video. un: a_civil_serpent. threadjack away.

[inferus]

( Wrath's expression is as unreadable as ever as he, and presently Lockwood, walk away from Kuthuba, who has taken a rock and thrown it at the moon, howling, "Stooooooooooop looking at Kuthuba!" More rocks follow, shot upward and plopping back to the ground at Kuthuba's feet.

Wrath pauses, lets out the slightest of sighs, and then continues forward. )

At least they're not howling derogatory words this time. [ Lockwood remarks in a mild tone, though the quick look he shoots Wrath suggests there may be a story there. ]

How lucky for the rest. ( Though Wrath might take the howling at the moon personally given his wife's lunar connection. Regardless. Now that they are far enough away, Wrath gets down to business as there is much to convey: ) The Huntress was here before. Her influence, at least, remains.

For those unaware, she is part of the Undead Lieges - the brotherhood. Two years previously, according to Kuthuba, a woman ran through the forest here. She was sought by mortals for her beauty. Many died in their search, lost in the mist. She wore no clothes, had long, red hair, and eventually, was banished to her husband. As some in our group may remember, she was married to the Beastmaster who was slain months ago. In our initial encounter with her in Taravast, she was able to control those associated with Death to follow her, do her bidding, ( the slightest lock of his jaw - near imperceptible, but the flash of violence in the gold of his eyes is far more visible, he would like to see her destroyed ) and she was drawn by fire and magic. She does not linger.

It would also seem the two of us can now view the Lumberjack haunting and stop him. We spoke to him. He believes his work is good as it forces people to face their past, making them better people, more able to move through time... unburdened. He wishes to do well with his haunting so he does not disappoint a 'them'.

The lumberjack, seems to be someone who wanted to do right, but who was easily influenced, used and abused. The villagers were not very kind to this young man, yet he always saw their actions in an innocent light. [ Does Lockwood sound a little judgmental about those who had been using this kid? Yes. Yes he does. ]

We recovered three pages of what appear to have been this young man's diary. On one of the pages he recounts that his family believed him prone to starting trouble, that odd things happened around him, like water bursting, or air turning stormy. I get the sense that he was a lumberjack because it was an out of the way occupation for him.

Apparently he tried helping his uncle selling fish one day, but had an altercation when a customer tried to haggle the price. The customer began to choke, struggling to breath. A foreign woman in white, [ Lockwood recounts the woman's details as if reading from the diary page itself ] approached our lumberjack, told him he was special, that she could help him. Then all of a sudden the customer could breath again. [ Which had obvious implications. ]

Has anyone else encountered anything about a woman in white, or other villagers who seem to have abilities they are either unaware of, or unable to control?

Comments

[inferus]

I wonder if anchors could be tied to hauntings. It would certainly conceal them from discovery. But as you said, there is a connection missing still.

[blackscales]

Did you find there were any noticeable hauntings in Taravast? I don't recall any, but I was not present for the full extent others were.

[inferus]

Not in particular - other than Hatisse.

No member of the Brotherhood had any hold over the city either though due to the deal they had made with the Undead. It is clearly different here. We know the Huntress does not linger, and yet her presence is still felt here and the dead still come to life and devour.

It is something to consider. I do not know that we can have any definitive answer until we learn more.

[blackscales]

No member had active, visible hold -- yet perhaps the heart there was still extending someone's power and using it to repel. Marking the place as belonging and under protection.

It would make sense that leaving a part of yourself somewhere would extend your power there.

[inferus]

It could be. Especially as the heart would be sensed by others connected to death - like the rest of the Brotherhood.

It seems as though finding the anchors may be an important step to undoing the curse this place is under.

[blackscales]

It seems we will find ourselves with a growing collection of anchors.

[ ... Of body parts. Unpleasant. ]

[inferus]

So we do. It would be nice if we could use them to our advantage. Already we are wielded across this world by the merchant from one place to the next at his directive.

( And he would like it if their group could have power of their own in response - to influence the decisions made about them. )

[blackscales]

It would, but my fear is otherwise. If anchors have consequence to areas they are in, what consequence will come of us having so many?

[ Are they slowly becoming a moving target? ]

[inferus]

You worry it could attract attention, which is a reasonable concern. We are also a group with little to our name in this world, and there is the potential these items could be used to protect ourselves. ( It's all about the risk and reward. )

[blackscales]

There is, of course with plenty of associated danger given how little we currently understand.