Long Game 98: A Tale of Mists and Metals

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

3 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Careful, once people know you will do that, it's less likely to be something they'll factor in

Joining Archer on the new sign-up train as there's only so much I can meme on South Australia's pie floaters and Dibbler

Re-signing up as Onon Khentii, conman and ostensible psychic who speaks with the dead.

well, i cant help it, im just like that.

revir gets to be infinitely amusing.

[Aeoryi she/her]

2 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Careful, once people know you will do that, it's less likely to be something they'll factor in

Joining Archer on the new sign-up train as there's only so much I can meme on South Australia's pie floaters and Dibbler

Re-signing up as Onon Khentii, conman and ostensible psychic who speaks with the dead.

Re-signing up as Sonoluminescence, who is an architect that enjoys not working.

[Kasimir he/him]

Onon came from the south. That was what he told everyone, for the villages along this part of the Kordesh river were gullible, and saw the south as the land of mystery and exotic things. You didn't want to claim to be from the fiery Western Empire, no; the fiery Western Empire everyone associated with the gleaming steel of their legionnaires, and the years of conflict before the diplomatic peace brokered at such a price by Alendi.

(He was born Alaren in a small, unimportant village to the south, but he'd picked the words Onon and Khentii off a stencilled shipping crate from the southern isles at the Kordel docks, and never looked back. This abstracted away some unimportant twists and turns, and a few years in prison, from which he'd learned some fairly invaluable skills at breaking out of cells and slipping out of handcuffs, and general skulduggery, as well as how to survive on rats.

Onon Khentii sounded sufficiently exotic that villagers along the crescent of the Kordesh believed. And belief was the trick here.)

A sign chiselled into stone marked the boundaries of Copper's Bend.

Onon drew in a deep breath and adjusted the floppy hat that marked him as a travelling ritual master, a disciple of the Immortal Teacher. Stupid piece of mummery, that, but the villagers loved it in these parts. Drank it up. In Kordel, they were more sophisticated. You had to pretend to be a philosopher-alchemist from Khlennium, or at least a Terris Worldbringer, with their intricate metal bracers. Some of them loved Jahidi here, but they already had priests of Jahidi in the dozens. You couldn't plough a furrow without uncovering at least five in the dirt with the sowing. No, the Immortal Teacher was the next best bet.

Everyone knew what it meant: curses destroyed, haunting spirits banished, fortunes told, luck invocations, the dead laid to rest or summoned so they could judge your life choices. Thin pickings, in these days with the Deepness menacing everyone, but Onon figured you had to take a little risk in life, and anyway the Deepness didn't scare him.

He clicked to the ponies and steered the wagon onwards, into the village proper. 

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

revir is still revir.

revir watched the people come into the village. thisll be fun...

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

I’m surrounded by shady characters and ne’erdowells 

[Kasimir he/him]

6 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

I’m surrounded by shady characters and ne’erdowells 

Sir how dare I am three respectable psychics in a trenchcoat 

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

14 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Sir how dare I am three respectable psychics in a trenchcoat 

and im a thief who will steal said trenchcoat while you arent paying attention.

[Kasimir he/him]

2 hours ago, TheRavenHasLanded said:

and im a thief who will steal said trenchcoat while you arent paying attention.

sir r u trying to make me violate every last law of respectability and public decency Copper's Bend has and streak the entire village >:(

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

33 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

sir r u trying to make me violate every last law of respectability and public decency Copper's Bend has and streak the entire village

... no but the thought of it is funny.

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

I rest my case, ne'erdowells every one of you

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

17 hours ago, DrakeMarshall said:

I rest my case, ne'erdowells every one of you

i cant help it!

[Quivil she/her]

I would like to join as Rilla, the town stalker matchmaker who may or may not be sane.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Quirksliver

[Araris Valerian he/him]

1 hour ago, Quirksliver said:

I would like to join as Rilla, the town stalker matchmaker who may or may not be sane.

Welcome!

[Kasimir he/him]

22 hours ago, DrakeMarshall said:

I rest my case, ne'erdowells every one of you

Sir ur deceased great granny called and claims she never raised such a filthy liar

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

10 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Sir ur deceased great granny called and claims she never raised such a filthy liar

Statements like these are just further evidence of your own perfidy

[Kasimir he/him]

17 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

Statements like these are just further evidence of your own perfidy

She also says u forgot to feed the cat again smh even in these days of hunger what sort of monster STARVES his great gran's cat utterly smhhhh

Edited November 24, 2023 by Kasimir

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Signups are closed! PMs and D1 will be going up shortly.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

The first light of day shone upon Arwhin's desk and the mess of scribbled notes thereupon. The mayor, who was slumped over the desk, twitched before blearily opening his eyes. He'd been up well into the night working on a plan for uncovering the Spiked, but nothing had really stood out. Still, part of being mayor was projecting an air of confidence, even if you didn't really feel that way. Arwhin did have a plan. If you could call it that. Hopefully some information would turn up before the situation devolved any further.

Muttering the words of a prepared speech to himself, Arwhin was approaching the town square when he began to hear someone speaking. As he got closer, it became clear that, in fact, someone was giving a speech. Arwhin pushed his way through the small crowd that had already gathered and caught the last words of a stranger, dressed in a rather ostentatious Klenni suitcoat, speaking before the townsfolk.

"... and that, my good fellows, is how we will defeat the Spiked!"

Arwhin squared his shoulders and marched up to the newcomer. 

"And who, if I might ask, are you?"

The stranger smiled patronizingly at the mayor. "Why, I'm Lord Pending, of course. Sent by the Hero himself to administrate this region. Good thing too, seems like the lot of you are in a pickle. I've just finished explaining to these fine folks how we are to proceed."

Arwhin was flustered. "Well, I have here the way that we will actually proceed, seeing as I'm the mayor. Copper's Bend doesn't put stock in lords, we've managed fine on our own. You may claim to be sent by Alendi, but he passed through here only a week prior. Certainly you'd have been with him then."

"And how, if I may ask, were you planning on finding the Spiked?"

"By consensus, of course. Let the townsfolk discuss and vote on who the believe to be Spiked."

Pending scoffed, "Why, that's the precise plan I proposed. Surely you must be joking. I'll wager you sat in the back of the crowd, listening to my ideas. Can't be much of a mayor, can you?" Speaking over Arhwin's objections, Pending addressed the crowd once more.

"Go along now. Daylight is burning, and I think we need as much time to discuss these matters as we can get."

He waved his hand dismissively, and to Arwhin's dismay, most everyone followed the suggestion, dispersing to various corners of the town to discuss. Arwhin turned to confront Pending again only to see the man vanish into the daymists. Just this morning he had wondering if things could get any worse in Copper's Bend, but apparently they could.

Day 1 has begun, and will end at 6PM EST on Sunday the 26th.

PMs are Open (but must be RP of some form). Make sure to include both myself and Devo in all PMs you create.

Our IM is @Devotary of Spontaneity, so let her know if you have any concerns about the game.

 Player List:

Spoiler

1. @Ravenclawjedi42 as Dasenk, a suspicious historian
2. @Sart as Sirta, a boisterous gentleman with a hankering for drink
3. @Aeoryi as Sonoluminescence, an architect that enjoys not working
4. @Kasimir as Onon Khentii, conman and ostensible psychic who speaks with the dead
5. @DrakeMarshall as "Lord" Pending, a presumptuous nobleman of somewhat dubious origin
6. @Archer as Rem, a high-stakes gambler
7. @JNV as Jorrick, a methodical carpenter
8. @TheRavenHasLanded as Revir, a compulsive thief
9. @Quirksliver as Rilla, an insane "matchmaker"

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Araris Valerian

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

"Yes, consensus," Lord Pending preened. "Time to build consensus."

"Onon Khentii is clearly a fake psychic. He claimed to have a message from beyond the grave but the particulars were incorrect. I do not, for instance, own a cat. And nor did my great grandmother, for that matter."

"If he is not genuinely speaking to the dead, then what pray tell is he speaking to? I think one ugly possibility presents itself under these circumstances: he is communing with the voice of his dark god Ruin," Lord Pending paused dramatically. "He might be Spiked."

"Wouldn't you all agree?"

Edited November 24, 2023 by DrakeMarshall
verb tense agreement do be a thing

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

"i immediately dont like you, Pendy-boy," revir speaks. "Lord Pending, youre too full of yourself and i dislike it." revir holds up ring. "and keep better watch on your hands, lord."
he says sarcastically.

6 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

"Yes, consensus," Lord Pending preened. "Time to build consensus."

"Onon Khentii is clearly a fake psychic. He claimed to have a message from beyond the grave but the particulars were incorrect. I do not, for instance, own a cat. And nor did my great grandmother, for that matter."

"If he is not genuinely speaking to the dead, then what pray tell is he speaking to? I think one ugly possibility presents itself under these circumstances: he is communing with the voice of his dark god Ruin," Lord Pending paused dramatically. "He might be Spiked."

"Wouldn't you all agree?"

Quote

we started this off in 98a. so im continuing in 98b. because yes

 

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

"What?! Preposterous!" Lord Pending blustered. "Surely the one who claims to hear voices is more suspect than most in this matter. Consensus is all well and good but be reasonable man! A nobleman like myself could never have murdered Kash."

...that's because when a nobleman kills someone, it's called a "lawful execution" instead of a murder, but they didn't need to know that.

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

1 minute ago, DrakeMarshall said:

"What?! Preposterous!" Lord Pending blustered. "Surely the one who claims to hear voices is more suspect than most in this matter. Consensus is all well and good but be reasonable man! A nobleman like myself could never have murdered Kash."

...that's because when a nobleman kills someone, it's called a "lawful execution" instead of a murder, but they didn't need to know that.

revir thinks thats pretty obvious, but its not like you yourself would do the dirty work, you hire it out. and plus, lawful execution is a way to say i killed him, but he had it coming

[Kasimir he/him]

16 minutes ago, DrakeMarshall said:

"Yes, consensus," Lord Pending preened. "Time to build consensus."

"Onon Khentii is clearly a fake psychic. He claimed to have a message from beyond the grave but the particulars were incorrect. I do not, for instance, own a cat. And nor did my great grandmother, for that matter."

"If he is not genuinely speaking to the dead, then what pray tell is he speaking to? I think one ugly possibility presents itself under these circumstances: he is communing with the voice of his dark god Ruin," Lord Pending paused dramatically. "He might be Spiked."

"Wouldn't you all agree?"

Onon eyed the claimed lord. Mayor Arwhin was a cold fish—little enough given away, but Onon could see a subtle twitch that might've indicated distaste for the young Khlenni lord swanning down to Copper's Bend, and claiming charge of everything in Alendi's name. And then of course, Arwhin cracked, revealing more. Onon could see a little, from the direction Arwhin was facing, enough to read the man's lips.

"Well, I have here the way that we will actually proceed, seeing as I'm the mayor. Copper's Bend doesn't put stock in lords, we've managed fine on our own."

Oh, wonderful. A squabble between the young lord and the mayor. Onon sensed opportunity.

"Your great grandmother also said you were a filthy liar, Lord Pending," Onon called out. Forst's beard, but he hated the hat the ritual masters used. Too floppy for a respectable hat. A good hat, Onon believed, was supposed to be firm and brimmed, like the bowlers they used in Khlennium. With none of the stupid talismans he'd had to tie to it. "As the Immortal Teacher informs us, the words of a deceitful man cannot be considered a reliable guide to what happens under Heaven!"

He cast his gaze around the square. A thief filched a ring from the lord, which wasn't Onon's problem.

"I will consult the spirit of Kash," Onon declared, loudly. He allowed his sleeves to billow, reminding them he was a trained ritual master. In theory. "And see what he has to share with us." 

There. An absence, at the very least. "But where is Rem? Do dice hold more of interest than the death that stalks this village in the mist?"

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

3 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

"As the Immortal Teacher informs us, the words of a deceitful man cannot be considered a reliable guide to what happens under Heaven!"

"Coming from you, that might just be a logical paradox," Lord Pending replied primly.

[TheRavenHasLanded he/him]

20 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Onon eyed the claimed lord. Mayor Arwhin was a cold fish—little enough given away, but Onon could see a subtle twitch that might've indicated distaste for the young Khlenni lord swanning down to Copper's Bend, and claiming charge of everything in Alendi's name. And then of course, Arwhin cracked, revealing more. Onon could see a little, from the direction Arwhin was facing, enough to read the man's lips.

"Well, I have here the way that we will actually proceed, seeing as I'm the mayor. Copper's Bend doesn't put stock in lords, we've managed fine on our own."

Oh, wonderful. A squabble between the young lord and the mayor. Onon sensed opportunity.

"Your great grandmother also said you were a filthy liar, Lord Pending," Onon called out. Forst's beard, but he hated the hat the ritual masters used. Too floppy for a respectable hat. A good hat, Onon believed, was supposed to be firm and brimmed, like the bowlers they used in Khlennium. With none of the stupid talismans he'd had to tie to it. "As the Immortal Teacher informs us, the words of a deceitful man cannot be considered a reliable guide to what happens under Heaven!"

He cast his gaze around the square. A thief filched a ring from the lord, which wasn't Onon's problem.

"I will consult the spirit of Kash," Onon declared, loudly. He allowed his sleeves to billow, reminding them he was a trained ritual master. In theory. "And see what he has to share with us." 

There. An absence, at the very least. "But where is Rem? Do dice hold more of interest than the death that stalks this village in the mist?"

"oh, nice vial. whats in this?" revir holds it up.