My Momma Didn't Raise... [November Open]

[somebodychildofanyone]

Who: River la Croix and YOU + 1 Closed
What: Obligatory forge prompt, gay gardening, coping
When: Early November (before the event)
Where: Places. Locations even. Possibly: spaces
Warnings: Discussion of the carnival quite possibly, and anything you bring in with you



And With The Other, Buy Hyacinths [Closed to Annabel]

The land for the flower garden still hasn't quite been cleared, but it doesn't need to be cleared to build the flower boxes, including some smaller ones for under windows. River's going to add some to her own home as well.

Flowers would be good to have, after a long day before fire and steel.

Though the wood and many other supplies had to be bought, River made a point of forging as much of the tools as she could herself. Even the nails, and gods in Arcadia, how she fucking hates making nails. It felt...right. River's leaning back to get a better look at what she's doing when one of the local crows swoops down and deposits an acorn in her lap.

Sorry Annabel, River will be back after these messages: extended laughter.

100% Asbestos Free [Infernal Arms And Armor]

Hey Vox is there gonna be a forge prompt every month YOU BET YOUR ASS THERE WILL BE. This month brings two new additions to the sign, though, hanging by short chains beneath the original INFERNAL ARMS AND ARMOR sign.

NOW OFFERING ENCHANTING SERVICES - INQUIRE WITHIN

&

NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOCAL DEMONS

I Could Use A Distraction [Oak & Iron, Social Visits]

River's sunk more than she has been to date into her grocery budget this month, and a lot of that upgrade is, I'll be real, liquor - more to have it if she wants it later than to tear through it now. Wanna invite her to a social function or like, out to dinner? She'll go. Looking to drop by? She'll host a guest. Or catch her at the Oak & Iron of an evening, shuffling an odd-looking deck of cards with a thoughtful expression and making a single glass of whiskey last more than an hour before even thinking about ordering another one.

Someone get her out of her own head, yeah?

Wildcard

Come at me I'm fucking jacked bro

Comments

[maltesefalcon]

“Even if someone had caught me up already, I’d want to hear it in your words, given that start. Lay it on me, then.” Tired noir detective puts on his metaphorical fedora and trench coat and gets ready to step into his role properly. One can almost feel the scene transition to black and white with jazz playing in the background.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Bird after my own heart." River kinda makes a circular motion on the counter with her finger. "As far as I can tell, assuming the local timelines are right - which, big ask, but I'll take what I can get - nothing that's died after the barrier went up is eligible for necromancy as I practice it. I can't animate the bodies, properly examine their deaths, bind their ghosts, nothing. Things from before, however, have been working fine so far."

[maltesefalcon]

"I don't mean to get nosy about something personal, but what is the source of your magic, and what do you take the inability to work on recent dead to mean?" He'll take a simple 'divine' or 'arcane' for an answer, but the first part of a question is very intentionally vague.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"The version without a great deal of jargon and magical theory built up over thousands of years between academics that all hate each other is this: death has an energy of its own, and like other forms of energy it can be directed or redirected." River seems more relaxed for the question; she was ready for instant judgement, rather than professional interest. "Of course, a death is rarely enough to animate something, generally it needs additional life force - from the caster, or from living sacrifices. My family prefers the caster. In a related story, we don't tend to die from old age. Imagine that."

River gestures Vaguely Outside. "The thing is, I can't grasp any of that energy from recent deaths. I can sense it, it's there, things are dying just fine...but the energy's going somewhere. Where, I don't know, and my best bet for finding out decided his momma raised a bitch actually, which, sucks. But the conclusion I'm coming to is that someone, or something, is siphoning that energy. I can do some basic and pretty brutal shit, I can still control darkness or rot living flesh, but the big works of creating undead constructs, or bringing the dead back to true life...nothing. Nada. Fucked like Erik on a busy Friday."

[maltesefalcon]

Beat.

"Who's Erik and what's a Friday?"

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Yeah that tripped me up for a bit too. It's the day before the two rest-days at the end of the week. We've got a ten-day week at home so, y'know." River shrugs, what're you gonna do. "As for Erik..."

Cerrit, m'bird. Cannot emphasize this enough. What you have here is a Mk. 1 lovestruck fool. Look at that dreamy expression and wistful tone. "He's the town whore, not to explain the joke or anything. Really good at it. And...my swain, after his fashion, and mine."

[maltesefalcon]

"Oh, a courtesan?" It's not like sex work isn't a thing in Avalir, but it's organized, regulated, occasionally involves magic and sometimes also involves tieflings.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"I'ma level with you there's so many different titles for the job that I'm not even gonna try to parse the difference here. Short version is he's respected locally but I bully him for it anyway and will continue to do so for as long as it's funny and not a minute longer."

[maltesefalcon]

"I'll show him the same respect I show any professional. Anyway, back to the whole magic thing? Unfortunately, that sounds like a very familiar scenario to me. A mage with a project pulling energy out of the system, including out of important protections for the whole city, resulting in literal earth-shattering disaster."

He fluffs his wings, careful not to get to close to forge-bits.

"This time, at least, I won't be too close to the problem. It won't be one of my closest life-long friends involved with the theft."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...Gods, that sounds fucking rough." River looks away, her ears drooping. "...Listen. I might have a way to track where this shit's going, but the problem is. Well, to put it bluntly I'm gonna need quite a few people killed. The Ocularum was going to line up volunteers, but Neil pulled out. He's probably thinking I won't risk the reputation hit of just asking outright, and maybe I won't, but I'm this close to just nailing up a notice asking for some. As much as I dislike being the idea of showing up as the only other wizard and immediately hating the local wizard..."

"...He's kind of a little bitch and I don't want him hoarding all the information."

[maltesefalcon]

"It's even worse when you know that's the event I died from. Along with the vast majority of the population of my city. Others will die on the mainland, but slower." He clicks his beak.

"Anyway. Watching people die will help you get meaningful answers? I...yes, you should ask for volunteers. We need facts to work with. I may not know about the magic, but I can help with ferreting out information and working other angles."

[somebodychildofanyone]

River holds up two fingers. "Two primary uses for a large number of people dying: tracking the flow of the energy directly, and asking them what they experience after death. In theory I could track the energy with like, I dunno, a mass slaughter of livestock, but...if I'm gonna be putting my hands into the bleak end of my job anyway we might as well do it right. But the risks are pretty evident too. We don't know what, if anything, might threaten ghosts on the island; we do know people remember their deaths, and may find the experience painful. Worse, all we have is repetition to go on as a certainty that they'll come back - what if a sacrifice just doesn't revive? It's not a path I'm suggesting because I like it."

[maltesefalcon]

"...seems to me like the first question to put to the public is 'who's died and what do you remember?', then. Yes, I know, requires expecting people to be honest, but at least among us new arrivals, I think you'd get a response worth sifting through. Working up to 'live trials' would come later."

hehe, live trials, heh.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"...And this is why I'm not a master necromancer yet." River flashes a guilty grin. "Good thing we know a skilled investigator then, yeah?"

[maltesefalcon]

"Good thing." He lets out a bit of a chuckle. "Careful, I might start hanging out here to toss theories off of you."

[somebodychildofanyone]

"Oh no, respect and intellectual engagement, my fatal banes. Truly I am slain. The light...is fading...before my eyes..."

[maltesefalcon]

"Don't die, I still need my sticks. And eventually, my axes." But he is clearly amused.

[somebodychildofanyone]

"You do at that. I look forward to working with you." It's as polite a dismissal as it's gonna get; River's got shit to do, but she'll be watching out to see Cerrit again.