Adventure! RPG: Dark Tidings - Chapter 1: The Long Night

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos hangs back and makes a note that the library seems to have a previously unknown guardian spirit - that likes to attack little girls. Little in spirit, if not in body.

"Umm Marion, are there any other warded areas about the house you want to make us aware of now that we are working together? We were fortunate this time, but if you are injured the rest of us might not have been as lucky."

[Dawn OOC]

Originally Posted By: Katalyst

Arch looks at Daphne directly "Yeah right. I was there in the circle, I heard what the shade said to you. I think that's the real reason your in here." he says matter of factly.

Daphne's eyes narrowed a touch as she looked at Arch. "Said that wanted to see box. Said wanted to see because of shade. No lies. No lie to my pack!" The last was shouted, in a very un-ladylike manner. Daphne was getting over-wrought; it was something that Marion and Ben had seen before, though not in the last month or so. She'd been getting better, but the tonight's events had shaken her, and almost seemed to cause a regression.

[Lee Deity]

"This is the only room in which the guardian has authority," Ben answers, "We have no other warded rooms here. The rest of the island anyone may explore freely. Just the library is warded - there's a lot of dangerous things here."

"Right," Ben said, "I don't think we should let something like this happen again, so just to be on the safe side..." Ben attempted to focus again, and as he did so there was a slight glow in the crystal pendant around his neck. Not so obvious to announce it's presence, but certainly enough to notice if you happened to be looking at the time. "Guardian, I claim the following people as Guests of the House, and are not to be harmed in this library - Count Janos Rakozi Graf von Kader. Daphne Walton. Catori of the Apache. Archibald Bannister. Mia Foster."

Ben had, conveniently, worded the command against harm, not action against. He wasn't a cynic, and it wasn't that he didn't trust anyone here, but there was a lot of power built up in the Library - it was the focus of energies in the house. It probably wasn't the best idea to let anyone unfamiliar with the Library have free reign.

"Each of you, announce yourself to the Guardian with your name. After this you will not be harmed by the Guardian in this library. That said, we'd still recommend not coming here without me or Marion. Speaking of which, you know, I thought we'd fixed the lock on the Library door, Marion. Didn't we agree to keep the Library locked when guests were about?"

[SalmonMax]

"I must have left it unlocked when I left to do the ritual," Marion admits sheepishly. "No one was here, and the wards and guardian would keep intruders out so..."

She sighs.

"That won't happen again, that's for sure."

[Dawn OOC]

Daphne looked uncomfortable; she didn't like Ben and Marion to disagree, even a little. She actually looked a bit like a child watching Daddy slap Mommy and trying to fit that into her world. "Open box, please," she said softly. "Blame later." Hopefully, there would be no later to deal with.

[Lee Deity]

"Don't worry Daphne," Ben said, putting as much calm and reassurance into his voice as possible, "there's no blame here, merely explanations. We can't have something like this happen again, and we need to know what went wrong to make sure. Now, everyone, announce yourselves to the Guardian, and then I believe we should work on opening that box."

[Katalyst]

Arch looks around, "Guess I'll go first." Standing tall and facing the Guardian Arch boldly proclaims. "I am Archibald Bannister!"

Once done he turns to Ben, "That felt a bit silly, was that really necessary?" he asks jokingly.

[SalmonMax]

Marion gives Daphne a smile.

"I made a mistake...it's not bad that I recognize that. It helps me learn not to do it again."

As the others identify themselves, Marion goes to the box and picks it up.

"This ritual is not nearly as...involved as the other, and won't take as long to perform. It will have more energy though, so be careful if you want to stay and watch."

She takes the box into the middle of the library, where there's some open space between the stacks and the desk, and sets it down on the floor. Then she opens the Grimoire to a marked page and spreads some salt over it...then blows it off.

A few candles arranged into a circle around the box, and she begins the ritual invocations...

[Lee Deity]

Originally Posted By: Katalyst

Once done he turns to Ben, "That felt a bit silly, was that really necessary?" he asks jokingly.

"Well, the dramatic flourish wasn't," Ben quipped back, "but you know, even Guardians have to put faces to names!"

[jameson (ST)]

After everybody present announces themselves to the guardian Marion sets about to begin preparations for the ritual. She first places the two iron and two silver rods into an overlapping configuration. Most present do not recognize the pattern until she completes it with two lines of the buffalo horn. The structure forms a six pointed star, twin triangles each with a side of iron, silver, and horn, overlap in opposite directions. Within this Marion places the strongbox. At one point, corresponding to magnetic north, she places the lodestone, at the opposite point the onyx.

Marion takes her place and instructs Catori and Archibald to their own. The three stand at points on the northern pointing triangle with Marion directly in front of the lodestone. The others move back and away, given the earlier ritual's spectacular ending discretion takes the day as the observers take places where they can see but within close cover.

Marion begins to chat the words of the spell and the hexagram begins to glow. As the glow brightens the horn, silver, and iron melt and run together forming a perfect symbol constructed of all three substances. Soon the lodestone and onyx begin to glow too, forming a pair of opposing points on either side of the small box. The ritual quickly reaches it's climax as the library's massive grandfather clock intones the midnight hour. The symbols and runes on the box begin to glow with the same power as the hexagram and soon a seam, a line of light, begins to form distinguishing lid from bottom.

Marion completes the spell as the chime is rung the twelfth time. For a moment it seems as though nothing is going to happen but as the light just begins to fade out of the symbols and the runes, it flares bright and the box top flips open releasing a blast of concussive magical force pushing Marion, Archibald and Catori back a few steps.

For a moment darkness floods the room as the candles and lamps are blown out. The magical natural of the library quickly relights them and light springs back pushing the darkness away. The box rests on the floor, of the symbol and components there is no sign. The lid is flipped back exposing the inside lined with black velvet and silk. Resting atop a small pillow of silk is a shard of what appears to be obsidian.

[Mia Foster]

Mia holds up her camera. "Say cheese!" She takes a picture of the obsidian.

[Dawn OOC]

Daphne crept forward and peered closely at the visible shard. There didn't seem to be much to it, she decided, but clearly it was important.

[SalmonMax]

Marion windmills her arms to keep her balance in the concussion of the shard's release. When she sees the others moving to get a look she quickly calls, "Be careful! No one touch it!"

She flushes a little when she realizes they weren't going to, but soldiers on, walking over to stand beside Daphne and get a better look herself.

"I think it...wanted to open the box. As we pulled, it pushed. Let's just see what it does for a moment."

[Katalyst]

Arch stares at the open box with confusion. "Yeah I stay away for a few, something didn't go quite right, Marion. I'm not sure but there was an something 'extra' present that seemed to help this along. Didn't you feel the same thing?"

"Do you think you could trace where that source of power came from that I felt Marion?" he asks.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"Why can't these things," the Count mutters, "come with clearly ledgeable warnings of Warning: Fell Magic or something like that. No. It has to look like a harmless piece of smoked glass."

Janos' hand taps the pommel of his blade absently.

[Lee Deity]

Ben smiles at Janos's words. "I have to admit, I have wondered that myself. It would have made many of the expeditions I've been on much more routine." Ben's words did not give anyone the impression that he would have actually preferred this state of affairs.

[Dawn OOC]

"Marion, Ben... what do?" Daphne's tone and longing look at the shard suggested that one of them do something before her patience ran out. Since the mysterious conversation with the shade, Daphne's attitude toward the box had visibly changed.

In fact, since coming to the library, she was very different. She was more relaxed and more tense, though that tension wasn't the same as before. Something that happened to change the young feral.

[jameson (ST)]

For a few awkward silent minutes nothing happens and everybody simply stares at the box and the hunk of obsidian within. As a result when the knock came on the library door everybody ll but jumped out of their skin. It was Stewart, the butler, and he looked concerned. "Is everything all right sir and ma'am? We heard and awful bang and so I decided to come and check up on you."

[SalmonMax]

Marion turns and gives Stewart a relieved, but slightly guilty smile. Anyone who'd known Marion growing up would recognize that expression as meaning, 'whew, you almost caught me' when she was up to something.

"We're all right, Stewart. Nothing to worry about."

When he's retreated, Marion shakes her head ruefully and says to no one in particular, "Well we can't just leave it there..."

She bends down to scoop the obsidian chunk up out of the box.

[jameson (ST)]

Marion retrieve the object finding it to feel no different than expected. Somewhat cool to the touch with smooth sides and sharp edges it could be anything that was picked up near a volcano or found in a geologist's office. She holds it up for the others to see and revel in the anticlimactic reveal.

[Rachel Fiore]

Catori stared at the obsidian Stone and then to Marion. "We've released it... whatever was inside. The box was its prison and now we helped it to escape. You must've felt it too!", Catori voice was slowly rising a demeanor very unusual for the Apache woman.

[Dawn OOC]

Daphne ducked as if Catori's invisible prisoner were swinging at her; from her crouched position on the floor, she gave a sharp whistle. As Spot came running from the other room, Daphne prepared herself for an attack.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos' hand tightened on his sword.

"A warning like that would have been nice," he grinds out between tightened lips. He takes a step toward Marion and seems to relax once more.

"Okay, what was just released, what does it want, and how do we get it back in ... if this is how these haunting visitations go."

[SalmonMax]

"Everyone stay calm, please," Marion said. "Yes, this stone aided the spell that opened the box. What that means, we don't know yet. Lets not jump to conclusions and get upset. It seems quiet again, for now."

She places the box on the library desk, and the obsidian shard in the box...but leaves it open.

"Determining what this is, and what it can do, is the next step." Marion eyes the others with her steely gaze. "If anyone here doesn't wish to continue, now's the time to say so."

[Rachel Fiore]

"We don't have much of a choice. We are responsible for this, we need to fix it to keep the balance... and I don't think that whatever was locked inside is still around here. It has fled once it was freed.", Catori looked determined and was slowly calming down again.

"We had to act in haste and now we pay the price for our audacity. Wisdom and patience would've been the better counselors."

[Lee Deity]

Ben quietly replied, "If it had not been us to release it now, chances are spectacular someone else would have taken the box from us and released it themselves, and we would have had no clue at all what was going on. By acting now we have the benefit of knowledge, which we would not have had if we'd waited."

"Now," Ben said with a more powerful voice as he walked towards the stacks of books, "I think we should start the journey of knowledge. Guardian! Find me books on Grigori Rasputin, and recent Russian history. I may not be an occult wonder, but I know how to research!"

[Katalyst]

Arch sighs "I agree with Catori. As upset as I am about things earlier, I can't see us just dropping this and going back to our daily lives. We've got to focus now on fixing our little problem."

"Ben I'll give you a hand on the research."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

"I'm in," is all the tall Hungarian says. His face is grim and certainly many matter weigh on his mind.

[Dawn OOC]

Daphne stood up slowly, uncertain the threat was done. "I help," she stated. She grinned and leaned against Arch, a casual gesture that didn't exist in this era, among members of this society. "Help Ben and Arch research?"

Both Marion and Ben knew that Daphne wasn't that good at research; her reading speed was slow. Though if they had to read something about daemons, she could provide a colorful commentary.

[Lee Deity]

"Of course!" Ben said. Daphne may be slow at research, but he was always happy to help Daphne improve her reading - after all, it was an important part of any woman's education. It broadened the mind and, more importantly, it gave her something to do. Ben was all for it.

"Come along, we'll see if we can't find a few good books for you!"

[Mia Foster]

"'Course I'm in. You think I'd pass up a story like this? This is something amazing and no mistake."

[jameson (ST)]

The Guardian begins to glide through the library searching for books about Rasputin and Russian history focusing specifically on the recent forty odd years. Slowly a small pile is formed on one of the many tables in the room. The information is scant to say the least. A couple of books that are nearly twenty years old contain only brief mentions of Rasputin. Little more recent is uncovered. A few books on the history of the Tsars are also provided as well as history of "modern Russia" that is already ten years out of date.

As you all sit faced with innumerable pages of material the grandfather clock chimes three a.m. Realizing that a little sleep will do more to speed the research than plowing through in an exhausted state you all decide to get some rest and attack the books in the morning.