Encounterlogs
Finns Odd Encounter Sr Rashid 250114
Finn and Liam, after randomly meeting in a hospital that seemed eerily abandoned, decide to investigate the odd, ominous singing that fills the air, drawing people towards it. Their investigation leads them to a chapel, where a horrific scene unfolds before them. Inside, a congregation led by a charismatic yet foreboding woman participates in a vile ritual involving the drinking of a deadly ichor. The chapel is scenes of chaos, with members of the town dead or dying, having voluntarily participated in a rite they believe will save other worlds at the cost of their own lives. Finn, in a mixture of horror and determination, confronts the woman leading the ritual but finds her seemingly invulnerable to physical attack. In a frantic decision, Finn attempts to disrupt the ritual by knocking over the chalice containing the deadly fluid, only to find himself outnumbered and outmaneuvered.
Realizing the gravity of their situation, Finn and Liam hastily retreat from the chapel, narrowly escaping the grasp of the cultists. Outside, they take a moment to recover, sharing their disbelief and horror at the scene they witnessed. Despite their fear, Liam proposes a desperate plan to stop the ritual without facing the cultists directly. Suggesting they use the contaminated jacket Finn had worn, Liam tests if the ichor is flammable, hoping to use fire as a means to disrupt or destroy the source of the cult's power without needing to confront them physically again. Their plan stands on the precipice of action, a last-ditch effort to thwart a catastrophic ritual, encapsulating a story of unexpected bravery against the backdrop of a seemingly small town's dark secret.
(Finn's odd encounter(SRRashid):SRRashid)
[Mon Jan 13 2025]
In hospital room 1
This room is sparsely furnished, the sanitary white walls a perfect match
to the linoleum floor and the thin hospital sheets on the gurney that serves
as a bed. A small television mounted in the upper corner of the room is set
at a low volume, and a thin curtain bisects the room in an effort to afford
privacy to the occupant on the other side.
It is afternoon, about 13F(-10C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
(A member of the Sapphire Martyrs has infiltrated the local community, portraying themselves as a charismatic, yet somewhat melancholic, spiritual guide. They're hosting secretive gatherings, drawing in the more susceptible townsfolk with their strange allure and promises of salvation. Your target must uncover their true identity and intentions, and try to stop them before they can enact a potentially catastrophic ritual that could hasten the destruction of Earth. They may choose to infiltrate these meetings undercover, or attempt to gather evidence against the Martyr from a safe distance. Either way, they will have to contend with the Martyr's devoted followers, who will stop at nothing to protect their savior.)
Finn is just heading out of a hospital room after having visited one of his friends! He spots Liam who is also here, raising up his fist in greeting to the man "Hey man, how's it going?" He greets him
Finn would have called Liam over because they still haven't managed to set up that hunting trip they keep meaning to go on, most likely.
"S'up, brother. Figured I'd swing by to visit Toni. Don't know her that well, but she took good care of me when my ribs are busted." Liam returns the fistbump, the pair standing together in the hospital hallway. "Nice catchin yah here, though. Think we can finally get ready to hit the woods."
Finn that also works!
Finn nods slowly, glancing back at the hospital door he'd just walked out of "She's pretty busted up, her arm looks awful" He tells Liam before scowling "Fucking wolf got her."
"izzat so?" Liam muses, looking remarkably unconcerned by the news. "Full moon's out, wolves'll be prowling."
"Wolves should try prowling up on me instead" Finn boasts something big for a man not actually in the situation. "I got two hunting rifles right here" He grins at Liam hitting up the double biceps to flex
As Finn and Liam meet and begin chatting, there's a soft singing that emerges, faint, barely there. It's almost hypnotic in the way it lilts, each melody oozing and dripping, like some sort of siren call. And yet, seemingly, there is nothing supernatural about it, no urge that arises from either of the man. Just a mystery that lingers, beyond the scape of their beheld reality within that hospital room. As of this moment. Steps come though, past their room, as if another patient from another room, or perhaps a nurse, has decided to leave from the preordained position, both in their duties, and metaphorically, in fate, to plod off after that noise, their footsteps only almost closing in to blot out the strange song, yet, not able to.
Whatever response Liam might have had in response to Finn's words is lost to the wind, at the sound of the rising song. He tilts his head, holding up a finger for a moment to listen more closely to the noises coming from outside the room.
Finn would pause, not quite meat headed enough to not pick up that something was strange. He didn't have any special hearing, but he could tell something was up. He puts the clown act away for a moment as he takes on a more serious expression and starts trying to piece together context clues to figure out what the sound might be himself, keeping quiet as not to disrupt it ...
The way the song is vocalized, it's possibly Latin, or Latin influenced. But anything discernible is beyond them. While Liam can tell that the noises are coming from outside the hospital, but not too far away from White Oak itself, he can tell that there's not one voice, but multiple. Though, it's almost as if such singing is synchronized, and, almost certainly lead by one voice. To both men, it's something melancholic, each note melodic and drifting, but containing something softened and oozing with something somber, solemn. More foot-steps can be heard, from further away from the hub that represents the adjoining patient rooms. Beyond the hub, it seems, more of those that lurk within the clinic shuffle off towards the noise, footsteps barely heard this time compared to the song that competes with it, wilting still, yet audible.
Finn frowns and looks up at Liam "Is it just me or are too many people starting to walk towards that ominous singing?" He asks him, poking his head down the hallway, opening up any nearby doors, and generally just searching the area to get a rough idea of just how many people are starting to get up and move ...
"...." Liam frowns. "Harmonic singing. Naturals rushing for the exits. Sounds like we're dealing with a choir of some sort. They're surrounding White Oak, every direction." Liam keeps his voice somewhat low, following along behind Finn with a hand slightly cupped around his ear. "You got any ideas on what that could point to, Finn? Been hear longed than me, and Haven's got weirder shit than I ever saw back in Austin."
As Finn throws his head out into the hall, he notices there's an almost ominous emptiness that paradoxically fills the place. No staff can be seen. Still, the singing reverberates into the silence and emptiness, echoing from the halls. It's still faint, still far away. The patient rooms that he opens up are empty, no one there. Even the bedridden one of before that had been half-mauled by a werewolf the night before. The nurse's station? Also empty. Not a soul to be found. It is, though, potentially clear, that the nexus of singing is nowhere near the hospital, based upon how faint it is. In fact, it seems, if there weren't so many people singing, it might've not been heard at all. It seems to be coming from the west.
Finn looks back at Liam with a frown "Wait? All sides?" He asks, glancing around "The hospital is massive how many of them are they ..." He says with a shudder before looking to Liam and shaking his head "I've not been in Haven that long. I know, uh, stuff that can alter the mind may or may not exist, but I don't know any kind of details"
Finn frowns "No one ..." He says, starting to glance around "Either these guys all sprant out of here, or they were gone before we even took notice" The man says, the idea that he might be hallucinating or the like not even occurring to him at this point. He takes out his phone and texts someone his location and a note to look for him if they don't hear from him in 30 minutes (not actually gunna do that so I don't bother people not in this scene) and then looks to Liam "Let's check out where it's coming from. I don't know who wants to gather people up like that, but it can't be for a good reason."
"Yeah, they're all round it it looks like. But seems like the most centralized bit is to the west, our 'cool youth pastor' to the choir metaphor. Or maybe lead singer would be better." Liam snorts, but isn'f in the mood to even laugh much af his own joke. "These beds being empty-its more than mind influencing effects. Coma patients, broken legs, people strapped down for their own safety-hypnosis or not, they can't move. That probably means..." Liam quiets down, frowning more deeply. "Not entirely sure yet. But you're right, avoiding the problem won't fix it. Lets at least get eyes on the source before we try to get the hell outta here."
Finn frowns "You're right ... Lots of people in a hospital who can't move of their own free will ..." He says, shuddering. He takes a deep breath in through his nose and gives Liam a sharp slap on the shoulder "Follow behind me, yeah? I'll make sure we get out of this safe." He says, even though there's clearly a hint of fear in his voice as he starts to cautiously stalk his way towards the music ...
Still the singing continues, the faint sound of footsteps from the rest of the clinic, no longer existent. Whoever was within this portion of the building, has vanished. However, Finn and Liam now have the opportunity to move out. Still, they seem unaffected by any psychic influences, though they wouldn't know that if they were. There is no draw for them from the voices. There isn't much of anything, but that haunting, melancholic song that pervades the hospital like some sort of plague, a malignant tumor that, slowly, somehow, begins to build up in strength.
Liam also begins to smell something vile. As if magic was being used, coaxed out, a ritual of some sort that smells acrid, like the burning of corpses.
"Why else would I keep yah around, yah big lug?" Liam lightly thunks the back of Finn's shoulder. "Meatshield for me. I'd rather we solve all this without an amatuer like myself having to step up to the plate..." Liam suddenly wrinkles his noise, a disgusted grimace on his voice as his tone lowers slightly, growing more gruff. "Though, the closer we get to the source, the more I'm feeling like it'll have to be a team effort. Bad Hoodoo vibes, man."
Liam 's show of confidence seems to embolden the scared man just a little, Finn flashing a grin back as Liam banters back at him "Hoodoo?" He frowns, wondering what on earth voodoo smelled like because he sure as hell couldn't smell anything! He tries to sniff the air twice to make sure before glancing around "Do you, uh ..." He says as they make their way closer to the source of the music "Do you know much about hoodoo yourself?" He asks, Finn still not quite sure what exactly Liam's type of spooky was yet, or if the man had one at all!
" I know bout Hoodoo about as much as you're likely to know about gasoline engines." Liam mutters, growing more tense. " Manufactured by men. Powered by the spoils of the earth. Poisons the air yah breath. And most of all, so universally fuckin useful that not a soul tends to care about any of the above, with preferences one way or the other varying. The actual mechanisms of the process? Completely beyond me. I got some idea of what goes in, what comes out, and what it can be used for."
Finn, of course, can't smell a thing. However, Liam can definitely smell it. It's stronger and stronger as they travel, dragging themselves through the clinic, into the main hall of the Campus. And westward, the noise, the melody is still, getting stronger and stronger. Logic would prove that it's at the chapel, for those familiar with White Oak. And as one walks forth, the air is stagnant and oily, stale. For those with sensitive stomachs, they might just wretch from the revolting nature of it. There's something strong going on. Something awful. Both men can feel it in their bones, and if the scent weren't enough, it's almost as if a lethargy afflicts them with each step closer to the source. Still the notes continue, rising up and down, something mournful. There's even a few wails thrown in for good measure, as if this were some sort of funeral that everyone was attending.
Finn listens, the meathead seeming to be able to follow the metaphor somewhat well "You know what they can be used for?" He mumbles in the man's direction, starting to lower his voice as they got closer and closer to the sound of the music "That's more than I know, then. I don't know if we're gunna walk in here and find a D&D mindflayer or the fairy godmother ..." He says as they exit the main building proper, Finn making his way towards the chapel "Whatever it is, it's in that chapel ..." He tells Liam, glancing around for any kind of window he could peak into the building through, wanting to get some kind of idea for what he was walking into before he actually walked into it "... Fuck me man, those fucking voices are creeping me out" The machismo man spits out his words in frustration, not seeming to be a fan of admitting fear!
Liam' habits change a bit, as they grow closer and closed to the temple. He continues to stay behind Finn, but almost instinctively strafes with the movement of the man's head when turning too look back, making it a bit of an annoyance to pin him down, especially with the choir music growing to greater and greater heights. "Either. Both. Prepare for anything, Finn, cause not even the Arcanists know every spell. Your weapon's gonna be deciding what to do after you see somethin, not knowing what's comin in advance, sorry to say. Better accept that now. Regardless...I'm thinkin its a good idea to interrupt this while we can. Why don'tcha knock, for us?"
As the duo closes in on the chapel, the noise of the song is loud, louder than loud. It's like visiting a concert with a full deck of speakers mounted everywhere. Except there are no speakers, and its simply the voice of an entire conglomerate, an unholy congregation. The oily, stagnant air reeks, even to Finn, and both men can detect the coppery scents of blood and vomit. The door within the chapel is cracked, just a bit. And whatever profane ritual is boiling within, its enough to send discomfort to Liam. There's a sign on the door that isn't cracked. "Closed for service," is hastily scrawled upon that flimsy placard. In red.
Finn looks back and then double takes looking back as his initial look back only catches a glimpse of Liam sliding out of the corner of his eye "Don't-" He snaps sharply before catching his voice and lowering it down to a tone only just audible over the loud music "Don't fucking do that man, that's creepy as hell" He chides the man before looking back to the door slowly shaking his head. He glances into the chapel and winces, taking a few moments to digest the information. "... Actually ..." He says, glancing back at Liam "I'm going in, I'll get his attention. You hide, and see if you can circle around in case things turn ugly, yea?" He asks the man
Liam pauses, says quietly, "I've got your back. Go wild." Before pacing off, keeping a distance from the chapel as if it had a magnetic force bouncing the man away by sheer discomfort, a grimace that almost looks like a snarl appearing on his face as he dissappears around a corner.
Nothing changes at the door, it seems, with the music continuing at the same volume as before. Whatever the men do or say, as of this moment, they've gone unnoticed.
Finn takes a moment to hype himself up, pacing back in front of the chapel doors for a few seconds as he mumbles something under his breath. He grits his teeth and gives himself a couple short punches to his jaw before turning to the door and slamming his heel into the double doors to fling them open! (I'm assuming it's not locked) "OI, Shitass!" He barks at the man in the middle of the circle, marching his way down the pews towards where he was performing his ritual. He had not considered even for a moment that Liam might just entirely bail on him!
The doors come open with ease. And that stench of blood and vomit becomes far, far stronger. Past the pews, near the pulpit, there lies a woman, singing and singing, the main focal point of this congregation it seems. A choir of sorts sits behind her, singing as well, though, they sing weakly and neither with the same conviction, nor strength of their supposed leader. There too, in the pews are more, more people, clinic staff, patients, random students, congregated. Blood. It coats the walls like crimson paint, corpses of patients, students, strangers, clinic staff, dropped beneath each haphazard streak of blood. Stains of vomit, orange, yellow, green globs of the stuff, lie before each corpse. Along with a cup filled with vile black fluids, each corpse either holding it, having theirs fallen and spilled on the floor, or with some other asymmetrical arrangement that both points to the cause and the way each person has died. Some of the, supposedly, poisoned, at least from Finn's current perceptive grasp on the situation, are writhing and vomiting up blood on the walls and floors, emptying their stomachs. Still the singing continues, that oily, stagnant air pervades everything. Not one member of the congregation, nor their leader, has paid any mind to the dying. Instead, as if by random, a line forms. People approach the singer, who turns their back and picks up a cup, to hand out the wretched, putrid fluids to one person. And then another. Those who take of the lethal substance, slowly move their ways to the wall. Behind them all, is the symbol of a fractured, tear-shape sapphire.
Finn hadn't realized quite how many people are in here. It's clear they're under some kind of spell, Finn trying to keep his composure, trying to look tough as he walked his way down the center of the pews, but the man could't his shaking as he glanced around at the people either side of him, hoping for dear life that they couldn't be turned aggressive by whatever spell had hold of them, that they wouldn't all charge him at once.
He makes his up to the front, holding his breath as best he can as he braves the blood and the stench and the horror that filled the air ... It was that chalice they were drinking from that was killing them so Finn decides to deal with that first. "Oi, asshole" He growls at the singer, lashing out his boot again to kick the chalice out of his hands "I was talking to you." He pauses, waiting to see if the singer responds to having their cup throw and spilled across the floor like that ...
As Finn begins to walk down the center of the pews, the congregation ceases its singing. Those still within the pews turn their lethargic gaze towards the boxer who dares travel closer to the center of their rite. They don't seem to be captivated by magic or spellcraft or whatever witchery some arcanists have in Haven. No. It is zeal and belief that shines in their eyes, something profound, even as they watch other people die mere meters away from them. Strangely though, they all seem lethargic, weak, sapped of any and all strength. Pale.
As the man approaches the pulpit and strikes down the jug filled with that vial fluid, it crashes to the ground, spilling its contents. "Drink up," the woman intones softly to those who have their cups still empty. "Drink up and know that your sacrifices have not been in vain." That gaze slowly flickers over towards Finn, eyes of a stark purple that measure the man with equal amounts curiosity and interest. "Have you come to partake in the ritual?" the woman, leader of the congregation asks before tacking on, "I assume not, as you've knocked over their final sacrament to God. So, tell me, child, why're you here?" Expectation. Hints of aggravation, not just displayed by the woman who had just been singing, but by the choir who stands behind her too. "He interrupts our rites!" one cries. "We should burn him for this travesty!" another sputters out.
Finn pauses, that had not been what he'd expected. He'd expected either to break some kind of spell, or be immediately killed by dark magic. Being put on the spot in front of a room full of seemingly lucid people upset with him had not been on his bingo card. He's about to stammer out some kind of excuse, but he fixes his jaw and steels himself, this wasn't just a doomsday cult, and even if they were should still probably do something "Why is everyone in the hospital gone?" He demands from the leader of the congregation. "Did they all convert to your cult overnight?" He asks her, subtly shifting his position as he paces to the side, trying to keep both the leader of the congregation, and the congregation it's self that had been to his back in his line of sight.
Finn realizes now would be a good time to put on some sunglasses, so he does so.
"They have voluntarily given me their lives," the woman coos out sweetly, "To fuel this ritual. You see, child, the world is ending, and this world must be destroyed to save all the others. That way, whatever is going to destroy the world never escapes and destroys every other world. Isn't it such a profound thing? To give your life so billions of others may live?" That choir behind the woman seems to be in the midst of arming themselves, only a handful still chanting, that oily, stagnant feel to the air weakening a bit. When the woman had issued her command to drink up, several do. And if Finn turns his gaze towards the bodies along the wall, he'd notice that many of the patients in the clinic who may be mauled and crippled from the recent werewolf attacks on the full moon, were probably and potentially the first to go. A handful of comatic patients lay, not as corpses, but as living entities, in the back of the pews. Pale still, but there regardless. "We can't just kill people, silly. Sanctuary prevents that. It's everyone's choice to give their lives to the cause. Else, I would be somewhere else, gathering a congregation just like this," murmurs the woman, as if she were about to educate the boxer on the fundamentals of Sanctuary, tacking on "And, after this interruption, are you really in any position to be demanding answers?"
Finn 's plan is simple. First step, find out if this woman is someone he can kill. Second step, find out if killing her breaks whatever mind control he is assuming these people are under. Third step, if either step one or step two fails, run like hell. With a move he's practiced a million times over he dips his knee to the ground and blasts forwards, moving far faster than a man his size had any right to as 230lb of mundane but still powerful muscle slams into the woman's lower half. If she's just a human woman and crumples like a sack of potatoes under his weight, he'd immediately climb up her once they hit the ground, attempt to wrap her head up in his arms, and with a powerful lurch, attempt to snap her neck like it was a twig. If any of those things don't go exactly as he hopes, he's immediately bailing and sprinting for the back of the church!
Finn would be spent sprawling into the foul liquid spilled from the chalice whether his takedown succeeds or fails, but such are the risks a man takes!
As soon as Finn hits the woman, it feels like he's hit a brick wall. One that is clearly displeased with the fact that she just got hit by the boxer. Still, she stumbles a little from the sudden and unexpected force, and with a flick of her wrist, she orders, "Take him. Throw him out of the chapel until the rite is complete." And, so, quite a few of the choir, armed with knives and daggers, rise to fulfill their ordered task, stepping towards Finn with no reluctance. Just annoyance. "You should be burned at the stake for this transgression," one man declares with utter finality. "Attacking our savior? Why? Why would you do such a thing?" another woman asks.
Finn is a meathead, and as a meathead he only really has one tool in his toolbox, and that tool wasn't working. Sprawled across the ichor, his shirt covered in the man groans like he had just run head first into a brick wall. Cursing himself for wondering why he ever thought that would have worked in Haven, he quickly scrambles up to his feet, his head still spinning as he tries to make a break for the chapel's back door with fumbling steps!
Finn covered in the stuff*
An Liam shaped sillhoutte is visible through one of the windows in the back of the church, to the observant. It watches the events of the church from the outside, and as Finn begins to scramble away, it disappears in a hurry, moving to stand by the back door.
Without much fanfare, Finn begins, at first slipping on the ichor, before, inevitably, propelling himself forward, escaping the rather lethargic and seemingly weakened members of the congregation. A few rise from the pews to help stop him, but the man easily outruns them, as they're far behind the rest of the choir. The purple eyed woman with ebon, curly tresses, dressed in a simple frock and dress, watch the man fling himself to a path of escape. And escape Finn does.
Finn would keep running until he was outside the building, pausing to look back only for a moment before he takes out his phone, shooting Liam a text 'are you still in there?' before waiting cautiously for man's response, hoping to high heaven he wasn't ...
Liam meets Finn just outside the door, and slams it shut behind him, yelling "Go go go!" And leading the way, if Finn won't. Destination? Away. For now. Somewhere hidden enough to have a conversation, but far enough for the cultists not to be tracked
Go he does! Finn lets Liam lead the way as the two run as far away from the church as they can!
"Fucking hell, why did I think I was going to be able to do anything there?" Finn gasps in exhaustion, more tired from the panic than the running, man could run all day. "Did you see that shit Liam? That was like half the fucking town in there piled up as corpses!"
And with that, Finn and Liam flee. Perhaps a bit cowardly, but who's to judge in matters regarding survival. That singing begins again in strength as the sounds of vomiting, retching begin again, blood and vomit infusing the air, along with that stagnant oily feel. The rite continues, the power from before amplified once more as the singing and death begins again.
"I did." Liam answers grimly, a strong stomach developed... somewhere not enough to prevent his face from turning green with some Nausea. He stops, panting, as he twists into one of the alleyeways near the chapel to have a place to hide. "You did great, Finn. You acquired information. You survived. Thats a win, every single goddamn day. Now, we need to do something. I've got people I could call, but we don't have that kinda time... and I'd bet comms aren't working great right now. This is you and me. Now, we know that ritual is location based-lets see if theres somethin we can do about it. Take off your jacket." Liam demands, gesturing at the liquid covering the jacket.
Finn looks down at himself before looking back to Liam like he was crazy "You want to go back in there?" He balks at the man, even though even as he did it he was already taking off his jacket to hand it over to Liam "What's the jacket for? Do you know what the stuff on it is?" He asks, trying to keep his head down
Liam shakes his head, looking at the liquid in distaste. "Not a fuckin clue. But what I wanna find out is... if its flammable." Liam holds the jacket in one hand, and produces a lighter un the other. He flicks on the flame, a mirrored one in his hazel eyes, as he holds it up to the liquid covering the jacket. "Fire cleans almost everything, and they were drinkin so much of this cursed ichor it was leaking from them. If its flammable... we don't gotta go back in at all to ruin their day."
Finn goes pale ... "I thought the idea ... Was to prevent them from killing themselves?" He asks Liam with a frown, looking over him with a cautious expression ...
Realizing the gravity of their situation, Finn and Liam hastily retreat from the chapel, narrowly escaping the grasp of the cultists. Outside, they take a moment to recover, sharing their disbelief and horror at the scene they witnessed. Despite their fear, Liam proposes a desperate plan to stop the ritual without facing the cultists directly. Suggesting they use the contaminated jacket Finn had worn, Liam tests if the ichor is flammable, hoping to use fire as a means to disrupt or destroy the source of the cult's power without needing to confront them physically again. Their plan stands on the precipice of action, a last-ditch effort to thwart a catastrophic ritual, encapsulating a story of unexpected bravery against the backdrop of a seemingly small town's dark secret.
(Finn's odd encounter(SRRashid):SRRashid)
[Mon Jan 13 2025]
In hospital room 1
This room is sparsely furnished, the sanitary white walls a perfect match
to the linoleum floor and the thin hospital sheets on the gurney that serves
as a bed. A small television mounted in the upper corner of the room is set
at a low volume, and a thin curtain bisects the room in an effort to afford
privacy to the occupant on the other side.
It is afternoon, about 13F(-10C) degrees, and there are a few dark grey stormclouds in the sky.
(A member of the Sapphire Martyrs has infiltrated the local community, portraying themselves as a charismatic, yet somewhat melancholic, spiritual guide. They're hosting secretive gatherings, drawing in the more susceptible townsfolk with their strange allure and promises of salvation. Your target must uncover their true identity and intentions, and try to stop them before they can enact a potentially catastrophic ritual that could hasten the destruction of Earth. They may choose to infiltrate these meetings undercover, or attempt to gather evidence against the Martyr from a safe distance. Either way, they will have to contend with the Martyr's devoted followers, who will stop at nothing to protect their savior.)
Finn is just heading out of a hospital room after having visited one of his friends! He spots Liam who is also here, raising up his fist in greeting to the man "Hey man, how's it going?" He greets him
Finn would have called Liam over because they still haven't managed to set up that hunting trip they keep meaning to go on, most likely.
"S'up, brother. Figured I'd swing by to visit Toni. Don't know her that well, but she took good care of me when my ribs are busted." Liam returns the fistbump, the pair standing together in the hospital hallway. "Nice catchin yah here, though. Think we can finally get ready to hit the woods."
Finn that also works!
Finn nods slowly, glancing back at the hospital door he'd just walked out of "She's pretty busted up, her arm looks awful" He tells Liam before scowling "Fucking wolf got her."
"izzat so?" Liam muses, looking remarkably unconcerned by the news. "Full moon's out, wolves'll be prowling."
"Wolves should try prowling up on me instead" Finn boasts something big for a man not actually in the situation. "I got two hunting rifles right here" He grins at Liam hitting up the double biceps to flex
As Finn and Liam meet and begin chatting, there's a soft singing that emerges, faint, barely there. It's almost hypnotic in the way it lilts, each melody oozing and dripping, like some sort of siren call. And yet, seemingly, there is nothing supernatural about it, no urge that arises from either of the man. Just a mystery that lingers, beyond the scape of their beheld reality within that hospital room. As of this moment. Steps come though, past their room, as if another patient from another room, or perhaps a nurse, has decided to leave from the preordained position, both in their duties, and metaphorically, in fate, to plod off after that noise, their footsteps only almost closing in to blot out the strange song, yet, not able to.
Whatever response Liam might have had in response to Finn's words is lost to the wind, at the sound of the rising song. He tilts his head, holding up a finger for a moment to listen more closely to the noises coming from outside the room.
Finn would pause, not quite meat headed enough to not pick up that something was strange. He didn't have any special hearing, but he could tell something was up. He puts the clown act away for a moment as he takes on a more serious expression and starts trying to piece together context clues to figure out what the sound might be himself, keeping quiet as not to disrupt it ...
The way the song is vocalized, it's possibly Latin, or Latin influenced. But anything discernible is beyond them. While Liam can tell that the noises are coming from outside the hospital, but not too far away from White Oak itself, he can tell that there's not one voice, but multiple. Though, it's almost as if such singing is synchronized, and, almost certainly lead by one voice. To both men, it's something melancholic, each note melodic and drifting, but containing something softened and oozing with something somber, solemn. More foot-steps can be heard, from further away from the hub that represents the adjoining patient rooms. Beyond the hub, it seems, more of those that lurk within the clinic shuffle off towards the noise, footsteps barely heard this time compared to the song that competes with it, wilting still, yet audible.
Finn frowns and looks up at Liam "Is it just me or are too many people starting to walk towards that ominous singing?" He asks him, poking his head down the hallway, opening up any nearby doors, and generally just searching the area to get a rough idea of just how many people are starting to get up and move ...
"...." Liam frowns. "Harmonic singing. Naturals rushing for the exits. Sounds like we're dealing with a choir of some sort. They're surrounding White Oak, every direction." Liam keeps his voice somewhat low, following along behind Finn with a hand slightly cupped around his ear. "You got any ideas on what that could point to, Finn? Been hear longed than me, and Haven's got weirder shit than I ever saw back in Austin."
As Finn throws his head out into the hall, he notices there's an almost ominous emptiness that paradoxically fills the place. No staff can be seen. Still, the singing reverberates into the silence and emptiness, echoing from the halls. It's still faint, still far away. The patient rooms that he opens up are empty, no one there. Even the bedridden one of before that had been half-mauled by a werewolf the night before. The nurse's station? Also empty. Not a soul to be found. It is, though, potentially clear, that the nexus of singing is nowhere near the hospital, based upon how faint it is. In fact, it seems, if there weren't so many people singing, it might've not been heard at all. It seems to be coming from the west.
Finn looks back at Liam with a frown "Wait? All sides?" He asks, glancing around "The hospital is massive how many of them are they ..." He says with a shudder before looking to Liam and shaking his head "I've not been in Haven that long. I know, uh, stuff that can alter the mind may or may not exist, but I don't know any kind of details"
Finn frowns "No one ..." He says, starting to glance around "Either these guys all sprant out of here, or they were gone before we even took notice" The man says, the idea that he might be hallucinating or the like not even occurring to him at this point. He takes out his phone and texts someone his location and a note to look for him if they don't hear from him in 30 minutes (not actually gunna do that so I don't bother people not in this scene) and then looks to Liam "Let's check out where it's coming from. I don't know who wants to gather people up like that, but it can't be for a good reason."
"Yeah, they're all round it it looks like. But seems like the most centralized bit is to the west, our 'cool youth pastor' to the choir metaphor. Or maybe lead singer would be better." Liam snorts, but isn'f in the mood to even laugh much af his own joke. "These beds being empty-its more than mind influencing effects. Coma patients, broken legs, people strapped down for their own safety-hypnosis or not, they can't move. That probably means..." Liam quiets down, frowning more deeply. "Not entirely sure yet. But you're right, avoiding the problem won't fix it. Lets at least get eyes on the source before we try to get the hell outta here."
Finn frowns "You're right ... Lots of people in a hospital who can't move of their own free will ..." He says, shuddering. He takes a deep breath in through his nose and gives Liam a sharp slap on the shoulder "Follow behind me, yeah? I'll make sure we get out of this safe." He says, even though there's clearly a hint of fear in his voice as he starts to cautiously stalk his way towards the music ...
Still the singing continues, the faint sound of footsteps from the rest of the clinic, no longer existent. Whoever was within this portion of the building, has vanished. However, Finn and Liam now have the opportunity to move out. Still, they seem unaffected by any psychic influences, though they wouldn't know that if they were. There is no draw for them from the voices. There isn't much of anything, but that haunting, melancholic song that pervades the hospital like some sort of plague, a malignant tumor that, slowly, somehow, begins to build up in strength.
Liam also begins to smell something vile. As if magic was being used, coaxed out, a ritual of some sort that smells acrid, like the burning of corpses.
"Why else would I keep yah around, yah big lug?" Liam lightly thunks the back of Finn's shoulder. "Meatshield for me. I'd rather we solve all this without an amatuer like myself having to step up to the plate..." Liam suddenly wrinkles his noise, a disgusted grimace on his voice as his tone lowers slightly, growing more gruff. "Though, the closer we get to the source, the more I'm feeling like it'll have to be a team effort. Bad Hoodoo vibes, man."
Liam 's show of confidence seems to embolden the scared man just a little, Finn flashing a grin back as Liam banters back at him "Hoodoo?" He frowns, wondering what on earth voodoo smelled like because he sure as hell couldn't smell anything! He tries to sniff the air twice to make sure before glancing around "Do you, uh ..." He says as they make their way closer to the source of the music "Do you know much about hoodoo yourself?" He asks, Finn still not quite sure what exactly Liam's type of spooky was yet, or if the man had one at all!
" I know bout Hoodoo about as much as you're likely to know about gasoline engines." Liam mutters, growing more tense. " Manufactured by men. Powered by the spoils of the earth. Poisons the air yah breath. And most of all, so universally fuckin useful that not a soul tends to care about any of the above, with preferences one way or the other varying. The actual mechanisms of the process? Completely beyond me. I got some idea of what goes in, what comes out, and what it can be used for."
Finn, of course, can't smell a thing. However, Liam can definitely smell it. It's stronger and stronger as they travel, dragging themselves through the clinic, into the main hall of the Campus. And westward, the noise, the melody is still, getting stronger and stronger. Logic would prove that it's at the chapel, for those familiar with White Oak. And as one walks forth, the air is stagnant and oily, stale. For those with sensitive stomachs, they might just wretch from the revolting nature of it. There's something strong going on. Something awful. Both men can feel it in their bones, and if the scent weren't enough, it's almost as if a lethargy afflicts them with each step closer to the source. Still the notes continue, rising up and down, something mournful. There's even a few wails thrown in for good measure, as if this were some sort of funeral that everyone was attending.
Finn listens, the meathead seeming to be able to follow the metaphor somewhat well "You know what they can be used for?" He mumbles in the man's direction, starting to lower his voice as they got closer and closer to the sound of the music "That's more than I know, then. I don't know if we're gunna walk in here and find a D&D mindflayer or the fairy godmother ..." He says as they exit the main building proper, Finn making his way towards the chapel "Whatever it is, it's in that chapel ..." He tells Liam, glancing around for any kind of window he could peak into the building through, wanting to get some kind of idea for what he was walking into before he actually walked into it "... Fuck me man, those fucking voices are creeping me out" The machismo man spits out his words in frustration, not seeming to be a fan of admitting fear!
Liam' habits change a bit, as they grow closer and closed to the temple. He continues to stay behind Finn, but almost instinctively strafes with the movement of the man's head when turning too look back, making it a bit of an annoyance to pin him down, especially with the choir music growing to greater and greater heights. "Either. Both. Prepare for anything, Finn, cause not even the Arcanists know every spell. Your weapon's gonna be deciding what to do after you see somethin, not knowing what's comin in advance, sorry to say. Better accept that now. Regardless...I'm thinkin its a good idea to interrupt this while we can. Why don'tcha knock, for us?"
As the duo closes in on the chapel, the noise of the song is loud, louder than loud. It's like visiting a concert with a full deck of speakers mounted everywhere. Except there are no speakers, and its simply the voice of an entire conglomerate, an unholy congregation. The oily, stagnant air reeks, even to Finn, and both men can detect the coppery scents of blood and vomit. The door within the chapel is cracked, just a bit. And whatever profane ritual is boiling within, its enough to send discomfort to Liam. There's a sign on the door that isn't cracked. "Closed for service," is hastily scrawled upon that flimsy placard. In red.
Finn looks back and then double takes looking back as his initial look back only catches a glimpse of Liam sliding out of the corner of his eye "Don't-" He snaps sharply before catching his voice and lowering it down to a tone only just audible over the loud music "Don't fucking do that man, that's creepy as hell" He chides the man before looking back to the door slowly shaking his head. He glances into the chapel and winces, taking a few moments to digest the information. "... Actually ..." He says, glancing back at Liam "I'm going in, I'll get his attention. You hide, and see if you can circle around in case things turn ugly, yea?" He asks the man
Liam pauses, says quietly, "I've got your back. Go wild." Before pacing off, keeping a distance from the chapel as if it had a magnetic force bouncing the man away by sheer discomfort, a grimace that almost looks like a snarl appearing on his face as he dissappears around a corner.
Nothing changes at the door, it seems, with the music continuing at the same volume as before. Whatever the men do or say, as of this moment, they've gone unnoticed.
Finn takes a moment to hype himself up, pacing back in front of the chapel doors for a few seconds as he mumbles something under his breath. He grits his teeth and gives himself a couple short punches to his jaw before turning to the door and slamming his heel into the double doors to fling them open! (I'm assuming it's not locked) "OI, Shitass!" He barks at the man in the middle of the circle, marching his way down the pews towards where he was performing his ritual. He had not considered even for a moment that Liam might just entirely bail on him!
The doors come open with ease. And that stench of blood and vomit becomes far, far stronger. Past the pews, near the pulpit, there lies a woman, singing and singing, the main focal point of this congregation it seems. A choir of sorts sits behind her, singing as well, though, they sing weakly and neither with the same conviction, nor strength of their supposed leader. There too, in the pews are more, more people, clinic staff, patients, random students, congregated. Blood. It coats the walls like crimson paint, corpses of patients, students, strangers, clinic staff, dropped beneath each haphazard streak of blood. Stains of vomit, orange, yellow, green globs of the stuff, lie before each corpse. Along with a cup filled with vile black fluids, each corpse either holding it, having theirs fallen and spilled on the floor, or with some other asymmetrical arrangement that both points to the cause and the way each person has died. Some of the, supposedly, poisoned, at least from Finn's current perceptive grasp on the situation, are writhing and vomiting up blood on the walls and floors, emptying their stomachs. Still the singing continues, that oily, stagnant air pervades everything. Not one member of the congregation, nor their leader, has paid any mind to the dying. Instead, as if by random, a line forms. People approach the singer, who turns their back and picks up a cup, to hand out the wretched, putrid fluids to one person. And then another. Those who take of the lethal substance, slowly move their ways to the wall. Behind them all, is the symbol of a fractured, tear-shape sapphire.
Finn hadn't realized quite how many people are in here. It's clear they're under some kind of spell, Finn trying to keep his composure, trying to look tough as he walked his way down the center of the pews, but the man could't his shaking as he glanced around at the people either side of him, hoping for dear life that they couldn't be turned aggressive by whatever spell had hold of them, that they wouldn't all charge him at once.
He makes his up to the front, holding his breath as best he can as he braves the blood and the stench and the horror that filled the air ... It was that chalice they were drinking from that was killing them so Finn decides to deal with that first. "Oi, asshole" He growls at the singer, lashing out his boot again to kick the chalice out of his hands "I was talking to you." He pauses, waiting to see if the singer responds to having their cup throw and spilled across the floor like that ...
As Finn begins to walk down the center of the pews, the congregation ceases its singing. Those still within the pews turn their lethargic gaze towards the boxer who dares travel closer to the center of their rite. They don't seem to be captivated by magic or spellcraft or whatever witchery some arcanists have in Haven. No. It is zeal and belief that shines in their eyes, something profound, even as they watch other people die mere meters away from them. Strangely though, they all seem lethargic, weak, sapped of any and all strength. Pale.
As the man approaches the pulpit and strikes down the jug filled with that vial fluid, it crashes to the ground, spilling its contents. "Drink up," the woman intones softly to those who have their cups still empty. "Drink up and know that your sacrifices have not been in vain." That gaze slowly flickers over towards Finn, eyes of a stark purple that measure the man with equal amounts curiosity and interest. "Have you come to partake in the ritual?" the woman, leader of the congregation asks before tacking on, "I assume not, as you've knocked over their final sacrament to God. So, tell me, child, why're you here?" Expectation. Hints of aggravation, not just displayed by the woman who had just been singing, but by the choir who stands behind her too. "He interrupts our rites!" one cries. "We should burn him for this travesty!" another sputters out.
Finn pauses, that had not been what he'd expected. He'd expected either to break some kind of spell, or be immediately killed by dark magic. Being put on the spot in front of a room full of seemingly lucid people upset with him had not been on his bingo card. He's about to stammer out some kind of excuse, but he fixes his jaw and steels himself, this wasn't just a doomsday cult, and even if they were should still probably do something "Why is everyone in the hospital gone?" He demands from the leader of the congregation. "Did they all convert to your cult overnight?" He asks her, subtly shifting his position as he paces to the side, trying to keep both the leader of the congregation, and the congregation it's self that had been to his back in his line of sight.
Finn realizes now would be a good time to put on some sunglasses, so he does so.
"They have voluntarily given me their lives," the woman coos out sweetly, "To fuel this ritual. You see, child, the world is ending, and this world must be destroyed to save all the others. That way, whatever is going to destroy the world never escapes and destroys every other world. Isn't it such a profound thing? To give your life so billions of others may live?" That choir behind the woman seems to be in the midst of arming themselves, only a handful still chanting, that oily, stagnant feel to the air weakening a bit. When the woman had issued her command to drink up, several do. And if Finn turns his gaze towards the bodies along the wall, he'd notice that many of the patients in the clinic who may be mauled and crippled from the recent werewolf attacks on the full moon, were probably and potentially the first to go. A handful of comatic patients lay, not as corpses, but as living entities, in the back of the pews. Pale still, but there regardless. "We can't just kill people, silly. Sanctuary prevents that. It's everyone's choice to give their lives to the cause. Else, I would be somewhere else, gathering a congregation just like this," murmurs the woman, as if she were about to educate the boxer on the fundamentals of Sanctuary, tacking on "And, after this interruption, are you really in any position to be demanding answers?"
Finn 's plan is simple. First step, find out if this woman is someone he can kill. Second step, find out if killing her breaks whatever mind control he is assuming these people are under. Third step, if either step one or step two fails, run like hell. With a move he's practiced a million times over he dips his knee to the ground and blasts forwards, moving far faster than a man his size had any right to as 230lb of mundane but still powerful muscle slams into the woman's lower half. If she's just a human woman and crumples like a sack of potatoes under his weight, he'd immediately climb up her once they hit the ground, attempt to wrap her head up in his arms, and with a powerful lurch, attempt to snap her neck like it was a twig. If any of those things don't go exactly as he hopes, he's immediately bailing and sprinting for the back of the church!
Finn would be spent sprawling into the foul liquid spilled from the chalice whether his takedown succeeds or fails, but such are the risks a man takes!
As soon as Finn hits the woman, it feels like he's hit a brick wall. One that is clearly displeased with the fact that she just got hit by the boxer. Still, she stumbles a little from the sudden and unexpected force, and with a flick of her wrist, she orders, "Take him. Throw him out of the chapel until the rite is complete." And, so, quite a few of the choir, armed with knives and daggers, rise to fulfill their ordered task, stepping towards Finn with no reluctance. Just annoyance. "You should be burned at the stake for this transgression," one man declares with utter finality. "Attacking our savior? Why? Why would you do such a thing?" another woman asks.
Finn is a meathead, and as a meathead he only really has one tool in his toolbox, and that tool wasn't working. Sprawled across the ichor, his shirt covered in the man groans like he had just run head first into a brick wall. Cursing himself for wondering why he ever thought that would have worked in Haven, he quickly scrambles up to his feet, his head still spinning as he tries to make a break for the chapel's back door with fumbling steps!
Finn covered in the stuff*
An Liam shaped sillhoutte is visible through one of the windows in the back of the church, to the observant. It watches the events of the church from the outside, and as Finn begins to scramble away, it disappears in a hurry, moving to stand by the back door.
Without much fanfare, Finn begins, at first slipping on the ichor, before, inevitably, propelling himself forward, escaping the rather lethargic and seemingly weakened members of the congregation. A few rise from the pews to help stop him, but the man easily outruns them, as they're far behind the rest of the choir. The purple eyed woman with ebon, curly tresses, dressed in a simple frock and dress, watch the man fling himself to a path of escape. And escape Finn does.
Finn would keep running until he was outside the building, pausing to look back only for a moment before he takes out his phone, shooting Liam a text 'are you still in there?' before waiting cautiously for man's response, hoping to high heaven he wasn't ...
Liam meets Finn just outside the door, and slams it shut behind him, yelling "Go go go!" And leading the way, if Finn won't. Destination? Away. For now. Somewhere hidden enough to have a conversation, but far enough for the cultists not to be tracked
Go he does! Finn lets Liam lead the way as the two run as far away from the church as they can!
"Fucking hell, why did I think I was going to be able to do anything there?" Finn gasps in exhaustion, more tired from the panic than the running, man could run all day. "Did you see that shit Liam? That was like half the fucking town in there piled up as corpses!"
And with that, Finn and Liam flee. Perhaps a bit cowardly, but who's to judge in matters regarding survival. That singing begins again in strength as the sounds of vomiting, retching begin again, blood and vomit infusing the air, along with that stagnant oily feel. The rite continues, the power from before amplified once more as the singing and death begins again.
"I did." Liam answers grimly, a strong stomach developed... somewhere not enough to prevent his face from turning green with some Nausea. He stops, panting, as he twists into one of the alleyeways near the chapel to have a place to hide. "You did great, Finn. You acquired information. You survived. Thats a win, every single goddamn day. Now, we need to do something. I've got people I could call, but we don't have that kinda time... and I'd bet comms aren't working great right now. This is you and me. Now, we know that ritual is location based-lets see if theres somethin we can do about it. Take off your jacket." Liam demands, gesturing at the liquid covering the jacket.
Finn looks down at himself before looking back to Liam like he was crazy "You want to go back in there?" He balks at the man, even though even as he did it he was already taking off his jacket to hand it over to Liam "What's the jacket for? Do you know what the stuff on it is?" He asks, trying to keep his head down
Liam shakes his head, looking at the liquid in distaste. "Not a fuckin clue. But what I wanna find out is... if its flammable." Liam holds the jacket in one hand, and produces a lighter un the other. He flicks on the flame, a mirrored one in his hazel eyes, as he holds it up to the liquid covering the jacket. "Fire cleans almost everything, and they were drinkin so much of this cursed ichor it was leaking from them. If its flammable... we don't gotta go back in at all to ruin their day."
Finn goes pale ... "I thought the idea ... Was to prevent them from killing themselves?" He asks Liam with a frown, looking over him with a cautious expression ...