EVENT 30

[sticksandbonesmods]

I CALL MYSELF A SHELL

A USED UP BULLET CASING

The air is cold, the sky dreary. Ever since your return to Aldric’s Grove, the chill in the air is as bitter and sharp as a knife. The scent of stew from the General Store’s windows is comforting, almost as much as the teas Ydalir is handing out if you pass by her tent. Nene puts baskets of her fresh produce on every doorstep or before the doors of people’s rooms in the inn, and Evan and Rillian join her sometimes, the two also handing out sweaters or cloaks. It’s not going to be as bad as last year, but a bitter winter is coming. It’s best to be prepared, isn’t it?

As the winter approaches, plantimals busy themselves to prepare as best they can, too. Pinecone squirrels harvest away nuts while one by one birds move as close to warmth as they can — and that may well just be Sehul and Aurora’s domains. The river water is clear as ever and even colder, with only the blessed trees and bushes still flowering and bearing fruit.

Yet nothing prepares anyone for the green mist, knee-high at the lowest, waist-high at the highest. It smells earthy and grassy, almost floral like a garden,and it pours out of the research hall.

There’s a chill in the air. Something… strange is happening, yet again.

THE AFTERMATH OF SOMETHING LETHAL

The mist is not the only thing that follows. In your homes, walking around the slowly rebuilding town, resting in the inn — all over, there are ghosts, and they all look painfully familiar. After all… it's not every day you get to see your face without a mirror.

Ghosts of the former residents of the Grove have followed where the mist flows, fragments of history that are part of you given form. Some look pristine, like they’d simply gotten up and got dressed like any normal day. Others look bloodied and wounded, clearly killed and still persisting. None seem bothered by their state — if anything, the lot are curious about the changes that have been made to the Grove, or about you.

Of course they know you. They know your pains, the life you’ve lived, they’re part of you after all… though some ghosts know the full extent better than others. You must have something you want to say, don’t you? Or… maybe you’re approached by the ghost of another soul, with something else in mind.

AN ECHO OF INFLICTED EVIL

cw: a brief instance of animal death

Within the heart of it all stands a woman almost eight feet tall, maybe more. There is an unearthly glow to her green eyes, and she wears a black gown that looks like it’s meant for a funeral and a garden party in the same day. Draped in her arm is a basket as she talks to various blooms, and occasionally she may… pluck at a passing by animal, placing a silvery light within the basket as the animal comes to a stop and finds its final rest.

She looks at each resident of the Grove as she walks, poking and pulling at things that cannot be seen — from the air, from the buildings, from you-

And then she keeps on walking, pausing only at the fog barrier.

“... What a troubling scene this sets. And the rot in the roots… beastly, isn’t it? What a shame that I cannot be here in full to set this straight.” She hums thoughtfully, before finally she stops and sits down.

“Come along now, then. I’m sure you all have questions.”

So, will you talk to Morrigan the Lady Death?

... SO COMES SNOW AFTER FIRE ...

With talking to Morrigan comes a task: close the door once more. Once this is done, the Grove settles again, a blanket of quiet settling over the little village finally. Time passes, and once the first snow starts to fall, Heimr calls everyone to the inn. White snowdrops are painted along the banisters, the door frames and windows, and warm spices and savory smells waft through the air.

Renard is dishing up different plates as you come in, and he smiles radiantly with a wave. Later on he might show off some of his creations, or hand you an instrument.

Music flows through the dining room as Ydalir feeds the fire, and some of Callisto’s meads and wines — flavored or simple honey — eventually turn up on the table. It’s nice not to be alone, right?

Unfortunately it might be ruined when Heimr sets out what looks to be a deck for UNO. And a stack of other board games. But UNO is the killer, here. UNO may just ruin your carefully-crafted friendships with everyone here. …please don’t let it do that. You’ve already been through so much together, and there’s so much more to come.

Spark Notes

summary

A USED UP BULLET CASING Fall is here and winter is fast approaching. The residents of the Grove are trying to help take care of player characters after the past two months of hardships... but one night, a green mist spills out of the Research Hall.
THE AFTERMATH OF SOMETHING LETHAL All throughout the Grove, the ghosts of your past lives linger waiting to speak to you- or to the ones you love. They know your life, though the intimate details may vary, and can be touched. And linger they will! They're very curious, you know.
THE ECHO OF INFLICTED EVIL Morrigan the Death wanders the town, poking and prodding at the magics in play. Whatever she's found, however, they have decided can wait. After all, you probably have questions, don't you?
... SO COMES SNOW AFTER FIRE ... After the Door to the Afterlife has been closed- presumably by you, someone's got to do it- and Morrigan has presumably also left, Heimr decides it's time for another community meal. And this time, he brought board games! Please do not kill each other over Monopoly.

out of character

Welcome to November! Thank you very much to Jami for allowing us to use their past life plotting and location for this event, and to Aspen for helping facilitate it ICly!. This has been a long time coming, and now you get to meet another force of nature: Death!

AC will be check-in for November and December before resuming regularly. September and October are the last TDM of the year, and we encourage you to reuse them as desired if current players wish to test new characters, or if new players want to break the ice! We check the TDMs regularly.

updates

Any potential updates, such as characters damaging something important or whatever else, will be put here.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ November Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

i

[argentry]

[perhaps it was not wise to open a door in the middle of the night in this world. but Elder Faerie knows the voice, and so he opens the door that leads to his room. he stands there, wide-eyed and blinking as he stares down at Genya and listens to his frantic voice]

...Y-Young Genya! Please, calm yourself!

[Elder Faerie shuts the door then places his hands on Genya's shoulders, more in an effort to ground him]

Shhh! I am here!

[namuthing]

[Considering the events of the last hour or so, it's almost relieving to see Elder Faerie. Especially knowing that the older man is still okay, despite whatever havoc Genya seems to have unleashed upon the Grove. Nothing terrible has broken loose yet, but surely it's only a matter of time.]

I - [Right, he needs to breathe, doesn't he. He draws in a deep breath, forces himself to hold it for four seconds, then exhales, just as his master taught him. He might not be able to master total concentration breathing, but meditative breaths? Those come easy to him.]

I think... I think I messed up.

[argentry]

[messed up? uh oh. Elder Faerie waits patiently for Genya to breathe, collect his thoughts, then leads the boy to a chair to have him sit. at least for a while]

There, there. Tell me everything.

[instead of sitting on the bed, or another chair, Elder Faerie sits on the floor in front of him, patting Genya's arm. he's all ears!]

[namuthing]

[He feels a little bad sitting down when Shadow Milk has only just impressed the importance of telling everyone in town the bad news. But hell, Genya's probably earned a breather with how he's been running around like a cookie with its head cut off.

... Well. At least that hasn't happened again in the last few minutes.]

I was in Shadow Milk's lab... I didn't trust the guy, and I wanted to make sure nothin' was going on. And I found this door. My mom... I heard her behind it. I had to - [His fingers open and close, as if he was standing in front of it once more.]

This mist rolled out. So did a bunch of spirits, and this big person, too. And I thought... maybe Shadow Milk was trying to keep our loved ones from us or something. I didn't know what the hell was going on down there, so we got pissed at each other.

[He gives a vague motion, before burying his head against his hands.]

Everything seems fine so far, but what if it's a matter of time? The last few months were bad enough. None of you deserve more trouble, especially not because of me.

[argentry]

[uh. there is. a ton to unpack here. Elder Faerie's brows furrowed as he watches Genya's face. wait, he was spying on... Shadow Milk? was it because of him?

slowly, the elder sits back, bringing a hand to his chest like he is in pain. it was his turn to take a deep breath. he wants to ask, were you worried about me? but he manages to not make this about himself]

Did... did he say why he had those spirits trapped down there? Or tell you what was going to happen?

[namuthing]

[Despite already looking small with his head laid upon his hands, Genya finds away to wilt all the more. Guilt swells through his chest, the chanting of murderer, murderer, murderer echoing in his own voice. It feels like a vice has clamped down around his throat, and he has to take another breath before he can speak.]

He said it wasn't trapping them, but holding them out. That it was the underworld. [He shakes his head.] It didn't seem happy when he tried to close the door. So I don't think it's something of his creation.

I... mighta had the wrong idea.

[argentry]

[ah, guilt. a funny thing, that. Elder Faerie knows the feeling well. he shakes his head, he has many questions, but more for Shadow Milk than for Genya.

at last, he moves in again, patting Genya's arm]

Well. What's done is now done. Please, do not blame yourself. Whatever it is, beyond, it wanted you to open that door. It beckoned to you, personally. It must be clever.

[to use Genya's mother's voice. yeah, it did not play fair]

[namuthing]

[Even for just an arm pat, it's a pretty comforting gesture. Mostly, he's relieved that at least someone doesn't hate him for the trouble he's apparently caused. Still, the longer he thinks about it, the more he wonders if he actually regrets what happened.]

After the door was opened... she was still there. My mom, I mean. It really felt like it was her. But it also... didn't? [He blows a puff of wind upward, scattering his still sparkling hair this way and that.] You've heard about how we have past lives here or some shit, right?

[argentry]

I have, yes. I heard that is why we are here, to be punished because of our past.

[another pat, then he rises to sit across from Genya, on his bed. he wonders what that has to do with what has just happened]

[namuthing]

Right...

[He doesn't know about all of that, but at this point he wouldn't be surprised. The point, though:]

I think that's who it was. Or who it was supposed to be. She was older than my mom ever made it to be. Dressed different too. But it still felt like her. More than any of the illusions from the past few months felt like anything.

[argentry]

[his eyes narrow. this is... well, he's not sure? concerning, perhaps? but also fascinating?]

...Spirits of our past lives...?

[he appears to be thinking for a moment]

I wonder how Shadow Milk Cookie was able to obtain them and keep them at bay.

[namuthing]

Yeah, I mean... maybe.

[Genya really doesn't know the first thing about their past lives, only that they were there. Getting too deep into it was only bound to give him a headache.]

Like I said. 'm startin' to doubt he had anything to do with the door. If it was his doing, it wouldn't have lashed out at him, right? [He realizes that logic might not make the most sense, so he adds:] The monsters where I'm from can't speak or act against their master. If they do, they're gonna get wiped out.

So if that's the case...

[argentry]

[oh. hmm. now he sees what Genya meant. still, he may have to speak with Shadow Milk and White Lily about this]

It still does not explain why his research hall is guarding it. But that is something I can find out later. For now, it sounds like we must warn the others.

[which is probably what Genya was doing in the first place]

[namuthing]

[He chews on his cheek for a moment. Both Shadow Milk and White Lily had seemed to imply that they were trying to keep the door from causing trouble, hence all of the wards. Genya isn't too certain that he believes in their tactic, especially knowing how everything had gone.

But getting into that is only going to cause more problems for himself, considering he'd have to explain how he got past all of their wards.]

You... should stay inside. I don't have too many more people to visit, and if it is dangerous, I've already been exposed. Better to reduce casualties, right?

[argentry]

[ah. he sighs. he knows he seems like a weak old man, but...]

I do not wish for you to be out alone.

[namuthing]

[Genya shifts a bit in his chair. His hands press together, fingers fidgeting with one another. Being worried about by other people, at least those outside of his master, is still such a strange sensation.]

It's fine, really. I'm used to it. This is what I do for a living.

[Well. Not exactly. But close enough.]

[argentry]

Does that make it... fine?

[he cants his head slightly, sorrow in his eyes. it's not pity, it's genuine concern for a kid that sounds like he had to grow up too fast. Elder Faerie does not want to give the wrong impression, so he adds]

What I mean, is, wouldn't two strong heads be better than one?

[namuthing]

I mean...

[Some more awkward shuffling.]

We don't know if the mist is going to hurt people or not. [Genya took the brunt of it and he's still breathing, so it's probably fine, but...]

If something does go wrong because of me... I'd rather it just happen to me. I feel bad enough about what happened. It'd be even worse if you got caught up in my problems.

[argentry]

[he looks down]

...I understand.

[now, this is familiar, isn't it? Elder Faerie standing on the sidelines, watching other people risk their lives in front of him. damn]

[namuthing]

[Even if Genya is just trying to look out for the guy, he can't help but feel bad. He's not exactly good with this kind of stuff, so he weakly offers up:]

... I can come by in the morning, once everything is settled. Can even bring breakfast, if you want.

[argentry]

[what if something happens between now and then? what if Genya doesn't return? what if what if what if]

--Yes, please do come by. I will make us some tea.

[namuthing]

[That manages to get a smile out of him.]

Tea sounds nice. [And since he worries about the old man worrying about him...] Trust me, I'm way harder to kill than you would think. Nothing's gonna happen to me. I promise.

[After all, he can't die yet. He has too much to do.]

[argentry]

[he will smile, too, even though he is terrified]

I shall hold you to that promise. Please, be safe.