PC - Ludger

[maladied]

Comments

week 3, tuseday

[avocations]

[ Y'sthola responds with a message asking Ludger to meet her in the relaxation nook. The fireplace is on so it's warm without it being as blisteringly hot as it is outside, and there are plenty of snacks on offer.

When he arrives, she gestures for him to take a seat. ]

Siffrin told me some of their experience. It sounds as if you both have tales to share.

[chromatized]

[ Ludger smiles a bit wanly, clutching a bottle of water. it's so hot out... ]

I guess? I don't know if there was that much to it beyond what Siffrin shared, but I'll answer any questions you have. Did they tell you about the whole energy draining thing?

[ he assumes so, since that was more a Siffrin experience, but he wants to be sure. ]

[avocations]

They did. It reminded me of the hands that we've seen several times now, and the way in which they burn through life.

[ It's something she's been thinking about. ]

[chromatized]

Yeah, same here. Which I was hoping you might have taken a look at the place - or the lack of place, from your point of view?

[ he recalls the examination of material from the chapel at the town hall, and Y'shtola's own description of the absence inside him. ]

[avocations]

I perceive it as I do all other structures here. 'Tis the same, though I can see some measure of emptiness beyond what blocks the windows.

[chromatized]

... So it's keeping something inside?

[ uh oh ]

Then maybe it wasn't the walls that were draining Siffrin, but whatever's inside. I guess that could explain where the voices I heard came from...

[ but there's still the issue of him not being drained. ]

[avocations]

It would explain why they were drained in a similar manner to those hands, were it to be housing something dangerous.

[ If only she could have seen it herself to be certain… ]

Tell me of those voices.

[chromatized]

There wasn't much I could make out - it started with knocking in response to my knocking, and it escalated into scratching and wailing. The louder I was, the louder the sounds were in return.

[ sadly, no one told them the code to the secret vault in the library... ]

I could hear someone saying the word, "Welcome." And before I took Siffrin back to the sitting room, I asked if the priest was in there. "Who's askin'?" was the reply I got.

[ which suggests at least one person persisting, despite their lack of physical presence. ]

[avocations]

A greeting, and a response. The owner of that voice clearly heard you, and I daresay we could take their answer as an affirmative for their status as a priest.

[ Kind of a giveaway to her, honestly. ]

What was the quality of this wailing... was it as if they were calling out for help in response to you?

[chromatized]

There was more than one response, but the priest's voice was the most distinct.

[ in other words, Ludger would not be able to tell any wailing beings apart, or recognize them by their... screams. ]

They sounded... desperate. So I'd say they were asking for help. But without a way in, I'm not sure how that's possible.

[ ... ]

Siffrin had a theory, actually. That the mausoleum could be where Yuki, Giyuu, and everyone else is. Do you think that's possible?

[avocations]

[ She falls silent for a moment, thinking that over. Hm. ]

It... could be. Actually, I have reason to believe that the ones we have lost are still among us, though my sight points toward the well as opposed to the museum.

[chromatized]

... the well?

[ it's not what she means. he knows it's not. there's some weird magical dimension shield or something, just like what Maxwell put up.

but he can't resist- ]

Wouldn't it be cramped in there?

[avocations]

...

[ LUDGER PLEASE. ]

Allow me to clarify. I've spotted traces of energy that led me to believe that the dead may still be with us in some capacity. The well is a particular... hot spot for energy, so to speak. I am still working on determining their precise location.

[chromatized]

[ listen. ]

Then the hands really are taking them away. I thought so but I couldn't figure out where. But if it's the well that's the center of it all, maybe it's something like... pulling them to another side?

[ looks at Wed mini-cyoa, wow what a coincidence ]

... That actually might raise another issue then.

[avocations]

[ She tilts her head. ]

Hm? What is the issue?

[ It’s possible they maybe thinking of the same thing. ]

[chromatized]

[ me, rapping ludger's empty noggin: i very much doubt that ]

Well, I guess two issues... one being how do we get them back to this side without the hands? If that's even possible. Two...

[ he hesitates ]

... I knew they were being taken, somehow, because of what I did for Lynne. But I don't know how I knew. So where's that understanding coming from?

[avocations]

[ She hums. ]

We would have to find some method of retrieving them, of that I am certain. As for you... that remains a mystery. What is it that could cause an inherent understanding, I wonder...

[chromatized]

I hope there isn't a constant link or something.

[ he already did the mind meld with Muzet! enough is enough! ]

... You can't. See a tether or anything, right?

[avocations]

[ She shakes her head. ]

'Tis as I said previously. Your aether is off, though I see no tether.

[chromatized]

Maybe it's also shifted to the dead side...

[ amb if you're giving me a clue i'm sorry i'm stupid. anyways, after muttering that, he'll shake his head. ]

There isn't anything that can be done on that front, so we should move on. The well definitely means something, but what about the boarding house? I don't think there have been any other places we've managed to make almost direct contact with someone besides us, right?

[avocations]

[ pets u gently ]

Not that I am aware of. Though I will say that the energy surrounding the boarding house looks to be similar to the rest of the realm. Mayhap your communication was a result of luck.

[chromatized]

[ sits here with my "you tried" sticker ]

Luck, huh...?

[ uh huh ]

Then the other empty rooms are probably a bust unless we get "lucky" again. So it really comes back to the well and the mausoleum...

[ ... ]

You know, I never asked - does the well water look different to you too? If it's removed from the well.

[avocations]

[ Well.

About that. ]

A shimmering heap of that same negative matter.

[chromatized]

[




he just. puts his head in his hands. ]

Anaxa and Hansa drank that.

[avocations]

Ah, so Hansa was involved as well.

[ She doesn't sound shocked. ]