EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

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With tensions heavy across Abraxas and all the destruction that's happened, it's no surprise that the dark shadows which sweep over the land go unnoticed...at first.

Winds initially stir in Solvunn, where the influence of the Old Gods remains the strongest. Slowly each Herald infects Thorne and the Free Cities, as well. The Summoned are the first to feel its effects and are the most heavily impacted.

Though no one will realize it until well afterwards, Nocwich remains unaffected. After all, the Summoned don't reside there.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

Emergence

It begins sometime in mid-October, around the 18th. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterwards 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 eventually come upon a stone tablet engraved with your Arcana. Laid on the tablet are three objects:

◎ A dead moth trapped inside a wilted rose, symbolizing Koth of Festering Lands
◎ A teacup inside which sits a single nightshade berry, symbolizing Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ An ornate cracked hand mirror that contains no reflection, symbolizing Sannleikr of Many Faces

Make a choice. Something inside your soul will be drawn towards one of the objects. Maybe you spend hours in the dream deliberating, but sooner or later, you'll pick one of the items up. The moment you do, the other objects vanish and the chosen Herald appears before you. Where one might expect a god to seek subservience, the strange figure instead extends a friendly hand towards you - as though it's greeting you as an equal.

Whispered around you, you hear its name. Then it fades and with it the dream. You awaken.

Affliction

You go about your day as usual. That's when you realize something isn't right. Creatures and people around you behave strangely. You begin to sense that you are the cause.

Depending on your chosen Herald, you'll experience at least one of its afflictions. The effects might start small, then grow. They might rush you all at once. You can't shake what haunts you, though you can try. Spells, potions, and willpower can help keep the afflictions at bay but you won't ever be completely free.

As the afflictions seep into your mind, you start to find shadows of it following you: a dead moth here, a nightshade bloom there, a cracked mirror elsewhere. You may even wonder if it's following you in the first place. What if instead, you are the one leaving these signs behind?

Corruption

The first time you inflict your ability on someone else, you don't mean to. It might be a stranger, some unsuspecting soul, or it might be another Summoned. Regardless, the afflictions that ail you seem to spread through you into another. Someone falls down as if in the throes of an invisible death or secrets spill. You brush by someone and they're suddenly upset and confused.

The more this happens, intentionally or not, the better you feel. You may grow full of life and energy, gain a renewed strength of heart, or radiate a charm that turns heads and garners compliments. The afflictions haunting you could even start to fade or completely vanish. And if you use your newfound power deliberately? You'll feel better even faster for longer. Of course, these boons are temporary, lasting at most an hour or so. When the feeling wanes, you might miss having it.

You are not possessed. You can't control this power that spreads through you, but how you respond or behave is up to you. You could be attracted to the allure of power, enjoy the boons you are granted, or realize you can gain relief from your afflictions if you choose a victim. Not everyone will fall headfirst into the pull. Some are not easily swayed by power, some struggle to overcome their dark impulses, and others would rather endure their suffering than inflict it on someone else. But others still might succumb to temptation and turn on those around them with purpose: once, twice, multiple times. The choice you make is yours alone.

Blight

With the call of the Herald at your fingertips, the world around you twists. No one knows whether this stems from you and your newly imbued afflictions, or if the Heralds are exerting power on their own. It's for sure easier to think of what occurs as the influence of something monstrous beyond your control. No matter the cause, the earth is changed all the same.

Omens

The omens arrive shortly after the initial Summoned receive their dreams, but they don't come to every faction at once. SOLVUNN is first, being home to the Old Gods' shrines, before THORNE and the FREE CITIES follow only days afterwards. Depending on where you are, the omens will affect things a bit differently.

Solvunn

In Solvunn, the ground stirs. A desiccated hand breaks through the grass, a cloven hoof. Human or animal, they crawl forth, animated against their will. Some might attack, but most do not. At the same time, crops around the settlements begin to fail. Some chickens lay rotten eggs while cows produce spoiled milk. Any livestock that perishes overnight will surface in the mornings with empty eye sockets - pecked out by crows or gnawed on by rats. From a distance, the ocean can be seen bubbling as leviathans beneath thrash.

Worth noting is that many of the dead are concentrated around the shrines, especially the ones deep in the woods. They're too decayed to recognize, and some might not even move from the site, as though they are waiting for the earth to take them again...or as though they once chose to give up their life at this very spot.

Summoned can assist by helping to cast spells or place warding charms around shrines, farms, and gardens to protect crops and livestock. As a commune, the Solvunnites will share their resources as much as possible and would appreciate those who might lend a hand bringing supplies, herbs, and offerings to neighbors who are lacking. The Summoned can also brew a common herbal remedy to aid any animals who have fallen ill or to help purify the well water.

Free Cities

In Libertas, the dead buried under the rubble dig themselves out. More crawl forth from graves in Cadens' cemeteries. Beasts and bandits slain in the desert wilds rise, hungry or searching for the ones who killed them. At the same time, dead fish wash up onto the shores of Aquila while birds fall dead from their perch, dropping like flies from an unknown illness. Vultures and other scavengers begin to prey upon the eyes of the dead, leaving behind hollowed-out corpses.

Worth noting is that in the Badlands, a few very old and skeletal corpses rise with a metal plate or two screwed onto their bones, which are also oddly elongated. Only one or two make their way near the city. The army is quick to dispose of them before many can notice. They will not disclose any information about this and will claim these are just monsters like anything else.

Summoned can assist by going on patrol with the soldiers to put down any risen dead. Merchant caravans are also hiring escorts for their journeys. Additionally, they can help look through any received supplies and packages to make sure the food isn't rotting or worse, use a special dissolving compound to purify the waters, and donate staple food items to refugees and the less fortunate who can't afford the rising prices.

Thorne

In Thorne, the dead emerge only from the outskirts of the castle city. Thanks to information from one of their Summoned and their recent monitoring of the Singularity, Thorne was able to act swiftly and was able to ward any royal or otherwise significant burial sites. Graves and tombs of less importance, though, will not be protected in the same way. There are fewer encounters with eyeless corpses, though some animals might appear outside the castle in such a state. Normally extravagant dishes from the Castle's kitchens use simpler ingredients as they struggle to ration their food stores.

Worth noting is that a few unexpected corpses make their way up from deep under the castle in places beyond the dungeons. These are twisted and mangled, missing limbs, heads, fingers. The castle guards are quick to dispose of them before they get too far into the rest of the castle, but one or two may be spotted.

Summoned can assist by contributing to the wards around Castle Thorne and the city, using spells to put down the dead without mangling the corpse, and taking inventory of food stores. Further, in Nott the situation is more dire for anyone who is traveling there to continue assisting with repairs following the attack. Nott will welcome help with any problems caused by the omens. It'll be clear the kingdom has neglected the city somewhat. Thorne will claim the Castle takes priority, of course, due to King and Queen residing there along with the entire royal court.

Apprehensions

Across the factions, locals are beginning to catch on that something isn't right with you, the Summoned. No one will say it outright, but there's an air of caution and wariness around you where you go. Merchants might be quick to hand you your wares so you'll leave or locals give you a bit of space when they walk by. Chatty innkeepers are more reluctant to hold lengthy conversations.

Much of the time, it may not be conscious. The natives might simply sense something off that instinctually makes them want to put some distance between them and you. The only exception? If you've chosen Sannleikr of Many Faces, you'll continue to exude your charm towards people you encounter. At least for as long as you continue to inflict that ability you've been gifted.

Displacement

Everyone responds differently while in the Horizon. You might exert better willpower over your afflictions or you might feel its effects more strongly. It all depends on the individual and their mindset. Regardless, the Heralds are only one part of the equation. There's a much bigger disturbance going on.

It could happen as soon as you enter or it might be as you're stepping over the threshold into another's domain. Whatever the case, you are suddenly not where you're supposed to be. Instead, you're in one of two places depending: transported into a domain you never meant to go into or in a foreign setting altogether.

Visitation

Whether you're the one transported or someone teleports unexpectedly into your space, the Horizon becomes unpredictable for the next little while. Rooms normally locked to strangers, areas you yourself may not even realize exists - you and your fellow Summoned continue to pop in and out despite your intentions.

The effect isn't painful, just disorienting, like missing a step you didn't see or stumbling through a door into a too-bright room. The person whose domain you've inadvertently visited might sense an unwanted presence, whether they're inside the Horizon or not, or they may be completely oblivious. This will depend on the strength of their connection to the Singularity and the Horizon.

Not to worry. You won't be trapped or anything in these cases...unless the domain you land in happens to seal from the inside. You might stumble on secrets you weren't meant to find, though, locked away in someone else's mind.

Ensnared

The less fortunate will be pulled into a space that they've never encountered before. The bizarreness of it resembles the glitchy visions that flashed through a few months ago, but rather than an image flickering by, you are now inside the space itself.

Trapped between minutes to hours, you can't use the Horizon's creation magic as normal. Attempts will falter or go sideways: trying to fly out might cause you to tumble, tools and objects are broken or not quite right, wounds don't vanish or heal completely, etc. More significantly, you can't seem to send or receive messages through your connection. Anything that manages to come through will be garbled and distorted. It's as though the place you are in is just out of the reach of your control.

Luckily, you may not be alone. Someone else may have gotten lost alongside you. They might already be there when you stumble through or they might arrive after you do. They might even fade out sooner than you, unintentionally leaving you behind.

Eventually, you'll be released back into the Horizon proper, spat out in a random place in the Horizon. While you're stuck, though, you can try to survive, explore, sit and wait it out, or make friends with your fellow trapped partner. Each area has its challenges and quirks that you'll need to deal with.

Scenes to Explore

JUSTICE ◎
FULL IMAGE

High in the clouds, these snowy peaks are as cold as they look. Giant marble hands reach out, though their sheer scale means you might not recognize them as hands from up close. You can scale the mountain, but if you try to go down, the hands will flip the mountain, which sends you tumbling to the top again.

It's up to you whether you can be injured when you fall. Maybe the snow will feel like marshmallows, or you'll break a bone on the jagged rocks. No two experiences are the same. If you have a partner, they could end up faring better than you despite being in the same place.

Conjure some warm clothes or a log cabin even if you wish - they might not manifest perfectly, but it'll be better than nothing. At least the view's fairly nice...while the sun is up. A blizzard will come through by nightfall. With it arrives a strange hovering light that entices you or your friend to follow it into the frozen darkness. What draws you out depends on you. It could be a familiar voice, an image, or a simple compulsion. If you're lucky, the person with you is unaffected and can try to stop you. Or maybe you're the one desperately chasing after the other person?

---

THE CHARIOT ◎
FULL IMAGE

From a distance, it's hard to tell if they're shipping containers or houses stacked atop each other. A gooey mess covers the ground below. Oddly, the smell isn't as unpleasant as the goo looks. It smells like bubblegum or cotton candy, artificial and sweet. When you first fall in, you might land inside one of the homes, on top of the stacked structure, or the ground. You can try to reach anyone else who's there with you, but be careful: the ooze is spreading. Climb if you must or move from room to room. If you don't keep moving, you risk getting sucked into its sticky mass.

Each block of a home is different. Some are furnished, whereas others are empty or filled with strange knickknacks. Some might even have subconscious creations spawned by you. Keep ahead of the gloopy substance, and you'll be fine, probably. Or you can try to fight it back or block its path by sealing yourself in a room or otherwise, which can slow it down significantly. Mostly, you'll have to hope you fade out before the pink mass completely consumes the landscape.

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THE WORLD ◎
FULL IMAGE

The hazy neon glow obscures a nothingness that seems to extend forever. In the middle of the wet ground are several stacked television sets with wires plugged into nothing. Inexplicably, there's also a cat. At first, it appears perfectly normal, but keen observers will notice that its behavior is on a loop where it will walk a certain path, pause at specific intervals to lick its paws, and meow at set points. It does not acknowledge any of its intruders. You can break its loop by picking it up, at which point it'll go limp as a ragdoll. As soon as you set it down, it'll resume its actions as before.

While you can see the same images as someone else on the screens, it's also possible you'll each see something different despite being in the room together. What you see is up to you. It could be an old fuzzy movie, home videos of your childhood, trivia questions you have to answer correctly, or even a memory or vision you wouldn't want to share. Words or faces taunting you could appear between staticky flickers, or maybe your very thoughts are projected onto the screens for anyone with you to read.

Break the televisions if you want, but given a few short minutes, they'll reform between one blink and the next. Looks like you'll have to keep watching until you're released.

---

THE FOOL ◎
FULL IMAGE

Sprawling and massive, you're unlikely to recognize at first that you're trapped in a labyrinth. Stone walls rise around you, and your surroundings are pitchblack. Manifest a torch or a flashlight if you can, though these will be prone to going out at inopportune times. Escaping over the walls will only send you into another section in the maze.

As you navigate the twisting corridors, you'll encounter any variety of trials and troubles: gaps in the ground, spiked traps, haunting whispers, monsters, decaying corpses. Some of these might've formed from your mind, others might've spawned from anyone else who's trapped with you.

If you aren't alone, do your best to locate your fellow Summoned. Voices do carry and echo over the walls, and there could be landmarks that help you find each other. Finding the exit, however, is another matter. Walk and climb all you want. A way out is impossible until the Horizon chooses to set you free.

Players can pick any scenario that interests them from the four choices above. Unlike the visions from before, characters can accidentally be trapped in as many of the scenes as you want, as many times as you want. Another option is that they can stay trapped in only one scene while a variety of characters fade in and out to join them, or some combination of the two. Choose what works best for your plans.

Each scene will once again carry an associated Arcana etched somewhere inside it, which can change from person to person or instance to instance. It might be on a wall, a table, or on the ground. Characters with a stronger connection to the Horizon are likely to be trapped for longer but the extent of this is your choice and it won't ever exceed a few hours. It's also your choice whether the afflictions continue to haunt them or not. If you want characters to deal with both problems while stuck together, you're welcome to!

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions other than that they won't be able to communicate with anyone outside the area, they can't escape it until the Horizon chooses to release them, and their creation magic will go wrong just enough that it'll make things tricky.

Comments

[philancer]

Well. The Professor always did like to carve her own path. [ His lips quirk wryly at this as his fingertips tap against the side of his ale. ]

Claude, Petra and I, we all attended the same Academy - our memories align there. But there was a certain Professor who joined early in the year and became one of the heads of the three Houses. Which is where it gets confusing, because all three of us were in separate Houses, but each of us remember this Professor getting assigned to lead our House. It... changes things. Sometimes things that seem subtle and baffling and then bigger things later on, when the three kingdoms go to war.

We're not sure why they're the catalyst for the discrepancies in what we remember - and trust me, Claude and I have spent considerable hours pouring over what that could possibly mean - but it's the only thing we could point to where the differences make sense.

Oh, and the gaps in time are still there, too. Just to make things extra confusing. Claude's got at least a year on me and Petra's probably close to the same.

[ He sounds exasperated by the whole confusing mess, and with good reason. Trying to puzzle it out just gives him a headache. ]

[wiedzminka]

It never gets easier. Each time she opens her eyes to see the destruction she's wrought, each time losing herself and snapping back to reality with devastation and bodies around her, it is only ever a shock. There's too much for her spinning mind to catch up on at once. Geralt guides her, pushes her to go as the stone begins to grumble, and all she can do is follow his lead with that reflexive, immediate trust. She lets go of his hand only so she can gain the room to make the jump--

But before she can, he shoves her, sudden and hard enough to clear the crack completely and push her to the other side, where she lands ungracefully and rolls up on her knees. Looking up just in time to see the trap.

"Geralt!" she screams, and if it weren't for her pounding headache and how raw every nerve feels right now, she would have already tried to portal back to him (the idiot) -- but then there's Jo. Diving forward in a blur. Tackling Geralt out of nowhere.

It all happens so fast. Ciri scrambles backwards, trying to give them room to land.

[cointosser]

[He can't quite quantify if putting distance between himself and the Singularity is leaving him to feeling better or not. It's as if his ignorance in whether the Singularity is how it has been presented to him is true or not was preserving some real sense of... awe. Not the adoring sort of awe, but how it mixes with fear for the unknown.

Jaskier watches the monolith even as Geralt speaks, half-distracted. Was it reaching out for him, specifically? Or is it any Summoned who comes here? But when he finally turns to Geralt, he knows it is not any Summoned. It has no reaction to Geralt, as he'd said.]

I don't believe it takes requests. At least, not yet. [Though he's far from knowledgeable on whether the Singularity would understand even if he made one. Jaskier frowns, touches his arm, before Geralt can round back onto his steel horse.] You're going off on your own now? I suppose I could go to other domains. Ones I've been to before. Perhaps we will find some hint of her.

[thearchangel]

"Could just be me," he admits, casually. It's not too big of a deal, really. He's not much of a people person. "The brain network throws me off more than I'd like to admit. Makes socializing kind of tricky."

For him, anyway. Other people probably could pick it up a hell of a lot faster - and have, he's sure. Oh well. He's good with other things so far. More or less. His head tilts, a curious flutter of mandible betraying things before he speaks up. It's the first he's heard the term here. "Updates. What do you mean?"

He snorts, with genuine amusement. "There's an entire race out there qualifying as space born. One of our long time crew is one." Another flick of his hands over the console. Highlighting turian space. And one planet in particular. Palaven. Garrus taps a talon on the hologrphic image. "Well, it used to look like this," he drawls, the sort of dark humor he specializes in coming through. "It's... a little more charred these days."

[funbreaker]

[ That's not the response that Thancred's expecting to that question, and he jerks to look back at Sylvain, not making an effort to hide his alarmed expression. ]

And to think, I could have slept perfectly well at night not knowing that.

[ All jokes aside, this is an interesting tidbit of information and something worth giving more thought, especially as it gives them something to talk about as they continue their ascent. Thancred continues to keep a close eye on the massive hand as they move up the winding trail, on the off chance that it starts moving. ]

How exactly did he survive this encounter in order to tell you the tale?

[ That sounds like a Scion-level threat. ]

FINGERGUNS

[thearchangel]

"Pega what?" He's not even going to question what the last one there is. It sounds like some alien thing anyway. It sounds like a conversation from Manae actually. Except then it had been fish in barrels. Why the hell were human idioms so weird? And so numerous?

A snort from Garrus' direction, in between the double thwack of arrows impacting corpses. If this is going to be his new weapon around here, then he'll need to look into bigger supplies of ammunition. No convenient heat sinks here, damn it.

"You're getting gifts? Damn, I'm already jealous." Another thwack, another downed corpse. "Starting to think this place has a thing against turians for all it's throwing my way." It's not really a serious complaint. Not in the least.

He pauses, for a moment, to consider that idea. "Smart man. I like that plan."

[gynvael]

[ He looks at Jaskier, then shakes his head. He is going off on his own, but not because he doesn't want Jaskier with him. ] The Horizon—it isn't safe. Not around me.

[ He does not know what it is. Why he can't...grasp it how others do. It's never bothered him in the past. He's understood his connection is predicated on his state of mind, something he has a firm grip on in the real world and yet. So much less so inside this plane. But right now, it feels such a fucking exhausting hindrance. He doesn't need to spawn any further deaths or monsters for Jaskier to contend with.

And he has no desire to be responsible for more terror.

He climbs back on the motorbike. He wants to tell Jaskier to leave. To stay out of the Horizon in case he vanishes, too. But Jaskier will not leave Julie's disappearance alone. He'll want to search for her. Geralt knows better than to keep his friend from helping.

He hesitates. ] Jaskier. Be careful.

[earthborn]

Shepard does as she's bid, reaching out to let herself be pulled up. Her hands won't stop shaking, more an annoyance than a genuine difficulty; she's angry. It's spite, really, more at herself for the weakness than at anything else. She ought to be able to just shrug it off, the way she always had.

Gripping grimly, she lets him help her back to her feet, conscious of the way that whatever-the-hell-this-was could take her under again without warning. Just for a moment, she breathes like that, deep sigh, looking up at him. Garrus has always been taller than her, but right now she's feeling it.

"It'll be alright," She tells him, firmly, because she's not going to accept anything else, "One step at a time."

[funbreaker]

She is. It's part of why she ended up becoming such a vaunted hero, back home.

[ Granted, there are others who also have the Echo. Himeka is still uniquely special in her refusal to ever turn her back on those in need. It doesn't matter where the conflict is, she'll be placing herself in the middle of it — whether it's contributing to the end of a thousand-year war or helping Ala Mhigo and Doma regain their independence.

While what Geralt describes may not be exactly the same as the summoning of a primal, it's close enough. ]

It seems these gods that the people of Solvunn worship are this world's version of what we've each encountered before. Himeka didn't want to immediately assume they were monsters, as you said, so she made an attempt to reach out to them.

[ Can he be certain that's what's caused their emergence now? Certainly not, but the thought has occurred to him.

After a few more twists and turns in the maze, he sees their current path leads them toward a more enclosed space that appears to be illuminated by torchlight. He comes to a halt and crosses his arms, skeptical. ] Well, that's a trap if I've ever seen one...

[ushiri]

[ He feels Geralt's hand grasp him, and he hears him tell him to move, but he's pinned in place, caught in eyeless gaze of one of the Oracles for a second. Its mouth moves and he swears he hears it whispering - and then feels its teeth sink into his calf, bringing him back to reality. The dog whines, tail tucked, and he lowers himself to pick her up, slinging her over his shoulders.

The ooze begins to rise up to their ankles, and above them the Oracles continue to try grasping helplessly at their heads and shoulders, forcing him to duck.

It'll be up to Geralt to open the door on the other side. ]

ciri's gonna get free baked goods for life lmao

[wiedzminka]

Hmph. [ Ciri scowls at him, rubbing the supremely minor cut on her neck, as though this is a great grievance. ]

Sounds like a personal problem.

[ She might be sulking. A little. This is stupid. ]

Look. Did you want help getting the stupid beast corpse off your doorstep or not? I haven't got all day.

[cointosser]

[Fair. Neither does Jaskier. But an effort must be made.

Jaskier knows he is not dangerous in the traditional sense. And not really in nontraditional ways, either. He also has no desire to craft words specifically in a way that should hurt someone, knowing that he could. Terribly easy. When so many have been open to him.

Is it just now? Is it only with Adrian -- Alucard?

He bites his tongue.]

I don't know. Discord? Is that not enough for the queen? I'm not exactly an expert on nefarious magical assailments. [Jaskier stays standing, but his arms cross over his chest, holding himself in. A chill goes through him and lingers, and it is certainly not from the Cadens air.] You know, the one thing I've feared since I left is that they do somehow find a way to harness the Singularity itself. It's certainly the goal. [He pauses, then adds:] Wouldn't you use it against them, if you had the chance? Wouldn't any of us who escaped?

[The thought is horrible. He doesn't mean it. Yet there it comes, unbidden.]

[cointosser]

[Moglad does insist upon it, keeping Rhy as close as possible but taking him by the hand with his own paw wrapped around two fingers. He flutters as they step inside Bleobheris, who even with its withering trunk broadens and provides Rhy a large, comfortable seat, thickly cushioned, to sit in.

Moglad leads him to it, landing on the oversized arm, a paw in Rhy's hand. Jaskier would help Rhy in any ways he could as his friend, and Moglad must do the same in his stead.]

Home, kupo?

[out there? Jaskier has not fully explained the concept, but Moglad understands there is a "here" and an "out there." But then Rhy corrects himself --

Moglad knows the name, somehow. And though he gives a worried look to Bleobheris's boughs above him, his wings fluttery, pom righting itself up.] Then I will take you! I'll keep you safe, Master Rhy. But you can't go alone, kupo! You -- sorry for being real -- look terrible, kupo.

[cointosser]

Jaskier shivers. Yes. He certainly came over for a reason, and he is now seeing that Nadine may have already had some slight ideas in mind.

And now he's here, he can... push them.

Now. That's an idea. Pushing her ideas. Yes. That idea settles in his mind, curled as softly and quietly as a contented cat.

"Oh, yes, believe me. I've been learning." Or, I hope I am about to learn. He fans himself slightly by plucking up a bit of his shirt and fluttering it under his chin, smoke curling through the air.

He takes the hand holding the joint and raises it high enough to take a pull off of it, as he's watched her do. The taste lingers on his tongue attractively. Releasing her own, he moves his hands to her waist, drawing up her sides. "Different, you say? Paint me a picture. Of your new idea."

like, just for starters. he feels SO BAD and SO EMBARRASED

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard breathes out, rubbing the bridge of his nose slowly.] There are bandages in the crypt if you want to cover up your awful blood and apply some pressure to the wound.

[She's a stranger and he may be a monster at the moment, but he isn't that much of an ass.]

And yes, if only because dismemberment goes faster with two. I can spread the parts out over the desert on my own from there.

[cryptsleeper]

[Growing up around Dracula, Alucard has a small advantage in nefarious magical assailments. He lets that thought simmer as Jasker speaks, nodding along slowly.]

Jaskier, if I had my way I wouldn't bother with that rock. I don't need it to follow in my father's impulses. It would be enough to ensure that all of their own magic was disabled so I could sweep into that place and paint every wall red, starting with that mage who began all of this. It would be the easiest thing in the world to crack open his chest and devour his heart in front of him, and then drag his corpse in front of that woman who decided to attack a city of artists and free thought. I'd take off each limb with no more than my hands, and then display her torso and head by a noose off the castle wall.

[It's the calmness that is scarier, probably. Alucard has given this thought. Plenty of it. Too much, because it comes out so easily and without hesitation. He realizes that only after the words leave his mouth, and--

--he can't take it back. But he can try and redirect them both.] She's a planner, I think, but has a bad impulsive streak. This doesn't seem correct to her style.

[cryptsleeper]

We all live in disappointment, these days.

[Which is to say he was, but fuck it. Alucard considers the next step here, then lets out a long sigh.]

I could try another one of my forms and see if that works. Your eyesight is better than most, but I do have to ask how well adjusted it is to tracking multiple moving bodies.

[cryptsleeper]

--In truth, no, I do not. [Necromancy is not widespread here, nor is it a matter Alucard has worked especially hard to gain knowledge in for various reasons. Mostly because of his father.]

I can begin with basic research and go from there. But there are other graveyards in the city, if you'd prefer to focus your attentions to the more immediate issue.

[catholica]

Maybe I'm just that good.

( he brings out both this guy's ability to instill visions of death and to talk. he's pretty sure that's not it but he's trying for some levity here, trying to not think about what he'd seen.

he swallows and rubs his eyes. )

When I' not trying to kill things like these, I'm a lawyer so maybe I'm just bringing it out of you.

[ordinar]

[Laying out the sad, soggy sweater as best he can, Wilhelm accepts the invitation to sit down. His hands knot together in his lap. He can't help but feel, despite Claude's smiling nonchalance, that he's intruding in more ways than one. It takes a moment for the man's meaning to land, but when it does, awkwardness creeps into his expression.]

Oh, no, I didn't mean... [He shakes his head, swipes a hand through his hair.] I mean, like, yeah, people are always talking, but...

[Claude is some kind of nobility, right? He might know something about living in a fishbowl, though without the omnipresence of the internet it must be easier to keep secrets and escape gossip.

As if picking at the thread of his thoughts, those whispering voices now imitate the endless scroll of online comments. All the speculation on his personal life, everyone a spectator of his most private moments. Twisting everything into a scandal, and scandal into a sport with winners and losers. Wilhelm tries to focus on Claude, on keeping his expression even — if if he can't hear the barrage of voices — but whatever he might have said slips out of his head.]

[ordinar]

He's stopped walking, which — as they're linked together, and he's now crushing her hand like a vise — forces her to stop too.

"I kicked something. It just startled me, that's all."

He loosens his grip, lets out his breath in a rush. The darkness can pull on your worst thoughts and persuade you that they're true. It was probably just a loose stone. Whatever it is, he nudges it with his sneaker again before crouching down to reassure himself that it's nothing to worry about. Only to realize it's pale in the dark, and long, and not a rock at all, but a bone.

"What the fuck?" he yelps, reeling back up to his feet and kicking the thing away. It skitters across the stone floor — and knocks into something else down the corridor.

[thearchangel]

He holds her up. Keeps himself steady, despite the concern thrumming through his nerves. Of course, things will be all right. Of course she'll be all right. She's Shepard. This is still something that feels unnatural. Something they've never run into. But - she's so certain, and it's impossible not to try and feel that surge of confidence in her presence.

"Sure it will," he says aloud, instead. "You're too stubborn to let it stop you."

It feels right. The moment feels right, so he ducks his head, to press their foreheads together. Kissing's great, but sometimes, the contact is really all you want.

"And I'll do whatever I have to."

[ordinar]

[He shakes his head at Sylvain's apology. It's not like he could have known.]

It was very heroic of you.

[Humor mixed with reassurance, as much as current circumstances will allow of either one. As they run, Wilhelm masks his nose and mouth with his sleeve again. He's so focused on the problem of the fire — which is more than enough for his jittery brain to juggle — that it doesn't even occur to him to worry about dragons or dark mages or anything like that.

When Sylvain's steps falter, Wilhelm follows his horrified gaze to the hill of rubble. He doesn't need to know what once stood in its place to feel the impact of all those crumbled stones and broken beams. He reaches out to press a hand to Sylvain's shoulder, gives a squeeze.]

We have to...we have to keep going. This way, right?

[He wishes he could say that everyone probably made it out all right, but he can't make that promise so frivolously.]

[catholica]

Only when it's warranted.

( he knows you can take care of yourself, steve, but he's still going to worry. so, deal with it.

he gives the other man a quick smile before he darts off, moving quickly and agilely since steve's figured him out and he doesn't really need to hide anymore. )

[godshattering]

I'm not sure spending who knows how long enlisted in hopes maybe they'll decide to trust you is the way to go. What happens if they send you to attack Thorne like what was done to Libertas since that's coming sooner rather than later, and that's how they decide you can prove yourself?

[ There was an attempt to mostly avoid sounding displeased before, but that resolve's failed a little since he's not about to agree this angle sounds reasonable. Never mind that so far the angle in question is entirely his own invention of where cooperating with the military could lead. It's not far of a leap, Claude thinks, and still entirely not worth it. ]

Neither of us have been here long enough to know what we're up against. They're clearly lying to us about a lot and have been all along, considering there's people who've been here much longer who still don't know the answers to any of those questions. [ Or, well - ] Or if they do, they aren't sharing them either.

[ That's too much negativity all at once and could only serve to push things further in the direction he doesn't want. Better to temper it, just a little. ]

There's other ways to accomplish the same thing without taking up the Free Cities' specific causes, even if it's a less direct route.