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 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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