When does it run?
It will begin Jan 6, 2024, and run until the last person has been eliminated. It typically takes at least a week - it definitely won't run longer than 2 ish weeks.

Sinjin's RSVP
Riga's RSVP
Sera's RSVP

---

When Gallineo and Rialto (and Enkidu) arrived in their brightly painted cart to pick Sera up for the party, it was no surprise. Neither was it a surprise to find her sister, Riga inside waiting for her. What was a surprise was their volatile mother, Dewette, who had decided to come along for the ride! "Oh, I weel not stay an' ruin your fun!" she assured her daughters. "I weel not efen get out ov ze cart. You weel see, I weel be ferry gut!"

True to her word, Dewette merrily waved them off at the front gate before the cart drove off. The sisters held hands as they entered, as if each wanted to be sure the other was really there. They hadn't been together for a couple of years.

But everything seemed lovely and the other dragons quite friendly, so they soon relaxed.

Word started circulating during the first hour that four of the guests were missing. That did not sound good. "Sera, perhaps hand-holding is a good idea after all. We should definitely stay together!" Despite her own rather wild adventures, Riga gave her sister a reassuring if rather weak smile.

---

The sisters circled the tables, hand in hand, as if trying to read the minds of the guests already seated, to suss out a possible friend or better yet, an ally. They finally picked a table with only two seats left and accepted their cup of tea. Suddenly Sera stood, cup in hand. "I...I think I'll go see if I can get a glass of water..." She nodded to Riga and stepped away from the table. Riga followed her with her eyes and then turned back to answer a question. Conversation became hazy as she sipped her tea, waiting for her sister to return...

---

The first words out of Riga's mouth upon waking are, "Where's Sera? Where's Sera??" As she looks around for her sister, her alarm visibly grows. She sees that the dragons nearby are all strangers and Sera...nowhere to be seen! It's clear they'll have to work together to escape this Garden Party, but not without her sister!!

Wisteria

Celegans

Itan

Seagrass

Begonia

Eris

Harmony

Adramei

---

"Wait. Sera is missing....and now Harmony is missing too?" Riga took a breath and pulled herself together. This would never do. She was better than this. She raised 4 hatchlings aboard ship, surely she could rise to the occasion here.

"Does everyone have their supplies? I know we should stay together, but I'm torn between following Harmony (did anyone see where he went?) but I also thought I saw my sister across the field when the crate dropped...This is all so confusing! What we need is a strong guide!"

SillyFilly/Seagrass
Mycenas/Begonia
SteamedMilk/Wisteria

DewFeather/Harmony...RIP

---

bexbox
Riga
SillyFilly
SteamedMilk
belated

DewFeather/Harmony is returned to us!

---

Chapter Six

Begonia/mycenas ran across the bridge...did it break or did Begonia slip and fall? It can't be safe for anyone else...

---

Chapter Seven

Seagrass/SillyFilly
Eris/belated
Riga/Storygeek
Wisteria/SteamedMilk

What happened to Itan/bexbox?? They've disappeared!

---

Chapter Eight

So our most prepared group member has been stolen from us! What happened to Wisteria/SteamedMilk?? The pearlcatcher was right here just a moment ago...!

Riga felt dark and mysterious in her Nightsky Fuiran costume. She kept gazing aroud the pub, trying to figure out who the other dragons were, even though she knew the whole point of the masquerade was to give the party-goers an air of anonymity. She was only on her second honeymeade when she caught sight of a Mirror who sparkled with stars and shadows like a plum-colored nebula. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He was laughing with his buddies at the bar, but when she caught his eye, he broke away and approached the hearth where she sat. He greeted her with a nod and a little dramatic flourish.

"We don't often get Ridgebacks to the Bacchanaal. Are you just passing through then, my dark beauty?"

His sudden attention left her a bit flustered, but she rallied. "Yes, well, I mean, no, I mean...I don't think I should tell you." She drew herself up tall and thought about what her mother might say. "I think perhaps it is rude for you to ask me questions without introducing yourself first."

He laughed then, a chuckle that rumbled low in his chest, and sat himself across from her. He did not look abashed in the least. There proceeded then a lively banter beside the fireplace, each dragon spinning tall tales that danced on the edge between too much truth and an actual lie. He called himself a "tree whisperer" which she took to mean he worked high on the cliffs in the Arboretum, but she didn't try too hard to figure it out. It was a Masquerade after all. She claimed to be the daughter of pirates, born in a graveyard and raised by the restless dead, which was all somehow remarkably true.

Late in the evening, Kovychna came from the kitchens to lay another log across the fire and the Mirror made his move. "Well, my pretty pirate, I have woven a bower 'neath the cherry trees low on the cliffs. It is secluded, yet overlooks the Sea to the north, a fitting nest as you will find anywhere on the Plateau. Would you like to see it?"

His eyes were sparkling like his nebula costume, dark and sincere. She was ready...

A week later a postcard arrived at the graveyard; it was really just a torn scrap of paper, scrawled with the following:

"Riga 'as found romance at the Bacchanaal! 'er firs' nest an' she boasts FOUR eggs! Really she weel not shut up about eet, but 'oo can blame 'er? You MUST come an' see ze babbies!!!! Zey weel be wanting zeir auntie an' granpa'. I am a gran'ma, can yoo beliff eet?"

"Dear Sera and Rigby,

We have travelled this fall to the Starwood Strand for the Starfall Celebration! The children make a very capable if rowdy crew and have become indespensible to their "Cap'n Pops"! It is difficult to get the spirals out of the rigging to do their chores, but the steady stream of cookies from their Auntie Sera does wonders in that regard!

We have been tasked with ferrying home some of our seasonal travellers, so we are moored on the coast while we await our passengers. I am sure they will all arrive at the last minute; the festival has so many wonderful events. The children have been selecting special sweets to send for your seasonal Riot of Rot celebrations (you must act very surprised when they arrive...!)

I really must fly...Peppi has gotten into -- "

...and the rest of the page is blank.

---

A bird with a very strange silhouette appears in the afternoon sky winging its way toward the ship. As it gets closer and becomes easier to see it grows to resemble both an owl and bird of paradise.

Eventually it lands on the railing and squawks for attention. What follows is a peculiar sound of avian throat-clearing, then, somehow, a perfect reproduction of two voices that make up in volume what they lack in pitch: "HI MOM! We found Auntie Sera and so did the bird we followed and she says to tell you we're at the owl cafe spending your coupon! There's this bird here that says back everything you say so we don't have to write anything down!" A faint older voice in the background says an audible "That's not--" but is immediately drowned out once more by, "And she was busy but since we found her she says she's gonna come visit the ship anyway with us right now, so see you in port! Oh and they have GREAT snacks here that Auntie Sera just bought a bunch of so we're sending one of those chocolate animal rolls cuz Auntie Sera says to share! BYE MOM!" The message apparently complete with a faint echo of "What did--" that goes unfinished, the bird closes its beak and opens a foot to release its cargo. The ferret-shaped eclair realistically coated with chocolate frosting sparkles under the signature fading of a stasis spell. The sea breeze ruffles artfully depicted fur. Shine-brushed ganache eyes appear to take in the surroundings with a well-crafted expression that could be mistaken for tiny intent.