Plotlogs
The Junkyard Of Flesh Sr Korina 240902
In an abandoned mansion engulfed by the Nissenian forest, a diverse group convened with the task of unlocking its mysterious heart. Led to a place surrounded by gardens reflecting different times of the day—dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight—they discovered discs in the mansion's main room, each corresponding to a garden. As the group deliberated, the young and impulsive Tom placed marbles symbolizing the times of day into statues' hands in the gardens, prompting transformations in each garden's flora.
Ash, the strategic member, posited that the solution to their puzzle lay in arranging the gardens' flowers correctly according to the time of day they represented, suggesting an order based on the position of the statues. Emmanuel, with moments of levity, provided light-hearted suggestions and support, unwittingly contributing to the puzzle's solution. Rachel, wary yet proactive, swapped choices at the discs, while Dean, the group's muscle, kept a cautious watch, prepared for any threat—his volatile temperament contrasting with his unexpected bond with Blue, a boy they encountered.
Blue, displaying a mysterious understanding of the mansion's workings, led a flesh-formed servant to stand atop what appeared to be a trapdoor in the main room. Following the group's efforts to correctly associate each garden with its corresponding flower, the servant morphed into a key-like entity, integrating into the woodwork and revealing a pedestal with the sought-after scepter.
With the scepter in hand, thanks to Blue hastening to grab it, the task seemingly concluded. However, the transformation of the servant into part of the mansion's architecture weighed on the group, particularly Tom, whose action directly led to the transformation. Konstantin, ever practical, suggested regrouping with their guide and hinted at unfinished business.
The narrative concludes with the group both successful in their immediate quest and introspective about the costs of interacting with the Other's enchantments, illustrating a typical venture into the unknown where victory intertwines with unsettling revelations.
(The Junkyard of Flesh(SRKorina):SRKorina)
[Sun Sep 1 2024]
On the path leading to a rundown mansion
The otherworldly trees of the Nissenian forest part, revealing a rundown mansion in the distance. It must have been grand at some point in time; now, it looks like there's been little maintenance, and even less care put into its preservation. The yard leading up to the building is overgrown, the occasional scuffling of a small animal heard or the rustling of grass seen. Vines crawl up the walls, growing into the bricks and attempting to reclaim the building, slowly but surely. A yellow brick road, overgrown with weeds and flowers, lines the way further towards the front garden.
It is morning, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is partly covered by dark grey clouds.
"Mmff!" There's a sound of pain from Emmanuel as he falls from about seven feet in the air and lands awfully, and awkwardly alike, right on his face, on the path leading to this rundown mansion. "..Ow." The man complains sourly, slowly pushing back up and onto his knees as he brushes himself down, and rubs at a reddish graze on his forehead. Off to a good start, no doubt.
A blast of force sends SRKorina flying into Konstantin.
Ash stares at Emmanuel for a good, long moment.
Ash says "How's your cheese?"
Meanwhile, away from someone' falling demise, there is a streak of light. A near-lightning eruption, a haze of mist that appears through a vicious, moonlit glow of an overbearing path. It deposits Dean like wrath incarnate just a few paces off the edge of the path, green eyes full of their vitriolic, off-putting green glow ever-present and reflective like an animal's mien is stuffed forcefully into the make of man. The sound of his neck cracking is heard, side to side, then the shrill sound of metal upon metal while he tugs a few straps of his aketon, tightens it over the leather exactly where he is. That massive claymore at his back and a hand-held crossbow at his side both gleam in their runic inscriptions while Dean only keeps his eyes forward, at the road.
Meanwhile, away from Emmanuel's falling demise, there is a streak of light. A near-lightning eruption, a haze of mist that appears through a vicious, moonlit glow of an overbearing path. It deposits Dean like wrath incarnate just a few paces off the edge of the path, green eyes full of their vitriolic, off-putting green glow ever-present and reflective like an animal's mien is stuffed forcefully into the make of man. The sound of his neck cracking is heard, side to side, then the shrill sound of metal upon metal while he tugs a few straps of his aketon, tightens it over the leather exactly where he is. That massive claymore at his back and a hand-held crossbow at his side both gleam in their runic inscriptions while Dean only keeps his eyes forward, at the road.
"...I may have put the bird there," Rachel says, stepping in after Konstantin. She sounds apologetic. All the same, she did what she did.
[Repost] "Mmff!" There's a sound of pain from Emmanuel as he falls from about seven feet in the air and lands awfully, and awkwardly alike, right on his face, on the path leading to this rundown mansion. "..Ow." The man complains sourly, slowly pushing back up and onto his knees as he brushes himself down, and rubs at a reddish graze on his forehead. Off to a good start, no doubt.
[Hello, and welcome to the Junkyard of Flesh - the plot hopefully shouldn't last longer than four hours, and we'll take a little break midway through it. Feel free to throw in Internals, Recalls, Thoughts, and Attempts at me, and also feel free to look around the place and interact with things.]
[While there's multiple rooms to explore, please keep in mind that I will not be able to see your emotes remotely (or emote at you remotely) without having advanced trust, in case you decide to split from the main group. Also feel free to Stalk if you have any questions.]
Konstantin arrives with Rachel at some point, squinting at Rachel as she confesses to avian reappropriation
Ash stares at Emmanuel again, before pointing and snickering. "Man, you can't even land from a path right?"
Ash comes with Tom, seeming like they've just come from some cheerful conversation. One might think they were friends on a walk... which is sort of true.
The sun is just dawning, coloring the sky in pretty pink hues when the group makes it to the manor after a long pathing journey through an endless forest, out of which some land better than others. They're led by their guide, a Faeling woman who stops in sight of the manor and refuses to go any further. She speaks little English, with a terrible, terrible accent, but from what little they've been briefed on along the way, it's clear that this mansion has been left abandoned for at least a hundred years. Most of the things of value have disappeared already courtesy of looters and it's far away enough from the nearest town that nobody else had moved in, leaving the mansion to ruin.
Or, at least, that's what the stories say. Some people claim the place is haunted and refuse to go near it, and others just say there's something unsettling about it that keeps them from going there. The truth can only be found out if they dare to look for themselves.
For now, the group is free to ask questions of their Faeling guide, if they have any, though she will not be joining them inside the mansion, and her knowledge may be limited.
"Well," Rachel says. She's stopped her aside with Konstantin in favor of appraising the manor. In an inversion of what proper courtesy is (of the time period that this building might be from), she adds, "Gentlemen first." How kind of her.
All metal objects in the room are suddenly tugged violently towards the artifact.
Ash stares at Emmanuel for... the third time? "You haven't even decursed that dagger?" The Frenchie is already out of strikes, and he's barely got here.
"Eugh." There's an annoyed little sound from Emmanuel as he takes note of the various people who have shown up for this (mis)adventure, and to make things worse yet for him he's still got this bloody cursed dagger. He clambers back up to his feet, allowing himself a few moments to appreciate the pretty pink of the fairy-floss sky, before his gaze flicks back over toward the house, and then to Ash, "I have run out of ti-" He doesn't finish the sentence as own axe does it's best to cut his other hand off. "Damnedable thing! Focus on the fae, hm?"
Konstantin pauses, turning aside to look at Rachel. The servos of his mechanised armour whir softly with his every move, mostly muffled by kevlar shrouds added to cover the brighter metallic parts of the hydraulics and make it better suited for covert operations. "You know, maybe we should send bait. Whatever is in there might come out if it smells a little arcanist come through the door", Konstantin muses as he looks Rachel up and down for a moment
Ash rubs the bridge of their nose, wondering what the hell is wrong with the man in murmured tone. "You'll endanger us with it, decurse it already. This is a *stealth* mission, and you're carrying a bomb that explodes cursed energy at regular intervals." To Konstantin, they say, "I understand your thoughts, but Rachel is useful. Let's send the walking disaster." They started out teasing the Frenchman, but that moved *quickly* into bullying and distaste. Because the one in a Pokemon hoodie and shorts clearly has some sort of superiority to this cursed human... and they might.
Their guide takes a single step away from Emmanuel as though to pretend she doesn't know him at all when he tries to cut off his hand - which isn't inaccurate. She does not know him. She then steps away from Konstantin as well at the mention of bait, looking like she'd like nothing more than to simply leave, but she's probably being paid for this. There's a clearing of her throat, a dainty one, 'ahem ahem'. "I will path back when you are succeeded," she informs the group and moves to a side from where she can hopefully stay out of sight and out of mind, unless there's anything asked of her. Failure isn't even mentioned as an option.
Dean's crossbow, having the lesser bindings and a lack of holster, just hanging, is the first to be pulled to the side, towards the artifact that tries to usurp control of it. It flies - but Dean's hand shoots aside without looking to catch it, fight the magical pull with a slow grind of his jaw and effortlessly pull his weapon back into his belongings. Green eyes shift over, focus on Emmanuel with some heightened intensity in a low stare. Thankfully it doesn't last, and his attention turns upon their guide, instead.
With a final burst of power the curse on a golden dagger is broken.
Rachel throws Konstantin a disparaging look.
"Excuse me," she interrupts mid-way through his talking. One would think she's giving no credence at all to Konstantin's plan. "What do locals think that the place is haunted /by/?" She cuts a glance away only in brief, to flash Ash an appreciative smile, before she awaits a response.
Ash waves a hand at the curse, shooting a ball of light at it - though whether it helps, or if it was coincidence - he *did* say he was out of time - is unknown.
Ash adds their own question, making gestures as the motion towards the mansion and asks, "How big?"
There's a moment or two where it seems like Emmanuel might just cleanse the dagger by bonking Ash right on the head with it, maybe it's the thought alone that does it in the end, or perhaps even the sheer magic afforded by the pathing, or the magically inclined folk gathered around. Hell, it might just be the lands themselves, but either way, the curse breaks, and Emmanuel tucks the dagger away with a quiet sigh. Rachel beats Emmanuel to the question he'd been considering himself, and he lapses into silence while awaiting the answer from their guide.
Curling the beginnings of a smirk for a moment as Rachel deflects his jabbing, Konstantin turns to listen to the Guide. He is mildly distracted however by Emmanuel's dagger antics, gaze drifting over yonder to the frenchman and his sparkling blade before he tucks it away.
Tom is fighting off a general air of wonder, even the pathing to get here seemed like a novel and new thing for him. He remains quiet watching the others, attention shifting back and forth searching expressions. He looks somewhat lost.
The woman glances at the mansion in the distance, and back at Rachel before shrugging her shoulders. "Bad feelings," she tells her. That's... not a ghost? Maybe? Alternatively, it could be many ghosts. "Those who lived here, they were not kind." When are Fae ever known to be? "But they say the servants live." Looping right back around to not-ghost territory, then. "Nobody has been here in... years, though. Maybe ten, maybe twenty."
She gives Ash's question some consideration, then gestures herself towards the mansion to answer flatly, "That big."
Ash had their weapon fly towards the curse as well, but it's firmly strapped over their shoulder, their sabre at their side - it was *annoying*, but they're not so frail as they look... possibly, not getting pulled by it.
Ash calmly asks, "What shape? Square? Circle? Too much?" The last an alternative for 'complicated', they keep it simple.
Ash makes a gesture.
"..It is mansion shaped, mon amie." Emmanuel drolly informs Ash after a squint, and then offers their guide a gesture of apology of sorts.
Ash ignores Emmanuel, focusing on the woman as they make several useless looking gestures.
Ash gets a stare in return. What on the Other are they talking about? "I do not go inside," their guide sniffs, looking at Emmanuel now as though he might be the only sane one here in her estimation. There's a nod at him.
Someone with a convenient ability to fly may be able to take measure of the mansion from up above, but as it stands, either Ash will have to find a very tall tree to climb, or they'll just have to go in and see for themselves.
"Not a long time for arcane servants to be surviving, if they used something other than human", Konstantin muses after hearing the Guide's account of the place's history. Looking up towards the mansion itself, he squints a little and wets his lower lip with a swipe of his tongue. "You heard of anyone going in at all? Exploring?", Konstantin asks of her
"Are the servants... a danger? Are they magically inclined?"
Rachel's back to addressing Konstantin. It's probably not intended as an affront to the rest; he simply seems to be the one she thinks might catch onto her insinuations. She makes one: "It's not a bad idea." His. "I don't have to go in like this." She flicks a look down at her currently material self. "Stay a little bit ahead of you all."
"It is best this way, hm? Dangerous inside." Emmanuel notes back to the guide with a little smile. Finally, someone sensible. "Do those being inside ever come outside?" He asks of her then, with his own less than perfect English.
Ash shrugs as the guide fails to even be able to choose what the mansion looks like in walking past. They seem to doubt the guide's ability. But, no one claimed that she was a *scout*.
bristles his shoulders for a second, and his silence is his veil. While everyone speaks, Dean does not - he remains dutifully, exactly where he is - until that is broken by the sharp sound of his voice given aside, simply delivered to everyone in his ruthless, perpetual aggression. "Whatever the plan inside is, I don't care about whatever else we find in there. Split it among yourselves." His eyes then trace over others, watching. It's an unsaid thing; he is here for only one thing - and damn the opposition, he's here to get it. He turns his own question to their guide, then. "Forget what they're asking - tell us about the scepter. We all know why we're here, then we can go in."
Dean bristles his shoulders for a second, and his silence is his veil. While everyone speaks, Dean does not - he remains dutifully, exactly where he is - until that is broken by the sharp sound of his voice given aside, simply delivered to everyone in his ruthless, perpetual aggression. "Whatever the plan inside is, I don't care about whatever else we find in there. Split it among yourselves." His eyes then trace over others, watching. It's an unsaid thing; he is here for only one thing - and damn the opposition, he's here to get it. He turns his own question to their guide, then. "Forget what they're asking - tell us about the scepter. We all know why we're here, then we can go in." (fix)
"Many went. I don't know any." A sniff at Konstantin's question. "Maybe not," she tells Rachel, which is a big maybe. She's just here to be the pather and the path-backer, really. Emmanuel gets a blank look. "Try again English," she tells him.
Dean's question is met with a pause. "If there is artifact, it is hidden. There were people stealing; they took everything valuable. But there is... magical signal. Somewhere inside. Nobody has figured out."
"Let me fly," Rachel eventually concludes. It's to Dean, too, who seems to want to forge ahead. "Give me five minutes. If I'm not back by then, you can make some assumptions." It won't help to stay here deliberating. Their guide doesn't seem to have much more information -- and it'd be easy to acquire some.
Ash nods to Rachel.
The answer is more than enough - Dean nods to their guide, turns his head to others again, and that stare just about burrows into each and every one of them with vehement ire and disregard. Quite unusual to his usual, easy-going and carefree attitude. The trace bits of steam hissed out the corner of his mouth belie something else. Possibly imbibed, an affliction that no doubt brings the worst out of him. Rachel is nodded to, and for now, he keeps his quiet in a stare set ahead at the path, the mansion.
Konstantin observes the back and forth between the Guide and the rest, slowly drawing a sword from a sheath at his hip to hold it loosely by his side. "Good idea", Konstantin speaks aside to Rachel "We can asume you've been butchered."
Konstantin points his blade up towards the mansion, "You could fly up and look in windows. Much to see from the outside there, that we cannot."
Ash asks Rachel, "Telepathy?"
That's quorum, between Dean, Ash, Konstantin. Of course, that sounds a little sarcastic from the last of the three, but it's all Rachel needs. There's a blurring around her body, as if reality itself is smearing, and then...
No verbal answer needed for Ash. Rachel provides it with action.
Tom spends a moment getting into his gear, looking a bit self conscious of how unready he is. Once all geared up, he spends a moment looking up towards the mansion. He finally finds his voice just to mumble, "And then we can.. head inside."
"..Oh." Emmanuel blurts out, awkwardly, as the woman turns into a rather familiar bird. "/Oh./" The context fills in the blanks in some past interactions between the bird, and a certain cat-like woman who lives in the apartment complex. There's an awkward sort of grimace then, and he lapses back into silence while waiting.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He looks down to someone, then. "No stupid risks", Konstantin impresses upon the bird, before ticking his head towards the mansion. Very demanding, today.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He looks down to someone, then. "No stupid risks", Konstantin impresses upon the bird, before ticking his head towards the mansion. Very demanding, today.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He turns northwards then, watching the bird sail away.
Ash laughs at Emmanuel, as if they're not surprised at his reaction - but amused. To Tom, they say, "Let her scout, and report back. We move when the President says so." *We* likely meaning Ash and Tom, as they seem to doubt that Dean will be so obedient.
The wind feels nice beneath Rachel(common raven)'s wings. The weather's really nice.
The mansion consists of just two floors; not as big as mansions can be, but that's perhaps owing to the fact that most of the rooms on the second floor are blocked by debris and clutter from broken-down rooms that are non-functional now. There's a /lot/ of greenery around, gardens on each side of the manor, though they're overgrown with weeds. The western garden has a pond, the eastern one has a gazebo. All of them have statues, crumbling now, with stagnant water in them. There's a room of note on the second floor that seems to be in pristine-ish condition: one with large, open windows that seems to look out over all the gardens.
Tom flashes a look of appreciation sideways to Ash, giving a small nod to them. Before turning his gaze over to Konstantin and considering them thoughtfully for a moment, then returning his attention to the mansion once again.
Like a plane landing on a runway, Rachel(common raven) arcs around the group and lands. Just before she touches down, she shifts back, her booted, human feet finding friction against grass.
"Two floor," Rachel tells everyone. That might not read particularly impressive to those present, especially given that some have wealth aplenty. She continues on, turning back and pointing left. "Gardens here..." An indication to the right. "And here." None of that's particularly interesting. What is, perhaps, is this: "Second floor has a room that looks like someone's been in it recently. Faces the gardens. Might be interesting." And perhaps dangerous. "Saw them walking around."
Ash asks with evident interest, "Description?"
"Someone's playing music." Dean answers after a while of silence, long after Rachel spoke her piece about the mansion. There is a subtle tilt to his head, and he directs his ear towards the path he stands at the edge of. "I can't tell the direction. We're too far - but it could be where Rachel's scouted."
Konstantin rests the blunt back edge of his sword atop the alloy plate of his armour's pauldron, tipping a nod to Rachel before offering sincerely in response to the fresh intel; "Good work, Operative Cai." His gaze lingers on her for a moment longer before he turns to the rest. "Well, we know for sure there is someone in there now. Expect a little bit of trouble."
Ash tilts their head, surprised that they hadn't heard it.
Konstantin did not do that, he typo'd a built in social
Ash looks at Dean with a curious expression.
Ash eyes Konstantin suspiciously.
Dean is a monster, of course he's hearing ahead. His crossbow at his side is unhooked, repeater snapped open to reveal the chassis for loading bolts, and he sets to doing that. One by one from his waist, he fills each spot with hard, unforgiving steel, then flicks his wrist to snap it shut. It's not holstered, and he's not quite waiting while starts to walk around their guide, and slowly start ahead on the path towards the mansion. "I don't know where the scepter is. Whoever's in there should." He's very, very matter-of-fact and business-like about it. "I'm going to beat them up until they spill it."
"Probably," Rachel agrees with Dean. "Especially if both of us can't make out too much of what's going on. The room was centered. Layers of walls, you know?" She takes a step forward, as if to encourage the rest. That being said, she told everyone that before realizing what Dean was suggesting -- which is that whoever has information should go first. She pauses. "Emmanuel?" she volunteers. Ash did say they were the best sacrifice.
Rachel acknowledges Konstantin with a slight nod; they can linger on the praise later, assuming her intel doesn't get the poor Frenchman killed.
Ash asks again as they felt like they weren't heard - "Rachel, can you describe what you saw walking around, please?"
"I don't know," Rachel admits. "They weren't close enough." Which means, of course, that they'll have to rectify that. The good news is that Dean's happy to beat whomever it is up.
Ash nods to Rachel, ready to follow after Konstantin.
"Mmm?" Emmanuel quips back to Rachel, drawn out of his internal reverie by the sound of his own name. He glances amongst those standing here, and makes an assumption of what is happening, "Ah, we are moving? Good, this is for the best. We can stand outside all day admiring the pretty house, but.."
The garden at the end of the yellow brick road is looking mighty inviting by now, with all the time the group has spent scouting. There's not a soul to be seen from here apart from some birds and squrirel and other assorted animals, and the doors to the mansion are closed.
Ash strokes their furred companion before sliding her into their hoodie to rest as they walk.
"You or Tom," Rachel says, nodding ahead for them to take to the path first. How's that for snapping someone out of an internal reverie? One of them gets to be the sacrificial human.
"Well, if you are all being scared.." Emmanuel allows with one last glance at all the big, strong supernaturals, before electing to just wander up the yellow brick road. Just barely resisting the urge to skip.
Konstantin watches the exchange between Dean and Rachel with his blade resting atop his shoulder still. With the deliberation drawing to a close, he nods forwards and takes the first step. "Come on, let's go. Emmanuel can try go ahead and charm them, perhaps", Konstantin decides with an amused glance aside to the frenchman
Naturally, Dean is the first to reach the doors of the mansion, ahead of the group. His eyes are searching the look of it, the breathtaking hues, the descent and ascent both of vines spread all across. The hand not host to the crossbow slips through the encroaching vines in search, trace over the engravings of no doubt once great power. Under the shadow of the once glorious mansion now reduced to a decrepit example of what time does; he seeks out a handle to test it, push or pull it open, whichever works. All the same, his penchant for violence is there in that he seems like he's about to punch it down if it doesn't budge.
walks by the fountain, giving it a wide berth as he makes his way towards the door. While his weapon remains at rest, he himself is on alert; eyes constantly taking stock of their surroundings. "Perhaps we'll find some ancient fae inside", Konstantin muses somewhat grimly. That'd be amongst the worst of the possible outcomes here, perhaps.
Ash looks over that movement in the windows, first, but eventually finds their eyes drawn to the statue. They gaze at it with an apathetic expression - one might think that they didn't care at all, except that they kept looking at it. They glance away, looking around the rest, looking at the door - but their eyes examaning the statue more. They hear the grimness in their fearless leader's voice, but still give a last glance over their shoulder.
Konstantin watches Dean then, to see how he does with the door.
The fountain draws Emmanuel's attention as well, perhaps that is what causes him to give up his little lead up the path, or maybe he's just a slow walker. He steps over closer toward the fountain, canting his head to the side as he studies it, and then clucks his tongue softly.
Tom walks in behind Konstantin and Ash, though as they near the fountain he seems to take interest in it. His head tilt to one side as he smiles to himself, perhaps appraising the craftsman ship or subject. Standing near Ash, he looks aside and smiles. "It's as if they're asking for you to help them, to hold their hand." He glances past Ash to Emmanuel when he clucks.
There's no response from inside the mansion as the group strolls up to the big doors and the overgrown path, though the sound of music is now close enough to almost be heard by mundane ears as well, if faintly, coming from inside. There's quacking noises from somewhere in the northwest, past too many overgrown hedges to be reached from here, and the critters here go silent at the sound of footsteps, scrambling into the underbrush - there's plenty of it to scramble into.
The doors open with a loud creeeeeeeeeeeeeak when Dean pushes on them, no punching required, revealing the entrance hall with a grand staircase right in front of them, the sunlight streaming into the room to reveal the dustiness and cobwebs inside. And, maybe, a shadow that lingers behind one half of the door as it's pushed open.
"All the more reason not to do this, hm?" Emmanuel opines aside to Tom in a quiet tone, "Be careful about offers in this place, hm, mon amie? Food, or help, alike." There's a gentle warning added, before his attention is wrest away by the not at all ominous creak of the door opening.
Ash takes a picture of the doors - right before Dean gets through, though he was certainly in the way. They shove it back into their pocket, deciding to take more pictures *after* the area is secured.
Ash tells Tom in a sharp voice, warning, "Do not."
Rachel comes with weaponry, too, but they're all stowed away on her back, hosted by loops set into her rig. She hugs the outdoors, as long as she can, before tailinng in on the back of the group. "Sh," she says to the chatterboxes. That being said, she herself isn't all that quiet when she hushes them.
"I can't shift indoors." Dean speaks over his effort, looking over his shoulder at Konstantin. "It feels unstable - something might collapse on us, and I wouldn't be able to-" His words are cut short, drowned by the groan of old wood creaking open at his behest. Green eyes peer inside instead, in just as much muted silence as the critters and animal-kind scattered all across. Whatever that shadow ahead is, he waits in spite of his mounted, constant anger pressing down. Fingers around the grip of his crossbow tighten first, then he speaks slowly, aside over his shoulder, at them. With a subtle, but undoubtedly wicked smile. "Let's send in the templars first."
Ash nods to Dean, though seems curious as to the plurality of that statement. They only need *one* Emmanuel, thank you.
Nodding his agreement to Emmanuel's wisdom regarding the fae and hospitality, Konstantin murmurs; "Any offer is a trap", echoing the sentiment. He shifts his attention back to Dean and the door fully then as he is addressed. "Alright, no shifting then", Konstantin acknowledges before peering beyond into the grand entrance hall.
"Feeling brave, Emmanuel?", Konstantin asks as his gaze tracks aside onto said Templar. Damn. To be the only man not in the Alliance..
"What a big, brave wolf, hm? Maybe this is why there are non others here." Emmanuel comments with a heatless little cluck of his tongue, as if he were commenting on the weather. There's a mild roll of his eyes as he's volunteered, but it's hardly a surprise. "It is the nature of the beast, hm? Bravery runs downhill." The fellow decides, and makes his way over toward the door. He pauses here, not quite entering, and reaches down to his various pouches and baggies. There's a lot of rummaging involved.
Ash smiles softly Emmanuel, admiring the man as he further digs his own grave. The beauty of his social shovel, the depth of the hole, the speed in which he digs.
While Emmanuel nears, just beside the door next to Dean, he earns that big bad wolf's attention. The full brunt of it in a hand that comes up onto the frenchman's shoulder, and with a near expert shove, Dean forces Emmanuel past the treshold of the doorway, into the rundown sanctity of the mansion along with himself; mainly keeping the man as a living meatshield at his front and damn be any stumbling.
Emmanuel bwacks like some sort of feathered creature. Definitely not a chicken, but certainly a bird of some sort. Not a chicken, okay. It's clear that Dean took him by surprise, and for a ride both, as he nearly drops the silver grenade he'd been pulling free of his many pockets, "Get off me!" He complains, trying to tug away to no avail.
There's a scuffling sound from behind the door before the fleshformed servant comes into view, with wide eyes and a feather-duster hand that had been unsuccessfully trying to keep the door closed, with such little force that it may not even have registered to Dean behind the door. It blinks at the group, because there's little else for it to do, and attempts to run its way right off and away from the loud arguing that's taking place already.
"..." Rachel might have laughed, if they weren't greeted first and foremost with a person - or what could pass as a person - in the entryway. "What the hell?" She lets go of any attempts at furtiveness.
Konstantin snorts amusedly at Emmanuel is volunteered to the doorway and then physically projected through it as the vanguard of the group. He heads inside after the pair with a chuckle, eyes quickly shifting as the servant comes into view. Instantly, Konstantin drops a shoulder and lurches fowards, hurling himself at the being in an attempt to slam his weight into the servant and subdue it momentarily with a flash of supernatural speed.
Ash looks over the fleshformed maid with interest, eyes bathing their form in quick detail before they - the servant - runs away. They exhale softly, annoyed, but fortunately, Konstantin takes care of it. Though, they seem unsure as to *why*. "We've none of us telepathy, and I doubt it knows English. What's the plan?"
There's no sound from the servant as they fall to the floor beneath Konstantin, apart from a dull thump as they connect to the floor, sending a cloud of dust into the air. They lack a mouth to make any sounds, after all, and they seem dazed now that they've been forced to the ground. Maybe. It's hard to tell, really, given the lack of expressions and all. The feather-duster twitches at their side as they squirm.
Ash stalks forward, glancing down one hallway, then another, trying to spot any other servants that might be wandering the hall. They focus on securing the area first and foremost - as if in a hurry to get it out of the way.
Emmanuel is straightened up near immediately while Dean stays at his heels, fingers clutching his shoulder to fix him upright, while Dean's eyes are angled over his shoulder. Staring at the fleshformed maid that takes off at the sight of them at once. Whatever reason for recoil he may have, all he does, while Emmanuel struggles to hold onto the grenade in his hand, is hiss over his shoulder. "Shhh!" And Emmanuel is left at his side with a drop of his hand - seeing as no threat is posed; especially when Konstantin tackled the poor maid into submission already. While one part of the group is busy with that, it's clear what Dean does again. Those keen eyes search, his senses are spread out, listening, seeking, for the scents, the sounds, the tell-tale, hidden hints while he inspects the innard of their current abode.
Konstantin struggles for a moment, as he shifts his body to press a knee down atop the servant and pin it in place. He wastes no time in gathering its arms up behind it, hefting it up to its feet and heaving it back towards the group. The 'Shoot first' portion complete, he prepares to move onto the 'ask questions later' section, presenting the strange creature to Rachel and Tom as though they might be able to glean anything from it. A grunt of dismay when he notices the lack of a mouth, but Konstantin presses on. "Is your master home?", Konstantin asks simply, giving the servant a bit of a shake
Tom seems to be overcome with an empathetic concern as he spots someone initially trying to get some distance from the group, he almost protests making a strange gutteral sound and making a gesture with his hand as he watches Konstantin take them down. He wears his frown and suggests to Konstantin as he looks his way, "Just scared, hold on.."
Rachel has no idea what to do with it, Konstantin. In fact, she's gone a little green around the gills.
...She runs off.
"Ash," Rachel says. She follows after them, but not without a glance backward at Konstantin and his most recent capture. A tap is provided to their torso, and then the coil of rope they hold pointed at. "Can you--..." She's still walking along after them. The ask is, of course, to either hand over the thing or to help Konstantin with subdual themselves.
Tom seems to be overcome with an empathetic concern as he spots fleshformed servant initially trying to get some distance from the group, he almost protests making a strange gutteral sound and making a gesture with his hand as he watches Konstantin take them down. He wears his frown and suggests to Konstantin as he looks his way, "Just scared, hold on.."
Ash whispers softly, "Dining room northwest, ballroom northeast - looks like another servant there, seems similarly earless from here, but no promises." They step to the stairway next, looking up. They look back at the president with a nod and a smile - they understand what his plan was, now. Still, they focus on checking the stairway.
There is a string of French curses and nonsense expelled from Emmanuel as he's dropped by Dean, with comments and expletives far too crude to be translated back into English. He manages not to ignite the grenade and rob the supernaturals of their abilities, but it's a close thing, and man does his hand itch to press that button. Instead Emmanuel focuses on straighening up his terrible clothes as the others wrangle the maid.
The servant most assuredly does not speak English. In fact, they don't speak anything at all, and neither do they /listen/ to anything at all. Konstantin's words garner no response, and the servant flops like a ragdoll when they're shaken, though they seem to be trying to wrest themselves free, still.
Rachel zips right on back to Konstantin. She has the rope in hand, and she could, simply, begin to fasten its length about the servant. Instead, she gives it to Tom. Tom can take care of it. Maybe Tom will even get through better than she would, given that he seems to care.
They have no mouth (and must scream), so Emmanuel calls over towards the others, "See if it can read, hm? You are having phones, non?" He does his best to emulate a particularly poorly received game unveiling from some years ago.
Konstantin l
As the situation progresses on the side, Dean's eyes are fixated on both directions. Not up, at the staircase, but flitting between nortwest and northeast. Dean taps the frenchie at his side, on his shoulder with the back of his hand while the man is fussing over his clothes - and he points, first northwest: "Food. Further in, there is a heartbeat." His second gesture is in the other direction, where he focuses more. "Music. Must be at least two in there - someone close."
Emmanuel l
Rachel l
Ash finishes checking over the stairway before returning to the servant. "Give me a momennt."
Ash l
l
Dean l
Konstantin l
Ash stands over the creature, saying, "Keep its eyes on me."
Konstantin grips the servants arms, or whatever remains of them, with his own left arm, his right hand gripping it about the back of the neck and forcibly keeping its head facing forwards towards Ash regardless of its protests and attempts to escape.
"Mm? Oh, lovely. I am sure you will be having a wonderful time introducing yourself to them, hm?" Emmanuel comments back dryly to Dean, shying away from the man's hand following that taping. In fact, he doesn't just stop there, but gives the wolf a wide berth in an attempt to wander over closer toward the poor fleshformed once-person.
A little more struggling, but the servant can do little against Konstantin's strength. Maybe if it had a big knife hand instead of a feather-duster hand... Its eyes are full of pleading when it looks at those gathered around it, though - this isn't a person without feelings.
Tom seems shocked as the rope appears in his hands, giving a glance to Rachel that says 'what is this for'. But he's not a complete idiot, he takes the rope over to Konstantin and the downed servant he's beginning to manipulate. Looking a bit clumsy in his attempt to do anything with the rope and not wanting to get in Ash's way, though he states to Konstantin. "Maybe we shouldn't really tie it up, maybe we could just let it do whatever it wants to do and we could. Help it, protect what it needs to."
Ash says "Hush, Tom. Listento it."
To most in the room, Ash just seems to stare at the creature before making motions. They hold up a finger - 1. Then they move their hand over, holding up a second finger. They take their time, eventually ending up at 5. They then say out loud, "Tell me what it yearns for and dreads for each number, please. If it reacts at all."
"It's going to be useless, I think", Konstantin ponders aloud regarding the poor beleagured servant. He really is the -worst- houseguest; letting himself in and bodychequing the first person he sees. He squints a bit, leaning around to peer closely at where the thing -should- have a mouth. A vile idea begins to form, involving a little surgical intervention of their own, but he shrugs it off for the moment, looking to Ash. "You had some plan? Otherwise, I am going to leave it here."
Rachel is, on her end, oddly starting to breathe in sporadic spurts. Her 'green around the gills' has turned into what might become the contents of her stomach on the floor. She says nothing to the group and, instead, flits off up the stairs, maybe to do what she needs to without observation.
If Dean is dejected that Emmanuel isn't so eager to use his grenade at this new information posed, he doesn't show it. Keen eyes, with far more intensity peer into him, as if he could burrow into his skull. He does not, paces away just the same to give the same wide berth. The poor situation of the servant isn't offered his attention, he does what a mercenary does; takes point. Right beside the door he perceives as the most threat, give his shoulder to the northeastern door and take shelter beside the doorframe and peer inside carefully with his crossbow held up at the ready.
The servant trembles now in Konstantin's hold, their eyes fixed on Ash, though they're slightly glazed over. Maybe it's the concussion from having been knocked over earlier. Maybe it's just the fear. They simply stare into the air, seeming to almost shut down. Maybe Konstantin's right about the usefulness.
Ash is focusing on the creature, and only notices when they look up that... one of their interpreters have left. They look annoyed, but look to Konstantin instead, letting their words spoken at similar times sink in. They eye Tom as well.
Tom looks unsure, mounting concern in his features. He shakes his head as if he was struggling to focus on anything, he glances back towards the double doors across the room. Frowning to himself as he shakes his head again, "This is useless.. I just think maybe we should go outside again." He glances up at Ash and frowns at him, "What?"
Emmanuel makes his way over to the bound servant, and lowers himself to a squat by it's side. The Frenchman reaches into his pocket then, producing his phone and tapping at it. It takes several more taps than usual, as the device struggles to keep functioning in the magic-rich environment of the alien world, but eventually he manages to get it working. An app is opened, and a sentence is typed, before he turns the screen toward the bound individual.
IF YOU CAN READ THIS, NOD.
Konstantin shakes his head a bit, watching Tom. "That's the cleaner talking", Konstantin decides. He reaches into a pocket in his cargo pants, producing a pair of plastic zip cuffs as if by reflex, before looking down at the freakish limbs of the servant. He squints a bit then, puzzling it out for a moment, before just zipping one end tight around the shaft of the duster arm and the other in place about the normal-ish wrist of the other. As Emmanuel tries something new, Konstantin pauses, waiting to see if the servant will react.
The room Rachel finds herself in is quite clean, compared to the rest of the manor, and especially compared to all the rest of the second floor, all the bedrooms and bathrooms in there being so broken down it's impossible to walk into them. There's no servants around there, though.
Ash asks Tom, patiently, "What I said. Is there any reactions in its feelings? Has anything changed? I gave it options, I want to know how it feels about those. 1 is a guard or monstrous creature. 2 is a powerful fey. 3 is the garden, 4 a basement, 5 is the backdoor. I should have done a 6... trying to see which it was planning to run to. I think whether or not its master is in is too difficult to portray when it can't read English or hear us."
Konstantin calls out over to Dean, leaning back from the servant slightly; "Dean, mind checking for Cai quickly? She went upstairs."
Certainly not.
Ash asks the Konstantin, since Rachel has run, "Nothing you can sense, either, President?"
There is a grind of Dean's jaw while he notes what's ahead. "Another one of those," Dean nods in the direction he's guarding, then points at their captive with the tip of his crosbow. Yet, he leaves it to them - draws away from the point he took, as well as the group. He doesn't speak or gesture in the affirmative to Konstantin - but he does move without complaint, up the winding steps to disappear above.
It may or may not be the cleaner talking. Its eyes track Emmanuel as he makes his way over, wide-eyed and a little teary too. The slits of its nostrils flare for a brief moment, but there's no recognition - there's no nod either. Just those wide, pleading eyes, fixed upon the Frenchman.
Ash stands up, their job done, letting the useless someone do nothing useful - at least, that's the expression they give off, disdain. "If neither of you felt a reaction from my questioning, then I'm not sure how I can rephrase it to get an answer."
The smell of wildflowers is strong, and the sunlight streaming in through the windows is pretty nice, actually. There's little noise from downstairs, the birds are chirping, the ducks are quacking, the bees are buzzing... you get the point.
Ash stands up, their job done, letting the useless Emmanuel do nothing useful - at least, that's the expression they give off, disdain. "If neither of you felt a reaction from my questioning, then I'm not sure how I can rephrase it to get an answer."
"Nothing useful", Konstantin replies to Ash, his pallid skin having taken on a touch of colour. The jolliness with which he says it and the way he takes to the apprehension and interrogation suggest that he's quite enjoying it regardless. With a grunt and a shake of his head, Konstantin lowers the servant to the ground, cuffed. "Forget it. We only have so long before everything in here finds us. Let us rejoin with the other two."
"Merde." There's a little cussing as this attempt does not bear fruit, but that doesn't prevent Emmanuel from trying something else. He turns the phone back toward himself then, scribbling at it as he opens another app. "..This might ..work." The device is turned back to the bound person.
Where there was once a question, there is a now a drawing. A terrible drawing, but one nonetheless. It's a rather shitty attempt to draw a sceptre.
Don't try to use the stairs for now, please.
(Re-sending) Don't try to use the stairs for now, please. That might be causing the crashes.
Konstantin scours the hallway briefly before identifying the one intact room of note, not entirely scoured and ruined by the looting. "Must be this way they went.."
Perhaps with far too much confidence in herself, Rachel does assume that the rumbling was her doing. She tests a step away, as soon as it halts. Is it safe to go yet?
"Is that--..." The door's open; Dean's got a crossbow in hand. Oh, it's them.
When the rest of the group catches up, Dean's playing guard and Rachel is by the northern alcove, behind her some kind of disc. It appears that they've been getting a head start on exploration: not, thankfully, upending the contents of their stomachs.
Rachel's messing about with the disc doesn't seem to have done anything more than causing the strange rumbling. It stops as soon as she steps away, and the disc moves back to a neutral position, with none of the flowers in focus.
Konstantin strides in, sans servant-captive-freak now. He takes stock of the place with a glance about before stowing his sword at his hip and moving over towards Rachel. "Found something?", Konstantin asks, eyes shifting to the stone disc in the northern alcove with her as he approaches. He seems to be in fairly good spirits.
Ash glances the alcoves, then nods. "Right, we definitely need to go back downstairs before we mess with this." They decide this almost immediately.
"That--..." Rachel points at the disc. "Does something. I don't know what." She steps aside, enough to let the room see the images engraved there. There are a multitude of flowers, each different, and possible to be selected when the disc is spun.
She passes around the perimeter of the room, now checking each of the walls. "Same here," she says.
"And here."
"And here."
Ash nods, explaining as if they instantly knew, "We need to go to the garden, first."
Ash tries to see if looking out of the windows give hints - can they recognize any flower types from here?
While they've all gathered in the room here, the rumbling has certainly attracted /some/ attention. There's a noise from right outside the door, of footsteps that start and pause. A face peeks in. This one has a mouth. A nose too. And ears - a welcome surprise, to be sure.
Ash turns to look right back at it, waiting patiently.
Blue makes his way in, quietly, pretending like he's not been seen already by literally everyone here. There's no fear upon his features, only curiously as he blinks at all of them in turn. Blink. Blink blink. Blink blink blink.
Konstantin nods aside to Ash then, after listening into Rachel's prior explanation. "Then we go to garden. Good thinking, Ash", Konstantin decides and turns for the door. As he spots Blue, he freezes, hand dropping to the hilt of the sword at his hip. Dramatic reaction from Konstantin to an unknown boy, but of things are not as they seem in the world of the supernatural.
Blink. Blink, blink. Emmanuel blinks in return, staring at Blue, "..Is this being another of yours?" He calls over towards Konstantin.
Tom shoots a series of blinks back towards Blue.
Ash sees that the boy's pretending not to be seen, and so pretends not to see him. They look over at a window, back to examining the flowers.
Blink blink. Blink blink blink. Blue lets out an abrupt laugh at someone' blinks back, and scampers back out and away, giggling.
Blink blink. Blink blink blink. Blue lets out an abrupt laugh at Emmanuel's blinks back, and scampers back out and away, giggling.
"Squatter, maybe", Konstantin reponds aside to Emmanuel, jaw a touch tight. He squares his shoulders towards someone fully, then. "You live here?", Konstantin asks of someone, remaining poised.
Behind Rachel, still in the alcove while she's left - Dean is distracted enough to notice how the thing has rumbled back into its neutral state without being pushed down. Some gears turn, mutually in his head, and he sighs a sound, low and of distate. Before he notes the presence peeking through, he does offer - "I think everyone needs to take an alcove and solve it together." That is a lot of alcoves, certainly. It's really after he says that he focuses on the attention they've attracted, and there is immediate wariness. A subtle draw of his lips, a twitch of his nose while he watches the boy flee.
"Squatter, maybe", Konstantin reponds aside to Emmanuel, jaw a touch tight. He squares his shoulders towards the boy fully but they leave before he can do ought more. "Or maybe fae.. Would be their kind of trick.."
Regardless of who's pretending not to be seen and pretending not to see who's pretending not to be seen, Rachel most certainly saw that. "I vote, whatever we do, not following /him/." Rachel seems to agree with Konstantin -- most likely a trick.
"Maybe the boy, knows about the flowers." Tom suggests to the group, "He looked like he'd been digging around out there.."
Ash looks at Dean in confusion. "What are you talking about? We need to look at the garden first before we do anything." To Tom, they actively glare. "*No*, Tom." They seem particularly hard on him today.
Tom inhales sharply, lips drawn in a firm line after he is chided.
Ash corrects to Dean, "I mean, you're right - but after the garden. We need the clues, first."
"Da. Probably", Konstantin nods over to Dean regarding simultaneous action. He takes a quick glance at each of the stone discs then before eyeing Ash at his repsonse. He works his jaw left to right slowly, considering them. "You feeling alright, Ash?"
Leaving his alcove, but staying in proximity to Rachel as if bestowed with a mission to protect the woman by Konstantin, Dean hefts his crossbow over his shoulder with a stare at Ash. "I don't know. I'm just saying, the thing fixed itself when Rachel let go. I think we need to solve it all at the same time in each alcove - it ain't about where to go. Get your head straight."
Squatter, Fae, Gardener, just a baby? Really, who can tell, in these trying times? The sound of the boy jumping down the stairs is heard, and then scampering off to do whatever he does, while the group debates on what to do.
The discs in the alcoves are free to be moved, but they'd have to be pushed in after centering them upon a flower, to lock in the choice.
Apparently Emmanuel is on translation duty today, "Oui, they need to be set at the same time, Dean. But Ash is suggesting that the garden holds the key to the pattern, hm? Given the flowers." He opines, glancing between the various Hand folk as he does so.
(Heads up - just tell me when someone would like to do down the stairs, so we don't crash again.)
Ash nods to Konstantin, with a bit of a smile. They seem to to be trying to dampen their cheerfulness, then decides that, hey, maybe they should explain. "Firstly - we shouldn't be pressing buttons willy-nilly. It's a puzzle. We need to use the right flowers. How do we know what button is which? *Not* by pressing them randomly -" They blink, nodding to Emmanuel as he seems to get it before anyone else. They seem surprised that the human has managed to catch up first.
Once the others have had a chance to deliberate and clarify, Konstantin turns for the door. "Alright, come on. We all seem to be on same page."
"We do have six people," Rachel begins to mediate. How unusual for her not to be the one causing the conflict. Perhaps it won't be so difficult to guard her today, Dean, if the pattern persists. "I--..." Konstantin appears to have made a decision: garden, and then they can do what Dean suggests. "Guess we'll see," she says aside to the man.
Konstantin adds, glancing aside to Ash with a nod. "True. Must be.. what.. thousands combinations? Four choices, seven options each."
"Mn, you were laying the ground work with your earlier suggestion, non?" Emmanuel is quick to point out to Ash, less they get any ideas about him being anything more than a silly little Frenchman.
We're going to try one(1) whole movement.
Nobody panic.
Ash panics!
Tom panics.
Emmanuel l
Rachel l panic aa
Konstantin looks between the nortwhestern and the northeastern passageways, pausing to glance at Dean. "Let me know if you hear anything, Dean."
Ash explains, "I knew what you meant, Dean - that's why I clarified that you were right. Just the order of operations. I didn't want people to start pressing more buttons in an attempt to figure it out. We needed clues."
Konstantin walks through into the next room without tearing a hole in reality
And he's back - Blue walks back in and up to Emmanuel, tugging at the man's arm, as though he's trying to reveal something secretive to him. Why him? Who knows.
Rachel stares at the table. In no movie where there is an empty manor and, somehow, a room full of freshly cooked food, has it ever ended well to eat. That being said, it definitely looks like Rachel's considering it.
Ash turns to Tom and hisses quickly, "I don't care if you feel any urges - you do *not* eat, or even touch the food, got it?" Why are they on the man's ass today? Who knows?
Blue tugs a little more at Emmanuel's arm, peering up with his downright cherubic (if dirty) face. He's waiting for attention to be paid to him.
It's dangerous to /eat/, yes, but smelling? That is okay, surely. It is a little treat. Emmanuel sniffs at the air, and his stomach grumbles, though any further temptation is pushed to the side as a child comes up to tug on his arm. At least they aren't claiming that Emmanuel is his father. Yet. "..Hallo." He comments down to them, affording them a wary turn of the lips.
Thwack!
A bolt, shot right from Dean's crossbow embeds itself right between Ash's feet, on the ground. The chamber fixes itself and loads another bolt with a spin on the repeater above. "Watch it when you talk to me." His attention is entirely upon Blue, as opposed to Ash, observing with not interest but apprehension, tension, and another twitch of his nose. Maybe, if the boy is magic, it throws off that putrid dislike of a wolf's nature; if it is magic, it smells gross.
Blue perks up when the asked-for attention is paid to him - it doesn't look like he recognizes English either, to the surprise of nobody, but he's decided that big-ears blinking man is friendly enough to show off his little collection of marbles to. He brings out a box he'd been hiding, and presents it to Emmanuel very proudly, like a child showing off their shitty crayon drawing.
Ash looks confused at Dean, since they hadn't talked to him any way but respectfully - at least, insofar as they are aware. They don't seem afraid, either. Not that they don't treat Dean with wariness, but the crossbow doesn't seem to spook them, merely confuses them.
Eyes scanning the spread on the table, Konstantin can't help but lament his previous edict that no food should be eaten or hospitality accepted. It really is a tremendous feast.. he's starting to see how people end up with feather dusters for arms now..
Turning, Konstantin watches Blue, his arms remaining at his sides. His right hand, however, does drift a little closer to the hilt of his blade. He opts against voicing any concern, just watching how things play out. Hey, if something awful -does- happen, atleast it's just a Templar, right?
The crossbow might have surprised Rachel, if not Ash. She starts at that THWACK. Seeing as no one ends up bleeding on the ground, though, her attention turns to 'big-ears blinking man.'
...And, after that, maybe Konstantin. He's in her ear, in brief, and she turns infinitesimally his way without looking.
Ash looks at the boy - now that he apparently wants to be looked at. Too little, too late, maybe. They then bend down, pulling the bolt out of the ground carefully before offering it wordlessly to Dean.
Well, if Blue doesn't speak English and Emmanuel can barely struggle through it, then why bother with it at all? "Thank you," He thanks the child, wary as ever as they show off their strange little marbles. "Oh, rocks. Lovely. I used to collect rocks when I was a little potato too. Some of the rocks were old pieces of metal too, from the wars. Others were shiny like the nightsky, or dark as a lake." He shares to them, and while his words may not be understood, surely the conversational tone is.
There's more than a little glimmer and shimmer in the air as the stones are passed along, shadows and light cast across the room for a brief moment before they're enclosed in Emmanuel's palm. Blue stares, blinking again at Emmanuel. He giggles again at the strange words, eyes lighting up before he wanders off, probably to find more stones of interest?
"...Feel any different?" Rachel asks Emmanuel. She allows him his space, just in case 'different' here means 'likely to explode.'
Tom squints at Ash, there is a neutral expression of calm disregard for the tone he receives from Ash. No push back. But also no engagement. He turns his attention to boy, watching with an easy curiosity.
Ash looks to Emmanuel thoughtfully, as they understood what he was saying. They eye him, starting to ask him something - then they glance at Dean before deciding not to bother.
Disapprovingly, Konstantin eyes the marbles as Emmanuel recieves them. He too gives the frenchman long enough to explode if that is indeed his fate.. before turning his gaze elswhere, to the north and then the door on the western wall
Ash looks over at the parlor ahead before looking over the nearby door, already seeming bored with the events here.
The bolt is left in the other fae's hand. The one that hadn't fled. Maybe Ash can keep it as a souvenir, or a reminder, Dean doesn't make to retrieve it, or do anything beyond stare after the boy. "This place is confusing." And apparently not in a good way, for him. He's the brute and the brawn, not the intellect and finesse. Keen eyes turn on Konstantin and Rachel in his following silence, wait out their decision to follow along.
Konstantin ticks his head northwards. "Let's go see paintings", Konstantin decides. "Fae taste is probably.. odd."
"Garden," Rachel announces to the rest. Emmanuel and his exploding marbles can come along -- at a distance. She ensures that she's far ahead this time, if only because the manor seems to pose less risk than their own group.
Tom steps forward a bit towards Emmanuel and smiles, "He seems to like you, maybe you could draw a little comic on your phone.. next time he comes. Like you did before." He lifts his brows in a friendly fashion and shrugs. "Let him know who we are, what we want? Maybe?"
"Or that," Rachel says. She's about to continue, when they encounter, yet again, the boy.
"Mm." There's a quiet sound of interest from Emmanuel as he plays with his balls. Not his balls, rather, the childs balls. Marbles. Rocks. He plays with the rocks, holding them up to the light and peering through each of them in turn, "..Non exploding yet."
Rachel has, at this point, seemed to have done away with caution. She creeps past the rest of the group, leaning a little so that she's just above the boy and his armchair. "Hi," she says, not so loudly as to alarm, but enough so, perhaps, to rouse him.
Blue snores a little bit.
Rachel reaches out to touch the boy's shoulder. When he snores, she jostles him, just a little.
Emmanuel lifting his balls to the air brings about a curious interplay of light and shadow as they're exposed to the light - each of them seems to change the time of the day, some way or the other.
Konstantin squints slightly as he peers up towards the portaits. He cants his head a little, eyes shifting from each to each, before he turns to look at Blue. He peers past Rachel at the child's face, looking for any similarity in facial features, any identifying commonality with the figures in the artwork.
Blue jerks awake with a start, and bumps his forehead right into the underside of the chair he was asleep under. He hiccups, once, and tears up.
And continue fondling Emmanuel does, exposing his balls for all to see as he kneads them about in the palm of his hand, mouth a little slackened as he watches the way they react to the environment about him. "Well, this is being unusual," He understates.
The door they passed led to another garden - it's the one where all the duck-ly quacking noises have been sounding from, with the occasional splash here and there. Maybe Dean can have a snack and burn off some off the aggression there.
The door /here/ leads to yet another garden too. It must be the four gardens Rachel had mentioned, even if there's just the three of them they've found yet. Presumably, there's another in the other end of the mansion. One can only assume Fae wouldn't be sadistic enough to make the manor /not/ symmetrical.
Ash seems amused at Emmanuel's response, but they're more interested in looking around before, suddenly, offering something to the boy.
"We will", Konstantin murmurs aside to Ash as he looks about the place, eyes drifting back towards the portraits, "Once done in here."
At the sound of his voice, Konstantin gets a good eyeful of Emmanuel's balls and his fondling of them, taking academic interest. Another door there, Konstantin states, nodding to the eastern aperture before glancing back at Ash.
Ash did NOT give their snark to him.
Rachel grimaces. "No, it's--..." While the rest of the group talks, she tries to hush the boy. The last thing they all likely want is to attract yet another one of the fleshformed monstrosities. "Shhh." There, there. She reaches out to -- no, she doesn't want to touch him again. "I--" She's likely supposed to say something soothing. "Okay. I'll just..."
To the other door, then.
Blue is taking the lemur.
Konstantin pauses, letting Ash and Blue make their exchange before moving on
Konstantin glances about the group at large; "Was there specific flower in the front garden? Lots of one of them? I am thinking maybe that is south disc's flower."
A little whine escapes Blue, just to get quietened when he's handed a lemur - and then, no, he's not handed a lemur. He's handed a feather, and he clutches at it before stowing it away securely, and then curling back up to sleep.
Ash says calmly, "I think that the other door may lead to the first garden, then this one to the second garden - no flowers grew in front, I believe."
Emmanuel clears his throat, and moves a little closer to Tom, of all people. "Tom, mon amie, would you mind holding these?" He asks of the man, and starts to hand the marbles to him, one at a time. Four marbles. Four marbles with different colours, and hues. Four gardens. Hm.
There's a room east of here where the music is coming from, but as the manor is subject to the mechanics of the game, it's unable to be added. Please let your friendly neighborhood SR know if you would like to go there.
Ash adds, "We can go back and look, but the weeds took over."
"I can not figure these out, or what they might be for, maybe they are just pretty." Emmanuel explains to Tom as he pushes the rocks into his hands, and shrugs sheepishly.
There's no particular flower to be seen here. There's just the statue, the overgrown, weedy flowerbeds, and hey a fleshy throne, if someone's really tired and feels like having a seat. Nothing will go wrong, surely.
Ash tries to see where the fountain is pointing, compared to the one out front.
Tom holds out his hand and takes the stones, lips twitching to one side as he nods to Emmanuel, "I'll have a think about it, sure."
The fountain points off somewhere between the north and the northeastish, with seemingly no particular purpose to it. Perhaps something may be able to fit upon its outstretched hand, though.
Dean comes in from the other room, after everyone, walking backwards with his crossbow angled at the other room. Possibly at the child, as a deterrent to be chased after. Either he hats the fae or he hates kids - in both cases, he takes a cautious stance anyway.
"Hm, what a weird statue." Emmanuel comments then, physically turning toward it after handing off the stones, "And it is having it's arms out too. Like it wants to be holding something."
Dean says "Maybe give it your balls."
The balls have already been handed over to Tom. They're Tom's balls now.
Konstantin squints a bit at the fountain, with its outstretched hand. He crosses his arms against his chest, considering it for a moment before heading off along a path towards the throne. Mounting the small mound it sits on, Konstantin shakes his head slowly, observing the piece of organic furniture from a distance while he leaves the rest to handle Tom's balls.
Dean says "Maybe give it Tom's balls."
Ash says "We can keep that in mind to try later, I agree."
Dean slowly holsters his crossbow while nodding at Tom.
Dean says "Tom's balls."
Konstantin draws his sword from his hip, reaching out with it to give the throne a little prod in its fleshy seat 'cushion'. Just enough to prick it and draw a little blood maybe.
It's been too long a trek back and forth, and the arguing has no doubt gotten to Rachel. She follows after Konstantin. His observation encourages her not to sit on the throne, but to give it a prod, just with the tip of her finger. Surely that isn't a problem.
She does it at the same time Konstantin thinks of the same with his sword.
The throne bleeds.
Voicing his displeasure with a grimace, Konstantin wipes the little bit of blood clinging to the tip of his sword away in the grass and sheathes it. Looking aside at Rachel, he tells her in no uncertain terms; "Do not sit on chair." As though that's worked before
Emmanuel elects to avoid the throne entirely, instead walking a little further to the north and squinting back toward the building they'd walked out of. He pauses to squint over toward Tom, and his balls, before clucking his tongue gently.
Oh, absolutely not. Nope. This is the one time that Rachel heeds Konstantin. Rachel backs right up, and while she's at it, attempts to drag Konstantin with her. There's plenty for them to do, and it doesn't have to be staying in the vicinity of this human-turned-chair. "Where are we going?" she asks.
"And we're saying this one is east right, and these um.." Tom rummages with the four marbles and picks out the dawn-like hued stone and begins to approach the statue. "I'll just put this one here then." He drops the stone into the outstretched hand.
This garden is definitely the one /behind/ the mansion.
"Oh, non, we are in the north, mon amie." Emmanuel tries to correct Tom quickly, though he had himself gotten muddled about as well.
Ash gasps at Tom, looking *livid*. "What are you - why would you do that?!"
Konstantin goes with Rachel's urging to move away from the throne, certainly glad to do so himself. He's not exactly one to shy away from what many would consider heinous but this is something on another level.
"Oh um.." Tom flusters as he tries to get the marble rock back, then looks down at the stones in his large palm. "North.. north.. this one. Sun in the sky.." He plonks the zenith one into the hand. Taking a step back and frowning over at Ash, "What?"
And Dean is there too, just staring at the blood without much of a reaction beyond puzzlement. He does, however, eventually take a step back to keep pace with Konstantin's retreat, and his hanged crossbow is replaced by his hand set on the hilt of his claymore between his shoulderblades, instead. Prepared to be pulled free, should the need arise. It looks like he has no intention to keep his hands free of a weapon at any point.
Ash rubs their head, as if sick and tired of these insane people.
Emmanuel doesn't seem quite as stressed by Tom playing with his balls than Ash is, though he pauses to glance around the place, checking to see if there is any reaction to the placement.
Konstantin looks aside to Dean, ticking an upnod to him. "What you make of the kid? He smell normal for kid?", the Russian enquires. "Thinking maybe illusion or something.."
Konstantin suggests to those at the fountain; "Try each of them. Maybe just one works for each statue, if they are part of Fae's game."
Ash tells Tom with a hint of panic in their voice, "We shouldn't try to solve any puzzles, press any buttons, do *anything* until we've looked at it all. We need the full picture! Otherwise, you might lose the game as soon as you start playing it! And you could *die* Tom - or *worse*." They point at the throne as an example.
Tom's attempts to stonify the statue meet no resistance - apart from Ash being livid - and the stone settles into the palm of the statue as though it belongs there. The morning sun overhead brightens all of a sudden, and sunshine spreads across the entire place, until they stand in a a brightly-lit garden of noon.
The statue rumbles, and turns with the slow grinding of stone to face the manor properly. Water begins to flow.
"Ash," Rachel says. She hasn't addressed them often in the last hour, but when they chide Tom for the umpteenth time, she frowns. "It's fine." And it is -- so far. Fair, perhaps, to be worried, though. They've encountered humans turned to dusters, humans turned to chairs...
Actually, maybe it's more than fine.
"Well," Rachel says. This is the one time that maybe one of them can shotcall without inspiring argument. "Think we know what to do with the rest of the marbles."
"Nicely done, Tom."
"He was right", Konstantin remarks, considering Tom with raised brows. "Sun in sky.." Moving over, Konstantin clasps a hand on Tom's shoulder, looking out towards the gardens as the water flows on.
Tom seems conflicted as he wants to give Ash some time and validate their feelings, however the sky just changed when he put a marble into a statue and there is a genuine joy in his features. "Wow."
"No clue. I didn't really get anything stranger than what we've seen here." Dean answers towards Konstantin, "Kid smells human - wildling, I suppose. Smells native, but that's it." All while he stares at the effort and the result granted by the miraculous handling of those sparkly balls.
Ash seems to doubt this - they were in a great mood earlier, looking forward to playing this game, but they become anxious at this. "What were they, Dawn, noon, twilight, and night? And this is the back garden, meaning that it's the third in the square?"
"Very well done, Tom, oui? Very clever, hm?" Emmanuel offers his own compliments to the fellow, though pauses to peer around the place. "Any, erm, flowers standing out now?"
The flowers haven't changed at all, unfortunately. They remain their sad, overgrown selves, wildflowers aplenty with bees buzzing around, and no one species to be found for certain.
Considering Ash, Konstantin asks with an upnod; "Fae can make flowers grow sometimes.. can you?"
Ash looks around at everyone, wondering why they are praising the man. Why does no one see what they see? They rub their temples, completely unamused by the sun.
Ash says still stressed by the nonsense of the others, but carefully respectful when speaking to Konstantin, "No, I do luck. Winston does flowers - I purposely left him behind. Dean would *definitely* have killed him by now."
Konstantin moves over to Emmanuel again, someone to Dean along the way. "Too many coincidence.. I still don't trust", Konstantin muses to the mercenary in regards to the strange child handing out stones.
Konstantin moves over to Emmanuel again, nodding to Dean along the way. "Too many coincidence.. I still don't trust", Konstantin muses to the mercenary in regards to the strange child handing out stones.
Rachel precedes the group in yanking the door open, so that, once more, they can be confronted with a crying child. Dean can also kill the child. Maybe no one would much mind.
Konstantin grunts and shrugs a bit. "Let us go see west garden", Konstantin decides, heading back the way they came
Konstantin goes to move past the child, unless Rachel is up to something specific
While waiting, just along the group, Dean is busy staring at the painting. His brows are hard-knit, and his jaw shifts in a grind of his teeth yet again. The kid gets another look and off he goes after the woman. He's waiting, still, tapping his boot and not moving much at all.
"I'm giving them back to you later," Rachel says to Blue. "Don't worry." That must be about the box in her arms. When he continues to stand there, refusing to give up his treasures, she heaves a long sigh. "You stay with us, though."
Rachel carefully extends the hoard.
"Stay." Like a dog.
Konstantin strides out of the door into the western garden. He looks aside towards Tom, expectantly, before gesturing to the fountain with his hand. "Alright. This one maybe?"
Ash looks helplessly at Konstantin as he completely ignores their request, throwing caution to the wind.
It really is just as it appears; if there were any clues, they have long been weathered away, though a prolonged stay in the garden would make it evident that the plantlife seems to /thrive/. The flowers all brighten under the noon-lit sky, even if they remain their usual, wildflowery selves.
Yessss, his hoard. Blue clutches it to his chest as though round stones and feathers are the most important of things, and he lingers close by, watching the group.
"I'm getting tempted to shoot the child." Dean answers lazily, now. It appears whatever he imbibed, the result of his constant rage, has waned and filtered out of his system, becaause he steps back now, takes a seat on the edge of a bench that's close by. Watching ducks, as it were. He even pulls out his crossbow, aligns it ahead - tracks the avians swimming about with the tip of it like he's ready to shoot while his other hand hangs from the arm draped over the back of his seaat.
"I'd guess dusk. If this is truely west.. and the laws of physics are the same here... and there isn't a sequence needed for the stones. If it is just, plonk the stones in the hand.. then I'd put in the dusk one." Tom states as an aside to Konstantin, he singles out the stone which has the dusk hue and shows it to Konstantin. "This one."
A purple-feathered duck quacks loudly at Dean.
Dean shoots a purple-feathered duck as soon as it makes a sound.
None of those, at all. He's out of luck there, because all these flowers just seem to be random wildflowers that grow without rhyme or reason.
Ash backs up, then just goes blank. They're done. They hold their rifle in their hands, waiting so see what will happen, but otherwise doesn't say anything.
Eventually Emmanuel wanders over to join the others in the western garden, peering around the place with the same wary interest as ever, "Any changes, hm?"
someone once, lips pursing as he observes Dean's handiwork. "Decent shot." He turns to Tom, then, and nods once. The man was right before, why not now? Ash's call for hesistence goes unheeded as Konstantin tells Tom "Go ahead, do it."
Konstantin nods once, lips pursing as he observes Dean's handiwork. "Decent shot." He turns to Tom, then, and nods once. The man was right before, why not now? Ash's call for hesistence goes unheeded as Konstantin tells Tom "Go ahead, do it."
The duck, well... dies. The rest of the ducks, however, go into a flurry as their companion is shot down, and a cacophony of quack-quack-QUACK fills the air.
"...Remind me not to shift again," Rachel says to no one in particular. It's probably /about/ Dean, though, given that he has some kind of avian vendetta. Probably not serious, given that the corner of her mouth is pulling up -- but maybe she should be.
Konstantin lurches into the ducks, swinging wildly
Ash seems like they're not going to do anything - but then they notice the president getting attacked - *then* they lift their rifle. Only for it to be too late. They are ducks, after all.
Rachel stows both staff and rifle upon her back, now having finished cruelly bludgeoning her avian cousins to death. "Well," she says in conclusion. "That's not what I expected us to be doing when I woke up this morning."
Ash glances over at the eggs, moreso than the duck corpses, but doesn't make a move.
Tom gives Konstantin a nod, a thoughtful waggle of his brows. "Alright." And as he takes a step, turning to look towards the statue his eyes widen as the ducks go for him. "Fuck me!" He starts to stumble away after being momentarily attacked by the angered animals.
Konstantin bellows and swings his blade, punishing the flock for their fowlplay with a brutal slash that slays a few.
As one would expect, an all too pleased Dean is sitting back on the benches again. His claymore is a spit, a few ducks skewered on it. He holds it like a kebab, bite by bite starts to whittle down his 'hunt' where he sits like all is right in the world again.
Konstantin turns back towards Tom, calling out; "If this is before noon, surely is dawn stone, no?"
Angry ducks don't give a ... duck. They go for Tom, and they go for Konstantin, who happened to be the nearest, instead of going for the person who'd actually wronged them. A lot of fowl play all around, but they're certainly dead now, and Tom's free to get about his ball-placement.
Angry ducks don't give a ... duck. They go for Tom, and they go for Konstantin, who happened to be the nearest, instead of going for the person who'd actually wronged them. A lot of fowl play all around, but they're certainly dead now, and Tom's free to get about his ball-placement. (Re-sending for Emmanuel )
Konstantin stands ready to battle whatever beast comes for them next from the depths of the gardens, sword in hand. He glances aside at Dean with an upnod. "Think the chair would have attacked us in other garden?"
Tom composes himself, looking a bit shook. He seems a bit confused by Konstantin's check, then checks back to the group. "Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, right?" He glances across at Ash, looking hopeful for some input.
Ash shrugs. "Look at the sky - it's morning."
There's a furrowing of Blue's brow as he looks over the ducks who have met a very unfortunate fate, and then he wanders over to Dean, eying his claymore skewer. No points for guessing what he wants.
Konstantin stirs a finger through the air in a circular motion, pointing out to Tom "Maybe is like clock, in order around circle."
Ash says "Fae are traditionally fond of going widdershins - counter clockwise."
"I don't know." Dean answers Konstantin after spitting out a few feathers. His mouth is bloody. Red runs rivulet down the corners of his jaw to his utter, simple disregard. "I would've ate it too." That's easier to say, and probably true, too. When he's satisfied, he makes to nearly get rid of his half-devoured carcasses, but Blue's stare is caught. It's a stare-down, unblinking, but he's the first to relent. Unskewer one of the ducks to chuck it at the boy, while the other is tossed back into the pond, where it floats in a patch of its own growing blood.
"Try it," Rachel tells Tom, cavalier. It's probably to Ash's chagrin. They've been trying so very hard to keep Tom alive. "We'll never know until, well." Until Tom potentially skewers himself, like the ducks on Dean's spit.
"Withhershins.." Konstantin murmurs to himself, turning outwards towards the garden, expecting another assault in short order. He mostly heard you, Ash
Blue catches the duck, brightening up at the morsel he's provided, and goes chomp right on the raw meat, tearing it apart between suspiciously human-looking teeth. Maybe it's just a Wildling thing.
Now Rachel's looking between Blue and Dean with something like abject horror on her face. Today's the day of nausea. First the fleshforming, now this.
Maybe Dean won't shoot the boy right away. His bloodied claymore is embedded into the ground at his side while he relaxes further on the bench, crosses his legs - picks at his teeth to free them of a few feathers and bits caught, without minding at all the other raw meat enjoyer that devours his own morsel at his side.
"But it would change.." Tom murmurs as he looks at the sky, seeming confused by Ash's point. He frowns as he walks up towards the statue, looking down at the marbles in his hand. He hears Rachel and seems to steady his nerves as he focuses on himself, "I think it is dusk.." He places the dusk stone into the hand of the statue, seeming more cautious than before.
Ash mentions, "I'm surprised y'all aren't taking the eggs. They're probably worth a lot." They don't make an advance themself, though. They just wait to see what happens.
The boy finishes off the piece of meat that was bestowed upon him, and bounds over to the seat next to Dean, with no regard for any danger he might be in. Blue climbs up, his legs swinging back and forth in the air as he looks to the werewolf next to him like a duck who's imprinted on the first human it sees. Well... hopefully he won't be /treated/ like Dean treats ducks.
"Would they not be being considered fae food?" Emmanuel queries of Ash, raising a hand to scratch at his cheek as he watches Dean and Blue devour some duck, which may just be considered the same. He doesn't raise this as a concern, however.
It should have been expected by now, perhaps, that the statue rumbles and shifts, turning to face the mansion to the east as water begins to flow. The sun overhead dims, the sky turning all sorts of colors until they stand in a garden of perpetual dusk.
[Please ask for your friendly SR to summon you instead of walking to the next location, just to be safe.]
Ash eyes Emmanuel a moment before saying, "If you chose to *eat* it instead of selling it, though."
Now the lot of them have their marching orders. It's clear what to do, and Tom seems well and capable of doing it. Rachel wanders off to the gazebo, stepping in to take a seat. She's tired. They've been at this for a while.
Ash sighs, saying, "What will likely happen is that once every margble is placed, in the correct order, the flowers will thrive, and from there, we can determine what flowers are needed for the puzzle - likely using the same order he fountain is in."
Ash sighs, saying, "What will likely happen is that once every margble is placed, in the correct order, the flowers will thrive, and from there, we can determine what flowers are needed for the puzzle - likely using the same order the fountains and marbles are set in, based on time of day. (fix)"
They pass by the ballroom to get to this next garden; there's another one of those fleshformed servants here, and the music sounds from nearby, though the servant doesn't seem to be paying attention to them at all. Blue does look at them with familiarity, but he's having much too much fun on Dean's shoulder to go saying hello or anything - not that he's shown particular interest in talking, so far.
"Oh? That is very clever, Ash, hm? You are nearly being as helpful as Tom is!" Emmanuel chirps a compliment aside to Ash more, extending a beaming smile aside to them as he wanders about the gardens, serving as a shadow for their ball handler. "I would not have thought of this, hm?"
"Order of turning the stones maybe important, da", Konstantin nods to Ash, "Good thinking." He turns to observe Tom, then, and his instrumental ball selection/positioning process. A wary eye sweeps the gardens occasionally though, should they run into any more furious flocks.
There's no ducks in this part of the garden, thank god for that, though there's squirrels aplenty in the trees. None of them stop to chitter at Dean.
Ash continues, "Then, we can open the trapdoor, but there's likely a battle there. And I've been most helpful, since it's not that hard to figure out - but I wouldn't have taken chances with everyone's lives in confirming it." They don't seem to be interested in putting Tom down in their explanation, instead merely stating their thought process. "Tom's thoughts were great - I'm glad that he caught on quickly - but I still don't approve of the cavalier approach." Stance firmly explained and made, they nod to Konstantin, accepting the praise. They continue to scan the room, as well.
Tom seems to take the compliments in his stride, seeming somewhat lifted in mood by the reactions of those around him. He still has the odd moment of concern when he glances over in Ash's direction, but for the most part the reserved large man seems to be quite glad to be of some use. He knows what he's supposed to do, looking around the space and taking in the sight of the garden. He has singled out the dawn stone, approaching the statue and carefully placing it into place. Taking a step back, watching expectantly for a change.
As they wander about to the next place, Dean with his charge on his shoulder, shows every bit the aggressive distance towards the servants they encounter. He's wary of them, making sure to take the furthest path from them all. Although, it isn't a detriment to him reaching into his pocket to fish out some beef jerky of all things. Of course he had food, and ducks were done in just because of that one that barked at him. He splits his morsel in half, sticks his half in his mouth while the other is held up over his shoulder for Blue. Just as the squirrels don't chatter at Dean, Dean doesn't chatter at them.
"Oui, most clever. Most helpful." Emmanuel notes back to Ash in heatless agreement with them, extending a shrug before turning to watch Tom work. The man has become a ball expert in such little time.
Rachel chatters at no one, whether Ash with their diatribe or Dean with his squirrels. Instead, she remains in the gazebo, feet up, forearms on her knees, with her head turned so she can observe the group. She still has her weapons handy, too, in case anything unexpected appears -- but for now, it's quiet. She rests.
The statue reacts predictably; the morning sun shifts to a more pleasant, slightly dimmer level of strength, the early morning hues of a rising sun taking over the garden; butterflies float by Rachel's seat, and the scent of wildflowers fills the air while bees buzz around, and the statue definitely shifts to face the west - towards the manor, once again. They're now stood in a garden lit in the hues of dawn.
Blue sniffs at the jerky like he doesn't know what it might be, but he knows food when he sees it. It's grabbed out of Dean's hands and popped into his mouth, the boy chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing... and chewing... and chewing... and... with a wet plop, it goes to the floor, covered in saliva. He didn't like that one.
[To the front garden?]
Konstantin moves to stand beside Rachel as Tom does his thing, positioning the stone. "We don't have guide forever", Konstantin replies to Ash, and if we something goes wrong.. well. That is why we have so many of us." The russian grunts then and adds, nodding over to Dean. "And Dean." Watching the garden flourish before their very eyes, Konstantin exhales slowly. "Again, good job Tom." He turns to go to the next garden."
Konstantin moves to stand beside Rachel as Tom does his thing, positioning the stone. "We don't have guide forever", Konstantin replies to Ash, "and if we something goes wrong.. well. That is why we have so many of us." The russian grunts then and adds, nodding over to Dean. "And Dean." Watching the garden flourish before their very eyes, Konstantin exhales slowly. "Again, good job Tom." He turns to go to the next garden.
Ash shrugs. They have their disagreement, but they don't disagree strongly enough to argue with their superior.
And Dean. Of course. If something goes wrong. Though, while they change directions to the next garden, the fact that Blue wasted his food appears not to stick right with Dean. He's wandering past Rachel, and the boy is grabbed by the scruff of his neck again, plopped to the ground at her side, and lazily nudged in her direction like he's bored of it. "I'll throw him down that trapdoor, so don't lose him."
Rachel had, as Konstantin spoke, decided to use his arm for leverage to pull herself back up. Oh, what a difficulty to stand after an hour of movement. Oh what effort to have to do nothing at all while Tom takes all the risk. She walks off, stretching, as if she were thirty rather than twenty-one.
Dean sweeps past her with the boy.
"...Right." Good thing he doesn't understand English.
Blue looks after Dean, and attempts to wander off from Rachel's side back towards him, looking for more uppies.
And Emmanuel too! Though, he does generally do his best to avoid too much attention, lest he end up being used as a meatshield once more. He trots along behind Tom, gun at the ready and eyes flitting about with wary curiosity.
Tom jogs ahead a little of the group, "I'll just bung it in." He states as he moves towards the middle of the front garden and before the statue, seeming intent to make haste and deliver the last marble into place.
Konstantin nods once, firmly, decidedly supporting Tom's notion to handle arcane artefacts with exactly the kind of credence they deserve. "Bung it."
The last of the stones settle into place - darkness shrouds the garden, every corner swathed in unnatural shadow and a rumbling overtakes the ground again as the statue shifts to face north. One, two, three, four, they're all in place now, and the garden is transformed into a garden shrouded in the shadows of midnight.
... nothing explodes.
... yet?
Ash ponders it over visibly, tilting their head and letting their dreadlocks dangle.
Damn. Everyone was hoping that Emmanuel would explode. Well, the day is still you-- actually, it isn't. It's nighttime. Rachel waits. And waits. And waits. Maybe something will happen if they stand here a while longer.
Ash says "Possibly the order is wrong, or possibly, we need to face the music."
"Eh, good bunging, mon amie." Emmanuel calls over toward Tom, before the darkness largely robs him of vision. There's a pause before he's strapping a headlight to his, well, head, and blinking.
Rachel, alongside Ash, decide to give their companions light enough to see whether something changes. On her part, her glow is sputtering, heaviest from her fingertips, and everywhere else inconsistent. Doesn't feel like she has much control there.
Konstantin exhales sharply, then, gesturing to the manor. "Alright. Let's head up and look out the windows; maybe we will see more from vantage point now", Konstantin suggests, heading for the doors. They've bunged until they've nothing left to bung.
Dean flourishes his eyes.
Blue flourishes his eyes harder.
Dean pats Blue at his side. Repeatedly. Maybe a little harshly.
Emmanuel blinks rapidly, until his eyes adjust to the light.
Despite how much waiting Rachel is doing, Emmanuel does not seem to be blowing up. The ground doesn't open up to swallow him wide either. It's a shame, and so the group must progress onwards to other places where there might be a better chance of things blowing up.
Rachel follows after someone, all for increasing the possibility of Emmanuel blowing up. Maybe if the fae won't do it, Dean can oblige.
Ash summons will o' wisps - just like the ones inside. They flock around them like small creatures, swirling, before moving to float besides Tom, someone, and themself. They allow Emmanuel to use up his headlamp, though.
Ash find that their fearless leader is missing. Oh, well-
Ash summons will o' wisps - just like the ones inside. They flock around them like small creatures, swirling, before moving to float besides Tom, Konstantin, and themself. They allow Emmanuel to use up his headlamp, though.
The room's undergone an interesting change while they were gone - the times of the day in each of the gardens converge at a point overhead; noon north, midnight south, dawn east and dusk west, the statues all facing the mansion seem to be waiting for something. Presumably, this is the part where the flowers come into play.
Ash looks over the gardens again, carefully. "If none appear, then we go check out the music, maybe? If that doesn't help, then we can go by color."
Konstantin rubs his hands together, fearlessly approaching after having hung back to watch the staircase for any following attendants. He heads for the windows, peering outwards expectantly. He has a little pep to his step. One might even think he's enjoying the Fae's games here. Squinting a bit, he examines the garden to the north.
"Mmm. The colour." Emmanuel responds back to Ash after a few moments consideration, and snaps his fingers after, "That is a wonderful idea, mon amie. I knew you were being good at this, hm? You should try."
From this vantage point, it's clear that the flowers in the gardens haven't changed - they remain the usual wildflowers, simply there, doing the normal wildflowery things. The ones in the southern garden and western gardens seem to be closing up, considering it's night and dusk over there, while the ones in the north and the northeast are blooming - or starting to.
Ash continues, "If we do by color, I think sunflowers are noon....."
Ash doesn't know what colors a flower is just by the name, but considers carefully.
Tom chews at the inside of his lower lip in thought, seeming somewhat perplexed as if they were missing something. He then wonders out loud, "Does anyone know anything about flowers? Like are any of them, happier at different times of the day? Because of their sensitivity to light?"
Ash considers the flowers, and their color coordinations as appropriate for each time of day.
"I am knowing they can used to fight zombies, hm?" Emmanuel quips aside to Tom with a little grin, clearly amused with his own joke. He even slinks closer to try and elbow him gently, "Eh? Because of the games?"
In that room, Dean, with his entourage that he tried to pawn off to Rachel not leaving his side, takes a spot beside that trapdoor. He's squatting next to it, like it might open at any moment, even if it needs the crafty puzzle-solving skills of others that he mightily lacks. All he's got are eyes - eyes that aren't as good as the boy he keeps at his side while he inspects the seams and the general sturdiness of the trapdoor. Perhaps even checking, just in case, whether it'd be plible to getting plown through by a half-ton wolf.
Konstantin frowns as he peers outwards, clucking his tongue. No dice on the big visual reveal; there's more at play here. He turns, shaking his head to Tom. "I don't know."
"Yes," Rachel says to Tom. That must she knows. What she doesn't know, unfortunately, is which tend to bloom when. It's unlucky that they're in the Other, where there's no reception. Funny enough, though, all of them do possess eyes -- some keener than others. She walks off to the window, looking to see if any seem to have a particular proclivity for the time of day they're set in, in those gardens.
If the boy Dean gives her follows, well, she... doesn't toss him down the trapdoor. Probably because she can't yet.
"Yes," Rachel says to Tom. That much she knows. What she doesn't know, unfortunately, is which tend to bloom when. It's unlucky that they're in the Other, where there's no reception. Funny enough, though, all of them do possess eyes -- some keener than others. She walks off to the window, looking to see if any seem to have a particular proclivity for the time of day they're set in, in those gardens.
If the boy Dean gives her follows, well, she... doesn't toss him down the trapdoor. Probably because she can't yet. (fix)
Ash has been looking at the flowers all day, and has presumed that they would have noted any of those flowers while they were looking. So, instead, they try to figure out colors.
The trapdoor is securely shut, not looking like it can be opened from this end. There doesn't seem to be a way to open it at all, really. Blue crouches next to Dean on the floor, mimicking him with a knock at the trapdoor and looking very amused by his own actions.
Tom offers a grin to Emmanuel, the smile meeting his eyes as he seems to enjoy the effort to make a joke given the situation they're in. He assures him, "Good one."
Emmanuel beams back to Tom, "Merci."
"Have you been solving this yet?" Emmanuel calls over towards Ash then, the most helpful of the team. "Press the sunflower, mon amie, hm? See if something happens?"
The discs remain in their little alcoves, merrily not doing anything except waiting to be spun and pushed.
Ash shakes their head, saying, "No... I'm trying to color code them, but I can't form a correct pattern. Therefore, it's probably wrong. Can we please check out the music? Or we can ask the child." Presumably using the same interpretation technique that's failed Ash twice now.
Konstantin also does nothing except waiting to be spun and pushed, leaning against the wall besides one of the windows, peering out with furrowed brows. "Alright", Konstantin speaks up a few seconds after Ash does, "Let's go check music."
After Blue knocks, Dean slams. His fist dents exactly where the boy had tapped, except, with a lot more strength and intent to dent it - just to check whether he could smash through it. Compared to everyone else, who are very busy with the discs, the puzzle, working on their respective alcoves or otherwise doing something, Dean can be considered a bit of a neanderthal, banging on the mystery that is the trapdoor.
Emmanuel is a font of patience, and that font has run dry. Do fonts run dry? This one does, at least. He huffs out, and rolls his eyes, "Mon amie, this is not for fun, hm?" He drawls out, and marches over towards the northern alcove, where he tries to spin the disc to the Sunflower.
Konstantin turns, watching Emmanuel curiously as he approaches the disc and starts to do his thing. Maybe he'll explode afterall? "Press it in once it is turned."
If the wheel gives to Emmanuel's measly human strength, he gives it a shove, trying to press it in. Time to explode.
Blue jumps at the sudden slam of Dean's fist against the trapdoor, then lets out a hiccupy giggle and slams his own hands against the trapdoor. As expected, it doesn't open.
Ash shakes their head. "No, it *is* for fun, Emmanuel. Just not ours. We're in the Other." They wait to be proven wrong, though, looking tired.
"Good point", Konstantin murmurs with a brief glance at Ash, but his attention remains on Emmanuel.
Ash sighs, understanding.
Rachel ran out of patience a while ago, as she's been rather quiet in the back. When Emmanuel walks off to one of the alcoves, she does the other, at the wall next to him. She turns the wheel to the chrysanthemum and pushes in, awaiting for something - perhaps more rumbling - to happen. They can all explode together.
Ash looks over at Tom, nodding to the southern one.
Ash seems to assume that they're all doing the same one, turning it to the sunflower and pressing it. After all, why would it be otherwise?
"Tom, hm? If I am not exploding? Try that smelly flower, hm? I remember smelling them at night." Emmanuel calls over towards Tom as they're directed toward the southern alcove.
As caution dwindles and blind action reigns supreme, Konstantin readies his weapon again, eyes shifting between the trapdoor and the entrance they came in from.
Boom!
... that's not all of them, exploding. It's the garden to the north, where the wildflowers sink into the ground as though they were never there, and a riot of sunflowers blossoms into being all across the garden in its entirety when the disc is pushed in, looking to the noonday sun. Where Rachel stands, the eastern garden blossoms with chrysanthemums, their petals somewhat muted in the dusk light. The western garden grows sunflowers too, all of a sudden, though these seem to be facing down instead of directly at the sinking sun, a little wilted.
Anticipation lingers in the air, for the last of the flowers to be fixed in place.
"The only one I was feeling a good feeling about, beyond the sunflower.. was the dusk one.." Tom watches as Ash turns there one, "You're doing the Chrysanthemum, right?"
Ash doesn't seem to have lost their desire for action at all - but if it's being done *anyways*, it had better be done in tandem, since nothing would happen at all otherwise. They are reluctant, still annoyed.
"No," Rachel says slowly. "I just did chrysanthemums. I'm willing to bet it's a different one."
Ash sighs, going, "MotherFUCK."
Dean and the boy, doing their own thing, they're unarmed. They stay unarmed, mulling over the trapdoor's existence like it is some profound question - although now, Dean has a hand rubbing under his jaw while he stares perplexed. The boom, may as well not register for him. He's still staring down at the thing, grinding his jaw - completely unaware of the little wildling's mimicry, or so it would seem.
"Oh, that was being clever, Rachel! I think those flowers are opening at.. erm, whatever time of day you're standing at." Emmanuel manages to untangle the genius of Rachel's actions, and actually seems sort of excited for a brief moment here.
Ash turns the knob, just pressing them in order now, to see what blooms well in their section.
Ash says "Whatever blooms and looks good is probably right."
The knob refuses to budge for now, seeming stuck in place when Ash tries.
Ash blinks, then looks to Tom, waiting.
Konstantin peers out of either window, frowning. "Sunflowers right, the rest not so much.." He turns then, to Tom. "Go on, Tom. What do you think? You have done good with puzzle today", Konstantin asks, hooking his free hand's thumb into his belt.
There's a long pause as Emmanuel tries to puzzle out which one's he'd meant, "..I am-" He peers aside to Rachel, searching for help with a wordless look. She mentioned being good at flowers, right?" "
Ash adds, "I can't turn mine again until you try one, Tom. At least, I don't think so."
Ash has a hollow, haunted look.
"I actually thought," Rachel considers, "That chrysanthemums might be dusk." She tries the petunias, which sit toward the end of the group. Dusk nearly completes the cycle. Maybe it works that way here, too, where it's whichever is ordered roughly at the right part of the dial is the way to go. "What time of day are you looking at again, Emmanuel? Might be like a clock."
Rachel pushes her wheel in at her new selection.
Tom shares with Konstantin whilst looking apologetic, "I just want to make an informed guess.. hold on. Do you mean jasmine?" He looks up at Emmanuel with a grin, "That's smelly right?" He begins to turn the dial, around and gives an apologetic expression to Ash. "Sorry, I'm alright jasmine." He pushes the button in.
"Erm, I am the noon? Maybe you are being dawn, and not dusk?" Emmanuel suggests over to Rachel, "Ash, maybe you be trying Rachel's guess, hm? The chris.. Chris ones." He suggests, then clicking his fingers over towards Tom in approval, "Oui! Jasmines!"
Ash says, "I can't do shit right now, but sure, I'll try that next. And yeah, Jasmines being night bloomers sounds right, for some reason." Probably a random Wikipedia factoid picked up - if they're right at all.
Konstantin gestures about. "West is dusk, east is dawn, south is night."
Rachel aims for the daffodil instead, altering her selection and again pressing the disc. Thank God that wrong answers don't seem to bear consequences.
Ash looks at Konstantin with confusion, as it's visible. "Right, that's why Tom should try Jasmines."
Konstantin nods Rachel's choice and nods approvingly.
Just like Ash, Rachel would find that she can't change her option.
Wrong answers do bear consequences. Rachel takes that back.
Ash continues to wait for Tom's result.
Blue perks up as the discs are turned, lifting his head at the noise, and quickly scrambles to his feet, and runs out of the room.
About a minute later, he's returned, dragging along one of the fleshformed servants - one with a hand made of many tools instead of the feather-duster one - and he pushes them to stand right on top of the trapdoor.
Ash grins at the boy, suddenly getting a flash of amusement again as they wait to see what will happen.
Sunflowers to the north and west, chrysanthemums to the east, and jasmines to the south. All four gardens are abloom, some more than the others, and there's a crack of what sounds like thunder overhead as a beam of light shoots down from the convergence of the times of day at the apex of the room - all that power fueled right down onto its center and the servant who stands there, guileless. They're transformed before their eyes, their head and legs taking on a metallic glint while vines and flowers sprout from their arms in one instant, ripping apart the person into an amalgamation of half-key, half-plant. Surprise.
Please remember to subdue off.
Konstantin launches into combat immediately, hissing
Blue hides behind Dean.
"Who pressed the wrong flower? I thought it was being clear!" Emmanuel blurts out in alarm, glancing around the room in a panic as some poor soul pays for their mistake.
Blue blinks, looking disappointed as the amalgamation of vines and keys falls to the floor with its sunflowery left arm and its chrysanthemum-y right arm. He stalks off again to find the other servant - maybe the musicians are next?
Ash turns around immediately, in a bit of a better mood, ignoring Emmanuel completely. They motion to Blue to set another servant up on the trapdoor before turning it to chrysanthemum next, pressing it in.
Ash says "Remain on Sunflower, Frenchie."
Just inadvertantly, Dean who was naturally the closest to the trapdoor, doesn't quite catch onto just what the hell happened in between when the boy dragged a servant here, and its subsequent death by a shot through its body. He still stands at the ready, claymore drawn, brows knit - and looking even more confused at the antics. "The fuck.."
"Better dead than being whatever they were", Konstantin mutters before gesturing to the people at their various stations. All of a sudden, he is on alert again, growing serious. "Alright. You all have your next choices. Do it."
Ash says "You, too, TOm."
Ash says "Remain on Jasmines."
Rachel surrenders her seat at the eastern alcove, nodding Konstantin over. "I'll guard with Dean," she tells him. At this point, she has her staff out. Note that, of course, Konstantin's likely - certainly - better than she is on the defense.
Dean may just have Blue to thank for saving his life - it likely wouldn't have ended well for everyone involved if it was /him/ instead of the servant right on the center of the trapdoor.
Tom slings his rifle back over his shoulder, looking at the middle of the room and at Dean. He seems concerned but states, "If the kid hadn't brought them in, maybe that could have been one of us.."
Konstantin points at the disc with his sword, shaking his head at Rachel. "Press disc, Rachel. Daffodil like you chose. Morning flower, no?" There's not an ounce of compromise in his voice.
Ash eyes Rachel with a frown, about to volunteer Dean to go instead of Konstantin, but stops short, turning away instead.
Ash sighs in relief as Konstantin speaks up, though.
Rachel frowns at Konstantin. That being said, she adheres to instruction, pressing the daffodil in. This time, she's quick to turn around, watching for whatever might come through the door.
And then Blue returns, dragging along a drowsy (drugged?) servant with the feather-duster arm, who seems barely conscious as they stumble along even after they're placed at the center of the trapdoor. All ready to go, another fleshformed monster's further fleshforming coming right up.
Konstantin would check if they are still zipcuffed
They are not. Maybe the squirrels ate away the cuffs.
Just warily, Dean takes a step back away from the trapdoor that does not seem like a trapdoor, anymore. His jaw shifts, subtle, but agitated still, "Keep your distance, stay on your things - Konstantin can watch my six from afar, I won't let anything through." At least -this- is something the wolf is good at. The boy, after he's brought another vict- volunteer, Dean lays a hand on the boy's shoulder. A firm tilt of his head beckons the boy to take a step back again, behind him.
Blue seems to want to watch from up close, his eyes wide with interest, but the hand on his shoulder is sufficient to send him waaaay back. He pouts and attempts to sneak closer again.
[Just for purposes of clarity, the SR would like everyone in the alcoves to go through their chosen flowers just once.]
Rachel picked the daffodil this time.
It is the sunflower for Emmanuel, and he presses it once more.
Tom is remaining on jasmines.
Ash has pressed the chrysamamamenomynom first.
Look at that: Dean's taken a liking to the boy. Who would've thunk it? Certainly not Rachel, who's watching Dean with a look of immense surprise.
Clearly, Dean is just as reckless. He's not sending the boy off- he's staying close, and Blue is gestured to stay at Dean's back. Whether the message translated well or not, non-verbal as they are, he still bristles his shoulders, starts to heft his claymore with both hands as opposed to his usual one-handed grip.
Konstantin stands prepared, once again, his sword brandished. No flourishes though; just poise, waiting for something to happen to the friend he made immediately upon entering the mansion.
Tom peers around in anticipation, gaze roaming the space and checking in on everyone's expression.
Ash has a slight frown, moving between the servant and the garden.
Another crack of thunder, and the servant who was laying on the trapdoor shimmers, warps and twists, and then... /liquefies/, for lack of a better word. Their skin turns golden and metallic, like a gold key, except one that's melting into the cracks and whorls of the wood of the trapdoor, filling all the gaps entirely until the floor is smooth, no hint of a trapdoor to be found, as though it never existed.
And then, with a sliding noise, a pedestal forms, rising upwards from the ground. Up, into the air, and it opens with a click.
Ash sighs in disappointment.
Ash is clearly disappointed in the success, having been entertained by the failure. Though, they technically *did* get what they wished for.
Emmanuel jumps into the air at the sudden crack of thunder, landing a little awkwardly and having to reach out to the wall for support. The shock turns to disgust, and then a grimace as he watches the poor servant be twisted and turned into a key, of sorts. They didn't even know their name. It seems that neither success nor failure were particularly enjoyable for the Templar.
Excellent. Rachel stows her weapons away again. Now that they've all completed their task, she feels the necessity to say, "So, who wants to go downstairs and eat?"
Konstantin watches with a faint grimace, lowering his blade slowly to his side as the servant turns to gloop. Aside from Hell's betentacled puddles, he's not had much trouble with gloop before, and considering it isn't moving it's a safe bet that this puddle here isn't going to cause them major issue. As the pedestal raises, Konstantin exhales heavily. "We did it.."
Seeing as absolutely nothing happened in terms of a monster, Dean reaches ahead for the pedestal. The boy really acts quicker than he does, and if he's surprised to be handed the scepter, the hard lines of his features going from lax and uncaring to a warworn, warlike, battle-ready nature betray none of it. Steel eyes of green rise from the object in his hand, inspect it quietly, before he stares at the boy next. It's a look that lingers, burrows into him with the same sheer intensity of wrath he carried earlier - ever ready to surface, and yet, all he does is hang is weapon between his shoudlerblades again, and reach forward to tousle and ruffle the boy's golden locks. "Thanks, kid."
Ash considers the corpse they lift up, then sighs. It's too heavy.
Tom looks somewhat horrified by the transformation, staring down as the melting figure and then a look of guilt washes over his features as he realises he literally pushed a button to make that happen. He says nothing to anyone, just seems a little withdrawn and curiously watches as Dean get his hands on the scepter.
Konstantin snorts a bit, shaking his head at Rachel as he stows his blade, Konstantin stretches his arms out down by his sides with a groan. "Alright.. Let's meet with the guide outside. I had little thing I wanted to do before we leave, though, I will go take care of it."
Please hold.
Ash, the strategic member, posited that the solution to their puzzle lay in arranging the gardens' flowers correctly according to the time of day they represented, suggesting an order based on the position of the statues. Emmanuel, with moments of levity, provided light-hearted suggestions and support, unwittingly contributing to the puzzle's solution. Rachel, wary yet proactive, swapped choices at the discs, while Dean, the group's muscle, kept a cautious watch, prepared for any threat—his volatile temperament contrasting with his unexpected bond with Blue, a boy they encountered.
Blue, displaying a mysterious understanding of the mansion's workings, led a flesh-formed servant to stand atop what appeared to be a trapdoor in the main room. Following the group's efforts to correctly associate each garden with its corresponding flower, the servant morphed into a key-like entity, integrating into the woodwork and revealing a pedestal with the sought-after scepter.
With the scepter in hand, thanks to Blue hastening to grab it, the task seemingly concluded. However, the transformation of the servant into part of the mansion's architecture weighed on the group, particularly Tom, whose action directly led to the transformation. Konstantin, ever practical, suggested regrouping with their guide and hinted at unfinished business.
The narrative concludes with the group both successful in their immediate quest and introspective about the costs of interacting with the Other's enchantments, illustrating a typical venture into the unknown where victory intertwines with unsettling revelations.
(The Junkyard of Flesh(SRKorina):SRKorina)
[Sun Sep 1 2024]
On the path leading to a rundown mansion
The otherworldly trees of the Nissenian forest part, revealing a rundown mansion in the distance. It must have been grand at some point in time; now, it looks like there's been little maintenance, and even less care put into its preservation. The yard leading up to the building is overgrown, the occasional scuffling of a small animal heard or the rustling of grass seen. Vines crawl up the walls, growing into the bricks and attempting to reclaim the building, slowly but surely. A yellow brick road, overgrown with weeds and flowers, lines the way further towards the front garden.
It is morning, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is partly covered by dark grey clouds.
"Mmff!" There's a sound of pain from Emmanuel as he falls from about seven feet in the air and lands awfully, and awkwardly alike, right on his face, on the path leading to this rundown mansion. "..Ow." The man complains sourly, slowly pushing back up and onto his knees as he brushes himself down, and rubs at a reddish graze on his forehead. Off to a good start, no doubt.
A blast of force sends SRKorina flying into Konstantin.
Ash stares at Emmanuel for a good, long moment.
Ash says "How's your cheese?"
Meanwhile, away from someone' falling demise, there is a streak of light. A near-lightning eruption, a haze of mist that appears through a vicious, moonlit glow of an overbearing path. It deposits Dean like wrath incarnate just a few paces off the edge of the path, green eyes full of their vitriolic, off-putting green glow ever-present and reflective like an animal's mien is stuffed forcefully into the make of man. The sound of his neck cracking is heard, side to side, then the shrill sound of metal upon metal while he tugs a few straps of his aketon, tightens it over the leather exactly where he is. That massive claymore at his back and a hand-held crossbow at his side both gleam in their runic inscriptions while Dean only keeps his eyes forward, at the road.
Meanwhile, away from Emmanuel's falling demise, there is a streak of light. A near-lightning eruption, a haze of mist that appears through a vicious, moonlit glow of an overbearing path. It deposits Dean like wrath incarnate just a few paces off the edge of the path, green eyes full of their vitriolic, off-putting green glow ever-present and reflective like an animal's mien is stuffed forcefully into the make of man. The sound of his neck cracking is heard, side to side, then the shrill sound of metal upon metal while he tugs a few straps of his aketon, tightens it over the leather exactly where he is. That massive claymore at his back and a hand-held crossbow at his side both gleam in their runic inscriptions while Dean only keeps his eyes forward, at the road.
"...I may have put the bird there," Rachel says, stepping in after Konstantin. She sounds apologetic. All the same, she did what she did.
[Repost] "Mmff!" There's a sound of pain from Emmanuel as he falls from about seven feet in the air and lands awfully, and awkwardly alike, right on his face, on the path leading to this rundown mansion. "..Ow." The man complains sourly, slowly pushing back up and onto his knees as he brushes himself down, and rubs at a reddish graze on his forehead. Off to a good start, no doubt.
[Hello, and welcome to the Junkyard of Flesh - the plot hopefully shouldn't last longer than four hours, and we'll take a little break midway through it. Feel free to throw in Internals, Recalls, Thoughts, and Attempts at me, and also feel free to look around the place and interact with things.]
[While there's multiple rooms to explore, please keep in mind that I will not be able to see your emotes remotely (or emote at you remotely) without having advanced trust, in case you decide to split from the main group. Also feel free to Stalk if you have any questions.]
Konstantin arrives with Rachel at some point, squinting at Rachel as she confesses to avian reappropriation
Ash stares at Emmanuel again, before pointing and snickering. "Man, you can't even land from a path right?"
Ash comes with Tom, seeming like they've just come from some cheerful conversation. One might think they were friends on a walk... which is sort of true.
The sun is just dawning, coloring the sky in pretty pink hues when the group makes it to the manor after a long pathing journey through an endless forest, out of which some land better than others. They're led by their guide, a Faeling woman who stops in sight of the manor and refuses to go any further. She speaks little English, with a terrible, terrible accent, but from what little they've been briefed on along the way, it's clear that this mansion has been left abandoned for at least a hundred years. Most of the things of value have disappeared already courtesy of looters and it's far away enough from the nearest town that nobody else had moved in, leaving the mansion to ruin.
Or, at least, that's what the stories say. Some people claim the place is haunted and refuse to go near it, and others just say there's something unsettling about it that keeps them from going there. The truth can only be found out if they dare to look for themselves.
For now, the group is free to ask questions of their Faeling guide, if they have any, though she will not be joining them inside the mansion, and her knowledge may be limited.
"Well," Rachel says. She's stopped her aside with Konstantin in favor of appraising the manor. In an inversion of what proper courtesy is (of the time period that this building might be from), she adds, "Gentlemen first." How kind of her.
All metal objects in the room are suddenly tugged violently towards the artifact.
Ash stares at Emmanuel for... the third time? "You haven't even decursed that dagger?" The Frenchie is already out of strikes, and he's barely got here.
"Eugh." There's an annoyed little sound from Emmanuel as he takes note of the various people who have shown up for this (mis)adventure, and to make things worse yet for him he's still got this bloody cursed dagger. He clambers back up to his feet, allowing himself a few moments to appreciate the pretty pink of the fairy-floss sky, before his gaze flicks back over toward the house, and then to Ash, "I have run out of ti-" He doesn't finish the sentence as own axe does it's best to cut his other hand off. "Damnedable thing! Focus on the fae, hm?"
Konstantin pauses, turning aside to look at Rachel. The servos of his mechanised armour whir softly with his every move, mostly muffled by kevlar shrouds added to cover the brighter metallic parts of the hydraulics and make it better suited for covert operations. "You know, maybe we should send bait. Whatever is in there might come out if it smells a little arcanist come through the door", Konstantin muses as he looks Rachel up and down for a moment
Ash rubs the bridge of their nose, wondering what the hell is wrong with the man in murmured tone. "You'll endanger us with it, decurse it already. This is a *stealth* mission, and you're carrying a bomb that explodes cursed energy at regular intervals." To Konstantin, they say, "I understand your thoughts, but Rachel is useful. Let's send the walking disaster." They started out teasing the Frenchman, but that moved *quickly* into bullying and distaste. Because the one in a Pokemon hoodie and shorts clearly has some sort of superiority to this cursed human... and they might.
Their guide takes a single step away from Emmanuel as though to pretend she doesn't know him at all when he tries to cut off his hand - which isn't inaccurate. She does not know him. She then steps away from Konstantin as well at the mention of bait, looking like she'd like nothing more than to simply leave, but she's probably being paid for this. There's a clearing of her throat, a dainty one, 'ahem ahem'. "I will path back when you are succeeded," she informs the group and moves to a side from where she can hopefully stay out of sight and out of mind, unless there's anything asked of her. Failure isn't even mentioned as an option.
Dean's crossbow, having the lesser bindings and a lack of holster, just hanging, is the first to be pulled to the side, towards the artifact that tries to usurp control of it. It flies - but Dean's hand shoots aside without looking to catch it, fight the magical pull with a slow grind of his jaw and effortlessly pull his weapon back into his belongings. Green eyes shift over, focus on Emmanuel with some heightened intensity in a low stare. Thankfully it doesn't last, and his attention turns upon their guide, instead.
With a final burst of power the curse on a golden dagger is broken.
Rachel throws Konstantin a disparaging look.
"Excuse me," she interrupts mid-way through his talking. One would think she's giving no credence at all to Konstantin's plan. "What do locals think that the place is haunted /by/?" She cuts a glance away only in brief, to flash Ash an appreciative smile, before she awaits a response.
Ash waves a hand at the curse, shooting a ball of light at it - though whether it helps, or if it was coincidence - he *did* say he was out of time - is unknown.
Ash adds their own question, making gestures as the motion towards the mansion and asks, "How big?"
There's a moment or two where it seems like Emmanuel might just cleanse the dagger by bonking Ash right on the head with it, maybe it's the thought alone that does it in the end, or perhaps even the sheer magic afforded by the pathing, or the magically inclined folk gathered around. Hell, it might just be the lands themselves, but either way, the curse breaks, and Emmanuel tucks the dagger away with a quiet sigh. Rachel beats Emmanuel to the question he'd been considering himself, and he lapses into silence while awaiting the answer from their guide.
Curling the beginnings of a smirk for a moment as Rachel deflects his jabbing, Konstantin turns to listen to the Guide. He is mildly distracted however by Emmanuel's dagger antics, gaze drifting over yonder to the frenchman and his sparkling blade before he tucks it away.
Tom is fighting off a general air of wonder, even the pathing to get here seemed like a novel and new thing for him. He remains quiet watching the others, attention shifting back and forth searching expressions. He looks somewhat lost.
The woman glances at the mansion in the distance, and back at Rachel before shrugging her shoulders. "Bad feelings," she tells her. That's... not a ghost? Maybe? Alternatively, it could be many ghosts. "Those who lived here, they were not kind." When are Fae ever known to be? "But they say the servants live." Looping right back around to not-ghost territory, then. "Nobody has been here in... years, though. Maybe ten, maybe twenty."
She gives Ash's question some consideration, then gestures herself towards the mansion to answer flatly, "That big."
Ash had their weapon fly towards the curse as well, but it's firmly strapped over their shoulder, their sabre at their side - it was *annoying*, but they're not so frail as they look... possibly, not getting pulled by it.
Ash calmly asks, "What shape? Square? Circle? Too much?" The last an alternative for 'complicated', they keep it simple.
Ash makes a gesture.
"..It is mansion shaped, mon amie." Emmanuel drolly informs Ash after a squint, and then offers their guide a gesture of apology of sorts.
Ash ignores Emmanuel, focusing on the woman as they make several useless looking gestures.
Ash gets a stare in return. What on the Other are they talking about? "I do not go inside," their guide sniffs, looking at Emmanuel now as though he might be the only sane one here in her estimation. There's a nod at him.
Someone with a convenient ability to fly may be able to take measure of the mansion from up above, but as it stands, either Ash will have to find a very tall tree to climb, or they'll just have to go in and see for themselves.
"Not a long time for arcane servants to be surviving, if they used something other than human", Konstantin muses after hearing the Guide's account of the place's history. Looking up towards the mansion itself, he squints a little and wets his lower lip with a swipe of his tongue. "You heard of anyone going in at all? Exploring?", Konstantin asks of her
"Are the servants... a danger? Are they magically inclined?"
Rachel's back to addressing Konstantin. It's probably not intended as an affront to the rest; he simply seems to be the one she thinks might catch onto her insinuations. She makes one: "It's not a bad idea." His. "I don't have to go in like this." She flicks a look down at her currently material self. "Stay a little bit ahead of you all."
"It is best this way, hm? Dangerous inside." Emmanuel notes back to the guide with a little smile. Finally, someone sensible. "Do those being inside ever come outside?" He asks of her then, with his own less than perfect English.
Ash shrugs as the guide fails to even be able to choose what the mansion looks like in walking past. They seem to doubt the guide's ability. But, no one claimed that she was a *scout*.
bristles his shoulders for a second, and his silence is his veil. While everyone speaks, Dean does not - he remains dutifully, exactly where he is - until that is broken by the sharp sound of his voice given aside, simply delivered to everyone in his ruthless, perpetual aggression. "Whatever the plan inside is, I don't care about whatever else we find in there. Split it among yourselves." His eyes then trace over others, watching. It's an unsaid thing; he is here for only one thing - and damn the opposition, he's here to get it. He turns his own question to their guide, then. "Forget what they're asking - tell us about the scepter. We all know why we're here, then we can go in."
Dean bristles his shoulders for a second, and his silence is his veil. While everyone speaks, Dean does not - he remains dutifully, exactly where he is - until that is broken by the sharp sound of his voice given aside, simply delivered to everyone in his ruthless, perpetual aggression. "Whatever the plan inside is, I don't care about whatever else we find in there. Split it among yourselves." His eyes then trace over others, watching. It's an unsaid thing; he is here for only one thing - and damn the opposition, he's here to get it. He turns his own question to their guide, then. "Forget what they're asking - tell us about the scepter. We all know why we're here, then we can go in." (fix)
"Many went. I don't know any." A sniff at Konstantin's question. "Maybe not," she tells Rachel, which is a big maybe. She's just here to be the pather and the path-backer, really. Emmanuel gets a blank look. "Try again English," she tells him.
Dean's question is met with a pause. "If there is artifact, it is hidden. There were people stealing; they took everything valuable. But there is... magical signal. Somewhere inside. Nobody has figured out."
"Let me fly," Rachel eventually concludes. It's to Dean, too, who seems to want to forge ahead. "Give me five minutes. If I'm not back by then, you can make some assumptions." It won't help to stay here deliberating. Their guide doesn't seem to have much more information -- and it'd be easy to acquire some.
Ash nods to Rachel.
The answer is more than enough - Dean nods to their guide, turns his head to others again, and that stare just about burrows into each and every one of them with vehement ire and disregard. Quite unusual to his usual, easy-going and carefree attitude. The trace bits of steam hissed out the corner of his mouth belie something else. Possibly imbibed, an affliction that no doubt brings the worst out of him. Rachel is nodded to, and for now, he keeps his quiet in a stare set ahead at the path, the mansion.
Konstantin observes the back and forth between the Guide and the rest, slowly drawing a sword from a sheath at his hip to hold it loosely by his side. "Good idea", Konstantin speaks aside to Rachel "We can asume you've been butchered."
Konstantin points his blade up towards the mansion, "You could fly up and look in windows. Much to see from the outside there, that we cannot."
Ash asks Rachel, "Telepathy?"
That's quorum, between Dean, Ash, Konstantin. Of course, that sounds a little sarcastic from the last of the three, but it's all Rachel needs. There's a blurring around her body, as if reality itself is smearing, and then...
No verbal answer needed for Ash. Rachel provides it with action.
Tom spends a moment getting into his gear, looking a bit self conscious of how unready he is. Once all geared up, he spends a moment looking up towards the mansion. He finally finds his voice just to mumble, "And then we can.. head inside."
"..Oh." Emmanuel blurts out, awkwardly, as the woman turns into a rather familiar bird. "/Oh./" The context fills in the blanks in some past interactions between the bird, and a certain cat-like woman who lives in the apartment complex. There's an awkward sort of grimace then, and he lapses back into silence while waiting.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He looks down to someone, then. "No stupid risks", Konstantin impresses upon the bird, before ticking his head towards the mansion. Very demanding, today.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He looks down to someone, then. "No stupid risks", Konstantin impresses upon the bird, before ticking his head towards the mansion. Very demanding, today.
Konstantin notes Emmanuel's surprise, laughing singularly and nodding to him. "Da. Her." He turns northwards then, watching the bird sail away.
Ash laughs at Emmanuel, as if they're not surprised at his reaction - but amused. To Tom, they say, "Let her scout, and report back. We move when the President says so." *We* likely meaning Ash and Tom, as they seem to doubt that Dean will be so obedient.
The wind feels nice beneath Rachel(common raven)'s wings. The weather's really nice.
The mansion consists of just two floors; not as big as mansions can be, but that's perhaps owing to the fact that most of the rooms on the second floor are blocked by debris and clutter from broken-down rooms that are non-functional now. There's a /lot/ of greenery around, gardens on each side of the manor, though they're overgrown with weeds. The western garden has a pond, the eastern one has a gazebo. All of them have statues, crumbling now, with stagnant water in them. There's a room of note on the second floor that seems to be in pristine-ish condition: one with large, open windows that seems to look out over all the gardens.
Tom flashes a look of appreciation sideways to Ash, giving a small nod to them. Before turning his gaze over to Konstantin and considering them thoughtfully for a moment, then returning his attention to the mansion once again.
Like a plane landing on a runway, Rachel(common raven) arcs around the group and lands. Just before she touches down, she shifts back, her booted, human feet finding friction against grass.
"Two floor," Rachel tells everyone. That might not read particularly impressive to those present, especially given that some have wealth aplenty. She continues on, turning back and pointing left. "Gardens here..." An indication to the right. "And here." None of that's particularly interesting. What is, perhaps, is this: "Second floor has a room that looks like someone's been in it recently. Faces the gardens. Might be interesting." And perhaps dangerous. "Saw them walking around."
Ash asks with evident interest, "Description?"
"Someone's playing music." Dean answers after a while of silence, long after Rachel spoke her piece about the mansion. There is a subtle tilt to his head, and he directs his ear towards the path he stands at the edge of. "I can't tell the direction. We're too far - but it could be where Rachel's scouted."
Konstantin rests the blunt back edge of his sword atop the alloy plate of his armour's pauldron, tipping a nod to Rachel before offering sincerely in response to the fresh intel; "Good work, Operative Cai." His gaze lingers on her for a moment longer before he turns to the rest. "Well, we know for sure there is someone in there now. Expect a little bit of trouble."
Ash tilts their head, surprised that they hadn't heard it.
Konstantin did not do that, he typo'd a built in social
Ash looks at Dean with a curious expression.
Ash eyes Konstantin suspiciously.
Dean is a monster, of course he's hearing ahead. His crossbow at his side is unhooked, repeater snapped open to reveal the chassis for loading bolts, and he sets to doing that. One by one from his waist, he fills each spot with hard, unforgiving steel, then flicks his wrist to snap it shut. It's not holstered, and he's not quite waiting while starts to walk around their guide, and slowly start ahead on the path towards the mansion. "I don't know where the scepter is. Whoever's in there should." He's very, very matter-of-fact and business-like about it. "I'm going to beat them up until they spill it."
"Probably," Rachel agrees with Dean. "Especially if both of us can't make out too much of what's going on. The room was centered. Layers of walls, you know?" She takes a step forward, as if to encourage the rest. That being said, she told everyone that before realizing what Dean was suggesting -- which is that whoever has information should go first. She pauses. "Emmanuel?" she volunteers. Ash did say they were the best sacrifice.
Rachel acknowledges Konstantin with a slight nod; they can linger on the praise later, assuming her intel doesn't get the poor Frenchman killed.
Ash asks again as they felt like they weren't heard - "Rachel, can you describe what you saw walking around, please?"
"I don't know," Rachel admits. "They weren't close enough." Which means, of course, that they'll have to rectify that. The good news is that Dean's happy to beat whomever it is up.
Ash nods to Rachel, ready to follow after Konstantin.
"Mmm?" Emmanuel quips back to Rachel, drawn out of his internal reverie by the sound of his own name. He glances amongst those standing here, and makes an assumption of what is happening, "Ah, we are moving? Good, this is for the best. We can stand outside all day admiring the pretty house, but.."
The garden at the end of the yellow brick road is looking mighty inviting by now, with all the time the group has spent scouting. There's not a soul to be seen from here apart from some birds and squrirel and other assorted animals, and the doors to the mansion are closed.
Ash strokes their furred companion before sliding her into their hoodie to rest as they walk.
"You or Tom," Rachel says, nodding ahead for them to take to the path first. How's that for snapping someone out of an internal reverie? One of them gets to be the sacrificial human.
"Well, if you are all being scared.." Emmanuel allows with one last glance at all the big, strong supernaturals, before electing to just wander up the yellow brick road. Just barely resisting the urge to skip.
Konstantin watches the exchange between Dean and Rachel with his blade resting atop his shoulder still. With the deliberation drawing to a close, he nods forwards and takes the first step. "Come on, let's go. Emmanuel can try go ahead and charm them, perhaps", Konstantin decides with an amused glance aside to the frenchman
Naturally, Dean is the first to reach the doors of the mansion, ahead of the group. His eyes are searching the look of it, the breathtaking hues, the descent and ascent both of vines spread all across. The hand not host to the crossbow slips through the encroaching vines in search, trace over the engravings of no doubt once great power. Under the shadow of the once glorious mansion now reduced to a decrepit example of what time does; he seeks out a handle to test it, push or pull it open, whichever works. All the same, his penchant for violence is there in that he seems like he's about to punch it down if it doesn't budge.
walks by the fountain, giving it a wide berth as he makes his way towards the door. While his weapon remains at rest, he himself is on alert; eyes constantly taking stock of their surroundings. "Perhaps we'll find some ancient fae inside", Konstantin muses somewhat grimly. That'd be amongst the worst of the possible outcomes here, perhaps.
Ash looks over that movement in the windows, first, but eventually finds their eyes drawn to the statue. They gaze at it with an apathetic expression - one might think that they didn't care at all, except that they kept looking at it. They glance away, looking around the rest, looking at the door - but their eyes examaning the statue more. They hear the grimness in their fearless leader's voice, but still give a last glance over their shoulder.
Konstantin watches Dean then, to see how he does with the door.
The fountain draws Emmanuel's attention as well, perhaps that is what causes him to give up his little lead up the path, or maybe he's just a slow walker. He steps over closer toward the fountain, canting his head to the side as he studies it, and then clucks his tongue softly.
Tom walks in behind Konstantin and Ash, though as they near the fountain he seems to take interest in it. His head tilt to one side as he smiles to himself, perhaps appraising the craftsman ship or subject. Standing near Ash, he looks aside and smiles. "It's as if they're asking for you to help them, to hold their hand." He glances past Ash to Emmanuel when he clucks.
There's no response from inside the mansion as the group strolls up to the big doors and the overgrown path, though the sound of music is now close enough to almost be heard by mundane ears as well, if faintly, coming from inside. There's quacking noises from somewhere in the northwest, past too many overgrown hedges to be reached from here, and the critters here go silent at the sound of footsteps, scrambling into the underbrush - there's plenty of it to scramble into.
The doors open with a loud creeeeeeeeeeeeeak when Dean pushes on them, no punching required, revealing the entrance hall with a grand staircase right in front of them, the sunlight streaming into the room to reveal the dustiness and cobwebs inside. And, maybe, a shadow that lingers behind one half of the door as it's pushed open.
"All the more reason not to do this, hm?" Emmanuel opines aside to Tom in a quiet tone, "Be careful about offers in this place, hm, mon amie? Food, or help, alike." There's a gentle warning added, before his attention is wrest away by the not at all ominous creak of the door opening.
Ash takes a picture of the doors - right before Dean gets through, though he was certainly in the way. They shove it back into their pocket, deciding to take more pictures *after* the area is secured.
Ash tells Tom in a sharp voice, warning, "Do not."
Rachel comes with weaponry, too, but they're all stowed away on her back, hosted by loops set into her rig. She hugs the outdoors, as long as she can, before tailinng in on the back of the group. "Sh," she says to the chatterboxes. That being said, she herself isn't all that quiet when she hushes them.
"I can't shift indoors." Dean speaks over his effort, looking over his shoulder at Konstantin. "It feels unstable - something might collapse on us, and I wouldn't be able to-" His words are cut short, drowned by the groan of old wood creaking open at his behest. Green eyes peer inside instead, in just as much muted silence as the critters and animal-kind scattered all across. Whatever that shadow ahead is, he waits in spite of his mounted, constant anger pressing down. Fingers around the grip of his crossbow tighten first, then he speaks slowly, aside over his shoulder, at them. With a subtle, but undoubtedly wicked smile. "Let's send in the templars first."
Ash nods to Dean, though seems curious as to the plurality of that statement. They only need *one* Emmanuel, thank you.
Nodding his agreement to Emmanuel's wisdom regarding the fae and hospitality, Konstantin murmurs; "Any offer is a trap", echoing the sentiment. He shifts his attention back to Dean and the door fully then as he is addressed. "Alright, no shifting then", Konstantin acknowledges before peering beyond into the grand entrance hall.
"Feeling brave, Emmanuel?", Konstantin asks as his gaze tracks aside onto said Templar. Damn. To be the only man not in the Alliance..
"What a big, brave wolf, hm? Maybe this is why there are non others here." Emmanuel comments with a heatless little cluck of his tongue, as if he were commenting on the weather. There's a mild roll of his eyes as he's volunteered, but it's hardly a surprise. "It is the nature of the beast, hm? Bravery runs downhill." The fellow decides, and makes his way over toward the door. He pauses here, not quite entering, and reaches down to his various pouches and baggies. There's a lot of rummaging involved.
Ash smiles softly Emmanuel, admiring the man as he further digs his own grave. The beauty of his social shovel, the depth of the hole, the speed in which he digs.
While Emmanuel nears, just beside the door next to Dean, he earns that big bad wolf's attention. The full brunt of it in a hand that comes up onto the frenchman's shoulder, and with a near expert shove, Dean forces Emmanuel past the treshold of the doorway, into the rundown sanctity of the mansion along with himself; mainly keeping the man as a living meatshield at his front and damn be any stumbling.
Emmanuel bwacks like some sort of feathered creature. Definitely not a chicken, but certainly a bird of some sort. Not a chicken, okay. It's clear that Dean took him by surprise, and for a ride both, as he nearly drops the silver grenade he'd been pulling free of his many pockets, "Get off me!" He complains, trying to tug away to no avail.
There's a scuffling sound from behind the door before the fleshformed servant comes into view, with wide eyes and a feather-duster hand that had been unsuccessfully trying to keep the door closed, with such little force that it may not even have registered to Dean behind the door. It blinks at the group, because there's little else for it to do, and attempts to run its way right off and away from the loud arguing that's taking place already.
"..." Rachel might have laughed, if they weren't greeted first and foremost with a person - or what could pass as a person - in the entryway. "What the hell?" She lets go of any attempts at furtiveness.
Konstantin snorts amusedly at Emmanuel is volunteered to the doorway and then physically projected through it as the vanguard of the group. He heads inside after the pair with a chuckle, eyes quickly shifting as the servant comes into view. Instantly, Konstantin drops a shoulder and lurches fowards, hurling himself at the being in an attempt to slam his weight into the servant and subdue it momentarily with a flash of supernatural speed.
Ash looks over the fleshformed maid with interest, eyes bathing their form in quick detail before they - the servant - runs away. They exhale softly, annoyed, but fortunately, Konstantin takes care of it. Though, they seem unsure as to *why*. "We've none of us telepathy, and I doubt it knows English. What's the plan?"
There's no sound from the servant as they fall to the floor beneath Konstantin, apart from a dull thump as they connect to the floor, sending a cloud of dust into the air. They lack a mouth to make any sounds, after all, and they seem dazed now that they've been forced to the ground. Maybe. It's hard to tell, really, given the lack of expressions and all. The feather-duster twitches at their side as they squirm.
Ash stalks forward, glancing down one hallway, then another, trying to spot any other servants that might be wandering the hall. They focus on securing the area first and foremost - as if in a hurry to get it out of the way.
Emmanuel is straightened up near immediately while Dean stays at his heels, fingers clutching his shoulder to fix him upright, while Dean's eyes are angled over his shoulder. Staring at the fleshformed maid that takes off at the sight of them at once. Whatever reason for recoil he may have, all he does, while Emmanuel struggles to hold onto the grenade in his hand, is hiss over his shoulder. "Shhh!" And Emmanuel is left at his side with a drop of his hand - seeing as no threat is posed; especially when Konstantin tackled the poor maid into submission already. While one part of the group is busy with that, it's clear what Dean does again. Those keen eyes search, his senses are spread out, listening, seeking, for the scents, the sounds, the tell-tale, hidden hints while he inspects the innard of their current abode.
Konstantin struggles for a moment, as he shifts his body to press a knee down atop the servant and pin it in place. He wastes no time in gathering its arms up behind it, hefting it up to its feet and heaving it back towards the group. The 'Shoot first' portion complete, he prepares to move onto the 'ask questions later' section, presenting the strange creature to Rachel and Tom as though they might be able to glean anything from it. A grunt of dismay when he notices the lack of a mouth, but Konstantin presses on. "Is your master home?", Konstantin asks simply, giving the servant a bit of a shake
Tom seems to be overcome with an empathetic concern as he spots someone initially trying to get some distance from the group, he almost protests making a strange gutteral sound and making a gesture with his hand as he watches Konstantin take them down. He wears his frown and suggests to Konstantin as he looks his way, "Just scared, hold on.."
Rachel has no idea what to do with it, Konstantin. In fact, she's gone a little green around the gills.
...She runs off.
"Ash," Rachel says. She follows after them, but not without a glance backward at Konstantin and his most recent capture. A tap is provided to their torso, and then the coil of rope they hold pointed at. "Can you--..." She's still walking along after them. The ask is, of course, to either hand over the thing or to help Konstantin with subdual themselves.
Tom seems to be overcome with an empathetic concern as he spots fleshformed servant initially trying to get some distance from the group, he almost protests making a strange gutteral sound and making a gesture with his hand as he watches Konstantin take them down. He wears his frown and suggests to Konstantin as he looks his way, "Just scared, hold on.."
Ash whispers softly, "Dining room northwest, ballroom northeast - looks like another servant there, seems similarly earless from here, but no promises." They step to the stairway next, looking up. They look back at the president with a nod and a smile - they understand what his plan was, now. Still, they focus on checking the stairway.
There is a string of French curses and nonsense expelled from Emmanuel as he's dropped by Dean, with comments and expletives far too crude to be translated back into English. He manages not to ignite the grenade and rob the supernaturals of their abilities, but it's a close thing, and man does his hand itch to press that button. Instead Emmanuel focuses on straighening up his terrible clothes as the others wrangle the maid.
The servant most assuredly does not speak English. In fact, they don't speak anything at all, and neither do they /listen/ to anything at all. Konstantin's words garner no response, and the servant flops like a ragdoll when they're shaken, though they seem to be trying to wrest themselves free, still.
Rachel zips right on back to Konstantin. She has the rope in hand, and she could, simply, begin to fasten its length about the servant. Instead, she gives it to Tom. Tom can take care of it. Maybe Tom will even get through better than she would, given that he seems to care.
They have no mouth (and must scream), so Emmanuel calls over towards the others, "See if it can read, hm? You are having phones, non?" He does his best to emulate a particularly poorly received game unveiling from some years ago.
Konstantin l
As the situation progresses on the side, Dean's eyes are fixated on both directions. Not up, at the staircase, but flitting between nortwest and northeast. Dean taps the frenchie at his side, on his shoulder with the back of his hand while the man is fussing over his clothes - and he points, first northwest: "Food. Further in, there is a heartbeat." His second gesture is in the other direction, where he focuses more. "Music. Must be at least two in there - someone close."
Emmanuel l
Rachel l
Ash finishes checking over the stairway before returning to the servant. "Give me a momennt."
Ash l
l
Dean l
Konstantin l
Ash stands over the creature, saying, "Keep its eyes on me."
Konstantin grips the servants arms, or whatever remains of them, with his own left arm, his right hand gripping it about the back of the neck and forcibly keeping its head facing forwards towards Ash regardless of its protests and attempts to escape.
"Mm? Oh, lovely. I am sure you will be having a wonderful time introducing yourself to them, hm?" Emmanuel comments back dryly to Dean, shying away from the man's hand following that taping. In fact, he doesn't just stop there, but gives the wolf a wide berth in an attempt to wander over closer toward the poor fleshformed once-person.
A little more struggling, but the servant can do little against Konstantin's strength. Maybe if it had a big knife hand instead of a feather-duster hand... Its eyes are full of pleading when it looks at those gathered around it, though - this isn't a person without feelings.
Tom seems shocked as the rope appears in his hands, giving a glance to Rachel that says 'what is this for'. But he's not a complete idiot, he takes the rope over to Konstantin and the downed servant he's beginning to manipulate. Looking a bit clumsy in his attempt to do anything with the rope and not wanting to get in Ash's way, though he states to Konstantin. "Maybe we shouldn't really tie it up, maybe we could just let it do whatever it wants to do and we could. Help it, protect what it needs to."
Ash says "Hush, Tom. Listento it."
To most in the room, Ash just seems to stare at the creature before making motions. They hold up a finger - 1. Then they move their hand over, holding up a second finger. They take their time, eventually ending up at 5. They then say out loud, "Tell me what it yearns for and dreads for each number, please. If it reacts at all."
"It's going to be useless, I think", Konstantin ponders aloud regarding the poor beleagured servant. He really is the -worst- houseguest; letting himself in and bodychequing the first person he sees. He squints a bit, leaning around to peer closely at where the thing -should- have a mouth. A vile idea begins to form, involving a little surgical intervention of their own, but he shrugs it off for the moment, looking to Ash. "You had some plan? Otherwise, I am going to leave it here."
Rachel is, on her end, oddly starting to breathe in sporadic spurts. Her 'green around the gills' has turned into what might become the contents of her stomach on the floor. She says nothing to the group and, instead, flits off up the stairs, maybe to do what she needs to without observation.
If Dean is dejected that Emmanuel isn't so eager to use his grenade at this new information posed, he doesn't show it. Keen eyes, with far more intensity peer into him, as if he could burrow into his skull. He does not, paces away just the same to give the same wide berth. The poor situation of the servant isn't offered his attention, he does what a mercenary does; takes point. Right beside the door he perceives as the most threat, give his shoulder to the northeastern door and take shelter beside the doorframe and peer inside carefully with his crossbow held up at the ready.
The servant trembles now in Konstantin's hold, their eyes fixed on Ash, though they're slightly glazed over. Maybe it's the concussion from having been knocked over earlier. Maybe it's just the fear. They simply stare into the air, seeming to almost shut down. Maybe Konstantin's right about the usefulness.
Ash is focusing on the creature, and only notices when they look up that... one of their interpreters have left. They look annoyed, but look to Konstantin instead, letting their words spoken at similar times sink in. They eye Tom as well.
Tom looks unsure, mounting concern in his features. He shakes his head as if he was struggling to focus on anything, he glances back towards the double doors across the room. Frowning to himself as he shakes his head again, "This is useless.. I just think maybe we should go outside again." He glances up at Ash and frowns at him, "What?"
Emmanuel makes his way over to the bound servant, and lowers himself to a squat by it's side. The Frenchman reaches into his pocket then, producing his phone and tapping at it. It takes several more taps than usual, as the device struggles to keep functioning in the magic-rich environment of the alien world, but eventually he manages to get it working. An app is opened, and a sentence is typed, before he turns the screen toward the bound individual.
IF YOU CAN READ THIS, NOD.
Konstantin shakes his head a bit, watching Tom. "That's the cleaner talking", Konstantin decides. He reaches into a pocket in his cargo pants, producing a pair of plastic zip cuffs as if by reflex, before looking down at the freakish limbs of the servant. He squints a bit then, puzzling it out for a moment, before just zipping one end tight around the shaft of the duster arm and the other in place about the normal-ish wrist of the other. As Emmanuel tries something new, Konstantin pauses, waiting to see if the servant will react.
The room Rachel finds herself in is quite clean, compared to the rest of the manor, and especially compared to all the rest of the second floor, all the bedrooms and bathrooms in there being so broken down it's impossible to walk into them. There's no servants around there, though.
Ash asks Tom, patiently, "What I said. Is there any reactions in its feelings? Has anything changed? I gave it options, I want to know how it feels about those. 1 is a guard or monstrous creature. 2 is a powerful fey. 3 is the garden, 4 a basement, 5 is the backdoor. I should have done a 6... trying to see which it was planning to run to. I think whether or not its master is in is too difficult to portray when it can't read English or hear us."
Konstantin calls out over to Dean, leaning back from the servant slightly; "Dean, mind checking for Cai quickly? She went upstairs."
Certainly not.
Ash asks the Konstantin, since Rachel has run, "Nothing you can sense, either, President?"
There is a grind of Dean's jaw while he notes what's ahead. "Another one of those," Dean nods in the direction he's guarding, then points at their captive with the tip of his crosbow. Yet, he leaves it to them - draws away from the point he took, as well as the group. He doesn't speak or gesture in the affirmative to Konstantin - but he does move without complaint, up the winding steps to disappear above.
It may or may not be the cleaner talking. Its eyes track Emmanuel as he makes his way over, wide-eyed and a little teary too. The slits of its nostrils flare for a brief moment, but there's no recognition - there's no nod either. Just those wide, pleading eyes, fixed upon the Frenchman.
Ash stands up, their job done, letting the useless someone do nothing useful - at least, that's the expression they give off, disdain. "If neither of you felt a reaction from my questioning, then I'm not sure how I can rephrase it to get an answer."
The smell of wildflowers is strong, and the sunlight streaming in through the windows is pretty nice, actually. There's little noise from downstairs, the birds are chirping, the ducks are quacking, the bees are buzzing... you get the point.
Ash stands up, their job done, letting the useless Emmanuel do nothing useful - at least, that's the expression they give off, disdain. "If neither of you felt a reaction from my questioning, then I'm not sure how I can rephrase it to get an answer."
"Nothing useful", Konstantin replies to Ash, his pallid skin having taken on a touch of colour. The jolliness with which he says it and the way he takes to the apprehension and interrogation suggest that he's quite enjoying it regardless. With a grunt and a shake of his head, Konstantin lowers the servant to the ground, cuffed. "Forget it. We only have so long before everything in here finds us. Let us rejoin with the other two."
"Merde." There's a little cussing as this attempt does not bear fruit, but that doesn't prevent Emmanuel from trying something else. He turns the phone back toward himself then, scribbling at it as he opens another app. "..This might ..work." The device is turned back to the bound person.
Where there was once a question, there is a now a drawing. A terrible drawing, but one nonetheless. It's a rather shitty attempt to draw a sceptre.
Don't try to use the stairs for now, please.
(Re-sending) Don't try to use the stairs for now, please. That might be causing the crashes.
Konstantin scours the hallway briefly before identifying the one intact room of note, not entirely scoured and ruined by the looting. "Must be this way they went.."
Perhaps with far too much confidence in herself, Rachel does assume that the rumbling was her doing. She tests a step away, as soon as it halts. Is it safe to go yet?
"Is that--..." The door's open; Dean's got a crossbow in hand. Oh, it's them.
When the rest of the group catches up, Dean's playing guard and Rachel is by the northern alcove, behind her some kind of disc. It appears that they've been getting a head start on exploration: not, thankfully, upending the contents of their stomachs.
Rachel's messing about with the disc doesn't seem to have done anything more than causing the strange rumbling. It stops as soon as she steps away, and the disc moves back to a neutral position, with none of the flowers in focus.
Konstantin strides in, sans servant-captive-freak now. He takes stock of the place with a glance about before stowing his sword at his hip and moving over towards Rachel. "Found something?", Konstantin asks, eyes shifting to the stone disc in the northern alcove with her as he approaches. He seems to be in fairly good spirits.
Ash glances the alcoves, then nods. "Right, we definitely need to go back downstairs before we mess with this." They decide this almost immediately.
"That--..." Rachel points at the disc. "Does something. I don't know what." She steps aside, enough to let the room see the images engraved there. There are a multitude of flowers, each different, and possible to be selected when the disc is spun.
She passes around the perimeter of the room, now checking each of the walls. "Same here," she says.
"And here."
"And here."
Ash nods, explaining as if they instantly knew, "We need to go to the garden, first."
Ash tries to see if looking out of the windows give hints - can they recognize any flower types from here?
While they've all gathered in the room here, the rumbling has certainly attracted /some/ attention. There's a noise from right outside the door, of footsteps that start and pause. A face peeks in. This one has a mouth. A nose too. And ears - a welcome surprise, to be sure.
Ash turns to look right back at it, waiting patiently.
Blue makes his way in, quietly, pretending like he's not been seen already by literally everyone here. There's no fear upon his features, only curiously as he blinks at all of them in turn. Blink. Blink blink. Blink blink blink.
Konstantin nods aside to Ash then, after listening into Rachel's prior explanation. "Then we go to garden. Good thinking, Ash", Konstantin decides and turns for the door. As he spots Blue, he freezes, hand dropping to the hilt of the sword at his hip. Dramatic reaction from Konstantin to an unknown boy, but of things are not as they seem in the world of the supernatural.
Blink. Blink, blink. Emmanuel blinks in return, staring at Blue, "..Is this being another of yours?" He calls over towards Konstantin.
Tom shoots a series of blinks back towards Blue.
Ash sees that the boy's pretending not to be seen, and so pretends not to see him. They look over at a window, back to examining the flowers.
Blink blink. Blink blink blink. Blue lets out an abrupt laugh at someone' blinks back, and scampers back out and away, giggling.
Blink blink. Blink blink blink. Blue lets out an abrupt laugh at Emmanuel's blinks back, and scampers back out and away, giggling.
"Squatter, maybe", Konstantin reponds aside to Emmanuel, jaw a touch tight. He squares his shoulders towards someone fully, then. "You live here?", Konstantin asks of someone, remaining poised.
Behind Rachel, still in the alcove while she's left - Dean is distracted enough to notice how the thing has rumbled back into its neutral state without being pushed down. Some gears turn, mutually in his head, and he sighs a sound, low and of distate. Before he notes the presence peeking through, he does offer - "I think everyone needs to take an alcove and solve it together." That is a lot of alcoves, certainly. It's really after he says that he focuses on the attention they've attracted, and there is immediate wariness. A subtle draw of his lips, a twitch of his nose while he watches the boy flee.
"Squatter, maybe", Konstantin reponds aside to Emmanuel, jaw a touch tight. He squares his shoulders towards the boy fully but they leave before he can do ought more. "Or maybe fae.. Would be their kind of trick.."
Regardless of who's pretending not to be seen and pretending not to see who's pretending not to be seen, Rachel most certainly saw that. "I vote, whatever we do, not following /him/." Rachel seems to agree with Konstantin -- most likely a trick.
"Maybe the boy, knows about the flowers." Tom suggests to the group, "He looked like he'd been digging around out there.."
Ash looks at Dean in confusion. "What are you talking about? We need to look at the garden first before we do anything." To Tom, they actively glare. "*No*, Tom." They seem particularly hard on him today.
Tom inhales sharply, lips drawn in a firm line after he is chided.
Ash corrects to Dean, "I mean, you're right - but after the garden. We need the clues, first."
"Da. Probably", Konstantin nods over to Dean regarding simultaneous action. He takes a quick glance at each of the stone discs then before eyeing Ash at his repsonse. He works his jaw left to right slowly, considering them. "You feeling alright, Ash?"
Leaving his alcove, but staying in proximity to Rachel as if bestowed with a mission to protect the woman by Konstantin, Dean hefts his crossbow over his shoulder with a stare at Ash. "I don't know. I'm just saying, the thing fixed itself when Rachel let go. I think we need to solve it all at the same time in each alcove - it ain't about where to go. Get your head straight."
Squatter, Fae, Gardener, just a baby? Really, who can tell, in these trying times? The sound of the boy jumping down the stairs is heard, and then scampering off to do whatever he does, while the group debates on what to do.
The discs in the alcoves are free to be moved, but they'd have to be pushed in after centering them upon a flower, to lock in the choice.
Apparently Emmanuel is on translation duty today, "Oui, they need to be set at the same time, Dean. But Ash is suggesting that the garden holds the key to the pattern, hm? Given the flowers." He opines, glancing between the various Hand folk as he does so.
(Heads up - just tell me when someone would like to do down the stairs, so we don't crash again.)
Ash nods to Konstantin, with a bit of a smile. They seem to to be trying to dampen their cheerfulness, then decides that, hey, maybe they should explain. "Firstly - we shouldn't be pressing buttons willy-nilly. It's a puzzle. We need to use the right flowers. How do we know what button is which? *Not* by pressing them randomly -" They blink, nodding to Emmanuel as he seems to get it before anyone else. They seem surprised that the human has managed to catch up first.
Once the others have had a chance to deliberate and clarify, Konstantin turns for the door. "Alright, come on. We all seem to be on same page."
"We do have six people," Rachel begins to mediate. How unusual for her not to be the one causing the conflict. Perhaps it won't be so difficult to guard her today, Dean, if the pattern persists. "I--..." Konstantin appears to have made a decision: garden, and then they can do what Dean suggests. "Guess we'll see," she says aside to the man.
Konstantin adds, glancing aside to Ash with a nod. "True. Must be.. what.. thousands combinations? Four choices, seven options each."
"Mn, you were laying the ground work with your earlier suggestion, non?" Emmanuel is quick to point out to Ash, less they get any ideas about him being anything more than a silly little Frenchman.
We're going to try one(1) whole movement.
Nobody panic.
Ash panics!
Tom panics.
Emmanuel l
Rachel l panic aa
Konstantin looks between the nortwhestern and the northeastern passageways, pausing to glance at Dean. "Let me know if you hear anything, Dean."
Ash explains, "I knew what you meant, Dean - that's why I clarified that you were right. Just the order of operations. I didn't want people to start pressing more buttons in an attempt to figure it out. We needed clues."
Konstantin walks through into the next room without tearing a hole in reality
And he's back - Blue walks back in and up to Emmanuel, tugging at the man's arm, as though he's trying to reveal something secretive to him. Why him? Who knows.
Rachel stares at the table. In no movie where there is an empty manor and, somehow, a room full of freshly cooked food, has it ever ended well to eat. That being said, it definitely looks like Rachel's considering it.
Ash turns to Tom and hisses quickly, "I don't care if you feel any urges - you do *not* eat, or even touch the food, got it?" Why are they on the man's ass today? Who knows?
Blue tugs a little more at Emmanuel's arm, peering up with his downright cherubic (if dirty) face. He's waiting for attention to be paid to him.
It's dangerous to /eat/, yes, but smelling? That is okay, surely. It is a little treat. Emmanuel sniffs at the air, and his stomach grumbles, though any further temptation is pushed to the side as a child comes up to tug on his arm. At least they aren't claiming that Emmanuel is his father. Yet. "..Hallo." He comments down to them, affording them a wary turn of the lips.
Thwack!
A bolt, shot right from Dean's crossbow embeds itself right between Ash's feet, on the ground. The chamber fixes itself and loads another bolt with a spin on the repeater above. "Watch it when you talk to me." His attention is entirely upon Blue, as opposed to Ash, observing with not interest but apprehension, tension, and another twitch of his nose. Maybe, if the boy is magic, it throws off that putrid dislike of a wolf's nature; if it is magic, it smells gross.
Blue perks up when the asked-for attention is paid to him - it doesn't look like he recognizes English either, to the surprise of nobody, but he's decided that big-ears blinking man is friendly enough to show off his little collection of marbles to. He brings out a box he'd been hiding, and presents it to Emmanuel very proudly, like a child showing off their shitty crayon drawing.
Ash looks confused at Dean, since they hadn't talked to him any way but respectfully - at least, insofar as they are aware. They don't seem afraid, either. Not that they don't treat Dean with wariness, but the crossbow doesn't seem to spook them, merely confuses them.
Eyes scanning the spread on the table, Konstantin can't help but lament his previous edict that no food should be eaten or hospitality accepted. It really is a tremendous feast.. he's starting to see how people end up with feather dusters for arms now..
Turning, Konstantin watches Blue, his arms remaining at his sides. His right hand, however, does drift a little closer to the hilt of his blade. He opts against voicing any concern, just watching how things play out. Hey, if something awful -does- happen, atleast it's just a Templar, right?
The crossbow might have surprised Rachel, if not Ash. She starts at that THWACK. Seeing as no one ends up bleeding on the ground, though, her attention turns to 'big-ears blinking man.'
...And, after that, maybe Konstantin. He's in her ear, in brief, and she turns infinitesimally his way without looking.
Ash looks at the boy - now that he apparently wants to be looked at. Too little, too late, maybe. They then bend down, pulling the bolt out of the ground carefully before offering it wordlessly to Dean.
Well, if Blue doesn't speak English and Emmanuel can barely struggle through it, then why bother with it at all? "Thank you," He thanks the child, wary as ever as they show off their strange little marbles. "Oh, rocks. Lovely. I used to collect rocks when I was a little potato too. Some of the rocks were old pieces of metal too, from the wars. Others were shiny like the nightsky, or dark as a lake." He shares to them, and while his words may not be understood, surely the conversational tone is.
There's more than a little glimmer and shimmer in the air as the stones are passed along, shadows and light cast across the room for a brief moment before they're enclosed in Emmanuel's palm. Blue stares, blinking again at Emmanuel. He giggles again at the strange words, eyes lighting up before he wanders off, probably to find more stones of interest?
"...Feel any different?" Rachel asks Emmanuel. She allows him his space, just in case 'different' here means 'likely to explode.'
Tom squints at Ash, there is a neutral expression of calm disregard for the tone he receives from Ash. No push back. But also no engagement. He turns his attention to boy, watching with an easy curiosity.
Ash looks to Emmanuel thoughtfully, as they understood what he was saying. They eye him, starting to ask him something - then they glance at Dean before deciding not to bother.
Disapprovingly, Konstantin eyes the marbles as Emmanuel recieves them. He too gives the frenchman long enough to explode if that is indeed his fate.. before turning his gaze elswhere, to the north and then the door on the western wall
Ash looks over at the parlor ahead before looking over the nearby door, already seeming bored with the events here.
The bolt is left in the other fae's hand. The one that hadn't fled. Maybe Ash can keep it as a souvenir, or a reminder, Dean doesn't make to retrieve it, or do anything beyond stare after the boy. "This place is confusing." And apparently not in a good way, for him. He's the brute and the brawn, not the intellect and finesse. Keen eyes turn on Konstantin and Rachel in his following silence, wait out their decision to follow along.
Konstantin ticks his head northwards. "Let's go see paintings", Konstantin decides. "Fae taste is probably.. odd."
"Garden," Rachel announces to the rest. Emmanuel and his exploding marbles can come along -- at a distance. She ensures that she's far ahead this time, if only because the manor seems to pose less risk than their own group.
Tom steps forward a bit towards Emmanuel and smiles, "He seems to like you, maybe you could draw a little comic on your phone.. next time he comes. Like you did before." He lifts his brows in a friendly fashion and shrugs. "Let him know who we are, what we want? Maybe?"
"Or that," Rachel says. She's about to continue, when they encounter, yet again, the boy.
"Mm." There's a quiet sound of interest from Emmanuel as he plays with his balls. Not his balls, rather, the childs balls. Marbles. Rocks. He plays with the rocks, holding them up to the light and peering through each of them in turn, "..Non exploding yet."
Rachel has, at this point, seemed to have done away with caution. She creeps past the rest of the group, leaning a little so that she's just above the boy and his armchair. "Hi," she says, not so loudly as to alarm, but enough so, perhaps, to rouse him.
Blue snores a little bit.
Rachel reaches out to touch the boy's shoulder. When he snores, she jostles him, just a little.
Emmanuel lifting his balls to the air brings about a curious interplay of light and shadow as they're exposed to the light - each of them seems to change the time of the day, some way or the other.
Konstantin squints slightly as he peers up towards the portaits. He cants his head a little, eyes shifting from each to each, before he turns to look at Blue. He peers past Rachel at the child's face, looking for any similarity in facial features, any identifying commonality with the figures in the artwork.
Blue jerks awake with a start, and bumps his forehead right into the underside of the chair he was asleep under. He hiccups, once, and tears up.
And continue fondling Emmanuel does, exposing his balls for all to see as he kneads them about in the palm of his hand, mouth a little slackened as he watches the way they react to the environment about him. "Well, this is being unusual," He understates.
The door they passed led to another garden - it's the one where all the duck-ly quacking noises have been sounding from, with the occasional splash here and there. Maybe Dean can have a snack and burn off some off the aggression there.
The door /here/ leads to yet another garden too. It must be the four gardens Rachel had mentioned, even if there's just the three of them they've found yet. Presumably, there's another in the other end of the mansion. One can only assume Fae wouldn't be sadistic enough to make the manor /not/ symmetrical.
Ash seems amused at Emmanuel's response, but they're more interested in looking around before, suddenly, offering something to the boy.
"We will", Konstantin murmurs aside to Ash as he looks about the place, eyes drifting back towards the portraits, "Once done in here."
At the sound of his voice, Konstantin gets a good eyeful of Emmanuel's balls and his fondling of them, taking academic interest. Another door there, Konstantin states, nodding to the eastern aperture before glancing back at Ash.
Ash did NOT give their snark to him.
Rachel grimaces. "No, it's--..." While the rest of the group talks, she tries to hush the boy. The last thing they all likely want is to attract yet another one of the fleshformed monstrosities. "Shhh." There, there. She reaches out to -- no, she doesn't want to touch him again. "I--" She's likely supposed to say something soothing. "Okay. I'll just..."
To the other door, then.
Blue is taking the lemur.
Konstantin pauses, letting Ash and Blue make their exchange before moving on
Konstantin glances about the group at large; "Was there specific flower in the front garden? Lots of one of them? I am thinking maybe that is south disc's flower."
A little whine escapes Blue, just to get quietened when he's handed a lemur - and then, no, he's not handed a lemur. He's handed a feather, and he clutches at it before stowing it away securely, and then curling back up to sleep.
Ash says calmly, "I think that the other door may lead to the first garden, then this one to the second garden - no flowers grew in front, I believe."
Emmanuel clears his throat, and moves a little closer to Tom, of all people. "Tom, mon amie, would you mind holding these?" He asks of the man, and starts to hand the marbles to him, one at a time. Four marbles. Four marbles with different colours, and hues. Four gardens. Hm.
There's a room east of here where the music is coming from, but as the manor is subject to the mechanics of the game, it's unable to be added. Please let your friendly neighborhood SR know if you would like to go there.
Ash adds, "We can go back and look, but the weeds took over."
"I can not figure these out, or what they might be for, maybe they are just pretty." Emmanuel explains to Tom as he pushes the rocks into his hands, and shrugs sheepishly.
There's no particular flower to be seen here. There's just the statue, the overgrown, weedy flowerbeds, and hey a fleshy throne, if someone's really tired and feels like having a seat. Nothing will go wrong, surely.
Ash tries to see where the fountain is pointing, compared to the one out front.
Tom holds out his hand and takes the stones, lips twitching to one side as he nods to Emmanuel, "I'll have a think about it, sure."
The fountain points off somewhere between the north and the northeastish, with seemingly no particular purpose to it. Perhaps something may be able to fit upon its outstretched hand, though.
Dean comes in from the other room, after everyone, walking backwards with his crossbow angled at the other room. Possibly at the child, as a deterrent to be chased after. Either he hats the fae or he hates kids - in both cases, he takes a cautious stance anyway.
"Hm, what a weird statue." Emmanuel comments then, physically turning toward it after handing off the stones, "And it is having it's arms out too. Like it wants to be holding something."
Dean says "Maybe give it your balls."
The balls have already been handed over to Tom. They're Tom's balls now.
Konstantin squints a bit at the fountain, with its outstretched hand. He crosses his arms against his chest, considering it for a moment before heading off along a path towards the throne. Mounting the small mound it sits on, Konstantin shakes his head slowly, observing the piece of organic furniture from a distance while he leaves the rest to handle Tom's balls.
Dean says "Maybe give it Tom's balls."
Ash says "We can keep that in mind to try later, I agree."
Dean slowly holsters his crossbow while nodding at Tom.
Dean says "Tom's balls."
Konstantin draws his sword from his hip, reaching out with it to give the throne a little prod in its fleshy seat 'cushion'. Just enough to prick it and draw a little blood maybe.
It's been too long a trek back and forth, and the arguing has no doubt gotten to Rachel. She follows after Konstantin. His observation encourages her not to sit on the throne, but to give it a prod, just with the tip of her finger. Surely that isn't a problem.
She does it at the same time Konstantin thinks of the same with his sword.
The throne bleeds.
Voicing his displeasure with a grimace, Konstantin wipes the little bit of blood clinging to the tip of his sword away in the grass and sheathes it. Looking aside at Rachel, he tells her in no uncertain terms; "Do not sit on chair." As though that's worked before
Emmanuel elects to avoid the throne entirely, instead walking a little further to the north and squinting back toward the building they'd walked out of. He pauses to squint over toward Tom, and his balls, before clucking his tongue gently.
Oh, absolutely not. Nope. This is the one time that Rachel heeds Konstantin. Rachel backs right up, and while she's at it, attempts to drag Konstantin with her. There's plenty for them to do, and it doesn't have to be staying in the vicinity of this human-turned-chair. "Where are we going?" she asks.
"And we're saying this one is east right, and these um.." Tom rummages with the four marbles and picks out the dawn-like hued stone and begins to approach the statue. "I'll just put this one here then." He drops the stone into the outstretched hand.
This garden is definitely the one /behind/ the mansion.
"Oh, non, we are in the north, mon amie." Emmanuel tries to correct Tom quickly, though he had himself gotten muddled about as well.
Ash gasps at Tom, looking *livid*. "What are you - why would you do that?!"
Konstantin goes with Rachel's urging to move away from the throne, certainly glad to do so himself. He's not exactly one to shy away from what many would consider heinous but this is something on another level.
"Oh um.." Tom flusters as he tries to get the marble rock back, then looks down at the stones in his large palm. "North.. north.. this one. Sun in the sky.." He plonks the zenith one into the hand. Taking a step back and frowning over at Ash, "What?"
And Dean is there too, just staring at the blood without much of a reaction beyond puzzlement. He does, however, eventually take a step back to keep pace with Konstantin's retreat, and his hanged crossbow is replaced by his hand set on the hilt of his claymore between his shoulderblades, instead. Prepared to be pulled free, should the need arise. It looks like he has no intention to keep his hands free of a weapon at any point.
Ash rubs their head, as if sick and tired of these insane people.
Emmanuel doesn't seem quite as stressed by Tom playing with his balls than Ash is, though he pauses to glance around the place, checking to see if there is any reaction to the placement.
Konstantin looks aside to Dean, ticking an upnod to him. "What you make of the kid? He smell normal for kid?", the Russian enquires. "Thinking maybe illusion or something.."
Konstantin suggests to those at the fountain; "Try each of them. Maybe just one works for each statue, if they are part of Fae's game."
Ash tells Tom with a hint of panic in their voice, "We shouldn't try to solve any puzzles, press any buttons, do *anything* until we've looked at it all. We need the full picture! Otherwise, you might lose the game as soon as you start playing it! And you could *die* Tom - or *worse*." They point at the throne as an example.
Tom's attempts to stonify the statue meet no resistance - apart from Ash being livid - and the stone settles into the palm of the statue as though it belongs there. The morning sun overhead brightens all of a sudden, and sunshine spreads across the entire place, until they stand in a a brightly-lit garden of noon.
The statue rumbles, and turns with the slow grinding of stone to face the manor properly. Water begins to flow.
"Ash," Rachel says. She hasn't addressed them often in the last hour, but when they chide Tom for the umpteenth time, she frowns. "It's fine." And it is -- so far. Fair, perhaps, to be worried, though. They've encountered humans turned to dusters, humans turned to chairs...
Actually, maybe it's more than fine.
"Well," Rachel says. This is the one time that maybe one of them can shotcall without inspiring argument. "Think we know what to do with the rest of the marbles."
"Nicely done, Tom."
"He was right", Konstantin remarks, considering Tom with raised brows. "Sun in sky.." Moving over, Konstantin clasps a hand on Tom's shoulder, looking out towards the gardens as the water flows on.
Tom seems conflicted as he wants to give Ash some time and validate their feelings, however the sky just changed when he put a marble into a statue and there is a genuine joy in his features. "Wow."
"No clue. I didn't really get anything stranger than what we've seen here." Dean answers towards Konstantin, "Kid smells human - wildling, I suppose. Smells native, but that's it." All while he stares at the effort and the result granted by the miraculous handling of those sparkly balls.
Ash seems to doubt this - they were in a great mood earlier, looking forward to playing this game, but they become anxious at this. "What were they, Dawn, noon, twilight, and night? And this is the back garden, meaning that it's the third in the square?"
"Very well done, Tom, oui? Very clever, hm?" Emmanuel offers his own compliments to the fellow, though pauses to peer around the place. "Any, erm, flowers standing out now?"
The flowers haven't changed at all, unfortunately. They remain their sad, overgrown selves, wildflowers aplenty with bees buzzing around, and no one species to be found for certain.
Considering Ash, Konstantin asks with an upnod; "Fae can make flowers grow sometimes.. can you?"
Ash looks around at everyone, wondering why they are praising the man. Why does no one see what they see? They rub their temples, completely unamused by the sun.
Ash says still stressed by the nonsense of the others, but carefully respectful when speaking to Konstantin, "No, I do luck. Winston does flowers - I purposely left him behind. Dean would *definitely* have killed him by now."
Konstantin moves over to Emmanuel again, someone to Dean along the way. "Too many coincidence.. I still don't trust", Konstantin muses to the mercenary in regards to the strange child handing out stones.
Konstantin moves over to Emmanuel again, nodding to Dean along the way. "Too many coincidence.. I still don't trust", Konstantin muses to the mercenary in regards to the strange child handing out stones.
Rachel precedes the group in yanking the door open, so that, once more, they can be confronted with a crying child. Dean can also kill the child. Maybe no one would much mind.
Konstantin grunts and shrugs a bit. "Let us go see west garden", Konstantin decides, heading back the way they came
Konstantin goes to move past the child, unless Rachel is up to something specific
While waiting, just along the group, Dean is busy staring at the painting. His brows are hard-knit, and his jaw shifts in a grind of his teeth yet again. The kid gets another look and off he goes after the woman. He's waiting, still, tapping his boot and not moving much at all.
"I'm giving them back to you later," Rachel says to Blue. "Don't worry." That must be about the box in her arms. When he continues to stand there, refusing to give up his treasures, she heaves a long sigh. "You stay with us, though."
Rachel carefully extends the hoard.
"Stay." Like a dog.
Konstantin strides out of the door into the western garden. He looks aside towards Tom, expectantly, before gesturing to the fountain with his hand. "Alright. This one maybe?"
Ash looks helplessly at Konstantin as he completely ignores their request, throwing caution to the wind.
It really is just as it appears; if there were any clues, they have long been weathered away, though a prolonged stay in the garden would make it evident that the plantlife seems to /thrive/. The flowers all brighten under the noon-lit sky, even if they remain their usual, wildflowery selves.
Yessss, his hoard. Blue clutches it to his chest as though round stones and feathers are the most important of things, and he lingers close by, watching the group.
"I'm getting tempted to shoot the child." Dean answers lazily, now. It appears whatever he imbibed, the result of his constant rage, has waned and filtered out of his system, becaause he steps back now, takes a seat on the edge of a bench that's close by. Watching ducks, as it were. He even pulls out his crossbow, aligns it ahead - tracks the avians swimming about with the tip of it like he's ready to shoot while his other hand hangs from the arm draped over the back of his seaat.
"I'd guess dusk. If this is truely west.. and the laws of physics are the same here... and there isn't a sequence needed for the stones. If it is just, plonk the stones in the hand.. then I'd put in the dusk one." Tom states as an aside to Konstantin, he singles out the stone which has the dusk hue and shows it to Konstantin. "This one."
A purple-feathered duck quacks loudly at Dean.
Dean shoots a purple-feathered duck as soon as it makes a sound.
None of those, at all. He's out of luck there, because all these flowers just seem to be random wildflowers that grow without rhyme or reason.
Ash backs up, then just goes blank. They're done. They hold their rifle in their hands, waiting so see what will happen, but otherwise doesn't say anything.
Eventually Emmanuel wanders over to join the others in the western garden, peering around the place with the same wary interest as ever, "Any changes, hm?"
someone once, lips pursing as he observes Dean's handiwork. "Decent shot." He turns to Tom, then, and nods once. The man was right before, why not now? Ash's call for hesistence goes unheeded as Konstantin tells Tom "Go ahead, do it."
Konstantin nods once, lips pursing as he observes Dean's handiwork. "Decent shot." He turns to Tom, then, and nods once. The man was right before, why not now? Ash's call for hesistence goes unheeded as Konstantin tells Tom "Go ahead, do it."
The duck, well... dies. The rest of the ducks, however, go into a flurry as their companion is shot down, and a cacophony of quack-quack-QUACK fills the air.
"...Remind me not to shift again," Rachel says to no one in particular. It's probably /about/ Dean, though, given that he has some kind of avian vendetta. Probably not serious, given that the corner of her mouth is pulling up -- but maybe she should be.
Konstantin lurches into the ducks, swinging wildly
Ash seems like they're not going to do anything - but then they notice the president getting attacked - *then* they lift their rifle. Only for it to be too late. They are ducks, after all.
Rachel stows both staff and rifle upon her back, now having finished cruelly bludgeoning her avian cousins to death. "Well," she says in conclusion. "That's not what I expected us to be doing when I woke up this morning."
Ash glances over at the eggs, moreso than the duck corpses, but doesn't make a move.
Tom gives Konstantin a nod, a thoughtful waggle of his brows. "Alright." And as he takes a step, turning to look towards the statue his eyes widen as the ducks go for him. "Fuck me!" He starts to stumble away after being momentarily attacked by the angered animals.
Konstantin bellows and swings his blade, punishing the flock for their fowlplay with a brutal slash that slays a few.
As one would expect, an all too pleased Dean is sitting back on the benches again. His claymore is a spit, a few ducks skewered on it. He holds it like a kebab, bite by bite starts to whittle down his 'hunt' where he sits like all is right in the world again.
Konstantin turns back towards Tom, calling out; "If this is before noon, surely is dawn stone, no?"
Angry ducks don't give a ... duck. They go for Tom, and they go for Konstantin, who happened to be the nearest, instead of going for the person who'd actually wronged them. A lot of fowl play all around, but they're certainly dead now, and Tom's free to get about his ball-placement.
Angry ducks don't give a ... duck. They go for Tom, and they go for Konstantin, who happened to be the nearest, instead of going for the person who'd actually wronged them. A lot of fowl play all around, but they're certainly dead now, and Tom's free to get about his ball-placement. (Re-sending for Emmanuel )
Konstantin stands ready to battle whatever beast comes for them next from the depths of the gardens, sword in hand. He glances aside at Dean with an upnod. "Think the chair would have attacked us in other garden?"
Tom composes himself, looking a bit shook. He seems a bit confused by Konstantin's check, then checks back to the group. "Sun rises in the East and sets in the West, right?" He glances across at Ash, looking hopeful for some input.
Ash shrugs. "Look at the sky - it's morning."
There's a furrowing of Blue's brow as he looks over the ducks who have met a very unfortunate fate, and then he wanders over to Dean, eying his claymore skewer. No points for guessing what he wants.
Konstantin stirs a finger through the air in a circular motion, pointing out to Tom "Maybe is like clock, in order around circle."
Ash says "Fae are traditionally fond of going widdershins - counter clockwise."
"I don't know." Dean answers Konstantin after spitting out a few feathers. His mouth is bloody. Red runs rivulet down the corners of his jaw to his utter, simple disregard. "I would've ate it too." That's easier to say, and probably true, too. When he's satisfied, he makes to nearly get rid of his half-devoured carcasses, but Blue's stare is caught. It's a stare-down, unblinking, but he's the first to relent. Unskewer one of the ducks to chuck it at the boy, while the other is tossed back into the pond, where it floats in a patch of its own growing blood.
"Try it," Rachel tells Tom, cavalier. It's probably to Ash's chagrin. They've been trying so very hard to keep Tom alive. "We'll never know until, well." Until Tom potentially skewers himself, like the ducks on Dean's spit.
"Withhershins.." Konstantin murmurs to himself, turning outwards towards the garden, expecting another assault in short order. He mostly heard you, Ash
Blue catches the duck, brightening up at the morsel he's provided, and goes chomp right on the raw meat, tearing it apart between suspiciously human-looking teeth. Maybe it's just a Wildling thing.
Now Rachel's looking between Blue and Dean with something like abject horror on her face. Today's the day of nausea. First the fleshforming, now this.
Maybe Dean won't shoot the boy right away. His bloodied claymore is embedded into the ground at his side while he relaxes further on the bench, crosses his legs - picks at his teeth to free them of a few feathers and bits caught, without minding at all the other raw meat enjoyer that devours his own morsel at his side.
"But it would change.." Tom murmurs as he looks at the sky, seeming confused by Ash's point. He frowns as he walks up towards the statue, looking down at the marbles in his hand. He hears Rachel and seems to steady his nerves as he focuses on himself, "I think it is dusk.." He places the dusk stone into the hand of the statue, seeming more cautious than before.
Ash mentions, "I'm surprised y'all aren't taking the eggs. They're probably worth a lot." They don't make an advance themself, though. They just wait to see what happens.
The boy finishes off the piece of meat that was bestowed upon him, and bounds over to the seat next to Dean, with no regard for any danger he might be in. Blue climbs up, his legs swinging back and forth in the air as he looks to the werewolf next to him like a duck who's imprinted on the first human it sees. Well... hopefully he won't be /treated/ like Dean treats ducks.
"Would they not be being considered fae food?" Emmanuel queries of Ash, raising a hand to scratch at his cheek as he watches Dean and Blue devour some duck, which may just be considered the same. He doesn't raise this as a concern, however.
It should have been expected by now, perhaps, that the statue rumbles and shifts, turning to face the mansion to the east as water begins to flow. The sun overhead dims, the sky turning all sorts of colors until they stand in a garden of perpetual dusk.
[Please ask for your friendly SR to summon you instead of walking to the next location, just to be safe.]
Ash eyes Emmanuel a moment before saying, "If you chose to *eat* it instead of selling it, though."
Now the lot of them have their marching orders. It's clear what to do, and Tom seems well and capable of doing it. Rachel wanders off to the gazebo, stepping in to take a seat. She's tired. They've been at this for a while.
Ash sighs, saying, "What will likely happen is that once every margble is placed, in the correct order, the flowers will thrive, and from there, we can determine what flowers are needed for the puzzle - likely using the same order he fountain is in."
Ash sighs, saying, "What will likely happen is that once every margble is placed, in the correct order, the flowers will thrive, and from there, we can determine what flowers are needed for the puzzle - likely using the same order the fountains and marbles are set in, based on time of day. (fix)"
They pass by the ballroom to get to this next garden; there's another one of those fleshformed servants here, and the music sounds from nearby, though the servant doesn't seem to be paying attention to them at all. Blue does look at them with familiarity, but he's having much too much fun on Dean's shoulder to go saying hello or anything - not that he's shown particular interest in talking, so far.
"Oh? That is very clever, Ash, hm? You are nearly being as helpful as Tom is!" Emmanuel chirps a compliment aside to Ash more, extending a beaming smile aside to them as he wanders about the gardens, serving as a shadow for their ball handler. "I would not have thought of this, hm?"
"Order of turning the stones maybe important, da", Konstantin nods to Ash, "Good thinking." He turns to observe Tom, then, and his instrumental ball selection/positioning process. A wary eye sweeps the gardens occasionally though, should they run into any more furious flocks.
There's no ducks in this part of the garden, thank god for that, though there's squirrels aplenty in the trees. None of them stop to chitter at Dean.
Ash continues, "Then, we can open the trapdoor, but there's likely a battle there. And I've been most helpful, since it's not that hard to figure out - but I wouldn't have taken chances with everyone's lives in confirming it." They don't seem to be interested in putting Tom down in their explanation, instead merely stating their thought process. "Tom's thoughts were great - I'm glad that he caught on quickly - but I still don't approve of the cavalier approach." Stance firmly explained and made, they nod to Konstantin, accepting the praise. They continue to scan the room, as well.
Tom seems to take the compliments in his stride, seeming somewhat lifted in mood by the reactions of those around him. He still has the odd moment of concern when he glances over in Ash's direction, but for the most part the reserved large man seems to be quite glad to be of some use. He knows what he's supposed to do, looking around the space and taking in the sight of the garden. He has singled out the dawn stone, approaching the statue and carefully placing it into place. Taking a step back, watching expectantly for a change.
As they wander about to the next place, Dean with his charge on his shoulder, shows every bit the aggressive distance towards the servants they encounter. He's wary of them, making sure to take the furthest path from them all. Although, it isn't a detriment to him reaching into his pocket to fish out some beef jerky of all things. Of course he had food, and ducks were done in just because of that one that barked at him. He splits his morsel in half, sticks his half in his mouth while the other is held up over his shoulder for Blue. Just as the squirrels don't chatter at Dean, Dean doesn't chatter at them.
"Oui, most clever. Most helpful." Emmanuel notes back to Ash in heatless agreement with them, extending a shrug before turning to watch Tom work. The man has become a ball expert in such little time.
Rachel chatters at no one, whether Ash with their diatribe or Dean with his squirrels. Instead, she remains in the gazebo, feet up, forearms on her knees, with her head turned so she can observe the group. She still has her weapons handy, too, in case anything unexpected appears -- but for now, it's quiet. She rests.
The statue reacts predictably; the morning sun shifts to a more pleasant, slightly dimmer level of strength, the early morning hues of a rising sun taking over the garden; butterflies float by Rachel's seat, and the scent of wildflowers fills the air while bees buzz around, and the statue definitely shifts to face the west - towards the manor, once again. They're now stood in a garden lit in the hues of dawn.
Blue sniffs at the jerky like he doesn't know what it might be, but he knows food when he sees it. It's grabbed out of Dean's hands and popped into his mouth, the boy chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing... and chewing... and chewing... and... with a wet plop, it goes to the floor, covered in saliva. He didn't like that one.
[To the front garden?]
Konstantin moves to stand beside Rachel as Tom does his thing, positioning the stone. "We don't have guide forever", Konstantin replies to Ash, and if we something goes wrong.. well. That is why we have so many of us." The russian grunts then and adds, nodding over to Dean. "And Dean." Watching the garden flourish before their very eyes, Konstantin exhales slowly. "Again, good job Tom." He turns to go to the next garden."
Konstantin moves to stand beside Rachel as Tom does his thing, positioning the stone. "We don't have guide forever", Konstantin replies to Ash, "and if we something goes wrong.. well. That is why we have so many of us." The russian grunts then and adds, nodding over to Dean. "And Dean." Watching the garden flourish before their very eyes, Konstantin exhales slowly. "Again, good job Tom." He turns to go to the next garden.
Ash shrugs. They have their disagreement, but they don't disagree strongly enough to argue with their superior.
And Dean. Of course. If something goes wrong. Though, while they change directions to the next garden, the fact that Blue wasted his food appears not to stick right with Dean. He's wandering past Rachel, and the boy is grabbed by the scruff of his neck again, plopped to the ground at her side, and lazily nudged in her direction like he's bored of it. "I'll throw him down that trapdoor, so don't lose him."
Rachel had, as Konstantin spoke, decided to use his arm for leverage to pull herself back up. Oh, what a difficulty to stand after an hour of movement. Oh what effort to have to do nothing at all while Tom takes all the risk. She walks off, stretching, as if she were thirty rather than twenty-one.
Dean sweeps past her with the boy.
"...Right." Good thing he doesn't understand English.
Blue looks after Dean, and attempts to wander off from Rachel's side back towards him, looking for more uppies.
And Emmanuel too! Though, he does generally do his best to avoid too much attention, lest he end up being used as a meatshield once more. He trots along behind Tom, gun at the ready and eyes flitting about with wary curiosity.
Tom jogs ahead a little of the group, "I'll just bung it in." He states as he moves towards the middle of the front garden and before the statue, seeming intent to make haste and deliver the last marble into place.
Konstantin nods once, firmly, decidedly supporting Tom's notion to handle arcane artefacts with exactly the kind of credence they deserve. "Bung it."
The last of the stones settle into place - darkness shrouds the garden, every corner swathed in unnatural shadow and a rumbling overtakes the ground again as the statue shifts to face north. One, two, three, four, they're all in place now, and the garden is transformed into a garden shrouded in the shadows of midnight.
... nothing explodes.
... yet?
Ash ponders it over visibly, tilting their head and letting their dreadlocks dangle.
Damn. Everyone was hoping that Emmanuel would explode. Well, the day is still you-- actually, it isn't. It's nighttime. Rachel waits. And waits. And waits. Maybe something will happen if they stand here a while longer.
Ash says "Possibly the order is wrong, or possibly, we need to face the music."
"Eh, good bunging, mon amie." Emmanuel calls over toward Tom, before the darkness largely robs him of vision. There's a pause before he's strapping a headlight to his, well, head, and blinking.
Rachel, alongside Ash, decide to give their companions light enough to see whether something changes. On her part, her glow is sputtering, heaviest from her fingertips, and everywhere else inconsistent. Doesn't feel like she has much control there.
Konstantin exhales sharply, then, gesturing to the manor. "Alright. Let's head up and look out the windows; maybe we will see more from vantage point now", Konstantin suggests, heading for the doors. They've bunged until they've nothing left to bung.
Dean flourishes his eyes.
Blue flourishes his eyes harder.
Dean pats Blue at his side. Repeatedly. Maybe a little harshly.
Emmanuel blinks rapidly, until his eyes adjust to the light.
Despite how much waiting Rachel is doing, Emmanuel does not seem to be blowing up. The ground doesn't open up to swallow him wide either. It's a shame, and so the group must progress onwards to other places where there might be a better chance of things blowing up.
Rachel follows after someone, all for increasing the possibility of Emmanuel blowing up. Maybe if the fae won't do it, Dean can oblige.
Ash summons will o' wisps - just like the ones inside. They flock around them like small creatures, swirling, before moving to float besides Tom, someone, and themself. They allow Emmanuel to use up his headlamp, though.
Ash find that their fearless leader is missing. Oh, well-
Ash summons will o' wisps - just like the ones inside. They flock around them like small creatures, swirling, before moving to float besides Tom, Konstantin, and themself. They allow Emmanuel to use up his headlamp, though.
The room's undergone an interesting change while they were gone - the times of the day in each of the gardens converge at a point overhead; noon north, midnight south, dawn east and dusk west, the statues all facing the mansion seem to be waiting for something. Presumably, this is the part where the flowers come into play.
Ash looks over the gardens again, carefully. "If none appear, then we go check out the music, maybe? If that doesn't help, then we can go by color."
Konstantin rubs his hands together, fearlessly approaching after having hung back to watch the staircase for any following attendants. He heads for the windows, peering outwards expectantly. He has a little pep to his step. One might even think he's enjoying the Fae's games here. Squinting a bit, he examines the garden to the north.
"Mmm. The colour." Emmanuel responds back to Ash after a few moments consideration, and snaps his fingers after, "That is a wonderful idea, mon amie. I knew you were being good at this, hm? You should try."
From this vantage point, it's clear that the flowers in the gardens haven't changed - they remain the usual wildflowers, simply there, doing the normal wildflowery things. The ones in the southern garden and western gardens seem to be closing up, considering it's night and dusk over there, while the ones in the north and the northeast are blooming - or starting to.
Ash continues, "If we do by color, I think sunflowers are noon....."
Ash doesn't know what colors a flower is just by the name, but considers carefully.
Tom chews at the inside of his lower lip in thought, seeming somewhat perplexed as if they were missing something. He then wonders out loud, "Does anyone know anything about flowers? Like are any of them, happier at different times of the day? Because of their sensitivity to light?"
Ash considers the flowers, and their color coordinations as appropriate for each time of day.
"I am knowing they can used to fight zombies, hm?" Emmanuel quips aside to Tom with a little grin, clearly amused with his own joke. He even slinks closer to try and elbow him gently, "Eh? Because of the games?"
In that room, Dean, with his entourage that he tried to pawn off to Rachel not leaving his side, takes a spot beside that trapdoor. He's squatting next to it, like it might open at any moment, even if it needs the crafty puzzle-solving skills of others that he mightily lacks. All he's got are eyes - eyes that aren't as good as the boy he keeps at his side while he inspects the seams and the general sturdiness of the trapdoor. Perhaps even checking, just in case, whether it'd be plible to getting plown through by a half-ton wolf.
Konstantin frowns as he peers outwards, clucking his tongue. No dice on the big visual reveal; there's more at play here. He turns, shaking his head to Tom. "I don't know."
"Yes," Rachel says to Tom. That must she knows. What she doesn't know, unfortunately, is which tend to bloom when. It's unlucky that they're in the Other, where there's no reception. Funny enough, though, all of them do possess eyes -- some keener than others. She walks off to the window, looking to see if any seem to have a particular proclivity for the time of day they're set in, in those gardens.
If the boy Dean gives her follows, well, she... doesn't toss him down the trapdoor. Probably because she can't yet.
"Yes," Rachel says to Tom. That much she knows. What she doesn't know, unfortunately, is which tend to bloom when. It's unlucky that they're in the Other, where there's no reception. Funny enough, though, all of them do possess eyes -- some keener than others. She walks off to the window, looking to see if any seem to have a particular proclivity for the time of day they're set in, in those gardens.
If the boy Dean gives her follows, well, she... doesn't toss him down the trapdoor. Probably because she can't yet. (fix)
Ash has been looking at the flowers all day, and has presumed that they would have noted any of those flowers while they were looking. So, instead, they try to figure out colors.
The trapdoor is securely shut, not looking like it can be opened from this end. There doesn't seem to be a way to open it at all, really. Blue crouches next to Dean on the floor, mimicking him with a knock at the trapdoor and looking very amused by his own actions.
Tom offers a grin to Emmanuel, the smile meeting his eyes as he seems to enjoy the effort to make a joke given the situation they're in. He assures him, "Good one."
Emmanuel beams back to Tom, "Merci."
"Have you been solving this yet?" Emmanuel calls over towards Ash then, the most helpful of the team. "Press the sunflower, mon amie, hm? See if something happens?"
The discs remain in their little alcoves, merrily not doing anything except waiting to be spun and pushed.
Ash shakes their head, saying, "No... I'm trying to color code them, but I can't form a correct pattern. Therefore, it's probably wrong. Can we please check out the music? Or we can ask the child." Presumably using the same interpretation technique that's failed Ash twice now.
Konstantin also does nothing except waiting to be spun and pushed, leaning against the wall besides one of the windows, peering out with furrowed brows. "Alright", Konstantin speaks up a few seconds after Ash does, "Let's go check music."
After Blue knocks, Dean slams. His fist dents exactly where the boy had tapped, except, with a lot more strength and intent to dent it - just to check whether he could smash through it. Compared to everyone else, who are very busy with the discs, the puzzle, working on their respective alcoves or otherwise doing something, Dean can be considered a bit of a neanderthal, banging on the mystery that is the trapdoor.
Emmanuel is a font of patience, and that font has run dry. Do fonts run dry? This one does, at least. He huffs out, and rolls his eyes, "Mon amie, this is not for fun, hm?" He drawls out, and marches over towards the northern alcove, where he tries to spin the disc to the Sunflower.
Konstantin turns, watching Emmanuel curiously as he approaches the disc and starts to do his thing. Maybe he'll explode afterall? "Press it in once it is turned."
If the wheel gives to Emmanuel's measly human strength, he gives it a shove, trying to press it in. Time to explode.
Blue jumps at the sudden slam of Dean's fist against the trapdoor, then lets out a hiccupy giggle and slams his own hands against the trapdoor. As expected, it doesn't open.
Ash shakes their head. "No, it *is* for fun, Emmanuel. Just not ours. We're in the Other." They wait to be proven wrong, though, looking tired.
"Good point", Konstantin murmurs with a brief glance at Ash, but his attention remains on Emmanuel.
Ash sighs, understanding.
Rachel ran out of patience a while ago, as she's been rather quiet in the back. When Emmanuel walks off to one of the alcoves, she does the other, at the wall next to him. She turns the wheel to the chrysanthemum and pushes in, awaiting for something - perhaps more rumbling - to happen. They can all explode together.
Ash looks over at Tom, nodding to the southern one.
Ash seems to assume that they're all doing the same one, turning it to the sunflower and pressing it. After all, why would it be otherwise?
"Tom, hm? If I am not exploding? Try that smelly flower, hm? I remember smelling them at night." Emmanuel calls over towards Tom as they're directed toward the southern alcove.
As caution dwindles and blind action reigns supreme, Konstantin readies his weapon again, eyes shifting between the trapdoor and the entrance they came in from.
Boom!
... that's not all of them, exploding. It's the garden to the north, where the wildflowers sink into the ground as though they were never there, and a riot of sunflowers blossoms into being all across the garden in its entirety when the disc is pushed in, looking to the noonday sun. Where Rachel stands, the eastern garden blossoms with chrysanthemums, their petals somewhat muted in the dusk light. The western garden grows sunflowers too, all of a sudden, though these seem to be facing down instead of directly at the sinking sun, a little wilted.
Anticipation lingers in the air, for the last of the flowers to be fixed in place.
"The only one I was feeling a good feeling about, beyond the sunflower.. was the dusk one.." Tom watches as Ash turns there one, "You're doing the Chrysanthemum, right?"
Ash doesn't seem to have lost their desire for action at all - but if it's being done *anyways*, it had better be done in tandem, since nothing would happen at all otherwise. They are reluctant, still annoyed.
"No," Rachel says slowly. "I just did chrysanthemums. I'm willing to bet it's a different one."
Ash sighs, going, "MotherFUCK."
Dean and the boy, doing their own thing, they're unarmed. They stay unarmed, mulling over the trapdoor's existence like it is some profound question - although now, Dean has a hand rubbing under his jaw while he stares perplexed. The boom, may as well not register for him. He's still staring down at the thing, grinding his jaw - completely unaware of the little wildling's mimicry, or so it would seem.
"Oh, that was being clever, Rachel! I think those flowers are opening at.. erm, whatever time of day you're standing at." Emmanuel manages to untangle the genius of Rachel's actions, and actually seems sort of excited for a brief moment here.
Ash turns the knob, just pressing them in order now, to see what blooms well in their section.
Ash says "Whatever blooms and looks good is probably right."
The knob refuses to budge for now, seeming stuck in place when Ash tries.
Ash blinks, then looks to Tom, waiting.
Konstantin peers out of either window, frowning. "Sunflowers right, the rest not so much.." He turns then, to Tom. "Go on, Tom. What do you think? You have done good with puzzle today", Konstantin asks, hooking his free hand's thumb into his belt.
There's a long pause as Emmanuel tries to puzzle out which one's he'd meant, "..I am-" He peers aside to Rachel, searching for help with a wordless look. She mentioned being good at flowers, right?" "
Ash adds, "I can't turn mine again until you try one, Tom. At least, I don't think so."
Ash has a hollow, haunted look.
"I actually thought," Rachel considers, "That chrysanthemums might be dusk." She tries the petunias, which sit toward the end of the group. Dusk nearly completes the cycle. Maybe it works that way here, too, where it's whichever is ordered roughly at the right part of the dial is the way to go. "What time of day are you looking at again, Emmanuel? Might be like a clock."
Rachel pushes her wheel in at her new selection.
Tom shares with Konstantin whilst looking apologetic, "I just want to make an informed guess.. hold on. Do you mean jasmine?" He looks up at Emmanuel with a grin, "That's smelly right?" He begins to turn the dial, around and gives an apologetic expression to Ash. "Sorry, I'm alright jasmine." He pushes the button in.
"Erm, I am the noon? Maybe you are being dawn, and not dusk?" Emmanuel suggests over to Rachel, "Ash, maybe you be trying Rachel's guess, hm? The chris.. Chris ones." He suggests, then clicking his fingers over towards Tom in approval, "Oui! Jasmines!"
Ash says, "I can't do shit right now, but sure, I'll try that next. And yeah, Jasmines being night bloomers sounds right, for some reason." Probably a random Wikipedia factoid picked up - if they're right at all.
Konstantin gestures about. "West is dusk, east is dawn, south is night."
Rachel aims for the daffodil instead, altering her selection and again pressing the disc. Thank God that wrong answers don't seem to bear consequences.
Ash looks at Konstantin with confusion, as it's visible. "Right, that's why Tom should try Jasmines."
Konstantin nods Rachel's choice and nods approvingly.
Just like Ash, Rachel would find that she can't change her option.
Wrong answers do bear consequences. Rachel takes that back.
Ash continues to wait for Tom's result.
Blue perks up as the discs are turned, lifting his head at the noise, and quickly scrambles to his feet, and runs out of the room.
About a minute later, he's returned, dragging along one of the fleshformed servants - one with a hand made of many tools instead of the feather-duster one - and he pushes them to stand right on top of the trapdoor.
Ash grins at the boy, suddenly getting a flash of amusement again as they wait to see what will happen.
Sunflowers to the north and west, chrysanthemums to the east, and jasmines to the south. All four gardens are abloom, some more than the others, and there's a crack of what sounds like thunder overhead as a beam of light shoots down from the convergence of the times of day at the apex of the room - all that power fueled right down onto its center and the servant who stands there, guileless. They're transformed before their eyes, their head and legs taking on a metallic glint while vines and flowers sprout from their arms in one instant, ripping apart the person into an amalgamation of half-key, half-plant. Surprise.
Please remember to subdue off.
Konstantin launches into combat immediately, hissing
Blue hides behind Dean.
"Who pressed the wrong flower? I thought it was being clear!" Emmanuel blurts out in alarm, glancing around the room in a panic as some poor soul pays for their mistake.
Blue blinks, looking disappointed as the amalgamation of vines and keys falls to the floor with its sunflowery left arm and its chrysanthemum-y right arm. He stalks off again to find the other servant - maybe the musicians are next?
Ash turns around immediately, in a bit of a better mood, ignoring Emmanuel completely. They motion to Blue to set another servant up on the trapdoor before turning it to chrysanthemum next, pressing it in.
Ash says "Remain on Sunflower, Frenchie."
Just inadvertantly, Dean who was naturally the closest to the trapdoor, doesn't quite catch onto just what the hell happened in between when the boy dragged a servant here, and its subsequent death by a shot through its body. He still stands at the ready, claymore drawn, brows knit - and looking even more confused at the antics. "The fuck.."
"Better dead than being whatever they were", Konstantin mutters before gesturing to the people at their various stations. All of a sudden, he is on alert again, growing serious. "Alright. You all have your next choices. Do it."
Ash says "You, too, TOm."
Ash says "Remain on Jasmines."
Rachel surrenders her seat at the eastern alcove, nodding Konstantin over. "I'll guard with Dean," she tells him. At this point, she has her staff out. Note that, of course, Konstantin's likely - certainly - better than she is on the defense.
Dean may just have Blue to thank for saving his life - it likely wouldn't have ended well for everyone involved if it was /him/ instead of the servant right on the center of the trapdoor.
Tom slings his rifle back over his shoulder, looking at the middle of the room and at Dean. He seems concerned but states, "If the kid hadn't brought them in, maybe that could have been one of us.."
Konstantin points at the disc with his sword, shaking his head at Rachel. "Press disc, Rachel. Daffodil like you chose. Morning flower, no?" There's not an ounce of compromise in his voice.
Ash eyes Rachel with a frown, about to volunteer Dean to go instead of Konstantin, but stops short, turning away instead.
Ash sighs in relief as Konstantin speaks up, though.
Rachel frowns at Konstantin. That being said, she adheres to instruction, pressing the daffodil in. This time, she's quick to turn around, watching for whatever might come through the door.
And then Blue returns, dragging along a drowsy (drugged?) servant with the feather-duster arm, who seems barely conscious as they stumble along even after they're placed at the center of the trapdoor. All ready to go, another fleshformed monster's further fleshforming coming right up.
Konstantin would check if they are still zipcuffed
They are not. Maybe the squirrels ate away the cuffs.
Just warily, Dean takes a step back away from the trapdoor that does not seem like a trapdoor, anymore. His jaw shifts, subtle, but agitated still, "Keep your distance, stay on your things - Konstantin can watch my six from afar, I won't let anything through." At least -this- is something the wolf is good at. The boy, after he's brought another vict- volunteer, Dean lays a hand on the boy's shoulder. A firm tilt of his head beckons the boy to take a step back again, behind him.
Blue seems to want to watch from up close, his eyes wide with interest, but the hand on his shoulder is sufficient to send him waaaay back. He pouts and attempts to sneak closer again.
[Just for purposes of clarity, the SR would like everyone in the alcoves to go through their chosen flowers just once.]
Rachel picked the daffodil this time.
It is the sunflower for Emmanuel, and he presses it once more.
Tom is remaining on jasmines.
Ash has pressed the chrysamamamenomynom first.
Look at that: Dean's taken a liking to the boy. Who would've thunk it? Certainly not Rachel, who's watching Dean with a look of immense surprise.
Clearly, Dean is just as reckless. He's not sending the boy off- he's staying close, and Blue is gestured to stay at Dean's back. Whether the message translated well or not, non-verbal as they are, he still bristles his shoulders, starts to heft his claymore with both hands as opposed to his usual one-handed grip.
Konstantin stands prepared, once again, his sword brandished. No flourishes though; just poise, waiting for something to happen to the friend he made immediately upon entering the mansion.
Tom peers around in anticipation, gaze roaming the space and checking in on everyone's expression.
Ash has a slight frown, moving between the servant and the garden.
Another crack of thunder, and the servant who was laying on the trapdoor shimmers, warps and twists, and then... /liquefies/, for lack of a better word. Their skin turns golden and metallic, like a gold key, except one that's melting into the cracks and whorls of the wood of the trapdoor, filling all the gaps entirely until the floor is smooth, no hint of a trapdoor to be found, as though it never existed.
And then, with a sliding noise, a pedestal forms, rising upwards from the ground. Up, into the air, and it opens with a click.
Ash sighs in disappointment.
Ash is clearly disappointed in the success, having been entertained by the failure. Though, they technically *did* get what they wished for.
Emmanuel jumps into the air at the sudden crack of thunder, landing a little awkwardly and having to reach out to the wall for support. The shock turns to disgust, and then a grimace as he watches the poor servant be twisted and turned into a key, of sorts. They didn't even know their name. It seems that neither success nor failure were particularly enjoyable for the Templar.
Excellent. Rachel stows her weapons away again. Now that they've all completed their task, she feels the necessity to say, "So, who wants to go downstairs and eat?"
Konstantin watches with a faint grimace, lowering his blade slowly to his side as the servant turns to gloop. Aside from Hell's betentacled puddles, he's not had much trouble with gloop before, and considering it isn't moving it's a safe bet that this puddle here isn't going to cause them major issue. As the pedestal raises, Konstantin exhales heavily. "We did it.."
Seeing as absolutely nothing happened in terms of a monster, Dean reaches ahead for the pedestal. The boy really acts quicker than he does, and if he's surprised to be handed the scepter, the hard lines of his features going from lax and uncaring to a warworn, warlike, battle-ready nature betray none of it. Steel eyes of green rise from the object in his hand, inspect it quietly, before he stares at the boy next. It's a look that lingers, burrows into him with the same sheer intensity of wrath he carried earlier - ever ready to surface, and yet, all he does is hang is weapon between his shoudlerblades again, and reach forward to tousle and ruffle the boy's golden locks. "Thanks, kid."
Ash considers the corpse they lift up, then sighs. It's too heavy.
Tom looks somewhat horrified by the transformation, staring down as the melting figure and then a look of guilt washes over his features as he realises he literally pushed a button to make that happen. He says nothing to anyone, just seems a little withdrawn and curiously watches as Dean get his hands on the scepter.
Konstantin snorts a bit, shaking his head at Rachel as he stows his blade, Konstantin stretches his arms out down by his sides with a groan. "Alright.. Let's meet with the guide outside. I had little thing I wanted to do before we leave, though, I will go take care of it."
Please hold.