• Closed • The Invitation

[Basilisk]

The Eternal Empire

The Invitation

It was a cold day when the guests arrived for Fergus's party. These late season parties were often cold, but the guests were given warm carriages with plenty of blankets for the trip. When they arrived, they were greeted by a very well bundled up footman and quickly shown inside. Each guest, or group of guests as the case may be, was given their own carriage so they wouldn't have to ride with strangers if they didn't want to. When they arrived and were shown into the house, there was a servant to take their coats, if they wished to leave them at the door, and weapons, for they did insist that there were to be no weapons at the party, and then they were shown to the ballroom where the party would be taking place.

The room in question was huge and opulent, and an entire side of the room was taken up by a long table piled with all sorts of food and drink, much of it from without the Empire to provide a different experience than the often very simple cuisine of Imperial natives. There was an equally large amount of fine wines, expensive whiskeys, quality beers, and other such alcohols that the average commoner might never be able to afford. For that matter, there were plenty of tables and chairs around if the guests wanted to relax, and the invitation had promised them room and board for the night if they so wished, so they might fully experience the lifestyle of the rich. It was clear that the party was meant for a lot of people, with many guests from all over the empire, from all sorts of stations.

All of which would make it quite odd that the only guests appeared to be Woe, Balon, and Balon's bodyguard Ulric. The three of them were shown into the ballroom and assured the other guests would be arriving shortly, and that their host would soon be joining them too. They would also, they were informed, be joined by Fergus's cousin and her daughter, who had decided to stay with him during the winter. The three were told that they could eat and drink as much as they pleased, then left alone by the serving staff for the time being. They were alone together for five, maybe ten bits before the doors opened again and two women walked in. The older of the two was a human woman that seemed to be about Woe's age. She was wearing a fairly plain but nicely made dress of blue silk with a dark brown jacket over it that contrasted her somewhat pale skin. She had shoulder length, wavy brown hair and light gray eyes. The younger of the two looked to be in her mid to late teens and wore a simple plain green dress, with no jacket over it. She was also a bit pale, but while her hair was straighter, she had the same brown hair and light gray eyes as the older woman. Both were wearing only one piece of jewelry, a pair of matching, beautiful gold necklaces that looked to have been made in Etzos, for those with the skill to identify their place of origin.

The older of the two curtsied to the guests as they entered. "My apologies, I didn't realize you had already arrived. My name is Blaire Green, I'm Fergus's sister. This is my wee one, Tilly." she said, gesturing to the younger woman, who shot her mother a somewhat dryly amused look as she was called a "wee one", since she wasn't particularly little anymore, before bowing her head to the guests. "Aye, I'm Tilly. You'll have to forgive mum, she gets all formal and forgets that I'm not in swaddlin' clothes anymore." she said, her tone amused. Blair gave Tilly a somewhat apologetic look before turning back to the guests. "I hope you haven't been waitin' long. You're the first to arrive and Fergus is all wrapped up in some business affair that's gone on longer than expected." she said, shaking her head slightly at her brothers foolishness. "Still, I hope you all enjoy yourselves while we wait for everyone else to arrive." she said brightly, apparently quite eager to play the role of host in her brothers abscence.

!

Message from: Basilisk

Welp, we're off. Feel free to describe how you arrived, and what you did when you were shown into the ballroom. You have a few minutes, five or ten, between when you arrive and when Blaire and Tilly get there, so do with that time as you please. For now, the only stipulation is that if you use any powers or some such, please put the description in your post if it's your first time using the power. Ulric, we'll say that both Balon and Ulric got invitations.

[Woe]

Woe hadn't realized how much he took Ziell's blessing for granted, until he took that carriage ride to Fergus Green's house. The chill sank into his bones, eliciting a running nose and exacerbating his already

pallid complexion

. He of course availed himself of the blankets, but kept them off of his face so as to not seem entirely weak. His sniffed his lightly running nose, as they rolled along toward their destination. Had the cold notn been so oppressive, he might've flown. But as it was, he didn't want to make speed only to catch cold as he touched down. The carriage ride alone was chilly enough.

Still, they took care of their guests, such as they were.

Woe was on his own, in his carriage. He thought it strange that they'd be so uneconomic with the carriage capacity. Surely they'd be picking up more people along the way? But not, Woe was on his own the entire way to the opulent manor house.

Once he arrived, he stepped out of the carriage. Woe was wearing a jacket of forest green velvet over a black silk, button-up shirt with onyx buttons. Trousers of sturdy, but loosely fitting black leather with diamond pattern quilted stitching. A cloth of onyx cravat wrapped around his neck and tucked into the neckline of his coat. On his feet were a pair of polished dancing shoes beneath forest green stockings. His shoulders were mantled with a half-cloak of crow feathers and dark suede.

As he arrived, he noted that he must have been among the first to join the event. A man named Balon, and his bodyguard, Ulric, were next to arrive. The place was adorned with all manner of food and drink, everything that one could expect of a large gathering. But there was hardly anyone here yet. Were they really the first to arrive?

Woe had his spirit companions accompanying him, of course.

Breen

wasn't materialized at present, but his bird,

Egil

, was perched on Woe's shoulder. Looking slightly askew at the crows feathers that adorned his companion's shoulders.

"Crow!" He squawked. Woe tsked, for him to be silent for now. "Behave, Egil."

He looked to Ulric and nodded, but didn't engage yet. He looked like he was on a job, afterall, and might not appreciate fraternizing with the other guests. Instead, Woe approached Balon, "Hello. Looks like we're the first to arrive, I'm Woe Morandi."

He extended a hand to shake, if the man wished.

Introductions out of the way, he went on to look at the food, "This is a very opulent feast. Hardly what one would expect of an Imperial." Still, it looked appetizing. Woe noticed and recognized many foreign ingredients and dishes. He was knowledgeable about the origins of such foodstuffs, being somewhat well-travelled. He even noticed some Nashaki coffee on offer, which drew his eye most definitely.

"'Lo!" Egil squawked when the women entered. Woe's eyes were drawn to the jewelry they were wearing first, while the rest of their appearance was absorbed in the periphery. He knew that craftsmanship, having spent some time in Etzos, and again being very well capable of identifying the origins of goods such as jewelry and fine crafts. "Woah!" Egil was just into his rhyming scheme, and woe bowed his head shortly toward the women that greeted them, "Apologies, Egil has too big a voice for his own good."

Egil alighted to the table, and began pecking listlessly at some seeds and nuts that had been set aside, although he didn't need to eat. Woe meanwhile approached, and greeted each lady in turn by taking their hand. "Fergus is wrapped up in... business? Yes, sounds like a merchant, to be so embroiled in their own work." Of course, Woe thought no such thing. In fact, it was more an affectation of the nobility to scoff at the arrival of their guests, or miss appointments, or arrive late. Woe was immediately suspicious of the way they phrased it too. Wrapped up...

He communicated to his spider spirit, the diminutive Apples, to crawl under the doors of the Ballroom and make his way toward whatever looked like a study or office, or failing that, the master bedroom. Find Fergus, Apples. No I don't know where to look, just, be quick and careful not to be spotted.

This said, Apples hopped and crawled across the floor, toward the halls of the manor, to search and find any other signs of life, and listen in on any interesting conversations between the servants.

"At any rate, he did well to send such lovely hostesses. Have you been to Etzos lately?" Woe asked, gesturing toward their necklaces, with a small smile. Then he sniffled. Damn cold was getting to him. "Who else are you expecting to this party, by the way?"

As he paid attention to the women, he keyed in on Egil's power to see through any illusions. He was a little suspicious, but still holding out hope for an ordinary, pleasant evening.

[Ulric]

87 Zi'da 724

Balon liked parties more than Ulric for almost every reason. He liked people. Ulric didn't understand people. Balon liked fancy foods and drinks. Ulric preferred the feelings he could gain from syphoning to foods. Balon felt alive. Ulric was only alive by definition. Even with his new job and his new 'friends' he felt like he was pretending to be something he was not.

It was cold so he'd worn a coat over his usual attire. Balon had insisted Ulric add some color to his outfit to avoid confusion within the empire but Ulric only mustered enough nels to get some basics shades. Browns and grays. Leather and simple materials. Nothing fancy. Nothing he would lament losing should he get a little blood on it or should it tear. Balon was dressed a little more resplendently but as a performer, Balon was always dressed better. He wore bright colors to attract attention and a goofy hat that looked almost like a balloon sitting limp atop his head. Well... perhaps it looked a little more like a muffin than a limp balloon. It was purple. Ulric would have burned it if Balon insisted he wear one and Balon seemed to know that.

Balon talked a lot in the carriage ride to the party. Ulric did not. The former ghost let his eyes wander outward to gather what information they made available to him. He knew better than most that eyes could be deceived but he tried to remain vigilant all the same. He had received an invitation to the party as well as Balon, but he had only agreed to come to protect the bard. Balon had a bad habit of making enemies when he put on his 'Teagan' act.

When they reached the hosts home and their coats were taken, Ulric was asked to hand over his weapons as well. He grimaced, unwilling to disarm himself until Balon cleared his throat and gave Ulric a small nudge. With a sigh, Ulric unhooked his swords and turned them over along with his coat. He supposed he didn't need the blades to protect Balon but they would always have made things easier than using his less... known abilities.

When they were shown inside, Balon stood in awe of the splendors around them. Ulric on the other had didn't gaze in wide wonder, instead he looked around at the other people in attendance. People would be the danger, not fancy walls nor the well painted pictures. Yet for as large a venue as they'd reached, there were no other guests except for one. They were assured others would arrive but Balon seemed mildly disappointed and Ulric was a little bit on edge. They hadn't intended to be early to the party. Perhaps their carriage driver was just better than the others.

Balon found his way to the large table filled with foods and Ulric accompanied him like a hound following its owner in a crowded room. His eyes briefly drifted over the assortment but nothing stood out to him. Not even the alcohol seemed overly appealing. Instead it made him think about what it was like to syphon the emotions of a drunkard. That seemed more appealing. Ulric only noticed that Balon was telling some long winded story about his other parties after a bit or so of staring at the drinks.

"You know I don't really care." Ulric said in a flat tone to Balon before he caught a glimpse of Woe in the room and inclined his head slightly.

"Ah, but you didn't let me get to-" Balon noticed Ulric looking at Woe and turned towards the mortalborn as he approached to introduce himself. "Ah, hello there Mr. Morandi. It seems you are correct but I don't mind." Balon gestured towards the table of food and drinks. "We get to browse the selection before others get to it. Alas, my manners. I am the artist known as Teagan LaFluer, but you may call me Balon."

"He's only Teagan on stage." Ulric interrupted and seemingly took the wind from Balon's sails. The bard shot Ulric a brief look and then turned his attention back to Woe.

"Indeed. He speaks true." Balon was happy to shake Woe's hand when it was offered. Ulric kept his own arms folded in front of him. Balon was not as skilled at appraisal as Woe but he was far better than Ulric so it was easier to make conversation with him about the food than the living dead man. Ulric would have been more interested in pulling ephemera from the spirit Woe walked with.

Ulric didn't want to get distracted by a conversation with Woe but that didn't seem to be a problem for long. They were joined by two women. The older one in a blue dress and the younger in green. Both wore nicer colors than Ulric. Probably made of better materials as well. They were both pale but who was Ulric to judge? His complexion was positively ghoulish and that was after being resurrected. Balon offered a respectful bow when the women curtsied and Ulric tried to copy him but he wasn't nearly as practiced at it.

The women introduced themselves and after Woe made his own introductions, Balon stepped forward to match them. "It is an honor to have been invited. I am the artist Teagan LaFluer but my friends call me Balon. Please consider yourselves my friends. This is my guardian, Ulric. A surly looking fellow but quite a good listener."

"Thank you for inviting us." Ulric said quietly. He was suspicious of their host being delayed but chose not to focus on it. He could not disappear in the room when he was one of the only five people standing in it. He didn't dare to possess one of the women and walk around, nor did he dare to possess some of the staff and wander. Woe's words seemed to spark a little something behind Ulric's eyes but even he didn't know what it was.

Why he asking the women about Etzos? Only then did he notice the necklace. He'd spent so long among the dead in that city that he'd seen similar things but it didn't stand out to him as strange. They'd already shown themselves to be worldly with the assortment of foods. Balon on the other hand seemed riveted by the question about other guests.

"Oh! Indeed!" He pressed, wanting to know more. "We were so surprised and delighted to see our invitations. I can't help but wonder who else will be attending as well."

Ulric looked at the younger one. Tilly. Something about youth made him... uncomfortable. Well... he knew exactly what made him uncomfortable. He shifted his focus back to the gathered and took a small step back as if to try and put space between himself and the group without going far enough not to hear them.

[Basilisk]

The Eternal Empire

The Invitation

Blaire and Tilly both shook Woe's hand as he offered, and Blaire shook her head when Woe said it was just like a merchant to get so caught up in his work. "Oh no, not at all. Perhaps in Nashaki, where the wealthy merchants and the nobility are one and the same, but Fergus is usually much better about timin' his appointments so that this sort of thing doesn't happen." she said, sounding somewhat exasperated. She smiled at the compliment, then looked down at the necklace she was wearing when Woe asked about it. "Yes, I did. I took a business trip there not too long ago and picked these up for Tilly and I. They're quite beautifully made, don't you agree?" she asked, her tone cheerful.

Balon joined them as well and the two hostess' greeted him and Ulric, before Blaire paused in thought at his question about other guests. "I know we're expectin' some folk from up at the palace, honestly thought they would get here first. Some scholars from the Grand Imperial Library, some of the people who lost family to all that trouble the Empire's been havin' with Webspinners over in Old Dynaash, a few farmers from the Southern Plains, a couple of the Wolf's hunters. Should be pretty full when everyone else arrives." she said, brightly.

Meanwhile, Tilly had wandered away from all the boring adult talk about jewelry and guests and desert merchant cities. She, instead, wandered up to Ulric. "Hiya! You look bored." she said, her tone cheerful as she leaned towards him slightly, not quite getting into his space, but probably closer than he would want her to be. She didn't seem to be intentionally trying to make him uncomfortable though, just not entirely aware that she was. "Hey, you're a bodyguard right? I've met a lot of those, and I've never understood the name. Bodyguard. Body guard. You don't guard bodies, you guard people. A bodyguard sounds like someone who keeps people from stealin' corpses out of the morgue." she said, her tone bright and chipper. Ulric would probably get the impression that she didn't really meet people very often. "Oh, sorry, I'm ramblin'. I do that a lot when a thought crosses my mind, especially when the thoughts don't wanna stay and keep wanderin' off." she said, her tone still cheerful, though this time she paused and waited for him to respond.

Meanwhile, Woe sent out Apples, his spider familiar. The arachnid did as asked, and at first was able to find that the house was easy enough to navigate. But the more the spider explored, the weirder the house got. The proportions were all wrong. Hallways were too long for how many rooms they had, there were several odd nooks and crannies, and stairs were in odd places where one might not expect to find stairs. It was subtle, something you wouldn't notice if you weren't looking, but the house was almost built like a maze, to keep people confused about where they were in relation to everything else. As for what Woe saw with Egil's power, he didn't see any illusions around the two women. Fergus Green might have a strange house, but his sister and her daughter didn't appear to be using any illusion magics or blessings.

A few minutes into their conversation, a maid entered and called Blaire over. "Excuse me a moment, please." she said, before walking over to the maid. As soon as the lady of the house was separated, the maid, acting very mechanically, took a knife out from under her apron and slit her own throat, spraying blood all over Blaire's face. The woman staggered back in surprise, even tripping over the hem of her dress and falling on her backside. Tilly ran over to help, before pausing as screams started to echo throughout the mansion. Apple, if Woe could see through him, would see blood start to leaking out from under doorframes as the spider heard, over and over again, the wet thud of bleeding bodies falling to the floor.

!	Message from: Basilisk
	All right, we're off to the races now! You've a couple of minutes before the maid comes in, and please be very specific in how you react to what happens afterwards. Next post on January 6th.

[Ulric]

87 Zi'da 724

Ulric didn't seem like he was paying attention to the conversation about Fergus and what was holding him up, but he was. When someone used words like 'usually' to describe how something should have gone, it made him uncomfortable with how things were going. The necklaces being confirmed as having come from Etzos didn't help. Where had she gotten them? There were so many dead in that place when he'd seen it last. He knew his kind could possess objects. Necklaces were objects... but why possess a necklace other than to escape the city? No... that would have been a worthless expense of ectoplasm. Possession was not indefinite, even with Ulric's mastery.

He was beginning to regret that he had given up his swords. Especially the one made from ghost metal.

Regardless, the expected guests didn't seem like the dangerous types. Scholars and people from the palace. Ulric hadn't paid enough attention around the Empire to really know any one from either place. He followed Balon, Helena, and Elia where they wanted to go and none had expressed much interest in either place. The mention of webspinners lead Ulric to bite his tongue, literally. Best not to let much about why he did that be known. Farmer seemed harmless as well but the Wolf's hunters? They might have been rowdy in the wrong circumstance. He wasn't sure.

The little one was beside him before he knew it but he didn't show his surprise that she'd chosen to talk to him- at least he didn't try to. Evidently he had already failed to hide his boredom and she was quick to call him on it. Observant. Tilly was observant. A good skill to hone at a young age. She inquired about what he did and rambled slightly about the peculiarity of the word 'bodyguard.' He couldn't help but agree and disagree. It was an odd word for him but he knew better than most that people were not their bodies. The body was just what let them think of themselves as people.

"I know a few people who ramble. So far you're better than they are." Ulric looked briefly from Tilly to Balon. The bard was trying his best to participate in whatever conversations Woe and the other woman had but Ulric gave Tilly his focus again. "Balon gave me options, but I didn't like them. 'Guardian' doesn't seem right and 'champion' sounds like a prize fighter." Ulric said after a moment of thought. His official title was always up for debate. Balon seemed to say whichever one suited him best at the time and Ulric just... put up with it. "Do you think about names a lot?" He asked Tilly before the maid came in and called Blaire over.

He looked up briefly. Only long enough to gauge that it was one of the servants. He didn't see the blade until it was too late. The sound was familiar and the screams that followed were haunting. Tilly ran to help Blaire who'd just tripped and Ulric reached out his hand to try and stop her. Before he could conjure a tendril to pull her back, the younger girl stopped herself. He moved closer and grabbed Balon's arm before giving him a small push towards Tilly. The bard seemed to look around in wild confusion- he hadn't yet figured out if this was some elaborate theater trick or not.

"Get to Tilly and stay with her. Keep away from the doors." He instructed the bard, causing Balon to move over to the younger girl who had only just stopped moving towards Blaire. Ulric moved towards Blaire quickly but kept his guard up. He suspected ghosts but knew their limits well. They couldn't kill someone they were possessing. This must have been something more sinister... and to think that this wasn't even why he didn't like parties. "Are you alright?" He asked without reaching out to offer her help up. Instead he moved over to the fallen servant and picked up the knife she'd cut her throat with. It wasn't a sword but it was apparently sharp enough.

He'd look over there dead or dying servant's body for anything that stood out but he wasn't a detective and he didn't really know what he was looking for. As long as the weapon was secured, he felt like he had what he wanted.

[Woe]

Woe took a bite of some of the food on offer. There was a bit of Nashaki cactus flesh, wrapped in prosciutto fried and leavening the heat of the cactus with solid cream sauce. Woe tried a couple of the pieces, chewing them deliberately, enjoying the heat as it left a trail of flavor down his throat. He’d always been partial to hot spicy foods, an oddity among the Rynmerish-born. Perhaps owing to his Domain of Scorpions? Who knew. It surely wasn’t nurture that had produced that odd palate.

He listened to the conversations around him, even as he conversed with Blaire about her necklace and Tilly’s. Etzos seemed still to have some artisans worthy of note then. It was heartening that Lisirra hadn’t made an entire ruin of the Etzori’s main industry. Although he had no love of the city, it didn’t deserve to have a plague unleashed upon it. Surely not.

Woe kept his focus on the present moment, as well as keeping Apples’ senses on the periphery. It was perhaps owing to his split focus that he wasn’t well able to reckon with the labyrinthine halls of the house. He was confident if he was there personally, or focusing all his attention through Apples he’d be able to find his way. As it was, he turned more attention toward Blair and Tilly, as they chatted with he and Balon and Ulric.

Woe paid attention to

Tilly’s questioning of Ulric

. She seemed a curious child. If he didn’t know better, he’d venture to guess that her upbringing had been anything but normal. The way she emphasized certain topics and subjects hinted at a strange intellect. One that existed outside the ordinary human experience. Something more like Woe’s perhaps, or even…

But he didn’t think Blaire was the type to capture the attentions of an Immortal lover. One never knew, tastes came in all forms and Immortals could craft their children in various ways, but she seemed entirely too mundane, in contrast to her daughter.

As evidenced by her well-founded refusal of his premise that a merchant would be late to their appointment. No she seemed entirely too grounded and ordinary.

But Tilly was certainly an interesting sort, and he could see even the stoic Ulric was taken by her curious way with words. Woe couldn’t ignore them himself, the cadence and pattern of her words was really captivating, even to him. He would’ve liked a calm moment to converse with her, but alas, the Maid entered, and then all the rest happened, with the bodies dropping throughout the house, blood pouring underneath doors.

Woe moved quickly, darting to Blaire’s side as she fell back from the maid’s act of suicide. Blaire and Tilly theirselves didn’t appear to be affected by whatever madness had gripped the servant, and perhaps others in the house. But to be careful, Woe invoked Fearlessness into his touch, as he kept Blaire half at arm’s length, reassuring her at the same time that he left

a hidden message in his words for Ulric

,

“Be calm, all of you. I’ve got you here, you will be alright.”

He squeezed Blaire’s shoulder reassuringly, as much as he could to comfort her with the sense of

fearlessness

. At the same time, his bent arm was stiff, to keep her from clutching to him, until he could take further stock of the situation.

He called to his Diri of Sorrow, and asked him to track any sense of strong emotion in the mansion, and to lead Apples to the greatest source of such. Breen answered the call, but didn’t materialize, rather he moved through the Beneath, leading Apples as the spider could see him well enough, to whatever sense he could find.

If it led into the Ballroom, he would allow it.

In the meantime, if anything threatening appeared, Woe would summon a pair of

shade blades

for Ulric’s hands. Meanwhile, he’d try to take stock of his immediate surroundings, letting Egil’s power reveal any evident illusions in the immediate environment.

As he took stock of his surroundings, he used his ability to consider his surroundings to the point of knowing their touch, all around. Nothing and nobody was exempt from his investigation in this way, not even the dead maid. Especially the dead maid and her knife.

Even the necklaces adorning Tilly and Blaire would be more closely felt and examined by Woe.

“This maid isn’t the only one to have fallen tonight, there are others affected by whatever madness has suddenly infected this place.” Woe muttered to the others. Blaire wouldn’t feel fear from this statement, although concern was still something she would feel. He could just keep her from panicking. “We will get to the bottom of this, though, I promise.”

[Basilisk]

The Eternal Empire

The Invitation

Tilly giggled slightly when Ulric said he knew other people who rambled and that she was doing better so far. Then she considered other names he had apparently been given as options. "Guardian sounds both very official and very...specific. Guardian makes me think of heavy armor and big shields. Champion...yeah, either a prize fighter that wins a lot or someone's specifically chosen representative in a fight." she said, pondering the possibilities. "Protector sounds kinda basic, but it could work. Same for defender. Could make keeper or minder work, but that kind of sounds like you're babysittin' him." she said, shaking her head as she spoke. When Ulric asked if she thought about names a lot, she grinned slightly and shook her head again. "Not specifically. I think about a lot of things a lot, it's really hard to focus on any one thing for too long, you know? Hey, do you think Barghests are dogs? If so, why aren't they fuzzy like most dogs?" she asked, her mind instantly flopping onto a new topic.

That part of the conversation abruptly ended as the maid killed herself, and Woe and Ulric jumped into action. Ulric took care of his charge, and both of them moved to defend Tilly and Blaire. Blaire didn't ask for any help getting up and shook her head when they asked if she was all right. "I'm...I'll be fine. I don't understand why she did that." she said, genuine surprise and confusion in her voice as she stood up. Fearlessness seemed to be working well on her, and she had herself well controlled, but her hands were shaking. Tilly, meanwhile, didn't feel like staying back and had actually come up and crouched next to the body, her expression concerned as she looked the maid over before shaking her head. "I don't think we can do anything for her." Tilly said, stepping back away from the body, her eyes closed.

Meanwhile, Woe was very aware of what was going on outside the room, but there didn't seem to be anyone trying to head for the ballroom besides the maid. He had Breen try to guide Apples to the strongest source of emotion, but a problem pretty quickly became apparent. Breen was pretty evidently being torn between several cases of extremely high emotion, to the point where the poor sad dog was just about going in circles the different strong sources of emotion spiked and then receded before spiking again. One of them was in the ballroom with Woe and the others, though, but the others looked to be elsewhere in the mansion, one above them and at least two below them.

Woe also used his ability to get a feel for things without touching them and he found a couple of things of note. The first was the same thing Ulric found when he was inspecting the body of the maid, a blacked, burned out ring she had been wearing around her ankle. It looked to have once been made out of gold, and there was an empty hole where some kind of stone had been, but that hole was now completely filled with ash. The maid's knife was, while bloody, otherwise completely normal. As for the necklaces worn by Tilly and Blaire, their didn't seem to be any special triggers or anything of the such, but he did notice that they might actually be middling replicas rather than really high value jewelry, as gold in them appeared to be a gold plating, rather than solid gold. Still, nothing appeared to be coming for them from the rest of the house for now, and they had time to figure out what their next move would be.

!	Message from: Basilisk
	Planning for my next post to be on the 13th of December. Woe, my understanding of that capstone is that Woe's only able to pick up things he has reason to know about or look for with it, if I've misread, please let me know.

[Ulric]

87 Zi'da 724

For all his feelings about the younger people on Idalos, Ulric found himself oddly intrigued by his conversation with Tilly. He was not more than a few arcs old in the body he used to walk their world. His mind was warped and shaped by the stresses that had made it what it was. He pushed himself to bond with others and that was what lead him to Balon's menagerie but it was a push. He'd spend almost as much of his existence among the dead as he had among the living. Her questions made him wonder things he hadn't considered. The meaning of words. Before they had only been a means to communicate but now... it seemed to be a more complex system.

Keeper. He liked that one. "Keeper feels... fitting. He said mostly to himself and not anyone else. He was certainly Balon's keeper. Even if that meant he was a 'babysitter' by other marks. It felt fitting. Especially given the danger Balon brought for him. The current party included. A self-sacrifice ruined the surprisingly entertaining conversation with the younger woman who Ulric had initially been apprehensive about. Despite that, he seemed more than willing to protect her as he would protect his charge, Balon. However appearances were not everything. Tilly would never be able to claim she was the first youth that Ulric had betrayed... should events take such a dark turn. Yet for the moment, it seemed he actually did care for their hosts as the world turned against them.

Perhaps it was just the sympathy of one who knew the other world awaiting the less fortunate.

He would be hard pressed to reconcile why those who had ended themselves made the choice they did without some influence acting upon them. He knew judgement. He knew what followed if it was rejected. For a time he considered it a single principle- power. Reject the immortals who claimed domain over an 'ending' and forge a new path. He'd been furious enough to do it before. Now he knew it was more than a single choice. So much more.

Seeing lives cut so short- so suddenly, caused part of his mind to struggle for reconciliation with why he clung to life so passionately now.

Life.

It was a status that he had, on dark nights, come to consider weaker than what he had been.

He'd been stronger when he was dead hadn't he? He could make his body more durable than any metal he knew. He could- NO!

It didn't matter.

Balon. Elia. Helena. They had taught him much. Living was more than existing. Power was worthless. Life was what mattered. Life spent well. Life spent with those who made it worth living, but more importantly, a life that felt satisfying. Little things that all came together to mean more than the big things.

It was love. A word he had learned to hate despite it creating the man standing in the room. Well... at least... it was some form of it. Not what he felt for Marian. Not what he felt for- anyways, it was a bond he did not want to break.

He could not make sense of what had driven the actions of the maid. His mind swept quickly to the options he knew he had. Possession, materialization, even the dark ability to leach life and memory from those who breathed-

Then Woe armed him.

A single action forced him to put his own limitations to the back of his mind. There were more powers in the world than the powers he had pried from the grasp of logic and death. He would have had to find his swords. He would have had to rely on the power that ghost metal granted a living man who was more or less a walking ghost. Instead he was armed in trills. Not only armed with a single weapon but now with three. He let the knife fall as two swords took form in his hands. A tendril that none but the dead could interpret formed from his waist and held the knife in the air. Woe may have been able to see it, Ulric didn't know. They formed just as 'invisibly' as he could make his body but they were still tangible.

He didn't think of what Balon would ask. Most assumed it would have been magic. He was content with that lie. He'd kept his secret long enough and he felt vulnerable while he wanted to protect others. He could swing two swords better than most could swing one. How bad could it be to swing two swords and a knife?

"It wasn't... a show?" Balon replied to Blaire, almost entirely dumbstruck by what had just transpired. His voice sounded hopeful. He wanted this to be some form of theatrics for entertainment... but there was a weight under it that told the truth. He wasn't ready to accept what had just happened in front of him.

"Balon, mind the girl." Ulric said again, slightly more firmly this time. He had a little more confidence with weapons in his hands... despite the fact he was more or less a weapon himself.

Ulric, likely driven by what Tilly had said, moved over to the dying maid. Whether she knew it or not, an unseeable tendril pushed itself from Ulric's back and moved Tilly a few inches back from the body. Was it to protect her or get her out of the way? Even Ulric wasn't sure. Tendrils were a manifestation of a ghost controlling their form. A ghost was nothing if not the body they created. Even living, those impulses lingered. In the moment, his body chose to protect the girl as he would protect Balon.

He shifted his second weapon into his left hand and placed his right on the 'victim's' forehead. He was glad to be armed, but he knew it looked more normal for him to touch something than to reach out at it and use his... abilities. Tilly said she thought nothing could be done and Ulric had no mind to think through a sensitive reply. He was focused on something less... pleasant.

"Agreed, Tilly. I know this can't be fixed. I just want to see if..." His words came out in an oddly stoic and cold tone as he reached outward to try and drain any life-force that lingered in the body. As soon as he couldn't sense life-force, he would shift his focus to ectoplasm and drain what he could. His words held some meaning but few would know it. He'd seen this method before. He'd tried to save the first love he ever had from it. Even a woman made of crystals bled when her throat was cut. He knew he had no power to stop the end that was coming.

Part of him raged against the action he chose to take. He risked cutting down a ghost before it would have the chance to be born. He held no hatred or grudge for those Immortals who would claim dominion over the end, but he had met them and refused them once. Death was a moment. The world moved forward and work was left undone. The memories he could steal might help them all more than the physical things they could see.

He hoped a whisper could still face judgement. He hoped to leave that much for Famula, Vri, and the Twins to make their judgement.

As soon as he gave up on syphoning from the source that had once needed to breathe air, he'd move to trying to syphon what he could from the strange marks around her ankle. He knew that he could draw energy from mystical objects. He just wasn't sure how that felt... or reacted to his new state of existence. He'd never tried to syphon the cube that resurrected him... but in hindsight he probably should have when he had the moment. He focused on the ashes, assuming that the destruction of one object had created them and hoping it would somehow make the other parts more clear to him. Deep down he had a feeling all he was going to do was gain vitality from his effort... but would that have been so bad?

Regardless of his success with his efforts to fuel himself and rip memories from the dead or dying, Ulric would turn to Blaire with a sharp question. "Where is Fergus? Tell me a direction and I'll look." He cast a small glance towards Woe, hoping that the other guest would understand. He didn't need to worry about walls. He could send some strange form of himself through the Beneath and into whatever room he wanted. If that didn't work... he could also quite literally send it through walls.

"What? You can't just go-" Balon began to protest but was quickly stopped.

"I won't need to." He looked towards Balon and Tilly again, the two he had taken it upon himself to protect. "I can do it without leaving anyone here. I promise."

Next his attention shifted toward Woe. He had not missed the message hidden in the other guest's words but he had no simple means of communicating in the same way. He decided, ultimately, that whatever reason Woe had to hide a message rather than share it with a few more words was probably worth it. He commit himself, for the moment, to following Woe's lead. "Others dying. How many? Can we stop it?" His questions may have seemed cold given the real gravity of what was happening but he'd spent longer as a dead ghost fighting for Sintra than he had as a man who felt what others should.

Abilities

- Ulric is using Syphon here. He mastered it as a ghost so has access to the skill while alive. He is trying to pull a memory to find out what lead to this- but the ability is not designed so that is a simple thing.
Syphon describes this part more-or-less as - "One side effect of syphon is sometimes pulls out some memories. This is not a conscious effort on the part of the ghost. They cannot pick and choose the memories either, but if the target is currently reminiscing on a memory, the ghost is able to steal that memory in its entirety. Once that happens, it is gone from the host." So it's not an exact science, just something for storytellers to work with. - Or a chance for a random funny memory... or a sad one.
- Worth noting, he does not attempt to syphon multiple energy types at once. He switches when one runs out, as outlined by this rule "Syphoning multiple energy types at the same time is not possible, attempting to do so often reduces the ghost to a Whisper." - Syphon write up. Granted, he is alive. He can't be reduced to a Whisper so quickly... I hope.
- Also he is using Materialization to hold the knife next to himself with a tendril, roughly behind his back. Low effort, he can do 12.