Exalted 3rd: To Wound the Autumnal City

[Sarky]

Samesh:


"I am."


Samesh took a moment to admire the passing countryside, remembering.


"Up until about a year ago, I was an Enforcer, a lawman of Great Forks. An investigation I was leading turned out to be a set-up, and I was staring death in the face when the Unconquered Sun spoke to me.


I was lucky, really. Had it happened elsewhere the Immaculate monks may well have killed me. But Great Forks is... Interesting, when it comes to religion. The worst I had to put up with was a small delegation of monks demanding my execution, before being politely shown the way out."


He let out a small chuckle. "I apologise for my frankness, it's not exactly a tolerated subject in civilised society. But I have little interest in hiding the truth of who I am. Or indeed what."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@JayTee


Hours pass in sweltering heat. The causeway seemingly made of packed dust kicked up with each footstep. Mosquitoes whisper annoingly in your ears and harry your wrists. Generally tracking south, the causeway reveals little. At one point you come across a few abandoned camps, tiny fires, fallen in lean-tos, and only a single hint of one of those hardnailed boots. One of the camps is notable: the tents torn to shreds and strange footprints running back northward into the marsh. They vanish some yards into the mud and grass.


As the Sun gets lower in the afternoon sky, you see a village in the distance, set hard against what looks like a vast, sunken plaza. The road ahead is lined with refugees trying to outrun the plague.

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament


There is a rasping sound coming from Echo's Lament and it is soon evident that the noise is the performer's laughter. "I welcome frankness, my friend. I apologise for my circumspection. I have learned to use such methods because of the view most people have of those who are Chosen. You have nothing to fear from me, for the Unconquered Sun has chosen me, as well. He did not speak to me, but, in a similar manner, he came to my aid in my moment of need.


"I have been a musician for as long as I can remember. My..." and here there is an audible hesitation, "voice was not always the ruin you hear now. At one time, I was rather highly regarded for the quality of my voice. I had a burgeoning career as a singer. Unfortunately, I came to the attention of her. The Muse of Inveterate Concupiscence. It's a long story that I leave to you if you want to hear, but the short version is I spurned her. As part of her vengeance, she did this." Now Echo's Lament gestures at his throat. "She meant for me to die in despair and squalor. She almost succeeded. Through the kindness of strangers, I found my way back through the sanxian.


"Then she found out. And she wanted revenge. So she came for me, along with a dozen of her cultists, to finish the job. Needless to say, the Unconquered Sun chose that time to bless me with his Grace. Needless to say, I survived the encounter. Needless to say, I now use his Grace to help people. But." There is palpable anger - and loathing - in his rasp now. "I will NOT allow her to keep her prize. I WILL find her. I WILL punish her. I WILL get my voice back. Even if it takes me to the ends of Creation."


Echo's Lament stares into the distance for several moments until, with a shake off his head, his gaze refocuses on Samesh. "My apologies for my...vehemence. I have a particular animosity toward this particular being. It's the reason for wanting to go to the Convention." Now a huge smile spreads across his face. "I am pleased to say you are my first encounter with another of our kind. I am exceedingly excited. I see this as an auspicious beginning. Oh. I don't know if it's apparent or not, but I am Eclipse. Our road lies before us and adventure awaits!"

Spoiler

Sorry for any typos. I'm doing this on my phone. Let me know if anything needs clarification.

 

[Sarky]

Samesh:


Another Solar! Disbelief gave way to amusement, then sorrow as Echo's Lament recounted the loss of his voice.


"I'm sorry for your loss. If you need a hand bringing this goddess to justice, I'd be happy to help. I had some experience dealing with divine criminals back home. Usually unwise to tackle alone, but you know this Muse of Inveterate Concupiscence better than I so if you prefer, I'll not intrude."

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament





Echo's Lament gives a little bow. "I thank you for your condolences. And I am not a proud man. Wait. I take that back. In some ways, I am a very proud man. But when it comes to accepting help - particularly in this endeavor - I will take whatever help is offered. So yes. I will gladly accept your help. But only if you accept mine in your pursuit of this - thing? - you now chase. I cannot track criminals through the wilderness, but I am good at talking to people. Whatever skills I have, they are yours. Should you wish them."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Sarky @Vanman





The road is pleasant, if drab. Refugees, covering themselves in sheets and makeshift parasols to beat the heat, are thick upon the road as mosquitoes hungrily escort you. The marshes switch their footing to bog for a short time, lumpy and with bubbling pools of pitch here and there. A noxious stench clings to everything. Scudding clouds overhead only taunt relief from the heat and smell until you crest a hill, seeing the land sloping down to the south, the first real hints of the river on the horizon and a sizable village standing upon stilts above the reeds and elephant grass.


Road traffic thins in the walk. Manua is at stark odds with the surrounding area. Children are playing upon stilts or wading in the water. Adults hurry about their usual tasks with little care, save perhaps the odd glance at passersby on the road. A recently uncovered ditch along the road is the subject of much fascination for a number of little ones, though they aren't playing inside.

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament





Seeing the children staring into the ditch, Echo's Lament furrows his brow. "That ditch is certainly holding those children's attention," he comments to his companion. "I wonder if it's a victim of the plague. Wouldn't be the first victim I've seen left by the side of the road. I aim to have a look." With that, the minstrel heads over to the ditch to see what has so enraptured the youth.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman


It is, in point of fact, a grave. Former grave, by the looks of it. It's been quickly dug up, there's even a fine dusting of quicklime settled in the mud within. "Maybe he wasn't dead," one of the children muses.

 

[JayTee]

Yugo





Approaching one of the fleeing refugees, Yugo stopped the man as politely as he could. "Excuse me, could you tell me what happened here?" He asked, referring to the plague.

 

[Sarky]

Samesh:


"Why bury someone who wasn't dead? Or dig up someone who was? Rarely the actions of a good man. Excuse me a moment..."


Samesh squatted down by the grave, and opened his senses to the scene; the smell of the fresh soil; the texture of the dirt between his fingers; the patterns and smells left by shovels and footprints and up until recently buried human lying in mud... All facets of the past, all coalescing into a story of what happened, if one had the eyes to see it.

Spoiler

Spending 5m personal essence on Crafty Observation Method to establish what the hell happened here. It's a case scene action, but only takes a few seconds. I get [Essence] automatic successes and double 9s. I'm assuming it's not a crime scene, so not including the Investigation specialty.


[dice]17452[/dice]




Ok, so double-9s and 1 auto-success brings the total to 5 successes. REVEAL YOUR SECRETS, SOGGY HOLE IN THE GROUND!

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@JayTee





An old man covered in a shawl nods at you, "The plague? Outsider, eh? Well, we're not exactly the most open part of the Hundred Kingdoms... Plague started, oh, two or three months ago. Causes folk to become feverish, acting like they got a fire in 'em. Sweat and bleed out their lives and such. It's the blood. Rant and rave and holler for the pain, hallucinations." He jerks his chin toward the nearby village. "Manua here isn't so badly afflicted yet, but north of here, against the river marshes, it's desolate."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Sarky





A phantasmagorical kaleidoscope of events unfold before your eyes, slotting into a sequence of events. The grave unearthed painstakingly by locals; the carefully wrapped corpse reverently placed within by men wrapped in leathers. A vase of quicklime is shattered at the edge of the grave and the dusty mix and potsherds are left within. Soil is carefully placed back atop the body by the men in leathers, so as to avoid the plague. Then, nothing. A span of days pass, shadows of villagers making their way by along the road or stopping to pay respects.


Then, something. Men with shovels come in what seems the dead of night and reveal the corpse within. They stand a time, talking, observing, then one jumps down into the grave to begin lifting the body out. They leave by the road.

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament





As Samesh is investigating the grave, Echo's Lament closes his eyes and then touches his pool of Essence to his eyesight. He can feel the lifeblood of the gods fall over his eyes and expand his range of vision, tearing down that veil that normally stands between this world and the world of spirits. He feels the strength of the Unconquered Sun augment his sight, preparing him for gazing across that veil. Echo's Lament expects there may be a multitude of ghosts in the plague lands. He hopes there might be some who will aid him to find out what happened here. When his mind is settled, and his spirit calm, he takes one soothing breath. Then, he opens his eyes...

Spoiler

Spending 3m peripheral Essence on Spirit Detecting Glance to see if there are any ghosts in the area. More specifically, is the ghost who was buried here still in the area?

 

[Sarky]

Samesh:


"Whoever it was, they were definitely dead. Look at all these footprints, people came and paid respects over several days. The body was buried maybe a week ago. Someone relatively well-known in the area perhaps. Then it was exhumed again very recently. By several people; see the one deep set of prints here, one of them jumped in to lift the body out to someone else... Here, these prints are heavier, carrying the body towards the road. Probably more than two, bodies aren't easy to carry. They couldn't have done this during the day time, not with the crowds as they've been recently. Hrmm."


No sign that the bodysnatchers tried to placate the spirit of the deceased. Could mean trouble for the town.





So... Some men desecrated a grave and stole a corpse, which left on the road watched over by our friend Utapa, we might ask him if he saw anything. If we're lucky, the deceased has already passed on and there'll be no outrage at the exhumation. If not... We may need to have a word."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman





Your view dims as another state of being collides with the waking world. The grayish smear of another form resolves just behind the children, eyes hidden from view. It seems perplexed, looking at its own hands and then at the children. A kimono of finest homespun sharpens into view, stitched with a dull bronze thread that was once gold. Pulling at its ephemeral flesh, it seethes.


"Would that you had eyes to see, children." Its shadowed gaze rises to notice you. "Who are you?"

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament





The Eclipse looks at the ghost and holds up a finger, as if to say "Give me a moment." He then turns to the children. "Listen, my gentles, my friend here is an investigator and needs to do his job. Whilst I appreciate your enthusiasm and the excitement this scene presents, we need to find out if something untoward has happened. I will ask that you all head home now, so that we may do our work. Perhaps later I will play you a song or two. But for now, off you go!"


As the children scamper off to their residences, Echo's Lament speaks quietly to Samesh. "There is a ghost here, my friend. I am going to speak with it. If there are any questions you would like me to ask, please, let me know. I know of two already - Why bury someone who wasn't dead? Or dig up someone who was? If there are any others, you need but ask."


Now the performer turns his attention to the spirit in front of him. "Greetings, noble spirit. My name is Echo's Lament. Why would the children need eyes to see? What has happened here that needs seeing? I have eyes. Eyes that can see. Perhaps you can enlighten me as to what needs seeing. But first things first. You have my name. Would you do me the honor of giving me yours?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman


"They wonder, but don't know what has happened." The ghost tugs still at its flesh, tears off ghostly strips. "A sickly event. Plague bearers. The man who lay here indeed was dead." A rasping, papery sound escapes from between its broken teeth. "Foulness has crept into these marshes. An elder sickness." The whole world has a pulled tendency to it. Everything seems stretched and seen through a colorless lens.

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament





A furrow creases Echo's Lament's brow and then he repeats what the ghost said to Samesh. There is a pause before he speaks again. "This elder sickness. Is there a hand in it's spread? Is there some outside force guiding its trajectory? Is it magical in nature? That there is a plague is evident, here and throughout the Old Crown Lands. If there is some malevolent entity at work, then it is my duty to confront that entity. Do I have a duty to perform?"

 

[Sarky]

Samesh:


Samesh's face grew dark as he listened. If this illness was spread with intent and malice...


"I need to know all the ghost knows about the men who defiled the grave. Whether he locate the body now. If there were others. If this was spread deliberately, then we are facing mass murderers, and someone will answer."

 

[Grey]

Radiant Shine





"Then we will have to speak with him," he says, glancing over his shoulder at Whisper. "If you'll assist me, Whisper?"


Shine prepares to burn away the sickness in his patient with the light of the Sun.


[dice]17488[/dice]

 

[Vanman]

Echo's Lament:





The voice of the musician, when he speaks, is pitched low and for Samesh's ears only. "I doubt that these grave robbers were the originators of the disease. From what I understand, it's been going on for several months. I certainly won't rule out their desire to spread the disease, however. I will relay your requests to the ghost."


There is a change in Echo's Lament's voice when he addresses the ghost once more. It is lighter, and it is soothing. Or as soothing as Echo's Lament's voice can be, given its grating quality. He passes on Samesh's requests to the ghost before speaking his own order of business. "Again, any assistance you can provide us would be greatly appreciated. Nor would it go unforgotten. There is one order of business we might be able to handle right now. I still don't know your name. Or, at least, what to call you. Perhaps you can answer that question first before you address our other concerns."

 

[Skrakes]

Whisper


"But of course, doctor."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman @Sarky


"I don't know, I don't know... It has come before from without. It is an old death that feeds on these marshes. The graves do not fill so quickly outside." Bones in the ghost's neck pop as it twists to stare at you. Eyes open along its sunken porcelain cheeks. "I am simply something lost. This land was once my home. I have business here. ...I am Elegant Shroud." It approaches the grave, looking more out of place against the vibrant life around it. "Those who took the body came with a purpose. A purpose they've been fulfilling as best they can. North of here, it was burned. There is another coming to this village now who has seen the destiny of the taken corpse."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Grey @Skrakes





Miracles fall from the hands of Radiant Shine. The task proves difficult, but slowly, steadily, the fever vanishes from the young man's eyes. His breathing and trembling calms. Not cured, not yet, but you feel the fever and madness sweat from the boy's pores and soak the pillows upon which he rests. A weak smile breaks over his trembling lips, "Are you gods?"

 

[Skrakes]

Whisper


"Nay," she grinned. "We are but men."