Post 1: on the subject of the tombstone research

[vermilloci]

Type: Text
Sender ID: vermilloci (Rem Tokimiya)
To: general
Subject: Tombstone Info and Research Help Wanted
Warnings: discussion of blood and sacrifice involved in undead things involving the tombstone

Hello, everyone! My name is Rem Tokimiya. It’s nice to meet you all. Apologies for the lengthy text, but I have information to share. Anyone who's interacted with the tombstone can probably already guess that it's cursed, but I wanted to offer a little more insight just in case others aren't aware of the following.

1) There's something inside it. It resembles a soul, but I’m not certain as to what exactly it is. I think it's fair to guess that it's the reason for affecting the dead in negative ways. It's even possible that the undead on the ghost ship weren't originally violent at all, but what was in the tombstone corrupted them, too.

2) Regarding the script. I'm trying to find where this tombstone originated and the nature of the curse. I had hoped to match the script on the stone to other texts within the archives to find a lead on the region it’s from, but there are none. Instead, it appears to be hand-written. Matching the author’s handwriting to another work could be possible, but I’ve had no luck with it. Fortunately certain phrases happened to be legible. Unfortunately, they relate to blood sacrifices.

3) Regarding the blood sacrifice. There are other texts about similar relics existing, as well as various rituals using blood and sacrifice to create their curses. It’s all pretty vague, and I’m guessing that the vagueness is probably intentional given its forbidden nature.

Does anyone have experience with these sorts of rituals of applying a curse to an object? Maybe even removing them?

4) The ghost ship. It’s a style that’s centuries older than the ones seen at port, so that narrows it down to a certain timeframe. I highly doubt galleons like that don't leave a paper trail of its dry dock and voyages, even one from hundreds of years ago, and this one obviously never returned to port. Currently, I’m looking into historical charters and logs for when the ship might have still been in service based on its style and size. [ —The logs would cover a certainly sizable timeframe, but it’s a very good lead. No one said research didn’t involve some sort of tedious task pouring over old texts! Luckily she is an old book smell type of girl just as she is for new books. ]

5) Research & Exploration friends wanted (•̀ᴗ•́)و There’s a lot to go through. If anyone would like to help out with looking over these logs to find where the ship was last headed before disappearing, I’d appreciate the assistance!

If the ship’s last charter and destination can be found, it’d probably be the same location it picked up the tombstone. The place would be worth investigating for all of us. Let me know if you’re interested.


Or Come Chat in Person!

Action Text Below

[ Eltrut. Night.

It’s been a few weeks since the unpleasant experience of conducting research on the tombstone pieces, and since then, she’s felt more than a little drained. Not one to be idle, though, she had set off to go through the archives, digging through what information she could while recovering. Which had all led to the post above.

Now she sits upon a beach, shoes removed to allow her feet to bury deep into the sand. The infinitesimal granules, worn by ages of waves upon the shore, feel soft upon her skin, and they still retain warmth from the sun during the day. Setting down a copy of a harbor log on her lap, she decides to take a short break from her research to relax. No harm resting for a little, right? After being harrowed by the tombstone, she’s already been taxed enough.

Rem turns to the side, sending off a small flame to add extra light to her fire. Afterward, she takes out a small parcel from her pocket, unwrapping it to reveal five spherical pieces of colored hard candy. This is when she notices you. ] …Oh. [ While surprised to see someone else out this late, she still gives you a nod of acknowledgment (so long as you do not appear hostile). ] Taking a late night stroll on the beach? I hope you’re not lost.

[ A smile there, softly joking. Rem pats the ground next to her. ] You can join me, if you’d like. The stars are nice tonight…

[ Those that have met her might notice her skin appears somewhat paler.

Or maybe it’s just the moonlight. ]

Comments

[subigito]

I would know the difference between blood and juice.

Shouldn't you be happy that it confirms your theory? Do you want help or not?

[vermilloci]

No

no

I do appreciate the [ uhhhh ] insight. It’s just a little shocking that someone would taste the blood on the relic while it was still intact. That’s very [ Weird!! ] dedicated to the research, I suppose. It gives me something new to try, though, because now I wonder what would happen if we put a drop of blood on one of the shattered pieces. [ Time to do something potentially stupid. Again. ]

Anyway,

did anything happen after you tasted the blood, such as some sort of effect?

[subigito]

[ he'll answer but first: ]

Please tell me you're not stupid enough to put your own blood on a relic potentially being used for blood sacrifices.

[vermilloci]

I’m not going to use someone else’s blood!

Besides I’m pretty sure my blood doesn’t taste like cherry so nothing might happen anyway.

[subigito]

Because playing with magic that feeds on blood and giving it more blood couldn't go wrong at all! Especially when apparently there's already some soul stuck in it.

You know what, get yourself stuck in the stone then! No one can blame me for not warning you.

[vermilloci]

[ Oh…. Oooohhhhh…. Now she sees the point. STILL doesn’t stop her from giving a huffy reply: ]

We don’t have gross blood sacrifices in my world. Sorry if I don’t know how it works!

[subigito]

So you're just messing around with this, and you don't even know what you're doing?! This could have serious consequences for the rest of us all because, what, you're curious? You think you deserve to know?

[vermilloci]

I’m asking for insight on this post, aren’t I?

[subigito]

And I'm giving you insight. Don't do anything stupid and don't put your blood on something already asking for blood.

[vermilloci]

[ AFTER LENGTHY INTERNAL DELIBERATION-- ]

Okay, fine, I won't. [ Not unless she has no other avenues to explore. ] There are other leads in the meantime, anyway.

You mentioned about blood sacrifices happening in your world, and I'm guessing you're familiar with them. If the sacrifice is to set in a spell, is there any way to undo it? As far as I know, that tombstone remains cursed.

Assuming it is a curse, because someone else mentioned that it could also be something called a "philactery" for a lich.

[subigito]

It depends on the spell and how powerful the person was that cast it. Some spells trade blood for power in a single transaction. Others need new blood to keep sustaining the spell.

[vermilloci]

If it's the latter, then it'll only be a matter of time before the effects of the tombstone fade.

But if it's the former, is there any known way in your world to dispel the magic perpetuated by the blood sacrifice?

[subigito]

I'm not really an expert in how those kinds of things work.

[vermilloci]

Oh. Thank you for your insight into everything else, though. It's very much appreciated.