Deer Country Network

[ it's november and something is in the air. or light, because alucard seems to be glittering. glowing. pick your adjective of choice. and he seems most disgruntled about it. even when he moves, his skin seems to glow.]

I do not suppose anyone knows how to stop this?

Or at the very least, disguise this?

[at first, the camera shows sansa on her couch as usual, with the direwolf tapestry behind her. only her eyes are white, there's a faintly-bird shaped red mark painted across one cheek, and a tangle of weirwood roots appears to be superimposed over her couch, and the tapestry is covered in...eyes. lady at her side has a similar red mark dripping down her neck where her fancy collars usually are.

the camera keeps glitching, staticky, and the eyes in the tapestry change every time. music is playing faintly in the background and it blares to full volume every time sansa opens her mouth.

her omen comes slowly into frame with a massive shadow following him like an eclipse. eventually it catches them both, staining him red. holes appear in the shadow like the face of a heart tree. sansa's bends towards her omen for a moment, then shuts off the feed.

when she reappears it is from an odd, cinematic angle, but her house, wolf, and person seem normal. it does reveal a box full of fabric shapes and a strange fabric...face mask on the table. she smiles faintly.]

Hallo, this is Sansa Stark. I'm sorry about the trouble with the omni crystal. I don't know if it has anything to do with what's been happening to the buildings in the city, but I have spoken to The Tower and Never Mind, and The Tower is ill. It isn't what the Zealots think, though. Even Never Mind doesn't know what the problem truly is, but he does believe there is a mushroom that can help with The Tower's symptoms.

It's too delicate to be harvested by Pthumerians, but it can be found using the compasses from this month. Of course Lady and I will do what we can to help. We've already found some useful mushrooms here in the city.

Unfortunately, the mushroom that will help The Tower is much further away. It's deep in the woods, and it isn't safe for us to go alone. And it's a few day's walking, we'll need supplies. I have a lot of mushrooms, and lady can catch us rabbits, but we'll need bread and cheese, water for drinking and cooking, and whatever else we can muster. And then we'll need carts to put it in, and something to pull the carts.

[she unhooks a chain from her chatelaine and holds it out to winter, who zooms in on it, and out again, somewhat suddenly.]

Never Mind gave me this. He says he'll give one to anybody that goes. It will help to keep the Beasts from noticing you. Even so, we'd better go in groups, with some people ready to fight. I can make sturdy armor and wool padding for everyone, and cloaks and blankets so nobody has to freeze.

[she hooks the necklace back onto her chatelaine.]

And there's the Zealots––I've been asking people if they know anything about them, and if there's anything at all we can do to protect ourselves. Some people were very rude, but someone left a box of these [she holds up the cloth face mask; winter zooms in and out on it again.] at the Sanctuary in Crenshaw. They go over your nose and mouth. The box said 'personal protective equipment'––[winter does a slightly nauseating whirl to show this] I've taken one apart for the pattern, and it's only cloth. They aren't dangerous. I think perhaps covering our faces is meant to help us with the Zealots––I suppose they could be turning their blood to mist and using it to do magic in our bodies so they can bring us to The Tower.

[thanks for that sansa]

Anyway, I can make enough for everyone. [she frowns, hesitating a moment.] The Zealots won't stop, and they won't accept willing sacrifices. All of us could give our bodies over to The Tower, and they would keep just keep doing it with the next group of Sleepers to come in. They may not be Beasts, but they can't be made to see reason. Unless we were able to treat the corruption in them...[she sighs.]

I suppose we'd better secure the city, first. If you're having trouble with your omni crystal and you wish to respond to this post, it should help to use your omen, but I think everybody who wants to help get the mushroom should discuss in person before we go.

[ideally a 'meeting' here would be several days of planning and fortification, but she'll make do.]