[un: whitewolf] video (backdated to before current event)

[northerndragon]

[Jon looks rough, and he sounds it, too. Under his beard, his face is mottled, and he rubs at the affected area occasionally as he talks. His voice is a low rasp.]

I am seeking my sister. You might know her as Alayne Stone. Girl with long dark hair, but might be that you can see the red in it.

She has been missing for several days. I fear that she is lost in the forest, or that someone has taken her, or —

I don’t know what to think. She is simply gone.

One other thing. It’s not so important as finding Sa— as finding Alayne.

Will you tell me what you’ve done for your curses? I’m having a bloody hard time even thinking of how to set things right with mine. [He rubs at his beard yet again.] Harder still when my mind is on my sister.

Comments

[un: sprite bulb] voice;

[bearshermark]

I haven't seen her. Do you know which house she resided in? Perhaps her 'family' has.

[He doesn't want to be the bearer of potential bad news. He doesn't]

..What curse do you bear?

[northerndragon]

[Jon does know what house Sansa was in, so he tells Eleven… but Sansa’s name has been removed from the list, so his player has no idea what he just told Eleven.]

I was hoping one of them might know, if they see this. I owe it to our father to keep an eye on her — to protect her as well as I can. I have failed.

As to the curse, there was a beautiful woman, a long time ago, who seduced a rich man. He wouldn’t marry her. He made her his mistress, and she paid him back in misery. Set his children against him.

If he had behaved with honor, there would be no curse. Or it would be different.

[If a gesture can be plaintive, Jon’s little scratch at his chin might qualify.]

[bearshermark]

[There isn't more he can offer for Alayne, but Jon's curse gives him pause]

..I'm not sure I understand. He had children, so was he already married when she seduced him and thus dishonored his wife? Or is it that he was unmarried and the two of them had children together while he refused to marry her?

[northerndragon]

I don’t know.

[He is confused and unhappy.]

But if the lady was able to set the lord’s children against him, she must have been their mother. She must have had the raising of them. Why would his wife have the other woman know her children well enough to poison them against anyone?

In the story, I don’t know if there was ever a wife. I don’t know if there were ever other children with other mothers, maybe trueborn. It was so long ago.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven hums. It’s difficult, without knowing the precise story as to its resolution]

But it’s the dishonorable lord you’re tasked with absolving and not the mistress’s vengeance?

un: stormborn; voice

[song_of_fire]

Do you wish to talk in person?

[northerndragon]

If you do. If it isn’t too hard.

[song_of_fire]

Never mind that. If you need...someone [me], I will come see you.

[northerndragon]

Aye. I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s been hurt.

[song_of_fire]

Should we meet at the lake where we last spoke?

It is possible that she returned home? Does that not happen here?

[northerndragon]

I don’t know.

If it isn’t what happened — if she has been taken, or was lost in the woods —

I have to find her, if she is there to be found. You must understand.

[song_of_fire]

I do understand, but I do not think it is wise to rush to conclusions.

We know others are able to return home and others have disappeared that were once part of our party.

We must consider all possibilities. Perhaps the Merchant would know?

Jon: “I’m right though!”

[northerndragon]

The Merchant will say that if I have lost my sister, I should have kept a closer watch on her. He will say that it is my problem to solve and my sorrow to bear.

[He wears a sour expression as he says this, but is anyone really going to question his assumptions?]

I’ll see you where I saw you last.

>(

[song_of_fire]

[She lets his statement go, but frowns to herself at his hard headedness. What else was there to expect from him? She is honestly surprised that he wasn't simply saying this to himself.]

Then I will be there.

[She lives rather close to the lake and is waiting for him, her sandals to one side and her trousers rolled up. Her legs were dipped in the water, partly cooling the scratches and partly because of how warm the day felt.

She held out her hand for him as an act of comfort. Despite her difficulty being close to someone due to the curse, her concern overpowered the magic.]

action

[northerndragon]

[He is stalking, unable to sit still, his boots landing heavily in the soil, but when he arrives, he takes a moment to steady himself.]

I asked the Merchant for guidance when I had that box. He offered none. That was before he knew anyone had been killed — now, he loves us even less.

[Still, he glances at the offered hand, gives her a questioning look, then takes it between both of his own, patting it.]

Your concern is kind.

un: absterge

[downswing]

( He recalls her, once giving him direction on streets haunted. )


Apologies. The girl unseen.

Perhaps the thrall that retained her here has dispersed.

[northerndragon]

Thank you.

[He is genuinely appreciative. He does not always wear his thoughts on his face: often he is cool, stony, withdrawn. But his gratitude is apparent.]

But what if it hasn’t?

I fear that she might be lost in these woods. If she had been stolen, there might have been some kind of outcry. But she was always such a lady. I don’t think she knows what to do with herself in the forest — not without a guard.

[downswing]

A girl under my stewardship also dallies unseen.

If she persists in absence — let us scout the woods for both.

@taken for granite

[rumorate]

I haven't seen Alayne, but if I do, I'll let you know.

[Because disappearances could mean anything, he's right.]

I've been having a hard time figuring out mine too. What's yours like?

[Sometimes getting a second opinion can help.]

[northerndragon]

Thank you.

[It may not be so difficult for her to say it, but there’s still some relief in hearing it. If Sansa is about, it makes it more likely that she will be found. And if she isn’t — there’s nothing he can do.

But if he can do something — if anyone can — he should have his eyes open.]

The curse, it’s another story of a man without honor. A match with his lady. He was rich, and she lured him to her bed hoping he would wed her, but he only made her his mistress. She repaid him by making his children hate him.

I don’t know if they were her children too. They must have been, aye? If he ever had a wife, I can’t imagine her letting her children know the mistress. The story says nothing of a dead first wife or any such thing.

What of yours?

[rumorate]

An witch fell in love with a young shepherd, who walked his herd by her lair each day. She made herself look like a girl he had a crush on and seduced him in the forest. After, she revealed that she deceived him but tried to convince him to stay with her. He refused her hand, and she cast a curse of warts and bleeding marks on him.

I haven't found what happened to him after that.

un : dappled peals of the parted seas (voice)

[beitangmoran]

If she has disappeared without a trace and her crystal transmitter is nowhere to be found, she might have simply gone back to your world.

... but there have been kidnappings of late here, so it might be best to check, indeed.

[northerndragon]

Is she lost, is the crystal lost — you see the trouble rightly.

No one has mentioned seeing anything out of the —

Well, what passes for ordinary here?

[A rhetorical question. The things that are commonplace here would count as unrest where he comes from. Elsewise, they are things that happen in great cities, not small villages. Not usually.]

My sister has not had an easy life. If she needs help, I mean to help her. But if she does, I cannot tell.

[beitangmoran]

As far as I remember she is a bit... foolhardy as well. A tendency to throw herself into danger.

We'll ask around first. See if anyone has seen her.

What was the curse you are trying to get rid of?

[Video; UN: heavenly four seasons]

[eternallywandering]

[Oh boy, oh boy. These are heavy subjects, Jon.]

I will keep my eyes open for her. Should I see someone resembling her description, I will alert you.

[As for the curses...]

I'm serving the temples and helping with the crops. My curses have been lessening gradually. [So yay?] Tell me your ancestor's story. I might be able to help if I know it.