Event || A History of Light and Darkness

[eternitymods]

Who: Brave Explorers and/or Those Poor Souls Being Dragged Along by Friends
When: Oct 15-30th
Where: Thilmit Border Post, inside the Old Heranean Doll Museum
What: The Heroes of Light received a strange letter, and are now being asked to investigate the strange occurrences at the old doll museum.
Warnings/Notes: OOC Post Warnings for Spookiness, Creepy Dolls. Post toplevels for each group. Please post warnings as needed for memory fragments and exploration. For random numbers, use the dice functions on Plurk or Discord.



The Old Heranean Doll Museum is a small building, but somehow the dark, dusty windows and poorly maintained roof give it a menacing feel as you approach. The sign says, "OPEN"...although, as you approached, you think it might have been turned to "CLOSED".

The door creaks as it swings open, though there is no one from the museum to greet you as you enter. A cold breeze blows in behind you, sapping any lingering warmth in the room. The building is dark, and cobwebs are starting to form in the corners of the lobby and on the velvet rope stanchions that guide the flow of traffic in and out. Out of a shadowy corner, a large centipede skitters across the floor and into a crack low on the wall.

At the reception desk, one of the antique dolls sits, unmoving, unblinking. That goes without saying. Its eyes do not follow you as you enter.... The hairs prickling up on the back of your neck are just coincidence, that's all.

There is another doll perched on the wooden brochure display stand near the door. It's strange that the curator leaves the display pieces out where visitors can touch them....

As you enter, you hear something whistling through the air toward you a moment before it makes a impact. A tiny pebble, too small to do any damage other than a brief stinging. During this moment of distraction, the door slams and locks.

When you look at the spots where the dolls were perched a moment ago, there is now just empty space. There is movement in the shadows, and the nearly imperceptible sound of tiny shapes creeping around.

As you move past the lobby into the exhibits, a sign above the entryway declares:

Welcome to the Old Heranean Doll Museum. We hope you enjoy our historic Heroes of Light displays.

Comments

Team: Amanda, Okuyasu, Sasami, Uendo, Ursula

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu is fully prepared to fight off a monster or ghosts. After that weird encounter in the old house, he's knows he has to be prepared for more than a squatter. He arrives at the house with a duffle bag that he sets on the ground and opens for the rest of the group.]

I guess that we might be stuck in there waiting for something to happen, so I brought us some supplies. I got two flashlights from our house and wire cutters if anyone needs 'em. [He holds out said supplies for the others to take. He knows that old buildings can't take too much of a pounding, especially if they're going to be sneaky about this.]

And I got us snacks! I brought apples and these things wrapped up in leaves? Its made from corn but it's pretty sweet. And a couple water bottles if we're thirsty.

[and here's a small book.]

I found this at the farm office. It's a crossword puzzle book. Don't worry, I asked if anyone wanted to keep it first.

[This isn't a camping trip, Okuyasu.]

[beariot]

[ Well this young man certainly was... prepared. ]

I appreciate everything you put thought to, but I at least won't be needing a flashlight. I can use fire magic to create a pretty worthwhile torch.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

[Uendo and company hadn't really wanted to come at first. The trip to Sakura Forest had turned out creepy enough, but a doll museum? They're genre savvy enough to know where this is going.

But then they found out both Okuyasu and Sasami were answering the call, and responsibility had won over self-preservation... though one look at the place was all it took for Uendo to mentally shrink back and let Kisegawa take over.

She raises an eyebrow and takes a flashlight.]

I suppose we could always try confusing any ghosts we meet with some crosswords. [The sarcasm isn't too biting. Crossword book aside, this is certainly more preparation than she expected from him.] ...Not bad, Okuyasu.

[witchwithoutacause]

What, like, tamales or something?

[ Those have something to do with corn and being wrapped up in leaves. At any rate, Amanda doesn't ask about taking the wire cutters because of course she's going to handle them, right? ]

Uh, anyways, not like I plan on this taking too long with a big tough group like this.

[saint_sami]

Well, it shouldn’t be too bad. I mean, what if this was for nothing?

[Granted, Sasami certainly didn’t think it would be, but there was always the chance. At they very least she prepared special meals if they got into a fight...]

[righthandstand]

I guess they're like tamales? I bought one from the grocery store across the street but it was too spicy for me. These are way better.

[He tosses a paper bag at Amanda. It's still warm.]

Okay! Let's head in! [all properly geared up, he opens the door and strides through]

[whirluendo_of_puns]

With our track record? Nothing ever works out as easily as it should.

[Well, no sense in getting worked up before they've even started. Kisegawa follows behind Okuyasu, one hand reaching for her tome. She has next to no practice with the Scholar Job, but at least she'll be able to heal.

The lobby is... Well, it's more or less what she thought it'd be. She turns on the flashlight just in time to see a centipede disappear into the shadows.]

Hmph... What a dismal hovel.

[witchwithoutacause]

What if I want a spicy one?

[ She'd eat an entire habanero if the darer was worth it, to be fair. ]

I've seen creepier.

[beariot]

Luna Nova definitely has some creepy places on or near its grounds. Haunted locales not unlike this one...

[ Ursula lets up a small blue flame that hopefully casts enough light for them to see anywhere the flashlight beams weren't focused on. ]

That's kind of a cute doll there on the counter. [ Kind of. It was a little creepy how its eyes seemed to follow her... ]

[saint_sami]

It's such a strange one, though...

[Sasami couldn't help but shiver, though. It really did seem creepy!]

Where should we go first?

[righthandstand]

What about the other dolls? If the guys behind this stole any more, we can figure out how they sneaking them outta the displays.

[And they can see more creepy dolls. The blue one on the brochure display is more creative than a boring human doll, even if it looks well-tailored. Yeah, he should learn a lot from the exhibit.]

There! [The sign pointing to the display cases is still up, thankfully.]

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Let's go have a look, then.

[They pass by a vending machine on the way to the display case section. Kisegawa pauses to study it for a moment. Some of the snacks have been completely depleted since it was last restocked, while others appear nearly untouched...]

Well, well. Looks like someone has been on a Kupo Nut binge.

[beariot]

That's... huh.

Maybe there's some vagrant moogle living in the museum?

"A shame, really. I was feeling a bit peckish..."

[ Ursula leaned in the examine the machine more closely. Untouched, the other snacks were, but they also seemed mostly fresh. So this wasn't just an abandoned machine, either. ]

[witchwithoutacause]

Kinda on the edge of burning those dolls already...

[ But she's probably seen more horror movies than everyone else here combined. Apparently. ]

Guess it'd be weird for moogles to be in league with creepy dolls though?

[saint_sami]

[Sasami crossed her arms and sighed, annoyed.]

I still say it's those annoying Moogles from earlier...

[righthandstand]

I keep hearing about these Moogles some of you guys ran into. What’s with them?

[They sound like annoying pieces of shit, and doll pranks sound like the kind of thing a group of dumbasses would do. In the meantime, he walks over to an empty display case while Uendo and Ursula inspect the vending machine. He’s glad the new lady is helping them out, as is his adult roommate.]

So they broke into the cases and stole the dolls for what? Getting people to pay attention to the museum again?

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Those so-called Moogles of Light? They showed up out of nowhere and picked a fight with us while we were investigating the PuPus. Definitely the type to hold a grudge. I wouldn't put petty pranks past them.

[She leaves the vending machine to have a look at the display case herself. A quick scan with the flashlight reveals some Kupo-Bar candy wrappers on the bottom of the case.]

Nor littering, evidently.

[beariot]

If this machine was stocked recently, but still cleared out of all kupo-nut flavored snacks, then they may still be nearby.

So let's stay on the lookout for them.

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu sticks his hand into one of the empty cases and feels around the bottom. Some sort of switch, a calling card, a hidden doll or a ransom note, more snack wrappers. And unopened snack, in the best case scenario. Whatever is beneath the cushions.]

Those little shits sound like they leave everything behind--

[And when his fingers brush against a metallic bit, the space around them darkens. Purple bruises spread over their vision, and when Okuyasu opens his eyes, he is blinded by a neon green surrounding.]

[witchwithoutacause]

Sometimes I'm glad I've been stayin' out of some of this weird junk.

[ And look what happens when she gets involved in weird junk.

It gets weird. Amanda immediately throws both hands out to either side. ]

Whoa, hey, whoa, uh?

[saint_sami]

[Sasami gasps as everything goes completely trippy, scaring her senseless.]

Wh-what's going on?! What's happening here!?

[whirluendo_of_puns]

What the...!?

[Where the devil did they end up? A... tank of some sort? It feels like liquid surrounding them, but then, shouldn't they be unable to breathe? The more she tries to make sense of this, the more sluggish her thoughts grow. Kisegawa gives her head a sharp shake, trying to shift her attention to the others for now.

It's only then that she realizes she can see one extra person present -- an elderly man's still body, slumped over a low table, face shoved into a bowl...]

Shisho? [She recoils, pale as a sheet.] No, but that can't-- This has to be some kind of a trick...!

[Why the hell is she seeing this now? And more importantly, why the hell can't she think straight?]

[righthandstand]

Guys? There's a dead dude here!

[Okuyasu kicks at the thick liquid that fills his lungs yet can't suffocate him. Someone snuck in here earlier and died, this is what happened, they're going to die!]

Someone break this thing!

[Okuyasu kicks at the tank, but his foot doesn't even cause a crack. It's completely hopeless, and it's all his fault, why did he have to be an idiot and poke around in places where he wasn't suppose to be?

Another vision forms in the tank: a spark of electricity, growing to a dangerous size until a bleeding man wearing a school uniform similar to Okuyasu's appears.]

Okuyasu! I knew you'd find a way to screw me over!

Bro?

[The man and electricity disappear once Okuyasu turns around to face what he hopes was just a trick of the mind.]

[beariot]

[ A woman in a strange, showy outfit but entirely lacking in any smile, scowling at Ursula and the others, stood before them as well. ]

You're a failure as a teacher and you'll never fly again.

[ Ursula could only shift her gaze away, in turn, but... at least the presence of that woman confirmed something for her. ]

These are just illusions. Nothing we're sensing is actually happening.

[saint_sami]

I-Illusions...?

[And as she says this, she turns to see a young Japanese man glaring at her, what looks like a sword hilt in his hand.]

B-Big brother Tenchi...?

Did you really think that we'd accept someone like you? A fake?

N-No... no! Tenchi... Tenchi would never say that!