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

[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!

[witchwithoutacause]

He wouldn't. No. ...right.

[ Just like her parents don't call her a failure directly to her face.

They just imply that she's not taking anything seriously (why would she?) and they disparage her friends and interests (subtly, or they think so) and merely hint (ha!) at how much they need her to stick with the family business.

She bites her lip to keep from lashing out as they lay into her, how she hasn't already gotten herself set up with some kinda spectacular business here, is she lazy or stupid? ]

...what if we... start hittin' 'em?

[whirluendo_of_puns]

[Taifu Toneido's dead body stays unmoving and silent, yet the silence feels no less accusing than the biting words of the other apparitions. This is your fault. This would have never happened if it weren't for you. Why didn't you stop it?

Kisegawa forces herself to look away. It's easier to get angry at what her teammates are being subjected to -- especially the kids. And especially Amanda. There are few things more vile than parents who corrode their child's heart with casual cruelties.]

Tempting, but unlikely to work. Just leave them to rot.

[At least the anger is sharpening her senses and helping her think. Shisho's body is slumped over the dressing room table. Even the sake bottle, the half-eaten manju, and the karuta cards are all there. But the room doesn't seem to be fully formed, and there are other things she doesn't recognize...]

This liquid... Is it taking pieces of our memories and merging them together?

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu punches the side of the tank.] Damn! What's with this place? How are we seein' all this?

[He eyes the old man slumped over at the table. Keicho is gone, thankfully...but what else is the green liquid going to pull from his memories? Nothing good, and god knows how much shit Okuyasu's seen.]

That guy's still here. How are we gonna make him go away? [He toes Taifu's side. The illusion has some give, but after he presses hard enough, his shoe passes through the man, its body dissipating into green. When he pulls it out, the illusion reforms slowly.]

We're still breathin'. It's like that Dream Width thing, ain't it? Find the exist? Realize it ain't real? [He turns to the others. They need to have a better idea. They have to know what to do.]

[beariot]

We can work faster if we work together. [ Ursula quickly jumped in. The nervous anxiety she seemed to carry with her most of the time was almost completely gone, her eyes focused and her voice firm and clear. ]

Everyone grab hands. The illusions are immaterial, so if we're holding on to each other, we can at least assure ourselves that we're all still real and still hear. People on the ends of this chain, feel around for a door or any other exit.

Everyone got it?

[saint_sami]

G-Got it!

[Sasami had to swallow down her worry and panic over what she was seeing. It wasn't real, like they said. Right? She quickly went for Kisegawa's hand, just to make sure she had someone close.]

[witchwithoutacause]

...oh god, holding hands.

[ Having something to sarcasm at is helping more than holding hands. Definitely holding hands isn't going to help her at all, and she totally didn't reach for Ursula first thing.

But darn, she was kinda cool when she got her act together. ]

[righthandstand]

[Holding hands with and adult man, a litte girls, a girl his age, oor a little kid? The choice is obvious.

It's still awkward when he reaches out for Kisegawa's free hand, just by the fingertips. He trusts him not to tease him about it later. He hopes.]

Okay? Now what?

[whirluendo_of_puns]

You'll survive it somehow, I'm sure.

[Kisegawa gives Sasami's hand a reassuring squeeze. Okuyasu, on the other hand (hah), gets an exasperated sigh.]

I'm not going to bite, you know. Now, if this is partially based on my memory, then the door should be...

[There it is -- the sliding door leading out of the dressing room. It should logically lead out into a hallway and a courtyard... but then again, it might not. It could be someone else's memory out there, for all she knows. Or an exit, with any luck.]

[saint_sami]

[That squeeze is reassuring, causing Sasami to smile a bit. She spots the door as well.]

There...! That has to be the way!

[beariot]

Calm minds and even hearts, everybody! Focus on what's real!

Try to reach for that door. If you can touch it, it's a real thing. Just keep a calm mind, and an even heart. Your body knows the way...

[ She hadn't realized it, but she was squeezing Amanda's hand pretty tightly. Despite the resolve in her voice, her hand was still twitching, still very much afraid... ]

[witchwithoutacause]

And if it's not, we keep trying.

[ Amanda, meanwhile, is holding on kinda tight. Like, it might hurt. Good thing you're secretly really strong, right, prof? ]

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu slips his fingers so they touch more of Uendo's, but he's not holding hands with an older guy no matter how chill he is. He abandoned handholding for comfort once Keicho turned 12, and he wasn't doing little kid shit anymore.

But this is just for safety. Okuyasu closes his eyes and forces himself to think of some place safe. Tonio's Trattoria, yeah. Why won't the tank show them something nice? What about their house in Myste Aura?

While walking onward, the group passes a small restaurant table with a white tablecloth.]

It can't be that far, right?

[whirluendo_of_puns]

[The hallway and the yard outside don't look completely right -- there certainly shouldn't be a restaurant table there -- but it's still recognizable as the theater. So, where to go from here? Not the stage, she'd just get lost even deeper into that memory. Perhaps if she does the opposite of what actually happened...]

That way. [She nudges them along the hallway to the left. It's not a long walk to the staff entrance. The sounds of police and ambulance sirens blare off in the distance and Kisegawa can't stop her hands from trembling ever so slightly.

She lets go of Okuyasu's fingers and slams the door open. On the other side, the display cases stand silent, just as they'd left them.]

Well, that was thoroughly unpleasant.

[saint_sami]

[Sasami let out a surprised gasp as everything came to an end. That... that was all fake. A terrible trap.]

We’re... we’re okay?

[beariot]

[ Ursula let out a long breath she hadn't even realize she was holding, never more glad to be back in a creepy museum. She hadn't... quite let go of the hands she was holding yet. Give her a moment. ]

Whoever set that trap really knew what they were doing. We're not dealing with amateurs here.

[witchwithoutacause]

[ Damn though, everyone's got...

They've got some trauma, huh? A lot more dead people than she's seen anyways. Amanda's glad to be out of that, but no, she's not letting go just yet either. ]

You think anyone else got hit like that?

[righthandstand]

[Okuyasu slides his hand out of Kisegawa's and into his own pocket.]

Hope not. We can send a message out on the Linkshell to let 'em know.

[Otherwise, he speeds out of the room to the media room that lies beyond. He feels weird and dwelling on the memories of his brother isn't going to help.]

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Slow down, would you? The last thing we need is triggering another trap--

[As it turns out, the informational video playing in the multimedia room already has an audience. Three ghostly skeletons are clustering at the front of the small theatre, cackling and excitedly rattling their semi-corporeal bones.

Countless children may have succumbed to boredom here, but at least someone is getting some joy out of the dry exposition.]

...Perfect timing. [Kisegawa promptly has her tome at ready.] All in favor of blowing off some steam?

[saint_sami]

I wouldn’t mind that at all... [Her Gourmand’s large knife is brandished, ready to fight.] Let’s go!

[beariot]

It's just one thing after another, isn't it? [ Ursula finally let go of Amanda's hand, stepping back and content to let the more experienced fighters handle this situation. Though she did recall in her studies that undead had a certain weakness against fire, so she kept her wand ready to sling spells if she had to... ]

[witchwithoutacause]

I'll take this over illusions!

[ Amanda sounded a lot more excited about this, meanwhile. ]

Want me to start tossin' Fire around or what?

[righthandstand]

You set 'em on fire, I'll get the other one!

[Okuyasu briefly disappears, then reappears three feet closer to the nearest skeleton mid-air, taking it by surprise. He strikes it with a Dragon Kick, knocking its head back. The skeleton, stuck watching the ceiling, stumbles back and falls over a theater seat.]