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Post by Agrippa on Jan 16, 2021 22:39:38 GMT -8
Agrippa only allowed themselves to smile once they had their back to Lancelot- this work wasn't supposed to be fun and they weren't supposed to be excited to do it. With nothing more to say and seeing no reason to go extraneous lengths to dive unseen, the Helldiver simply took in a breath and held it where they stood, closing their eyes tight as they forged through the veil.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 18, 2021 15:47:54 GMT -8
The garden faded, the shifting greenery leaving a layered after-image of various stages of growth. The mansion looked different, with new additions weaker in their imprint while the core of the building shined brightest.
The location was older, for sure, though nothing immediately stood out...save for the black mark central to the pastoral hide-away.
It almost appeared to be an ink spot on a photograph, with the topiary and other architecture being pulled towards it, like someone had dipped a pen into the image and spun it. The ephemeral objects were disintegrating in slow motion, towards a circling drain large enough to fit a single person. Agrippa held back, looking for anything immediately alarming.
No, it didn't appear to be growing at least... And they weren't feeling tugged.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 18, 2021 16:31:54 GMT -8
Assessing the mark as immobile for the moment, Agrippa spun around on their heels to give their surroundings a once-over. Moving things were the primary concern, closely followed by whatever didn't appear to have a skinland equivalent. If nothing more immediately pressing was spotted, the invading beast would refocus their attentions where they had been initially drawn, squinting at the Rorschach blot.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 18, 2021 16:43:46 GMT -8
The occasional flicker was seen moving on the property, or a humanoid figure pacing past a window. Ghosts confirmed! They weren't sure they had ever seen more than one in a single location — wasn't this sort of thing supposed to be rare?
The Sunset Prince was indeed dealing with a major haunting, but hadn't shown any particular concern, nor bothered to tell the group of any alarming phenomena. Were they even capable of masterminding a time-leaping assassination attempt? It was a little vexing.
Not enough information to link everything together, like the first chapter in a story.
The Helldiver noted telltale signs that they were looking at a Gate. Experience with the Kith Blessing denoted that one could move through it without the key, though that didn't guarantee much of anything when it came to safety. It was almost as if someone had torn a hole to fit it here, not appearing natural in the slightest.
It emanated cold, and the distant scraping and howling of a storm could be heard beyond as one got close enough.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 18, 2021 17:36:43 GMT -8
"Mm. That would explain the question about ghosts..."
Agrippa bit their lower lip in indecision. Of course going through the gate right off the bat was an option, but that would be stupid option. Sticking their nose in would likely be almost equally as stupid, unless they were willing to loose an eye. Or a face. Or a head. They could prance around the grounds spying for a ghost or spirit that looked a likely candidate for the thing that was tormenting Martinez, but they didn't actually have a physical description, and with multiple ghosts the search couldn't be a simple process of elimination. Almost absent-mindedly they pulled the pen and notepad from their breast pocket and finally started putting it to use, sketching out the gate and describing each and every detail in scrawling notes like a Victorian naturalist on expedition. After a minute or three, they dotted the last I and dashed the last T, and looked about themselves once more, coming to decision only a social creature like them would.
When in doubt, ask for directions.
They started to look for a ghost that seemed both friendly, and had enough of a mind to still speak.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 19, 2021 23:11:52 GMT -8
Agrippa approached the nearest apparition, but thought better of it as the thing was a jittering mess. It seemed set in a pattern of pacing the garden, dragging its form in a silent scream, features scrambled as tracks were dragged in the cobblestone. One was face down in the pool, not responding to being called out to, until the image shifted to have it crouched on the edge, whispering gibberish as it clawed occasionally at the air.
Not looking great so far... they felt a surge of hope as they waved to the maid dusting the room in a backwards sequence, only to have her suddenly jerk and start smashing and pulling everything down within her reach, screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs, before the moment reset.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 20, 2021 5:41:56 GMT -8
Upon realizing they were in poor company, Agrippa's expression soured into a dreadful disappointment. It was looking like they would need to investigate around the place after all, if they wanted to find anything... the gate was an object of interest, but investigating that seemed to be the most dangerous and therefore the last thing on the list. Sticking their head in the void was, of course, plan Z.
Since the garden offered no tantalizing ghosts, the next thing to look into was the mansion, as far as Agrippa was concerned. It was unfathomably expansive, sure, but the unscrupulous denizens in ghost land weren't the most subtle of folks- they could run about the place and spot anything that was worth spotting, couldn't they? At the very least they wanted to run by the last place they had seen Buck, just incase the Sunset Prince had a spectral posse he was unaware of. Or possibly was aware of, considering his interest in ghosts... And of course they wanted to check out the Salon where the whole assassination affair had taken place.
The unicorn nodded to themselves, satisfied with the plan. They squared up their shoulders, set their sights onto the building, and headed straight for the nearest wall. Because what sorry excuse of a helldiver would they be if they used the doors?
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 20, 2021 14:35:21 GMT -8
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 20, 2021 17:06:57 GMT -8
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 20, 2021 17:29:53 GMT -8
They couldn't be sure how many, but at least a dozen ghosts had crossed their path. Without having to obey the laws of locked doors, Agrippa found themselves having a general layout of the complex. Odd details weren't readily available in the ephemeral, but on the normal side of things they did see that there were multiple hidden rooms and routes that would take a while to enter and forge through, such as a panic room.
Some of the ghosts were aggressive, and Agrippa sense potential dangerous encounters if they pressed too hard. They narrowly missed a warped guard that decided they were a home invader when poking outside said panic room, but lost him in the corridors and limits of the spirit's perception.
No one seemed particularly lucid or focused on them.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 20, 2021 18:19:44 GMT -8
Agrippa phased back out of the wall through which they had entered, coming to a running stop a few feet out from the inkblot gate. It took a minute, half doubled over, for them to regain their breath and slow their heart. Then they turned their attentions back to the vexing portal, frowning at it. They still weren't going to waltz on through- having 20 minutes to consider that option only made that more clear to them, no matter how much their lethal curiosity loathed it and accused their rational mind of cowardice. But there was perhaps a thing or two they could try, without too much fuss... Agrippa retrieved the pen and notepad, flicking it open to a blank page. The paused to consider, before writing a single line in beautiful delicate cursive
Is anyone there?
Deft hands tore the page carefully, folded it up into a paper airplane, and took careful aim before tossing it through. They waited a couple of minutes, just to see what would happen, if anything at all.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 20, 2021 20:02:40 GMT -8
The paper plane spun in a spiral, before hanging in the air to be frozen on the edge.
The Gate was not open.
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Post by Agrippa on Jan 20, 2021 22:36:36 GMT -8
It had been worth the shot, hadn't it?
Agrippa's arms fell to their sides in defeat as they reminded themselves for the umpteenth time why they couldn't just look. At least they couldn't without telling the rest of the crew first, and they had a pretty good idea what the group's collective response would be to that suggestion. They took one last look around before rearing their head back, closing their eyes, and willing themselves corporeal.
...And nothing. Agrippa frowned and tried again.
Still nothing. This was starting to be embarrassing- the unicorn opened an eye to see whether the ghosts where laughing at them.
Finally they succeeded their attempts to rid themselves out of the shadows. They hadn't closed their eyes this time around, and thus spent several moments blinking at the comparatively blistering light of the tangible garden. Once recovered, they squinted at where the gate had been, trying to see if there was anything in this plane that marked the spot.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 21, 2021 23:31:26 GMT -8
Agrippa kept their attention closer to the ground and surrounding flora, making a snap judgement for any telltale signs that the area had been disturbed. It had been a bit since Mabon, which made things harder to detect. They would have missed it if they didn't know the location of the Gate. If they squinted, they could make out the faint outline of a...triangle...where the grass had grown anew with slightly thinner shoots. Walking around the faint pattern, their attention turned towards the palm tree, where the bark had healed differently from the rest, indicating previous damage from impact or a scrape.
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