westwhere | hatthevar

hatthevar | blood rains

Drawn to undead creator Matthias, the party heads into Hatthevar — former wasteland of myth and superstitions, now city of ghosts.

The first log of Hatthevar spans until 31 January.

A small part of the event is open to players both in and out of the game, who can bring dead characters in the bazaar!

HATTHEVAR

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The party enters blood-rained Hatthevar during a daily one-hour truce between the citadel and the undead forces that assail it. At the gates is undead Lord Rathakku of the Brotherhood, keen to usurp his distracted maker Matthias; in the skies dart the forces of dead wind lord Anurr, who has no love for the Brotherhood.

Hatthevar’s ghostly champions — including enormous ghosts that consume men and floating spirits that strangle with chains — defend the grounds. Matthias neglects the war, persistently summoning spirits from various worlds and points in time to revive them.

KNOCK, KNOCK

Wispy, shadowy silhouettes closely watch the lone gate of Hatthevar. The party infiltrates at sunrise.

Characters who have died, practise necromancy or are death-touched enter freely. The living must consume Karsa’s foul potions that absorb their shadows and partly mute their powers to pass for dead. Holders of Matthias’ severed limbs or organs, or of dark mirror shards or dark water, are closely watched by the dead and perhaps pursued.

Everyone must create new names and stories covering their identity and circumstances of death. Crafty ghost sellers will try to learn your true name to capture you in slavery.

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Spend a few days acquainting Hatthevar, its constant rains, vicious gambling dens, bazaars, oracle halls, wish shops and nests of memory thieves.

Show kindness to the newly revived spirits who struggle to remember themselves and roam in the citadel’s bazaars of curiosities.

Optionally, some characters are struck by misfortune. Capture a crafty, palm-sized spirit rabbit to improve your luck… or stumble upon a larger, dark hopper to ruin it.

Most sleeping quarters are available at downtrodden inns or in lavish gambling dens, for exorbitant prices. You can’t shake the feeling of someone watching through holes in your walls.

MATTHIAS

Three days after arriving, the party receives a note from Matthias that reveals the origins of his pact with the dark water to propagate the dead in Akhuras. Matthias says he has been working to bring the spirit of his dead daughter Cosette through the beacon for revival. She materializes briefly in Hatthevar but disappears before he can find her. Retrieve Cosette, and he will surrender the party his power over the undead.

Full note

” Well, hello! Is it nippy beyond the walls? Not cold here, just… the rain. Tried wishing it away, but… waste of money, those wish shops. Not like, what is it you call it? The dark water? It’s ancient. Back in Ellethia, we thought it came from the sea. All began with a mirror shard. That, and constant pressure to race against decades of Taravast research into curing death. We got there first! That’s… my claim to fame: I wished death gone.

It was work. Work ate me. Then, the dead woke up, killed everyone, and there wasn’t much of a profession left. Or of Ellethia. The dark water wants flesh, so… I’ve made it death lords and armies, and I’ve left parts of me to anchor it. In return… it gives me revival. But, look. I had a… daughter. Cosette? Blonde and eyes green and blue and like her mother’s, and only five summers old, but she thought she was so clever, kept telling her doll so. That’s all you’re left with. Memories. She died, of course. I’ve been working to resurrect her, and her spirit shows up every few days in Hatthevar. She disappears before I can find her.

I’m not… good at bargaining. I’m a magical engineer, really. Tinkerer! But my time’s running short, isn’t it? Just look outside. And all I want is Cosette. You want the beacons? Have them. You can have my power whole. I’ll give it. Some of you will need to help hold the walls up, and others might want to look into the funny business in the lagoon, if it’s linked at all to Cosette, though I doubt it. But, truly. Bring me Cosette, and the deed’s done. You can have everything.”

The Merchant distrusts Matthias’ proposal, but sees potential leverage and urges the party to investigate the girl and the lagoon. From here onward, everyone heads to their assignment:

COMBAT

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Assigned: Bucky Barnes, Carol Danvers, Deimos, Emilia, Jiang Cheng, Luffy, Natasha Romanoff, Nynaeve, Stephen Strange, Wrath, Wrathion, Zoro

The first line of defence against the swarming undead, you must hold off swathes of enemies across three territories:

THE WALLS

Despairingly tall and uncomfortably narrow, overseen by Matthias’ ghostly cannibal titans, who neglect to discern between friend or foe in their broad, relentless strikes. Blood rains pour down thick and nearly blinding. From the skies, you face the frost-breathing 10-15 meter-tall wyrms of undead blizzard lord Anurr, unaffiliated with the Brotherhood. Stick together: when alone, Anurr’s winds speak to you of your deepest doubts and fears, compelling you to surrender — or to let go of restraint, briefly berserk, and attack your own.

■ Serthica survivors may call their dragons to assist. Through Jon Snow, the party can also summon the giant, but slow and poor-sighted frost dragon Irenia to help on three occasions.

THE COLD PLAINS

Just outside of Hatthevar sprawls a desert-like cold plateau, where treacherous dunes shift to swallow you whole and the bestial forces of the Brotherhood’s most capable undead general, Rathakku, hide in wait. Hard-shelled, slippery and sleek his creatures lie buried and thrust up their arm-rows of hundreds of blades that cut into the legs of passers-by, drawing them into sand.

THE UNDERPASS

A series of subterranean tunnels connects Hatthevar with the cold sand outposts. Scour the myriad of dusty, tunnels and purge it of large scorpion-human hybrids that carry multiple weapons and whose sting leave men hallucinating. Oversized serpents abound, their venom prone to paralyzing their prey. You can make or procure antidote potions from Hathevar. Matthias’ ghostly titans are closing off all tunnel entrances to Hatthevar — don’t end up sealed in on the wrong side.

! Collectively, the party must kill at least one frost wyrm, one scorpion/serpent and one sand lurker to keep all three levels safe. Turn in your threads before 28 January… or let the citadel suffer in part II.

EXECUTION

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Assigned: Five, Lockwood, Mo Ran, Vanessa, Yelena, Wen Kexing, Zhou Zishu

Your objective is to locate Matthias and secure the beacons that are currently in heavy use. Securing one or more beacons will help you get home.

■ Your best bet for intelligence are the treacherous networks of underground memory thieves and slavers, who attempt to steal your freedom or your recollections.

■ Your next option is the gang of Erkul, who ruled over local oracles and Hatthevar whole before Matthias’ arrival. Coarse, slippery but cunning, Erkul sullenly nurses his weight in wine at the gilded Sanctuary, Hatthevar’s foremost gambling den. Street sources say the establishment’s passcode each day this month is a fruit name. Erkul’s crew sell highly potent opiates.

■ Ransack some Whispering houses for information, equipment, poison or arsenal. Small, dusty, cluttered and often creaking, Whispering houses hold a wealth of dangerous artefacts, from haunting poltergeists you might accidentally release by reading out their names from tomes to flying rope that throttles you. Large dread hounds instil blood-curdling fear in anyone who looks into their eyes.

■ The five beacons of Hatthevar are only briefly active each day as Matthias makes his summons. They are guarded by swarms of colossal leonine-shadow creatures that only attack if they feel any fear in your soul (of it, or anything else), pouncing to claw and shred you apart. To claim a beacon, Karsa may provide a cold, coal-like token that must be placed in the middle of the transport dais, within inevitable sight of the shadow lions. You must wait 15 minutes in place for the token to take root. Report your conquest before 28 January!

■ Every six hours, Matthias sends ravens to check on the shadow-lions. You must either trick them, leave the lions alive or capture the ravens.

CARE

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Assigned: Allison, Eda, Hermione, Kamala, Lan Sizhui, Sanji, Winnie

Carer’s have the lion’s share of all duties — and the party’s few lingering resources. You must look after the group and the ghosts of Hatthevar: meandering, disoriented and fragile, the spirits who were freshly wrenched from death’s snare become easy prey for the Undead Brotherhood, the elements and the ghost slavers. Rescuing or attending vulnerable spirits can gain you allies.

■ comfort ghosts who recover from revival or struggle with their memories. Many are stranded in the Whispering houses or chained into servitude in the gambling dens.

■ rescue spirits from the immense slaver clan of Ras’Kalur, which tricks newly summoned, dazed spirits in the bazaars to sign away their freedom, promising someone to look after them. Ras’Kalur’s people often raid streets and shelters, forcibly dragging spirits back into their camps at the outskirts of Hatthevar.

■ barter to rent or buy abandoned taverns to give the party a resting space during their stay in Hatthevar. You may need to pay locals in favours, from helping them carry out petty acts of revenge to making up with a grudge-bearing wife or paying penance to their ancestors.

■ heal, cook and provide for combatants on the walls, taking care not to fall in the crossfire or frost wyrms or of allied but negligent 12-feet ghostly titans.

■ as the least suspicious party members, negotiate for information or supplies on behalf of the group: make friends with gambling den owners and the two-bit shady crooks who know their daily passcodes to enter, or with the regulars of the Whispering houses.

INVESTIGATION

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Assigned: Ben Hargreeves, Benedict, Caitlyn, Cal Kestis, Jon Snow, Merrin, Nami, Rin, River Song, Wei Wuxian, Wen Qing

■ You know from Matthias that, as a result of his beacon summons, the spirit of his daughter Cosette appears every fifth day in Hatthevar for a few hours at midday. Despite this, a young girl matching Matthias’ description (5-6 years of age, green-blue eyes, blonde, prone to laughter) is never seen. Matthias alerts you whenever Cosette appears.

■ Day of first appearance: Matthias feels her presence in the bazaar, where the day’s main attraction is a puppet show that draws a heavy crowd. At midday, a chime sounds, and the puppet show performs the sad story of a daughter quarrelling with her father over his absences. The daughter-puppet flees into the woods, while the puppet-father refuses to reconcile and follow her. The girl is killed by animals, and the puppet-father grieves, heartbroken. All the women or girls in the crowd, including you, find they burst into tears.

■ Day of the second appearance: Matthias senses Cosette is in the alley of Whispering Houses. You notice the typical bustle of the alley and shady movements, as discreet, embarrassed, or desperate patrons scuttle. You see no small girls but hear of three trades that took place at the Whispering Houses, carried out by different women: one bought a memory, one sold one, one had a memory replaced. Pay for a memory trade to learn more.

■ Day of the third appearance: Matthias feels Cosette near the Oracle Hall. The hour passes by the time you climb the stairs and are received. The Oracle confirms only one person has visited — a blonde woman — and says to “tell your master that an hourglass keeps track of new time, but can’t give the old one back.”

You get three clue questions/character and should communicate with fellow investigators. Please share key findings by network before 25 January!

EXPLORATION

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Assigned: America Chavez, Buggy, Connor, Elayne Trakand, Lan Wangji, Licyn, Red, Wen Ning

The river Liu neatly divides Hatthevar, its clean waters progressively darkening towards the edges of the citadel, where they pour into a vast, serene and heavily misted lagoon. Veterans sense an eerie chill from the familiar dark waters that so often accompany the undead.

Like Matthias, Karsa says a strange power sleeps at the heart of the lagoon.

■ travel by raft with a companion through the lethargy-inducing fog, as tar-like people peer up from the waters or swim below, never quite attacking you unless you fall into water. They (and the currents) try to upturn your boat.

■ Scattered lit candles drift on water as you advance. Pick one up, and you find one of the floating creatures of Hatthevar has joined your raft, carrying a rope-chain. It says it and its kind are former oracles and truth-speakers of the citadel — and urges you to speak, pledging to kill the first person who lies before you leave water.

■ Farther out, you discover four half-sunken ships that have crashed into each other over time, their decks now forming a rocky square-like structure. You can carefully navigate your raft to reach this construct, or make your way by hopping onto floating deck parts and the debris of other rafts.

■ Once aboard the square structure, you find all the decks are heavily rotten, creaking and prone to collapse. You hear a maddening, shrill scream that steals control of your now convulsing body, until you find yourself driven closer and closer to the end of a plank or a deck hole against your wishes — unless you are physically detained until the shrieking ends.Sharp-toothed mermaids swim below.

■ Reach and explore the curious ships’ graveyard, to peer into the black well in the middle of the square infrastructure.

QUESTIONS

NPC INBOX

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[ America nods back. Fine, no punching, either. She uncurls her fist. ]

[ She opens her mouth to say she understands, but it's not that simple, is it. ]

I understand we can't lie, can't sit here in silence, and we probably want to get across as carefully, but as quickly as possible. That's what I understand.

[ Her eyes drift to water as she speaks. She can hear things move around from time to time, some uncomfortable splashing. They really don't want to fall in, especially. ]

Should we...I don't know, play a question game?

No one right now. Why? You're with anyone?

( Never simple. Never plain. He watches the girl transact the costs and benefits of playing the game as it must be done to survive their travel, and he does not encourage her, nor does he intercede.

The floating creature believes they will fail. So openly, so clearly, that it does not even trouble itself with assault — only watches and waits and tinkers with water, even sparing them the violence of the men beneath the seas by assaulting them first. )

I do not know the rules. ( But it seems straightforward enough, he imagines. ) Name them.

[ Of course he knows better. It just happens that knowing better somehow always results in his suffering. All those months he refused to let Wrath remove the mirror in him while it was actively driving him insane proves the extent he'll go before trusting magic.

Coming here holds the dangers of presenting an opportunity, but not in the way he's suggesting. Whatever he finds he's running by known experts... who likewise refused to treat his issue, for lack of knowledge. ]

The first step in knowing how to solve a problem is understanding what we're dealing with. Call me optimistic in assuming there's something we can learn from this.

( He hears him. Listens to voices sharp and shrill beneath and the sound of a deeper want, the hidden subtleties of that which Five folds and shields, like cards withheld unto his person.

If Five were a child, or a man of confessed hurts, or not a monster, Lan Wangji might offer him a pat on his back, now. A silent, steadfast embrace.

But they are as stone pillars, constantly witnessing each other, never truly connecting. Yet he asks again: )

What is your wish?

Edited 2024-01-14 21:59 (UTC)

Xiao Xingchen is dead.

[Spoken with certainty, until a moment later when he adds, voice a little more hesitant - ]

Or...a ghost?

[Fingers press against his neck, finding the place where steel opened flesh.]

I shouldn't be. I don't want to be.

( He is dead, if not threadbare, not reduced, not belittled. Dead, but not gone, and there should be comfort in this, the knowing that he remains a person and possessed of merits and virtues despite his passing. That his achievements were not all bound to flesh, but the memories of those he assisted.

Those who tasted and knew of his tragedy, whole.

He nods, faintly, thinking first to catch Xiao Xingchen's hand when it heads for the sleeping place of his wound, only to murmur instead: ) No need.

( Let it be a thing distant, of the past. )

Wei Ying will be pleased to see daozhang.

[ There’s only one reason he can think that he’d be asking him that. He’s worried, like many of them have, of the same thing that Wrath accused him of. His lack of self-control. His impulsiveness that makes him dangerous.

But he isn’t the one who was one nudge away from unprovoked murder. Even if he gets it. ]

You can relax, I’m not making any wish. I won’t end up like them. [ He’s not the liability he was. This is more personal. It only hurts him, and he won’t risk the rest of his family to recover the one he forgot.

Never mind that he worked out the math to go back to the point it happened, to undo it, before he got talked out of it. Not that anyone else had to know; Lan Wangji would have only used it to build his case. He’s always been an ally only because he had no other option, and that would have changed if he’s proven too much of a threat.

Still, he lingers, if only because his powers aren’t currently cooperating with him. ]

You don’t wonder where the memories go?

Consumed or traded. ( A simple, blunt-edged, foul conclusion. But factual, he anticipates: there is no honour among thieves and sellers of intimate possessions — flesh, souls, memories.

He watches a string of silhouettes cut their way down the streets, eyes downcast, and does not think to question whether they fear this amputation of their person, whatever the wish maker must surgically remove to fulfil them in ways likely desperate and little known. Is it worth it? A woman slithers out through a crooked door with a low, splintered sob. )

These are not kind places. ( Men, he needn't say, should not have what they desire. But then, it strikes him — ) Your will be done. Let us speak to a wish maker.

( — Lan Wangji too has a wish that burns him. )

[ Consumed. That's a terrible word for it, and his frowns sets as he revisits his earlier theory. What greater Hell could there be than that sorry fate? Wandering lost, with no memories of who they are. Worse that they asked for it.

Wangji seems to be contemplating something similar with how he watches those passing by. Considering he was ready for murder a moment ago, Five doesn't expect the suggestion that follows, and his gaze snaps back as he tries to decipher his meaning. Years later and it's still a challenge for him, for as little as the man says but how carefully he chooses his words. Staring at him doesn't help; he can't tell if he wants an accomplice or if he actually thinks one of them could deliver what Five is after.

Has to be the former. ]

What's that now? [ Not that a con wouldn't work for them, but he needs to know that upfront. ] You want to use me as bait?

[ Five out alone isn't anything to worry about, but America should be sticking close to Kamala at the very least. Preferably with one of his siblings. He's going to have to make sure they all know to check in and stick with a buddy. ]

I'm not. I was getting an overview of the city, but that's proving more difficult than normal.

Have you noticed?

( ...ah. The prickling, the stirrings of outrage. This is the Five they never love yet often remember. Earlier, he had been tickled by the possibility of entering the Whispering Houses and their domain. Now, his intent given voice, he shies.

Lan Wangji considers, for a moment, tempted to drag him along for the sheer novelty of coaxing Five into a dreadful affair, for a chance. What must it be like, for him not to instigate, but follow? Shocking, no doubt.

But they have no time to squabble. Never time, even to know their own thoughts. Then, half shrugging: )

I have no need of you.

( Beyond a pale veneer of legitimacy to balm his conscience. )

[ Five narrows his eyes at his reply. His intent doesn't make sense taken another way, so more likely it was his choice of words that offended him. People often tell him that, that he's an asshole, when all he usually wants is to know where he stands. Lan Wangji has never been so crude, but he can tell what he's thinking.

He could leave him to it, and he nearly does, but for the fact that he'd been telling the truth before. Tracking Matthias is a priority, just not his only reason for coming here. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he isn't alone in that. The fact that he pivoted from murder to investigation when Five revealed his intent means he's not the only one curious.

For a moment he studies him. Weighs the reasons he would have invited him if not to deceive or murder the merchants. Five wouldn't allow his sympathy, but maybe it was his attempt to relate. It's not like he's kept score of who else might have suffered curses they've picked up along the way. ]

What's your wish?

Daozhang!

[ There is surprise and even a bit of anger - on Xiao Xingchen's behalf - in Sizhui's voice, but it was still soft. He steps next to the unseeing man, reaching to hold his arm gently, carefully. The words... the way he moves. They speak of exhaustion, and worse. ]

Are you hurting? Come, let me take you somewhere you can rest.

[ Prompts to follow, and they're still very much OTA. If we've had some vague plan/idea over here and you can't see a prompt where our idea can fit, shout my way on

shortitude (or same username on discord) or HMU with a wildcard! ]

[Do the spirits take coin, or do they trade in something else altogether? She's heard of the gambling dens in the few days since arriving in Hatthevar with the others, and if she had to guess, she'd guess that this is where the money is. Or if not, where the currency is.

So she is standing in front of a shady little gambler, his pockets full of riches, trying to look confident in herself.]

So, you some kind of princess then?

No - I mean - [She heaves a dramatic, pitiful sigh.] I can't be sure, my memories are fuzzy ever since I - you know - died... [She stops clutching her imaginary pearls and crosses her arms.] Anyway, you were going to share the passcode to the den with me, right?

[*ooc: Beyond the first 'deal', every thread is going to get a bespoke request from the spirit negotiating with Hermione. Or we steal some shit.]

[The house is not ideal, but it's empty and could ostensibly harbour a few of the allied forces, so it'll have to do. This is what her mission here is, right? A far cry from fighting atop the walls of the citadel of Alem (and the city's name comes to mind for no reason whatsoever, because it's not as if she's pretending to be a long lost princess right now), Hermione's assignment in Hatthevar is focused on procuring lodging, caring for the confused spirits with memory loss, and sticking her nose in everything.

The assignment is ideal.

The house, again, is not. They're going to need more than just this dilapidated old thing, but the spirit willing to part with it has a very simple request in exchange for bequeathing it to Hermione (and friends).]

I beg your pardon, care to repeat that again, good sir?

Did you die with your ears clogged, girl? I said, give us a dance.

[There's a fire crackling under a cauldron, Hermione stirring the food inside. A reprieve, for all that's been happening these days.]

We still need to eat.

[She's not the best of cooks, not by a longshot, but she's kept Harry, Ron and herself alive on beans, rice, and pasta for almost a year, so this here is the very definition of Nutritious. Even Hermione feels like apologising for it.] It's beans on toast. Well, minus the toast, I couldn't find anyone to trade me for bread. And without any of the tomato sauce either - really, it's just beans and salt. Minus the salt.

[A pause.] There's also tea.

[Life's a card game, gimme a prompt.]

[ Sizhui steps next to her. ]

It... will dancing be troublesome? I can play so it will be easier.

[There's a RECORD SCRATCH moment as she turns to give Sizhui a Look.] What a helpful suggestion!

[THANKS, SIZHUI. She is going to turn around to look at the spirit for a dead (ha) beat, arms still crossed.

This is the assignment, she reminds herself. Someone has to make sure they have allies in this city, they have places where to rest and food to eat and all those necessary things that boys like Harry and Ron wouldn't think about. It's not a Big Deal to dance, she's sure Sizhui would dance if a spirit demanded it, but Hermione hates to be in the centre of attention. (Like this, anyway.)]

Well, what kind of dance? Just any dance, or dance with you, or -

I was once an admired performer, young girl - [Interrupts the ghost, forlorn.] - and nothing would soothe my soul more than a performance I have never seen before...

[For a house. For a house. Sideways to Sizhui, muttered:] Play the music, and make sure nothing's recording.

[ ... well, he did ask if it does not suit, but...

Sizhui takes out the guqin, asking the ghost, ] if the music pleases, would you be willing to assist us in getting some firewood as well?

[ And, to Hermione... ] A faster melody, or slower?

[ He can do either. ~~He absolutely has no idea what will come his and the ghost's way.~~ ]

I can work with either.

[A neverbefore witnessed performance, the ghost says. She suddenly has just the dance in mind for this, because why would a ghost from Akhurras know of this specific dance? It's been ages since she's danced it, but she's sure she can fumble through it at any speed the song goes.

On that note.]

Yes, would you?

[The old spirit seems to consider it, and shrugs.] You can use whatever firewood isn't rotten, what use do I have for fire, my boy? Now, please...

[ Sizhui cups his hands toward the ghost. ]

Thank you, Senior.

[ Then his hands go to the strings. The guqin's music is soft, and elaborate, but he also plucks the strings in a lively way, hopefully better suited for dancing than some of the meditation music. ]

[Sizhui (and Hermione) is about to find out that any music choice works with the Macarena, as long as the dancer in question knows how to slow it down. And Hermione does.

She goes through a dramatic rendition, very artful. One hand out, then the other. Palm faces up, then the other. One hand to touch the opposite shoulder, then the same with the other. One hand on the back of her head, then the other. Hand down to her hip, then the other. She sways and as she sways she crouches, and then as Sizhui plucks one string, she hops to the left and does it again.]

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Page 4 of 34

hatthevar | blood rains

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the bazaar

hermione granger (harry potter)

HATTHEVAR. GAMBLING DENS

CARE. BARTER, CHEAT, OR STEAL*

CARE. NURTURE VS NATURE

WILDCARDS CAN GO HERE

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content warning for the macarena dance