EVENT #20: ADVENT - IC EVENT LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #20 - Advent

OOC Event Log ⦁ The Gods ⦁ NPCs

The Badlands has remained contested territory between Thorne and the Free Cities for many years. During a mediation two years ago, a resolution was attempted but fell apart. The Badlands is valued for being the direct route toward the Singularity...meaning it was only a matter of time before conflict broke out over it.

Early in AUGUST, Thorne and the Free Cities begin to march on the Badlands. The clash is bloody and violent, taking place exclusively on the ground. Although the Free Cities military has its share of firearms, such things are still rare and expensive. Most of the fighting, as expected, makes use of horses, swords, arrows, and - of course - magic.

The territories won't call upon Summoned like yourselves. You are meant for something more important. If you insist on joining the fight, they may approve depending on who you are and what you plan to do. Soon, however, a powerful force emerges, one far bigger than just another clash of swords.

This event draws on a previous event involving the Heralds of War. Knowledge of this past event is not necessary, but you may review the information for added context if you wish!

The consequences of Solvunn's choice in Event #18 occur at the end of the event. The result of this act will be further detailed in the Wrap-Up.

Overture

The return of the Heralds might stir familiarity within some of you. You may recall how they whispered in your ears, planted visions of death, or corrupted the Horizon. This time, although their coming spreads across the land, you as the Summoned are remarkably resistant to the Gods' influences. Newer arrivals might be more susceptible, but those of you who have been here for months or years won't find yourselves afflicted much, if at all...until you start to make your choices.

As the Summoned, certain actions may open you up to vulnerabilities. Everything you do carries a weight. If you experienced the emergent reality, you'll likely have learned that lesson. You're not fully one of the Gods yet, but your connection to the Singularity means the magic that flows through you contains both a great capacity to help others and a cost that comes with it which you must consider.

A Taste of Blood

It begins sometime in mid-August, around the 16th onward. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterward when you're visited by an unusually vivid dream.

The dream starts the same for everyone: you are going somewhere, anywhere, walking to your bedroom, or enjoying a stroll on the beach. You might be driving down a familiar neighborhood. Wherever you're headed, you find that the world around you shifts. Thin red veins spiderweb across nearby surfaces. As you press on, they become engorged with blood until they form a fleshy tunnel. A light at the end beckons you. You can turn around if you want, but aren't you curious?

If you proceed, you eventually come upon a beating human heart with your Arcana painted in gold. A swarm of large mosquitos quickly encase the heart, sucking it dry. As their abdomens become fat with blood, more and more join the swarm until it becomes a whirlwind of insects that gradually take on a large humanoid shape: bright red with blood with horns bent upwards like a lopsided crescent moon.

This is Zorne of Last Blood, the eldest of the Heralds of War.

The veins are pulled in by the insects, connecting one to the next and holding them in place like latticework of sinew. No longer obscured, the world that surrounds you is bleak and gray. A large sword materializes in Zorne's hand. Holding it aloft, he measures your resolve.

◎ If you have spilled blood, the blade begins to drip with it. The steel beneath glows hot, then begins to harden.
◎ If you have not spilled blood, the blade turns brittle, eventually falling to dust.

Zorne accepts you regardless. He sits down on his simple stone throne, laying the sword against the armrest. His eyes are thinly veiled sockets in a skull made of insects, downcast towards where you stand below his form. A thin layer of red skin stretches across his mouth with every word he speaks.

"The path...has been chosen. The snake has found its tail. Each new age rises from the ashes of its grave. It is...as it always has been."

Zorne holds the sword up again. Behind his throne, you glimpse the rays of a rising sun.

"A sword hardens in the fire. In the darkened hearts of mortals. Destruction heralds purification from madness.

All things end before they begin. Mortals, Gods, the smallest insect. And when it ends...we will be there. I will be there. And you...little godling...must find your place in that end."

The sun reaches its apex. It is blazing and fierce, as though it might soon swallow you in its fury - and then it does.

Do you feel at peace from its cleansing fire? Strengthened by it? Or is it purely unimaginable pain and fear that consumes you?

Zorne's sword measures the blood on your character's hands as perceived by them. A character who took only one important life to save the world may see as much blood on that sword as another who killed many to do the same.

Making Your Choices

Whether you believe Zorne or not, you must still do something, even if that something is nothing. As things unfold before your very eyes, you can decide whether you will aid the Heralds for what you may believe is the greater good, help the individuals you can't deny, or decline any involvement at all.

General Effects

Each territory will have a set of circumstances brought forth by a combination of human actions and the Heralds. Those who experienced the afflictions in the past may recognize that the Heralds never implanted or controled your thoughts. Instead, they showed you visions, whispered in your ear, or coaxed you to indulge the darker impulses that live inside you.

The same effect will take hold of the regular citizens now, whose dispositions play a large role in what the Heralds can influence and how much. This is made most obvious by the fact that children are the least impacted. The younger and the fewer their worries, the less vulnerable they are. Of those who are afflicted, the effect might manifest in ways that are more fitting of a child: dreams of a beloved pet dying, bullying a sibling, or giving in to the desire to steal a toy. Adults who are naturally and genuinely carefree may also fail to be affected by Koth's despair or Adlewyrd's poisonous thoughts.

Vulnerabilities

Your status as the Summoned affords you some protection. The longer you've been in Abraxas, the less open you will be to influence. However, depending on what you do, this might change.

◎ If you choose to counter a Herald's influences, you may inadvertently absorb the affliction's effects or experience a "bleedover" from the person you're helping. The more you do this, the more severe the impact will become. You might also be concerned by the new ability you're exhibiting when countering an affliction. Though the ability is small, you feel its power coursing through you. When you try to call on it outside of aiding others, however, nothing comes. It seems this ability only manifests when interacting with an afflicted individual.

◎ If you choose to enhance a Herald's influences, you may inadvertently absorb their abilities as yours and thus, in turn, spread them toward individuals who are nearby. This could occur deliberately or accidentally, depending on how much you desire to act as an extension of the Herald in your chosen territory.

◎ If you choose to ignore a Herald's influences, you'll receive no effects either way...but you might find it difficult to disregard what's going on around you.

For an OOC explanation of the mechanics regarding being a countering, enhancing, or neutral force, please review the Deciding Your Actions section on the OOC Plotting Post.

Patchwork Horizon

Luckily, the Horizon isn't intent on trapping any of you this time. Its instabilities instead manifest in your own domains. It might revert back to a previous state or older elements might resurface that you thought you got rid of. Or, it may take on transformations from a future version - the domain that you had as a God in the emergent reality. The more you've made yourself vulnerable, the more unstable your experience in the Horizon will become.

Further, these instabilities aren't limited to your domains. Effects from other domains might overwrite yours, or perhaps pieces of your domain are showing up in another's.

◎ For some, it might just be a minor inconvenience. Perhaps your flowers have transplanted onto somebody else's yard across the Horizon or your pet keeps teleporting around to everyone's domains except yours.

◎ For others, the effect might be more troubling. You could find private letters surfacing in a stranger's desk or you might open your closet to find another's buried skeletons.

Anything that ends up in someone else's domain will be missing in yours. Rather than a duplication, the effect is more like a jigsaw or a patchwork quilt. You can put it right, of course, with some concentration - but it's best done with a partner, especially someone who knows your domain well enough to help you reform it.

Setting a domain right will also repair any vulnerabilities its owner might've exposed themselves to, so it's a good idea to try and assist each other. Of course, if your concentration's off, attempts to fix a domain might actually make things worse, so be careful!

Arrival

The sections below will contain more specific prompts to help players jumpstart threads, but you may use the broad descriptions of each Herald's impact here to inspire your own ideas and scenarios.

The First Shadow

The arrival of the Heralds of War is subtle. For many citizens, they might not realize that there is a force exerted throughout the world. Indeed, how much of what happens can be attributed to the Heralds, and how much is simply human nature? That's a question even the Heralds can't and won't answer. They are only here to carry out the same task they have done since the dawn of time, each time a war brews.

Koth, the Kingdome of Thorne

Koth of Festering Lands brings with her death and rot. This affects vegetation, wildlife, livestock, the already dead...and the soul itself. She does not bring literal death to living people - she only brings it to the things around them and within them.

◎ Missing Warship
In Borrel, a naval warship on its way home to resupply goes missing. Led by an experienced captain and with no fighting taking place at sea (surely, even the Free Cities can't sail that quickly toward the western coast), the mysterious disappearance has many concerned. Unfortunately, some mages who attempt a common tracking spell report visions of bloated corpses sunk to the bottom while others dream of drowning, an effect so real they must be shaken awake. Many mages refuse to try the spell again, leaving it in your hands instead.

Each tracking spell can only vaguely locate an individual or a part of the ship, so multiple attempts are necessary. If you're not skilled in magic, you can take a more active role and board a rescue ship off the coast of Borrel. This ship will venture out based on the coordinates according to the spell...but take care: the sailors with you are prone to similar visions of drowning when they look into the blackened depths below. Others claim they see the faces of the dead in the ocean's surface. All of this leads to high tensions amongst the men and women on board.

It'll be possible to rescue a few sailors, but others may be lost entirely. The ship itself appears to have broken into pieces. Survivors report a grotesque undead leviathan that cannot be harmed or killed, though it's difficult to tell if this is true or another hallucination.

◎ Dukewood Lumber Mills
Previously a site of a dangerous rift, the lumber mill in the woods by Nott has since returned to normal. Unfortunately, that ends quickly when the trees begin to rot. Workers report a horrible smell that comes from the trees themselves, and that the normally clear sap has turned into a putrid black-blood substance.

To make matters worse, the rotting stores of food and now the dying trees are putting the workers and locals around Nott under great stress. Thoughts of despair are amplified by both the situation and Koth, leading to higher rates of drinking, which in turn has increased the amount of accidents at the mill, including mismanaged safety protocols and mishandled equipment.

Lumber is of great value during wartime, especially for the construction of naval ships, outposts, and weapons, so Castle Thorne is determined to help restore the trees, as well as calm the workers. You can help with everything from checking equipment to ensure they're safe, searching for any missing mill workers, providing first aid where necessary, or confronting beasts that might've been disturbed by all the commotion.

If you happen to fall under Koth's sway, you might also see the dead when looking into the waters as you rescue the other sailors. The bodies might reflect something you fear or they may be a reminder of a death that's already passed. You could also sink into despair or experience haunting dreams as you try to help another recover from their hopelessness.

Adlewyrd, the Free Cities

Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues brings with them words that poison the heart and mind. This affects thoughts and emotions, a slow and subtle influence that spreads.

◎ Untold Secrets
In Libertas, where underground networks thrive, sudden slips of the tongue, rising tempers, and impulsive actions have caused the black market to collapse into disarray. Between power struggles, accusations of betrayals, and missing transactions, the violence has spilled into the open.

Preoccupied with the battle, the number of guards and soldiers keeping order is reduced. Venturing into Libertas can be dangerous and those who live there, including artists and orphans, are struggling to go about their day-to-day without disruption. You can help calm tempers or break up fights...or maybe, if you're a bit more vulnerable to the influences yourself, you might become drawn into the chaos yourself.

Because of the limited number of hands, the Summoned are allowed to make an arrest, but you must bring the culprit to a guard outpost for formal processing. Taking matters into your own hands too severely can lead to scrutiny. Given the circumstances, however, a bit of non-fatal violence will be overlooked, especially if it takes place in the darker corners of Libertas.

You don't have to enforce the law, though. In Libertas, this enforcement is rather loose, anyway. Instead, you can mediate as a neutral party, take advantage to make a deal of your own, or simply offer your services to fill in any gaps that might've occurred in these networks. This could involve more illicit activities like transporting underground goods or something more above-board like searching for a missing person. Just be sure you don't draw too much attention if you're acting outside the law.

◎ The Red Path
Previously a site of a dangerous rift, the scenic Red Path leading between Cadens and Libertas has since been restored. Unfortunately, that ends quickly when conflicting reports cause an accident involving merchant wagons carrying silk, spices, and wine. Some claim the merchants are spies while others insist they were bandits in disguise.

Regardless, the accident leads to several fatalities and disturbs a monster nest: that of the dangerous Copper Spine Wyvern. It also draws swarms of hungry Kaskadura, the latter of which are lured by the corpses. While not normally aggressive towards the healthy and living, the Kaskadura seem to be in a frenzy and will bite just about anyone they see - and there's a lot of them, gathering over the area like a black cloud.

To make matters worse, a clerical error has slowed down the cleanup and identification process. If you're not inclined to fight monsters or locate missing bodies, you can help at Portam Hall to manually match names to surviving family members, as well as locate said family members to deliver the somber news. As for Portam Hall, the main hub of government activity might not be under threat from beasts, but isn't calm, either. Gossip, secrets, and missing paperwork plague the various departments and offices.

If you happen to fall under Adlewyrd's sway, you might read too deeply into an innocent comment or mishear a remark that raises your ire, leading you to snap wrongly at a friend or attack an innocent. You might also give into lurking temptations that surface as you try to help others overcome their dark desires.

Sannleikr, the Solvunn Commune

Sannleikr of Many Faces brings with him deception of the soul. This affects faces and minds, causing appearances to become distorted, untrustworthy, or altogether unrecognizable.

◎ Lost Herders
In the Secondary Settlement, a woman named Eydis has lost her prized herding dogs and her flock of sheep. They left one morning as usual to herd the sheep out to graze and never returned. She worries that rumors of livestock sprouting teeth are true and will harm her dogs. She isn't the only one, either. Several other sheep and goat herders have claimed their dogs and flocks have gone missing, too.

The dogs themselves have scattered across Solvunn. There are roughly a dozen dogs and several flocks that failed to return home. Should you run into any livestock, it would appear the rumors are indeed true: the normally fluffy sheep have grown wicked claws or horns while the goats bear their sharp fangs. Despite their fearsome appearance, however, they are not aggressive except when frightened. Keep them calm when herding them lest you provoke them to bite or claw.

As for the dogs, some might be wounded while others will growl at you. They don't recognize familiar toys or faces and will attempt to run away or behave apprehensively. You can use any abilities or techniques you have on hand to try and bring them home. After all, the Solvunn woods are dangerous, and there are many creatures within those dense trees that will strike.

◎ Living Statues
Previously a site of a dangerous rift, the Feintak Ritual Site, located just outside the Primary Settlement, has since returned to normal. Unfortunately, that ends quickly when confused citizens of the Commune begin to wander toward the area at night in search of their "missing" loved ones.

Unable to recognize familiar faces, some begin to see those faces imposed upon the statues at the site instead. You can find children playing with their "mother" or an elderly widow spending time with a "relative." While this would be disturbing enough on its own, the sacred area contains an ancient magic that, should any missteps occur, could be released into the world and spell disaster.

The Council has asked the Summoned to help bring home the lost folk of the Feintak site. They must be guided gently, as any negative energy could be absorbed by the dark power that lives in the earth and the statues. Victims of the affliction might become frightened of you or fail to recognize you even if you've been neighbors for months or years, making your task more difficult.

If you happen to fall under Sannleikr's sway, you might also begin to see faces in the statues at Feintak and forget the real figures around you. The faces might be friendly or they could be adversarial - an enemy or a source of shame. You may also see a twisted reflection of yourself in the mirror, representing something you've been trying to hide from.

The Final Coming

Zorne first spoke to you in your dreams, but his presence is noticeably absent for the first few days. Then, one week later, after one of the most fierce and bloody battles in the Badlands in recent history, a red sun rises over Abraxas. The morning's dawn is cast in a red glow across the territories.

If you met Zorne in your dream, you may recognize this very sun. You remember feeling its heat over your skin and the emotions it stirred in you, whichever they might've been.

By noon, the blood-red hue will fade...but Zorne's coming has only begun.

The Last Affliction

Unrestricted, Zorne's influence travels across the land and joins forces with his siblings.

◎ The Badlands

Forces from the Free Cities introduce a new prototype to the war: a semi-automonous suit of armor armed with a piece of technology derived from something that came through the rifts: a unique firearm that launches explosive discs imbued with New Magic.

The weapon's destructive capabilities wreck havoc on both people and the environment...inadvertently setting loose yet another creature of the rift - the swamp-like creature that researchers had been studying in the Badlands before the war broke out. Its giant mouth is lined with numerous teeth. Its breath can paralyze, blind, poison, and weaken anyone caught in it.

The morbol will move toward the borders of each territory throughout the event, so the Summoned in all locations can encounter it when arriving at the front lines to deliver medicine, supplies, or news. Zorne's influence appears to prevent it from dying. When killed, it respawns in another location - sometimes miles away.

◎ Forging the Soul

Zorne's influence can affect those who are already under the effect of one of the other three Heralds. A shopkeeper angry about a misspoken rumor might begin to have disturbing and violent dreams of confronting the offending gossiper. A soldier who sees his death at the hands of another may start to feel the urge to kill first before his turn comes.

Aggressive wildlife will begin to invade city borders. While most are stopped or killed before they enter a major city, one or two predators might slip through. Trade routes are disrupted. Nearly all caravans are halted except the most critical transports. Hunters and farmers begin to report disturbing sights of deer scavenging on corpses or butterflies biting as mosquitos do.

You, too, may experience similar dreams or desires if you've allowed yourself to become too vulnerable or exposed to the Heralds. The more you entertain such thoughts or let your guard down, the harder they become to ignore. As you move through your days, surrounded by turmoil and conflict, you may have to ask yourself if you're as above it all as you first thought.

And what about your friends? Your neighbors? After all, you might associate frequently with the other Summoned, but you've made connections with the native population, too. Perhaps the kindly innkeeper is now treating you with a suspicion she didn't used to exhibit. Maybe you hear that the baker across the street, who once offered you free sweet rolls, has been gravely injured by his own son.

As Zorne said, this is about forging peace through madness - or so the Heralds believe. Maybe, in the pandemonium and bloodshed around you, you begin to understand something important about yourself, your friends, or the world.

Beyond the Heralds

It's tough to deny that even without the Heralds, this conflict would be ongoing regardless. Neither Thorne nor the Free Cities has demonstrated any desire for peace. Solvunn seems to be considering their role, as well. Despite the war, life must continue for Abraxans: parents have mouths to feed, farmers have fields to sow, and professors continue to lecture and hold classes while they're able.

As the Summoned, you can engage in any of these elements. You can agree to take notes for a fellow student who's suffered an unfortunate attack after being mistaken for someone else. You could babysit for households who need an extra hand while their partner has been sent to fight. You can pack medicine, offer healing abilities, or bring supplies to units stationed by the Badlands.

You can also take on acts of diplomacy. This is not restricted to communicating with the leaders of your territory. Both Nocwich and the Nether have a relationship with the Summoned, which is something you can utilize. You might have to begin by sending a letter instead of meeting them directly, but if you're determined to find a peaceful solution, it's worth trying.

Individualized actions are entirely possible! We will discuss it on a case-by-case basis. You can SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST by replying to the comment with the form.

Please have a concrete goal in mind and try to keep your requests concise. We will do our best to accommodate everyone, but we may have to ask that you hold the request for after the event or ask you to revise it, depending on what you've submitted.

Departure

When the Heralds withdraw, it's quiet and as difficult to notice as their arrival. Did they vanish near the end of one of the battles? Did they leave days ago, the seeds they sowed flourishing without further intervention?

For the Summoned, it may be a bit easier to tell. Steadily, as the month comes to a close, the Horizon begins to stabilize once more. If you have been countering the Heralds, you find your ability no longer triggers, even if there remain those around you who behave as though they are still being influenced. You suppose it's fair to remember that the Heralds don't need to exert their powers for people to behave as they do.

The battle in the Badlands continues to wage...but on AUGUST 30, Thorne's troops receive abrupt orders to return home. It appears that, while the kingdom's forces were occupied on land, her naval warships were dealt a serious blow, handing a sudden victory to the Free Cities - but not by who you might predict.

The Hands of Solvunn

Solvunn has often refused to pledge for one side or another. The Council maintains that they are devoted to protecting their commune and their way of life, nothing more. They certainly have no army or weapons to speak of. Their disinterest in the Badlands conflict is expected, and neither Thorne nor the Free Cities consider it unusual that Solvunn has remained isolated.

What you might've wondered, however, is this: why have the Heralds visited Solvunn twice now when they spare genuinely neutral lands like Nocwich and the Nether?

A Guiding Light

After Thorne's retreat, news begins to travel. It moves through Solvunn and Thorne first, eventually reaching the Free Cities. Multiple stories surface about the sea in Borrel, not about the storm wall or Koth, but something else - a mysterious lighthouse and a thick fog that's obscured the waters for days.

Survivors of one destroyed warship, The Queen's Secret, return telling tale of a light that beckoned them during a heavy storm. But the lighthouse keepers in the western sea swear they saw no ships come their way. The ship itself seems to have crashed into a massive sea stack that should've been easily avoidable. What lighthouse could have drawn them near?

Over the next few days, this happens again and again. Sailors looking out from shore confirm that they can indeed see the flickering beam of a lighthouse. It stands proudly in a spot where no lighthouse was ever built.

Then, on the final day, the lighthouse moves.

Blessings Granted

Citizens gather seaside despite sailors and guards ashore attempting to send them home. They watch as a naval officer and his men are sent to investigate. As the lighthouse grows brighter, its hypnotic pulse begins to pull others forward. Fishermen and noblemen set sail on their own civilian ships. Sailors of the Royal Navy break rank and order, as if under a powerful compulsion, and set forth in Thorne's prized warships. One by one, ships big and small pull out of the harbor in the dead of night.

Witnesses report strange limbs emerging from the base of the lighthouse. The limbs do not strike or attack. Rather, they open up like a waiting embrace. They gently accept each vessel that sails towards the light. Then they enfold the ship and pull it down into the depths. To onlookers, it's a silent but horrifying affair. Each ship disappears until only bits of wreckage are washed ashore the following morning.

A surprising number survive by abandoning ship, though some captains choose to go down with their vessel. Having made a crippling dent in Thorne's Royal Navy, the lighthouse vanishes. Back on shore in the Tertiary Settlement, the storm wall finally vanishes.

The incident above will lead a few changes in Solvunn and to the borders of the Badlands. We'll detail those changes in the Wrap-Up!

---

Comments

[familysucks]

"Small insects, mostly. Whatever other bits of plant or animal matter they can fit into their mouths."

Chris might have retracted the question, but Michael answers anyway. It's nothing off-putting or morbid. Apart from the legs, they're a regular minnow in every way. Even with whatever influence has come over the animals of the commune, he hasn't seen them do any worse than launch themselves at people's ankles. They haven't started growing teeth and tearing off minnow-sized mouthfuls of flesh.

(Yet.)

Michael pauses by the door, looking out over the lawn to see if their footsteps overhead have frightened the walking fish out of their hiding place. At a glance, that doesn't seem to be the case. He can picture them hunkering down below and waiting for the noise to stop before they make another run for it.

"They're the work of a friend. I'm simply looking after them until he decides to take them back." Which, as the months go by, he is beginning to realize may be never. Nanaue always seems to have a new pair of feety fish by his side when he sees him. They may simply become endemic to Solvunn. He turns to look at Chris. "Michael. Yes, I'm currently the proprietor of this inn."

There's a tired note to the last sentence. Gabriel really got the last laugh, leaving him with their collaborative project.

[inferiority_complex]

Michael. And just like that, Chris's demeanor changes vaguely friendly to mildly freaked out. Trying to ignore the pounding in his chest and the instinctual and probably futile urge to orb away. So, he continues to make his way up the steps, following the archangel until they both reach the door.

"You're Michael. Eddie said you were cool." Okay, so Eddie had in fact called him 'pretty chill', and probably wouldn't blow him up, Chris was just doing his best to translate Eddie-speak. Then again, at the time they were also having an in-depth discussion of Back to the Future, the fate of Marty McFly and how uncultured Chris was that he didn't like Black Sabbath. Judging that Eddie wouldn't steer him wrong, he relaxed.

He looked at the inn, and heard Michael's tired sigh at the end there. "I'm guessing the inn wasn't your idea." Funny how stuff like that just happened when family got involved. They left you all sort of messes to clean up. Demons, wars, inns. Pet projects. From Chris's perspective, it honestly seemed like Michael was kind of nice. At least he seemed to be trusted. "It sounds like a lot of people trust you enough to take care of the very things they care about." Whether it was an inn or the random feety fish.

[familysucks]

Michael watches the rapid shift of Chris's mood without any change in his own outward attitude. What he is is no longer much of a secret within Solvunn, and it wouldn't be the first time someone panicked upon meeting him. Maybe Chris is Catholic.

"Did he?" A thread of amusement winds through his tone. He figures Eddie must have meant that in the doesn't go out of his way to start arguments sense, not that he's actually cool. He can't name a single sibling of his that would agree. "I consider him a friend, so I would hope he isn't saying anything unpleasant about me behind my back."

Except maybe about encouraging him to fight a bear. That part would be true. (And hey—Eddie had scared it off, so it had been a success, right?)

Michael lets out a sigh and crosses his arms.

"No, it wasn't. It was my brother's. Since he's no longer here, running the inn falls to me." Though he expects that would have been his duty anyway. All Gabriel seemed to want to do was chat up guests, come up with new menu items, and redecorate when Michael wasn't around. He doesn't think that it's about trust—Nanaue is forgetful, and he prefers to think Gabriel didn't leave of his own volition—but Chris might not be wrong, either. "If you're looking for a place to stay, the rules are simple. Clean up after yourself, make your own meals."

[inferiority_complex]

Chris was really trying not to look completely freaked out. Unfortunately, Chris also had an absolutely terrible poker face. He'd calmed down somewhat from the rapid fire utter panic because he trusted Eddie, and well, on the outside the guy looked kind of harmless. But he also knew that meant absolutely nothing. Michael was pretty much the opposite of harmless. Eddie, if you got him killed, he was going to find you and haunt you.

On the plus side, Michael hadn't even seemed to care about his presence. That left the possible smiting at a relatively low level as long as Chris kept his cool, right?

"I don't think Eddie is the type to say anything unpleasant about anyone behind their back." That man had said nice things about the guy who killed him. Or at the very least hadn't let Chris permanently turn him into a turkey and make soup out of him. To Chris? The man had been responsible for Eddie's death, the least he could do is feed Solvunn as a tasty soup. "Unless you don't like Black Sabbath."

Chris had been fine making idle conversation. Pretending he was totally cool talking to an archangel. Who then offered him a place to stay. A thousand thoughts went through his head, including who was the brother that started the Inn. After deciding it could literally have been anyone, Heaven was kind of big after all, he took a breath, and tried to relax his rock hard shoulders. He might have been completely stressed out--but he didn't think he was wrong about Michael. For one reason or another, people trusted him. Maybe it was part of the angel thing.

"Are you sure?" Then Chris thought he should clarify, because this guy seemed like the type to take things extremely literally. "About letting me stay here. You don't know anything about me. Why would you do that?" And considering he had spent 6 months having actual family tell him he was horrible and that they never wanted to see him again? Chris was looking for the catch. "I'm sorry about your brother."

[familysucks]

Michael counts a witch and a monstrously-sized sharkman among his friends now, and had considered a vampire much the same before he'd gone missing. Whatever Chris is, he's willing to give him the same chance he's learned to give everyone else. Solving the world's problems is no longer his duty, anyway—if it ever really had been. So long as Chris doesn't do anything to harm his friends, they have no quarrel.

(His attitude would be very different if Chris were a demon.)

"That's the nature of the business, as I understand it. Providing lodging for strangers." Michael gives him a look, eyebrows ever so slightly raised. That's just how it works. It's not like Michael himself lives here and is offering his own room. Chris is right, however: he takes everything at face value. "If you're going to argue against yourself, though, very well. I've reconsidered. Come back when you have character references from three existing Summoned."

Three Summoned he doesn't mistrust, of course, but that shouldn't be too hard. He's not close to all of them but he hasn't had specific negative encounters with many of them either. Summoned tend to trust Summoned.

He doesn't comment on his missing brother. Family's always a messy, unpleasant subject, painful to discuss even with his close friends. He doesn't want to get into it. Michael heads inside instead, not making any particular effort to bar Chris from following. He's as welcome to come in as anyone else even if he isn't staying. Whether or not he wants to follow, Michael needs to check on the bird.

The inside of the inn is typical of houses in the Tertiary Settlement. The floor is wood, the walls stone. Instead of a living room the main door opens to a small foyer connected to an improvised dining area with a few tables and mismatched chairs. Carl sits atop a taxidermy deer head along the back wall, talons wrapped around the antlers. When he spots visitors, he fluffs up his feathers and lets out a mean hiss like a goose.

[inferiority_complex]

Chris's own attitude and morals regarding demons and friends were on the sketchier side. On the one hand, he had an immediate kill on sight policy toward them, even as babies. He would have absolutely no problem killing an infant demon. On the other hand? He also had a pretty extensive list of underworld and demonic contacts from both hell and purgatory that he'd cozied up too. Chris was an exercise in contradictions, just don't squint too hard at his morals.

Following the angel inside, because while he was weird, Michael wasn't that different than a lot of the others he had met over the years, especially the ones who viewed his own existance as an exestential threat and a crime against heaven. He was used to having to prove himself, to everyone. On both sides. Even to family. So, he wasn't that put off.

"Or you could get to know me yourself. You know, like people do. Make conversation." He stopped momentarily when the bird hissed at him. Wow he did not know birds could make that kind of sound. He was learning all sorts of things since he got to Solvunn. The different sounds birds made, the fact that some states let you buy guns at Walmart. Weirdness. And wow. That was quite a statement. The mismatched chairs, the taxidermy deer head. Just. Wow.

"I guess no ones Summoned the demon of decoration."

[familysucks]

"We have none." Well, not anymore. There'd been that part-demon that Wanda had been very close to, so Michael had said nothing, but his death wasn't the same sorrow for him that it had been for everyone else. More of a relief. "Demons wouldn't be welcome here anyway."

Michael draws a very hard line on that. He's not so lonely that he'd be willing to cozy up to some speck of infernal bile for company. They don't get the benefit of the doubt.

Carl's a bit of an oddity in these parts: a clearly non-native sea eagle of some variety, likely brought to the Tertiary Settlement on a boat from somewhere across the sea. His aggression towards guests and his current keeper is usually limited to trying to steal bits of bread and fried food from their plates. Whatever's turning the goats and dogs (and walking fish) mean has evidently made Carl unfriendly, too.

Michael approaches the bird with a frown.

"You forget who feeds you," he says, directing it at Carl, who hisses again.

All the same, Michael opens a pouch tied to his belt and pulls out a little bundle, unwrapping it to reveal a piece of meat. This is enough to break through the fog of suspicion and Carl isn't quite so puffy anymore, accepting the meal as Michael reaches up and leaves it hanging over the tip of an antler.

He turns back to Chris.

"Or I could demand both."

Three character references, and now getting to know the owner first, too. The more Chris argues the more restrictions Michael is going to pile on. Mounting consequences had always worked on his siblings (except the ones who were entirely blind to consequences). He gets the point, though. Chris is new, possibly lonely, looking to get to know other Summoned. He wants to talk.

"What is it you want to talk about?"

[inferiority_complex]

"Wow, talking to you is about as fun as talking to everyone else Up There." He had kind of hoped that if this guy had been around humans for a while, maybe he'd lighten up a little. Clearly, it hadn't worked. Chris wondered exactly how big the log up Michael's ass was and if he could build a new table out of it.

"It was a joke. I don't think there actually is a demon of decoration. What would their thing be? Deadly interior designing?" Right, Chris again momentarily forgot the killjoy he was talking too. "Besides, your place, your rules. Demons are a no go, got it."

Chris stops and studies that weird ass bird for a bit, while Michael is distracted with it and then turns his attention back to Michael, thinking, and tries to pull back the attitude. Just because he has a problem with some angels, doesn't mean he has to have a problem with all of them. This guy seems cool. Hasn't killed him yet, and Chris can't hate himself that much, right?

"You're not real good at this conversation thing are you? You say something, I say something back." Sadly for Michael, mounting consequences mean absolutely nothing to Chris. "Tell me something about yourself. What do you do for fun here? Everyone keeps asking me and I don't really have a good answer." His answer was 'i don't have fun.' Or if Michael didn't wan to talk? He'd just go around and snoop. It couldn't be that difficult to find stuff on this guy. Everyone here was pretty trusting. Except for this guy who wanted character references.