Initial Arcana Conversations: Death

[indeathputable]

What you can call them: Mortimer
What their conversation space looks like: You find yourself in a triskaidekaphobic's nightmare. But other than that, it's remarkably pleasant.

It is an old-fashioned drawing room, the wooden furniture a little worn and dinged up, but passable. There are chairs and settees galore to sit upon - thirteen, to be exact - all of them comfortable. There is a small table filled with a variety of assorted liquors and sodas to mix them with, placed right next to a (clean) ashtray. Thirteen glasses are stacked carefully next to the bottles. An antique grandfather clock gently ticks away the hours... thirteen of them, if the clock's face is to be believed.

The walls themselves are a pleasant yellow, studded with white thirteen-petaled flowers barely in bloom. On each side of the mantelpiece are bouquets of roses in chipped vases, each one holding thirteen fresh white roses in the center of thirteen dying roses. The mantelpiece itself holds thirteen pieces of art, twelve small, and the one in the center a rather well-known painting. The fire is warm, but does not burn when touched, and does not set fire to the ornamental rug which has been mended a few times, covering worn but cared-for wooden floorboards.

What can you expect from Arcana Chats: Death is always polite and dry, and he always appears wearing the traditional funerary garb of whatever culture the Traveler hails from. He’ll offer Travelers a drink and a seat. He’s more frank about what’s going on than some of the other Arcana, and when he talks about what happens after he wins, he’ll say that he’ll let the Travelers go--the wheres are not really any of his concern. He’s not just about death, but the cycles of life.

For OOC answers to specific questions or actions your Traveler might take during this first meeting, please leave an OOC comment on this entry, checking to make sure it hasn't already been answered.

Comments

[fighterpaladin]

Hey! I was thinking that this first talk between Keith and his Arcana would be... complicated, but after reading what to expect from Mortimer it might actually have gone a lot smoother than what I was expecting (which was a lot of yelling and demands and possible attempts at fighting, so that's great).

He won't take the drink or the seat, but the fact that he will be spoken to more frankly would help. What would Mortimer tell him about his friends? Because that would be Keith's first question. He has been told he's been taken away from his world, but what happened to the people who stayed behind? Are they around here somewhere too? (A lot of his cast is here, but only Lance is from the same canon point as him.)

Keith would definitely ask what exactly is going on here, too. Would Death provide any more information than what he was given in his Intro? Besides, well, what does he mean by "after he wins": would he develop more on what this "winning" entails? And when he says he will let the Travelers go: does that mean only those marked by him or all of the Travelers?

Thanks!

ALRIGHT here goes

[indeathputable]

To try to answer everything...

- He'd tell Keith the most basic information about people who are currently in-game, basically. He's not going to get into canon points in too much detail but would likely offer some sort of vague warning that the timing might be different for them than it is for Keith. He'd suggest going to talk to them, as they'll be able to tell their own stories best. He wouldn't really be able to provide any information on the others who are not in game.

- For the "what's going on here," he's going to be a little vaguer here at points and will stick to the basics--the Travelers have to go to a place to do a thing and aren't given explicit instructions--but is apologetic about how vague some things are. Rules are rules, and he's bound by them. Winning would be completing the round of Synodiporia, and he will let all of the Travelers go.

[fighterpaladin]

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

Mortimer might... actually get an ally here, depending. Which. I was not at all expecting.

But, what would he answer Keith if he asked him who (or what) is making these 'rules' that bind even the Arcana? And what constitutes a "round" of Synodiporia?

[fighterpaladin]

And adding in just another question that he would probably ask, given that a castmate just brought it to his attention (and he will only meet Mortimer after this): What will Mortimer do if he wins the game?

He will let all Travelers go, but what will he do to the multiverses (including the universe Keith came from)?

[indeathputable]

He's got no interest in going in and ruining things in the multiverses, if that's what Keith is worried about. He'd flat-out say he'd leave Keith's universe alone, but what he'd do with others will be a bit vaguer though the answer would suggest he has no horrible plans in store for anyone. He will explicitly state he does not wish to bring undue harm to anyone.

[indeathputable]

The rules answer will be a little more vague, something along the lines of limits to even the Arcana's power, and that they do keep them honest. Most of them anyway. A round would be enough Jaunts to determine a winner; he'll be open enough about that much.

[fighterpaladin]

Thank you (for both replies)! Are you one of the honest ones, Mortimer?

But last question, I think! After hearing all of his replies, I think Keith might ask, you know, okay, so what does Mortimer wants him to do for him (so it can help him win)?

[indeathputable]

He needs to do his best! Keep doing what he does naturally; it's those qualities that led Death to pick him and it's those qualities that Death believes will win the day. (Probably not said quite so cheerfully, more matter-of-factly, but I've worked way too long today and sometimes it's hard to turn off the customer service voice...)

[fighterpaladin]

Thank you! That will probably confuse him but he won't be able to find a fault in it xDD Hope to meet Mortimer around again!