open | does everybody have it together

[sterngaze]

Who: Liem Talbott & various
What: Setting update catch-all
Where: Alenroux
When: Throughout March

Liem is fully committing to assisting with Meridian's invasion of Alenroux, so he will be present there throughout the month, hunting monsters, scouting the woods, and keeping watch at Meridian encampments. At the beginning of the invasion, and potentially later in the month, he will be suffering from blood-withdrawal and will be more likely to accept blood donors so he can keep being properly useful. He's still keeping his drinking habits from public knowledge, though, so he won't be outright canvassing for volunteers.

Starters below are all closed, but if you would like to do something with Liem this month, please hit me up on discord or at Sporelett. I will happily write a starter for whatever nonsense we decide to get up to.

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for Voryn — night watching

[sterngaze]

[By nature and by choice, Liem is a man of action. He prefers to keep moving, to have a quarry to seek, whether it’s through darkened woodlands, the alleys and thoroughfares of the city, or jewel-toned parlours and gilded government halls. There is little in life that can match the anticipatory focus of a hunt, or the thrill of its conclusion.

In work and in play, however, downtime is inevitable; particularly when the realities of Liem’s unique physical condition catch up with him, as they often do when he pays too little heed to his body’s limits, or when he unwisely indulges in excess. Tonight, though Alenroux’s pitiless sun has long since sunk below the horizon, leaving the landscape to the gentle light of the moon and innumerable twinkling stars, Liem is in poor condition to be going on any hunts through the woods. He leans against the stout watchtower’s wooden rail, overlooking one of Meridian’s hastily erected encampments, as weary and haggard as if he’d been marching for hours through midday sun.

It is a poor time for him to be suffering the effects of withdrawal; he is far less useful to Meridian while so-afflicted, too ill for solo excursions into the forest to be wise, a liability because of his weakness and limited stamina. But he knew nothing of these plans when he agreed to indulge his blood-thirst earlier in the month. Now he suffers the consequences.

His senses, at least, are just as keen as ever — and the camp does need someone to keep lookout during the long, dangerous hours of night. The woman with whom he’s been sharing this watch tower has a rabbit’s sharp ears, but his night-piercing eyes remain a boon in present conditions. Beside him, his crossbow, Dignity’s Barb, rests within easy reach, to be used as weapon or signal at need.

It is his companion who first hears someone approaching the tower — but by the time her replacement ascends the ladder to join them, Liem has turned his head to regard the newcomer as well.]

for Sasuke — monster investigations

[sterngaze]

[For the first few days of the occupation, Liem spends his time cautiously: scouting during the day, when the danger from roving monsters is less; sticking close to Meridian outposts at night to keep watch and defend them alongside the others on guard there. The shadows seem to follow him wherever he goes, but even when cloaked in gloom, his pallor and general ill health are apparent.

Until, all at once, he recovers his vigour completely. At this point, he can finally go about the business a man like him is meant to be conducting. At this point, he can finally hunt.

It is wiser to go with a partner; it means better hunting in the best case, and someone to watch his back in the worst. All the better if his partner doesn’t need light to see in the forest depths, where the canopy overhead blocks out every last sliver of moonlight. Those with no need of light are in somewhat short supply among Meridian’s shard-bearers — but there is a new face in the ranks who fits the bill, and Liem is just as content to work with strangers as with those he’s come to know over his months-long stay in Kenos.

It does not take long, once they penetrate into the cover of the trees, to find signs of monster activity. The creatures in the wood seem drawn to shard-bearers somehow; until every one has been culled from this forest, he does not doubt that they’ll continue to emerge in search of people to hunt. After only an hour, the quiver of crossbow bolts at his hip is lighter, and the leather of his gloves is stained with the blood of unidentifiable creatures, each one different from the last.]

This infestation stinks of arcane tampering. [Liem wipes a slender, shadow-dark blade on a fallen beast’s mottled hide, then sheathes it as he regards the gutted corpse. Even the entrails of the creature are alien — and he has seen the insides of many creatures in his life.] I have never seen such a motley assortment of creatures dwelling in a single stretch of forest.

for Auka — a-hunting we will go

[sterngaze]

[Although many of Meridian's shard-bearers were made aware of plans to invade Alenroux only days before the invasion began, it's clear to Liem that preparations for this operation have been going on for some time. Camp locations are well-chosen, fortifications are erected quickly and efficiently, and the soldiers secure everything with well-practised ease. Much preliminary work has already been completed in advance, and it shows in how smoothly the first week of the occupation unfolds.

However, difficulties are inevitable with any plan that involves 48-hour occupation of Alenroux. While for the most part Meridian soldiers have been successful in defending their outposts from nighttime monsters, in the past few nights alone there have been two separate patrols that have been ripped apart by an elusive monster dwelling somewhere in the forest's eastern reaches. Cornering and exterminating the creature has proved impossible thus far — which means it's time to bring in the big guns.

The big guns, in this case, are a seasoned monster-hunter and tracker, and an experienced and alarmingly capable arcanist. They decide to set out while the sun is still in the sky, though it grows red and heavy above the horizon as evening draws near. It will be easiest to track the creature down while it is still lairing for the day, but if its resting place proves too well-hidden to uncover, the fall of night will give Liem and Akua new opportunities to bring their prey to them.

They are getting close, at least. The tracks in the region of forest they've been examining are thick, their ages suggesting the creature has passed through this area multiple times over the past handful of days. Liem regards them thoughtfully as the light of early dusk filters through the trees.]

If we were going to lay a trap for it, this wouldn't be a bad place. It's bound to pass this way again, and sooner rather than later.