ACTIVITY + MAY CALENDAR

[groundrules]

Hi folks! A bit of admin, just shy of May the Fourth being with us —

i. No April activity check this round for characters accepted during the late March / early April cycle. Psssst. That's all of you.

ii. Applications open on 00:01 GMT @ 3 May, lasting until 23:59 GMT @ 9 May. They will be handled on a rolling basis.

iii. Have a look at the character interest list, and consider dropping your name in, if you're pretty sure you want to app something — like test driving, this is not mandatory, but helps me figure out how many applications to expect in.

iv. A wild May calendar has appeared! The April schedule has been archived here. Sign-ups for the world's worst meeting drinking game are here!

We're trying posting a full-month calendar again, but we might move to two instalments covering 1h and 2h of the month, if that suits us better in the end. Let's see.

You may now all return to your regular plotting schedules.

Comments

[groundrules]

Welcome, blind detective! Given all the good will he's won at the House of Dew, it's no surprise that servants speak leisurely around Xiao Xingchen about the latest... developments in the citadel and the activist groups rising in Anurr's favour. One servant offers an introduction to an assembly of 10-15 men who seem frustrated with their own futility to push back against Unhaland, as well as intent to recapture the glory, bravery and integrity of the golden age of Arne the Bold.

It's unclear if these brave companions are completely intoxicated with the strength of their convictions... or with the particularly potent brews they carry along to stay away the cold. They absorb Xiao Xingchen and his servant escort fairly quickly and head off to the docks, to drink their hearts out and conduct their little rite.

What three-four questions would Xiao Xingchen ask of his hefty new friends?

[binghua]

Oh, new friends! How delightful!

As for the questions:

1. What has Anurr done or said to the people of Sa-Hareth that makes him more favorable in their eyes than Unhalad? he doesn't eat people, does he

2. Really, what is the deal with the large quantity of corpses walking around, though? He's, uh, he's from out of town, you see.

3. Perhaps most importantly, where the heck are they taking him, exactly?

[groundrules]

Please consider sharing some of these findings with the class!

The gentlemen who absconded with Xiao Xingchen will tell a somehow even more hyperbolic version of the Beitang Moran's story, extolling the virtues of Arne as a chieftain and figure of legend.

"We know Arne, and he is of the people," they will say, for all Arne allegedly lived and died decades before many of them were born — he was a man of the land, and while his undead retained an equally tight-fisted control of Sa-Hareth, they were far more mannered and less unruly in their approach than Unhalad's forces. They killed minimally and demanded a small tribute, where Unhalad's rule was followed by the forcible conversion of many locals to the undead.

Worse still, these stirred corpses were and are frequently deployed to the east — after all, while Unhalad controlled Sa-Hareth, some of his brothers are still fighting to conquer new territories. The large traffic of undead in Sa-Hareth now includes men who will be shipped off east as military assistance.

"Arne never takes what isn't given freely," they conclude spitefully,"And Unhalad consumes meaninglessly."

Watching the ships come and go in the merry chill, they will share their drink with Xiao Xingchen and stress that they're not taking him anywhere past the docks — that they assemble here as often as safety allows and have received the blessing of Arne's support: an ancient brew of strength and defence against the cold that proves Arne was chosen by the gods. For, who else might have gifted this great concoction to him, so that he in turn might present it to his followers? Many of them, they will say, have already experienced its fleeting blessings.

"Here," they will urge Xiao Xingchen, passing along a vial, "Have a try."

[binghua]

Well. While Anurr - Arne himself? - and his corpse friends may be more polite than our dear Unhalad, Xingchen can't say he's particularly thrilled with the concept of sacrificial maneating, consensual or otherwise. But if one must choose a side in this conflict, he can understand siding with the lesser of two evils.

He's also not fond of the fact that undead roaming the world just seems to be a feature, not a bug. Still unsettling. Why did corpse armies become a thing at all? Do they sustain themselves by eating others or are they spurred on by something else entirely? Like resentful energy, perhaps?

As for the drink...it's not like he can refuse. That would be rude and these people have been nothing but kind to him. Perhaps just a sip will be safe enough for now.

[groundrules]

What wonderful manners! The men are indeed pleased, and they are happy to share a drink with him. The potion tastes herbal, if sulphurous — acidic on the tongue. It feels cold as it coats the insides, a chill that spreads throughout the body and sedates the limbs. Its effects will wane over the next 48-72h, but for now, Xiao Xingchen will struggle with his natural energy feeling drained, while his senses (hearing, taste) sharpen. He will have the dubious pleasure of experiencing a simulation of sight again — as if he were possessed of artificial orbs.

His strength and speed will increase, while his patience and sympathy will lessen. You can choose what else he gets up to over the night's span — but the men will direct (and join) him to stalk down three of Unhalad's undead that crawl around the city and slaughter them, amputating one of their arms.

He will be given a crassly forged pin that vaguely resembles a birch tree and told to ask for Gorm the miner, should he wish to attend a new meeting. And why wouldn't he? What a merry group of friends he's made.