction maybe, it will be funny, probably. Ah, but more importantly-]

That sounds like the name of a great ship, though I don't think I have ever heard such a thing docked at our harbor. Forgive me if I am mistaken, but it certainly sounds like something out of some great adeptal fairy tale.

[healinghotpot]

Ah, a snake that can practice medicine? A truly intriguing companion indeed. I can imagine that alone could bring in quite the clientele.

[ Possibly not quite the reaction that Baizhu was looking for, but oh well! Jiaoqiu isn't certain if it is truth or a tall tale, but either way, he is keen on entertaining it. It gives his charge something to focus on while making their way to the inn, something to talk about. Hopefully, it will ensure he stays conscious. ]

Oh, it is no fairy tale, I assure you. It is just one ship of many in the Xianzhou Alliance, and we do not dock at harbors. We sail the stars, not the seas.

[finalprint]

[It's a good tactic, and Baizhu does see it for what it is. If he can keep conscious, keep his mind focused, then there's a shot he'll make it to the Inn. He has to cling to that no matter what.]

[His reaction garners a soft chuckle from him.]

She's quite knowledgeable, you'll find, and quite opinionated.

[And that she does not wake immediately to snap a response to his teasing is high indication that she is in a terrible state from the cold, he does not say.]

[Anyway this guy just implied the ships fly into the stars and Baizhu isn't inclined to call him a liar, but he is quite stymied by this. Please sir they have normal ass boats in the water where he is from. Fontaine might have something resembling airship technology but as far as he knows that's still incredibly new and experimental. He certainly doesn't know how it works!! The Jade chamber can float about on it's own, but he does not think it would dare to go much higher than Ningguang's preferred vantage point.]

Now it does sound like a fairy tale. Sailing the stars, like one might traverse the heavens? That's certainly is a claim to make. I think I'd be beside myself to see it in action.