hauntstart | UP AND OUT.

UP AND OUT.

[Beyond the stranger cemetery, you can see the city of Lockcentre. On two sides stretch mountains, with a plateau edge visible above the town, a great waterfall plunging into a river that wends its course through the city, then down terraced edges as the city carefully steps its way down to the sea.

Now what? ]

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It wouldn't be so dangerous.

It would depend on the wedding.

[ tosses up his hands ]

Oh, the scandals of the aristocracy...

Listen. My plan is to read up on all of them. Reenactments, labyrinths, lairs, haunts, whatever else might jump out at us in the dark of night. Then we can know ahead of time what we're dealing with when we see it, whether these are things we can defend ourselves against, and if so, how.

[ just tell me who to start killing, that's a thing i do now. ]

Weapons would be a good start.

[ he's already moving to a place to sit, book leaned against the inside of his knee as he flips to a chapter that helpfully starts with a description of lairs. ]

[ before he can get too far into the book- ]

Speaking of- did you get any 'gifts'? When you first got here?

[ you being alive. ]

Such as?

Hands on yours, granting you magic powers. Uh. Kind of like this?

[ does a motion like a sleight of hand, and pulls a whole lute out of thin air. ]

I mean, probably not like this specifically, but you know. Things you couldn't do before that you were granted now.

[ Looking down at his hand, palm open. They've healed now, but there are still marks there—not from the gifts, from his blood sacrifice. ]

Yes. Though I wasn't aware that's what was happening at the time. I've yet to put them to the test.

Okay. Let's all tell each other what we have from those, too.

[ brings out a dagger, this time ]

I haven't really tested them either, so these are just my impressions. I think I can pretty much make whatever like this, but they're not technically that useful. Like, I can make this dagger, but I don't think I could actually stab someone with it. It'll go away if I'm not around, too.

I can also draw attention to myself and force people to fight me with words instead of sharp things.

[ The sudden realization that he is being asked to explain what he's been blessed with has him wanting to shudder. No. He can't. There's nothing lovely in the first and nothing brutal in the second, but both seem to be beyond his words. ]

They suit you.

[ He says eventually, quietly. ]

[ flashes a grin ]

All flash, no substance?

Edited 2025-07-16 05:51 (UTC)

[ If Marius could be infected by grins, he would be. Alas, he is a cursed man. ]

Not anymore. [ STILL FLASH THOUGH. ] I can't protect you from sharp words.

And you don't have to. If I could be taken down with words, one of your tongue-lashings might have done the trick already.

[ there is the ghost of a smile on him. just, a teeny tiny uplift there. yeah he DID tear into him on the daily. as much as it made him want to rip his hair out, the moment it stopped, he was lost. ]

Arguments forged in fire, then.

[ also: not volunteering info on his own "gifts". ]

It will be my ultimate weapon.

[ smooths a hand over his locs, smile dimming a bit ]

The third... I get the feeling that one's for emergencies only.

[ a nod. firm. ]

Which we will be avoiding, with research, if you are still inclined.

[ dispels the dagger with a snap of his fingers, finger gun pointing at Marius in the same movement ]

Precisely. I'll give you all a summary of my findings in the morning.

[ he can only imagine what kind of implication that gesture was meant to convey. something terrible, no doubt. ]

I'll do the same.

[ is he safe. did he manage to subtly avoid a conversation for the first time in his life (as opposed to getting mad and just unsubtly leaving). ]

You're not gonna rest?

Are you?

[ puts a hand to his chest, mock-innocent ]

Me? When do I ever sleep at this hour?

This specific hour should probably be an exemption!

Re: RESEARCH: HOSTEL

canonrevue - 2025-07-17 05:07 (UTC) - Expand

Re: RESEARCH: HOSTEL

unkissed - 2025-07-17 05:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: RESEARCH: HOSTEL

canonrevue - 2025-07-17 05:45 (UTC) - Expand

Re: RESEARCH: HOSTEL

unkissed - 2025-07-17 05:53 (UTC) - Expand

Re: RESEARCH: HOSTEL

canonrevue - 2025-07-18 01:59 (UTC) - Expand

[ corruption is a thing that can happen to spirits. Much like humans have skin to keep out infection and pathogens, the spirit is also protected from corruption by having a body to be in. Without that, a spirit can end up amalgamated with clouds of pure malice, meleancholy, wildlife, old machines, and so on and so forth. This is bad for the sanity of ghosts. The results of this process are known as corruption and the areas they lie in wait are called lairs ]

Edited 2025-07-16 14:00 (UTC)

Re-enactments: What they sound like. The memories of the dead re-create a place as it was in memory and run the memory through again. These can be positive or negative, but they are largely considered to be the most harmless form of an unreality zone as even negative or violent memories are simply seen as though a spectator. These would have come up in ghost law, regarding the legality of intentionally trying to create the conditions to manifest a reenactment to submit as evidence to the court.

Labyrinths: Where devils live. This is a space outside reality constructed of walls and architecture. It's said the palace of devils is at the center of the labyrinth, and if you are invited to see the palace you must refuse unless you would like to join the infernal retinue. While not actively hostile, the labyrinth was not constructed with man in mind and most of it can and will kill you by accident. Keep your wits about you, and have trinkets on you for trade.

Lairs: Corruption occurs when a spirit is infected with things that are not meant to be part of the original spirit. Their lairs are the spaces around the corruption, which sometimes becomes similarly warped. Sometimes this just refers to a physical space where a corruption is hiding out at, in the early stages.

Haunts: Where the dead are. Unlike re-enactments, these are actively happening and will effect you. Unlike lairs, these are always effected by the dead. A haunt pulls a place into unreality-- there is no longer any version of the place that is not haunted. Haunts are not necessarily dangerous but they are about 80% of the time, as death is sort of definitionally dangerous to the living.

[ do the general texts mention:

- how corruption can impact spirits' behaviors, what kind of impact corrupted spirits can have on their surroundings
- what devils generally want. what are their motivations
- any more information on what 'unreality' is or why it happens, or speculation thereon
- which of the dangers can be fought with physical weapons, which can be verbally communicated and reasoned with, and which cannot

or would he have to go to the specialized texts ]

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