March 2022 Mini Event

[jigokumods]

MAIN NAVIGATION


The Night Parade is fast-approaching and each faction will be busy with their own preparations.

1. SHUTEN CLAN

The Celestial Phoenix Casino, a fairly popular casino in the Shuten territory, is overdue on its protection money. This money is sorely needed for parade preparations. Unfortunately, the casino has decided it doesn't need to pay up because they've hired some new unaffiliated muscle. Neither the manager nor their new muscle are the type to listen to reason, so be prepared to exert some intimidation and force to convince these new bodyguards to take their business elsewhere.

The brute squad working for the Celestial Phoenix seems to be made up of several different youkai. Some of them are more human looking than others, but you'll notice no Oni. Even independent Oni wouldn't dare turn against the Shuten Clan. Even lacking in Oni, these thugs are armed to the teeth, swinging several deadly weapons and even a few firearms. This could get rough, so be prepared for the worst. Take the gangsters protecting the Celestial Phoenix out or convince them it’s not worth it.

Once inside, you'll discover that the owner, in a panic, has locked himself inside the casino's value with the protection money owed. This might take some doing to get open...

2. SUTOKU ALLIANCE

The Kappa want to be left alone and the Daitengu has asked Sutoku Alliance members to assure their wishes are respected. Members are tasked with convincing people to stay away from the Kappa's riverside facilities by whatever means necessary. Of course, you may want to take a look for yourself to see what they’re being so secretive about. That’s not recommended, if you don’t want to get into trouble.

It’s not just strangers who are nosy, though. Retinues from both the Shuten and Tamamo clans are making an appearance and asking why the inspections are taking so long. Why are the Kappa dragging their feet? The Alliance prefers to avoid direct violence, so it's up to you to talk to these clan captains in a way that convinces them to leave the Kappa alone.

If you're curious enough to dive deeper into the Kappa's business, however, even your Alliance membership isn't going to keep you safe. The Kappa themselves seem to disappear from sight the further into the sewers you go, as if invisible. Preventing yourself from being spotted by a security camera or a patrolling Kappa is almost impossible. Cover your faces, stick to the shadows, and you might just notice that... they’re building something down there.

Something for the Parade? Who knows? But it’s definitely not decorations or a float...

3. DEPARTMENT OF THE ENMA

The parade route for the Night Parade needs to be "cleaned up". The Department is tasked with getting the low level street gangs and squatters to clear out. The homeless population will resist and may not be so easily persuaded to give up their spots. Your best bet is to offer them food, booze, or shelter for the night. The street gangs will assuredly fight back. Use your strength or your wits to get the job done.

The gangs will not typically be that tough, most don’t want to step up to the Department's goon squad too heavily lest they wind up in a cell for the rest of their lives. Still, some might be hopped up on encouraging substances and try to escalate. Don’t worry, though. You have the authority of the Enma on your side! Don’t think they will get away with waving a weapon in your face.

The homeless, though, lack strength or weapons. They are more fueled by desperation to keep their spots. Winter hasn't been kind to them, after all, and they don’t have much respect for the Enma's authority. Their belligerent behavior is loud, and often violent despite their absence of means to properly defend themselves. At worst, they’ll probably try to use biological warfare. Don’t ask what's in those bottles...

4. TAMAMO CLAN

Parade costumes need to be designed, crafted, modeled, and then likely mended knowing the rough and tumble yokai. The textile shops and tailors of the area need Tamamo Clan members to help them out. Costumes vary from extremely ornate to extremely sexy. These costumes need to merge form and function, for the Tamamo clan parade marchers that means they need to be able to sell their specific wares while wearing them. (wink wonk)

None of the costumes are floor ready and the shop bosses urge you that these cannot be seen by the public until they are ready. This won’t stop some peeping toms and tammies from trying to scope out the goods. Most of the voyeurs are spying for perverted reasons, but some are from shops outside of Tamamo’s influence trying to copy the designs for themselves. Either way, Tamamo Clan members aren't expected to be just pretty faces. So rough’em up.

5. TASTE TEST (ALL FACTIONS)

For those less interested in their faction's work, the restaurants in the Tamamo territory also need help finalizing their menu offerings for the Night Parade. Taste testers and creative cooks wanted! These aren’t just any dishes though and may have some interesting effects. One may be so spicy that everything burns, your face turns red, and you need to cool yourself off. Or maybe your dish is so good that you need to take a nap – it doesn't matter where you are, you'll just fall asleep right on the spot. Another possibility is a dish that gives you unstoppable energy – literally. It will make you want to get up and go and never stop moving. If you stop moving, it may cause a bigger problem.

Welcome to the mini event!

• If you have any questions about event content, please ask them here!
• If you have questions about the game itself, please check out the premise, FAQ, and rules pages.

Comments

[strikingchords]

Hm.

[Lan Wangji nods slightly. he wouldn't describe himself as antsy, but it isn't as if he doesn't also want to know what's down there. if part of the faction he's joined is preparing for something that really goes sideways, he doesn't particularly want to be surprised by it either -- or be forced to decide on limited time and less information whether to act against his own faction's interests or not.]

May I examine what we guard?

[it's a blunt request. exploring the area is one thing, but what is he even meant to keep people away from?]

[enterthe]

It's not interesting, just a drainage pipe beneath the bridge. Might lead somewhere important, but it's so out of the way it seems low priority to blockade.

[so Ydris is up here pretending the bridge is the true priority, not the passage beneath it. It's rather effective, people are focused on getting across the river or what is coming through it by boat, not so much the sewer channels beneath them]

Wouldn't advise going down there yourself, if only to avoid for the foul smell that will cling to your everything.

[strikingchords]

[Lan Wangji frowns. "it's so out of the way that it's low priority" doesn't quite square up in his mind with the Kappa deliberately instructing them to watch over this area.]

I will look.

[he does intend to avoid the foul smell, though. no cultivator who deals with the dead every day is afraid to get his hands dirty, but also, no one loves eating shit.

he'll drop lightly off the side of the bridge, after one more quick look to see if anyone is watching. then he does one more visual check to orient himself to Ydris's position on watch before at least briefly ducking down the tunnel. Ydris can hear that he's not going very far in; he'll likely return quickly.]

[enterthe]

[The tunnel is not an extremely large one, but it is notably big enough to walk through at just a slight crouch. Perhaps curiously, there's a frame with empty rivet placements that appears to have once supported a bolted on drain cap. Something was definitely here once to keep anything but sewage from exiting or entering. If the Kappa truly wanted to keep this blocked off, it would be easy to bolt something back on.

Certainly less resources to manage than sending two guards to shoo people away from the bridge, right?

Ydris isn't aware of any of this, but they are curious when Lan Wangji returns from scouting]

Anything of note?

[strikingchords]

[Lan Wangji came prepared, albeit with some of this world's strange, distasteful tools rather than the cultivation tools he would have preferred. he'll pull a flashlight out of his sleeve and scan the walls of the tunnel as soon as he's gotten in far enough to see what there is to see down here. he'll closely examine the frame and the rivets, trying to think through the implications.

...

right. he's never seen a whole lot of urban construction infrastructure period, much less what's used in modern times. he has no clue what the fuck he's looking at.

thankfully, the holes and their placement do at least give him an inkling that there was more here at one point -- he's seen bolted doors before. he won't completely disgrace himself in today's Scooby Doo episode.]

Obstruction has been removed.

[enterthe]

Is that so... what could that mean? [Ydris asks largely to themself, mulling over the implications. That thought cooks in their mind a moment before they speak their conclusion]

If that was another faction's doing, they would surely wish to obstruct it, rather than post guard. Perhaps it is meant to be an escape route or, even, a secluded entryway. [the smell isn't pleasant, but it is a discreet route and leads to the river. A boat could easily be posted to help get quick get away.]

[strikingchords]

Escape, entry, or movement.

[Lan Wangji returns to the entrance and lightly clambers back up the side of the bridge to rejoin Ydris. his sharp brows still carry a crease between them.]

Are other guarded posts the same?

[the real question is, are they keeping multiple of these tunnels open so they have options available to use... or will they need them all for whatever is being done down there?]

[enterthe]

I've not been told of other guarded posts. If this was the only one, I don't imagine it would be left to new recruits.

[they nod and watch someone approaching the bridge. They make a noise... poorly approximating the clearing of one's throat. It mostly sounds like the roar of a fire being stoked. Either way, it's meant to hush Lan Wangji for now while they redirect traffic. Ydris quietly adds, before they're distracted with their task]

Something to discuss later, between you and I. [best to leave it at that, for now. They can speak more later if more develops]

[strikingchords]

...

Mm.

[Lan Wangji doesn't respond further, but he's a steady presence next to Ydris until the earlier shift ends and Lan Wangji takes over entirely. he doesn't go down to linger suspiciously near the tunnel mouth again.

however, his eyes linger on Ydris as they leave the bridge. if he can find them posted on guard again within the next couple of weeks, he might just take that invitation to follow up later.]