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

You're playing Serge TOO well here with this luck

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa takes a breath and steps back, holding up his hand to send a healing wave of Cure over Serge! Another fight right in a row, that's rough. But he's more focused than before, and he's confident he can keep everyone going strong.

"Serge, keep your guard up!" He calls out, wishing he was skilled enough with healing magic to form protective barriers.

TIME TO TANK

[bladeofconquest]

[There's no time to try and talk this thing-a Merrow, apparently-down, so this time Corrin doesn't even try. As Serge is attacked and Klonoa goes to heal, Corrin is already charging to attack the beast, interposing herself between it and the others.]

"You'll have to go through ME first!" [For the time being she settles for simply slashing it with her sword for [Physical] damage just to get its attention off the others and onto her.]

Richard Conway is done-yon rings

[defenestraighttomyheart]

There's the faint smell of ozone that fills Richard's nostrils. That acidic, sinus biting scent of things man was not meant to experience. His eye began to twitch and he could feel his right arm spasming as if his musculature itself has been stressed past it's breaking point. The seams of his pant legs began to glow brightly.

But it was him saying that it was just a Merrow that really triggered what was to come.

He tilts his hat down, walks up wordlessly with this overwhelming sense of killing intent. He pushed aside Corrin and Serge in his approach, as they were in his way from a direct line towards the beast. Each step towards this mermaid was heavy and carried with it a violent energy. He stood there, in front of her wordlessly for a moment, like the calm that comes before the storm.

And then Richard Conway swings out a right hook that caught the Merrow right in the jaw.

[Melody: Achievement Unlocked!]

He was on top of her in seconds, pulling himself close to the siren with a lunge. And then when he got on top of her, he began punching down. At first it was slow, awkward, scrambling to get her into a decent hold. But as it began to pick up speed, it became inhuman. Blows rained down like a piston in an engine. Blood, or whatever replaced it on a monster, began to spray out in messy gouts.

No, no! We're not going to run into any more fights! Naw, you're not going to get turned into a doll today! No! Let me just run off into trouble again and fall face first into whatever fucking thing wants me dead today! Like a lemming! Like a blue haired lemming!

Richard finished with his pummeling, knuckles sticky with blood, immediately got up onto his feet, staggered back, and booted the side of this poor creature to slide it away from him.

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa just stares, his mouth hanging open slightly.

[bladeofconquest]

[See icon for Corrin's reaction.]

"Did-did you need some...n-no, I guess not."

[timecrash]

Serge stares, slack-jawed. It would probably be a scene of unimaginable horror if it were flesh and blood, but the ghostly Merrow bursts into so much smoke and ectoplasm, leaving behind only an inoffensive gift box.

"... Holy shit," Serge says, quietly. The curator's door lock clicks.

[defenestraighttomyheart]

Richard picks up the present off the ground, turns it around in his hands, and then marches up to Serge. He's panting, and his knuckles are cut and bleeding of their own volition. Between breaths, the glowing along his trousers dim as if matching the exhalation of his breath.

And then he shoves the present into Serge's chest.

"Serge," He grumps. "What is that thing I literally told you not to do?" A pause. "You know what? You're not listening, so let me try to pound this into your head. Let's try to avoid fights whenever we can. Stop face tanking whatever monster you seem to have found. Be more careful and try to spot fights that are going to happen before they happen. Crack open doors, peek inside, and then tell everyone what you find. I don't like doing stuff like this. If not because I see it as extremely unprofessional, then because it's horrible and my fists really, really hurt afterwards."

[eternitynpc]

[As the party talks in the wake of their victory over the ghostly Merrow, the Curator's door opens just a crack to allow her to peer out.

Seeing the blood-covered PI, she hesitates before opening the door more fully.]

Who are you? You aren't with the moogle, are you?

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa slowly comes to his senses enough to respond, looking at the curator through the door. "Huh? No, we're.. from the Curti Center? We came to check this place out to make sure there wasn't anything bad going on. Then we got turned into dolls, and... well, this happened, so I think we can safely say that there is something bad going on."

[timecrash]

Serge looks slightly shell-shocked when the dressing-down is given, and just... numbly offers the box back. Conway earned it, after all. "I'm not- I wasn't trying to-"

He is, thankfully, spared trying to argue the point, because the door is open and this bangaa lady is looking out. "No, we're- we're not with Mog, whoever that is."

[bladeofconquest]

[Corrin shakes off her unease at what she's just witnessed in order to reassure the Curator with the others.] "We're sorry for startling you." She apologizes. "There was a ghostly monster-a Merrow, apparenty-out here, that tried to stop us from reaching you." [A pause.] "We managed to take care of it though, so there's no immediate danger, but we should still all probably get out of here and not tempt fate. If there's anything you need from your office, you should grab it now and we'll be on our way. Things are not right here."

[kissthemoons]

Although she had made a rush to Serge's side at the sudden attack, Kid had been recovering from that monster murder with a dumbfounded "Ah..." up until Richard had made his way over to scold her pal.

He wasn't wrong, but she puffed out her chest in his defense. "Hey, wait just a—" she had begun to protest, until the focus shifted to the curator.

"Yeah, that's right!" the red-clad girl is quick to jump in with Corrin in that point. "There's a whole lotta strange crap goin' on in this place, y'know!"

[defenestraighttomyheart]

The spy with the bloodied fists eventually calms his breathing, but he seems to have had some of the fight taken out of him.

"Yes. You should leave. And make sure that you don't run into the children's corner. You'll get turned into a doll and be accosted by other dolls." Things that he didn't imagine he'd say today for five hundred, Trebeck.

[eternitynpc]

Turned into a doll? [The Curator tilts her head in confusion.]

What happened to all of you out there? I haven't been able to move much since the moogle awoke. The dolls have been taking care of me.

[She opens the door and gestures inside. Her office has been turned into a makeshift shelter, with one of the lobby couches dragged in and made into a bed and a pile of vending machine snacks in one corner.]

Please, come inside and tell me what you've seen. I can't leave here yet, but it's safe in my office. You don't need to worry.

[timecrash]

Serge rubs his arm. "It's, uh. It's been a rough night." He glances at Richard, uncertain for a moment. "Wow... How long have you been in here? And what's the deal with this moogle?"

[kissthemoons]

"Takin' care of ya, huh? Yeah... they've been takin' care of us, too!" Someone else could explain the details if the curator wanted more than that unhelpful bit.

Kid eyes the offer for shelter warily, as though inspecting the immediate area for traps or things of value should things go south.

[defenestraighttomyheart]

Richard looks between the girl and Serge, noting Serge's hesitation and the red girl's wary looking about for hidden traps, and seeming quite pleased with that. They're actually being cautious and taking a mission as if it could be a serious threat.

He's a little proud, not that he'd admit it. Although his demeanor would betray that particular ambition to keep it hidden. "Stay serious and keep your head on a swivel. Look at the red girl over there, she's staying observant like someone who's smart." He muttered quietly as advice to Serge, as he tries to find something to wrap his knuckles in.

He turns to the seemingly friendly face. Can't leave? "Mr. Real Life example from the Spy vs. Spy comic out of that one magazine, why can't you leave your room? Seems kinda counterproductive to not go with the group of armed adventurers if you were trying to get someplace safe."

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa might as well take care of Conway's lingering pain. He reaches up to press his back, and boy is his hand warm. He imparts a Regenerative light into his body, following the others.

"Which dolls were talking care of you?" Klonoa asks. He'd much rather meet some nice ones than the ones they ran into earlier. "The only ones we've seen tried to attack us. Uh.. and.. we got turned into them, too."

Not the worst experience, all told, but he is still slightly traumatized from having a squeaker in his hand.

[bladeofconquest]

[Corrin is continuing to scan the room while the Curator's office is checked out, sword at the ready, in case another ghost decides to jump out at them while this is sorted out. She does however, turn her head a little to make a contribution to the ongoing discussion.]

"They also mentioned we were all "Calamity-marked", and a threat to that Crystallis place. Come to think of it, didn't they mention a Mog of some sort too? That can't be a coincidence."

[timecrash]

Serge, eventually, steps inside the offered doorway. "Come on. If we're going inside we should probably do it quickly in case something else shows up."

[eternitynpc]

Celain offers the adventurers water bottles as they step inside. Hydration, it's important.

"You turned into dolls? How on earth....? Well, I suppose with everything else that's happened, I'd believe it."

She takes a seat on her desk and begins to answer their questions.

"Let's see...it's been about two weeks since I last left the museum, and I've been in the office for the last five days. All of the dolls have been taking care of me, except that awful moogle doll. You mustn't blame the others. They're confused, that's all. I don't know what the moogle doll did to them...apparently, they think you're 'Calamity-marked' now?

Anyways, it's not me who is in danger here. The dolls won't hurt me...but I am sure the moogle would, if he thought he could get away with it without them knowing. I can't leave because it might put others in danger. While I'm here, the dolls will stay to 'protect' me. If I leave, I worry the moogle will control them completely and make them do even more awful things!"

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa scratches his cheek, just thinking about all this information. Well, thankfully, dolls can be easily repaired. "It sounds like this one moogle doll is causing everyone else all of the trouble. If someone went to restrain it, would it help the other dolls return to normal?" He asks. "Come to think of it... what does 'calamity-marked' even mean, anyway?"

[kissthemoons]

Stepping into the room, still eyeing the curator a suspiciously, Kid takes one of the water bottles and turns it over in her hands, not yet ready to take a chance and drink it. This demi-human, as they might have called her where she came from, didn't seem to mean them any harm... yet.

"So..." while the others asked their questions to make better sense of things, this Radial Dreamer was more focused on how to end this dollhouse-funhouse, "What yer sayin' is we should be takin' out the moogle doll then, right? Problem solved!"

[defenestraighttomyheart]

There was something warm on his back. Like, very warm. It was like sticking one very specific part of his back near a hot oven- not really on the grills where flesh would burn, more like just outside one when it's cracked open just a tad.

And then he felt okay. His hands went itchy for a brief second as flesh began to knit back into place, but his knuckles went back to normal.

He looked back with near astonishment. There sat a child. A bunny rabbit. A cat. One or more of those things. "Kid, whoever you are," He mutters aloud. "You're better than a night with ketamine and a Colombo marathon." A pause. "Okay, you're better than seasons four through ten of Columbo and ketamine. Not quite ready to call you better than the best bit of television yet or since. But thank you."

Eat shit, Sherlock.

He steps forth and places his hand on the doorframe. "So. Where's the moogle?"

[timecrash]

Serge punches one hand. "Hey, beating things up with a stick is one of the approximately three things I'm actually good at. Point me in the direction of this Moogle guy and we'll beat 'im into the dirt."