hotelcaelum | Event Log #002

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Event Log #002

EVENT LOG
number 002

The hotel humbly hopes that you're settling in well and are taking advantage of the various pleasures on offer for your stay. In Mr Bennet's opinion, things have been going quite well and he doesn't think that the guests are unhappy at all. New guests have arrived, some have left, it's all going along perfectly. So, of course, this is when the next troublesome thing pops up.

SHADOWS

One morning, characters will find the hotel to be a little dimmer than usual, a little more shadowy. Yet if anyone asks Mr Bennet about it, he will claim to not have noticed anything different than usual. Either way, as the characters move on with their day, they'll start to notice a few odd things start to happen.

PHASE ONE: Initially, characters will notice their shadow beginning to move a little out of sync with them. Discreetly at first until eventually, their shadow takes on a life of its own, mischievously playing with characters and enjoying their newfound freedom. Very Peter Pan, and completely harmless.

PHASE TWO: Now, shadows might disappear entirely, roaming the hotel to their own discretion and ignoring the characters they belong to. As the shadow takes on this free will, characters will begin to feel slightly off balance and have a hard time feeling whole without their shadow around. The shadow may become slightly aggressive as well if told they should return to their characters, fighting back in their own way from knocking things over to outright attacking other characters. It's a little hard to fight back though when your opponent is a shadow, isn't it?

PHASE THREE: The shadows have become fully aggressive now, fighting anyone who tries to get them to return to their original person. Characters will find themselves feeling weak and low energy as a result of losing their shadow. Eventually, the shadows will come back to their owners but the characters will find themselves sinking into their shadow, eventually changing places entirely with their shadow. The only way to rescue a character from this fate is for another character to pull them out of their shadow forcibly. The bright side is once a character is pulled out of their shadow, it all returns to normal and their shadow is no longer sentient.

These phases will last over the course of the week and it is quite alright to stay in phase one/two/three. Not all shadows will become aggressive, not all shadows will be playful. Feel free to manipulate your character's shadow in the way that's most fun for you.

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[The way I immediately forgot I said Phase 1. Oh well. Kaveh's shadow is a quick learner I guess]

Only once so far, and it was a small object, but--yes, I'm positive it did. There was nothing else nearby that could've managed it.

[He'll keep an eye on hers as they talk, though, ready to help if it behaves oddly.]

[ Right now, it's just slowly leaning past her to stare at him.

With a lack of eyes. It's probably at least a little creepy. ]

So they're meant to be hostile. Or mischievous, if I were to phrase it kindly.

[Stares back at it!!! He ain't scared of you, shadow.]

Mm. It's difficult... we've had a few incidents here already, but as far as I'm aware, no one has been seriously hurt by them. [He's considering them akin to weird leyline effects for his own sanity, really.] So I hesitate to assign malice to this, but... I can't say it's not a little concerning, nonetheless.

These incidents... was there a clear source behind them?

[ What sort of incidents are we talking here, actually... ]

That's an excellent question. [He sighs, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead.] In one case, it seemed like everyone who visited the spa felt overwhelmingly lethargic--I fell asleep in completely random places, for instance. Someone else called it a curse. So, it may have something to do with particular floors... but as far as I'm aware, everyone's been having trouble with their shadows all throughout the hotel, so that theory doesn't hold water across the board.

Then it could be a combination of factors. The location... it might have to do with timing, though I couldn't say. Do you remember exactly how long ago this spa occurrence was?

[Hmmm... he brings a hand to his chin, pondering.]

Roughly a month ago? Give or take.

... Hm. I'll keep that in mind. If something that impacts the hotel as a whole occurs again within a month, we may be able to better prepare ourselves.

For anything, I suppose.

[ Because clearly those are two very different occurrences. ]

There is someone around you can speak to, if you're really curious about the details, but honestly, I can't tell you if it's worth trying or not. For what it's worth, though, I haven't really picked up on any sort of malicious intent.

[This is worth almost nothing because Kaveh is a soft-hearted fool who has repeatedly gotten scammed because he just can't stop himself from trying to help people out.]

... I will additionally keep that in mind. [ which is a diplomatic way of saying "okay but you do seem like you wouldn't be able to tell". ]

Who is this person you speak of?

[STOP HE CAN TELL!!! He just chooses to believe in the good of people anyway, out of spite.]

His name is Mr. Bennett. I was planning on reaching out to him soon, myself--I'm hoping to get permission to do a detailed scan of the building. I don't know if I'll be able to pick up on anything otherworldly, but the architectural data alone would be worth the effort.

Architectural data? Do you mean to build something similar?

[ Humans must live longer than 30 years here, to have such lofty ambitions... ]

[Is fate/ like, okay.

That makes him laugh, though.]

If only! No, I don't think this sort of thing would be possible outside of a domain. But I would like to take a closer look at some of the core design principles; I'd love to try and implement certain features of this place into some of my own designs.

[ No. :) ]

I think it's admirable to draw inspiration from your surroundings, though I'm uncertain as to how in-depth you could truly examine these... ah, design principles.

[ What does that even mean, she's a knight, not an architect?? ]

[:worryfrog:]

Ideally, I'd be able to take a look at the original architect's blueprints and models, but I suspect tracking down that information would be quite the hassle. [He may have reservations about Mr. Bennett, but he still doesn't want to be that obnoxious.] Mehrak would be able to tell me a little more through its scanning capabilities, and I wouldn't need anyone's assistance for that. Mostly, though, it's a simple matter of exploration--seeing all the different architectural features of each floor for myself, cross-referencing them from different angles, that sort of thing.

Each floor... you would certainly be kept busy for a while. You strike me as someone who might be diligent and thorough with their research.

[ She has no idea how many floors this place even has. ]

And Mehrak is....?

You've got to be, to stand any chance of getting funding requests approved. But I won't bore you with the minutiae of academia.

[He only deals with it because he must...]

Ah--Mehrak is my toolbox. And an assistant of sorts, though its features are fairly simple.

[ It's true that she probably wouldn't understand most of it if he tried. She's an educated young lady (young by faerie standards), but things like universities? Not exactly a thing. ]

A... toolbox that can assist? Aren't toolboxes inanimate objects?

[Come along Barghest time for geometry]

Yes, of course. I simply built it with ancient technology, which allowed me to teach it basic commands. It can't speak or act on its own.

[Even though he talks to it like it's a person because what he actually built himself was a friend but don't worry about that]

[ ew ]

Built it with ancient technology...?

That's rather impressive, for as "simple" as you call it.

[Literally me why did I do this to myself]

It's nothing complex. [But he looks pleased with the compliment.] I only found the core I used by chance. If the merchants I bought it from had known what it was, I never would've gotten my hands on it.

But you did and made use of it. That is to be respected.

[ TAKE THE PRAISE, MAN PLAYED BY A MASOCHIST ]

[WOW, THIS ATTACK!!! But he will take it without further protest, actually; if there's one thing he is consistently confident about, it's his creations, whether that be his work, his art, or anything else produced with his own hands.]

I can show it to you another day, if you'd like. It's just in my room right now.

If you're fine with possibly having to explain anything more in depth to me, I think it might be interesting to see it for myself.

[ She knows she's hardly a genius here. ]

Only if you're sure it wouldn't bore you. I tend to have a hard time stopping once I get going.

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