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Post by kilnarak on Nov 16, 2023 17:50:12 GMT -6
Through their combined efforts of lighting the door with their flashlights, Stenson and Casmir manage to make all of the beetle-black substance flake off of the stairwell door. Upon trying the handle they find it to be unlocked, and it leads into a stairwell going down - back toward the first floor, but in a section that had not been available to them earlier. Stenson makes to go down the stairs, to continue on this direction, but Casmir stops him, insisting that they should go north up the hall first to see if the others had gone that way. Whether Stenson follows or continues down the stairs on his own, Casmir makes his way north up the hall to an intersection. There are five doors along the north wall of the staff hallway and another at the western end of the hall that must lead back out into the main hall. Two of the doors appear to be locked, and the west-most one appears to be covered in more black flaking stuff. The remaining to doors are unlocked - one leading into a small storeroom and the other into a store filled with oddities.
-
In the northern staff hall, Moana handily tosses her pack and the flashlight across the gap, then takes a running leap across it. Time seems to slow for her and the gap seems to stretch further and further, but then her feet hit the opposite edge - distressingly close to the hole itself - and then she's across and stumbling a few steps further in to get away from the hole. Once she has cleared space, Samael moves to follow, tossing his stuff and then taking a running leap... He is not as nimble as the other two and his jump comes up short. There is a moment of flailing, clutching at the smooth floor. His fingers slide but hold at the last moment, leaving him clinging awkwardly to the edge, dangling over the void below.
Luckily for Sam, Moana and Kail haul on the rope attached to him and slowly pull him back out of the hole and onto the floor. A few tiles break loose in the process, widening the hole a bit, but he makes it up and the trio follow Kail into the next set of hallways. This hall is distressingly quiet. There are many small holes in the walls, as with the other hallways, but there is no scrabbling of bugs inside them. It is silent and still here, and when Kail opens the first door on his right, the sound of it opening is very loud. The door opens into a large storeroom, another maze of boxes and crates.
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Nov 17, 2023 21:20:17 GMT -6
Halloween 2023 [Stenson thinks better about the stairs, especially because they didn't go up like he was expecting. He follows Casmir down the hall and suggests they check the doors. He will try doors on the right side (#5) and if unlocked will peek inside before letting Casmir know what the scene looks like.]
Stenson paused, intending at first to ascend the stairs that they were slowly revealing but as the shadow flaked off and lifted to reveal them, he found that they only descended. At Casmir's warning, Stenson took a moment to decide. The hunter continued down the hall, and Stenson eventually relented. He was probably right. Between the impossibly dark holes in the floor suggesting that the area down there might be COMPLETELY void of light, and the potential that whomever those workers were might be wandering about in those shadows, he did not want to risk going down there alone. Plus what if something happened to his light? He had no night vision to aid him, and he would be completely vulnerable.
Turning, Stenson caught up with the hunter and fell into step behind him, keeping his light aimed in the dark corners of the hall in case anything was lurking. They were still alone, separated from the others. Which, Stenson felt slightly put off by the fact that his colleague had left them behind so easily. However, he shook the thought from his mind. Of course they would move on, this was a survival situation and he had two civilians with them. Even if one was a wanted criminal, Stenson couldn't blame the Dullahan for prioritizing their safety over his and the hunters. He would've done the same, as much as it would pain him to choose the wendigo's safety over a trusted coworker.
If the others had come this way, Stenson hoped they would have obtained any crucial keys or items as they went. Looking to their right, Stenson pointed at the door on the end. "We could try each door, see which one opens. I'll try this one." Moving to the Requiem Oddities door, Stenson turned the handle. If it was unlocked, he would proceed to lean in carefully, taking a brief glance at the interior before whispering a report back to Casmir. Once they decided on a route, he would follow.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Nov 18, 2023 5:16:24 GMT -6
[Kail nopes out of the store-room and continues straight to try the door directly in front of them]
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 18, 2023 22:13:42 GMT -6
(OOC: Sam follows the group and checks the map he found for anything useful he might’ve missed, like paths, secrets or notes from whoever made it etc, anything that could help)
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Post by Salandis on Nov 18, 2023 23:09:12 GMT -6
[Moana is creeped out by all of this, suggests trying to get back into the mall to find a way up]
Moana paused as Kail opened the door to the store room. The quiet was oppresive, and memories of the flesh monster lingered uncomfortably in her mind.
"This is eerie," she whispered. "And we want to go up, right? Not sure any of those superweapons were in back room storage."
"Yeah," Kail whispered back, "Let's get the fuck outta here."
"Over the other side," Moana murmured as he went past her. "One of those is a door out. Maybe we can find stairs or something'."
"I reckon," was Kail's quiet response, Samuel a quiet presence at his back, as he got to work on the door opposite.
Moana felt her skin crawl, the quiet felt entirely too much like it was watching, predatory. Who or what did she piss off to end up here? All she wanted to do was leave... except for that damn mist outside. She watched the carefully closed door to the storeroom as Kail behidn her tried the door that should let them back out into the mall, plasma torch at the ready.
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Post by luscen on Nov 19, 2023 8:41:26 GMT -6
[CASMIR unlocks the far door past Things Remember’d and comes back to use his flashlight and help STEN unlock Requiem Oddities ]
Casmir didn’t bother looking over his shoulder at the sound of Jones’ anxious gait; he’d already tried the doors to both Spencer’s and Golfsmith, and both were locked up. Likewise, the door for Requiem Oddities was warded by the same black chitin that had gunked up the stairwell. That meant the other three had likely gone through Things Rememer’d.
The Hunter decided that it was worth opening a shortcut, if they found themselves suddenly in need of one. So, he made his was down the hall, past the unlocked door, and clicked open the door leading back to the shutter and its accompanying abyssal floor. That done, he quietly hurried back towards Jones, pulling out his flashlight in a reverse grip and shining it on the handle. “The others didn’t go through here,” he explained. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t check it out for anything of use.”
Hopefully there wouldn’t be any screaming statues, crimson glares, cackling shades or carnivorous jellies hiding out inside.
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Post by kilnarak on Nov 19, 2023 17:24:29 GMT -6
Stenson follows Casmir up the hall and away from the stairs, leaving the path back down to the first floor to be explored later, if at all. They find locked doors at the end of the hall, with Things Remember'd blocked by more of the chitinous black substance that flaked away when exposed to light.
Sten finds the door to Requiem Oddities to be unlocked and peeks inside. The room is dark and made up of many shelves and glass cases displaying the various 'oddities' on sale. A lot of the cases contain jewelry and worked metal items, while the shelves hold dolls and figurines. Here and there masks hang on the walls. There is something strange about the items in the room, but it's hard to place what - the room feels older than anything else in the mall, as if it doesn't belong here.
While Sten is peeking into Requiem Oddities, Casmir is making his way to the very end of the hall to unlock the door back out onto the main hall. It provided an alternate route, at least, in case their way became blocked again. When he returned to his current partner-in-crime, he considered the open door Sten had found, but was more curious about the door sealed with black substance. He turns to shine his light on it, gradually flaking off the beetle-black stuff and allowing the door to open. Glancing inside he finds a very... pastel shop interior, albeit without the lights on all those baby-pale tones faded to soft grays. Things Remember'd seems to sell mainly dolls and little glass figurines, but they also have a few shelves with various greeting cards on them. With the door cracked open, Casmir feels as if all of the little black glass eyes of the dolls are on him. It's an eerie feeling.
-
The dark maze of boxes and crates is not especially inviting, the silence in the room near suffocating. And then there is a noise, the hiss of something like scales dragged on the ground. Kail closes the door to the storeroom firmly, the sound bringing to mind thoughts of a massive snake. Nope, not something he wanted to deal with.
Moana suggests the door across from them, and so the group unlocks it and steps back out into the main hallway. It's almost a relief - it's still dark, but not as dark as the staff hallways had been, as at least some light is filtering down from the skylights far overhead. They find themselves stepping out between a candy store, Sa-weet, and what appears to be some sort of convenience store, Aldo. There is a set of unmoving escalators just outside the door leading up. The spaces between the steps are dark and glistening with an oil-black fluid.
Looking at the map, Samael notes that they are very close to the stairs they entered this floor from - however there's a wall between them. He wonders how hard it would be to punch their way through the wall to get back there - it would certainly make it easier to get back to the ground floor or the sporting goods stores... He hears a noise as he is considering it and looks across the main hall, across the gap, to see a door on the opposite side being opened briefly and then closed. It looks like their missing two party members must still be over there...
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Post by luscen on Nov 20, 2023 0:45:38 GMT -6
[CASMIR calls STEN over, and gives him an incense stick, then lights it to try and ward off any hostile spirits and restore some sanity. He lays out an angle of approach, and - if STEN has no objections - will enter Things Remember’d with STEN.]
Casmir’s scowl spoke volumes of what he thought of the room that lay beyond; at first blush, it seemed innocent enough. A store for dolls and greeting cards, likely for new and expecting mothers, perhaps. But there had already been a few unpleasant surprises hiding behind innocent façades, this evening.
The Hunter backed away, looking over towards the far end of the hall where Jones had opened the other door. “Over this way,” he called, though careful not to speak too loudly. “The others already went through there, so anything that might help us get out of here, they probably already picked up.”
Once the Agent came over, Casmir gave one of the incense sticks to him, then re-lit them. The soothing aroma filled the air around both of them, calming their nerves.
“Not sure if anything in here will be deterred by these,” the blonde explained, pocketing his lighter and readying his flashlight. “But it will at least clear our heads. We go inside, keep an eye out for anything useful, and maintain line of sight; if there’s any more of those shades, we have to keep each other covered with our flashlights. Once we get across the door, we check the blade shop and then catch up with the others.”
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Post by Salandis on Nov 20, 2023 2:43:08 GMT -6
[OOC: Moana is grateful not to be in creepy silence zone any longer. reluctantly suggests escalators, as they look unsafe and, worse, oily]
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Post by qhostqrowls on Nov 20, 2023 5:54:12 GMT -6
[Kail attempts to go up the deathscalator, testing to see if it will hold his weight and trying to avoid the black oil]
“Fuck it, I’m over sneaking ‘round this place.”
Kail echoed Moana’s sentiment, all impatient irritation. The sooner they were away from the suspiciously snake-like sounds of the storage room, the better.
He strode forwards, stopping just short of the escalator. He pressed the sole of his boot against the metal, avoiding the black oil where he could, and leant his weight forward cautiously.
If nothing happened, he’d proceed to the next step, wanting nothing more than to sprint upwards. His pace was as fast as possible, but he prioritised avoiding the black gunk moreso than speed. The sword was clutched tightly in one hand, the other hovering and ready to grip the railing if he lost his footing.
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Post by NightshadeVII on Nov 20, 2023 10:16:12 GMT -6
(OOC: Sam uses the grease pencil to write “snake” next to the door with the labyrinth and creature, as a heads up to Sten and Casmir. If Kail can ascend the escalators, he will mark the escalators with a symbol signifying that they’ve gone up and ascend as well. Requests that Moana remains ready with the plasma torch should they need it, because ew, gunk.)
They heard a hissing sound from the room and the door was quickly closed, probably for the best. Just as they were about to leave, Samael fished the grease pencil out of his backpack and wrote the word ‘snake’ next to the door, so that if they needed to run back down this hallway for some reason, they would know which rooms to stay away from. If they were lucky, they wouldn’t need it.
None of the paths forward were particularly appealing. The oozing black escalator certainly didn’t seem like a good option, but the other was tearing their way through a wall, which seemed both impractical and far too noisy. The last thing any of them wanted was to attract unnecessary attention.
As the other two discussed going up the escalators, Samael noticed, across the chasm, Stenson and the blonde, unharmed at the very least. Good. With that, he turned his attention back to Kail attempting to ascend the escalators. If he were successful, Sam intended to mark it on a nearby wall as a way mark, a way to distinguish safe passage.
“Might be a good idea to keep the torch ready”, Samael said, looking from Moana to the escalators, “If it would even work.”
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Nov 20, 2023 17:43:27 GMT -6
[Stenson accepts the incense and enters the doll room with Casmir. He is heebie jeebies looking around as they move into the store to see if he can spot anything important]
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Post by kilnarak on Nov 21, 2023 14:49:00 GMT -6
Casmir and Stenson enter Things Remember'd, lit incense sticks in hand, the cloyingly sweet scent of the stuff hanging in a haze about them. They both feel the eyes of the dolls on them, but looking directly at any of them, the dolls appear unmoving, their gazes vacant and unfocused. Nothing immediately accosts them at least, and there aren't even any bugs around - no holes in the shadow-faded pastel walls, nothing outwardly untoward.
As they look through the store they begin to notice something peculiar about the dolls - some of them are familiar. It only takes a bit of searching to find them all, scattered about the room, but there are dolls that look disturbingly similar to themselves, and to those faces they've seen so far. There is blonde one-eyed Casmir, his features slightly scowling (although with this style of doll, it looks more like a pout), his belly fat and distended; and there is grey-skinned Stenson, painted cracks running through his skin and a dot of red in either ear. Samael's doll is holding it's helmeted head in it's hands, and Kail's is marked with black squiggles that bring to mind the worms and their holes. Moana's... appears to simply be her - there is nothing strange about the doll of her.
Examining the other dolls, a few also appear to stand out, bearing strange marks or red dots and lines reminiscent of blood - none of it is too overt, blending into the sea of other dolls. There is a pale doll with near-white hair and light blue eyes, a thin line of red circling it's neck, and another, dark skinned and dark haired, marked with black dots and a similar red line. Yet another appears to be dark skinned woman with slightly lighter, spotted hair and red lips - the red is smeared a little like smeared lipstick; and another a dark skinned, dark-haired man, his hair in a tail and his eyes painted a slightly drippy red. Finally there is a doll white white hair, bone white skin, and pale blue eyes, its hands blackened - it is vaguely familiar to Stenson, reminiscent of another agent he has seen before.
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Oddly, when Samael approaches the storeroom to write his warning on it, he... doesn't hear the slithering sound - it sounds entirely still and silent. Kail clearly hears it, and Moana can hear... something in there, it might be a snake? Still, Sam marks the door and moves on, following the other two to the escalator.
The group considers the escalator a moment, then Kail decided to give it a go. When he pushed his foot against the metal step he could feel it shift slightly, perhaps slipping a little on the black ooze. It doesn't give too much, but there is still some give there. Despite wanting to get it over with, he takes his time and moves carefully, trying to be sure of each step as he goes.
It's about half-way up that he realizes the steps have been sinking a little more each time, more and more ooze gushing out over the metal. It's difficult to avoid at this point, and the stuff seems slippery. He blinks and for a moment the stuff looks red and wriggling, enough to startle him, but when he blinks again it is only black ooze again. His head is starting to hurt from all this concentration, and he wants badly to just bolt up the stairs and get this over with. Could he risk it? Should he?
Waiting their turn at the bottom, Samael and Moana can see Kail hesitating - they can see the profusion of black goo seeping between the stairs, but other than that they cannot see what is giving him pause. And after a few moments, it does not seem to give him pause any longer. Gripping the rail in his unoccupied hand, Kail rushes up the rest of the stairs, spattering some of the goo in his haste. He's tired of taking it slow. The black ooze is slippery and when it touches him, it gives him a feeling like something clinging, crawling on his skin - discomfort and disgust - but once he's up top he's free to scrub it off as best he can.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Nov 22, 2023 6:07:19 GMT -6
[OOC: Kail will scrape off any goo touching his skin with his hunting knife. Shouts to Moana and Sam that he doesn’t think the escalator will hold for both of them, and warns them about the black substance]
Kail sprinted the last few steps, splattering black goo across the tiles in his haste to exit the escalator. He took a second to catch his breath, fishing his knife from his hoodie pocket, scraping any of the substance off as quickly as possible.
“The stairs are sinking.” He shouted down. “I dunno if they’ll hold for the both of ya.“
“So what you’re saying is, run fast?” Moana yelled back, and he smiled despite himself. He’d been about to suggest trying to find stairs, but judging by her tone she wouldn’t listen anyway.”
“It’s real slippery, be careful.” He yelled back. “And that black stuff feels…not good. Try not to touch it.”
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Post by Pearl Dragon on Nov 22, 2023 12:40:39 GMT -6
[Stenson holds the doll that looks like him, then also shows Casmir the Hunter doll, asking about the fat quality of it.]
Stenson approached the familiar dolls, looking them over with a raised eyebrow. He spotted his own likeness and lifted it from the shelf. Turning it over in his hands, he noted that it seemed relatively accurate save for the red marks on the ears. The other dolls also seemed a little off. Fat Casmir, worm squiggled Kail.
"Are you feeling... fat?" He asked the Hunter, holding the bloated doll up to him. He held his own doll as well, thinking about the voice he'd heard earlier. Were these afflictions of some sort? He wondered what the Hunter might make of it.
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