[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

If there's something strange in your neighbourhood, who ya gonna call?

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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]

[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Wrenmae on June 8th, 2012, 8:44 am

Where Monty had fallen back, Wrenmae stepped forward. It wasn't an abundance of bravery that motivated his motion, nor was it any experience with ghosts and their ilk. The moment the screeching howl echoed through the library, curling around dusty tomes, and bending past immaculately lined shelves, he knew that whatever was here had been waiting for them, knew they were coming, and had chosen now to reveal itself. Why else would it appear? The difference between rumor and fact was the frequency by which it happened. This ghost was a rumor, a thing of conspiratorial whispers and subtly passed notes. It could have easily been an invention of students with their minds overworked from the University's classes...but in spite of that anonymity, the phantom had chosen to reveal its influence to them.

Maybe it sought to scare them, to banish them from its domain...but Wrenmae had a theory...that they might not be able to leave now. Silence would have been the easiest answer, to let them go with nothing save their imaginations to verify the ghost hunt.

Now they were trapped by the knowledge of its existence.

And one of his companions was Erudite, the woman he inexplicably loved.

So when she motioned to where the heavy bang had happened, tremors shuddering his thin body worse than any wind of the Kalean range, he stepped forward smartly to approach the books first.

His eyes were barely on them as he entered between the bookshelves. Instead his eyes roved the rows, the ceiling, all likely places for some phantasm to hide itself. He expected a rotting corpse, a gaunt horror with voids for eyes that hungered for the souls of the living.

But perhaps it was more terrifying that he saw nothing at all.

Only the books.

He bent down to pick them up.
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This PC has the Blight gnosis. As such, you as a player need to be aware of what that consists of. Wrenmae has an invisible aura that amplifies sickness and disease. Wounds may become infected, small sneezes may become coughing, and a slight fever may become more serious. A nuit's body will also break down faster in the presence of the Blight. These effects may not be immediate, but within the few days following your encounter, the symptoms will manifest. Some sooner than others. I cannot control your character, so creativity will be left up to you. Best wishes and stay healthy!

Special shoutout to Fallon for my new CS
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[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Paragon on June 10th, 2012, 3:51 pm

The trio were uneasy now, shaken by the sudden and inexplicable movement of the books. While Montaine were Erudite were unsure if this was just conincidence, Wrenmae felt more than a little shaken.

ImageHe crouched to pick up one of the books, and he would see the title rather quickly: The Circumnavigation of Mizahar

If he and the others looked at the other books that had fallen, they would see one on the historical voyages of Mizahar, and another on historical figures within Zeltiva's past.

Was there a connection between the books? Were the titles relevant? Or had the wind just blown the books from their shelf, or perhaps they had simply fallen out of chance?

The intrepid trio would get only a moment to think on it before they heard another sound, this time more distant, and from deeper in the library, where the light was stretched to its thinnest, and shadows crawled all around.

The sound was hard to explain, though audible to all. Having lived in Zeltiva, perhaps the noise would be recognisable to them, if only for a moment. Strangely, it sounded like a ship tossed about on a heavy wave.

But that wouldn't make sense -- would it?
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[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Erudite on June 11th, 2012, 1:57 pm

The adrenaline rush was revitalizing, awakening every single cell in the Konti's body as they neared the aisle and caught sight of the three fallen books. She usually was fast asleep around this time of night, and no amount of rustling and shuffling could ever wake her. But here, in the dimness of the library, and the excitement that radiated from the heavy atmosphere and from her companions, she felt completely and utterly awake. Montaine fell back as they approached the scene while Wrenmae picked up speed and overtook her. She watched intently as the brunette leaned down and picked the book up, her body falling still in front of the glassblower who stood right behind her. He was so close, so very close, and despite Wrenmae's presence, she couldn't help but blush at their proximity. She was quite a bit infatuated with the sailor, after all, but he thankfully has yet to notice. Hopefully he never will.

She peeked over Wrenmae's shoulder and eyed the book, momentarily admiring the golden, rimmed spine and the wrinkled brown leather that spread across the yellowing pages. She read the title out loud just as the brunette did silently. "The circumnavigation of Mizahar," she shrugged the words out as if they hardly meant anything, and then proceeded to pick up the two other books. Lifting her shoulders, she squinted at the pair of books that she'd piled up in her arms, gently reaching out to open each one. "Historical figures, and..." she trailed off, biting her lip as she exchanged the book's positions and read the other one, "historical voyages of Mizahar?"

She clutched the heavy books to her chest and turned to the others, her jaw slackened and her mouth just about ready to speak, when a noise broke through their moment of eerie silence. It sounded like a tidal wave, or a violent splash of water, coupled with the sound of solid objects slapping together. Feeling brave, she quickly sprinted out of the aisle and examined the room, only to find the noise concentrated somewhere farther off into the library, in a place practically swimming in complete darkness. She gulped, glancing to the others to usher them to view the scene. "What's that sound?" she asked softly, her voice practically inaudible, and ironically, sounded as if it were drowning in the thundering noise. Glancing to Montaine, she furrowed her brows and urged him to tell them. He was the resident, he was the one who'd lived in Zeltiva the longest, so he would be able to recognize the sound, wouldn't he?

She faltered, when she realized that it was only the second time the glassblowing sailor had stepped into the library. The first, was when she'd bumped into him a few days ago, and had taught him to read. He didn't frequent the University, so the chances that he would know where slim. "Sounds like, sounds like..." she trailed off, unable to pinpoint the noise at all. Splashing water, yes, the sound of solid objects slapping, yes, but what could that be, the sound that occurs in a pier? It didn't make any sense, as there were no piers or docks close enough for them to hear. And, if there were, they would've heard it before they even came it, wouldn't they?

She tried her best to ignore the darkness in front of them, the origin of the peculiar noise. Wisps of black seemed to grow and reach out to them, their ebony tendrils twisting and turning in a disgusting, eerie fashion that sent shivers down her spine. It was all a figment of her imagination, however, wasn't it? Shadows couldn't move, shadows didn't move, they're not meant to, right? She glanced at the book in Wrenmae's hands, and then at the pair she held between her arms. "So, these seem to have a connection, don't they?" she mused casually, though her fright and uncertainty spilled out of her trembling tone. She revealed nothing until she'd tightened her grip on the spines of the books, her clammy hands causing the tomes to shake in time with her rapidly beating heart.

"I suppose we should check this out, there must be a reason why these were the ones that fell," she said, quickly returning to the aisle and laying the pair of books on the empty table that stood against the window. She tried her best to avoid making eye contact with the other two men, fearing her eyes would betray her and show them how she'd lost a fraction of her bravery. Opening the books up, she wondered for a moment what she should be looking for. "A link, we've got to find a link," she said, tapping her chin and voicing her thoughts, hoping that the other two had followed her to the tables, "historical figure, historical voyages? Perhaps a certain historical figure made a certain historical voyage?" Giggling to herself as she plucked up more courage and confidence, she glanced towards Wrenmae and brought out her palm to take the book in his hands. "That involved circumnavigating Mizahar?"

It was when she'd said the mouthful of a word, that it hit her quite suddenly. The Wright Memorial Library was dedicated to someone, somebody whose name had escaped her at that particular moment. She bit her tongue and struggled, looking back to the time when she'd met the librarian and she'd given her an introduction to the place. The woman, that Wright woman, she'd circumnavigated Mizahar, hadn't she? She was certainly historical. "Do you know who this library was built in honor of?" she bit her lip as she spoke, widening her eyes as she faced the pair.
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In Erudite we trust.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: School is starting on June 13, and every single day after that, I will occasionally be busy and disappear for a few days. I am also currently applying for colleges abroad, and reviewing for upcoming entrance exams, so I'll be preoccupied over that, as well. Sorry!
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[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Montaine on June 12th, 2012, 1:30 pm

‘It’s a ship,’ Monty stared into the gloom, whispering for fear of somehow disturbing the shadows, for fear of summoning whatever spectre haunted the darkness, ‘It’s a ship, in the water, what’s a ship in the water doin’ in a library?’

Of course, Montaine knew the stories of the legendary Kenabelle Wright. Everyone in Zeltiva knew of her great voyages, her journey round all of Mizahar, how she and her paltry crew had survived the most treacherous waters and outlasted the frozen seas, how so many had died and yet despite it all the ship made it home to the harbour. Everyone knew the stories, of course, of the house in the hills, unoccupied and abandoned yet kept immaculate, waiting for its master to return to their shores. Everyone knew the stories.

She’d disappeared. It was decades ago, long before Monty’s time, before his parents’ time, but people still talked. Stories drifted round the pubs and bars, between children and between drunks, growing and changing, they said she still sailed, or that she’d returned north to find her lost crew and wandered the frozen wastes in search of them. They were all just stories though, in truth she was almost certainly long dead.

The glassworker tore his eyes away from the shadows and looked over to the books. Through his lessons the fair doctor had taught him an array of letters and phonemes and even a few of the stranger pronunciations but at a glance, in his current state of agitation, he struggled to identify the letters. Needless to say, from Erudite’s descriptions, they brought back memories of the circumnavigator’s tale, images of imaginings he’d had of exploring the world.

He looked at her, ‘Kenabelle Wright? You talkin’ Kenabelle Wright? You’re kiddin’ me, ain’tchya? Wright died years ago off on some voyage somewhere, out to sea, she died-’ of course it occurred to him then that if anything her death would in fact increase the likeliness of her being a ghost, but surely she’d be off haunting some shipwreck off the Syliran coast?

He voiced his worries, ‘Why would the ghost of a dead explorer be hauntin’ a library made in her honour? Don’ make no sense,’
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[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Wrenmae on June 14th, 2012, 6:35 am

Wrenmae was lost. Part of him wanted to take the books and read them, scour their covers searching for clues. He felt ill at ease in Montaine's presence, a strange prickling up the back of his neck. Was it simply that they hadn't actually spoken to each other past introductions yet...or...

It was the ghost, had to be the ghost.

He would have taken the moment to speak, but his words fell in upon themselves and silenced into nothing. He did not know this Wright, only her namesake by which the library took its name. She was...an explorer? Visions filled his mind of wind-whipped sails, tautly held in a grip of seasky. The rising prow of a ship cutting the waves apart, rising and falling as though riding on the back of some unimaginable horse.

There were no sailors, and the ship looked like the Wretched Sprite to him, the ship lost at sea. It was all he had to go on, but the vision was so clear, so real. He could hear the lapping of waves against the hull.

But those did not come from his memory.

Wrenmae spun away from the two of them, eyes straining into the darkness where the sound of water had come. The impossibility of it stung him, whipped his logic and sent a spike of terror into his heart. The docks, the sea, it had come to the library. Like a prowling beast it perched just beyond their sight. Would it leap? Would they be plunged into some hidden sea like rats in storm drains? Would they have time to struggle? To swim?

Despite the lessons Sable had taught him, Wrenmae was unnerved.

"I...an explorer?" He asked, his arms encircling his chest unconsciously, warding him from a cold that never was. "I don't know the habits of ghosts, but are they capable of bringing the sea? Can that be real?" He indicated the darkness ahead of them, nothing but shadows and tall shelves to guide them.

A maze of ordered consistency.

"What...what if it means to drowned us?" he whispered, the frightening realization pressing on his mind. He hadn't fully held the existence of a ghost to credit until now...and had been fully prepared to seek it out.

Until the sea found them.

The sea that waited just beyond their sights, prowling, waiting, hungry.
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Sig by Shausha


This PC has the Blight gnosis. As such, you as a player need to be aware of what that consists of. Wrenmae has an invisible aura that amplifies sickness and disease. Wounds may become infected, small sneezes may become coughing, and a slight fever may become more serious. A nuit's body will also break down faster in the presence of the Blight. These effects may not be immediate, but within the few days following your encounter, the symptoms will manifest. Some sooner than others. I cannot control your character, so creativity will be left up to you. Best wishes and stay healthy!

Special shoutout to Fallon for my new CS
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[Quest] The Good Die Young (Erudite, Montaine, Wrenmae)

Postby Paragon on June 18th, 2012, 12:03 am

The sound was unmistakeable to one who had spent time in Zeltiva - Mizahar's hub for seafaring and shipping. And by the volume of the noise, it was a large ship at that.

Suddenly, it moved through the library as if getting closer. From the darkness came the rushing of churning waters and imminent danger. The library had gone from eerie silence, shifting into a cacophonous life of its own.

A few aisles from where the books had first been thrown, the churning moved. As the sound cut towards them, books were thrown outwards, more and more, this time lacking any sense of order. It was as if something physically pushed them aside.

The trio were forced to move when the metal shelf frames that held the books began to tumble. Like a game of dominoes in the Kelp Bar, they fell one after the other, hurtling towards Erudite, Wrenmae, and Montaine.

A sanctuary among the bustling city, the library had now turned into a waking nightmare -- but what secrets were waiting to unravel?
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