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

The Swordmasters: Adrien, Baiken, Sephiroth

[modelcivilian]

Round 1 Swordmasters: A History of Dolls - Roll 4

[neverbeamemory]

[After the brief distraction of the pebble impacting with the firm leather of his upper arm, Sephiroth immediately strides back towards the door he'd entered and tries to force it back open. Of course, it's locked shut now. He's not one to get creeped out easily at all, but the fact that the two dolls that were present in the lobby area just aren't there anymore can mean only one of two things.

Either, they moved on their own, or they were simply not there in the first place and whatever veil of illusion they were being made to see upon entry had been lifted.

It doesn't take long for Sephiroth to find himself in the company of Adrien and Baiken; the former being the 14-year old boy had assisted him at the swordmasters guild before, it seemed at least they'd be capable enough to deal with any troublesome doll that might decide to jump out at them.

The history section is the natural place to start; can't start learning about anything without the background knowledge]

[modelcivilian]

[Curiosity often got the cat in trouble... honestly, Adrien couldn't help it. All the things that had been happening so far this month, and then the invitation to this museum? Of course he was going to go exploring! It surprised him Baiken was up for coming along, and then what luck, they encountered Sephiroth inside the museum. The more the merrier, right?]

[And together, it looked like they were in the first room. It was pretty typical of a museum to have an introductory room: the history of the museum, the discovery of certain dolls, how dolls were probably made, etc. like that. Interesting that they were all found dolls, but then again, he thinks he saw one that looked like a superhero? It was so weird...]

Huh...

[garyoutensei]

[ Weird was a word for it. But for Baiken, it was mostly just a little... unsettling. Particularly those "heroes of light" dolls. ]

Don't some of these dolls look a little... familiar?

[neverbeamemory]

[...how the dolls were likely made? Given the trail of information plaques he's begun to follow and read, when he gets to this particular one Sephiroth pauses in front of it. Letting his thoughts catch up, his frown deepening the longer that he ponders on it.

It seems odd that a museum would be showcasing these dolls to the public without prior knowledge of exactly where they came from and how they came to be. And it seems at one time in the past they were part of a puppet masters troupe, traveling around the world to various exhibits...the most fundamental thing for any puppet master was to know completely of the stuff that said puppets were made of-

Hearing Adrien, Sephiroth turns slightly and peers down and around an armored shoulder, towards the youngster.]

Found something-?

[modelcivilian]

Oh... no, but now that Baiken mentioned it, I was thinking about when we came in, the few Heroes of Light dolls that were around before they wandered off.

[He said that so casually like it normally happens, but in Vaikuntha which none of hem were actually familiar with, why would it not actually be normal?]

Anyway, thinking back to them, I thought I saw someone familiar... but I could've been imagining it... [Shaking his head, he decides not to think too hard about it.] Have you guys found anything? Or should we try another room?

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken was examining the timeline photos when she noticed that one had been purposefully removed, the photo left aside. The photo itself didn't look particularly interesting or out of place. She wouldn't have recognized any buildings, anyways, because she didn't care that much. But the note... ]

Curator says this photo is a fake...

[neverbeamemory]

Better not to think too much into it, perhaps.

[The more Sephiroth reads up on the information displayed in this room, the more the question-mark in his mind over whether they were really just dolls get bigger and bigger. At the same time, he's so hyper-aware of his thoughts running in that way that it rises more questions over if indeed they're being puppet-ed as well. Made to come to those conclusions...

Sephiroth had taken the opportunity of looking towards Adrien, and cast a long glance around eventually to where Baiken then noticed something entirely more obvious. The space that the photo had hung in becomes clearer the closer Sephiroth comes as he walks over; examining the photos hung on either side of that space.]

[modelcivilian]

Right...

[He'll avoid doing that and focus on where they were now. And right now, it looks like Baiken had found something. Walking over to join the other swordmasters, Adrien tilts his head. Adrien tries to get to know locations in Vaikuntha pretty well, but he couldn't say he identified the location where this might've been taken if it was real.]

It... might be. I don't recognize any of the buildings. Still, would photo manipulation be possible here?

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken pulled her pipe from her kimono, stuffing and lighting it before taking a few cursory puffs. For Adrien, this was nothing particularly new, but Sephiroth was free to notice how she did all of that one handed.

Either way, she let out a thoughtful hum. ]

It probably is. Magic's pretty versatile. More to the point, the curator pulled it, but it had been put on display before verifying it. Which means this exhibit was altered at some point.

[neverbeamemory]

[While Sephiroth is more acquainted with Adrien by now thanks to being a Swordmaster, Baiken is a new face. He hadn't paid her much mind at all as the three of them had ended up in a loose-form of a group, being as there were much more pressing matters at hand, but the way she one-handed performed that whole sequence of movements it was more than enough to capture his attention from the other displayed photographs.

He was careful not to frown too deeply -what a disgusting habit- but at the same time he then took the time to take a much more in-depth look over her. Memorizing her features, gauging mannerisms and what they might mean, all of this information to be recalled at any moment that it might become required.]

Perhaps.

[He takes a step closer so that he can look down and over the supposed-fake, tilting his head just slightly, but enough for one side of his bangs to fall away from the side of his face a touch.]

I wonder...it seems that it must have been taken at sometime around this time of year. Look at the decorations; it's the same all over Vaikuntha from what I understand?

[modelcivilian]

Yeah. This month is Night of the Thirteen Moogles. It's not exactly celebrated until the 31st, but people start decorating everything up until the day pretty much like any other holiday. From what I've understood from around Lavode, the customs come from the legend of King Moggle Mog, but it's hard to learn more about the legend itself - a lot of moogles don't like going into details.

[Which was likely a warning sign in of itself when it came to the full story of this King. If he wasn't so busy, he might've searched the library a little more thoroughly, but the haunts and monsters had to be dealt with.]

Maybe we could take this along with us? If it's going to be removed anyway.

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken shrugged. ]

Do what you want with it. Let's just keep going. [ She pulled the pipe from her lips to let out a long trail of sweet smelling smoke. ]

[neverbeamemory]

[Sephiroth doesn't remember anything of similar holidays from his Planet, but then he knew well enough the reasons for that and he wasn't about to share. Still, the shoe seemed to fit well enough for him; he just hadn't managed really to get on with moogle-kind ever since he arrived.

As for keeping the picture, his opinion is more aligned with Baiken's.]

Can't hurt; let's move on.

[True to form, he doesn't wait for any acknowledgement before taking a final glance around the room and turning for the door. Reaching for the handle to the short katana he'd equipped to his belt, to make sure it was still there and easily within reach. Something about this place was making him -keeping him- tense, then again, he's clearly not one for being trapped somewhere that he can't get out of.]

Onto the Preservation Room!

[modelcivilian]

Huh? Oh, okay...

[They could've provided a little more input whether it was a good idea or bad idea. Still, Baiken and Sephiroth were probably similar in that way - not the exact same, but better not to think about it too long.]

[Stepping forward to grab the photo, Adrien gave it to Blanc to hold onto. With that done, he turned having expected Sephiroth having gone ahead, but he hadn't. Blinking, Adrien decides to venture forward and open the door for all of them instead.]

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken stepped out first, and immediately found herself regretting it. She'd barely stepped into the room before her foot found a depression in the floor, a switch activating and the room very suddenly filling up with miasma, choking and forcing Baiken to quickly cover her face with her sleeve, coughing. ]

Damnit, what the hell is this?!

[neverbeamemory]

[At the very least it might be something to inspect later, even if the relevance wasn't entirely obvious. As it is Sephiroth didn't really see any reason to stay in the same room for very much longer. Reading and re-reading plaques wasn't going to find them a way out of here.

In the few seconds that he'd entered the room after Baiken, Sephiroth had only just about managed to take his first quick glance around -enough to tell this was some sort of a workshop- before something appears in the room. The nebula that appears looks familiar-

On the next breath, Sephiroth feels the sour taste of the miasma fill him up and he hacks uncontrollably, reaching out for the nearest edge of a table to hold onto. The consistent deep coughing soon bringing tears to his eyes as he tries to stay standing.]

[modelcivilian]

[Following up after Baiken and Sephiroth, Adrien winced and for a second, choked, coughing a moment after his body realized that yeah, they were currently in a cloud of poison. Worse, he looked back at the door to the previous room only to have it slam in his face.]

[Not good.]

I-Is there an exit nearby??

[garyoutensei]

[ Baiken's right shoulder seemed to twitch before a steel fan shot out from beneath the otherwise empty sleeve, spinning rapidly to try and clear the air some. It was normally meant to be used as a weapon, but it wasn't like she had much choice, but with no real ventilation, there wasn't much elsewhere for the miasma to *go*. It could only buy them a few precious moments. ]

I'll keep the miasma away, someone find a damn door we can open!

[neverbeamemory]

[The deep-hacking cough the miasma causes in Sephiroth just carries on and on. In what seems no time at all he's struggling for breath in spite of himself, his hand following the edge of the nearest workbench as if it's helping to pull himself along, his eyes squinting to see around himself even as wetness pours from the corners.

Thankfully, it just so happens his path has wound him closer to Baiken as she manages to at least generate a small pocket of not-so thick air around where the steel fan rotates. The silver haired man lowers himself to a crouch for a few moments, forcing control over his own breathing so to at least get a few gulps of less contagious air.]

-what is this?

[A question to no one in particular, as clearly neither one of them has any idea. From his position however he glances back towards where the nebula formed and then up and towards the ceiling. It's a workshop, right...]

There must-[Breathe in, breathe out.] -be some sort of ventilation. Somewhere.

[As the only door he's seen so far, is the one they came into this room from...]

[modelcivilian]

[This wasn't good. If they got incapacitated in this room, would anyone eventually find them? Or would they just...?]

[Coughing and shaking his head again, he takes out his iMog and switches his Asterisk. Sure, being a Ninja doesn't provide any additional defenses against the miasma, but it gave him speed.]

I-I'm going in! Keep the fan going!

[Taking a deep breath of what clear air Baiken has created, Adrien bolts out into the cloud surrounding them to locate anything that might air out the room or just lead them to the next one.]

[garyoutensei]

Hurry up kid! I can't keep this up for long! [ The fan moved on its own, but it had a fuel source, and it'd drain pretty quickly if she had to plant herself there for any more of a stretch. She wasn't about to die in some creepy doll shop, so if all else failed, she'd pull out the Yashagatana and start blasting at the walls. ]

[neverbeamemory]

[Much later than he'd like, Sephiroth finally gets a handle on his breathing. Returning the thudding in his chest steadily back down to it's base level, yet hoping that the accompanying adrenal response soon also recedes; he really could do with being able to think beyond the real possibility of suffocating in this room. Damn all this physical limitation, these too-human parameters he's existing in-

Sephiroth follows Adrien's path the best he can and himself looks back to the door they entered through and which slammed shut. Surely it can't be locked, right? Even if it was, between the three of them they should be able to smash their way through; maybe eventually get back to a corridor...]

I'm heading back to the door!

[He raises his voice, tone cracked from the coughing, only so that Adrien can hear him on the chance there isn't another door other than the obvious. A few more, deeper breaths and Sephiroth edges towards the outside of their 'safe' area; crouching low and preparing to shoulder barge the closed door should Adrien indicate he's not found anything on the other end of the room.]

[modelcivilian]

[He knows he makes some bad decisions sometimes, but this one might top them. Besides holding Asterisks, he doesn't have anything on him to thwart the poison until their out. And if he finds the door, he can't call back to the others - not without breathing more in. That would be the one decision he doesn't make.]

[Fingers brushing over workbenches, tools, and diagrams he can't waste time trying to read, he reaches the wall eventually. He hears Sephiroth saying he's going back to the door they came in. But there has to be one forward - there just has to...!]

[He rattles the door a few times, trying to push it open, but it's not giving away that easy. Still, he found a door at all. And in a flash step, he returns back to the 'safe' area, coughing.]

Found it...! We might have to try breaking it down.

[garyoutensei]

On it. [ Baiken growled, the fan retreating back into her sleeve as she traced her sights to where Adrien had just been moments ago, holding her breath as her shoulder twitched again, this time a large cannon popping out. Just how the hell did she hide all of those in there?

Either way, she fired off Yashagatana, blasting at the door itself, not really caring that literally shooting a cannon at the door was probably itself a terrible idea. ]