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

[yourtomb]

[There's something about those words that actually manages to make Silent Salt's chest ache. Not for the boy and the tale that he weaves, but for a time when he might have been considered close enough to be family to the Sugar of Happiness.

Still, the faint coil of distaste is not far behind.]

Such ties are best left in the past as far as I am concerned. You may call me Silent Salt Cookie. That is all.

[lovelyredthread]

[ There's a beat of silence that weighs heavier than the words spoken. Pavlova looks down at the bird cage in his arms and grips it just a little tighter. ]

Fine. I'll probably slip out of habit though.

[ Some people only have the past to cling to, he wants to say. But this man doesn't have pity for him, so he won't seek it. ]

You want to come in or were you going to stand outside again?

[yourtomb]

[There is some part of Silent Salt that thinks to scold Pavlova Cookie all the further. Slipping was no excuse when it came to comfort. But the words fall short of leaving his lips. Obscured though his eyes are by the helmet, the way they faintly widen at the sight of the smaller cookie, downtrodden though he is, stop him short.

Looks are deceiving, he knows this. Pavlova Cookie had only just said he had been around since before the Beasts became what they were. Still, though, he thinks of the children who would greet him back in the Barren, and feels his chest ache.

... He has probably said enough. Anything more would be cruel.]

Do you know if they are busy?

[Really, he doesn't care what Shadow Milk is doing, except for where it intersects with his desire to check on Lily. He does not understand what is between them, dares not let his mind wonder, but whatever it is, he does not want to interrupt it. If only for Lily's sake.]

[lovelyredthread]

Yes and no. Neither of them really like having nothing to do. I think dad's in his atelier working on his projects and Miss Lily is reading.

[ So they're "busy" but nothing they can't put down to entertain a guest for a bit.

He leads the way through the garden the short distance to the sunroom, plastering on a fake smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes. After all... if Silent Salt views him as nothing more than Eternal Sugar's little lackey despite everything, He'll just act like one.

He sets the cage down among some other potted plants for safe keeping. ]

May I ask a question, Lord Silent Salt Cookie?

[yourtomb]

[A noise of acknowledgement comes from the back of Silent Salt's throat, but he says nothing. Admittedly, he feels guilty disturbing even something as simple as Lily's reading. Still, he knows that by now, she's probably picked up on his presence. To duck away now would serve only as an insult.

Thankfully, Pavlova distracts him before they can reach the others. He tilts his head slightly.]

You may.

[lovelyredthread]

You said something before about my whispers affecting your home or something like that, but I still don't know what you mean. What happened in the barrens?

[ The Garden was nearly completely cut off from news from the other regions, after all. Anything they heard would have to also survive the trip to the garden, which given the land route went through Spicelands territory... was unlikely. ]

[yourtomb]

[It's... actually a little surprising, that Pavlova seems not to know. Being that he always seemed abundantly close to Eternal Sugar, he would have assumed she'd been whispering her plans into the boy's ear.]

After the virtues fell to corruption, all eyes turned to the Barren. Through the efforts of the knights and myself, we kept sloth, destruction, apathy, and deceit from ravaging the land. Knowing that they were powerless in a battle of might, they turned to underhanded tactics. Though we all lived in solidarity, it was a meager existence.

[Silent Salt's tone begins to waver. Something bitter and angry begins to well up with each word.]

And so they turned my beloved home against myself and the knights, insisting that we were the cause of destruction, the reason they were denied happiness. In their blind desperation, they sold out those that had ever protected them!

By the time I returned to the Barren, my knights were gone, and my people stood at the sides of their killers.

That is what happened in the Barren! That is what you and your so-called mother and father wrought upon me.

[He glances toward the entrance to White Lily's home, then shakes his head. His rage is billowing out of control, and he does not dare subject her to it. Even if she had forgiven him, he regrets everything that he had done to her in his rage.]

... Forget that I was here. Do not tell White Lily of my presence.

[Even if he is certain that she already knows. Regardless of his earlier reservations about turning away at the doorstep, the alternative is far worse to consider.]

[lovelyredthread]

[ Everything he's saying appears to be news to Pavlova, the way he blinks incredulously at the idea of Silent Salt's knights being killed. It's not that he doubts the story, but he remembered seeing them clearing the boulders he'd used to block the Sugar Rush Ridge to keep meddlers out. That couldn't have been too long before they were all sealed, so whatever happened to them must have happened fast... ]

It's not "so-called" They baked me with their own hands. I'm their jam and dough.

[ Not that it makes much of a difference. His voice is soft as he says it. ]

... And I really don't remember mother mentioning anything like that. Once her garden was created she quickly stopped caring about anything outside it. She would bring in people from outside, but I never heard anything about sabotaging you. I can't speak for my dad though. He'd stopped visiting by that time.

[ So either she and that figurehead plotted it without telling him, which wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility... or he simply acted independantly based on her ideals. Which might honestly be worse.

He dusts his hands of dirt as Silent Salt says that last part. ]

Okay. Goodbye Lord Silent Salt Cookie.

[yourtomb]

[It is difficult to imagine Pavlova being so oblivious to what had happened. He knows how tightly sealed the Garden had been, even before his own efforts. Nevertheless, it is clear from the look upon his face that he is at least feigning cluelessness in the matter. The only question is whether or not that much can be trusted.

And given everything that Silent Salt has experienced over the years, he doubts as much.]

Doubt my words if you wish. I know well the grief that swept the land. Ask your father about it if you do not believe me.

[He leaves it at that, stalking quickly away from the home. Some part of him does ache to have missed another moment with White Lily but... it is better this way. He'll just go pet his horse until he's over it or something.]