Taboo Larp - English Podcast

#6 - Montgomery Archibald Thornhill’s Diary

#3 Friedheim - The holy haven

• Safe, clean, orderly, holy, faithful, hardworking, open, tolerant, peaceful - at night they party here
• Church of the Flunker, nuns, monks, farmers, trappers, merchants, woodworkers, craftsmen, artists...only the minority are flunkers, but they set the tone. The rest are settlers or refugees from Europe and some natives.
• Language: mostly German
• There never is any fighting here (the place is sacred) - so ingame and offgame there should be no fighting here.
• At night, the other camps visit Friedheim: either to party - or to negotiate with the enemies without the possibility of a fight.
• Resources: gunpowder, food, wood, furs, pearls... and: Music, dance and performing arts!

You want to play, trade, craft or party in peace - without being attacked? Without witchcraft or shooting? Then you are at the right place here! But please respect the priests of the Flunker.

The Church of the Flunker: The Prussian-Helvetian Free Church split off a few years ago and was persecuted by the Prussian state. Basically, they are pious and quite tolerant. However, they live excessively at night and party wildly, which has made them unpopular with all other Christian churches. In the morning, the party-happy “Flunkies” seem to transform completely: then they pray, behave piously and lovingly, constantly quoting their saints:

"The fuller the belly, the freer the spirit!" or

"ora et celebra - first pray, then celebrate!"

Their love of art is also special: poetry, dance, music and painting. A flunker manages to see art - and the divine - even in a brushstroke.

Some say they were named after "Edmund Funker," one of the founders. Others are sure it comes from the saying:

"We never lie, we just fib a little." 😉

(“flunkern” means fib in english)

Many of the stiff lords, noble ladies and stuck-up prigsof James Town really like Friedheim: here they can relax a little. Here they can do "just good business" - and even with their enemies. In Friedheim there are no ambushes. So you can give your opponents a good talking to - or spontaneously change sides.

To the groups and personalities of Friedheim...

From the point of view of Loreena Majaroff - photographer, publicist and reporter from the Inselblatt (fictional character from Taboo - Larp)

#1 The Soul Suckers

...or "Souleater" or Narúne:

There is a rotten hack between Taboo Moor and James Town - right by the Mad Faces' little grove. There live the Narúne, which means soul-suckers: a group of witches who are true masters and mistresses of physical healing. They say that if your body is as good as destroyed and the healers in Taboo Moor shake their heads, you can still try these witches. They never say no. First, they suck the soul out of the almost dead body and breathe it into a jar. After healing, they breathe the soul back in. If all goes well.

Two weeks ago, Cicilia Mayham, the daughter of the president of East India was hit by a bullet. The bullet hit her lung and Sir Mayham ordered his men to take her to the Narúne lodge. When the men returned, they were as white as a sheet. One said:

"Sir, the glass shattered. It fell down... We don't know how that could have happened... but your daughter's soul was already in the glass!"

Cicilia, however, stood upright beside the men and Sir Mayham ignored the matter of the glass: his daughter was alive! She was breathing!

But it soon became clear that something was missing: she did not speak a word and no one heard her once sweet laughter. She did not eat or sleep. After two days, Sir Mayham quietly said, "My little flower has withered." Later they burned Cicilia's body, which is very unusual for the settlers.

Last night one of the night marchers told the trappers:

"I heard a sweet and bright laughter in the forest that night. I swear by all the saints, it sounded like little Cicilia's laugh!"

From the point of view of Loreena Majaroff - reporter from the Inselblatt (fictional character from Taboo - Larp)