Cometh the Big Crying Wheel

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 15th
Location: A refurbished castle on the outskirts of Exsilium.
Characters: Anyone at the party!
Summary: Vanadi hosts a party that goes very poorly.
Warnings: Violence, probably! Let a mod know if we should update this.


It’s a lovely night for a party!

The venue at the outskirts of town is, unfortunately, a bit drafty — and actually rather sparsely furnished, as well. In fact, party goers are encouraged to mingle, drink, and enjoy themselves in the courtyard, as the castle itself wasn’t able to be renovated in time, and has proven to be a little bit architecturally unsound. Any explorative guests might find a small hail of dust and pebbles on their heads if they venture too far in — and who knows what else, if they continue on.

But the drinks and snacks both are plentiful and delicious, and the large canvas set up from castle wall to castle wall keeps off the sprinkling rain. The weather could even be described as warmish and pleasant, if one were feeling generous. A group of Exiles plays classic instruments in one corner of the courtyard, having been paid enough to even smile at any Transports that wander near.

All in all, it’s shaping up to be a good night. Until about 10 PM, that is. Come 10 PM, the Misery rolls into town, tearing down the canvas, nullifying powers, and crying corrosive blood everywhere. That’s the cue for all hell to break loose, as the final wave of mind-controlled characters snag their victims and make for the hills — or at least for the UE. The mind-controlled characters will also have the backup of a squadron of 20 of the Masked, the UE's special ops force. The Masked's main goal is to grab those on their list and get away, but they're certainly not above shooting to kill at anyone that gets in their way. They're also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and physically enhanced by their suits, so they're a good bunch to try to avoid.

But do have a wonderful time until then, won’t you?

Comments

[retraced]

How are you sure it won't?

[His lineface is magnificent, but he knows he can't argue with her. He sighs and makes a 'lead the way' gesture with his jacket.]

[crocodilesmiles]

I've got a feeling!

( Because that's all she needs, as she leads them forward. Forward and down, which is not so much of an angle that she worries about the ease of her rolling outside of this place again.

The doors are half rotted, a mixture of plastic synthetics and a wooden cover that has stripped and peeled away over time. Collette reaches out to touch one experimentally.

It creaks under the pressure of weight behind her hand, but barely budges. They're enough under the eaves of the outcroppings above to be out of direct rainfall; Collette glances back to Gilbert. )

Think you can help me get this open?

[retraced]

[Without the rain misting them, Gilbert lowers his arms and rests his jacket back over his shoulders, quickly slipping his arms back through the sleeves as he rushes over to the door. It's easy enough to open, but he still does so carefully to be sure that it doesn't fall apart, tumble off the hinges or bump into anything that might be obscuring it in the dark. Once it's open, he holds it there and gestures with his head for her to follow him in.

He's still got a slightly bad feeling about this, but he's not complaining. Out loud.]

[crocodilesmiles]

( Stale air greets them first, mold and damp promising further pleasures should they tread further inside. Collette flashes Gil a smile, more certain that what they do is interesting than it is safe.

She's right behind him as they go in. The only sound from the area they have opened into is a steady dripping of water, and the sigh of a building receiving fresh air into places long kept closed. )

Can you make anything out?

( She asks in a whisper. One wheel connects with a bit of broken wood, an ancient cracking echoing through the chamber. Collette jumps, looking toward the source of the noise as something hit her hand. It's part of the wood, perhaps formerly belonging to a chair or table. )

Sorry!

( She tosses out sheepishly. )

[retraced]

[He's too busy trying to search through the dimness of the room to pay attention to her at first, but the crack of wood startles him enough that his eyes immediately turn towards her. All at once he's stepping over a pile of - something so that he can stand behind her wheelchair rather than in front of it.]

No, it's fine. Let me help you through here.

[crocodilesmiles]

I'd rather you move the wood, to be honest.

( She uses one hand to gesture in front of her. )

Don't get me wrong, I trust you, so it's not so bad, but...

( She wants to have fun. And part of that fun is getting to be an agent of action in their castle adventure.

Down the hall, a door creaks open. Collette turns her head toward the sound, sitting up straighter. )

Did you hear that?

[retraced]

[Or he could just do that, that's true. Forgive him, he's just as skittish and as much a failure in dark castle basements as he is...well, anywhere else. He moves to do just that and move the wood out from their path, an apology halfway onto his tongue, when he also catches that sound from up ahead.]

Maybe...it's just the wind?

[crocodilesmiles]

( Gosh now she has the creeps. Collette rolls forward nonetheless. )

If it is, we should find the window it's coming from. Then we'll know for sure!

( Something creaks down the hall, and she pauses. Um... okay. Okay, she can totally do this.

...

... Maybe she's a little afraid of real ghosts but she can do this! )

Wow, talk about that wind...!

[retraced]

[He startles a little at the creaking, but for all he knows he's causing it all himself just by moving things out of the way and letting the sound echo. The last of the wood moved away, he starts down the hallway, but makes sure that she has enough space to follow him without any trouble this time.]

Did it sound like it was on the left or the right?

[His voice drops down to a whisper. Not because he's afraid, okay!! He's more convinced of this being a person than a ghost making the noise, but seriously the type of person who spends time in a basement of a castle probably isn't a friendly type.]

[crocodilesmiles]

( The fresh scent of rain that had followed them into the first room gives way to a dank musk, the hint of wetness that has sunk deep into stone and wood and begun to rot away at the foundations of a human dwelling left long to neglect. A beam of light cutting across the walls might seem evidence of lichen and mold, those advantageous growers in adverse conditions claiming life in a place filled otherwise with the emptiness of broken promises and dust.

It feel slike a wind coming down this hall, a small breeze that ebbs and flows as if somewhere, a window shade swings in and out, cutting the cold air's access to the inner portions of the castle's domain. Broken pieces of glass line the halls, along with leaves, clods of dried mud, feathers, scattered fur.

Collette shivers again. She doesn't know where that was coming from at first, but as she follows behind Gil, she hazards a guess. )

Left?

( A whisper of giggles accompanies her answer, making her freeze and look back and around. There's nothing to see. There's very little to hear, until the wind comes by once again, brushing against Gil's side, winding into Collette's hair.

By both their ears, separate, distinct voices whisper, "Ssh. You'll wake father."

Or had they? Collette brings one hadn up to her ear, covering it with her palm. A coldness tingles there, and she gasps, the small hairs on her arms standing on end. Her voice, likewise a whisper, is shaky as she says: )

Gilbert?

[retraced]

[Oh, he hears it. One arm darts out to his side as though to protect them both from someone sneaking up behind them, but as he turns to look, there's no one there to fend off. There's a shiver sneaking up his spine as well.]

What was that -

[The creaking of a window shade echos through the hallway again, but this time it's more difficult to tell if it's from the left or right. It sounds like it's right in front of them, invisible in the seemingly empty space.]

[crocodilesmiles]

( Collette shivers, feeling distinctly uneasy. All the small hairs on her arms are standing on end. )

Where's that coming from?

( She whispers, not knowing she's whispering. The harsh clarity of the window shade opening and closing is followed, in time, by the light tug of a cold breeze coming down the hall from the front. More mildew and damp seems to come with it, along with a hint of something rotten.

Collette feels something brush across her lips, hearing a voice on the wind. )

Hush, little darling...

( Jerking back, she rubs at her face. Heavy, slow footsteps sound from somewhere above, like someone of significant weight is walking the length of an upstairs hall. That voice on the wind from earlier continues to sing, off key, words lost to the creaking window shade. )

Don't say a word... papa's going to buy you a mockingbird...

You know, on second thought... maybe we don't need to meet Casper afterall.

( Said with a trembling smile and her arms wrapped around her torso. Okay. Haunted castle? Bad plan! )

[retraced]

--Wasn't this your idea?!

[Still, despite the creepy atmosphere, Gilbert isn't one hundred percent convinced that what they're hearing down here is supernatural. It could just as easily be a prank put on by the kids at the party. If they found the way down here, there had to be other ways to get to the basement from other areas of the house.]

Stay here, I'm going to check the insides of these rooms.

[crocodilesmiles]

I'm seriously regretting my idea, I -- Gilbert!

( Then he's gone, and she says a very impolite curse under her breath. She doesn't want to be alone, but man, she's not even feeling brave as she jerks her head around to look behind herself. Collette wheels back a half step, back firmly at the wall.

The footsteps overhead continue on their laborious walk, until they're directly overhead. Then they stop.

The silence feels deafening. )

If that mocking bird don't sing, papa's going to buy you a golden ring...

( She rubs at her arm, chanting "this isn't real, this isn't real" under her breath. It's in any of those siderooms that Gilbert will find either nothing -- or tattered frames opening and creaking, slamming against the wall or the broken tiny, high windows as he enters. A wet, dripping comes down from the walls, the floors slick with water, rotting wood, moss, and droppings.

Cats fare well in this city. So do rats, as it were.

He'll find himself plagued by light, childish laughter. )

Hide and seek! Hide and seek! Olly olly oxen-free!

( Collette's voice will trail in as a staged whisper, afraid to speak at volume for no reason she can name. )

Gilbert? Can we go now! I'm sorry, I'm not that into actual ghost haunts!

( The ceiling creaks above her head, and she swallows. )

[retraced]

[Gilbert is gone for longer than he plans on. He seems to be able to follow the footsteps above his head, but then, the way that they echo in the room he may only be chasing after a reverberation of something behind him after all. But it's after attempting to follow these footsteps that he does indeed find the creaking window, so he reaches out to close it and lock it, only to discover that the lock on the high window is broken. All of them are. The glass is broken in the corners of each frame, and cobwebs clutter the space all around him.

It isn't until the sound of a child's laughter comes from behind him that he realizes how long he's been gone. He turns on his toes and runs back out into the hallway, arms flailing about to knock the cobwebs out of his eyes.]

Collette?!

[Or at least, he thinks he's running out into the hallway. He's sure this is the door that he walked into, but the hallway that he ends up in is different than the one from before. This one is cleaner, quieter, but just as dark as the one he was just in. He can even hear the rain if he strains his ears. At first, he's not sure if his eyes are playing tricks on him or what, but wherever he's ended up, Collette definitely isn't here.

Whether this is an illusion or simply a wrong turn, Gilbert starts down the hall to investigate.]

Hello?!