Video | un: a jug of wine amidst the flowers

[wenderer]

[ A man with long dark hair, dressed in green silk robes, is lazily fanning himself and smiling, as he lounges by a campfire. He’s singing along with a group of children seated next to him:

Stitch by stitch,
The love of a witch
Will unravel

Dusk to dawn
Each morning to mourn
With blood and gravel

He lifts his hand, stopping them. ]

I think I’ve learned it now, I’ll teach you all a verse also, come listen.

[ He clears his throat, and in a formal style, speaks as if he were reciting before a large audience. As he does so, the man’s eyes drift away to something just out of view. ]

When mountain peaks wear away, when all the rivers run dry
When thunderstorms rumble in winter, and snow falls from the summer sky
When heaven and earth seal back together, only then will I dare to—

[ A hand abruptly darts out from off camera, obscuring the scene for a moment. When it draws away, the stone has been forcibly moved, revealing the face of another man. ]

That’s not why we’re here. We’ve found out a few things about Lord Arha. If the song these children have been singing is true, this ghost army isn’t trying to rescue anyone, it’s out for revenge.

[ The first man scoots back into the scene, sitting right next to and parking his chin on the second man’s shoulder. ]

Ah-Xu, the man was betrayed!

[ He clicks his tongue, shaking his head sadly.]

He went to rescue his lady, but she joined hands with her enemies instead. The whole army was slaughtered!

[ "Ah-Xu," with a slightly frozen smile, says through his teeth: ]

Keep it down.

[ The undead army is clearly changing its guard in the background. More softly, the first man says, leaning towards the stone: ]

I’ve met some people who say they know how to deal with ghosts. Kindly share your knowledge, I have a feeling we’re all going to need it.

[ Meanwhile, the children have started softly singing again:

Love, her love
Hatisse’s sweet dove
Arha fell last

Vowed to return
His lady to scorn
And spit on their past

With strike of sword
The love of a lord
Will unravel

Dawn to dusk
His memory a husk
Each year he will travel.


ooc: replies from Wen Kexing wenderer and/or Zhou Zishu fated_dance ]

Comments

[weifinder]

( He sighs. )

Hatisse and Arha are the ones who need settling first. Which is my suggestion for sealing away and holding off the two other ghost forces—army and merchant caravan of years past. Keeping them calm, settling them enough not to attack is different from solving their resentment.

The ghost we spoke with before he dissipated was tired of having to do this. He said only Arha remained deluded. They're not all called to the same purpose; they're loyal to their leader.

( Hence targeting Arha and Hatisse, deal with the rest after. )

[wenderer]

Time to undelude him, then.

[ ... ]

Or tell him a different lie.

[weifinder]

Oh? What did you have in mind?

( he admits it. he's curious. )

[wenderer]

We could tell him she rescued herself, and waiting for him in some place far from here...

[ He pauses, thinking. That really only delays the problem, as he'll only return and be angry at being deceived.

... ]

Or we tell him he's too late, she passed away in prison thinking he'd forsaken her, and died cursing his name as a faithless lover. Won't his soul dissipate, then?

[weifinder]

Ah... not likely, given the obsession. He'd want to see her grave, or what amounted to it, and by now I feel his anger is that he knows he cannot continue pretending he is not dead, and the events that killed him did not take place.

[wenderer]

A cenotaph is easy enough to fake. If that fails, there's someone here saying that if his bones can be found, it's possible to destroy this ghost.

[weifinder]

If his bones are found, we can also send him on forcibly, as needed. Which is where I'm useful, and capable, along with those of the Lans likewise here with us.

( soulmate bae and son, but hey, we all need some kind of posse right )

[wenderer]

Locating them, then, is a priority. I know people have been visiting the tombs, do you know if anyone's made a map?

[ The place is a maze; he'd wandered in there in a narcotic stupor, and hadn't made much progress. ]

[weifinder]

Until their recent opening, it wasn't possible. Since then, we have the basic structure, I can sketch it out for you, as you like.

( A pause. )

I already know where the most likely place is to find his bones.

[wenderer]

[ ... ]

Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get them right now!

[weifinder]

Ah, let's arrange for a distraction for our dear leading lord, no? Unless you like being attacked by harpies and two different contingents of resentful ghosts at the same time.