eternitymods: (Default)
Melodies Of Eternity Moderators ([personal profile] eternitymods) wrote in [community profile] melodiesofeternity2018-10-18 09:07 pm

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.
sullenstallion: (87)

[personal profile] sullenstallion 2018-11-12 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"This little shit! Who the hell is Mog?!"

The galajelly moves forward, and it swings one of its amorphous arms at the doll. This time, it hits, and the doll is sent staggering backwards. Dylas tries to hit it with another spell, but he misses for the second time in a row—the doll is fast, much faster than the Medusa had been.

Those who get a glimpse at the doll's back might notice that there seems to be word stitched from shoulder to shoulder. It doesn't stay still long enough for it to be read.
hashtagdaddy: Ready for a fight 2 - older (17)

[personal profile] hashtagdaddy 2018-11-15 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
The nauseated feeling starts calming a bit, thankfully, and Gladio is able to lunge after the doll as it dodges Dylas' spell. And he curses the doll's speed even as he darts after it. "I'm gettin' sick of chasing this thing around. Let's end this!"

Sorry friend but Gladio wants to decapitate your lookalike. So he swings his letter opener in a Holy Blade attack at the doll's neck. If the attack is successful they should be able to read whatever he glimpsed on the thing's back.
regalblaze: (Daggers 🔪 calling forward [battle])

[personal profile] regalblaze 2018-11-17 10:35 am (UTC)(link)
Everyone is starting to lose their cool the more these battles prolong. Ignis just hopes they will wrap this up soon enough before they end up on each other's throats again.

...but the question, is indeed, something Ignis is curious about. Mog...? Would capturing this doll for questioning be too much to ask? From to looks of it- yes. Gladio just managed to behead the spirit-doll-thing. Ignis doesn't even know what to call it anymore.

He rushes over once the doll is down, frowning at the stitched things in the doll's shoulder. "...What is this?"
sonoftenebrae: (Um no)

[personal profile] sonoftenebrae 2018-11-18 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Mog is our ally. He helped summon the Heroes of Light here, but you Calamity-Marked have been keeping him weakened!" the doll accuses. Before his neck is chopped. Hopefully the party isn't hoping for any more answers after that.

On their way out from this battle, the party will discover their prize(?), the Curti Center Charity Calendar from two years ago. It has pictures of some of the most well-known Center Employees, trying to raise gil for research during a year when funding was light.

Ravus hates every minute of this. His doll arms cross and he huffs. "Can we go? This has passed 'ridiculous' and moved on to 'absurd'."

sullenstallion: (87)

[personal profile] sullenstallion 2018-11-18 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Dylas doesn't know what a Mog is. A Moogle? But he doesn't care. What he does know is that there's still a doll body and a head just laying there, and he decides to disintegrate both by casting a final dark savior that captures the head and the body, reducing the doll's body to ashes before it can be inspected too closely, though the stitching in the back suggests that whatever the doll is meant to mimic might have a tattoo of some sort on its back.

He should've aimed for the calendar, too.

"What, are you waiting for my permission?" He hisses at Ravus and slithers right out of the door, dismissing Galajelly as he goes. As soon as he leaves the room, he fades back into the form of his naga self and starts to stretch, looking pissed off.
hashtagdaddy: Soft look 1 (41)

[personal profile] hashtagdaddy 2018-11-18 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hey, I wanted to see what its back said! It could be useful for us." Gladio shouts after Dylas, hurrying to the door and cringing at the feel of changing back into his normal human self.

"At least we got some information. And an old calendar..."

He's a little irritated that Dylas simply destroyed the enemy doll's remains before he could get a good look at them, but he's glad to finally be flesh and blood instead of felt and stuffing.

"C'mon Ravus. Iggy. Let's keep moving." He casts Cura on himself again, to make sure he's back up to full (or close to full) health as they enter the new room.
regalblaze: (Worried 🔪 standing on a broken field)

[personal profile] regalblaze 2018-11-18 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Clearly, everyone's annoyed from so much fighting and Ignis doesn't know what to do anymore to keep everyone's agitation on down low. The more annoyed they get, the easier they will keep falling into traps.

Ignis feels like he was reborn when he's back in his own body when they step out of the room. He cracks his neck, following closely behind Gladio and next to Ravus. "Let us keep the heat and arguing on the down low. We don't want to attract even more attention." Three grown men and a naga- it's enough of a commotion as it is.

"Keep your eyes open for clues on who or what Mog is."
sonoftenebrae: (dramatic entrance)

[personal profile] sonoftenebrae 2018-11-20 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
"You can stuff your suspicion down your scaly throat," Ravus grumbles as he crosses the threshold and returns to his human form.

Looking at the signs in the hallway, Ravus strides in the direction labeled 'Multi-Media Room". In his mind, it's the best hope at getting information in an efficient manner.

"This way. Tread carefully." He directs that to Ignis and Gladio. As far as he's concerned, the snake can slip and fall on his face

The Multi-Media Room is dark, but the video on the small theatre screen provides some illumination. In the video, Puppetmasters can be seen manipulating the Hero dolls. A voiceover gives a dry overview of the dolls' history.
Edited 2018-11-20 03:19 (UTC)
sullenstallion: (Snake)

[personal profile] sullenstallion 2018-11-22 04:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's not useful to anyone," he says to Gladiolus. Dylas does his best not to look unnerved by the appearance of the other doll and holds his hands his hands at his chest. Why was there a doll that looked exactly like him, but back when he'd been a wendigo? Why does this place know about that?

It's still on his mind when he approaches one of the monitors. He focuses on the history of the dolls instead of what's going on, but he attempts to trip Ravus with the tip of his tail as he passes.
hashtagdaddy: Soft look 1 (38)

[personal profile] hashtagdaddy 2018-11-22 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Gladio will definitely be asking Dylas how he knows that, considering as far as the Shield knows none of them saw the writing properly.

His mild irritation dissipates quickly when he watches Dylas try to trip one of his boyfriends, and Gladio tries to hide his snicker behind a cough. The petty action reminds him of their days on the road in Eos, when their group would do things like that, and he can't help his fond smile.

He walks towards the monitor Ravus views, watching the screen over his shoulder.

Something about the way the Hero dolls are manipulated sends a chill down Gladio's spine. "Think that's meant to be a parallel to now?"
regalblaze: (let's get down to business 🔪 to defeat t)

[personal profile] regalblaze 2018-11-23 01:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Standing next to Ravus, Ignis tries to understand what is going on the screen. Obviously, the dolls are telling a story from the past, but it's... too simple. Too easy.

"The puppeteers... the dolls..." Ignis gnaws his inner cheek. "You could be onto something, Gladio." Ignis leans back and looks around the room. "Perhaps not in the literal sense, but I think that this place could be manipulating us, our reactions and our path."

He nods at the puppet show: "Just like puppets." But what for? What is their goal? If they wanted to kill them, wouldn't they come out at them in full swing, when they were dolls earlier? Why this elaborate scheme just for a mere puppet dance on the monitor? Ignis has too many questions, most of which are probably irrelevant so he voices only the ones he thinks are important.
sonoftenebrae: (resting bitch face)

[personal profile] sonoftenebrae 2018-11-23 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Ravus stumbles over the snake's damn tail, and takes a stomp at it in revenge. Bastard. He ignores the puppetry symbolism for now.

The video shows the historical tour visiting places the Heroes of Light now recognize- the town squares and theatres of most of the major towns and cities around the world. The Puppetmasters and dolls dance and play out scenes from some of the most famous legends of old.

The video distorts for a second, and a clip plays, showing the tour in an unfamiliar location. The backdrop shows Night of the Thirteen Moogles designs, but they seem more permanent than the decorations hung during this month around the world. The video is taken from an angle off to the side, and the actors are all oriented toward a main camera straight ahead of them.

A rift tear opens behind the oblivious troupe and a crowned moogle, laughing silently, peeks out from behind them. No one in the video reacts, even when the moogle emerges and zips over their heads and flies straight at the recording camera. Moments before it would impact, the video distorts again, and goes back to the normal loop. Even if they watch through another loop or two, they will not see that clip again.

"What the hell was that?"
sullenstallion: (26)

[personal profile] sullenstallion 2018-11-24 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
When his tail is stomped on, Dylas opens his mouth to hiss, but manages to keep his cool. Unfortunately, his fangs still extend from his gums, so when he turns to glare at Ravus it's with an overbite. The tips of two deadly, serpentine fangs hang over his bottom lip as slitted eyes stare at the old man.

He turns around. He watches the video.

When Ravus is done asking his question, Dylas turns around, and he attempts to slash Ravus right in the face with his claws. There's no warning, no prompting, just Dylas deciding he's had enough of this.

"Hold on, there's something on your face—wait, no, it's just your stupid face!"
hashtagdaddy: Soft look 1 (42)

[personal profile] hashtagdaddy 2018-11-25 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Maybe that thing is Mog...?" It's freaky as hell to see, that's for sure, and Gladio wonders at the decor of the new area. Is it a temple? What sort of temple would be so devoted to the Night of the Thirteen Moogles?

Before he can share any of his questions, he watches in shock as Dylas swipes at his boyfriend.

"Dylas, what the hell?!"
regalblaze: (Glare 🔪 step aside)

[personal profile] regalblaze 2018-11-25 05:07 pm (UTC)(link)
The play and mysterious footage that suddenly appeared almost turned Ignis' guard off completely. Luckily, he spots Dylas moving from the corner of his eye and jumps back, knocking over a chair but managing to make some space to pull Ravus back as well and out of the reach of Dylas' claws.

That was too close.

"Can we please lower the tension!?" Ignis finally raises his voice. He very rarely yells but even his nerves are brought thin to the point of snapping. He's standing between Ravus and Dylas for a single main reason- preventing both of them from lashing further out. Especially Ravus, who Ignis can swear, is getting ready to leap at Dylas if the chance presents itself.

"We have more important things to do. Once we're out you can, as Gladio likes to put it, 'deck it out'. But not here."
sonoftenebrae: (rage)

[personal profile] sonoftenebrae 2018-11-26 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Ravus envisions, in exquisite detail, grabbing Dylas by the throat and crushing his larynx with his magitek hand. He takes a step forward to see it done, but Ignis' voice cuts through the haze of his anger...barely.

He'd had to censor his anger and follow Ardyn's orders back on Eos. At least listening to Ignis is less humiliating than that.

"I'll gut the worm later," he growls, not even dignifying Dylas with a look. "And we'll talk about your abysmal judgement in allies later as well, Amicitia."