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Post by jarahamee on Oct 1, 2022 22:57:15 GMT -6
As soon as Una placed her candle in the central indentation on the altar, mist seeped in from the dark stone around them. For a moment the condensation was merely clammy and made the air thick and crisp to breathe. Then, the mist swirled into a humanoid shape, vague at first, then increasingly well-defined, armored in ghostly mail and tattered tunics. Its face was skeletal, eyes sunken. Only the vague shine of lights deep within the empty sockets.
It speaks, voice disconcertingly raspy and piercing at once;
"We have found our eternal slumber unrestful, for among us lies the betrayer. A false hero. ” The being pointed a skeletal finger towards those gathered before them, then gestures broadly to all the sarcophagi.
“Discern who among us is the liar. Drag them from their grave to give us our rest.”
And then, as soon as it appeared, the ghostly being disappears, melting back into the fog. The mist however, remains pooled, cool to the touch at their feet. As Ash places the candle on the sarcophagus of (A) Leopold the Wise, a ghostly voice whispers in his ear, and the mist around his feet swirls, as if considering forming another figure.:
“I was the mind of the goddess, and I was by her side when she was sealed.
I was accompanied in the last battle by Saint Bartholomew and Saint Jane. Saint Bartholomew fought as my right hand.
I was struck down by a spear.”When August places the candle on sarcophagus (B) Bartholomew the Gentle, he feels the ghostly brush of an intangible presence and hears a deep voice whispering in his ear;
“I was the Goddess’ eyes, and was by her side when she was sealed.
I was accompanied in the last battle by Saint Peregrine and Saint Jane. Saint Peregrine fought as my left hand.
A dagger sealed my fate.”
When Vincent places the candle on the altar of sarcophagus (C) Saint Jane De Chantal the Defender, a ghostly apparition of mist rises from the sarcophagus.
He sees a ghostly apparition of a small but imperious woman with short cropped hair who seems to be dressed in lordly clothes. In her right hand is clutched a spear. The hollow depths of her eyes stare back at him.
“I was at Saint Bartholomew’s right hand, fighting to defend my Lady.
I was accompanied in the last battle by Saint Bartholomew
My wounds were many, and I bled to death beside my Goddess.”
The sarcophagus (D) labelled 'Saint Peregrine Laziosi the Great', has an empty area for a lit candle to be set.
Vince’ investigation of the stone slab finds it immobile.
John, in the meantime, finds the Gravekeeper’s walking stick while investigating around the altar.
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Post by beastly on Oct 2, 2022 2:31:33 GMT -6
((Vince listens to the ghosts, Makes awkward eye contact with Una.
Items: Flint))
The ghostly figures caught and held Vincent's attention, the sealed exit was left alone for the moment. He didn't think he could open it.
They, as a group(?), we're being tasked with finding the betrayer among saints. Restless ghosts with unfinished business, if they did as asked, would the living be set free? Dying here, in the dark, was not on the hunter's agenda. He stole another look at the vampire, and was discomforted to see the woman, Una, she'd said, look his direction. He blinked back awkwardly, and glanced away, back to the spirits.
He listened quietly to the ghosts' words, shying away slightly once the ghostly form of Saint Jane formed, but not running. His frown, always a permanent frown, deepened. He found himself hoping the false saint was not her, although why exactly escaped him.
"Sorry," He whispered to her, and immediately felt stupid.
One of the ghosts was a liar. Leopold was not mentioned by the other spirits. They needed the other ghost to speak. That left... the fox and his candle? He looked in the animal's direction.
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Post by tsukikoko on Oct 2, 2022 3:06:48 GMT -6
[OOC: John keeps an ear towards people/spirits as he places a candle in one of the alter indentations (let's say second from the left) and picks up the Gravekeeper's stick to investigate it. He then holds it up for the rest of the group to see.]
[Items: Flint, Gravekeeper's walking stick]
One of John's large ears flickered in the direction of the spirits, listening to their stories and the already clear contradiction between a couple of them, but he did not turn his head to look. Instead, his head tilted slightly as he spied something in the gloom near the alter. One clawed paw tapped it lightly, then rolled it across the ground.
A stick. He'd found a stick.
With a soft, irritated huff through his parted jaws (though he was careful not the blow out the candle), the Kumiho leaned in towards the alter so he could rest his candle upon it. He felt eyes in his direction. No doubt someone wishing him to place a candle on the last ghost's grave; but they could move one of their existing ones into a new slot if they were so inclined, he thought.
Once his mouth was free of the candle, after slotting it into the alter in the second from the left indentation, there was enough ambient light for him to find and investigate the stick, without a risk of it being set on fire by his own candle.
John looked it over more closely, rolled it into his paw, felt along the surface, even gave it a cursory sniff. Though, he immediately wished he hadn't, given the dank scent of their surroundings curled even deeper into his nostrils. It appeared to at least be a walking stick, rather than just a stick, though the fox wasn't sure what it could be for, in their current situation. Perhaps someone else would? Plus, he supposed he couldn't just ignore them forever...
Ugh.
With an internal shudder and a roll of his eyes at what he was about to do, John gathered the stick, very carefully, between his teeth and held it aloft with a light yip for the rest of the group to see. In that moment, head up, tail quivering, he looked like an animal who'd found the most exciting thing in the world.
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Post by indeath on Oct 2, 2022 3:36:35 GMT -6
((August thinks. He eyes Vince then gets distracted by John being a very good boy.))
August listened intently to the different stories. Huh they had to pick the betrayer… What if all the heroes were betrayers. Double… No quadruple jeopardy.
“We’ll get ya back to Eddie and Myrtle or me name isn’t August!”
He gave her a thumbs up. He noticed her eyeing the quiet guy who suddenly spoke and August looked at him in the darkness. He felt familiar but not in a good way. He narrowed his eyes, racking his brain but he was distracted by the red fox.
They needed to light the candle for the final sarcophagus but the fox seemed to have its attention taken by something else. August couldn’t help a big dopey grin when it bounded up with a stick. It looked so darn proud of itself.
August couldn’t help himself, he gave the fox a pat on the head and took the stick from its mouth.
“Who’s a good boy, huh? It’s you! Ya just the damn best!”
Baby voice and everything. Then he put a hand over his mouth remembering Hau. He was mortified.
“Lawdamimbo! Ya like Hau ain’t ya? Ya turn into a naked guy… Oh sorry ya just very fluffy. I lost meself.”
He looked at the stick it had given him.
“Oh a walkin’ stick… Is this anyone’s?”
He felt awful at the idea of someone being without it.
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Post by tsukikoko on Oct 2, 2022 4:14:14 GMT -6
[OOC: John is offend.]
Though John's outward expression was a big foxy grin of joy, complete with soft, chirruping yips, inside he was imagining all the ways he could slowly murder the man petting his head and baby talking him. The indignity!
Though, the mention of Hau did draw his attention a ways out of murderous daydreams. There was a name the Kumiho most certainly remembered.
Best not to let them know he could, normally, turn into a man. Especially given they had a reference point in the blue haired kitsune.
So John tilted his fluffy, foxy head, as though confused by the notion, before sitting down next to August and curling his tail neatly over his paws.
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Post by kilnarak on Oct 2, 2022 5:26:47 GMT -6
[ Ash talks a bit with Una, recounts what the ghosts said, then moves John's candle to Peregrine's sarcophagus. He wants very badly to pet John too, but he's too worried about his claws and scales catching in the fur and pulling it... ]
"What am I? Ah. My... My people call themselves Sival, but since I have come to... to this place I have been called a dragon? But... the dragons I have met have not been Sival, they are different..." Ash's crest lifted in interest at her question, but gradually flattened as he spoke, disappointed. Like as not he'd never see one of his own people again - but it was best not to dwell on that. "It is nice to meet you, though, Una Bronte," his crest lifted a little, an expression like a smile. "I... I have not found my lineage of interest to humans, but if you would hear it... Ah. Ash, child of Aura's Spark, child of Caldera's Moss..." He truncated the lineage at his grand-dam and grand-sire - a more formal greeting would want for a longer list of lineage, but for a casual greeting he supposed this would do well enough. And he doubted there was much time for a longer listing, anyway. His crests flicked back again. "I... I hope your relatives do not worry for you, either."
The appearance of the ghosts drew his attention away from the definately-human woman, his crests lifting and fanning out in a warning display as he took a step back from the one to apparate beside him. "A... a liar? One of you is a... liar?" He seemed startled, confused, but he listened as the apparitions spoke, his ears twitching forward. "So... Bartholomew went into battle, with Jane on his right. And to his left was... was Leopold? Or perhaps Peregrine? But Peregrine is not here... Do the weapons matter?"
He hesitated glancing toward the final sarcophagus. The dog-creature had set it's candle on the central altar, which did not seem to produce another ghost, and was now being pet by the friendly man who had called him bombaroo (whatever that meant? perhaps it was like a kangaroo? he had seen those in books...) After a moment he stepped over to take the candle and set it on the sarcophagus instead. "I will just place it here for now, until the... ghost speaks? Is... is it very soft? I would like to pet it too but... but when they are like this my hands are too rough, I think. You know Hau too?" His crest had lifted a bit again in interest - if the creature's fur was like Hau's or Simon's, then it *must* be soft.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 2, 2022 6:13:54 GMT -6
When Ash places the candle upon the altar of (D) Saint Peregrine Laziosi the Great, the ghostly figure of a trim person of indeterminable gender appears before them. Long, wispy hair frames a gaunt face, eyes appear sunken with rot. One hand clutches their own disembodied heart, which flickers with undying flame. “I was the Goddess’ heart, protector of her followers. I was accompanied to the last battle by Saint Jane. I was torn apart by Beasts.”
You note that the stone sarcophagus lids are large and heavy; it is dubious that even all four of you could lift them with brute force. You likely will need something else to help.
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Post by beastly on Oct 2, 2022 16:49:22 GMT -6
((Vincent thinks about ghosts, is paranoid, then mentions nobody has talked about Leo
Items: Flint))
Vincent looked to the ghostly figure, listening to what they said. He worked over the details, hand going to his chin as he thought. The saints mentioned one another, and had not responded to questions... were they just residual? They still had not mentioned Leopold.
In the corner of his eye, he watched the vampire pet the large fox, fussing over him. Baffling behavior, the monster likely had a hidden agenda. Perhaps this was an act to lull the others into trusting it. After all, it hadn't said anything to Vincent. Maybe it didn't want an altercation here, with these people. Vincent himself didn't necessarily want that either. He'd keep an eye on it, make sure to keep the others from being alone with the Vampire.
He stood there, mulling things over then eventually spoke up, putting his hand back on the heavy stone. His voice was hesitant and quiet.
"...None of them say anything about St. Leopold."
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Post by hadopelagic on Oct 2, 2022 17:11:27 GMT -6
(OOC: Una thinks and then agrees with Vincent; Items = flint)
When the first spirit spoke, Una couldn't help but smile. Now, everything made sense. These long-dead saints of an entombed Goddess needed help! That's why they'd summoned her. That's why they'd summoned everyone! The poor spirits must've been desperate (and exhausted). Who could slumber with a traitor in their midst?
But what a puzzle! She held up her right hand, wiggling her fingers, and then tucked them into a fist. The middle finger (she raised it) could be Leopold, who was with Jane (she raised her index finger) and Bart (she raised her ring finger), while Jane was with Bart (she lowered her middle finger), and Bart was with Peregrine (she raised her pinky finger) and Jane, and Peregrine was with Jane (she lowered her ring finger), which meant what?
Then, the unnamed man spoke.
Gasping, Una lowered all her fingers, except for one: Leopold.
"You're right, Guy!" she exclaimed. "Does ... does that mean he's the liar?"
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Post by indeath on Oct 2, 2022 17:29:37 GMT -6
(( August recognizes Vince, moves away from him. Points out the stick and asks Una if they should put the candles in the altar.))
August had been scritching the fox’s ears, running his fingers through its soft fur. It was kinda distracting. He wondered how Ru would feel about a giant fox in the apartment. He whipped his head around at the sound of Vincent’s voice, looking at the details of the man’s face. It dawned on him. It was lucky he couldn’t get any paler. His fingers grasped the stick tightly. His other hand on the spot on his chest where the bullet had gone through. There was nothing to show for it now but he remembered.
“Y…you.. Lawdy… oh.. Yeah. Now we all gotta work out how to get those bones. Y’all, I got this stick.”
August moved further from the hunter putting as much between himself and the man as possible. He felt his hand shake a little. At least the man was unarmed. Maybe he was alright. He wasn’t trying to kill him at the moment.
He looked at Una. “Should we put the c..candles in the altar?”
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Post by hadopelagic on Oct 2, 2022 17:51:33 GMT -6
(OOC: Una agrees with August and tries to be reassuring.)
Una turned toward August, concerned. He seemed ... shaken? Not long ago, he'd been petting the cute dog, happy as a clam (as the saying went, although Una had never met a real happy clam; they were, if anything, ambivalent). Was it a delayed fear response to the situation? Or did the thought of bones disturb him?
"Yes, yes," she agreed, motioning to indentations on the altar. She wished she could reassure August that bones weren't scary; he didn't have to worry. When she was a baby, she'd lived within a rib cage, nourished by the skeleton of a long-dead whale. Bones were like her mother. But she couldn't share that. Not here. Instead, Una said, "We'll all be home soon."
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Post by kilnarak on Oct 2, 2022 18:01:40 GMT -6
[ Ash agrees with the others, moves Peregrine and Leopold's candles to the middle altar then sets to try to help August with the sarcophagus lid. ]
With the ghost's appearance and response, Ash looks to the others, his ears pricked up, listening to their opinions. He inclines his head to Vince, nodding agreement. "He is probably the liar, his words don't match the others..."
At the others' decision to move the candles, he nods again and picks up the recently placed Peregrine candle, moving it to the central altar. Then he moves to Leopold's tomb and moves that candle as well - best to move it before they lift the lid, after all.
"I... I can try to push, while you use the stick as a lever?" He looks to August, waiting for affirmation, then setting himself against the sarcophagus-lid. Usually he was stronger in this form than a human, but things here were strange - he had tried, upon waking, to shift to his smaller form, but had found he couldn't. It was concerning, but maybe it was for the best - at least this form was armored.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 2, 2022 22:54:28 GMT -6
The group comes to a decision, gathering around the sarcophagus of Saint Leopold. They feel the pressure of many unseen eyes upon them, and a tension in the air. The mist writhes at their feet, bringing gusts of cold air in the still and silent chamber. Using the walking stick as a lever, the group is able to push the sarcophagus lid off.
It crashes to the floor and shatters, and with an odd inhale-like silence, the ghostly apparitions and mists disappear, leaving the group alone in the dark.
Within Leopold's sarcophagus lays a wrapped, emaciated figure of what was once a tall and powerful man. The body wears a simple golden mask and burial shroud. Any flesh that might have been exposed is carefully wrapped with dark-stained bandages. It clutches a golden dagger to its chest with both hands.
As the group looks on, the wrapped figure sits up stiffly. Its weathered body pops and crackles as dead joints animate themselves unnaturally. The creature then looks in either direction, inspecting the group with what were presumably its eyes, and sat stock still, before standing up and stepping out of its sarcophagus unsteadily.
The creature is tall when it finally stands, though thinner than any living man should be. It runs a hand across its face-plate slowly, then, mutely, it bows its head. The entire body follows, before the mummy prostrates itself, prone on the ground. Its hands fold as if in prayer, holding the dagger out to Ash, as if beseeching him to take this gift.
Whether Ash takes the gift or not, the mummy holds out its left arm and slowly points towards the tomb door.
As if by will alone, the tomb door cracks in half, crumbling inwards, before shattering into a thousand pieces. Suddenly, the darkness of this space is relieved by a stream of moonlight flooding within.
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Post by indeath on Oct 2, 2022 23:24:29 GMT -6
((August celebrates their success, is grateful it’s nighttime. Pats Ash on the back for being a cool dude and tries to comfort the mummy.))
August couldn’t help pumping his fist when the door disintegrated. They had done it. He flinched for a second then sighed in relief that it was moonlight and not daylight. He patted Ash heartily on the back.
“See even Sir Mummy thinks ya cool!”
He felt sorry for the prostrate Mummy and gave it a comforting pat on the shoulder.
“Ah, Sir Mummy ya can relax ya know… I am sure ya have many fine qualities other than not being a hero… Maybe ya can come with us? “
He wasn’t sure how sentient it was but it seemed unfair just to leave it here. Clearly the other dead folk here weren’t fans of his. He eyed the hunter wearily, the guy probably wanted to murder Sir Mummy.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 2, 2022 23:33:21 GMT -6
The mummy turns its masked, and presumably blind, face towards August from where it lay on the floor, the candle-light glinting off its golden mask as it listened to him. After August touched the mummy, it then turns its head the other way, before rising from the floor to its knees, then to its feet next to them, both hands over its face as if weeping.
At the invitation, the wrapped man delicately touches August’s arm, then gestures, first towards the group, then towards the light with patient expectation. ‘Lead the way’ maybe?
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