hotelcaelum | 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's a familiar tale, all right. A girl stuck in a mansion with no one to speak to. Ironically familiar — the story of her life for so, so very long. Even the caretaker in this story has a somewhat similar equivalent, and her eyes soften, despite the stillness of her other features. ]

It sounds to be a terribly lonely fate.

[ Said in her usual calm, serene way — but there's a knowing tone underneath it all, more solid than the lightness she usually speaks with. ]

And did this girl stay there for eternity?

[Amelia shakes her head.]

No... Eventually, she was able to leave. But it wasn't as if she left using her own power. The caretaker had no use for her anymore. She was free to do as she pleased.

She was not without means and knew how to fend for herself. But it didn't change the fact that she was still alone. There was no one to help her then, so who would help her now? The girl was able to leave the ship but nearly drowned in the sea of her newfound freedom.

[The witch shifts from her crossed-legged position to one where she can rest her arms atop her knees.]

So like you said... It was likely to be a terribly lonely fate no matter where she turned.

[ Even leaving, even being free might not be the end of the loneliness. Whatever Amelia's intentions through sharing this story, that bit hits closer to home than anything else. It tugs at something raw in her, the last vestiges of her humanity — the part that can still feel sorrow for anyone other than herself. A part of her... doesn't want to hear another word of this story. She doesn't want to hear about someone forever doomed to loneliness, who was resigned to a solitary fate no matter what.

Her expression grows tenser, cracks of vulnerability showing through her stony mask. ]

How does this story end, then?

... There was a boy. He came into her life, right when she was at her lowest point.

[A very strange enchanted boy.

There's a faraway look in Amelia's green eyes as the words begin to weave themselves together and her voice continues to narrate in a more hushed tone.]

Was it fate that brought them together? Sheer luck? Who knows.

[A shrug.]

He was a pure-hearted child who saw how lonely the girl was and extended a hand to her. She didn't trust him at first. He was too innocent and his face shone too brightly. What would he know of the world? How could he ever look upon the weak and pathetic girl with any kind of warmth, whose heart was hardened after years of neglect? Why now of all times? Why couldn't he have been there earlier when she needed someone the most?

... But he took her hand anyway. And he helped her, no matter how difficult she was, no matter how much she lashed out. Together, hand in hand, they explored what it meant to be free. What it meant to be part of the world. Slowly, but surely... The girl finally learned, what it was like to be cared for.

[This is where the story should change. This is where the plot begins to descend into sorrow, a beautiful dramatic turn where hope turns into despair. That was how it turned out after all. That was the truth.

But Amelia goes on; this is just a tale after all. Something made up. Something make-believe.

Something she wished had happened instead.]

The girl no longer despaired. She wasn't alone anymore and she learned from the boy's example. She would help those who needed it most even if it didn't reward her, even if it was hard. She wasn't the only lonely person after all and it gave her purpose as she grew up, stronger and braver than ever.

... The end.

[ It's easy to picture the images vividly as Amelia goes on — what life might have been like between the young boy and girl. In a strange way, some piece of her mind seems to come loose, as the words pass through her. But he took her hand anyway. And he helped her, no matter how difficult she was, no matter how much she lashed out. She can't help but feel like this phrase is unbelievably important and relevant... to something. She's not sure what, her memory faded as it is. But the fact remains that the story awoke something in her, something that has long been asleep. A tiny shard of the past has been reclaimed, no matter how small. ]

I see...

[ She murmurs, mirroring the hushed tone that her companion takes. Her gaze lowers, staring at the point of the floor between them. It's a relief that the story ended happily, though it is also difficult to ignore the wistful look in the other woman's eyes. Difficult not to wonder what that truly means. ]

And this story, is it based in reality?

[ That feels the most important thing to ask — she won't ask if Amelia was the girl all along, after all. That would be far too personal... and far too prying. But something about the timing of this all and the sincerity with which she had weaved the words makes it feel as though it is not just another story wedged away in some book. ]

Aren't all stories?

[Amelia wouldn't know the exact effect her tale has on the maid but as she stands up, she makes her point perfectly clear.]

I know we don't know each other that well, Giselle.

[And then she offers a hand to the maid to help her stand up.]

But I do want you to know that I wouldn't have helped you if I didn't learn how to.

[ It takes her a moment of looking at the hand offered to actually take it — and when she does, she keeps her grip light as possible, the chill of her palm bitingly, unnaturally cold. For just this fleeting moment... she can take this hand. Chalk it up to being lost in her thoughts. The crease between her brows deepens just a bit more, enough to be plainly visible, as she rises from the floor. ]

Thank you, Amelia. I'm deeply appreciative of your efforts.

[ Her head bows a bit. Certainly proper, but lacking the usual stoic perfection with which she offers her daily manners. She retracts her hand slowly from her, to fold back in front of herself politely. ]

And... I am pleased to hear that — [ You? ] she one day walked free. Following her years of solitude. I will remember this story for some time.

[ It's perhaps the most genuine thing she's said to the other woman — a bitter note of knowing humming low beneath the cool evenness of her cadence. If Amelia was the girl who had learned to help others eventually, after being cast away for so long... then she is truly relieved that she was not trapped in such a state for eternity. ]

[The unnatural chill of the maid's hand causes Amelia to go still but she doesn't remark upon it. She pulls her up and only lets go when the maid is properly standing.]

You're welcome.

[Amelia rubs her hands together and fiddles her fingers together to take away the residual cold. The other woman's remark about her story makes her cast her gaze to the ground.]

And thank you. I'm glad my story meant something if only a little.

[That was the purpose of it after all. The truth is, Amelia isn't sure if she's actually free or if she had walked into another cage of her own making after what happened years ago. Briar was no longer there to lead by example and the witch kept his memory alive by helping like he helped her.

Just because she feels stuck, doesn't mean she would leave others to their own devices.]

I'll leave you on your own now if you feel safe enough. Hopefully, this matter with the shadows will clear itself up soon.

Event Log #002

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