𝖓𝖔𝖓-𝖕𝖑𝖆𝖞𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖊𝖘.

[gorelord]

Non-Playable Residents

While the population of Crucible is not robust, there are plenty of other survivors to be found. All named NPCs can be interacted with, appear in network posts, and can inboxed but engagement may be limited. Threaded interactions may be resolved summary style.

Characters may accrue positive or negative reputation with npcs based on personal interactions, public behavior, and hearsay. Shifts in reputation might open up player characters to unique plotting opportunities and consequences.

In-depth threads, interactions, and plots using named NPCs might require the a favor earned from bonus activity.

Feel free to inbox any named NPC like a normal text thread using this post by denoting the NPC name and the interaction style (network, in person, etc)

eaters of sin

The so-called Sin Eaters are long-term residents of the Lonely Fortress and are so named by their preference to indulge in creature comforts to keep their servitors at bay.

Siegfried

The Kindred Scholar

RoleRecord keeping

TemperamentFriendly/Arrogant

Location(s)Library

A demonologist who has been exiled in the Crucible for a significant period of time compared to the others. He is invested studying the Crucible and their purpose within it. As the elder, he is somewhat the de facto voice of leadership among the fortress residents.

Edvin

The Lamenting Baron

Role:Steward

Temperament:Evasive/Haughty

Location(s):Tower Study

A melancholic noble who has lived within the Lonely Fortress for some time. He somewhat oversees (or mostly complains) over stewardship duties around the keep and organizes dinner parties. Mostly yells at people to clean up after themselves.

Mathilde

The Rottflower Prophet

Role:Herbalist/Healer

Temperament:Direct/Kind

Location(s):Greenhouse

A woods witch that cultivates an exotic herb garden collected from egregore-tainted flora. She serves as the spiritual guide and healer to fortress residents, often spearheading experimental rituals to try and bring equilibrium to the egregore.

Romilly

The Sorrow-eater

Role:Companion

Temperament:Friendly/Nurturing

Location(s):Velvet Parlor

A low-born entertainer who apprentices with Mathilde as a healer. She provides council and physical comfort to residents, believing that only love can beat out the darkness that prevails over all exiles. She treats the egregore like an entity to be worshiped, lovingly referring to it as Gregor.

yorick

The Gatekeeper

Role:Lift Operator

Temperament:Friendly/Snarky

Location(s):Lift station, front gate, ramparts.

A cheeky bard that manages the exit ways of the fortress. He knows the keep, the undercroft, and surrounding areas better than the back of his hand. Collects secrets and trinkets, but don't you dare call him a thief. Sometimes provides the musical entertainment to fortress gatherings.

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Comments

mathilde plsssss

[babysitters]

( Steve is an absolute novice at brain communicating, but here goes: )

You there? Can we talk?

[gorelord]

I can spare a moment, what do you need?

[babysitters]

Look, I was hoping you could tell me more about Agnete. You know, before the monster thing happened.

poison mommy pls

[babysitters]

What'd you mean by that?

( the whole trouble moving past it thing. )

[gorelord]

Relief, if you should need it.

If you cannot sleep. If your mind cannot escape the walls of that pit. If you cannot eat without feeling your stomach twist with dread. There are solutions for all.

[ drugs, steve. it's drugs. ]

Something is weighing on you. What do you need?

[babysitters]

( if your mind can't escape the walls of that pit. damn. she kinda pulled his number there. and he knows he's supposed to have the stones to just take it on the chin and keep going, but considering feeling bad about things is fucking deadly around here, maybe he could use some help! )

Even when I sleep I go back. I don't know how to stop.

ROMILLY (by thoughtspeak)

[pharmacy]

[ His BFF Steve has it semi-bad for Mathilde, apparently, and as much as Quentin appreciates and respects a woman that knows her plants, her apprentice feels a lot more his wavelength. Watching Romilly shows him that his first instinct, his kneejerk need to comfort and soothe has a place here. For a few days, he just watches her when he sees her; in his second week, he takes the bold move to introduce himself and ask a little bit about her work; in his thirdish week...well. Yikes. ]

Gregor?

[gorelord]

[ sliding into her brain dms in a time of crisis Q? ]

Yes. Come quickly, Quentin of Ohio, he cannot reach us as easily here.

[pharmacy]

[ Hopefully she never has to find out that there's no hornier time than a time of crisis. ]

I'm on my way, just--checking rooms. Gregor's an awful cute name for something so wrathful.

yorick 🎁

[wenche]

As she finds herself with less and less control over her situation, Brienne's mind turns more and more to the things she had clung to before coming to the Crucible.

From the corner of the room she had watched the players last night, for there is little that can soothe her like a song. With no purpose for coin and only her polite applause to offer, Brienne waits until the next morning, braves the cold to find Yorick and bring him a meager gift. A small magical story tablet she thinks she's found that perhaps he might find use for: aptly titled For You, which she offers him in thanks for his entertainment, especially that one song about the boy and his boat, which she hopes to hear again someday.

Brienne is more savvy than she thinks herself; she knows that if anyone would have spotted who she seeks, it would be the man who watches comings and goings. A mummer especially would have a good eye for anyone who might stand out (and probably especially those who try not to).

She wants to know if he's ever heard tale of or seen either of two sisters pass through. Both young, not yet flowered. One, tall and lovely, with beautiful long auburn hair. The other, smaller and more plain, with dark features.

And if he hasn't, perhaps he will point her in the direction of digging up the information on her own. She does not wish for evidence of Sansa or Arya Stark here (or any young girls for that matter), but she is yet compelled to seek it; it is her one true purpose, after all.

[gorelord]

Yorick accepts the gift quietly while Brienne makes her plea, passing the cassette over in his and with careful inspection. His gilded mask yields no further detail as to whether the gift is adequate enough for information or if there is any sort of recognition in her description of two young girls.

In the end, he will inform Brienne that he has operated the lift and ushered in new exiles for quite some time now and that he has seen every face that has passed through these halls. He informs her that he has not seen either girl matching that description, as girls so young are never chosen for the Crucible. He cannot speak to why, but he makes an off handed comment about with the rate that more exiles are arriving, that may change some day soon.

Despite the lack of valuable information, he pockets the cassette anyway. Noting that there are so many nascent spirits that come and go from this keep, none have bothered to keep a ledger of occupants for some time.

If asked as to why Yorick hasn't kept a record of exiles, as the lift operator who purportedly knows everyone by face that lives within the fortress confines, he'll facetiously note that he cannot write or read.

[wenche]

Brienne doesn't clock the sarcasm (mayhaps the mask is unsettling, or she is simply that humorless), and apologizes in a stuttered and confused reply, for it does seem odd that he wouldn't be learned. And it may seem like little information was given, but what a blessing he's actually bestowed on her.

Thank the Seven (thank the Briar?), she doesn't have to worry that her lady's daughters have already passed through this nightmare. For now, at least, she is consoled knowing that she will surely be here to protect them if there is a day the Crucible calls them.

It is with profuse thanks and one last compliment to Yorick's playing that Brienne takes her leave of him.

you know who 😔 ill try and put all of it into the same convo so mathilde can have a break

[babysitters]

( not a brain dm. bro pulls up in person. doesn't even say anything before he hands over the creepy plant he tromped around in the woods for AGES (like a week or two maybe? but it FEELS like ages) ago. he looks guilty. did it go bad?? shit, hope not, that was a lot of work to get 😭 it's just... well, there was this whole thing with Quentin, and then he was a walking snowman, and then the sky was falling, and then he died for a bit? anyway!!! )

Sorry. ( this is used to encompass both a late delivery and the possibility he got the wrong thing because he tends toward being a fuck up. but NOT treating it poorly, at least, unless letting it sit around in his drawer counts. she's gonna have to untuck it from the cloth he's been squirreling it away in. he at least TRIED to keep the magic mushroom safe. )

[gorelord]

[ Mathilde is sitting in her greenhouse, which is surprisingly lively and warm. Where all the plant life around the Crucible has been taken by the winter, the plants growing here are flourishing.

Sitting at a cluttered wooden table littered with notes, herbs, pestles, and distilling equipment, she takes the parcel and unfolds it delicately to assess what he's collected. ]

The frost has preserved them. [She assesses kindly before returning to a series of apothecary drawers to tuck into. ] I will make preparation for the ritual.

[babysitters]

( it is pretty nice in here. Steve only recently found himself capable of feeling the sensation of warmth again, so, he appreciates not having to freeze his balls off in at least one part of this stupid castle.

ritual? oh it sounds way worse when she puts it like that. Steve pulls fingers through his hair, nervous. wonders if he should maybe ask around, see if the word around town is good. does Mathilde have a Yelp he could look over? ) No rush, ( he says, scratching his neck. MAYBE she'll forget and he won't have to make a decision either way and he can just stay haunted, he's kinda used to it by now.

he leans against her desk, which is maybe a bit fresh of him, but Steve can't help his natural predisposition to bisexually lean on things. he debates saying more, but Steve is Steve, so of course he says more. ) That meeting was something else, huh?

mathilde OR romily! either would work!

[creatura]

( he shows up in person too. not that fond of brain talking yet. he is reluctant, but to the point. )

I seek knowledge of the woods outside the keep. I was told you could answer.

just for the variety

[gorelord]

I have the knowledge, yes. It's no good out there right now, you know. Not until Gregor provides his aid.

[ Romilly's head tips to the side, clearly trying to glean a better look at the Creature's face from beneath his ominous hood.]

You wish to hide from us, is that it?

[creatura]

I have been told.

( like, a lot of times. thanks Brienne. if that stubborn well meaning blonde couldn't change his mind, Romilly does not have good odds.

he would steamroll right into asking about what plants are good for human consumption if she did not ask a question of her own. he tilts his head, trying to sum her up. alas, the creature is somewhat of a sucker for girls that don't seem afraid of him. )

I do not hide. I stand before you. ( okay liar but go off I guess )

papa can you hear me~ +summary leading up to the ch iii tithe

[wenche]

( she brings siegfried "supper" one night, a familiar act for a girl who had a father that tucked himself away to work his grief aside, after losing his wife and the children who would have been worthy issue. but she also brings a fresh pot of tea, too, for them both to share.

most of her affairs she has gotten into order, but one thing remains which brienne is still chewing over.

of the veteran sin eaters, brienne has found herself most comfortable with siegfried, who is patient and kind. romilly is far too lovely and graceful for brienne to feel at ease around her, despite all her assistance with brienne's largest request for a sept. and mathilde... brienne has heard of woods witches, wise beyond her own comprehension and therefore deserving of respect and fear. she finds herself anxious but eager to ask of mathilde plenty of questions:

have any of them offered themselves to the briar lord?

how public must it all be?

will they call another meeting to tell everyone what she's done?

and the last which she must fight out: if she is yet maiden, will that offer a better result as well?

she has nothing to offer yorick this time for her request, but asks to teach him two songs: her father's favorite, an old love song about the seashore which sits well in her throat and makes her cry. and a mainlander song, about a beautiful maid, and the fool who was a knight. (or, perhaps, the knight who was a fool...)

but now she is closing in on the ritual with only a few days to go. and despite listening and watching, she seems to have come up with only a muddy account of what led them to this choice. she needs to know what it is that happened to agnete. )

Her loss troubles many, I know. Did that man kill her, this Louis? Everyone seems to want his blood in payment. But I cannot see whether it is justice or vengeance.

im going to answer these per npc, mathilde first.

[gorelord]

[ Mathilde is more than welcome to any questions Brienne has to ask. She will welcome her into her solar, which is full of plants and herbs both native to the Crucible and elsewhere. Despite the frigid winter ravaging the landscape, the woods witch's garden is warm and humid with no visible means as to how she keeps the frost from destroying her plants.

She'll sit the girl down and offer her some tea to calm her nerves to answer her questions: ]

(have any of them offered themselves to the briar lord?)

Mathilde will break this news the same way she did with Steve and inform Brienne that the rest of the veteran exiles in the fortress except for Yorick have offered themselves to the Briar lord at least once.

She will confirm she has given herself to the Briar Lord twice and will show Brienne the deep pitted scar in her chest to prove it. She will also explain that not all return, but some do and that they will feel different if they do. She explains this carefully as to not instill too much hope or fear in Brienne's decision to move forward.

(how public must it all be?)

Mathilde will explain in the past they would treat things with ceremony because they want to do all they can to honor each other for the sacrifice they're about to give, but this practice is more a custom desired by the exiles involved and is not necessary to the pact itself.

She will menton if Brienne does not want anyone else present, arrangements can be made to distract the rest of the exiles and ensure that she enters the chapel alone.

(will they call another meeting to tell everyone what she's done?)

Yes, they will need to inform the exiles of the decision eventually but can wait until after it's done. Mathilde will ask if there is any message Brienne would like to leave if she intends on pursuing this alone and ensures that she will pass it along to her companions.

(if she is yet maiden, will that offer a better result as well?)

Mathilde explains that virginal purity has nothing to do with the pact and will not yield any different result than if she or Romilly volunteered themselves.

<333

[wenche]

Once Mathilde has answered all of Brienne's questions (and offered more information than she even knew to look for), she sites quietly for a time to mull them over. The sight of Mathilde so bared to her makes her blush, and so does the fact that the exiles prefer to do it all together.

But, ultimately, Brienne is doing this in the hopes that her friends and companions won't have to suffer any more. So she agrees to do the meeting and the ritual in the usual way, with respect to the sacrifices that have come before hers. It's obviously not what she prefers, but she is a mulishly stubborn girl, even with regard to her own desires.

She made the choice, and she will not shy from it.

yorick.

[gorelord]

Yorick is pleased to be taught new songs. He will speak nothing of what she's offered to do unless she brings it up herself, otherwise will focus on learning the songs with her.

The following days and nights, he can be heard practicing and playing them during his patrols along the ramparts and in the parlors after dinner.

[wenche]

She definitely doesn't bring it up, no thank you. But she can be seen trailing at a distance when she hears him practicing, and sometimes there's a quiet voice alongside his as she quietly sings along to herself.

siegfried.

[gorelord]

[ Siegfried is thankful for the meal. He stumbles over various books and scrolls piled around his table to make room for them both. As predicted, he is often absent or takes his plate from supper with him back to his study in the library tower, as noted by a stack of plates offloaded near the hearth meaning to be brought back down to the kitchen.

When asked about Louis, Siegfried takes a tired huff and sinks back in his chair. ]

Aye, a troubled situation that is, my dear. What happened to Agnete was a tragic thing. Had Louis had blood on his hands, he would no longer reside within these walls. Alas, the circumstances aren't so black and white.

[ He mulls, elbows resting along the arms of his chair, fingers lacing together before him to make himself a conduit for philosophizing. ]

No lone person is responsible for the eclipse and often none are damned for causing it. We all suffer here in our own ways and the Crucible sees us punished for it. Edvin's desire to condemn one man's failed ambitions for it is more vengeance than justice. He wasn't the only one who wanted to keep Agnete's servitor alive, but he became the loudest and least willing to heed the warnings of others.

In the end, that poor girl suffered and died needlessly for the neglect given, and his actions endangered the lives of several others knowingly and without hesitation — an act that no doubt sent us along the crossroads we've come to on the morrow.

[ His fingers unlace as he shifts forward again with a mild shrug, picking his cup of tea up to settle back in with him. ]

Some might see the idea of his sacrifice to be justice, so that he may not become catalyst of such imbalance again.

[wenche]

( this strikes close to her heart. it sounds like the same choice she made when her lady wight was within blade-swinging distance, and the same reason she thinks jaime averts his attention from her now. the same mistake she made when cellar, steve, and she climbed down into agnete's pit. )

I have seen one servitor. It belonged to Steve. I did pity it, at first. I thought there was someone in need, though he warned me that they deceive well.

( it isn't she that can give absolution to any that made this mistake with agnete, but she thinks she can understand. her hand lifts to rub absently at her collarbone, up against the narrowest part of her thick throat. the marks from her rope are faint, but sometimes it feels as if she's dancing with the tree once again. )

When you speak of neglect...?