Tiding 06: At Rest

## Content Warnings

*"Ignore the fact the Vilte was a Weaver. That she could work with spirit in the way that others work with thread and cloth. That gave her her power, of course. She would not have done the things she did without it. But, her greatest strength was her gift for understanding people. She was able to bring others to her cause, to build a following and inspire them into action."*

 *Show more/less*

 *She showed a faith in them and, in return, they would show a faith in her. As she travelled, she found followers; a band of oathbreakers and revolutionaries, storytellers and outlaws: people who had never quite belonged; who found a purpose with her. There are many names for them, but The Parish is the one that stuck. When she travelled south into the Sharrow, when she first tried to stop Corpus, there were five of them.

Aachen, the warrior, Vilte's first follower and former guard when she worked for the Guilds. Instead of stopping Vilte's rebellion, she joined it.

Ayof, the one that could turn minds. He, like Vilte, was forced into servitude due to his gifts. Vilte helped him to break his chains.

Nilkat, the revolutionary. In Embrace, he'd led his fellow workers against their bosses, until their movement was crushed by the Swifts. He met Vilte while in exile, found a new cause to fight for.

Fenrir, the changeling, a child when he joined Vilte. An orphan from the streets of Voya, he was adopted by the group, each of them becoming his surrogate parents.

Then, of course, there was the Heart, Belka. I won't offend them by writing their story down here- not when they told it so well themself.

Those five were the core. Others would come and go, but they were the first. Most of them would be with Vilte to the end. They were the ones that followed Vilte into the Sharrow and failed their first duty. They failed to protect her, and so Corpus was allowed to come into existence.*"

―The Counterfeit God: A History of Corpus, by Avyn Fiir Vorunt

## Summary

The scouting party make friends with the underpeople – the community that calls Carn Veskl home. The caravan holds a meeting to discuss the lost family. Strael makes a move. Bris prevents a fight, Challa bargains with Strael and Belka enforces bedtime.

## Synopsis

In the caves, the three figures with the dog become clearer. One is clearly Madi. She and the other shorter figure (1.4 m / 4'8") are both carrying staves, and both have bioluminescent, translucent skin. Madi is shorter and stockier, and wears shorts and T-shirt. The other figure is slightly taller, and wears a thick coat adorned in amulets, small bottles, and slate tags engraved with symbols. In front of them, the third figure is much taller (2 m / 6'6"). He is very thin with an avian quality, and his hair and moustache are made of tiny feathers. He is still pointing a rifle at the group, and specifically at Bris, whom he has deemed to be the most dangerous.

The tall man tells them to stay where they are and questions them on who they are and what they want. Bris responds that they've come from Ninut and are looking for somewhere safe for their people during the storm, but that this cave system doesn't seem like a good place. She asks if it's under siege, and if the man would lower his rifle. Bris offers to help them out, and the man agrees to lower the rifle after Kallan and Belka have lowered their weapons and Bris has kicked her sword over. The man, Cast, lowers the rifle with Madi's reassurance but his eyes continue to dart nervously around. The animal, Lief, stops snarling too. Cast picks up Bris' sword and starts walking into the caves, telling them to get inside, as it's not safe out here. Bris retorts that that much is obvious, since they've just been threatened. She picks up the spear and knife, and follows. Belka is sad not to have the knife any more. As they go through, Kalyn reassembles the barricade.

They enter into a large room lined with wooden boards. The room is very bright, and at one end is a stage. Carved from both wood and the extant plants, are rows of pews, as if this is a temple. All around the room, plants and mushrooms are growing (including the types in the pit outside the barricade). Vines climb across the ceiling and down the walls, and more plants and fungi hang from them. The light is coming from everywhere- the plants and fungi have been imbued with light. Bris and Kallan replace their veils due to the brightness, and continue walking across the room. Bris asks Cast why the group hasn't left, since this threat is here in the caves. Cast replies that everyone who has tried to leave has disappeared, and that he has tried to get out before himself. Bris asks what the nature of the threat is, and Cast replies that nobody knows, but that there's something growing underneath Carn Veskl, eating it from the inside. Bris remarks that that doesn't sound like a Remnant, but Cast is more circumspect. Bris asks if they will be able to get out again, and Cast says he hopes that is the case, and that she can lead Madi and Kalyn out with them.

Belka stops and sits, still dealing with their wrist wound. Kallan takes a few more steps, then collapses and slumps forwards. Bris dashes over to him, but she too finds the tendrils of sleep trying to claim her- none of them have slept in days. Belka sees Bris swaying and shakes their head to make all their bells jangle, managing to keep Bris awake, just. Bris, craving sleep, is angry at this. Belka too, is close to sleep but their wrist pain keeps them awake. Belka pitches forward and slumps down by Kallan, as does Bris on his other side. Madi comes over and she, too, settles at Kallan's head. Belka puts their forehead on his, ascertaining that he is OK. Bris repeats that they need to find safety, and Cast tells them they can rest here in safety before they talk. Madi offers them beds, and they carry Kallan out of the shrine down a wooden walkway. Motes of light dance around the plants, and in the light they see that the rock walls are an azure blue. Most tunnel branches are barricaded, but they are led down a clear one to a room with a very large bed. They lay Kallan on it, and Bris starts to take first watch. Belka tries to convince her to sleep too, saying that none of their weapons are uncommon if they're stolen- but Bris replies that only one knife was made by Aya. Eventually Bris, too, succumbs to sleep.

Challa is in the back of the wagon with Korrin, exhausted, drifting in and out of sleep. At one point she wakes and hears a woman's voice berating Ayof for being so reckless and taking little children out into the storm; Ayof does not respond.
 Waking up later, this time she can hear another argument, with more voices. Ri is arguing that the caravan is going to have losses, and that they need to accept that and be disciplined if the group as a whole is to survive- this is what soldiers are taught. Jeddah argues back that the community are no soldiers, and that leaving people behind was not the way of the people when they first settled in Ninut- if people were lost, they would be looked for. Maybe if people had looked for them the problem of the missing people wouldn't have been left to a girl.

Challa drifts, and wakes again later. The wagons have stopped, and are sat in a semicircle. She can see the backs of her grandmother Tomil, father Sarran, siblings Drish and Tien; her mother Yani is in the back of the cart keeping Challa warm, crying. Challa sits slowly and pets her mum on the head, eliciting a small smile from Yani's lips. When Challa tells her it'll all be OK, she does not react. The wagons all have people sitting on them, and a discussion is in progress. Challa makes her way around to join the circle. Tomil ruffles her hair as she passes, and Challa hugs her, asking what's going on and talking about her weasel. Tomil says that they're deciding who will lead them. There is a fire in the middle of the circle, and everyone has food. Tien shares some of her food with Challa: skewered root vegetables with rather tough goat meat. Ri and Jeddah are still presenting their cases: Ri wants to lead the community in a focused, disciplined way, taking the right risks for the good of the group as a whole. Jeddah appeals to the old values of Ninut- to never leave anyone behind, and that risking one's life to save another is upholding those values.

It is coming to a vote, in the style of Ninut: each family has a vote, cast by the family's elder but decided by family discussion. Challa runs right through the middle of the circle over to Korrin and gives him a hug, then to Ayof and hugs him too, before handing over the weasel. Jeddah laughs at this, but Ri shouts at Tomil to control her granddaughter. Tomil ignores this and gathers her family to discuss how to vote.

She says that she wants each family member to vote and be heard, before Tomil casts the family vote. Challa argues that they need to try and keep everyone together- they may have lost the Yalto family, but at least they tried. Sarran says that Ri knows what she's doing, and that if they'd sent more people out to look, more people would have died. He also rounds on Tomil for letting Challa go out into the storm. Challa insists to Tomil that they shouldn't be building their community on an army. Tomil, Challa, Tien, and Drish vote for Jeddah, and Sarran and Yani vote for Ri. Tomil and Challa go to the centre of the circle and Tomil makes a speech, arguing that it shouldn't be children that feel they have to go back for people who are lost- and that this is a community, not an army. That the group's real strengths comes from helping each other out.

While Tomil is talking about helping those left behind, Challa's mind falls on Strael, who took the missing people. Suddenly, everyone's eyes are on her and she goes pale, dropping to the ground. She hears Strael's voice in her head: *"You came back".* In Challa's mind, she is swirling and dancing; to the rest of the village, her body is twitching on the ground. Challa tells Strael she needs the others back, and Strael says it's not done playing with them yet. She sees a vision of immeasurably tall, many-limbed figures circling around her. Above her is the shadow of something unknowably huge. Srael says she can have one person, if she tells it where she is. Challa is dismayed, and asks what it actually wants, hoping she can get the whole group back, offering something to it. The dancing stops, and everything goes black.

## Quotes

**Bris**: "I'll keep watch. I just want to make sure they don't steal anything."
**Belka (exasperated)**: "Steal what?"
**Bris**: "The knife? It's all we've got left. And my shield. Surely you're carrying valuables?"
**Belka**: "There are many knives in this world, and one Bris."
**Bris**: "Only one of them was made by Aya."

―*Belka tries to convince Bris to go to bed*

**Challa**: "What's going on? Why have we stopped? What's happening? How did I get back here? I have a weasel!"
**Tomil (laughing)**: "Shh, shh, little one. We're deciding."

―*Challa tries to ask her grandmother what's going on*
## Mechanics

* Bris rolls 8 in Powerful with Manipulate to get Cast to lower his gun
* Bris rolls 6 in Scared with Steel Yourself to avoid falling asleep (Fail- but Belka uses a Bond on Bris to make it a success)
* Belka rolls 11 in Peaceful with Steel Yourself to avoid falling asleep
* Belka rolls 8 in with Show of Strength to make Bris go to bed
* Challa spends a Bond on Tomil to lean on her to support voting for Jeddah
* Challa rolls 7 in Powerful with Uncanny Potential to get Strael to give back the missing people
* Challa suffers 1 Trauma from using the uncanny potential
* Challa rolls 10 in Scared with Manipulate to bargain with Strael for the whole group to return (This may use Challa's bond on strael)

## Notes

### Plot Notes

**Warning! There may be spoilers ahead!**

*These Flimsy Rituals is distributed under a CC BY-NC-SA license. This wiki contains excerpts of scripted text and official shownotes, and is considered to be under the same license. Official artwork is not to be used on this wiki. Fanart pieces are distributed under licenses determined by the artist- please check the caption or alt-text.*