Stonefruit & Gemstones

[*Tsidkenu]

Spirits in the Festhall (Private Sensorium; Donated 12/10/2016)

The recording starts with a group of four gathered in one of the public sensorium's private rooms: Cherry, Lance, Rainrix and Sharon. It looks like they have just concluded some kind of private participation in a memory stone and are dispersing to depart. The stone records Cherry's particular perspective, and starts with her attentions fixed upon Lance.

Lance took a deep breath, looked to the door, and went out into the main room of the public sensorium.

"Eh well... Back to... Yeah..." Rainrix said. That was when they noticed the Sensorium was strangely devoid of people.

"...That's new," Lance commented. "And where the hell is everyone..."

"That's definitely new..." Sharon concurred at once.

"Huh..? Only been here once or twice before..." Rain added, clearly puzzled by the strange change in circumstances. You remained behind, clinging onto a sensation stone, and stayed there.

A distant whistling broke the hall's silence.

"...Oi.  Cherry?" Lance said as he looked back into the room. You looked over.

"Yes?"

"Get yer head on straight - somethin' aint right out here," Lance insisted.

The tune sounds familiar although you can't place it; it feels daunting

And so you got up and walked out into the Sensorium. What you saw only alarmed you. Dark shadows coalesced inside the room and attacked!

"Son of a..." Sharon immediately scowled and started casting spells immediately.  "Not good..."

"...The hells..."  Lance grunted and drew his weapon out of its scabbard, which fortunately was always at his waist.

You were too stunned to speak for those first few moments until one penetrating, powerful thought pulsed through your mind. Undeath to Death. The spell whirled off your tongue and to your horror, was ineffective. The wraiths had begun to attack your friends. You released the fury of the Abyss at them as eldrich spears and evoked magical barrages darted from your fingers and thumped into the ephemeral forms. Rainrix activated one of his golem stones, causing a fierce mechanical warrior to spring into the fight. A few additional strokes of Lance's sword and some well placed magical bolts by Sharon and the wraiths were defeated. Sharon persisted after the fight to cast magic wards upon all of you, and you decided to use a few yourself.

"Ugh damn it..." Rain sighed and broke the silence after the battle. "Still exhausted from all that digging about in the plane of earth..."

"Right..." Sharon cracked her knuckles, then winced and shook her hand.

"If it aint one thing, it's another."  Lance growled. Other than the thick shadows the room seemed as normal, although there are no staff to be spoken of. With the dread wraiths dead the thick shadows did clear somewhat.You seems lost for words. Still.

"C'mon, this aint over yet.  We need out," Lance suggested.

Sharon agreed. "Aye..."

"Out... Or... Fix the root of this..? Uh..." Rain asked, a little unsure of whether that was the right thing to say at the time perhaps.

"The hells are spirits in the Sensorium?" your lips finally parted. It all seemed so sudden, so random.

"Out now, fix later!" Lance urged you all, and so you left the Sensorium.

The moment you did, you were attacked again! Wraiths! You had expended most of your fine target arcana by now, so you resorted to your eldritch powers to blast away at the spirits. One of the wraiths plunged its hands into you and began to draw away your life-force before it was smitten out of existence by Lance's slashing magical sword. You felt a piece of you drain away into the aether.

"Everyone good?" Lance asked.

You were not, but you did not want to show it yet. "I don't understand. . . I don't understand. . ." you said, because you did not.

"Eh... Still alive..." Rain commented as she slumped over a bit for a breather.

"I'm good. Looks like we've got shadows to clear out of here," Sharon affirmed. She was confident, far more so that you were.

"...Cherry?" Lance asked with worrisome tone  "...What's goin' on?"

"Uh... Wait... I hear something odd..." Rain suddenly interjected.

Lance suddenly seemed distracted.  "Garden"

"Garden? The... Damn it," Sharon cursed. Then a voice spoke.

"Do as the master has told you, take all they are."

"I uh... Yeah Lance," Rain mumbled.

"... Yeah, no one's taking me," Sharon scoffed at the voice while Lance peeked through the doorway into the Civic Festhall's garden. As you entered, what you saw therein was interrupted by Lance's distinctive voice.

"The hells are these fookers?"

"Rakshasa!" Sharon exclaimed as they once again came to blows, flashing magic beginning to fly everywhere. They fell quickly before Lance's blade and Sharon's blasting spells. In your panic you conjured a demon to your aid, a vicious hezrou that thrust its blade savagely through your foes alongside the others. After the battle, you quickly released the demon, commanding it back to the abyss from whence you had called it.

"I don't know, I don't know! Why is this happening?!" you exclaimed, freaking out quite a bit.

Lance kicked one of the corpses.  "...No shite."



Sharon knelt down to check for any sort of identifying badges or emblems on the odd-looking rakshasa, as did Lance, while Rain just grumbled and glanced around, looking worried and tired.

"Keep an eye on the door, mate."  Lance muttered to Rain.  "Just fer a tick." 

"I... Sure..." he replied.

You were stooping now, clutching at your ears. The pain inside was getting to you.

"Do I hear more spellcasting?" Sharon asked. You heard it, but your eyes were now closed.

"Nothin' good, that's fer sure,"  Lance remarked while standing,  apparently finding nothing useful after rifling over the bodies. "Cherry!  Pull yer shit together!"  he barked at you and moved through the doorway.

"...Where'd Sharon..?" Rain asked, his question apocopated.

Finally you knelt down and put you hand on one of the dead rakshasa's skulls. You began to cast a dark and warped spell, trying to draw the spirit of the dead back to you. Sharon had begun to busy herself sketching in a notepad she produced the image of the obsidian crest each of the rakshasa were wearing on their clothing, that of a portal with an ebony claw on either side grasping at it. Your spell failed, the spirit of the dead dissipating and being just beyond your reach to draw it back. You took your hand away.

"Gods almighty.." Lance remarked.

"What is it, Lance?" Sharon asked him.

He was comparing the crest to a couple gems.  "Looks like obsidian."

"... I'll have to make some inquiries about this, I think. Ashcroft is pretty good with his contact," Sharon replied to him. Lance studied the crest closely, looking more thoughtful than he typically did.

The spell had taken a bit out of you and you began to slump down to your knees. You felt very weak and queasy.

"Cherry..?" Rain asked of you. Sharon sighed and looked over at you.

"The shadows. . . they touched me. . ." you answer in a weak, raspy voice.

Rain knelt down next to you, frowning. "Uh..."

Sharon came to your side, putting her notebook away and she took out a wand. It was one you had seen before. She spoke its command word and its magic infused your being before you could even protest. You coughed and took in a deep breath of relief as the faintness and weakness immediately vanished.

"Yeah... Uh... Best you did that Sharon. I'm uhm... Running low... So to speak..." Rain said. Seemed even his powers were limited.

"There's chant 'round the Hive 'bout some killer who leaves his symbol behind... this kinda sounds like the description folks have put out there in passin' " Lance eventually said, resuming the task of investigating the strange disturbance in the Festhall.

"Just "some killer"? Seems more like a group," Sharon pointed out.

You held up your hand with a nod to Sharon to indicate that you were fine now. She smiled a little and nodded right on back.

"Professional killer, prolly.  Dunno," Lance continued.

"Or a gang getting too big," Sharon suggestion.

"Well, a bit smaller now."  Lance nudged the closest body with a foot.

"Why. . . why attack the Festhall. . ." you asked them.

"...Cherry yer actin' barmier than usual.  Do ya know anything 'bout this?" Lance replied, turning his attention on you.

"Something to figure out. Anything else, or should we make a good sweep?" Sharon also asked. "Because I don't see anyone else around."

"I'd have thought even the Sensates would have guards..." Rain said.

"They do. . ." you answered with a sigh.

"This shit's gone pear shaped.  Time ta go," Lance insisted.

"Go, but I'm getting to the bottom of this," Sharon insisted right on back.

"I'm real tired... But... Gotta help out. Aint leaving Cherry to this mess..." Rain said, nodding all the while. He did look tired, though.

"Cherry?  Just... c'mon." Lance looked at you.

"I'm staying here. I should probably write a report for the Factor." You paused briefly before adding one more thing. "And find where the hells the guards are."

"No yer not.  It aint safe 'til the place is searched out," Lance retorted.

"I am concerned as to how far these shadows go," Sharon agreed with him.

"Well then for now I stay... I uh... Guess... I just hope they don't get pissed off at a Godsman wandering their place with a weapon out..." Rain quipped in, fidgeting all the while.

"I'll see you to the lobby, at least," you told them. You still couldn't figure out why the Festhall was silent and empty, though. You made your way towards the great entrance. "Not that way, Sharon. . ." you said to her as she started to go off some other way, scanning around for any more shadows.

"Hmm?" she hummed at you. You thumbed at the archway out.

"Bloody hells, we know, Cherry," Lance interjected at once.

"What of the rest of this place?" Sharon also suggested.

Lance sheathed his sword for the moment after the additional three rakshasa had been put down.

"The three of you can't possibly scour the whole Festhall. . ." you said, referencing the enormity of the 600 year old building. "It's far too large."

"Like the Hardheads are going to take better care of this?" Sharon replied, her tone likely doused with sarcasm.

"Eh... Plus... Faction stuff no doubt too. Areas off limits to us... Or... Something," Rain added while he glanced down at the other bodies and sighed.

"...Or you?"  Lance asked you pointedly.

The moment he said that, another group of rakshasa came upon you from the direction of the doorway, flashes of magic bursting all around you. There were snarls of ferocity and the pounding of metal and spell on flesh. They all perished before your combined strength and preparedness this time.

" ...They're coming from outside?" Sharon asked as she headed over to look out the front gate. There was nothing outside. The entire Clerk's Ward was empty. "...Blek..."

"I don't get it, I just don't get it. . ." you said. This was a great mystery. What in the 'verse was happening? And before you could even think, your feet took you for a wander outside to have a look. Lance's cursing voice echoed behind you as you made your way outside.

"...Goddamnit.  Cherry! ...The hells."  He looked to Sharon. "...This aint good."

"... Area-wide illusion, possibly."
Rain rushed out after you after stopping to quickly patch up Sharon's injuries from the last fight.

"So?  We go, or stay?" Lance asked Sharon in the distance behind you. Sharon's voice called out.

"CHERRY! RAINRIX!"

"...Shit."  Lance cursed. Suddenly, for you, everything changed.


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You and Rain re-entered the Festhall at Lance and Sharon's urgings, but they were not there. It was. . . normal? Except. . . they guards were swarming like bees around the corpses in the foyer. Sensates and passers-by all looked shocked and alarmed.

"I uh... Wait..." Rain said.

"Where are they?" you asked him.

"This is different..." he replied. "...Wait... Could we have... uh... Plane of shadows... Or something..? Uhm... Been actually still here but not here..? Or..." He rubbed the back of his head. "This is weird..."

"But how? Where was the planar breach?" you asked Rain.

"Maybe when we were all using that stone..? Distracted us..? Or... Something," Rain shrugged. He didn't know.

"That's not possible."

"Sorry... I don't think I have any decent answers."

The sound of a familiar gruff voice caused you to whirl about on your heels.

"...Oi, Cherry?"  Lance peered through the doorway, terribly confused. He went back inside.

"And where is Sharon?" you asked, worry creeping over your face.

He looked around, at a loss for words... but then he scowled.  "She's bein' a dumbshite and went off on her own. Look, when you two went out... we couldn't see or hear ya."

And at that point, the voices of the gathering crowd began to pipe up.

"Where did all these bodies come from..?"