tdm 03

[thestewards]

Oh we were comin' around You threw me back down
You had my trust in your hands You gave it up again

► All TDM threads may be considered canon provided both parties agree and are accepted into the game.

► Canon threads may be redeemed for influence and reputation depending on how you solve the issue at hand or how you engage with the prompt. They also count toward AC.

► Feel free to switch up your character's Jewel from thread to thread. Get a feel for how a Birthright Jewel may limit or enhance your character's abilities.

VIGILANDEN JUSTICE
Newcomers may have heard: just two weeks ago, the Blood attempted to sabotage the power plant just outside the city. For a brief time, the city plunged into darkness and during that time, Councilwoman Vera was shot and killed in the Old Town Bazaar by a young landen man. A small flower now grows where she died. No matter how many times it’s torn up, it grows back.

Following these events, the Strangers overwhelmingly chose to aid the power plant that keeps the lights on. With the perception that the Strangers are on their side, young landen men and women have grown bold. In the night, they creep into River East, where the Blood live.

Some of these gangs of landens do little more than paint Guild symbols on the walls of Blood homes: a hexagon with circles at each joint for the Guilds as a whole, the Tinker's hammer, the needle and jewel of the Crafters, the double-arrow of the Hunter Guild. They cover walls with incendiary words—words like bleeder and bastard.

Others are not so kind. They bring portable muters with them and break into homes. They steal both precious and mundane possessions, frighten children, and terrify parents. They go to the single altar in Draega and smash the treasures of the Blood’s faith, knocking over candles and lighting tapestries that honor the Darkness on fire.

Have you friends in Draega already? Perhaps you met someone at breakfast at the Queen’s Residence, and now as you walk the streets together, you come across one of these landen gangs. The news is full of reports about what they’re doing. Now, it seems, the choice is yours. Do you stop them or join them? The Queen has asked you to help broker peace between the landens and the Blood, but she’s also given you the worst freedom of all: that of choice. Perhaps you think it best to support these gangs in their desire to even the odds against the Blood.


WARM FRONT
The explosion at the power plant caused a surge of power that damaged elektriline heaters in homes across Draega, leaving many in the cold. The Queen, seeing her people in need, immediately dispatched her court to provide heating spells for these homes. She also asked the Strangers, both those still living at her residence and those living throughout the city, to lend their aid, too.

Members of the First Circle provide a quick lesson on how to cast warming spells. These can be wrapped around people or attached to items, such as small stones or large ovens. Depending on how much power is infused into the spell, it can last for an hour or two or upwards of a few days (especially when cast by a darker Jewel).

Many in the First Circle insist on going to the homes in River East—the Blood homes, places where they are more likely to be welcomed. Some certainly choose this because being around the landens makes them nervous and uneasy, but some outright refuse to help the landens, especially those who live in River North where the Guilds do their business. Prince Barret and Lords Jared and Yarl in particular won’t go to the landen parts of town, leaving you and your partner to canvas Old Town, River North, and perhaps even the slums to see if anyone would like your help.

Certainly, this will not be easy, and the Queen has promised a silver mark for each household you and your partner help.


POISONED GNATURE
Warmer weather claws its way across the land, lifting the temperatures above freezing for the first time in months. While much of the city reacts with relief, and the air in the Bazaar improves in spite of the violence and tension that hovers over the city like a black cloud, the farmers outside the city walls are dealing with their own troubles: cold-resistant mosquitoes carrying disease from the frigid mountains of Askavi.

Stagnant water fills troughs and furrows in the earth, becoming a toxic breeding ground for more of these awful pests. The mosquitoes have little interest in humans, but they’re hungry for animal blood. Most animals bitten by the mosquitoes die within a day, their meat rendered inedible.

Food is already scarce and stores run thin. If more animals die, people won’t just be a little hungry or disappointed in the tasteless porridge many are serving as a hold over until summer, they will starve.

The landen Guilds provide a thick, smelly paste that can be spread over the animals, and the Queen requests the Strangers aide the farmers. She, too, can be found working among the stables with Prince Verim or Prince Allairavar at her side, doing her part to ensure the city remains fed.


AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you're spinning the dial on your own device, you'll hear…

etiquette with evandra and aren
[Evandra's voice is a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] …understanding that some people— [She’s being polite about it, but she definitely means the Strangers.] —don’t know how to address a Queen!

[Aren’s voice is chipper and bright. He sounds more like an eager boy than the full-grown man he is.] Quite right, Evandra. For Blood females, remembering titles is easy. Every witch you meet should be addressed as Lady.

[Evandra sounds a little surprised.] Even though male castes have different titles of address, a witch is always called Lady?

[Aren:] That she is! A working Healer or Priestess should be addressed by their caste, but if you’re just being polite in casual conversation, calling her “Lady” is enough!

[Evandra:] As they say: whether warm or rainy, when you meet on the street, you address her as Lady.

the weather
[A soft-spoken man’s voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He’s pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] …rains coming out of Askavi over the next week. Farmers are advised to cover their plants. When outside in the rain, Blood should shield and landens should wear heavy cloaks to protect their skin. Worried about lesions from the rains? The Medicos have a new salve that…

the news
[The man speaks at a brisk pace, hurried and harried as though he has too much to say and not enough time to say it.] …appointing someone new to the Ebon Council?

[Another man, nasally in tone. He doesn’t sound rushed so much as put upon.] It’s hard to say, Garret. With the Strangers in the city, it’s likely that Lord Grejor is waiting to see if any are willing to bring the young assassin to justice.

[Garret:] The landen who killed Councilwoman Vera is a member of the Crafter Guild and is currently being held by the Queen. There have been reports that the Queen means to implement some new process for judging offenses by the end of the week…

Comments

arthur morgan | red dead redemption ii

[haveyouseenmyhat]

vigilanden justice

Shit, you really know how to make a guy feel like he's at home.

[ arthur ducks into an alley, watching as a group of landens breaks into a house. the queen had asked them to "broker peace" - whatever the hell that meant. mostly, in arthur's experience, brokering peace with gangs meant doing so down a barrel of a gun. and he's starting to think maybe this is going to end up that way, too.

there's a lot of them and not a lot of him. (well, perhaps more appropriately: there's a lot of them, and he doesn't have a lot of guns.) so the next time he sees a stranger (that's you, probably), he grabs them and pulls them into the alley. then, quietly: ]

Hey, you, come here.

[ he nods over at the house - the commotion is hard to miss, with the sounds of screams and breaking glass. a few months ago he probably would have just moved on. a few months ago, he might have even joined in. but now...well, they should probably help right? that's the right thing to do. and, besides, the queen did ask for help. ]

warm front

Well, let's go then.

[ arthur isn't afraid of landen parts of town. at least it isn't the fucking bayou. no gators. no nightfolk. no ghosts. piece of cake. (it is probably not a piece of cake.) teamed up with his new partner, it's time to head out and see who they can help.

oh, and make small talk. everyone's favorite. ]

These warmin' spells are pretty useful. I can think of a few times it woulda come in handy.

[ not freezing in the grizzlies, for one. ]

poisoned gnature

[ this smells worse than the gang after days without bathing, but admittedly, this might be the best job of all. just arthur and some peace and quiet with some animals. and while the farmers are quick to get the livestock that's meant for eating, arthur goes to help the horses. can't round up your animals without horses. can't do anything without horses, really.

he's patient with them, working diligently to get them covered with the paste to protect them from the mosquito. ]

Now, I know it ain't fun, and it's matting your coat, girl, but you gotta relax and stay with me. Last thing you want is to get bit by some mosquito carrying the plague or whatever nonsense it's got. So just, easy does it.

warm;

[mekhanikos]

Oh yeah, totally.

[ leo's answer is that of someone who both means it and doesn't at all — of someone who's had his own warming "spell" of sorts for so long that he doesn't even know what it's like to be cold. ]

It's kinda like your personal heating blanket, right?

[haveyouseenmyhat]

Yeah, like a blanket, sure.

[ he has no idea what the difference between a "heating" blanket and a blanket is. don't all blankets provide heat? ]

[mekhanikos]

[ ... right. he keeps forgetting not everyone has seen and experienced the wonders of 2010s. ]

... so if I guess you haven't seen the electric blankets and pillows and stuff, am I correct or am I correct?

[haveyouseenmyhat]

[ arthur is a long way from 2010, unfortunately. ]

Hm. Didn't know you could use electricity in blankets and pillows. You wouldn't light them on fire?

[ #justturnofthecenturythings ]

[mekhanikos]

Uh, no, when it's made correctly that's totes not happening. As soon as I figure out how to use the elektriline here for it, I can build one for you so you can see how it works.

[ he actually means that, because... well. because there's nothing he can't make. ]

[haveyouseenmyhat]

Well, I guess it might be worth looking at.

[ why do people always want to show him inventions?? ]

[mekhanikos]

[ because!! the future ]

Dude, count on me, I'll make one. But anyway —

[ he crouches down next to the fireplace, places his hand inside it, and lights it up. ] Can you handle the Craft part? I'm still a bit fuzzy on the details of that. [ mostly because he's not needed to use it for heating or light yet. ]

poisoned gnature

[garmr]

[Guts is making his way out of one of the other stables, empty bowl of paste in hand. His iron prosthetic is clipped to his belt and sword strapped to his back, but is otherwise dressed just as the rest of the farmers were.

He leans against a wooden frame, watching the other Stranger get to work.]

You sure you want that one? Heard she's got a bit of an attitude.

[haveyouseenmyhat]

[ arthur glances over at guts, but doesn't stare. he's seen fake limbs before - not iron ones, but fake ones. after the war lots of folk were in the same boat as guts, it seemed like.

arthur just laughs at the comment, looking back at the horse and patting her gently. ]

Sounds like me an' her got something in common already, then!

[garmr]

[The enthusiasm seems to lift some of the dour weight from his face, even if Guts couldn't quite get himself to laugh in kind.]

Give the court nobles a warnin' before you bite 'em.

[He hangs his equipment by the entrance of a stall, gets a bowl of fresh paste, and finds an animal to greet with an offered hand and quiet scratch at the neck.]

[haveyouseenmyhat]

I don't think it would win me much esteem with the nobles if I went around bitin' them anyways, but I'll definitely keep the warning in mind.

[ he is totally getting ideas from this, though. ]

[garmr]

Doubt that'd be the worst thing that's happened in that palace, with all the hotheads they got.

[don't listen to Guts for sound political advice]

[haveyouseenmyhat]

If nothing else, the looks on their faces would be pretty damn memorable. Can you imagine? A whole room of people gawking on account of some stranger biting one of them?

[ stop ]

[sournois]

[ Arno isn't big on helping royalty, but he is pretty okay with helping strangers on the street when they need help. Sometimes. Not usually, though. And a brawl going on in a house isn't really his problem. There might be innocent people in there, or they could all just be thugs and the problem would solve itself after a while. But it's not like he has anything better to do, not really. So he lets Arthur pull him aside and eyes the commotion. ]

Oui? Do you plan on stepping in? [ Arno sure doesn't seem to be too invested here. ] The Blood can take care of themselves. This doesn't really concern us.

[haveyouseenmyhat]

Well, I --

[ 'twasn't he, though? ]

We were asked.

[ it sounds like a lame excuse, even to him. dutch would tell him to wait and take whatever was left, wouldn't he? ]

[sournois]

[ Wow, that was surprisingly flimsy. Arno smirks. Now he feels bad for this guy? Congrats, Arthur, you convinced him. ]

If you would like some help breaking up fights, I'm afraid I'm better at putting an end to them entirely.

[haveyouseenmyhat]

That's usually how it fights go for me, too.

[ he charges in guns ablazing.]

[sournois]

Very well, monsieur.

[ That's actually a relief. Arno will try to resist using his hidden blade, since he doubts the Queen would take too kindly to, you know, murder. He cracks his knuckles. ]

I doubt the locals will mind terribly so long as no one is killed. Shall we?

[haveyouseenmyhat]

Wait, hold up.

[ he turns back to arno instead of heading over to the house. ]

Was that not what you meant about ending fights?

poisoned gnature

[thequitecontrary]

[ Mary has actually done hard farm work before, even if she doesn't look like it. Not that she makes a habit of it, but she's aware that sometimes certain things must be done. Still, if given the option, she's not going to do the down and dirty work.

Which leaves her with the horses, which works well because she loves horses. She's been meaning to see if she can offer horseback riding lessons here as a source of income, so it's good to get to know the stable owners.

She hears the man talking to the horse and it brings a smile to her face. It's nice to find someone who also cares about these creatures. Mary approaches both him and the horse and gently takes the horse by its reins. ]

I can try to keep her calm while you apply the paste.

[ That's definitely the cleaner part of this job, but since his hands are already dirty... ]

[haveyouseenmyhat]

[ yes, arthur can definitely tell that this woman hasn't done hard work like this before. he figures her hands are probably all soft and uncalloused, not meant for this kind of work. shes's a proper lady, which is not the sort arthur usually keeps company with.

except...

well, that didn't work out, exactly. ]

Oh, would you?

[ he looks over at her, letting her have the reins and control of the horse. ]

That's mighty kind of you. Thank you.

[thequitecontrary]

[ She is indeed the type of soft-handed lady that he's thinking of. If he is more rough and tumble, she's not going to look down on him for it. All of them here are Strangers and she's already learned that they have to work together. ]

Of course. I quite like horses and I haven't had a chance to spend any quality time with any of them here yet.

[ The mare is a pretty chestnut brown and Mary pats her nose before running her fingers through her mane. ]

[haveyouseenmyhat]

Hoping to befriend one while you're at this?

[ it's not a terrible idea, and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't done worse (i.e. stolen horses -- and you know what they do to horse thieves.) ]

Maybe she'll go home with you on account of your fine handling.

[thequitecontrary]

[ Mary laughs gently. ] I'd love that, though I'm not sure if her owner would. Sadly I don't have the money here to buy her for myself.

[ They're all a bit at the mercy of the Queen and her court. She does actually hope to find some way to make money so that she can move out of the Queen's residence. It's not quite the comfort level that she expects - though living on her own may not be much better. ]