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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ ... Whew. Great question! ]

I don't believe it will be capable of changing form, as yours did.

[ Because even Barghest can't willingly trigger that sort of thing without some kind of catalyst, she's sure of it. ]

But it will likely act as a predator. Which, I suppose, may not be too surprising, unfortunately....

Is it not?

[Surprising, he means. His context is limited, given their equally limited interactions thus far.]

Why a predator, then?

[Because isn't she a knight?]

I hail from the Fang Clan. They're faeries specifically known for their ferocity and combat ability.

[ Surprise this woman who is three inches taller than you is also a faerie-- ]

[Faerie?

This unexpected little tidbit of information is accompanied by a sideglance as they walk along, like a second assessment might allow him to see her in another light. One that aligns with what a "faerie" conjures in his mind -- magical. Delicate. Mischievous.

Maybe she's... the first. She doesn't seem to be the last two.]

You're not what I would have expected from a faerie. Are you a summoned entity?

[I'm sorry but this is a legitimately ffvii relevant question]

A Servant? No.

[ they continue to bewilder each other-- ]

What do you expect from a faerie, exactly?

[...a servant? What?

A long pause.]

Someone... smaller. [help]

...

[ Her face flushes, faintly. ]

Faeries come in all sizes! I am more than an acceptable size for my clan!

[Oh, he embarrassed her. Thankfully, any expression in response to that is covered quite fully by his high collar.]

...My experience with "faeries" is limited. I don't really have experience at all, actually, other than what I can glean from myth.

Clearly, things are different on your planet.

... That is... fair, I suppose.

[ But still. Gosh. "Smaller." ]

Faeries are, more or less, the extension of the planet. We are essentially immortal unless we are deliberately killed or if we lose our sense of purpose.

[Yes, smaller. You know. Like those teeny tiny faeries.]

An extension of the planet. [Wait, so how old does that make her? But more importantly, is that something worth risking bodily harm to ask?

Probably not.]

So then you and your... Fang Clan, do you carry out your planet's will?

In a sense. We do possess certain instincts and have been known as the protectors of the faeries.

That land, though... also instinctively, every faerie fears it. It was not a place that should have ever existed.

[ But she pauses, gaze focusing ahead on the very familiar-shaped Shadow stalking down the hall. ]

There it is.

[That sounds ominous. But there’s little else to do than note it at the back of his mind for now, and wonder what kind of place it could be for even the faeries to fear it—

Because there it is, her shadow stalking at a distance. He pauses, fixing his gaze on the moment, halting his step.]

How do you want to approach it?

A stealthy approach won't work. If it's anything like me, it's already noticed our presence.

[ And sure enough, it's turning around, regarding them with a distinct lack of eyes but it sure feels as though it's glaring nonetheless, all but bristling as it charges in their direction. ]

[Well, she's right about that. Vincent immediately takes a step backwards, unholstering his gun once more, pulling back the hammer.]

I work better from the back.

[And this is hardly a statement spoken out of anything close to hesitance. Unless he uses one of his other forms--which he would very much like to avoid--Vincent is a man who battles at range. Firearms and magic. That's his forte.

The muscles in his legs grow taut, ready to move or dodge out of the way if her shadow makes a leap for it. The thing is... do they fight, or do they let it take her, and pray to Gaia that Vincent can free her from its grasp?

Either way, he follows her lead.]

Then I'll draw its attention. Depending on your magic resistance, it may eat your magical attacks, so distance would be best regardless!

[ Stick to the gun, she means, just in case. For now, she's moving forward to engage the shadow, blade lashing out to intercept its strike in an attempt to drive it back or at least keep it from targeting Vincent. There's a stagger to her step but for now, she's upright. ]

[Eat his magical attacks? He'd rather avoid that, so the warning is duly noted. Firearm only... for now.

He backsteps again, then once to the side, trying to get a good angle once Barghest rushes forward to meet her shadow. Vincent has the suresight of an experienced gunman, though -- the moment there's an opening, he raises the barrel of his gun and fires two shots.

Maybe weakening it will make this whole process easier, if it does try to drag her in.]

[ The bullets... well, more or less pass through the shadow, though it does flinch a bit, angrily flaring out as it tries to dart past Barghest to get to the weirdo with a gun. ]

Running from an opponent? Distasteful.

[ And again, Barghest intercepts, driving it back once more. It's difficult to tell whether it's weakening or not, but eventually, the way it lashes out seems to slow. ]

...Ha.

[He has to huff out the sound, despite himself. Distasteful, is it?]

These shadows aren't too flattering, are they.

[His bullets aren't doing a lot, but he makes another leap forward to spring over the shadow, firing off another round mid-air. If he's doing anything at all, at least pulling its attention between two targets, then it'll have to do.]

Can you reconnect to it on your own? [He says as he lands, wondering if they can circumvent a shadow trying to pull in its owner altogether.]

[ Well, he's acrobatic and a distraction, which is helpful at the moment, and the Shadow doesn't appear to like the noise of the gunshots, wavering furiously.

But Barghest seizes advantage of it, of the suggestion, and tries to grab the shadow.

It doesn't quite go as planned. It's clearly distracted; it slips into her, then behind her, but at the same time, it pulls her along with it and before she can say much of anything, she's been engulfed and dragged back into the shadowy wall up to her fingertips.

It's a vigorous shadow. ]

[Shit.

A vigorous shadow? It's definitely that, and now it's a problematic one. On his suggestion, now she's deep within the grasp of the inky void of shadow, and Vincent can't help but curse under his breath, his jaw going taut as he dashes forward to close the space between them.

He's fast, thank Gaia. Fast enough to reach his own arm into the darkness and try to grab at hers, assuming he can find purchase. His other actually holsters his weapon and braces his palm flat against the wall, pushing, trying to wrench her out.]

Barghest!

[ She can't hear him call for her. She can't hear anything as soon as her shadow envelops her, but thankfully, Barghest can still feel, and as he reaches for her arm, she grips back. Her strength is hardly what it was, not right now, but there's contact there and her struggles increase as she tries to use her hold on Vincent's arm to pull more of herself out.

Of course, the shadow is also fighting this, so it may be up to Vincent's own strength instead of Barghest's, this time around. ]

[Vincent's own strength, you say. Vincent, whose strength stats in the game are only higher than Aerith's in the party--

Anyway. He will give it his damnedest, all the same. It does help that he can brace himself against the wall, using it as true anchor point to push from, perhaps giving him a boost that he wouldn't have had before.

Hell, he's even going to push the flat of his boot against the wall, too; a comedic sight were the circumstances not so harrowing, part of him grasping into a shadow, the other half of his body pushing against the corridor to pry her out.

He's trying really hard, basically.]

[ He sure is, bless him. She still can't see this, so thankfully, no one's here to find amusement in his struggles at the moment (not that she would be laughing, regardless) but between his efforts and hers, the shadow weakens just a bit more, allowing more of Barghest to reemerge. Like Venus being born from the sea except instead of a naked lady adorned in her own hair, it's an armor-clad lady not-so-gracefully floundering halfway out. ]

Almost--!

[ And there. Vincent manages, Barghest thrashes, and the shadow releases her to let her stagger all the way out. There may be a collision. Ideally not. ]

[Oh, you know there's going to be a collision. Even when Barghest emerges, or maybe especially because she emerges, Vincent doesn't stop trying to yank her out. And so, when victory is finally achieved for the both of them, that doesn't stop the momentum -- she comes floundering out and right into him, smacking him with enough force that he just staggers back and lands on the floor, with his back to the ground with a grunt.

SURELY BARGHEST WILL NOT LAND ON TOP OF HIM RIGHT-]

[ You do know what happens when you say SURELY, right--

Yeah. Barghest, in all her armored, 120 kg glory--is landing on top of him, in all his... not that much weight.

She is, at least, cognizant enough to realize that's a terrible place for him to be right now, so swiftly pushes herself up enough to free him and land on her hands and knees beside him. She glances behind her, but the shadow has settled amicably and remains as it was before. Of course. ]

--Are you harmed??

[ Next important topic, then! HAS SHE CRUSHED THE LIFE FROM YOUR LUNGS, TWIGGY MAN? ]

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