Winter Begins - A Spirit Festival - RPLOG
Participants
Date
7/10/479
Log
The strange, personally addressed invitations to this mysterious party must have truly flooded Firmament. Beings of all shapes, sizes and groups have dug out or made costumes and masks to attend. The promised transportation turned out to be a whole fleet of black painted carriages to carry the flood of beings that are inexplicably willing to make their way to the fallen city of Mossy stone. The dark, cracked walls loom up ahead as the black clad, silent coach drivers drop off their passengers at the broken gates.
The coach ride was creepy enough, but now the dark edifices of the ruins loomed before them. It was enough to send a shiver down Galve's spine, and he pulled his cloak closer around him. He hadn't found any kind of costume so he had arrived in naught but his usual garb and a black traveling cloak, under which he had brought some of his other equipment. Mostly his medical bag and the sword that he'd been given by the Freeswords, and not much else.
Shira is staring out of the window of the carriage she is riding in, wondering what this could all be about. Either way it sounds like an opportunity for new experiences or adventurer, regardless of how it plays out. Speaking of playing. The mouse is in costume, a frilly dress and marry jane's, as well as white stockings, combined with several joints painted in black on her white fur give the mouse the appearance of a doll, an effect that is further enhanced by her small size.
A figure dressed up in what looks to be a simple set of chainmail armor soon steps out of one of the carriages, his masked gaze scanning over the scene before him as he does so. Lidara had certainly made sure to dress up, the chainmail armor accompanied by a white cloth with red trimmings that draped over his back and chest, all the way down to his knees on each side, and had the insignia of the Graceful Clan on the center of the front, also in red. A white cape with a hood accompanies that, and a mask of the same color covers the top half of his muzzle. The only part of his orange fur that's actually left visible now is his chin and neck.
The shattered gates hang open and nervous beings in a remarkable assortment of costumes mill around the gate in the fading afternoon sun, all waiting for someone else to be the first to enter the haunted ruin. The carriages have all dropped off their passengers and driven on.
"Why would we even do this?" a skunk in a raggedy wedding dress asks, eyeing the gate fearfully, "I can't believe I have come out here." But still, she doesn't leave. The gates stand silent and watchful. Strangely, there is no sight, sound, or sign of the moaning, shambling undead of Mossy Stone.
Glancing at the skunk, Galve is having the same second thoughts about the situation. Drawing his cloak close, he looked into the fading sunset with concern.
Shira is, as always, not intimidated by anything and is the first one to pass through the gate, she turns around on her heels and gives the beings around her a confident smile, after being a few feet in. "Whats the worst that could happen!" She crosses her arms behind her head and turns again, taking the lead and following the path.
Lidara shifts around uneasily for a moment once he's able to take in the gate as well as the church before them, his hand going back to fiddling with something hidden under the cloth draped over him as he does so, that being a dagger he has tucked away. Just in case. Once that little mouse steps forward and starts to lead the way though, he can't help but smile and shake his head a bit... before moving forward to walk just behind her.
There is a polite cough and Shira walks straight into the arms of a huge crocodile who grins down at her. "Welcome, guests," he says in a sternum shaking, deep voice with an evident Isharan accent, "The White Lady welcomes you to her city and extends her hospitality." the Croc wears only a pair of ragged trousers and a loose, open vest. His dark scales are polished to a high gloss and his face is painted in the pattern of a skull. He holds out his arm to Shira. "Why don't all of you just come with me," he says with a toothy grin, going to lead the way, preferably with the dolled up mouse on his arm.
Beyond the gates, the streets are clear and empty. Lanterns have been strung along the route toward the old church and garlands of paper and black and white decorations with a distinct skull motif litter the way.
Proceeding to follow the gator, Galve was on high alert as he followed, nervously glancing in almost every possible direction.
Shira squeaks as she is picked up. "Hey now! At least ask first, Mister!" She does not bother struggling free of the crocodile's grip though, figuring that she might as well be carried, if she is dressed as something usually inanimate. She does however squint around. She had never been here before, but she heard stories about this place. The total lack of shambling corpses was both disappointing and suspicious.
Lidara immediately stops in his tracks upon hearing the crocodile, his stance lowering slightly and his hand immediately going backwards to his hip, though not quite to his hidden weapon. But, it only takes him a second to realize that there's no immediate danger, at least, the cat quickly standing up straight again and letting out a held breath, as well as giving the croc an apologetic look, of course. Once he starts to lead the way, the costumed feline simply follows behind him, his gaze flicking about to curiously examine the area all the while.
"Can't help it, Cher," the Croc rumbles, "You were just too cute to pass up." Now that there seems to be some kind of guide, the imaginary dam at the gate breaks and the living flood into Mossy Stone for the first time in many years. The place is still obviously a ruin, of course, evidence of the empty years stares back from ruined homes and storefronts, but the lanterns and decorations do much to lift the gloom. It almost seems like a set stage instead of the site of a terrible tragedy.
The Church, however, is an exception. Someone has been hard at work, rebuilding the old structure. Gothic spires reach toward the heavens and imposing gargoyles stare down at the approaching revelers. In front of the rebuilt structure is a beautiful statue of a winged creator woman wearing a helmet shaped like a skull. This must be what the invitation meant when it said the Cathedral of Pyrrha.
"Well... They took the creepy church and made it even more creepy. I had no idea such a thing was possible..." Galve grumbles to nobody in particular. Now he felt out of place, no costume to wear.
Shira eyes the church up and down, this was certainly more impressive than she expected. She tears her eyes off the building and looks up at the crocodile holding her. "Fine, just be careful with the costume and makeup, I suppose." She elongates the i of fine as she says it, not sure what to make of all this, still. Would Pyrrha herself be here, what is her plan? Maybe everything would actually be as harmless as it seems.
As they progress further and further into the city, Lidara's steps start to grow a bit more cautious, his gaze still flicking around to look over all of the destroyed and abandoned buildings around them. Things are a bit too quiet, considering there's supposed to be undead roaming this place.... Not too long after the church comes into view though, the feline's attention flicks to that and he can't help but let his eyes widen a little bit, his pace even slowing a little bit for a moment to give him more time to examine it. He does speed up again before long, but his attention remains locked on that church for most of the rest of the walk.
The Crocodile winks at Shira and leads the way to the front doors of the remade church, which swing open to admit the nervous partygoers. The huge space is empty of the old, ruined pews. Lights glitter within, illuminating the long nave and a motley assortment of tray wielding servants, all dressed and painted like the Croc that led the way in. "Come!" the aforementioned Croc welcomes everyone, "Eat, drink, our gracious hosts will be here soon." He glances out the open doors at the setting sun.
Relaxing somewhat as he entered into the church, Galve was somewhat baffled at the lengths that whoever must have planned this social event must have gone to great lengths to clear this place out of the hordes of the undead as well as cleaned up the church, and then arranged everything else. "Hmm... clearly someone has been planning this for a while..." Galve muttered, looking amongst the other partygoers for any familiar faces. He didn't expect to find any.
"So, uhm. You gonna let me down? Or are you gonna give me a tour from the best seat in the house?" The mouse looks around herself, noticing the food and drinks, while going over the words in her head. "You said hosts? As in multiple? Can you elaborate a bit on that, Mister crocodile?" She flashes him a charming smile.
"Yeah...," Lidara mumbles in response, stepping next to Galve and looking over the church around them as he does so, his eyes still slightly wide beneath his mask. Sure, he's not a familiar face, but he certainly seems to be addressing the sheep. "It must have cost quite a bit and taken a lot of work to get all of this ready. I wonder how they managed to find anyone willing to work in Mossy Stone...," he turns his masked gaze on Galve, "I guess that we'll have the chance to ask our host soon though. I'm Lidara, by the way."
"Oh, I am sure they will introduce themselves, Cher," the Croc drawls, setting Shira gently on her feet, "You go get some food and drink and they will be along before you know it." The Croc turns and swaggers off to join the other servants in roaming around and helping with the meet and greet.
Specifically, he walks over to Galve. "Bon Soir, my sheepy friend," he says, "You look like you could use some help with a costume. How about I help get you dressed up?" He points out one of the many alcoves along the nave of the church.
Jumping as the Croc addressed him, Galve showed off just how on edge he still was. "Umm... yeah, that would be a good idea..." He said, heading towards one of the aforementioned alcoves
Shira is neither hungry, nor thirsty, so she instead spends the time inspecting the church, the work it had done and the people in it, both guests and servants. The small mouse has to look up at basically anyone and anything, but she is well used to that.
Lidara again lowers his stance slightly once he sees the sheep jump, but a second later he spots the croc that caused the surprise and simply lets out a quiet giggle, his postuer returning to normal once more. With Galve going to get a costume on though, the short feline simply starts to stroll through the church in a similar manner to Shira, his gaze flicking over the various beings filling the room in particular.
The Croc leads Galve to an alcove and points out a collection of wildly varied costume pieces. "Do I got a great idea for you, cher!" he says digging into the crate and coming back with some false fangs and what looks like a pair of wings on a harness. "You just take that there cape off and we'll get you set up real good."
The church is beautiful, if a little macabre. There is a definite skeleton motif with many bas relief scenes of an image of Death coming for ready and waiting beings. Skull painted servants in ragged clothing ply beings with all sorts of delicious foods and fine drinks, though they all seem to be watching out the open doors as the sun slowly sets.
Removing his cloak and other equipment, Galve presented himself to the Croc for whatever kind of 'idea' he had in mind.
Eventually, Lidara's gaze falls onto the mouse that had lead the way into destroyed town, even if it'd be a bit difficult to find her among the sea of people, considering how small she is. Soon though, he's made his way over to stand next to her, his eyes going to rest on her and the cat clearing his throat to get her attention, giving a short wave as he does so. "You must be pretty brave to lead the way into here like you did, considering how dangerous this area is supposed to be."
The Crocodile gives Galve a toothy grin and carefully helps him into the harness, which makes the large, bat-like wings stand up over his head. "Coo!" the Croc cheers, "If that ain't a sight! Now open wide." He sticks the teeth into the sheep's mouth before instructing him to close his mouth again, leaving the long fangs to poke out over his lower lip. "Now just hold still, Cher," he says, producing a little pot of grease paint, "You gonna love this."
Meanwhile, the chatting partygoers all go silent together as a chill wind suddenly blows through the chapel and the sun outside sets.
Suddenly, up on the chapel's dais, there is a loud tearing sound and suddenly four elaborate thrones appear, each holding a tall, stately form. Each is being-shaped, though from there their forms vary wildly.
The first is a tall Creator with sunken eyes and a hunched posture wearing shabby, ragged robes. The second is huge. His elaborate, spiked armor is fearsome and hides his features completely. The next is obviously the figure depicted in the front of the cathedral, only in place of a skull helm, her head is the grinning skull of a horse being. Finally, the last throne holds a slender, hooded, feminine figure whose face is hidden.
The servants all turn to face the altar and raise their voices together. "ALL HAIL TO THE COURT OF WINTER!"
Remaining still despite the procession entering into the Cathedral, making sure to allow the gator to do his work.
Shira runs her hand through her hair, as she so often does, when the feline addresses her. "Oh, well. When you are the best mage in Firmament, nothing scares you all that easily. Doubt they could throw anything at me that I could not ha-" She is interrupted by the tearing sound and arrival of the so called Court of Winter. "Well would you look at that."
