Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Nov 14, 2015 21:49:40 GMT
Ah, technology, thou art a bless - as long as you're not breaking apart due to Ander touch. As Amon brought out a clockwork flashlight, she got a smile that pretty much mirrored Lasair's. See the magical gingers mildly fangirling over tech, how cute.
That didn't change the fact they were still in a rather creepy situation though, so while Lasair was leading their way upstairs (and before they bump into any living shadows) Edelweiss took the chance to ask in a whisper "Alright, so, what do we know about this nasty shadow beast in particular?"
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
"Well..." Amon started, a small smile briefly appearing on his face at the looks of wonder the two Anders had at the sight of his machine. "Although I never encountered the thing (until now), I did find records of it while digging around."
He paused, collecting his thoughts before reciting what he knew: "The Puppet Miester is magic-based and fairly aggressive; it attacks by using the person it is controlling or simply by taking control of someone; if we can cut the 'strings' that are attached to the person, then we can release its control of said person; and..."
He stopped. Of all the times to draw a blank.
"I do know that candle plays a key role...and I know snuffing it out will defeat it, but...I can't remember right now, but I knew there was something contradictory about the way to defeat it..."
He quickly made his way down the hall Lasair pointed to, and upon reaching the room they saw the shadow beast in, Amon did a quick sweep of the room using the flashlight bot.
Nothing.
"Darn thing is quicker than I thought..." he said. "...And unfortunately, it looks like we won't be able to continue in this direction safely...maybe we should work our way back down to the other end before looping back around?"
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Nov 15, 2015 1:17:54 GMT
Lasair listened quietly as Amon spoke about the beast. It all sounded familiar to him, and yet, he couldn’t quite remember the bit of information Amon was missing either. Odd. That would bother him until the answer was found. Nodding as the mechanical man suggested turning around, the MI member elected to stay quiet from here forward. Would be better for listening. One could never be sure what sort of things they could hear in a spooky place.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Nov 15, 2015 2:19:15 GMT
At least they had -some- idea on what they'd be facing, that was already a relief. Not a reason enough for Edelweiss feel like relaxing though, not unless she was having a particularly careless moment and she hoped to not have one of those today. She made a mental note to be wary of any light sources that weren't Amon's clockwork insect as they made their way through the building, inspecting every corner and shade she could see. Now where was a good escape route for them, and where had the puppet-man and his creepy shadow beast parasyte had gone to...
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Seriously, where the heck did this thing go? Was it down the hall? Did it go to a higher floor?
No...the floor above them was noticeably more unstable than the floor they were on, with many holes in the ceiling to reveal to them the upper floors. So the only other options were to go back (which couldn't be done at the moment), go up (not recommended), or go to the other side (which was what they were currently doing).
The sun had fully set by this point, and the clouds covering up the moon didn't help out in the 'additional light department,' so they would be 100% reliant on his flashli-
Amon paused in front of one of the rooms, hearing the sound of very faint moaning. He shined his light into the room, the soft glow reflecting off of the furniture, walls...
...and the man they were looking for, slumped in a chair, barely starting to stir.
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Nov 15, 2015 18:19:39 GMT
Lasair still firmly believed that they were not in a ghost story. Crumbling buildings were a common thing in the city (not all of it was visited by the masses) and shadow beasts were a common thing in the forest surrounding it. The two were bound to come together at times. But that union did not make this something scary to be involved in.
At least, that’s what the ander was telling himself when they came up to the room with the man. Before the others barged in, Lasair motioned for them to step back and he whispered to the pair of them. “I have an idea. I can use some magic to distract it while you guys go for the strings. Sound good?” If Amon didn’t already notice he was an ander, well then. Oops. He could have made the connection already however, given that Lasair’s parents were Mingo’s members.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Nov 15, 2015 18:53:18 GMT
Alright, that moaning answered any doubts Edelweiss might have had on the topic before: the man being puppetered was still alive. In was condition and if he was still under control of the shadow beast or not was debateable. Still wary of that candle, as innofensive as it may be it still wasn't a natural light source nor produced by Amon's flashlight, the redhead woman tried to analyse what else could be seen in the room from there.
"No protests here. Just be careful" Go for the strings... Her needles might maybe count as a blade but not the kind that could cut strings (and she was in casual clothes, so no wire to use even if she could find any use for it now), but they could find something sharp around. A scrap of metal, or a piece of glass. Or they could tug it off, as long as not using bare hands...
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Amon merely nodded, though he kept his eye trained on the candle on the table. Something was...off...
In the chair, the man began to stir.
"Ugh...wha' 'appened...wher' am I..." he groaned. He looked up, and upon seeing three individuals surrounding him, suddenly became a little less fatigued.
"W-who 're ya people?! What du ya want from me?!" he exclaimed, suddenly panicking.
Amon turned to the guy. What?
"Hey, calm down, we're not here to hurt, steal, or do anything relating to bodily, psychological, or material harm or plundering," he said, trying to calm the guy down.
The man turned to him, shielding his eyes from the light. "...Amos?"
"Amon," he said annoyed. Yup, he was back to somewhat normal.
"Y-yeah," the man stammered. "W-wha's goin' on? The las' thin' I ramembur was walkin' throu' the Merch'nt Distric'..."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Nov 16, 2015 6:58:11 GMT
While Amon stepped into the room to talk to the man, Lasair still stayed on the other side of the doorway. If the man was talking then he probably wasn’t under the puppet’s control anymore. Not good, not good at all. Unless it fled (which was unlikely) that would mean it wanted a new host. And three very qualified targets had just entered its space.
Lasair took an extra step back as he through about it and then readied his magic. If anyone were watching, they’d see his body glow white faintly. And then a second Lasair stepped out from the first one. The new Lasair looked exactly like the previous, only if one looked closely at him, certain things would be…off. He was blurry around the edges, like there was no defined outline and some details on his outfit were wrong compared to the true version. But so long as no one looked hard at him or stared too closely, he was a perfect copy of the original.
Speaking of, the original stood as still as a state now. Eyes closed, but took a breath as the projection too a breath. Certain vitals were linked, after all. Leaving the true body there, the spirit turned and walked into the room now, alert for any signs of the shadow beast. Projection I, used once.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Nov 16, 2015 7:10:28 GMT
Well, Lasair had a very handy trick for himself, but it also put Edelweiss in a bit of a tricky spot... They had reached a somewhat conclusion about the man who was slowlyrecovering consciousness: if he was awaking, and didn't seem to be controlled anymore, possibilities were high any of the remaining three were being considered better targets and the shadow beast was not within sight. Lasair's projection spell might, maybe, with a stroke of luck, stop him from being controlled by having separated his conscience from his body, but also made aforementioned body very vulnerable as it remained just there, practically sleeping on his feet. If that thing took control of Amon or herself... Not good thoughts. Not good. She didn't want a dead Lasair, he was her friend and she preferred him breathing. So while Amon busied himself talking to his patron, the redhaired woman took a step closer to Lasair's temporarily abandoned body, half shielding it and half using it as shield from anything that might be lurking in the dark corners.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
"Can you remember anything else?" Amon asked carefully, trying to deduce the how the man came into contact with this thing, as well as calm the man down enough to get him to move.
"W-well...I..." the man started, only to spot Lasair's spirit move out of his body. "WHA?! IS THA' A G-GHOST?!"
Amon turned to see Lasair's projection, mentally facepalming himself.
"Maybe it's best you leave..." he sighed. He'll need to question the man later.
"Don' hav' ta tell me twice!" the man said, scrambling out of the chair, pushing Amon, and eventually Edel and Lasair's body aside as he made his way out of the room and eventually the building.
"Well...that's one problem down..." Amon muttered.
As soon as Lasair's projection got closer to Amon, the candle on the table suddenly flared up and began to rise into the air. At the same time, a simple, blank mask and two puppet control crosses materialized around the candle, with the strings from the crosses shooting towards Lasair's projection.
Just before they would make contact, Lasair (in his projection) would be able to hear in his mind:
OooOooH! fOoD! FrEsH! sOUl! mInE!
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Nov 16, 2015 7:52:18 GMT
I don’t look that ghostly, Lasair thought to himself, but was unable to vocalize his complaint at this moment. But the man left, so evidently needing to distract the thing and cut strings was no longer an issue. He sighed, which could be heard from his real body and not the spiritual one.
A waste of a cast it seemed like. Would be best to return to the body now. But before he could, a chilling voice gripped at his mind. I’m not going that easily, he shouted back at it, but neither of the others would be able to hear his cry. Instead, they would see the ghostly Lasair sink to his knees and claw at his head and shoulders, trying to pull off the strings. The puppet master didn’t immediately have control over him, but it could soon enough.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Nov 18, 2015 6:50:58 GMT
Edelweiss just stepped aside as the man ran away... then facepalmed as he pushed Lasair's unconscious body and it fell. The a second later the candle started floating. Alright, they found out where the shadow beast was. But it also either proved Lasair's theory that his projection couldn't be controlled was wrong, or it wanted to outright eat him. This needed a quick course of action. As the redhead male's ghostly figure struggled, Edelweiss scanned the room with her eyes in search of -anything- small enough to be held and large enough to hit that dratted mask with.
They were dealing with an opponent that didn't have any vital spots a human being did. This was an emergency. Amon was still distracted. That chair would do.
Hope smacking that thing with old decrepit furniture can give Lasair time enough to get back into his body.
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
A number of things seemed to happen at once: the man leaving, the candle flaring up and revealing its hostel nature, Lasair's projection fighting the monster's strings...
...and Edel throwing a chair straight at the creature (and himself due to simply being in its trajectory).
"Whoa!" Amon yelped, dodging the chair. Unfortunately, the creature dodged as well, pulling away from Lasair, causing the strings to become more taunt.
"Perfect!" he thought. Stowing the gun back into its hidden hatch, Amon knife-handed the strings with as much force as he could muster from his mechanical arm. Luckily, the force of his swing cut the strings, effectively freeing Lasiar from its sinister bonds.
"Lasair! Get back in your body before it-" he started to shout, only to notice a second too late that the strings had attached themselves to his body, causing his mechanical arm to spasm and go limp due to the creature's magic.
"Well that's convenient..." Amon said, his last words before being thrown into a torrent of screams.
Queens, this was worse than any Deception that he had faced. It took every ounce of willpower he had to stop himself from getting lost in the whirlwind of rage.
Unfortunately, he wasn't aware that he had begun to move to attack Edel; if the creature could get rid of her, there would be no one to protect Lasair's body from being destroyed.
It couldn't use his mechanical arm, so it simply started to aim his good arm at Edel's throat, hoping to crush her windpipe and suffocate her to death.
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Nov 19, 2015 6:02:29 GMT
As quickly as the pain entered his body, it also left. Well, lesson learned. He got up and scrambled back to his body, only to turn around and scramble back into the room. The site before him was anything but comforting as he saw Amon grabbing at Edel’s throat. Not good. No, not at all.
Bringing his magic right back up, Lasair gave himself a bit of a speed boost and charged right for Amon, slamming into him with more force than a normal human would be able to muster. It hurt, but it knocked both of them over. And more importantly, freed Edelweiss from the impending attack.
They landed hard and Amon’s metal arm hit Lasair, hurting his side. But that didn’t stop him from crawling away from the possessed human and waiting to see if he’d be able to get up. Hopefully it didn’t hurt Amon too much. Just enough to get him to stop fighting. Speed I, used once. 3 Rank I casts remaining
"All you need is love." -John Lennon
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