Character Halloween

Dakota shrugged and said, "It's not your fault. I think about the loser who did it to me all the time. He was terrified when I woke up, as he should be." She grinned for a minute, imagining the fear on his face. Then she looked back at Moreena. "I guess it could be worse...but I can't help but worry about what others think."

She paused.

"So, can we start exploring now?" She asked, putting her glove on.

[West Wing]

Moreena grabbed the handle of a nearby door. "Yes, let's keep going," she said, giving the door a hard push. The wood cracked and the door swung open. She grinned. Opening doors with her hands...

"Huh, and I thought the doll room was strange..."

She lit another one of her purple flames to illuminate the room. Like the previous one, it was full of wooden crates and broken furniture, but that wasn't all. The walls were adorned with dozens of paintings, most of them depicting people in old-fashioned clothing. All the paintings had been brutally vandalized. Cuts, paint splatters, broken frames... was that dried blood?

However, the most interesting thing in Moreena's eyes was a small table in one of the far corners. On top of it was a small, oddly shaped key...

Warren looked around curiously. "What a waste of art," He said, disapprovingly, and picked up one of the pictures. "Sad, this one was actually kind of decent. Oh well."

Dakota smashed a crate open. This time, something was actually inside...an old book. She picked it up, curiously. It was fragile, so she glanced at Warren. "Can you take this? I don't want to damage it."

He took the book from her. It was dusty, leather-bound and definitely aged. But all the pages were there, and it was still legible. Well, it would be legible, if it was in a language he knew.

"Interesting..."

edited 11th Dec '14 3:50:52 PM by Sibuna

[Entry Hall-> Ballroom]

A middle-school age girl entered the castle and took in the décor. Creepy. Whoever did the setup for this has some skill.

She had gone in costume as a science geek, though the costume was little more than a lab coat and slacks. Truth be told, her choice of costume was a perfect fit for her. Her IQ wasn't quite off the scale, but it was close, and she and her friends had been saved from death or worse by her quick wits and a lot of luck more than once.

She fingered the ring on her right hand. It was a habit of hers to do that when stressed, and to be honest, the atmosphere was just unnerving enough to raise goosebumps. The ring itself was made of gold, carved in the shape of a dragon, and had a massive amethyst set in the mouth. It looked like it cost a small fortune, though she had actually picked it up at a thrift store.

Calm down, Rachel. The worst thing the dust can do to you is make you sneeze. Rachel left the entryway and headed for the ballroom, hoping to find someone to talk to... or at least some good snacks.

Those with the abilities to sense magic will notice a pair of sources associated with Rachel. Her innate magic seems to be sealed, but she still has access to the magic stored in her ring. Both are fairly powerful.

edited 11th Dec '14 6:52:06 PM by daird

Welcome, darid!

[Ballroom]

Priss chuckled. "You can't see all of a planet. You're not going to see all of a city. You traveling for the new experiences? The mystery? By the time you get a good feel for the place, some of it's changed...my favorite restaurant's changed everything but the address three times in the last six years."

She looked up to see the newcomer and waved, which probably wasn't as friendly as it seemed on the surface considering it showed off the muzzle of the laser in the suit's "palm". It wasn't entirely clear whether Priss had merely forgotten she was wearing most of a suit of power armor with its weapons, or was pretending to have done so. The easy, natural way way the armor moved for the most part could support either interpretation.

Recon did not make a big spectacle, but at the same time did not try to hide himself like he had so far.

He reappeared in front of the dried blood, drawn to it like iron to a magnet. Slowly, he brushed one gauntleted hand over the gruesome stain, as if he was trying to paint with it.

edited 11th Dec '14 10:41:26 PM by gameknight102xx

[Ballroom (Priss, Harry, Rachel)]

Harry laughed. "Well, yeah, obviously you're never going to see everything on one planet. But I'd rather see lots of different things then just stay focused on a particular place. Call me superficial if you like, but hey" - he shrugged - "different drummers and all that, man. I just don't quite get it when some people march to the stay-in-one-place the whole time beat."

He gestured expansively. "I mean, ever since I was a kid, I wanted to have my own spaceship. Wasn't all that realistic - still isn't, actually; Cecelia and me are more leasing the Nerd than anything else - but that's the sort of mind I have. Pre-contact I would have probably traveled worldwide or something" -

Harry broke off as he saw the new arrival. Looked like a young teenager; he frowned slightly at the idea that she was here by herself. Then he frowned more at Priss's not-quite-threatening greeting. Sure, wave a laser at the little kid, that seems righteous. Guess her concerts must aim to an older audience or something.

Whoops, meant to post this quite a while ago.

[dining room] MOC, Darkblood (and thus Nel) dropped out.

So, if they were setting up decorations now, why the hell did they let people in? The storm, probably, but if they knew there was going to be a storm that early, why not start setting up beforehand... whatever.

Henri pulled a chair out for Herr Komm, across from Jackson, and began taking a slow drag of his cigarette as he awaited his response. Everything was okay... everything. He just had a night to kill, and he could deal with it all tomorrow morning. It'll be fine!

Link to the last dining room post and a question from Jackson for convenience's sake.

[elsewhere]

The subtle detailing of this particular suit had been coming together nicely when Henri left to pick up lunch. Regina estimated that she'd be done by the time he got home, but it was only when she beat him to the punch that she noticed the time. Two hours and he wasn't home? That wasn't right.

Leaving the finished suit on the mannequin, she scooped up her tablet that she left on the table and called him. It pinged five times before giving up, 'Receiver Unreachable'. Regina froze. He'd have to have left the city, otherwise it would have gone to voicemail. He could be impulsive sometimes, but not so impulsive that he'd up and decide not to pick up lunch after craving gelato for the last month!

She picked a different name on her contacts list and called. As soon as they could see each other on their respective screens, Acquati could instantly tell that something was horribly wrong.

"'Unreachable'?" Acquati blinked. "Aw, great. Meet me in the foyer."

Regina packed up her tablet and ID card and attempted to walk calmly, but failed. When she opened the door to the foyer, Acquati stood there with his aitheroscope under his arm.

"What's that for?" She turned and began to walk towards the door that led outside, expecting him to follow.

"Assuming my hunch is right, I'm exactly who you need." The two piled into the car, she punched the address of the shopping arcade into the console, and it hovered off on autopilot.

edited 12th Dec '14 4:27:19 PM by CrystalGlacia

[West Wing]

Recon was apparently doing things on his own again. Moreena wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not. She picked up the strange key and examined it closely with her black eyes. It seemed far too convenient that this would be the key to the goddess-burning box, but it was certainly worth a try.

She moved over to the young humans, holding up the key for them to see.

"I think I've found what we're looking for," she began, before noticing the book. "Oh, I see that you have found something as well."

[Dining Hall]

Kommissar bowed slightly at Henri and sat down. "I was invited here by an employer. Although I believe he isn't coming. He's... A busy man."

"If you're wondering about my name, from my line of work, it isn't uncommon. Our real names can endanger our work and people we know." As his lips moved, the masked man's mind went elsewhere. He was instead focused on the workers. Aren't you supposed to put up decorations before a party? He thought, his hands fiddling with the mug. His inner suspicions rose.

With bounty hunting, he had to build an intuitive side, which only got stronger as he took more missions. But he grew to resent it, although it has never failed him to tell him of danger. Bad vibes were harbingers, ones he hated to welcome. For once, he had to see if the bad vibes wasn't indigestion.

"Excuse me," Kommissar said to a worker, "Aren't you a bit late? I believe decorations should be up before a party, not when people are here. A bit inconvenient, don't you think?"

The worker paused, his back facing Herr and the other two party-goers. What followed was an impending silence. The bad vibes rose in Kommissar's gut.

I'm not too sure what to do with the workers save for something spooky.

[Hallway-Dining Hall]

"The Wizard?" Adam asked, "Who's the-" he stopped when he realized that they had arrived to the dining hall. "Oh. There's Jackson. Looks like he's already got company."

"I'll get him." Nick said, "You guys sit tight."

Just as Jackson thought; those won't their real names. Though he was curious about where he worked exactly he worked.

Jackson quirked an eyebrow at the worker again. It was a bit strange that they waited till' the last minute to decorate the place. It was even stranger that he didn't say anything. Something was odd.

Before he said anything, Nick came in the room.

"Sorry, but we need to borrow our friend for a second." Nick said, "Jacky, we have a problem."

"Already?" Jackson said, "That was fast." He stood up and gave a small bow to Henri, "I'll be back later. Sorry to cut this short."

After walking away from Henri and Kommissar, he crossed his arms and looked over his friends and Hei."So, what's the deal? You blew up something? You pissed off an entity? What?"

"Actually, we have a friend in the West Wing who's kind of...not himself." Marie said, "He and a goddess went in into this room, and when he came out he kind of became an empty shell. Not even a goddess can figure out what happened. We think he's hypnotized or...something else. Can you help us figure it out?"

"Wait." Jackson lifted a hand, "So, let me get this straight; you want me to solve a problem that not even a goddess herself can fix?"

"Well...yeah." Nick said, "Look, we just need to figure out how we can save him and make sure no one else gets his fate, alright? Please?"

Jackson gave a heavy sigh. "Oh, bloody hell. Fine, I will see what I can do. Not like anything is happening in here anyway. Lead the way."

edited 12th Dec '14 3:33:00 PM by Masterofchaos

Warren looked up Moreena. "Hey miss magic, do you think you can translate this book?" He asked, showing it to her.

"Hey, a key." Dakota commented. "I think we all know where that might go to...anyone want to try it?"

[Outside ~ Forest] (Oswald, Krajn)

Oswald glanced Krajn's way twice before appearing to have registered what she had just asked.

"Ah, yes... your departure." He repeated slowly, turning his head away only to continue following Krajn with a sideways glance. He waited an odd second longer than seemed normal, then continued. "Well... good grief, it all happened so long ago, and from what I remember..." he shook his head, touching the side of it gingerly, as though it had suddenly begun to ache, "I don't recall if we ever did discover exactly what was going on in that place. There was a passage that led from the library to a hidden portion of the of the university—or whatever it was, as you said—beneath the university's grounds. It was a very peculiar place, dark and full of perils that you'd expect to find in an Egyptian tomb, perhaps." he paused for a moment, frowning in dissatisfaction. "It seemed as though that area held the remains of some kind of cult, but... I don't know, nothing that we found made any complete sense. Before I could get any solid answer, I was whisked away, back to more familiar surroundings."

He paused for a moment, squatting slightly to watch a stag beetle, crawling across the stump of a fallen tree. "It was a very peculiar place indeed..." he murmured.

edited 10th Mar '16 11:02:35 AM by Ryuhza

Parlor

"Well...it has been a while, at the least, so there's no harsh feelings from me at the very least..."

It wasn't a complete lie. It was true that Kaguya didn't feel any resentment towards Cyana or any ill feelings at all. However, now that the events of that night were at the forefront of her mind again, her feelings about it were...complicated, to say the least. At the same time, none of them were anything she really wanted to discuss, especially not with someone she had just met. In this particular case, she doubted she would ever feel comfortable enough to discuss something like that with Inzami. Besides the fact that the two of them were on opposite sides of...whatever this device was actually supposed to be, she had a feeling this conversation had already gone on for longer than Inzami had planned to.

Then again, Inzami did just say she would be willing to stick around for a little while longer. If nothing else, she did expect for this room to remain mostly empty for a while. If what that group earlier had been saying about a party was true, then most probably came here to participate in the festivities, not find someplace quiet to bunker down for the whole thing like she did. The new problem was finding something to talk about that didn't pertain to Cyana, if Inzami even wanted to talk about anything else, and small talk was definitely not one of her strong suits.

"Anyway...um...." Something, something, something.... "...I guess I appreciate the company. Right now, there's supposedly some kind of party going on and everyone else is probably out there enjoying themselves...or something like that. Given that this room is...um...a little on the quiet side, I'm not expecting anyone else to enter soon...."

[Ballroom (Harry, Priss, Rachel)]

At first, Rachel was a little frightened by Priss waving some sort of firearm at her, but when she realized the other woman was trying to greet her, she walked over to join the conversation. "Rachel Jones, Purple Claw of the Dragon's Daughters, at your service." She looked at Priss' armor approvingly. "Excellent design. Mind telling me how it works?"

[Forest (Oswald, Krajn)]

"That peculiarity would seem to be a regular pattern for the places we find ourselves in," Krajn said. She paused for some time, filing away what Oswald had said about the 'university' as they continued to walk, before eventually speaking again. "Hrrm. Interesting that that is a pun in both of our languages - at least, according to my translator. That is, these... shell-places, beyond the Gates, are where we literally find ourselves at the moment. And also, according to some accounts I have read, they are where people are known to have certain life-changing epiphanies. Not that I've experienced one..."

Secretly, she was rather glad of that. The details of her life may have been frequently imperfect, but she liked who she was.

[West Wing (Moreena, Warren, Dakota and Recon)]

"I suppose I could take a look," Moreena said, grabbing the book. To avoid getting burned again, she flipped it open and placed it on the small table where she'd found the key. As long as she didn't use any magic on the book itself she would probably be safe, but after the embarrassing episode with the box she had decided to be more cautious.

She looked closely at the strange letters, and concentrated. She reached out with her true form, past the limiting world of the castle and back home towards the Storm. She let the violent waves of molten reality and raw magic rush past her, until she found what she was looking for.

She blinked, and suddenly the writing looked just like her own language to her. She skimmed through the first few pages before looking up.

"It looks like a diary of sorts," she said. "But the dates are all in the wrong order, and as far as I can tell most of it is just incoherent nonsense with horrible grammar."

She looked down at the book again, and started reading. "I locked up the 'wood faces' but it can still see me. It's in the paintings now. I don't like the paintings anymore."

Moreena stopped, and scratched one of her horns, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, that was strange. Let's see if the key works, shall we?"

She walked out through the door and into the main room of the West Wing, handing the book back to Warren as she passed him.

Interesting. Recon didn't know that liquid could undry itself.

The blood ran freely down his hands, his arms, staining his gloves red until both his hands were saturated in the stuff.

This felt...familiar, comfortable.

He stood up, the mysterious blood running off his fingertips onto the floor. Even has he got to his feet, his fingers began to unconsciously began to flex and squirm, like he was already looking for another fresh kill to sink them into.

edited 13th Dec '14 4:36:52 AM by gameknight102xx

[[Dining Hall]]

“Well, good luck to you guys,” Michael said to the teens, “I would have liked to have your number so I could check up on you later, but since there’s no reception in the castle anyway, I guess there’s no point. I’ll come back to the hallway after I wake up. Take care till then.” He waved his hand briefly and turned to enter the Dining Hall.

Henri was still in the Hall, same as when Michael had left earlier, and was joined by a man in a red mask. He didn’t remember the latter being in the small group that’d formed in the Entry Hall before, so it seemed people were still arriving. Just how many people did the host invite? The more people there were, the harder it would be for him to try something sneaky. Of course, he still got to Recon somehow, so maybe numbers weren't an issue here.

He noticed another person in the room, setting up decorations over to the side. Part of the household help, perhaps? He walked over to the worker, taking a big yawn along the way. “I’m guessing you work for the guy who owns this place,” he said, “Any idea where I can find him?”

[Dining Hall]

The worker looked up at Michael. "Actually, I'm with Haney Party Supplies," he said, indicating the logo on his shirt. "Mr. Haney was contacted by the owner to have us set up supplies for the party, but I haven't met him myself. Why, you need to ask him something?"

I was hoping for Night or Ryuhza to post before putting this up, since the workers aren't really characters, but I wanted to go ahead and get this up before I go to bed.

[[Dining Hall]]

Fuck me, Michael thought, rubbing his eyes, Of course he’s part of the party organizer crew. I am way too goddamn tired. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh, and muttered while walking away, “teeth or nails.”

He closed his hand into a fist, brought it close to his mouth and said in a low voice, “Inventory.” When he got to the table, he slid four chairs together to form a makeshift bunk. He took off his trench coat, spread it on the top rail of a chair and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a two inch wide tattoo that encircled his upper arm. He lay down onto the arrangement, and made a vial filled with blue liquid appear into his hand. Taking off the cap, he poured the contents onto his tattoo and placed the vial on the table.

After two seconds of lying motionless, his waved his hands above the table and said, “Oh, don’t mind me. You guys can continue talking.”

[Outside ~ Forest](Oswald, Krajn)

"Not yet, that is." Oswald said, shooting Krajn a quick smile. "Although, I suppose I could say the same of myself. By my count, this is the... third or perhaps even the fourth time that I've visited one of these 'shell places', yet I've experienced naught but small personal revelations. But the night stretches out before us, young, with a strong penchant for surprise."

As if on cue, a pack of wolves howled in the distance a second or so after Oswald had finished speaking, drawing his eyes upward for a moment.

"Mm." his eyes fell back upon Krajn, filled with a sudden new interest. "So Krajn, are you saying that your world has reputable recorded accounts of instances such as this one? Of these 'shell places' as you call them?"

[Forest (Oswald, Krajn)]

Krajn tilted her head. "I'm not certain I would go so far as to use the word 'reputable'. Or, truthfully, 'recorded' as well. But there are many stories of those who ventured beyond the Gates, and many of them suggest some sort of personal revelation took place there. For instance, Vedesh of Navar was a g'vek - er, a sort of six-legged reptilian sophont - whose views about political cosmopolitanism were supposedly greatly altered when she went through a Gate on one of the gluvpaki worlds. And there have been many stories about Ambassador Qrlil's time at the Great Library, though of course anything about her is so blinding with myths that it's hard to know the truth..."

She lifted her head. "Personally, I'm more interested in the possibility that these places could help me learn the truth of those stories than in anything they could teach me about myself. I'm hardly perfect, but I don't particularly wish to change who I am. But finding out the truth behind such old, old mysteries..." Her red eyes glittered with a light different from that of the enhancements for her costume as she peered into the shadows of the forest. "I know it is impossible, but would you not love to learn just what is behind a place such as this existing - "

There was another howl, this one quite close and sounding eerily human, and something crashed in the underbrush to the north. Krajn whirled around and raised her fighting sticks, but there was no further noise. "Then again," she added hastily, "the Qvn Jxilkr do teach that some mysteries are better left unsolved."

edited 14th Dec '14 5:23:57 PM by nrjxll

[Ballroom]

"You're asking the wrong person. I know how to use it, but I don't have nearly the technical grounding to explain it." Priss cover her face with her hand briefly. "I waved with the laser barrel again, too. This is why Green insists her armor have a port to cover it." She cocked her head briefly in the direction of a large window, as though trying to discern a sound, and then shook whatever it was off; literally shaking her head.

She started fiddling with the sound gear, ignoring the workman; or maybe challenging him to say something. Despite that, Priss seemed to know what she was doing.

edited 14th Dec '14 2:48:42 PM by Night