Text | UN: Anonymous

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata was just having the time of his life on the Island of Dreams, playing with a whole bunch of cute mayonnaise mascots, when a little bird (literally or not... who knows) told him that back in Camelot his ghost subordinates are being hunted and trapped by dark web denizens. Shit!! Why does this happen the one time his burner phone is out of commission?!

After a quick panicked brainstorming session he decides to take to AOL, totally anonymous this time, just in case. He'll keep it short and sweet.]

How do you find ghosts that have been sealed in containers and hidden?

[If only there were something like a more specialised Wayfinder spell for this exact situation! Wait, didn't the traders sell a pendulum that can detect items? Ugh, why didn't he buy it?! But really, who could know that something like this would happen? Now he can only hope that Avalon's netizens have some good ideas for him.]

Comments

Text | Anonymous

[angel_of_death]

If this about the quest regarding the spirits? I must admit, I've not noticed any particularly malevolent ghostly activity, and I am often out in the hours they tend to be out and about.

[mayoninofukucho]

[They're both anonymous, which hypocritically annoys Hijikata a little... granted, since that's Walter's usual modus operandi on AOL he'd struggle to recognise him from prior discussions he lurked anyway.]

Are you a death mage?

[To be fair, if there were malicious ghosts even the non-death-mages would probably have noticed.]

I think harmless ghosts are being targeted.

[angel_of_death]

I am. The order I serve also deals specifically in supernatural threats.

If you believe innocent ghosts are being targeted, I consider it my duty to investigate the matter.

[Especially if this is happening in Camelot.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Holy crap, this person is actually offering to help?! Of course there's no telling if someone's being truthful in these anonymous internet discussions, but Hijikata can't help but feel hopeful.]

I'd really appreciate that! You're with Camelot's clergy, then?

text | un: weimou

[raveyardpatriarch]

Why do you want to find already contained ghosts? Not poaching, are you?

[mayoninofukucho]

No. I want to release them.

[It's goddamn hard to keep his connection to the ghosts under wraps while also gathering information... okay, you know what, he's just going to lie here to throw off any potential dark web lurkers.]

I'm a ghost rights activist.

[raveyardpatriarch]

Noble, well intentioned! Not sure I buy it though.

What's your plan for dealing with a lot of ghosts that doesn't involve jars then, ghost rights activist?

[mayoninofukucho]

[Why is he being doubted?! (Because that sounded sketchy and unlikely, that's why.)]

What do you mean, my plan for dealing with them? I'll release them and that'll be it!

[Wei Wuxian isn't even anonymous, but Hijikata doesn't recognise his username, so he can't figure out whom he might be talking to and where they might be coming from. This is why he usually avoids kicking off discussions on AOL!!]

I'm just asking for pre-jarred ghosts specifically because that's what's been going on!

Continued from above (to avoid pagestretching)!

[mayoninofukucho]

It'll still be a risk! Whatever you can invent someone else can figure out how to use (especially if you brainstorm options in public like this).

[Then again such a map surely could help him, too... but no, it's too risky. He can't really stop this inventor, but he can strongly discourage them.]

Trustworthy people are rare in general. That said there are some death mages I consider trustworthy, but I don't think they necessarily want to work with ghosts this closely.

[Then again he hasn't really asked for help at all. He's a very stubborn man.]

[raveyardpatriarch]

You do have a point about not brainstorming death mage inventions in public. Your activism is becoming more believable by the second.

[Good luck strongly discouraging Wei Wuxian. So far what he hears is 'be more discreet.']

What kind of death mage doesn't want to work with ghosts? What else would you even do with death magic?

[Maybe there's a correlation between trustworthiness and willingness to work closely with ghosts, depending heavily on what 'work with' entails. Even Wei Wuxian can admit that might be a red flag sometimes.]

[mayoninofukucho]

Thanks, I guess.

[He doesn't need this guy's vindication..!!]

Some death mages focus on necromancy, so they'd be working with skeletons/zombies instead. Others specialise in exorcisms and only deal with ghost as threats, no allies. And so on.

[Yet it was primarily a couple of fellow death mages who initially helped him deal with his new abilities and learn to look at ghosts with sentiments beyond fear and terror. He really should at least ask them if they want to work with him. That can be his new year's resolution! Back to the matter at hand, though--]

How fast do you think you'll be able to make progress on the compass? Again, I don't mind if you can't fine-tune it, so long as it detects ghosts.

text; anonymous

[sulit]

Easy. You just check under my bed~

[...Did she actually hide them under her bed? Who knows.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Another anon... Hijikata doesn't really know how to even proceed here. Whether this person is just trolling him or really captured some of his subordinates, they obviously won't tell him their location.]

That doesn't seem like a good place to store them. What are you, some kind of rookie?

[sulit]

No, I'm a certified ghost expert.

Do you want a ghost? It'll cost you.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Really?! This sounds like such bullshit... and yet.]

Post proof.

Continued from above!

[mayoninofukucho]

Just ensure yours is maintained too.

[What about his reputation?! Wait, no, the Yuureisengumi Commander stopping at nothing to get his subordinates back is actually expected behaviour, so never mind that.]

Let's meet at the bridge between Camelot's farmlands and the western countryside.

[That's in the middle of nowhere and a full day's journey from Camelot's city centre, but he's willing to spend a farm totem on the expedition! After all the snow makes the city as such an ill-suited meeting point, and its public building see too many other visitors.]

[sulit]

[Please picture Klaudia doing some quick math on how well she can produce glamours... and regretting that she hasn't practiced more with those. These conditions a little too risky for a prank, especially if it means meeting some shady character face-to-face. Getting murdered over a scam isn't on her to-do list.]

Hey, now. You're being hasty. I didn't agree to anything. How do I know you won't try something funny? I can't go carting around a bunch of high-grade ghosts in broad daylight. I'll be robbed blind, and wouldn't that be embarrassing for me?

You pay me up-front, and I'll drop them off at whatever location you want.

text | [thearchitect]

[emet_sulk]

Seek out the lingering traces of another Death mage's work. That or simply break every jar that is somewhere it does not belong. Most are amateurishly hidden.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata doesn't recognise the username as Emet-Selch's, so he feels less embarrassed admitting how stumped he feels at his advice than he otherwise would.]

How do I recognise the traces? I have death magic, but I never paid attention to anything like that.

[That last part is a little comforting, though... and wait, doesn't it hold an implication?]

Have you been looking for the jars as well?

[emet_sulk]

Symbols seem to be rather common ways of sealing the jars. I was seeking out spirits with another but I am beginning to suspect that the quest-giver has been grossly misunderstanding the actions of these wayward souls. So, I have turned my attentions to breaking them out instead.

Continued from above!

[mayoninofukucho]

[(Continued from here!)

He nods, smiling a little.]

I've worked with my subordinates for long enough to know what they look like in this form. I usually bottle them for transport when we travel between Camelot and the Forest of the Felled by totem.

[It's only a matter of familiarity! As they descend down the ladders he muses on Emet-Selch's shop, which also services spectres.]

Say, what do your ghost customers usually buy from you?

[Perhaps he should recommend Polydegmon's to his men and women!]

[emet_sulk]

...Their initial requests usually involve some manner of poison or other means of revenge against those who wronged them.

[ He is an alchemist after all. ]

As I refuse to create poisons which may kill a man, I instead offer to listen to their life story while I work.

text; un: 𓅃

[hor]

Find out who took them, track them, trace back their steps. It's much easier to hunt something still alive.

[mayoninofukucho]

[Oh, he'd love to hunt down the jerks who went after his subordinates... going by how the dark web quest was worded they're probably laughing about him right now, and the thought makes him bristle. At least one of them brazenly responded to his post (why are people mistaking his rescue effort for ghost shopping?!), but he's stuck right away on the identification and tracking part.]

Are you a technomancer?

[It's a shot in the dark, but hey!]

[hor]

[ If he were, he wouldn't have the first idea where to start with it. Alas, Hijikata will need to find someone else to assist with that. ]

I am a man of alchemy, sorry.