melodiesofeternity | Event || A History of Light and Darkness

Event || A History of Light and Darkness

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Naoto didn't have another gun - she wished she had another gun, and some more ammunition in her current round, but she can use Flamethrower to keep a number of dolls away from her.

"I can burn them all to ash if they want to be persistent."

Seriously, she did not want to put up with this right now.

O-okay, holy crap, that was fire. Naoto was not havin' this shit, and he agreed with her. When his searching gaze turned to the door leading deeper into the museum, a lightbulb popped into his head.

"Okay, you up for a sprint? If I can nail everything with a Saint Cross and blow 'em back, we can haul ass to that door and close it behind us. It'll buy some time for us to figure out what's goin' on in this place."

She doesn't like anything haunted - he knew this by now, and if the solution was to burn it, she was going to.

"... Sounds like a plan. I don't want to burn this place down, but this situation is making me less-than hospitable." They really needed to know what was happening here, but the solution could always be found in other locations if necessary... Still, she was ready to make a run for it.

"Y'know I got your back. A'right, ready! One, two..." He fought to ignore the dolls crawling up his legs again, the bites of razor blades and the pokes of needles, the bites of odd clacky dolly mouths. He drew the holy energy inward and spaced his stance.

Saint Cross was an outward burst, searing the haunted creations, and sending them flying backward. Those that hit something fell to pieces, too old to be anything other than fragile. Others were scrambling to rise again. He swiftly sheathed the greatsword.

"Three! Hang onta me!" Because, w-well, it did feel a lot less freaky in here before... he reached for her before he'd make his dash.

Knees bent and keeping her flamethrower trained on the dolls trying to get closer to her, she held, waiting for Kanji to use his ability. Sure enough, the violent burst of holy power blasted the dolls had some shattering and others scrambling back to their small feet.

Fortunately, that would take some time.

Tucking her gun away, she grabbed hold of Kanji's hand and held tight. "Let's go!"

Lifelines always helped. He put the pedal to the metal in a forward march, taking the opportunity to leave that horrible dogshit of a room. He liked dolls. Now it was hard to like them... old ones, anyway. He was so glad dolls looked the way they did now, without that Uncanny Valley shit.

But the next room, upon Kanji slamming the door and cranking the lock shut, was likely no better: Wall to wall, there was little room other than a pair of trails through the room, the rest of it swallowed up by placards and display cases cleaned of dust... but cleaned of dolls as well. The hall stretched into what looked like forever, and some of the cases were rattling, giving off a tapping sound.

"...Who the hell wants to be surrounded by these things when the cases were full?"

Naoto would make a real doll once they got out of here and away from these... things. Really, everyone would probably be better off if that room was just gone, but she digressed; they were moving on from it.

Within the next room was... well, it would not be any better except for the fact all the displays were empty. The barren exhibit was more welcome to her than the last. And the placards were still present so they could have a look at them.

"No one according to what we've heard about this place. We've unnerved by it while the natives find it boring..." She guessed they hadn't come around at night at all. "Let's have a look around while this room is still unoccupied."

He nodded. Whatever made the dolls like this likely went through here before casting their spooky magic or whatever. Any trace or clue would be handy, but just about anything may give them the breakthrough they need.

Sheesh, but it was no wonder folks didn't come here. As he read the placards, he noticed more and more that rather than one of those cool hobby museums, this place was a little too... educational.

Huh. He blinked. This display case was rattling earlier, but as he approached it, it had stopped. But something was inside...

Unlike Kanji, Naoto was a little more fascinated by the more educational placards, resting a hand on her chin as she read the inscriptions they came across. They gave the name, date of discovery, how it was likely crafted (likely?), details like that.

However... one of the display cases had been rattling. Instinctively now, she just grabbed Kanji's hand as they approached to see what was inside.

"Is that..." Her expression flattened. "... a chicken?"

"...Really good-smelling chicken. Like someone just left their lunch here before they clocked out."

Really, they'd been spooked out of their wits for weeks now, and here was a perfectly good dinner that could go to waste if they just left it behind. But it was kind of weird that there was food sitting here. Right?

"Damn it. I hate wasted food." Why was he lingering? He was lingering.

... She had to be mishearing things because she gave a look in Kanji's direction. Sure, she might've had to take a step back, and maybe Shiva was joining her in this 'look', but how could either of them not.

"Kanji-kun, are you actually considering eating a chicken which neither of us know how it's gotten there, who prepared it, and how long it's been here? Also, might I remind you of our current location in general?" She gestured towards the placard which was attached to the chicken's display case.

But he could be the man who's eaten haunted house wall chicken. Then again, he'd never met a Belmont. With two pairs of eyes burning away at the back of his head, any ideas of reaching for the meal and helping himself had slowly begun to fizzle.

He frowned. What a waste of perfectly good food.

"Okay, but... hear me out: What if it attracts monsters? I mean, there ain't nothin' that says we can't take it, right? Ahh, but we don't have somethin' to really pack it in, do we...?"

With the saddest face, his mind was reluctantly made up. He nudged the case closed, trapping the aroma of baked herbs and perfectly crisped skin.

"...Sorry, suspicious chicken."

Exchanging a look with Shiva - who seemed a little more lenient than Naoto - the detective stood for a second long... and then sighed. He had a point if it attracted monsters, but then, it would be better for it to stay in this room while they moved on.

But there was a possibility they weren't the only ones here. Others would have to pass through here given the way the museum was structured. Monsters seeking out food would be in here and then...

"... Look, if you can figure out a way to pack it, we can take it."

She was going to regret this. She just knew it.

He scratched his chin, puzzling a way to hide the thing for now. He had no means to wrap it up and take it along, but... he glanced to Suzette.

"You're... you're kidding me, kupo. You want me to hold your haunted, shady chicken dinner?"

"Yeah. You could fly it out a window and keep it somewhere safe."

Suzette puffed up. She was no delivery girl!

"I remind you that I'm workin' on a holiday line of clothes for you."

"YES, of course, right away, kupo...!" She fluttered down and got to work gathering up the chicken, case and all. Surely the museum won't miss the whole darn thing.

He nodded to Naoto, idly cracking his knuckles. "There. I guess this room's got nothin' for us. Wanna move on?"

Waiting for the two to finish their exchange, she look at the display placard again. It's... not a name she recognized, but it was supposed to be one of the Heroes of Light apparently. Well, she would keep it in mind, but without the doll, there was no face to give the name to.

With Suzette taking off with chicken in tow, she rose back to full height and turned to look at Kanji, nodding once.

"Yes. Surely we'll find more clues in the next room and not more... entrées..."

"Same. But, c'mon... y'gotta admit it: Ya never seen random display case chicken before. That's gonna be a 'you should've been there' story."

They weren't held back from crossing to the other end of this vast hall of displays, each and every one of them empty save for the stray smell of chicken.

The next room, depending on how you slice it, was either better or worse: Blocks of wax, strips of leather and stray pieces of dolls remain on display, littering abandoned tables covered in various tools. This seemed to be a room where they were repaired, and with each table in the open like this, live demonstrations were used. Judging by the nicks and dust prints on various surfaces, it seemed the living dolls may have pinched some of their weapons from here.

All along the walls were diagrams showing how many types of dolls were constructed, revealing a timeline of complexity, an attempt to bridge the Uncanny Valley into dolls that were more cute and child-like rather than tiny adults with not-quite-human features. Even a few plush dolls were here, rag-types with yarn hair, but they remained silent and still, placed neatly on their work tables to oversee each repair and lesson.

"While that may be true, they'll still likely assumed you prepared it later."

Even if the chicken was now in their possession, Kanji could cook. Though, if the individual were none the wiser, then it would be a plausibly confusing story to entertain.

Within the next room, she felt a minute shiver down her back. A preservation room alright... the various materials stored in here both new and used sat waiting relatively organized around the room, stacked on tables and beneath, but there were no tools. Stolen by their earlier assailants likely. And while Naoto could normally appreciate a good diagram, seeing the actual repaired products did not make her want to look any closer.

"... Hold on." Or maybe they should look closer. Seemed like there was a chart tracking the repairs...

He swallowed thickly, the air so dry but his stomach rather queasy. It was like watching bodies being assembled.

"What? What's up?" Ugh, another chart. Maybe it was how to make dolls out of human skin, or something just as creepy. But it was in fact a log of some kind, reporting types of repairs done to keep tabs on potential mishandling by employees.

"Okay, they've been repairing lots of dolls lately..." He blinked.

"Wait. Since April? But... that's when we showed up, ain't it?"

"It is..."

Placing a hand on her chin, she considered this information. Their arrival started making the dolls active... or was it something else that just coincide with their arrival?

"... this museum houses the Hero of Light dolls. It isn't too far to assume we play some role in their activation. Whether the dolls themselves individually... or a Puppet Master looking to impede us."

That was an Asterisk after all. And if it was someone like that, they were presently in their domain.

"Puppet Master..." He stood taller and looked around, as if expecting one to pop up out of nowhere and challenge them.

When none came, he frowned and scratched his head.

"If that's the case, they've been workin' for weeks. Or months. Maybe he's lookin' for somethin'. Otherwise, those puppets are lookin' for shit on their own... but what?"

"... I don't know. Besides that chicken, we haven't found anything else significant that might provide an answer."

Leaning away from the chart, she crossed her arms. Now, was it with them? Were they more active this month in particular because of the haunts? How long did it take for a Puppet Master to control so many puppets anyway? There were so many details missing that she could form hypothesis, but not come close to an answer.

"... Let's try moving to another room. Perhaps we'll locate another clue."

"Somethin' to take away to somebody that would know more about the museum." Too many connections of things that started up and got worse the moment they arrived. How much of it was connected to the summoning, and was this one of them? Kanji couldn't shake that maybe the dolls were looking for something. They always had dirt on their feet, so they went outside... but to where?

But that was a backburner kinda thing. He nodded, and led the way around the work tables to the double doors on the left.

Beyond was a small theater, unlit save for the lone projector showcasing the history of the Heroes of Light and the dolls' creation. The only stray light coming in overwise came from heavily tinted windows, revealing bits and bites of activity outside...

"Ooh. Never seen 'em this small."

"That's right." But who would they speak to. There were people that knew about the museum of course, but many of them were also disinterested. They would need to find someone older, someone familiar; but they also had to be willing to divulge the information. That would require some convincing likely.

That aside, she followed Kanji into the next room.

Just like the first room discussion the History of the Museum, this Multi-Media room was covering similar albeit with video. A bit cramped, but it would get the job done for those who paid attention. For a moment, she did look towards the window, but turned back soon enough as the puppetmaster began to regale about the Heroes of Light on his tour.

... Hm, who was that Puppet Master?

Having spent as much time as he had, so little compared to the classes that had to take tours through here for educational purposes, he was finally beginning to realize those rumors that many essays had to be written here. Many kids had fallen asleep here, after spending restless hours wondering when it would all be over.

It was the drone of the voice. The story had no spark! The preservation room was filled with repetitive, honestly kinda boring shit too. The theater was pretty warm as well...

Kanji had to stop and shake his head to wake himself up. "Shit, those poor kids... no wonder they hated it here. Anyway, I don't think there's gonna be anything here, neither."

"And they had to write a report after."

Naoto was all for learning, but... there were better methods and more engaging features that could be done. This was taking it's time, but she was doing her best to pay some attention. Maybe if the voice over was better?

"... Right. We can learn about the Heroes of Light elsewhere and with better pacing."

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Display Cases (Treat!)

Woohoo!

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Preservation Room (Clue!)

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Multi-Media Room (Trap!)

Oh boy!

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