Sherlock and I were never ones to simply sit idle, barring the occasional drought of 'interesting' serial murders, thefts, and forgeries in London. Norfinbury has proved to be of equal, if different, interest. I reckon its mysteries run deeper than even Moriarty's network. The Meadous has its own mysteries, to be sure, but none caught my attention so much as the gateless walls.
I'd discussed the walls with a few of the current residents who informed me that the walls had previously changed according to the perceptions of the people looking at them, but that they were now fixed in their illusion. This was based on the gods apparently contributing their power to maintain the walls. During my conversations, it also came up that touching the walls resulted in severe emotional shock. I took it to mean some sort of emotional overload, akin to an induced panic attack.
Testing it out myself bore that out.
It was 13 April by the Meadous' calender when we began our latest escapades at the walls. After reviewing notes prepared by other residents and discussing some of their own previous experiments to actively breech the wall, Sherlock and I decided to take a different approach. Three questions came up:
Is the wall radioactive? Secondary to this, if it is radioactive, are increased medical nanomachine (MN) activity and subsequent MN poisoning responsible for the physiological and emotional reactions to touching the wall?
Does touching the wall with an object confer its effects onto a person, or must there be body contact?
What are the actual physiological responses to touching the wall?
I checked for radioactivity using a standard Geiger counter and found no indications of increased radiation compared to ambient levels, and nothing that would present a risk to human health. None of us who'd been in Norfinbury had any signs of increased radiation, either, which is bizarre. I know for a fact Sherlock's still being influenced by MN Poisoning symptoms. So they must still be reacting to something in the environment.
Touching the wall with an object didn't do anything. So go on and poke it with a stick, if you're feeling daring. It was only when a person was touching it with some piece of their own body that there was a response. Even through fairly thick clothing.
The last bit was probably the most interesting and the most upsetting, really. While I'm sure everyone who's touched them could tell you it felt like an emotional freight train just ran them down, we now have documented brain, heart, and blood pressure readings that support this. Everything points to a bloody deluge of hormones I'd associate with the 'fight or flight' response. It's what tends to get triggered in a panic attack. So, in essence, whatever those walls are actually made up of, the way they work is triggering your hormones to say 'get the hell away from it, it's dangerous.' Two people touching the thing at once didn't do a jot to diminish the effect.
Effective for keeping people off of them, I suppose.
Everything started when I came across an avalanche low on the mountainside some weeks ago. I'd been hearing about avalanches off and on, but seeing one that all but covered the path to the observatory left me wondering what could be going on. I've done a lot of backwoods hiking through the years, but none has ever led me into the snowier reaches of the world. A little checking in the library led me to believe that there was something uncanny about these particular avalanches.
I called in Sherlock. It's not something that's his typical area of expertise, but I knew he'd be the best one to sort the matter. He'd tackled comics coming to life in the streets of London. I knew he'd mount this problem as quickly as that one. And honestly, he'd been an absolute nuisance around the house without a proper case to focus on since our arrival in the Meadous.
We prepared for the trip--which is to say I prepared for it--gathering the supplies we'd need. After that, it was a quick request to Dr. Stephen Strange for a portal into the lodge at the summit of one of the mountains, and we were off. We decided the wisest course would be to traverse the paths, searching for signs of avalanches or slopes that looked prone to them. Sherlock had consumed what I'm fairly certain might be an encyclopedia's worth of facts about avalanches and filled me in on literally every detail I never wanted to know about them as we walked.
It wasn't too long until we reached a fork in the path. Sherlock was checking down one of the slopes and I happened to glance down the other way. That's when I saw it! I couldn't be sure, but there was some sort of strange shadow on the mountainside, up the slope. Almost as soon as I spotted it, it was gone, though. Sherlock took us that way and we came across our first avalanche.
I was just getting up it with our case hound, Black Bart, when Sherlock took off like a shot up the mountain, apparently forgetting everything he'd just told me about how unstable avalanches could be. When I finally made it up to where he was, he was lying in the snow, all but face down. I asked him what he was on about and he jumped up like a man possessed. He'd found a foot print! Or a paw print? It was huge, whatever it was. Sherlock estimated the creature must have been ten feet tall and sixty-four stone at a minimum. He'd found a few curly white hairs, as well, but whatever had made it--our yeti--had disappeared into the snow.
[There's a printed picture of the the indentation that looks like cross between a bear and a human footprint.]
Thinking quickly for a pincer move, Sherlock sent me back down the slope while he stayed up at the top and made use of the magic compass we'd won as part of one of Zephyr's challenges some time back. I saw him off and on throughout the day, cutting a lonesome, striking figure in the distance. The wind was relentless and whipped his dark curls and the loose edges of his scarf back whenever I caught a glimpse. He would have looked even cooler with his usual Belstaff coat, collar turned up, but that had gone into the ocean a little while before. Still need to get that replaced.
[There's a printed photo of Sherlock looking suitably dramatic in profile against the mountain. He's gazing off into the distance with the wind, indeed, whipping his hair and scarf back.]
I didn't see much down where I was, just tried to keep Black Bart from running off too far into the snow. The sun was getting low in the sky when I called for Sherlock, and we set up camp on the side of the mountain. I learned from him that he'd come across places that looked like our yeti had been standing and watching from. And there was something else. There was more than one of them! He said it looked like there were probably three of them. The extra two were smaller. Baby yetis? Or at least adolescents. I wanted to catch a real glimpse of them! Could they be the cause of the avalanches?
The wind was howling down the mountain that night, but even then, we could hear the telltale sounds of avalanches in the distance. It's what was nearby we should've been more concerned about. As we came out of the tent the next morning, we found signs of nighttime visitors. On the leeward side of the tent. There were drawings, one of them even looked like Black Bart.
[And another picture, this time of the crude snow drawings of the puppy.]
After a brief and animated discussion on how to proceed, Sherlock went back up the mountain while I stayed downslope and followed the path with Black Bart. Or what was left of the path. The avalanches overnight had all but wiped it out. It was treacherous-going, but we soldiered on, keeping an eye out for Sherlock as we went. It was pushing toward eleven o'clock when I came to an area that was probably the most unstable I'd seen. Black Bart had been running atop the packed snow for the most part, but he kept falling through here. I wanted to call for Sherlock and let him know we were going to need to find a different way around when the whole mountainside started to shift. I remembered what he'd told me about what to do when you were caught in an avalanche, but before I'd managed to do more than turn to the side to start swimming across it, there was something grabbing me.
It was the yeti! She was huge, completely white and covered in fur from head to toe. her face was gray and she had enormous curling horns. She grabbed me around the middle with one arm and snatched Black Bart with the other and just started hauling us. She ran faster than anything I'd ever seen, right across the top of the snow. Light as a feather somehow. We were carried away for maybe half a mile before I finally wrestled my way free and she stopped. I got my gun out and held that on her, telling her I wasn't leaving my friend behind on the mountain.
Sherlock caught up to us after that. He thanked her for saving me and Black Bart, which... well, I did that, as well. Only seemed right, all things considered. He demanded to know who she was and that's how we met Winter and her sons, Mistral and Bora. They were about eight-years-old. Nice lads. Very interested in Black Bart, along with petting me and Sherlock. They were at least five and a half feet tall. Rounder than their mum, and friendlier.
[There's a final attached print picture of Winter and her two sons. The boys have horns, but they're tiny and only just starting to poke out.]
It turned out, Winter had been the cause of the avalanches. They were designed to discourage anyone from coming up the mountain so her boys could play in peace. She was worried people might see them and try to hurt them. It's something every parent has to worry about, I reckon, strangers taking advantage of their kids. Sherlock managed to convince her that no one meant her or her children harm. Winter agreed to stop the avalanches and clear the paths provided we let everyone know that her children were not to be harmed. Winter also let us know about Mistral and Bora's father, Sirocco. She said he was wandering in some of the other mountains and didn't help out in caring for his sons at all. I think some of the concern for her kids might have come from worrying over Sirocco not being there to help her.
And there it is. The mystery of the avalanches solved! I've let Winter know we might leave messages for her near the mountain lodge now and again, and she's agreed to leave similar messages there for us in case anything comes up. Not a bad turn for a couple of amateur mountaineers and avalanche chasers, I'd say!
'I heard a voice across the planes. That's never happened before, never except for the Rift and I found them and spoke to them first. I can hear her. She needs help. I want to help her.
We will help her.'
That's how it all started. But isn't that how it always starts? Someone calls for help, and good people answer that call. Zephyr answered it the only way they knew how: bridging the divide between this little pocket universe and a place called the Void.
Apparently, the gods here aren't as adept at dimensional travel as we are, though. They could build the bridge, but they needed us to cross it. Zephyr created some sort of portal, connected through their Mirror Dimension into the Void; though, they took some care to make sure it was only a two-way connection. Can't have us going too far, I guess.
Sherlock was eager to head out there. We'd both been going a bit mad, per usual--him being more annoying than usual, if I'm being honest--so, I packed us a bag for some food and we were off! Stepping into the Void was like nothing I'd ever seen. By the name, you'd think it would be empty, and it was, after a way. There was something missing there. It reminded me a little bit of the first house I woke up in, in Norfinbury. That had belonged to Riley Sung, a journalism student who'd managed to capture some of the violent protests against the Admin System that Norfinbury was run on. After finding a recording of Mr. Sung's death, everything that had been in the house simply disappeared. And that absence was like a place carved out of you, sunk into the bones and hurt. Even without knowing Riley, I missed him, somehow.
That was the Void. It still had things in it--decaying chambers, mines, and gardens, little creatures made of corrupted color, the Sisters, the Brothers--but there was something missing. I think, in this case, it might have been hope.
Sherlock and I headed out from the Adit after getting a look at some weird white light at the top of the chamber. We couldn't see anything up there, and when I tried throwing an apple up into it, nothing came back down, almost like it had got stuck… or maybe just disintegrated. The first stop out from the Adit were the chambers for Sister Eve.
[There's a picture of Eve placed here and the words go around it.]
Not the friendliest woman I've ever met, but she was extremely informative. She let us know this was the Void, that its inhabitants were the Sisters, and that they were trying to reach the Upper Limit--the white light we'd seen in the Adit--in order to create a new world. She said we needed to collect color and give it to her Sisters to unlock their hearts and prepare them for the Adit. She seemed pretty adamant that only one of them could ascend to this Upper Limit, and she told us in no uncertain terms that it ought not be her. She was the oldest of the lot, so I think she probably felt responsible for them. Still, that's a hell of a lonely road. She said she sensed some affinity for one of her colors in me, as well. Said my heart called to Emerald, whatever that meant. I did seem to find more of that than most of the other colors, along with Crimson and Violet. Sherlock was Violet and Azure. Still not really sure what it all meant, but it seemed more like one of those online quiz things that tell you your 'personality color.'
After Eve was Sister Dia, and she was just about the most unsociable one out of them.
I won't fault her for knowing what she wanted, but she was about as direct as Sherlock is when he's on a tear. I'd collected a bit of Violet, which let us talk to her. She seemed lonely, honestly. Like Eve, she was chained up by her Brother, though she had her hands cuffed and Eve was chained at the waist. Dia's chambers were probably the most beautiful, though, some sort of old church with rainbow stained glass windows. It was like walking into a kaleidoscope with a few holes punched into it. She told us more about the Brothers and about how Eve was refusing color in part because she was angry at herself and felt guilty for all of her Sisters being chained up. Eve had been the first one in the Void and her Brother came after. He was hurt by the unformed Upper Limit and everything that came after was based on that, really.
After Dia was Sister Noc.
[A photo of Noc accompanies the text. She's reclining in an armchair and speaking with Sherlock.]
She was… nice. Very nice. She was forward about wanting color, like Dia, but she was much sweeter about it. Compliments and the like. She was funny, as well. Reckon even Sherlock liked her a bit when she was being a sly little thing. Her chains were probably the worst of the lot. There was barbed wire around her ankles along with them and any time she moved her legs, the barbs would dig into her. I cleaned up what I could, disinfected the wire and her wounds, and put on some plasters.
Sherlock was getting a bit annoyed with all the politics surrounding things after that, but we still pressed on to visit Rae, the youngest sister and the highest up in the Void.
[A photo of Rae doing her fan dance accompanies the text.]
Talking to her, you really wouldn't know the Void was dying. She was bright, smiling, kind. She danced for us and fluttered around on the end of her chain in the center ring of her circus chambers. She said she could taste the Crimson and Gold in me and even gave me a peck on the cheek for bringing her color. She made me think of a little sister, really. She looked maybe seventeen or eighteen, but she reminded me of a kid. One trying very hard not to lose her spark of hope. I wanted to save all the Sister after meeting them, of course, but out of them all, she really struck me as the one who needed saving most.
That was born out, really, once the Brothers turned up. They were the ones who'd chained the Sisters, creatures from the Nightmare that looked like they'd been dragged out of Norfinbury. Shade, Noc's Brother, really reminded me of the anomalies. He was some sort of gross mess of shadows that smelled about like a latrine that hadn't seen a cleaning in years. Eve's brother was some religious zealot named Styx, but he seemed the least like he wanted to fight. Dia's Brother was some sort of quiet… skeleton bug thing named Skeller. Rae's Brother, Slink, he was the worst of the lot. Had mind-control powers and used them to start a fight between a couple of people, make them try to hurt each other or their pets. As soon as Eliza posted on the Bulletin Board about what he'd done to her, I knew what we had to do.
It wasn't easy, but Sherlock and I worked on gathering as much color as we could, examining the creatures of the Void to try to pinpoint how to get certain kinds of color and get more of it. It definitely seemed that the larger the creature and the more difficult it was to kill, the more color it produced. The actual color provided by each seemed to be tied more to us, as people. Sherlock and I both had no trouble finding Emerald and Violet, but he picked up a lot more Azure and Amber, while I found more Crimson apart from the other two.
If they really are 'personality colors,' then we got a bit of a rundown on what they mean, at least:
Azure – wit and speed (Sherlock certainly has both in abundance);
Emerald – defense and protection (and he's ridiculously protective in incredibly stupid ways);
Crimson – passion and determination (yeah, I don't mind this, that's a bit nice);
Violet – creativity and lateral thinking (not sure how I got that one);
Amber – hunger and living in the moment (maybe hunger for answers for Sherlock?);
Gold – trust and kindness (this seems like one of the nicer ones to have); and
Silver – wastelessness and drive (surprised I didn't end up with this one, honestly).
I had to leave him to deliver color and put a few bullets into the Brothers. Nothing's nearly as satisfying as sending some heartless bastard back into the pit they crawled out of.
Soon as we sent all of the Brothers packing and collected enough color to unlock all of the Sisters' hearts, they were ready to go to the Adit. That's when we really heard Color speak for the first time. We'd been hearing whispers from it, but Undertaker managed to have a full conversation and told us it was some sort of entity unto itself. It just talked about the Rite of Devotio, and told us to send all of the extra color we'd collected on as the Sisters were raised toward the Upper Limit. Noc let us know to scarper before it was too late, and we all made it back through the portal to the Meadous before the Void crumbled and fell into the Nightmare.
So, there you have it, Sisters saved, Brothers defeated, a new world created with all sorts of color. Not bad for a first world-hopping foray. Still need more of these to help find a cure for Zephyr's god sickness or the missing gods, themselves, but I reckon if we've got one thing here, it's time.
'I hear another voice across the planes. She's calling... she's calling out for help. We need to help her. We've done this before. We can help her!'
Another voice, another world to help. When I stepped through the portal Zephyr set up between the Meadous and the realm they'd heard the call for help from, I wasn't sure what to expect. Last time, it had been The Void, a dying world slowly falling into a place called The Nightmare. It was bleak, quiet, the sort of place where you could stand still and hear the beating of your own heart.
If that as The Void, Recuerdo was its complete opposite. Colors! Parties! Lights! For being a land of the dead, it was just about the most lively place I've ever seen outside a night club on a Saturday night in central London. I half-expected to see kids with those rave stick things. It was beautiful, it was vibrant...
And it was in trouble.
For all the decadent celebrations and joyful residents, there lurked a darker undercurrent, an insidious hopelessness stealing out from the crumbling streets so far from the palace. Like the Sisters and Brothers of The Void, there were very particular residents in Recuerdo who had an unusual sort of biology. They were candles, capybara, and magical skeletons, the dead of four other realms tied to Recuerdo. Their physical forms were tied to shadows, which were made up of memories from their loved ones in the realms they came from and their own memories of their lives. When those shadows faded because they were forgotten, the residents would fade away, too.
But more residents than usual had seen their shadows disappearing, most while in public spaces. My thoughts turned immediately to theft. But how would you even steal a shadow? The Welcoming Committee I spoke with were convinced that their god, the Lady in Red, was the only one who could manipulate shadows.
[Attached to this section of the story are pictures of the Lady in Red, her face in shadows, and the Welcoming Committee: Kanda, Xertiti, and Mari.]
My first suspicions turned to her. Maybe she was pulling apart shadows and collecting them for an experiment? Maybe she was power-hungry and this was a way to gain more of it as an older, fading god. I did a bit of investigating in the areas far from the palace, looking for clues, but didn't manage to turn anything up apart from some oily residue that just trailed off before I could catch whatever was making it. A few other people had more luck, figuring out that these were actually bits and pieces of shadows from the residents who'd had theirs stolen! Some of them even found a few telling clues that led them to other parts of the city.
Eliza was able to pick up that the shadow disappearances were only happening outdoors and it was happening very fast. The residents who had their shadows stolen couldn't speak very well after that or even remember much. They were living on their own memories and those were being slowly burned away. The Lady took them into the palace to try to stabilize them with her magic, but more and more residents were losing their shadows like this.
Stephen was able to pick up where some of the disappearances occurred: The Plaza Of Peace Fountain, the Dance Yourself Pretty music shop, and Mama's Fruits in the marketplace. I headed over to the local music shop to investigate and met a skeleton named Xertiti working there. She told me about her wife, Marta, who was one of the local musicians and someone she'd loved during their lives together and here in Recuerdo where they'd been reunited. I couldn't help trying to cheer her up when it seemed like she was having a rough go of it at home. Marta, according to Xertiti, was one of those people who could throw herself relentlessly into her work, ignoring everything else for days on end. Eating, sleeping, anything. Those sorts of people burn so bright, but they can be difficult to manage at times... hands too close to the fire and you'll get burned, not matter how amazing it is and all that.
Anyway, I met Stephen there, as well, and we did a little music shopping. There didn't seem to be anything particularly suspicious going on in that area, but it wasn't long before Stephen was dead! Now, for context, something everyone needs to know is that Dr. Stephen Strange is a powerful sorcerer, one of the most powerful in his world. He has the ability to manipulate time and dimensions. He also has the protection of a powerful ancient artifact called the Cloak of Levitation (Levi, for short). Killing him is a challenge. Or it would do if you took it into your mind to do so. Even without his magic, he looks to be a strong, well-trained fighter on top of being just as clever as you like thanks to his work as a neurosurgeon.
[There's a photo of Stephen pictured, wearing Levi. The photo is from the Christmas party this past year, as evidenced by the background of the shot. In addition to this photo, there's one of Stephen as a skeleton in Recuerdo, doing tricks at the fountain plaza.]
The fact that someone had managed to kill him when he seemed to be getting too close to finding the answer for what was going on was another clue. They were clearly a powerful individual who had reduced Stephen to a shadow of himself. Stephen couldn't seem to remember what happened and he was under the impression that he'd always lived in Recuerdo and didn't know who any of his friends from Norfinbury and the Meadous were. I tried to get something out of him, but it was like pulling teeth.
As if that wasn't bad enough, we had another murder happen, this time targeting Bucky Barnes! He's another experienced fighter who should not have been easy to kill. Bucky's one of the blokes you go to when you want protection from someone trying to hurt you. The idea of him being murdered and losing his memories was unthinkable until I found him as a skeleton, just asking for people to help out with his party plans.
By that point, the Lady in Red had imposed a curfew to try to protect her citizens. We knew the shadow thefts seemed to be happening outside, so keeping people indoors at night seemed safer. There was a group of young punks led by the candlewoman Kanda who didn't much like the idea of that. I went out and met with her group while they were throwing a party after curfew in defiance of the Lady; they were trying to figure out if someone would attack them when everyone there was people they knew intimately.
I decided to stay and watch and ended up learning that before everything started happening, Kanda and Xertiti had broken into the palace, looking for information about shadows. Kanda saw Xertiti stealing a fancy comb and they found some notes that seemed important. It's not my usual M.O., but with a little persuasion, I convinced Kanda to help get me into the palace so that we could look into the notes she'd found further and see if there was anything important about that comb that Xertiti had stolen.
[What follows are a series of selected photos from John's palace tour showing each of the dark rooms.]
While we were in there, we learned that the Lady had been working on some sort of spell that had to do with the shadows. Maybe a preservation spell? I also found a photo album documenting her life growing up as a god. The most notable things we found:
The Lady had trouble creating her own flock and keeping them alive, and ended up making a deal with four other realms to take their flock members when they died and put them here.
The Lady fell in love with another god, but some sort of fight happened and she lost her girlfriend along with the company of the other gods.
The Lady was incredibly lonely and decided to create her own lover, a person she called the Bride.
There were numerous versions of the Bride. Eight in total. She kept falling apart any time the Lady and the Bride had an argument.
For the last Bride, the Lady cut her heart in two and gave half of it to the Bride. This made the Bride stable, but it was at a terrible cost to the Lady who became cruel and cold-hearted, even as the Bride took on her best qualities.
When the Bride found out that the Lady was actively hurting citizens by pulling apart their shadows, there was a final fight. The Lady was near to death and she and the Bride merged into one being. She still only had half her heart, though. The other half was kept in a glass case in a secret room in the Lady's wardrobe.
The Lady we met in Recuerdo was actually the Bride. Her name is Juno, and she's had a very, very hard life, working with only half the magic the Lady had and half the heart, as well.
I was determined to find some way to help her, but there was still the mystery of the missing shadows. If it wasn't the Lady--Juno--stealing them, then who could it be?
Daryl had the answer and so did all of the other evidence that people had collected: Xertiti. Phil had been the last to see Stephen at the bakery where Xertiti worked. Renart had found a bracelet with charms from the bakery on Stephen. Masaki and Kid found a bracelet like the one Renart did in some loose shadows they'd chased down. Royce had also found out about the comb Xertiti had stolen from the palace. Mr. Gray was able to use some of his abilities to get a sense that Xertiti was guilty from the bracelet, as well.
Alfie and Royce worked with one of the locals from Recuerdo to set up a trap for Xertiti and bring her to justice before Juno and the rest of us. Stephen's memories had been restored by that point and Ienzo had been working with the Lady to restore the memories of the affected residents and get their shadows stitched back to them. It was really fantastic to see everyone and all the clues come together like they did. Juno apologized for what had happened to Xertiti's wife Marta, but murdering Stephen was wrong and stealing all those shadows was, as well.
After seeing to Xertiti's punishment and sorting out a potential way to eliminate the problem with shadows disappearing, Juno announced a party for all the citizens of Recuerdo. There were two final issues, though... my friend Bucky had been murdered, but it hadn't been Xertiti, and Juno's heart was still only half-missing. Bucky's murderer remains free from true justice, but with Stephen and Juno's magic, we were able to fix her. We sewed Juno's heart back together and restored it to her, giving Recuerdo its god back a little more whole than when we'd started.
Not a bad job for a bunch of living people crashing a dead party, I'd say.
[A final picture shows a selfie-style photo of John and Stephen standing with Juno, looking tired, but triumphant. As the tallest one, Juno is holding the camera.]
Name of Realm: The Meadous (sic) Name of Admin: Zephyr (species: 'god') Stated Purpose of Realm/God: Providing a home to the lost, healing, and growth Approximate Date: Year 3, Season Spring, Day 70 (1,348 Days since session began)
Residents periodically vote to change fundamental aspects of the world (e.g., length of day-night cycle and constellation configurations).
God growth milestones are typically major world expansions.
World is incomplete with Zephyr altering features as they become aware of their complexity (e.g., stars were previously just neon star shapes in space instead of actual stars).
A satellite launched into orbit takes a 24-hour rotation and appears to pass over multiple other realms on its journey (discuss further with Ienzo).
Atmosphere for Meadous extends approximately 85 km up, then stops abruptly.
The Meadous are akin to a fishbowl. It can be physically 'tipped' and the residents can fall out into another plane. This has happened once before with some residents being tipped into Zephyr's classroom with semi-corporeal gods.
Consult Dustin Silver if he returns for potential notes on wall.
Previously appeared different to residents, but an event occurred where the wall fell and it was reconstituted in its current form.
Also previously rose to heights great enough to block out the sun and start causing damage as a direct result of Zephyr's fears of things outside the Meadous according to Justin Law.
The wall may possess something like 'soul perception' that allows it to distinguish between inanimate objects just touching the wall and those attached to a person, like prosthetic limbs.
Zephyr has promised to lower the wall when they're 'ready.' Aletheia has equated this to a god's version of going through puberty.
Touching the wall causes severe emotional shock with panic attack symptoms induced.
Residents previously able to fly kites over wall (kites made and gifted by Zephyr).
Designed to keep the 'between' out, as much as us in (between space populated by monsters that embody fears and throwaway concepts from other gods with checkerboard-esque landscape that is ever-changing).
Native Fauna
Animals are predominantly pastel variations of Earth species that show little to no aggression or survival instinct.
Seriously, these things aren't even fun to hunt. Bloody hell.
Wasps in jungle are aggressive, but sentient. Typically request residents to harvest wood for them.
Rabbits are native inhabitants of the moon. (Moon bunnies? Really?)
Native Flora
Plants do not have to follow standard biological limitations here (e.g., trees can produce glass bottles or Chinese takeaway boxes and associated fully cooked meals.
Gods - General
God powers come from 'belief' from their 'flock.'
Gods typically create their own 'flock,' but recent, younger gods have been pulling their 'flock' from elsewhere.
Taking the 'flock' of another god is considered a very serious offense in their society.
All gods possess an aspect (domain?) that manifests in early childhood. Zephyr does not have one, yet.
Gods produce magical artifacts as a result of using objects regularly. These objects can be lost.
Older gods are more stable and fixed, but younger gods are more powerful. Gods lose power as they age.
Zephyr
Began as simply a 'being' without form, name, or identity. Residents of the Meadous have shaped their current personality and form.
Apparent child in appearance and demeanor. Requests and is often given explanations for actions by residents that fall outside the norms or that are more complex than they may first appear.
Typically asks permission for making changes to residents, but previously simply enacted changes without permission.
Neither omnipotent or omniscient according to Aeleus. The gods are also not immortal and can fall prey to sickness and die according to Sasha Riggs.
Capable of being rendered indisposed and losing control of their powers.
Has an extensive family. (Grandmother is considered especially overbearing and unfriendly.)
Claims that when they previously lowered dimensional defenses around the Meadous, another entity stole their 'flock.' Ienzo corroborated this, referring to the entity as the 'Rift.'
Has previously linked their realm to other realms, specifically those of their classmates who are helping to maintain the current wall.
May be unwell. The Mediator indicated there was something making 'miracle guardians' sick when I first arrived.
Obsessively notes that they want everyone here to be safe and happy.
Simply requesting things that will make us 'happy' seems to be a way to acquire things from Zephyr apart from the Wishing Pond.
Warren
Zephyr's sibling and another god.
Claimed to have come through the wall on his first arrival to the Meadous.
Noted as 'dense,' but secretive.
Kelt
Zephyr's sibling and another god.
Noted as the shifty sort who won't give a straight answer.
Being 'unlost' seems to result in some sort of unconscious state where people go to sleep and wake up back in the Meadous months later (see: Milla Vodello).
No apparent lockdown or overnight freezing.
Portions of world stay warm, in spite of seasonal variations (example: tropical jungle).
No network exists. Bulletin Board is only form of mass-communication apart from in-person gatherings.
Trees can speak to certain people here (along with other plants) and feel fear.
There are few sensible explanations for how utilities work in the Meadous. They simply do, even when they're not appropriately connected to a water or power grid.
Most people do not recall having died before arriving in the Meadous (just fell asleep and woke up again - at least 5 from Ienzo's multi-verse place of origin).
Punishments are typically enacted by local Admin following fights or property destruction. Release from a punishment is obtained through an apology to Zephyr and the other injured party.
Wishes worded incorrectly may result in species change (see: Sasha Riggs).
Residents have a formed a local guard comprised of Aletheia, Mediator, and Phil. They take notes on happenings in the Meadous
Known Magical Healers
Ienzo - Potions and minor healing magic (speeds healing process somehow, no notable side-effects)
Riggs, Eddie - Healing bass (musical instrument that has strong restorative properties when played)
Wooster, Bertram - Empathetic healing (restores apparent full spectrum of injuries by taking them onto himself before healing)
The clinic is a properly modern-looking little building cut into a hillside near the Meadous Inn/Hotel, though it still retains the rustic charm of the Meadous with stone walls through much of it. There's a little waiting area that has plenty of windows to let light in. There are blinds there, as well, that can be closed for privacy. The doors are glass and wider than usual. They're capable of swinging both ways. There's a hallway that leads to a pair of rooms--it too is wide enough to meet hospital code standards. The first that turns off of it is an exam room.
Exam Room The walls are a sky blue color and there are puffy white clouds painted across it to make it more cheery. Zephyr's touch, not John's. There is a blue, padded exam table against the back wall that can be raised and lowered to lie flat or incline. There are some counter tops along with a sink and cabinets. There is also an eye-level physician's scale in this room to take height and weight measurements.
On one wall, there is a heavily stylized poster of a troll with curly black hair and four simplified, point horns. The trolls eyes are two solid circles of color, with arrows labeling them as "OPTIC BLAST DISPENSERS". Colorful lightning bolts are drawn all around the troll's head, labelled "ZAP ZONE". An arrow points towards the troll's ear, with the tag "SOUNDS OF THE FUTURE*"
A few objects are depicted in silhouette, with jagged colorful lines surrounding them. "MAKE SHIT MOVE FOR FUN AND PROFIT" is written around them.
At the very bottom of the poster are the words "HOW PSIONICS WORK", as well as "*but only sometimes".
Surgery The walls are a soft teal, rather than surgical white, and the place is neatly kept with sparkling clean cabinets and countertops. There's a sink that can be operated with your foot to one side, along with a drain in the corner and in the center of the room in the sandy-colored tiles. There is typically a hovering metal table in the center of the room that can be raised and lowered with buttons on the handle. It's quite large and is kept very clean, as well.
Hidden away in this room are most of the more specialized equipment, including:
A portable ultrasound machine;
A portable EKG/ECC machine;
A portable EEG system;
A standard set of surgical tools (scalpels, bone cutters, scissors, forceps, clamps, retractors, needles, suture thread, gauze, suction); and
A Geiger counter
Radiology A modern radiology lab with an X-Ray machine, monitors, and a small control room to conduct X-Rays from. The cabinets on the back wall mainly contain spare parts to repair the machine and slides.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Experiment Results
The Gateless Walls
I'd discussed the walls with a few of the current residents who informed me that the walls had previously changed according to the perceptions of the people looking at them, but that they were now fixed in their illusion. This was based on the gods apparently contributing their power to maintain the walls. During my conversations, it also came up that touching the walls resulted in severe emotional shock. I took it to mean some sort of emotional overload, akin to an induced panic attack.
Testing it out myself bore that out.
It was 13 April by the Meadous' calender when we began our latest escapades at the walls. After reviewing notes prepared by other residents and discussing some of their own previous experiments to actively breech the wall, Sherlock and I decided to take a different approach. Three questions came up:
- Is the wall radioactive? Secondary to this, if it is radioactive, are increased medical nanomachine (MN) activity and subsequent MN poisoning responsible for the physiological and emotional reactions to touching the wall?
- Does touching the wall with an object confer its effects onto a person, or must there be body contact?
- What are the actual physiological responses to touching the wall?
I checked for radioactivity using a standard Geiger counter and found no indications of increased radiation compared to ambient levels, and nothing that would present a risk to human health. None of us who'd been in Norfinbury had any signs of increased radiation, either, which is bizarre. I know for a fact Sherlock's still being influenced by MN Poisoning symptoms. So they must still be reacting to something in the environment.Touching the wall with an object didn't do anything. So go on and poke it with a stick, if you're feeling daring. It was only when a person was touching it with some piece of their own body that there was a response. Even through fairly thick clothing.
The last bit was probably the most interesting and the most upsetting, really. While I'm sure everyone who's touched them could tell you it felt like an emotional freight train just ran them down, we now have documented brain, heart, and blood pressure readings that support this. Everything points to a bloody deluge of hormones I'd associate with the 'fight or flight' response. It's what tends to get triggered in a panic attack. So, in essence, whatever those walls are actually made up of, the way they work is triggering your hormones to say 'get the hell away from it, it's dangerous.' Two people touching the thing at once didn't do a jot to diminish the effect.
Effective for keeping people off of them, I suppose.
The Abominable Snowmum
I called in Sherlock. It's not something that's his typical area of expertise, but I knew he'd be the best one to sort the matter. He'd tackled comics coming to life in the streets of London. I knew he'd mount this problem as quickly as that one. And honestly, he'd been an absolute nuisance around the house without a proper case to focus on since our arrival in the Meadous.
We prepared for the trip--which is to say I prepared for it--gathering the supplies we'd need. After that, it was a quick request to Dr. Stephen Strange for a portal into the lodge at the summit of one of the mountains, and we were off. We decided the wisest course would be to traverse the paths, searching for signs of avalanches or slopes that looked prone to them. Sherlock had consumed what I'm fairly certain might be an encyclopedia's worth of facts about avalanches and filled me in on literally every detail I never wanted to know about them as we walked.
It wasn't too long until we reached a fork in the path. Sherlock was checking down one of the slopes and I happened to glance down the other way. That's when I saw it! I couldn't be sure, but there was some sort of strange shadow on the mountainside, up the slope. Almost as soon as I spotted it, it was gone, though. Sherlock took us that way and we came across our first avalanche.
I was just getting up it with our case hound, Black Bart, when Sherlock took off like a shot up the mountain, apparently forgetting everything he'd just told me about how unstable avalanches could be. When I finally made it up to where he was, he was lying in the snow, all but face down. I asked him what he was on about and he jumped up like a man possessed. He'd found a foot print! Or a paw print? It was huge, whatever it was. Sherlock estimated the creature must have been ten feet tall and sixty-four stone at a minimum. He'd found a few curly white hairs, as well, but whatever had made it--our yeti--had disappeared into the snow.
[There's a printed picture of the the indentation that looks like cross between a bear and a human footprint.]
Thinking quickly for a pincer move, Sherlock sent me back down the slope while he stayed up at the top and made use of the magic compass we'd won as part of one of Zephyr's challenges some time back. I saw him off and on throughout the day, cutting a lonesome, striking figure in the distance. The wind was relentless and whipped his dark curls and the loose edges of his scarf back whenever I caught a glimpse. He would have looked even cooler with his usual Belstaff coat, collar turned up, but that had gone into the ocean a little while before. Still need to get that replaced.
[There's a printed photo of Sherlock looking suitably dramatic in profile against the mountain. He's gazing off into the distance with the wind, indeed, whipping his hair and scarf back.]
I didn't see much down where I was, just tried to keep Black Bart from running off too far into the snow. The sun was getting low in the sky when I called for Sherlock, and we set up camp on the side of the mountain. I learned from him that he'd come across places that looked like our yeti had been standing and watching from. And there was something else. There was more than one of them! He said it looked like there were probably three of them. The extra two were smaller. Baby yetis? Or at least adolescents. I wanted to catch a real glimpse of them! Could they be the cause of the avalanches?
The wind was howling down the mountain that night, but even then, we could hear the telltale sounds of avalanches in the distance. It's what was nearby we should've been more concerned about. As we came out of the tent the next morning, we found signs of nighttime visitors. On the leeward side of the tent. There were drawings, one of them even looked like Black Bart.
[And another picture, this time of the crude snow drawings of the puppy.]
After a brief and animated discussion on how to proceed, Sherlock went back up the mountain while I stayed downslope and followed the path with Black Bart. Or what was left of the path. The avalanches overnight had all but wiped it out. It was treacherous-going, but we soldiered on, keeping an eye out for Sherlock as we went. It was pushing toward eleven o'clock when I came to an area that was probably the most unstable I'd seen. Black Bart had been running atop the packed snow for the most part, but he kept falling through here. I wanted to call for Sherlock and let him know we were going to need to find a different way around when the whole mountainside started to shift. I remembered what he'd told me about what to do when you were caught in an avalanche, but before I'd managed to do more than turn to the side to start swimming across it, there was something grabbing me.
It was the yeti! She was huge, completely white and covered in fur from head to toe. her face was gray and she had enormous curling horns. She grabbed me around the middle with one arm and snatched Black Bart with the other and just started hauling us. She ran faster than anything I'd ever seen, right across the top of the snow. Light as a feather somehow. We were carried away for maybe half a mile before I finally wrestled my way free and she stopped. I got my gun out and held that on her, telling her I wasn't leaving my friend behind on the mountain.
Sherlock caught up to us after that. He thanked her for saving me and Black Bart, which... well, I did that, as well. Only seemed right, all things considered. He demanded to know who she was and that's how we met Winter and her sons, Mistral and Bora. They were about eight-years-old. Nice lads. Very interested in Black Bart, along with petting me and Sherlock. They were at least five and a half feet tall. Rounder than their mum, and friendlier.
[There's a final attached print picture of Winter and her two sons. The boys have horns, but they're tiny and only just starting to poke out.]
It turned out, Winter had been the cause of the avalanches. They were designed to discourage anyone from coming up the mountain so her boys could play in peace. She was worried people might see them and try to hurt them. It's something every parent has to worry about, I reckon, strangers taking advantage of their kids. Sherlock managed to convince her that no one meant her or her children harm. Winter agreed to stop the avalanches and clear the paths provided we let everyone know that her children were not to be harmed. Winter also let us know about Mistral and Bora's father, Sirocco. She said he was wandering in some of the other mountains and didn't help out in caring for his sons at all. I think some of the concern for her kids might have come from worrying over Sirocco not being there to help her.
And there it is. The mystery of the avalanches solved! I've let Winter know we might leave messages for her near the mountain lodge now and again, and she's agreed to leave similar messages there for us in case anything comes up. Not a bad turn for a couple of amateur mountaineers and avalanche chasers, I'd say!
A Colorful Conundrum
We will help her.'
That's how it all started. But isn't that how it always starts? Someone calls for help, and good people answer that call. Zephyr answered it the only way they knew how: bridging the divide between this little pocket universe and a place called the Void.
Apparently, the gods here aren't as adept at dimensional travel as we are, though. They could build the bridge, but they needed us to cross it. Zephyr created some sort of portal, connected through their Mirror Dimension into the Void; though, they took some care to make sure it was only a two-way connection. Can't have us going too far, I guess.
Sherlock was eager to head out there. We'd both been going a bit mad, per usual--him being more annoying than usual, if I'm being honest--so, I packed us a bag for some food and we were off! Stepping into the Void was like nothing I'd ever seen. By the name, you'd think it would be empty, and it was, after a way. There was something missing there. It reminded me a little bit of the first house I woke up in, in Norfinbury. That had belonged to Riley Sung, a journalism student who'd managed to capture some of the violent protests against the Admin System that Norfinbury was run on. After finding a recording of Mr. Sung's death, everything that had been in the house simply disappeared. And that absence was like a place carved out of you, sunk into the bones and hurt. Even without knowing Riley, I missed him, somehow.
That was the Void. It still had things in it--decaying chambers, mines, and gardens, little creatures made of corrupted color, the Sisters, the Brothers--but there was something missing. I think, in this case, it might have been hope.
Sherlock and I headed out from the Adit after getting a look at some weird white light at the top of the chamber. We couldn't see anything up there, and when I tried throwing an apple up into it, nothing came back down, almost like it had got stuck… or maybe just disintegrated. The first stop out from the Adit were the chambers for Sister Eve.
[There's a picture of Eve placed here and the words go around it.]
Not the friendliest woman I've ever met, but she was extremely informative. She let us know this was the Void, that its inhabitants were the Sisters, and that they were trying to reach the Upper Limit--the white light we'd seen in the Adit--in order to create a new world. She said we needed to collect color and give it to her Sisters to unlock their hearts and prepare them for the Adit. She seemed pretty adamant that only one of them could ascend to this Upper Limit, and she told us in no uncertain terms that it ought not be her. She was the oldest of the lot, so I think she probably felt responsible for them. Still, that's a hell of a lonely road. She said she sensed some affinity for one of her colors in me, as well. Said my heart called to Emerald, whatever that meant. I did seem to find more of that than most of the other colors, along with Crimson and Violet. Sherlock was Violet and Azure. Still not really sure what it all meant, but it seemed more like one of those online quiz things that tell you your 'personality color.'
After Eve was Sister Dia, and she was just about the most unsociable one out of them.
[There's a picture of Dia included as with Eve.]
I won't fault her for knowing what she wanted, but she was about as direct as Sherlock is when he's on a tear. I'd collected a bit of Violet, which let us talk to her. She seemed lonely, honestly. Like Eve, she was chained up by her Brother, though she had her hands cuffed and Eve was chained at the waist. Dia's chambers were probably the most beautiful, though, some sort of old church with rainbow stained glass windows. It was like walking into a kaleidoscope with a few holes punched into it. She told us more about the Brothers and about how Eve was refusing color in part because she was angry at herself and felt guilty for all of her Sisters being chained up. Eve had been the first one in the Void and her Brother came after. He was hurt by the unformed Upper Limit and everything that came after was based on that, really.
After Dia was Sister Noc.
[A photo of Noc accompanies the text. She's reclining in an armchair and speaking with Sherlock.]
She was… nice. Very nice. She was forward about wanting color, like Dia, but she was much sweeter about it. Compliments and the like. She was funny, as well. Reckon even Sherlock liked her a bit when she was being a sly little thing. Her chains were probably the worst of the lot. There was barbed wire around her ankles along with them and any time she moved her legs, the barbs would dig into her. I cleaned up what I could, disinfected the wire and her wounds, and put on some plasters.
Sherlock was getting a bit annoyed with all the politics surrounding things after that, but we still pressed on to visit Rae, the youngest sister and the highest up in the Void.
[A photo of Rae doing her fan dance accompanies the text.]
Talking to her, you really wouldn't know the Void was dying. She was bright, smiling, kind. She danced for us and fluttered around on the end of her chain in the center ring of her circus chambers. She said she could taste the Crimson and Gold in me and even gave me a peck on the cheek for bringing her color. She made me think of a little sister, really. She looked maybe seventeen or eighteen, but she reminded me of a kid. One trying very hard not to lose her spark of hope. I wanted to save all the Sister after meeting them, of course, but out of them all, she really struck me as the one who needed saving most.
That was born out, really, once the Brothers turned up. They were the ones who'd chained the Sisters, creatures from the Nightmare that looked like they'd been dragged out of Norfinbury. Shade, Noc's Brother, really reminded me of the anomalies. He was some sort of gross mess of shadows that smelled about like a latrine that hadn't seen a cleaning in years. Eve's brother was some religious zealot named Styx, but he seemed the least like he wanted to fight. Dia's Brother was some sort of quiet… skeleton bug thing named Skeller. Rae's Brother, Slink, he was the worst of the lot. Had mind-control powers and used them to start a fight between a couple of people, make them try to hurt each other or their pets. As soon as Eliza posted on the Bulletin Board about what he'd done to her, I knew what we had to do.
It wasn't easy, but Sherlock and I worked on gathering as much color as we could, examining the creatures of the Void to try to pinpoint how to get certain kinds of color and get more of it. It definitely seemed that the larger the creature and the more difficult it was to kill, the more color it produced. The actual color provided by each seemed to be tied more to us, as people. Sherlock and I both had no trouble finding Emerald and Violet, but he picked up a lot more Azure and Amber, while I found more Crimson apart from the other two.
If they really are 'personality colors,' then we got a bit of a rundown on what they mean, at least:
- Azure – wit and speed (Sherlock certainly has both in abundance);
- Emerald – defense and protection (and he's ridiculously protective in incredibly stupid ways);
- Crimson – passion and determination (yeah, I don't mind this, that's a bit nice);
- Violet – creativity and lateral thinking (not sure how I got that one);
- Amber – hunger and living in the moment (maybe hunger for answers for Sherlock?);
- Gold – trust and kindness (this seems like one of the nicer ones to have); and
- Silver – wastelessness and drive (surprised I didn't end up with this one, honestly).
I had to leave him to deliver color and put a few bullets into the Brothers. Nothing's nearly as satisfying as sending some heartless bastard back into the pit they crawled out of.Soon as we sent all of the Brothers packing and collected enough color to unlock all of the Sisters' hearts, they were ready to go to the Adit. That's when we really heard Color speak for the first time. We'd been hearing whispers from it, but Undertaker managed to have a full conversation and told us it was some sort of entity unto itself. It just talked about the Rite of Devotio, and told us to send all of the extra color we'd collected on as the Sisters were raised toward the Upper Limit. Noc let us know to scarper before it was too late, and we all made it back through the portal to the Meadous before the Void crumbled and fell into the Nightmare.
So, there you have it, Sisters saved, Brothers defeated, a new world created with all sorts of color. Not bad for a first world-hopping foray. Still need more of these to help find a cure for Zephyr's god sickness or the missing gods, themselves, but I reckon if we've got one thing here, it's time.
The Adventure of the Disappearing Shadows
Another voice, another world to help. When I stepped through the portal Zephyr set up between the Meadous and the realm they'd heard the call for help from, I wasn't sure what to expect. Last time, it had been The Void, a dying world slowly falling into a place called The Nightmare. It was bleak, quiet, the sort of place where you could stand still and hear the beating of your own heart.
If that as The Void, Recuerdo was its complete opposite. Colors! Parties! Lights! For being a land of the dead, it was just about the most lively place I've ever seen outside a night club on a Saturday night in central London. I half-expected to see kids with those rave stick things. It was beautiful, it was vibrant...
And it was in trouble.
For all the decadent celebrations and joyful residents, there lurked a darker undercurrent, an insidious hopelessness stealing out from the crumbling streets so far from the palace. Like the Sisters and Brothers of The Void, there were very particular residents in Recuerdo who had an unusual sort of biology. They were candles, capybara, and magical skeletons, the dead of four other realms tied to Recuerdo. Their physical forms were tied to shadows, which were made up of memories from their loved ones in the realms they came from and their own memories of their lives. When those shadows faded because they were forgotten, the residents would fade away, too.
But more residents than usual had seen their shadows disappearing, most while in public spaces. My thoughts turned immediately to theft. But how would you even steal a shadow? The Welcoming Committee I spoke with were convinced that their god, the Lady in Red, was the only one who could manipulate shadows.
[Attached to this section of the story are pictures of the Lady in Red, her face in shadows, and the Welcoming Committee: Kanda, Xertiti, and Mari.]
My first suspicions turned to her. Maybe she was pulling apart shadows and collecting them for an experiment? Maybe she was power-hungry and this was a way to gain more of it as an older, fading god. I did a bit of investigating in the areas far from the palace, looking for clues, but didn't manage to turn anything up apart from some oily residue that just trailed off before I could catch whatever was making it. A few other people had more luck, figuring out that these were actually bits and pieces of shadows from the residents who'd had theirs stolen! Some of them even found a few telling clues that led them to other parts of the city.
Eliza was able to pick up that the shadow disappearances were only happening outdoors and it was happening very fast. The residents who had their shadows stolen couldn't speak very well after that or even remember much. They were living on their own memories and those were being slowly burned away. The Lady took them into the palace to try to stabilize them with her magic, but more and more residents were losing their shadows like this.
Stephen was able to pick up where some of the disappearances occurred: The Plaza Of Peace Fountain, the Dance Yourself Pretty music shop, and Mama's Fruits in the marketplace. I headed over to the local music shop to investigate and met a skeleton named Xertiti working there. She told me about her wife, Marta, who was one of the local musicians and someone she'd loved during their lives together and here in Recuerdo where they'd been reunited. I couldn't help trying to cheer her up when it seemed like she was having a rough go of it at home. Marta, according to Xertiti, was one of those people who could throw herself relentlessly into her work, ignoring everything else for days on end. Eating, sleeping, anything. Those sorts of people burn so bright, but they can be difficult to manage at times... hands too close to the fire and you'll get burned, not matter how amazing it is and all that.
Anyway, I met Stephen there, as well, and we did a little music shopping. There didn't seem to be anything particularly suspicious going on in that area, but it wasn't long before Stephen was dead! Now, for context, something everyone needs to know is that Dr. Stephen Strange is a powerful sorcerer, one of the most powerful in his world. He has the ability to manipulate time and dimensions. He also has the protection of a powerful ancient artifact called the Cloak of Levitation (Levi, for short). Killing him is a challenge. Or it would do if you took it into your mind to do so. Even without his magic, he looks to be a strong, well-trained fighter on top of being just as clever as you like thanks to his work as a neurosurgeon.
[There's a photo of Stephen pictured, wearing Levi. The photo is from the Christmas party this past year, as evidenced by the background of the shot. In addition to this photo, there's one of Stephen as a skeleton in Recuerdo, doing tricks at the fountain plaza.]
The fact that someone had managed to kill him when he seemed to be getting too close to finding the answer for what was going on was another clue. They were clearly a powerful individual who had reduced Stephen to a shadow of himself. Stephen couldn't seem to remember what happened and he was under the impression that he'd always lived in Recuerdo and didn't know who any of his friends from Norfinbury and the Meadous were. I tried to get something out of him, but it was like pulling teeth.
As if that wasn't bad enough, we had another murder happen, this time targeting Bucky Barnes! He's another experienced fighter who should not have been easy to kill. Bucky's one of the blokes you go to when you want protection from someone trying to hurt you. The idea of him being murdered and losing his memories was unthinkable until I found him as a skeleton, just asking for people to help out with his party plans.
By that point, the Lady in Red had imposed a curfew to try to protect her citizens. We knew the shadow thefts seemed to be happening outside, so keeping people indoors at night seemed safer. There was a group of young punks led by the candlewoman Kanda who didn't much like the idea of that. I went out and met with her group while they were throwing a party after curfew in defiance of the Lady; they were trying to figure out if someone would attack them when everyone there was people they knew intimately.
I decided to stay and watch and ended up learning that before everything started happening, Kanda and Xertiti had broken into the palace, looking for information about shadows. Kanda saw Xertiti stealing a fancy comb and they found some notes that seemed important. It's not my usual M.O., but with a little persuasion, I convinced Kanda to help get me into the palace so that we could look into the notes she'd found further and see if there was anything important about that comb that Xertiti had stolen.
[What follows are a series of selected photos from John's palace tour showing each of the dark rooms.]
While we were in there, we learned that the Lady had been working on some sort of spell that had to do with the shadows. Maybe a preservation spell? I also found a photo album documenting her life growing up as a god. The most notable things we found:
- The Lady had trouble creating her own flock and keeping them alive, and ended up making a deal with four other realms to take their flock members when they died and put them here.
- The Lady fell in love with another god, but some sort of fight happened and she lost her girlfriend along with the company of the other gods.
- The Lady was incredibly lonely and decided to create her own lover, a person she called the Bride.
- There were numerous versions of the Bride. Eight in total. She kept falling apart any time the Lady and the Bride had an argument.
- For the last Bride, the Lady cut her heart in two and gave half of it to the Bride. This made the Bride stable, but it was at a terrible cost to the Lady who became cruel and cold-hearted, even as the Bride took on her best qualities.
- When the Bride found out that the Lady was actively hurting citizens by pulling apart their shadows, there was a final fight. The Lady was near to death and she and the Bride merged into one being. She still only had half her heart, though. The other half was kept in a glass case in a secret room in the Lady's wardrobe.
The Lady we met in Recuerdo was actually the Bride. Her name is Juno, and she's had a very, very hard life, working with only half the magic the Lady had and half the heart, as well.I was determined to find some way to help her, but there was still the mystery of the missing shadows. If it wasn't the Lady--Juno--stealing them, then who could it be?
Daryl had the answer and so did all of the other evidence that people had collected: Xertiti. Phil had been the last to see Stephen at the bakery where Xertiti worked. Renart had found a bracelet with charms from the bakery on Stephen. Masaki and Kid found a bracelet like the one Renart did in some loose shadows they'd chased down. Royce had also found out about the comb Xertiti had stolen from the palace. Mr. Gray was able to use some of his abilities to get a sense that Xertiti was guilty from the bracelet, as well.
Alfie and Royce worked with one of the locals from Recuerdo to set up a trap for Xertiti and bring her to justice before Juno and the rest of us. Stephen's memories had been restored by that point and Ienzo had been working with the Lady to restore the memories of the affected residents and get their shadows stitched back to them. It was really fantastic to see everyone and all the clues come together like they did. Juno apologized for what had happened to Xertiti's wife Marta, but murdering Stephen was wrong and stealing all those shadows was, as well.
After seeing to Xertiti's punishment and sorting out a potential way to eliminate the problem with shadows disappearing, Juno announced a party for all the citizens of Recuerdo. There were two final issues, though... my friend Bucky had been murdered, but it hadn't been Xertiti, and Juno's heart was still only half-missing. Bucky's murderer remains free from true justice, but with Stephen and Juno's magic, we were able to fix her. We sewed Juno's heart back together and restored it to her, giving Recuerdo its god back a little more whole than when we'd started.
Not a bad job for a bunch of living people crashing a dead party, I'd say.
[A final picture shows a selfie-style photo of John and Stephen standing with Juno, looking tired, but triumphant. As the tallest one, Juno is holding the camera.]
Notes on the Meadous
Basic Information
Name of Admin: Zephyr (species: 'god')
Stated Purpose of Realm/God: Providing a home to the lost, healing, and growth
Approximate Date: Year 3, Season Spring, Day 70 (1,348 Days since session began)
Identified Residents
Unlost Residents
Significant Details
The Wall
Native Fauna
Native Flora
Gods - General
Zephyr
Warren
Kelt
Deei
Xun
Miscellaneous
Known Magical Healers
Wishes
2nd - [X]
3rd - [X]
4th - [X]
5th - [X]
6th - [X]
7th - [X]
8th - [X]
9th - [X]
10th - [X]
11th - [X]
12th - [X]
Clinic Description
Exam Room
The walls are a sky blue color and there are puffy white clouds painted across it to make it more cheery. Zephyr's touch, not John's. There is a blue, padded exam table against the back wall that can be raised and lowered to lie flat or incline. There are some counter tops along with a sink and cabinets. There is also an eye-level physician's scale in this room to take height and weight measurements.
On one wall, there is a heavily stylized poster of a troll with curly black hair and four simplified, point horns. The trolls eyes are two solid circles of color, with arrows labeling them as "OPTIC BLAST DISPENSERS". Colorful lightning bolts are drawn all around the troll's head, labelled "ZAP ZONE". An arrow points towards the troll's ear, with the tag "SOUNDS OF THE FUTURE*"
A few objects are depicted in silhouette, with jagged colorful lines surrounding them. "MAKE SHIT MOVE FOR FUN AND PROFIT" is written around them.
At the very bottom of the poster are the words "HOW PSIONICS WORK", as well as "*but only sometimes".
Surgery
The walls are a soft teal, rather than surgical white, and the place is neatly kept with sparkling clean cabinets and countertops. There's a sink that can be operated with your foot to one side, along with a drain in the corner and in the center of the room in the sandy-colored tiles. There is typically a hovering metal table in the center of the room that can be raised and lowered with buttons on the handle. It's quite large and is kept very clean, as well.
Hidden away in this room are most of the more specialized equipment, including:
Radiology
A modern radiology lab with an X-Ray machine, monitors, and a small control room to conduct X-Rays from. The cabinets on the back wall mainly contain spare parts to repair the machine and slides.