August 2023 Test Drive Meme

[singmod]

AUGUST 2023 TDM

PROMPT ONE — ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST: A group of newcomers find themselves lost in the frozen wilds and vulnerable to the dangers of nature. With luck, they make it to the town of Milton, and to a friendly face offering food, warmth and shelter.

PROMPT TWO — HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE: Once recovered from their journey, newcomers are free to explore the town of Milton for supplies and find any signs of the townsfolk.

PROMPT THREE — THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN: A mysterious woman haunts the frozen lake of the Milton Basin, trying to lure newcomers to their deaths.

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

WHEN: Day One.
WHERE: Milton, Milton Outskirts.
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential animal attacks, potential injuries, potential cold injuries/hyperthermia risk.

’You are the Interloper. You are not part of nature’s design.’

It’s the last thing you hear. A dark, deep voice. Impossibly ancient. You feel afraid. Maybe you’re dreaming, maybe you’re wide awake. You saw the lights, and then your world went dark. But you hear it in the blackness, you won’t forget those words.

You awaken. You are not where you were before. It’s different for everyone, there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern in where you find yourself. You may open your eyes to find yourself in a cold, dim and dank cabin. The air is stale, dust hangs in the rays of weak sunlight that shine through the tiny windows. Someone lived here once, but they aren’t to be found. You look around, it seems like no one has been here in several days, maybe longer. The fire is cold, the dishes in the sink are a little mouldy. It is quiet. The wood creaks around you. Or perhaps you may awaken to find yourself shivering in the yawning maw of a cave, the freezing stone below you. Or maybe you’re unfortunate enough to sit up to find yourself lying in the snow, in the middle of the wilderness. Snow lies thick around you. It’s freezing out. You haven’t felt a cold like this before in your entire life. Cruel and biting. You have no idea where you are, and what’s worse — you are completely alone.

You may feel different, too. Any powers or magics you may have feel... absent. Disconnected. Things that may not have affected you previously now do. Something in you has changed.

You know you can’t stay where you are. You’ll need to move, try to work out where you are and how you came to be here. So you walk, head out into the unknown, in hope of finding a trail or a road. You’ll find one soon enough. It’s here you may find someone else in the same boat as yourself, equally freezing and confused. You’ll both need to keep going. It won’t be easy. You hear howls of wolves around you, and the terrain is difficult: slips and falls are likely. You’re completely vulnerable out here in the open.

But it won’t be long until you see it: the lazy trail of smoke rising in the air. Fire.

Follow it, and soon enough the way you’ve taken will certainly become a path or road. Unfolding before you in the mountainous forests, you’ll see the most welcome of sights: a small mining town tucked up in the valley. Battered, rusted road signs will direct to “MILTON, POP. 947”. You’re almost there, you keep going, and it looks like other people have had the same idea as you. As you head into the outskirts and further into town, you’ll find it’s a little easier to walk but the cold has gripped you hard. You’ll find the buildings, both shops and homes, are dark and lifeless, some of them are boarded up. Other than those heading in the same direction, towards the smoke, you won’t find any townsfolk coming to greet you, or even looking at you from behind curtains. … Where is everyone?

Towards the center of town, you’ll find the building from which the smoke rises: a school-house of sorts, or some kind of community hall. Perhaps both. You’ll find more and more people all drawn to this place, each and every one of them in the same position as yourself (and your companion, if you’ve found one). Some are in worse states than others: some are bloodied, nursing bite wounds or cuts; others might have some other kind of injury sustained in the journey here from falls. Others may look as if they could faint from the cold at any second.

The door opens, and you’re greeted by the gnarled, wizened face of an elderly man, dressed in thick furs. He has a kind face. He smiles warmly, and with pity, ushering you in with haste.

“It seems like a great deal of you have come.” he muses finally. “I am Methuselah. I welcome you Newcomer, although I’m sorry for how you’ve come to find yourself here. Please, warm yourselves. Eat. Get your bearings. Mother Nature has not been kind to you.”

The room is dim, lit mostly by the weak natural daylight through the windows. A roaring fire sits at one end of the huge hall. It crackles, bright and cheerful…. and warm. Even as big as this place is, the room is pleasantly warm. You’ll also find basic cots set up down one side of the hall, places to rest for a moment and get your bearings, or just trying to recover from the cold or any injuries. Down the other side are tables and chairs, and long, foldable tables laden with food, drinks and bottled water similar to one might find at a soup kitchen.

There are canisters with hot herbal teas and coffee, along with soup and stew and trays of charred moose, deer and rabbit meats, instant mashed potatoes, and tinned vegetables. It’s very basic, but it’s hot and filling. A feast. The old man has been busy. And Methuselah will continue to busy himself, still; there is plenty to do. He will fetch blankets, tend to wounds, serve food and drinks. He does not have much time to talk. More and more people seem to be coming in from the cold. He will not stop to sit and rest until everyone is seen to, taking up a place by the fire to gaze silently into its flames. He is troubled, thoughtful.

If you ask him where you are, he will simply respond: “This is Milton, of the Northern Territories.”

If you ask how you came to be here, he will shake his head: “Something has changed. The sky, it was… full of light. The Flare. I felt you coming, a great arrival. But I cannot say for certain how, or why you are here.”

He is regretful, genuinely so. He wishes he had more answers for you, but he does not. Instead he will simply insist you rest, get warm and eat. There is plenty to go around. Eventually, when you feel well enough, Methuselah will gesture to the door: “When you are ready and able, explore the town. Many left, others could not make it out. I have found no one but the dead. They will have no use of the place now, perhaps you might in the meantime.”

HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE

WHEN: First couple of weeks since arrival.
WHERE: Milton.
CONTENT WARNINGS: frozen dead bodies, unexplained deaths, suicide, murder.

Other than Methuselah in the Hall, the town of Milton is void of life. While not a particularly large town, there’s a few stores and even a gas station. Life here is rustic. Function over form. Homes are simple but sturdy and warm, it’s a rugged place and one can easily deduce that the folk living here led simple, self-sufficient lives.

Commercial buildings and stores of note include a bank and post office, a hunting/fishing supply store, a grocery store, and a clothing store. There is even a church just on the outskirts of town. The buildings are ripe for picking, with most of them still with the doors unlocked, including the residential buildings. Others are locked, but can be broken into easily enough. A few are even trickier, with some of them boarded up or with entrances blocked. In terms of contents, a third of the residential buildings seem to be almost empty, as if the owners moved out long ago. There might still be things left behind of use: old, warm clothes good for the wintery weather, tools and cooking utensils — but little in terms of food. Even if the former residents move some time ago, they didn’t completely empty their homes.


Most of the homes in Milton seem to be left as if the owner stepped out only a short while ago, and with very little disturbance. Some houses, however, seem to be abandoned in a hurry, with a mess of items strewn about in some last-minute dash to grab essentials: keys, identification, treasured personal items, supplies for a quick exit. Cupboards are typically filled with an abundance of canned goods, and some chilled goods might have survived in the cold weather within the fridge-freezers, but it might be a gamble if one wants to try and eat them. Any and all electronics within homes: televisions, computers, mobile-phones — although dated, will all appear cracked and damaged, and will not function or turn out at all. The same will go for any vehicles around the town: there is no hope of starting any of them.

Diaries and journals kept by the former residents may remark on a change in the weather, with the cold and harsh climate becoming more hostile as of late. Others remark strange lights in the skies, dating several weeks or so ago, strange noises in the air, issues with power and electrical items. Some make mentions of changes to the wildlife, with wolves coming close to the town even when they had never done so before. One or two mention problems on the Mainland, with increasing difficulty of reaching out to loved ones who don’t live in the Northern Territories, or deliveries being unable to arrive. The growing trend is that something odd and terrible has been happening, although no one can truly explain what, and the problems have been growing increasingly worse and worse up to the final entries. You might note that the actual years and dates might not line up with your own: the current year given in these entries is 2014.

The newcomers are free to take over these homes, if they wish. No one appears to be stopping them, and even Methuselah seems to shrug about moving in. And as he’d mentioned, he has found no one but the dead: and plenty of them can be found.

Bodies of the town’s former residence can be found scattered over the town. In homes, in stores, out in the snow. They appear still relatively fresh, although it may be hard to tell if it’s from the cold or if it’s from very little time passing. Most appear to have died from cold exposure, some appear to have simply dropped dead on the spot. Others may be found with a gun in hand. Some, worryingly, appear to have perished by another’s hand. You won’t find the entirety of the town’s population, but there’ll be at least several dozen. Men, women, children.

Methuselah seems to have begun laying the dead to rest, but there’s too many for one man to do. Maybe you can work out what to do with them, try to bury them in their backyards, or try to take them to the churchyard.

THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN

WHEN: Until the next Aurora.
WHERE: Milton Basin.
CONTENT WARNINGS: mental manipulation, malevolent mythical creatures, falling through ice, attempted drowning/possible successful drowning, potential character death.


Those who venture further south of the town will find themselves traversing the steep, winding paths down towards the Milton Basin. The way down is treacherous, but if enough care is taken you should be able to make it down in one piece. The water is just about completely frozen over down here, thick and sturdy enough to walk over for the most part. Within the Basin there’s more wildlife to be found: deer and rabbit are plenty. And there’s even plenty of foragables, too.

Out on the water are two small ice-fishing cabins, enough to fit one or two people inside comfortably, which hold a few forgotten supplies to try out some ice-fishing if you want to see if anything bites. Both even hold little log burners to keep warm. An old hunter’s shack can be found along the water’s edge, for those not quite brave enough to travel out onto the ice, to take shelter in for when the weather gets a little too difficult, with an old log burner still working within it.

But it’s calm down here, for the most part. Peaceful even. It’s an excellent place for fishing and hunting, and a little more sheltered from the freezing winds.

Until you hear the voice. Something soft and feminine, echoing across the ice. The Basin helps to amplify the sound, and for a long time you can’t quite be sure of where exactly it’s coming from. It’s singing, she is singing. Something old, in a language you can’t quite understand. Maybe it’s not even a language at all, but simply melodic vocalizations. It’s... beautiful, you’ve never heard anything like it before in your life.

And then you see her: a woman standing upon the frozen waters of the Basin. You realise she’s probably the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen in your life, even if you can’t quite even begin to describe her. She appears different to everyone who beholds her, some one might see her hair is long and dark, others might see her with neat red curls. Some swear her skin is dark and rich, that looks almost plum when the light hits it just so, others claim it to be cool-toned that glistens like sunlight on snow. Whatever someone might find aesthetically pleasing is how she’ll appear, and even then to describe her to others will bring you at a loss for words. And she’s singing… to you, for you.

You’re compelled to go to her, although you can’t explain why. You’re drawn to approach her, to hear her better, see her better. Your feet carry you onto the ice, out into the midst of the Basin. You ignore the calls of everyone and anyone around you, fixated on the woman before you. She smiles when you’re close enough, beckons you a little closer.

… Then everything changes. Without warning, the woman leaps for you, her face contorting into something hideous, mouth opening to scream to reveal rows upon rows of tiny, needle-like teeth. She collides with you, and the force (paired with the slippery ice below you) is enough to send you off your feet. As you fall back, the ice cracks beneath you with an almighty sound, plunging you into the frigid depths below.

The woman fights to put you beneath the water’s surface, those needle-like teeth bared like some ferocious beast. She can be fought off easily enough, but she might just drown you before you’re able to. If you’re lucky, someone might be able to help pull you out. Tools or weapons made of iron or silver are especially harmful to her.

Once you’re pulled from the water, getting somewhere warm will be the utmost priority — otherwise the cold will kill you quicker than the woman would. The woman, you’ll find, will have vanished, and the ice where you’d fallen will have restored itself, as if it had never been broken at all.

FAQs

ARRIVAL: METHUSELAH'S FEAST

1. Items characters have brought from home can be found either strewn around them when they awaken, or in the community hall — as if someone left them out for them to collect. Methuselah will not know how they got there, and will be quite bemused by the happenings.

2. Reminder that all characters are now depowered upon arrival. They can choose not to notice it at first, or can immediately sense something is different about them.

3. If asked any personal questions, Methuselah will smile and say "Oh, you don't want to know about an old man like me. But I have lived all over in these parts for all my life." He will be more concerned with trying to help Newcomers, and is genuinely concerned for them and their well-being.

4. If asked how he knew that the Newcomers were arriving, he concedes that although it is a strange thing to know, it is much like how one knows a storm is coming.

HOPE NOBODY NEEDS THIS ANYMORE

1. Characters are welcome to take up residency in any of the homes of Milton. Methuselah will strongly advise characters to leave a huge, dilapidated house — known as Milton House — well alone, due to extensive fire damage.

2. More information about Milton can be found here.

THE SIREN OF MILTON BASIN

1. Characters with hearing impairments will not be susceptible to the Siren's song, or may only be somewhat susceptible depending, but may be entranced to a degree by looking at the Siren. However, this will be far easier to snap out of.

2. The Siren cannot be killed, only fought off. She will disappear for a length of time to recover before she attempts to lure her next victim.

Comments

Nie Huaisang | The Untamed

[fanoperator]

Arrival

[When Huaisang awakens in the snow, he feels a jolt of sheer terror from the stupidity of it. He comes from a mountain region. He knows better than to take a nap in the snow. People die that way.

But as he straightens up, dressed in multiple layers of flowing, expensively embroidered silk, Huaisang becomes aware that he doesn't recognize these woods. The last that he remembers, it was late summer. Definitely not this late.

Obviously he's confused. He's misremembered. That makes sense, if he's fallen asleep in the snow. Or this is some kind of spell. Hugging his arms around himself for warmth, Huaisang looks around to determine downhill and then sets off that way. The sight of someone else is an immense relief, even if he is trapped in some kind of weird illusion spell (but why? who would want to trap him? is it a demon feeding on him?). Waving one of his long, flowing sleeves (which is large enough to be a flag, but it's a silvery gray that doesn't stand out at all against the snow), Huaisang starts running (trudging faster, really, since the snow is too deep to properly run and he feels so much heavier than he should).] Hello? Hello! Please!


The Feast

[This is all deeply strange and unnerving, but at least it's warm here. All his layers of silk are sopping wet, so he's taken off more of them than is decent and hung them up where he can, so he looks like he's surrounded by a soggy gray tent as he sits on the floor with a bowl of stew, wearing light gray silks that look like pajama pants and a wrap top. The thin cloth is see-through, since it's supposed to have multiple layers over it, so he sits with his knees bent up, legs pressed tight together, and face flaming. Everything about this place is unfamiliar to him, and that's terrifying. He's desperate for help or protection, so he turns full-strength puppy eyes on anyone who looks his way.] Are you lost here, too?


Someone Else's Home

[Once he's been fed and he's slightly less soggy, Huaisang goes out as Methuselah encourages, exploring the town for answers or supplies. But there aren't answers to be found, and everything he discovers only makes him feel more confused.

Letting himself into one of the houses as he wanders aimlessly, Huaisang stops short and blinks as he encounters a living stranger among these houses of the dead.] Oh! Hello. I'm so sorry. Do you live here?

[Here, in this town, but also possibly here in this house. Huaisang is going to have to find somewhere to stay, after all. It's already dark and he's already exhausted. Whether he can stay here or not, he desperately doesn't want to go back into the street among the frozen dead.]


The Bird Hunter

[Huaisang isn't exactly a survival skills kind of person. He's a spoiled nobleman's younger son kind of person. But he has grown up in the mountains, and he has made a hobby of hunting birds. Usually that's been for pleasure, tracking and carefully capturing songbirds, but he does know how to hunt wild game birds, as well. Knowing how to do something in this terrifying and unfamiliar place makes him feel better, at least, so he's out in the woods with a bag, a knife, and some twine, plus a little bit of birdseed he found in one of the shops.

His layers of impractical long robes are tied up now, secured tight around his shins so that it looks like he's wearing harem pants, but at least his boots are more sensible than the rest of his attire, and now his outfit isn't dragging in the snow.

Perched on a low tree branch, Huaisang whittles twigs into the slim stakes he needs to set his next trap. When he sees someone else headed his way, he hops up at once, worried that they're walking too close to one of his traps and might crash through it without noticing.] Wait wait wait wait wait careful!


You Scream, I Scream, we all Scream for the Ice

[Maybe he should have known better than to follow that siren's call, but everything here is unfamiliar to him, and he's never seen--or heard--anything like her. A queen, or probably a goddess. She looks like Guanyin, or perhaps one of the other bodhisattvas, and she's calling to him. Perhaps she knows the way home, and she can help.

But everything goes wrong very suddenly, as she warps into a monster. He starts screaming at the sight, screaming as she crashes into him, screaming as the ice fractures and the icy water claims him. His panicked thrashing knocks her off easily enough, but he doesn't know how to swim and he doesn't have the sense to stop screaming once he hits the water, so he takes a breath of water and chokes on it as he continues thrashing, blind with panic and desperate for help.]


Wildcard

[Playing Huaisang from relatively early canon, while he's got plenty of grief but doesn't yet Know Things. I prefer prose tags but can match whatever! Feel free to ping me at marlovingian for plotting.]

the bird hunter

[infiniteheart]

[Jiang Yanli isn't much of a survival skills person either but she knows that every pair of hands in situations like this can be of use. And she's been around her brothers enough to have some basic idea of what goes on with hunting so she stops immediately.

As for herself, she's completely traded her robes in favor of a full set of winter-gear: over-sized parka, fur hat, thick gloves, boots, and scaf. She's barely recognizable as herself aside from the long black hair that's been gathered into a practical braid and her light ember eyes.]

Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was out here.

[At the moment, she's carrying a large basket for foraging. Honestly, she's not even sure what she's hoping to find out here in such an unfamiliar climate but much like this fellow, she wants to be able to do something that's useful.]

[fanoperator]

[She looks distinctly familiar in some way that Huaisang can't quite put his finger on as he comes over. At the very least she has long dark hair and a sensible braid, unlike all the strangers running around here with their cropped hair marking them as probable convicts.

He points to where the trap is that he's set, a few sticks, one of them ready to spring and pull the string taut around a bird's legs if it's tripped, and the meager scattering of birdseed laid as bait.] Catching birds is one of the few things I'm good at, so I figured I should ... help out. Since there's such a need for food, now.

[He offers a polite bow, though it is shallow. He assumes, by default, that she's of a lower rank than himself, and he's always been cursory with courtesies anyway.] Nie Huaisang of Qinghe greets you.

[infiniteheart]

[That name sparks some clear recognition. Between her brothers and simply running in similar social cirlcles, even if hers has been more adjacent than intersecting, of course, she's heard of him. Even if her engagement's broken, she was still trained in diplomacy and the inner political workings of the cultivational world. She'd been intended to become great sect leader's wife one day, after all.

She responds to the polite bow with one of her own.]

Jiang Yanli of Lotus Pier. It's a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Nie. My brothers have mentioned you. I think i's good of you to contribute in what ways you can. Every bit helps in end.

[She holds up her basket.]

I'd hoped to find nuts, berries, seeds, or herbs or whatever I could find out here to assist with the shortage. I'm afraid that the terrain here is very different what I'm used to. I'm not quite sure what's edible or useful in such a place.

[But at least, she dressed well for the occasion so there's that.]

[fanoperator]

[Huaisang blinks a couple of times in confusion. He's met Jiang Yanli. He remembers her being there at the Cloud Recesses. Sure, he never interacted much with her and she did always seem kind of forgettable, but she was there. And he was at her wedding. Which, again, he didn't really interact with her, but he was still there.

This woman doesn't look un-like her, but he still would have thought that he would recognize Jiang Yanli with more certainty. Maybe it's just her hair in a different style, and the strange clothes. Surely that's it.

But her brothers have mentioned him? She doesn't remember him?

She must be an impostor, but what a strange choice of target, and what a strange gap of knowledge. There are a hundred smaller houses that this woman could claim to be from, and Huaisang wouldn't know the difference. Who would be foolish enough to claim to be someone he's met more than once?

Better not to let on that he knows she's lying about her identity. Easier to play along until he has a better sense of what's going on. This place is strange and he already suspects he's under some kind of enchantment. Maybe she's the demon who has him caught in her web.]

It's ... not entirely unlike the mountains of Qinghe. But it's been years since I've seen snow this deep. I know a little bit about edible plants, but that was never my priority. I can teach you how to set traps for birds, if you'd like?

[infiniteheart]

Even a little knowledge would be better than none. I'm certain that many who have found themselves whisked away to this place know nothing at all. Sharing such knowledge might save some lives.

[If only, she knew what thoughts were running through the young man's head. As for herself, she's focused entirely on the tasks that lay ahead of them as a group. She doesn't know what happened to kill so many but she knows that disaster can strike in an instant and come at any time. And she's determined to prepare herself and any others that choose to follow her lead for that eventuality.]

I'd love to learn how to set traps if it's no trouble. I know how to prepare game for meals but I don't know much about the steps taken before it gets to my kitchen.

[fanoperator]

Oh, well, it's good you know how to do the second part, [Huaisang says, surprising himself with how relieved he is to hear that. It hadn't occurred to him until just now that this project would involve killing and butchering the birds, and he finds himself entirely unwilling to face either prospect. He'd always either been hunting birds to keep alive or hunting birds with a friend (like Jiang Cheng) who could be imposed upon to do the unpleasant parts. What would he have done, he wonders, if he'd caught a bird and been alone? Uhhhhhh. Carried it back to town flapping and squawking? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

His distrust for her has instantly been entirely outweighed by his gratitude for someone who can and will turn a bird into dinner.]

Well, come and look, then, I'll show you. You'll need a knife and some twine, but those were both easy to find in town. [Everyone else seemed to be more interested in 'guhns' and 'cannit food'. Huaisang remains skeptical about the metal cylinders that people were hoarding as 'food'. He doesn't actually know how sealing food in jars works for pickling and preserves, but from what relatively little he knows, putting it in metal seems deeply stupid.]

Do you think there are many who have been whisked away here? The old man Metuzheleh made it sound like we were the first and this is all new.

[infiniteheart]

I think it's possible with the limited information we have available to us. Even if we are the first, there may still be others out there struggling to survive as well. We know nothing about this world or its history. Or just far it extends beyond what we can see.

[Much like a manor offers a small view of the world outside, so does being stuck in a remote and inhospitable location. Just what could be happening beyond the horizon is anyone's guess and she doesn't like to dive too deeply into conjecture without evidence to support it.

For now, she'll just focus on learning more about these traps. Learning new ways to keep their basic needs fulfilled seems like a better use of time and energy.]

[fanoperator]

[This world. Huaisang wonders about that new possibility. But what could that mean? A realm like the celestial palaces in the heavens?

That would imply Huaisang has ascended to godhood. He really didn't think ascending to godhood would be like this, so he's inclined to rule that possibility out entirely.

He shows her the basic spring design of the trap, which depends upon a small tree or low branch which can be used to serve as the spring part, enough to pull the string taut around a bird's ankle.] If we can get or make some more baskets like the ones you have, we can do a better design which will mean a basket dropping down on top of the prey. Then it's more likely to work and could also catch things other than birds.

someone else's home

[brightestmoon]

[ It's a little embarrassing, but Xiao Xingchen had gotten lost in the cold and the perpetual dark of his missing eyes. Normally, this wouldn't happen. Normally, he's a cultivator with sharp senses and the ability to use his golden core to stay warm, but in this place, it seems as though all of that has been taken from him.

Luckily, he manages to find his way into a house that had been left unlocked. It's cold inside, but not as cold as it is outside, and there is protection from the harsh winds blowing out there too. Xiao Xingchen feels his way around, and eventually finds a thick blanket to drape around himself to generate more warmth. Shivering slightly, he finds a couch to sit down in.

He startles when he hears a voice and turns around to where it's coming from - not that he can see the stranger, but he sounds polite at least. ]

Oh, no, it's alright! I was only looking for shelter myself.

[fanoperator]

Well, I suppose we've ... found it.

[If nothing else, Huaisang is immediately reassured that the blindfolded stranger has the hair of a civilized person, unlike the other people around here who mostly have short-cropped hair like convicts. It's very alarming. Huaisang still thinks it's more likely that he's under some kind of enchantment or illusion, but Kidnapped by Convicts remains high on his list of theories. Why else would they have such short hair?? Especially in an area that is cold enough to make the extra insulation valuable. Deeply suspicious behavior from all of them, honestly.

There's a hearth near the center of the room, which is recognizable enough, and it has some logs next to it. Also pretty straightforward. Huaisang has been dragged along on enough night hunts that he does actually know how to start a fire. Theoretically.]

Nie Huaisang of Qinghe greets you.

There's a hearth and firewood here, but I don't see any flint. [And his golden core isn't working. Should he admit that? It's not like he was ever very strong as a cultivator, so his helplessness level is ... mostly unchanged.]

[brightestmoon]

[ The name catches Xiao Xingchen's attention. He had never cared for sect politics back home, but he had at least made sure to know some basics about the great sects. So this must be the young master of the Nie sect. How fortunate to meet someone else from home! It makes him feel a little less... lost.

He stands and cups his hands in front of him, giving a proper bow. ]

Nie-gongzi, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Xiao Xingchen, disciple of immortal cultivator Baoshan Sanren.

[ Then the subject of a fire comes up, and Xiao Xingchen is immediately focused on more practical matters. ]

I found some blankets in the room over there. [ He points vaguely in the direction of a bedroom. ] It might have to do if we cannot find a way to light the hearth.

[fanoperator]

[Huaisang recognizes the name Baoshan Sanren as well. Terrible as he is with many of his studies, he's always loved stories. He knows a few stories about her, though he has no idea how accurate those stories might or might not be.] Oh, I've heard of her. I'm very glad to meet you, too. Most of the people I've met so far are dressed very strangely and they crop their hair short. I'm still not sure if we're in a community of escaped convicts or something, because of that, but I think it's more likely it's some kind of enchantment or illusion.

[He goes and fetches some of the blankets, worrying a little more over the fireplace.] We could ... try to fetch fire, from the building where the old man Metuzheleh had food for us. But I'm worried about the wolves and the cold and ... whatever killed all those people.

[brightestmoon]

[ Xiao Xingchen, of course, has no idea how the people around here look. ]

Oh, that is strange, but then again, so is everything about this situation...

[ Although he can't see his surroundings, he has a creeping feeling that they are far from home.

He frowns at the mention of dead people. ] There are a lot of dead bodies? [ It seems that he had been fortunate to not stumble over one or something... ] It also seems as though my golden core has been suppressed since I arrived here. Is it the same for you?

[fanoperator]

Yes. [Huaisang's voice is small and scared. Easier to admit that his golden core is suppressed if Xiao Xingchen has said as much first, and even with his golden core Huaisang would still be almost entirely helpless here.]

There are bodies everywhere. Not ... not enough? I mean, not enough to fill the town. People are missing, or they evacuated before things started happening, before the town ate us in order to replace them... I don't know. I don't know.

[His breath hitches as he panics, eyes filling with tears.] Some of it looked like murder or suicide and some of them just look like they froze to death but not for any reason that makes sense. How do they freeze to death right next to an open house that's stocked with food and firewood?

[brightestmoon]

[ Xiao Xingchen frowns. ] That's not good.

[ He can tell that the young master Nie is starting to panic. The situation is pretty bad, but Xiao Xingchen has been in plenty of dicey situations before. If nothing else, he can at least stay calm.

He tries to sound soothing when he speaks: ] Try to stay calm, Nie-gongzi. This is a bad situation, but I'm sure we can figure things out. Why don't we stay here for the night? In the morning, we can try to find some answers. There has to be people with some idea of what is going on here.

[fanoperator]

[Huaisang nods agreement to this proposal, which he realizes isn't at all helpful to someone wearing a blindfold, but it takes him a few moments longer to try and verbalize anything.]

Okay. I ... I mean, did you meet Metuzhele already? He knew some things, but not much. Or at least not much that he was willing to tell us. I don't know if we're going to find anyone with more answers than that. All the other people are dead, or they're lost like we are.

You Scream I scream!

[taintedpeony]

[Jin Guangyao did not recognize the young master who was suddenly pushed into the ice, but something horrific, but that doesn't mean he was not going to strip off his boots and outer robed to dive into the icy water to save him. It was good that he grew up in Yunping and all Yunmeng children knew how to swim.

He pushed back the thoughts of his own chattering teeth, took a deep breath and dived down to grab at the flailing young man by the waist and surfacing up.]

Please young master, stay still and I'll get us back to shore!

[He shouted hoping to cut through the panic.]

[fanoperator]

[Huaisang was too busy coughing (mostly unsuccessfully) to keep screaming, though that wasn't necessarily going to stop the effort to keep screaming, it just meant that both the coughing and screaming weren't currently happening the way he was trying to make them happen. Fortunately for them both, the coughing kept him from doing much flailing or clinging that might get in Jin Guangyao's, so he was mostly a wriggling, choking weight as he was hauled up to shore.

It took him a minute to manage to cough out all the water and take in air, by which point he'd lost most of the immediate need to scream and it had diminished to a shivering, sniffling intermittent wail.]

[taintedpeony]

[With Huaisang in one arm, he used all the rest of his energy getting them to the shore, and patted the young man's back in an effort to help him expel any remaining water.]

There, there young Master. You're safe now. Try and cough all of that out and we can breathe slowly.

[He soothed making small circular motions over his back.]

Everything will be alright.

[fanoperator]

[As he recovered a little further, the wail subsided into whimpers, but now his shivering was increasing dramatically. He felt like he'd never been so cold in his life. He'd never been dropped in an ice lake before, that was for sure, and he didn't have his golden core to generate warmth, which made it all even worse.

Hugging himself uselessly, Huaisang turned a piteous pout on his rescuer, too miserable and helpless to make the slightest query or comment.]

[taintedpeony]

Do you need me to carry you? I think it would be best if we get somewhere we can dry our clothes.

[He kneeled down and wrapped the young man up in the thick fur coat he had found for himself and then put on his own outer robes and boots. He was going to have to get them into a shelter and near a warm fire or they would both catch a fever. He was gentle in his demeanor, as he put his hands under the other's arms. That pout had felt somewhat familiar, and he could not help the urge to look after the young man. He looked so pitiable after all.]

Can you stand young master?

[fanoperator]

[The stranger's demeanor was surprisingly soothing, in a way that Huaisang didn't often encounter. He felt safe and cared for, and it was easy to cooperate. He hugged the warm coat around his shoulders, nodding and wobbling only a little as he was helped to his feet.

It was reassuring, too, that this stranger was addressing him politely, was decently dressed and had beautiful long dark hair, unlike all these people wandering around looking like laborers and convicts with their hair cropped short. Thank goodness there were a few sensible and civilized people in this strange place.

Eyes wide and expression still pouty, Huaisang went along submissively where he was led, shivering too badly to make any effort at conversation.]

[taintedpeony]

[Jin Guangyao prided himself in his abilities to put others at ease. After all, he had to manage all kinds of people in Lanling Jin, and much of the time the gentry acted like a room full of drunken toddlers if it was late enough in the day. He was gentle as he led the young man back down the path toward the small town.

It wasn't too long until they get back to the house he was squatting in. He settled Huaisang down on the couch and worked on getting a large fire in place. After that, he began to strip out of his own clothing and put on a shirt, sweater, and some trousers he had found in the house. Jin Guangyao set another set of clothes out for his guest.]


We'll get warm soon, young Master. I found some extra clothing you can change into. Let's get you out of those wet robes and hang them to dry. Your silks look quite expensive it would be a shame to see them ruin.

[fanoperator]

[Everything hurt, teeth chattering and head aching from how badly he was shivering. He went along obediently with everything, scooting close to the fire once it was started.

Nodding at the suggestion, Huaisang rose and let his new companion help him with his clothes, since his own hands were shaking too badly to handle the ties. He was grateful all the more so that this person knew something about proper care of silks. Huaisang had absolutely no idea how laundry worked.

The provided clothing seemed deeply improper, but it was warm and dry. Huaisang struggled to figure out how to get into it, and felt very awkward once it was on, embarrassed to be dressed like a laborer.

Returning to sit on the floor by the fire, Huaisang hugged his knees to his chest and shivered.]

How did you start the fire? I haven't been able to find any flints. [And his golden core is alarmingly absent.]