Sep 11, 2024 10:11 am
ICHOR IN THE WALLS
WITH A HIDDEN CREATURE AND A SINGLE LONELY SOUL. NO MORE, NO LESS.
In which there is something hiding in the Bed & Breakfast.
Hush, hush. Quiet quiet. Can you hear that? Whispering. At the bottom of the world. The voices of all the nameless, shapeless things that missed their chance to pick a name and take a form in the world of the now. They're lonely down there, without shape to call their own, without a name to keep them warm in the cold and endless sea.
But names are tricky things. And an idle name spoken by a tired witch in a moment of weakness can slither away from her, trickling down through the floorboards and behind the wallpaper until it finds a little nest, in the darkness and the deep.
Sometimes, when a resident of the Bed & Breakfast wanders late at night, they can hear a faint skittering in the walls. Sometimes, they’ll call out to see who’s there. No one will answer.
But something is there.
SEARCHING
One of us is the Seeker, a resident looking for Ichor in the walls. They'll ask for cards to represent their search. The other one of us is Ichor, who is hiding in the walls. Ichor is the dealer, and holds the deck of cards. Look at Ichor’s character sheet, but don’t feel bound to it—after all, you’re not a guest yet.
Each night is represented by a new hand of cards. As the Seeker looks for Ichor, they will ask for cards, one at a time, from the top of the deck. If the total value of the cards in the Seeker’s hand is 21 exactly (with aces counting as either 1 or 11 as benefits the Seeker, and Jacks, Queens, and Kings all counting as 10), they find Ichor, and may have a conversation with it before it scampers into the darkness. Slip all the cards inside your copy of this book, and keep them there.
If the total value of the cards ever breaks 21, then the Seeker is too eager in their search, and Ichor flees. Shuffle the entire hand back into the deck.
The Seeker may choose at any point to go back to bed. If they do, shuffle all but one card from their hand back into the deck. Slip a card of your choice inside your copy of this book and keep it there.
If there’s not enough cards left in the deck to make 21, then the Seeker has searched everywhere and is forced to give up. Describe how they yell one final call for Ichor, and it is Ichor's choice whether to emerge.
Once all the aces are inside your copy of Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast, Ichor may make a choice—join the Bed & Breakfast as a guest and maybe (just maybe!) find a home, or return to the walls and hide from the noisy brightness of the nameful world.
