Lamentable Nights: Act 01 - "You're Waiting for a Train..."

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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 12:33, Mid Day
Weather: Drizzle
Location: Dawnview park
PC: Jacket, Oriole

================

The little girl giggled as she floated gently back to the ground

"Hee hee, looks good on you mister!"

The taut brim of a hat on my head.

... Feels good man. For some reason or another, this hat is indispensable to me. Incidentally, as is my jacket. These two articles, I feel, are what makes me... me. It's kind of embarrassing to admit but, with how I look and all, without them I feel like that much more of a monster.

But just now... that girl did some amazing, didn't she?

"Hey, little girl. Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Hmm, I guess so."

"Alright then. First of all, what's your name?"

"Ah, well that'd be... Oriole."

She lowers her head and blushes a bit as she introduces herself.

"You okay?"

"Ah! Um... it's just, it's not my real name. I'm just sticking with it for now so... it's kinda embarrassing, but I can't remember what my real name is."

Bingo.

"Alright then. Nice to meet you Oriole!"

She swings her arms behind her back and nods in return. Cute.

"Now the second question. You ready?"

She nods her head enthusiastically.

"Okay, uh, I don't wanna sound rude but... you... you're dead right? Or, I mean, you died before?"

"Um, I'm a Stray, if that's what you're asking"

Her sudden bluntness catches me off guard for a second. I certainly didn't expect her to answer so straightforwardly.

"I see. Okay, last question."

She braces herself, with a determined face, as if she was a contestant on some quiz show.

"Normal people... the ones still alive. They can't see you, can they?"

She shakes her head in affirmation.

"It's a bit lonely, but I guess it comes with being a ghost."

I breathe a sigh of relief. At least now, being spotted by the girl wasn't a big deal anymore. Still, I can't help but feel a little guilty. I mean, here I am hankering for my original body. With the sad voice Oriole replied with, I'm guessing my condition must be a blessing to her. Then again, she isn't exactly as intimidating as me either.

"I see. Thanks for answering then, Oriole."

Adjusting the cap on my head once more, I turn to leave.

"Hey! Mister, are you going to go already..?"

Argh! The voice that pierces an older brother's heart! But, in this case, I must be strong and follow my own resolve. A manly and stoic exit, it must be.

"Sorry, I can't stick around. Unlike you... people can still see me. I look scary, don't I? If people saw me, there'd be trouble."

"Oh... I see. Then mister, I told you my name. What's yours?"

I flash the coolest big-brotherly smile I could muster.

"I'm a Stray too, so I don't have one!"

"Ah..."

Yes! The perfect line, which strikes mystery and awe into the hearts of girls everywhere. That is the way of the phantom! And now... away!! With a mighty leap, I bound away into misty afternoon sky.

"Thanks for taking care of my hat, Oriole! It was very important to me!"
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Midday
Weather: After the rain
Location: Dawnview Park
PCs: Oriole, Jacket
================


What is his name?

"I'm a Stray too, so I don't have one!"

"Ah..."

"Thanks for taking care of my hat, Oriole! It was very important to me!"

Before Oriole could continue, the stray in a jacket left. He was kind of cool, she thought.

Ah!! I forgot. To ask him about the bad chill just now. What happened?

Absentmindedly, she went back to sleep.
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Sentrovasi
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Sentrovasi »

Date: May the 27th, Thursday
Time: 0125
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Herston Museum
PC: Randall Kayne


The archives were always a wonder to him. Of course, part of its wonder came from the fact that he shouldn't have entered in the first place. Over the years, a few of the museum's artifacts had found their way into private collections or sent for other displays overseas, but fully two basement levels of items still demanded security... albeit not his own. Nonetheless, once he had found that his security card gave him clearance for this level of the museum, he had felt the irresistible urge to tie up some loose ends.

He swept his torchlight over the musty displays, many of which had long been retired from public view, deemed to be devoid of historical and aesthetic value by the curator. What he was looking for was somewhere here, among the old relics which weren't quite ancient and the gaudy reliefs just a little too gauche. Everything seemed at once unique and the same here, giving the sense of a novelty shop overstocked with insignificant curios.

And yet, here it was. The relic which had first led him, almost three whole years ago, to the knowledge which he was still busy trying to acquire now. He mused for a little while of that first museum visit back when he had still been a student at MVD: he couldn't remember much of his time in school, but then he hadn't enjoyed it very much.

What he had remembered was entering the museum that day two years ago and stumbling upon the strange contraption: an ancient, three-foot-tall piece of machinery that seemed to be built of clay and marble. Written in elaborate letters along its sides were a large number of largely illegible or unintelligible markings - the same ones that his fingers now traced again as he let them slide over the cool, dry surface.

Ether

was among the few recognizable words on its surface, as were other strange words like Aios and Enomena and Kayte - words which tallied with the whispers on the grapevines which he had sought out so eagerly: rumours of over a decade which he had endeavoured to find. It did not teach him anything new, no, but it lent him confidence and affirmation that he had not been entirely wrong in his surmises to date. "Ether" had at least been around for -

He paused for a moment as he finally noticed something. Its absence had been barely noticeable until the very moment he had thought of it. Considering how normal it had become to him, it was surprising he hadn't noticed earlier. Of all the places in Pebbleton he'd been in his three years, the archives were the first place he had stumbled into to be completely devoid of any Ether at all. No trace of any wispy lights or heat hazes that usually marked its presence. That meant that either -

But here his thoughts were interrupted again by a dull boom followed by a sharp quake: something that immediately registered as either a battering ram or an explosion to him. Taking but one more glance at the room around him as the tremor ceased (thankfully, nothing had broken), Randall took off running for the entrance. He might have just gotten the job for the perks, but his obligation as a security guard and his own curiosity decided him.

Looking about himself as he ran out into the main exhibit room, slamming the back door behind him, he noticed with relief that the tremor had done no damage to the exhibits on this floor, either. The explosion had definitely come from outside, and now the museum's safety was less of an issue, he thought he had some responsibility to check it out. Racing across the hallway to the double doors which were the entrance to the museum, a fleeting glance out one of the full-length windows which lined its walls brought him to an abrupt halt.

"... wow. That doesn't look good."

North of the town, Pebbleton's subway service surfaced for a few moments, traveling at ground level to avoid older infrastructure built under it. Under normal circumstances, he would have expected to see the train trundling slowly (the night service always seemed to move more sluggishly) across the undeveloped terrain before tunneling back underground as it approached the town again.

At the moment, its wreck was stretched across a large length of pipe that seemed to stick out from the ground where it had sunk in and collapsed. Randall surveyed the scene a moment longer, trying to discern what exactly had happened, when a movement besides the dancing flames which engulfed the train caught his eye.

Was it a shadow?

He watched, uncomprehending, as what seemed like a shadow of the train seemed to peel away from the wreck, its darkness blotting out the light of the fire which burnt hungrily at the body of the locomotive. As it continued on the track, it seemed to grow more corporeal, no longer just a shadow but a darkness all its own. Randall's mind raced to try to accommodate the incongruity, but everything just kept happening too fast.

The train should have continued on its route.
Instead, it was in flames.

The train wreck should have stayed in place.
Instead, there was another train.
It should have continued on its route.

Did the train continue on its route?
No, it did not, it was burning.
Yes, it did, it was moving faster.
No, it did not, it was hurtling straight at him.

Trying to register the idea of a flying train speeding towards the museum, towards himself, Randall's mind instinctively gave way to reflex: dodging was out of the question.

He closed his eyes and let the ghost train hit.
Last edited by Sentrovasi on Sat Oct 16, 2010 1:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by SavviG »

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 1:04 pm, Midday
Weather: After the rain
Location: Marsworth Victor Dalton Private Highschool
PC: Graciel

♪♫♪♪♪♫♫♪♫♪♪♫♪♫♪♪♪♫♫

"ouch, that was painfull"
Heading towards the school gates. Just before the gates, the stray cat was waiting.
It sneered. Sneered? Can they actaully do that?
It charged towards me, a challenger from the streets.

The cat leaped when it closed the distant, but my reflexes allowed me to avoid the assault. Just before the other cat landed from behind, I quickly turned the tables and leaped onto the other cat knocking it onto the floor. The cat quickly regained its defence stance and snarled at me.

A fight for territory perhaps ... well not that I wou- oh here he comes. I dodge the oncoming second assault by curling to the right, but he didn't leap this time, he chased me and got both his paws gripped on my behind. I can feel the claws trying to tear the open skin. "Hey!" a sudden outburst coming from me, I donkey kicked it in the just below his jaws and it ran off in retreat.

That cat is suspicous. I better keep a eye out.
I pulled out my MPUD and logged the attack. The guys back at home might just laugh about this.

I crossed the gates and sat near the curb. Grooming myself...
I looked down and spotted some gum on my leg foot. "Agh no...I sat on some gum?" It stuck onto my fur. A slight thought of licking the gum off was revolting... I'll wash it off that the park's fountain.
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 3:45 - Late Noon
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: ???
PC: Jacket

================

When I came to, I found myself collapsed beside a dumpster. It seems like I'm in an alleyway of some sort. Just where the heck is this?

"Ow-! What the..."

My entire body ached with the pounding force of an exploding sun. What the hell happened? After several failed attempts to prop myself up against all the pain, I finally gave up and simply let my limp body collapse back down against the corner. Peering out from alleyway, I spied a warehouse on the other side of a sandy lot.

So... I'm at the warehouse? Isn't that on the other side of town from the park?

I took a moment to regain my thoughts. Which was actually quiet difficult, given that I hurt in places I didn't even know I had, and then some.

So... the last thing I remember is...

The hat! I'd lost my hat... went back to the park to fetch it... and some kid had it.

Right, and the kid was a Stray. Like me. Would ya fancy that shit?

Okay, so what next?

After I got the hat from the kid... did I leave? I must have left, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I'd still be back at the park. So then what?

Then... just what the hell happened?

"Geh--! Ow ow ow ow...."

That's what I got for trying to roll onto my sides. Dammit! I feel like I've been hit by a train!

Whoa. Wait.

Train? Shit, I think I'm... recalling something here.

"Holy crap! Now I remember!"

That's right. It's not just a joke. I was hit by a frickin' train! A gigantic black one, with puffing smoke and headlights and all. Came right outta the ground and smacked me in the face at full force!

I must have flew quiet the distance, to end up here of all places.

But that thing... who knew one of those things could grow to such a size...?

This isn't good. Something like that... doesn't just grow because of time. You'd need a massive pocket of negative energy to fuel something like that.

"Tch... can't stay here like this. Not with that thing running around...."

That's right, it wouldn't really be a wise plan to stick around in one spot. I dunno just how many other Strays are around, but now that it's showed itself, sooner or later it's going to come after me as well.

I was lucky enough that it didn't finish me off on the spot. It caught me completely off guard...

"...!!!"

Through excruciating effort, I manage to claw my way to my feet, bracing myself against the concrete wall.

"Just what the hell is going on in this town...? To make such a Blight like that?!"
Last edited by Pictor on Sun Oct 17, 2010 12:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

Date: 31 May - 1 Jun, Monday - Tuesday
PC: Redmist
================


Time: 1720
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 44 #12-108

Redmist was taking his routine look at the Pebbleton Police online bulletin board. Normally, the postings had little to do with him, though this time, one post did. It was a missing person notice. Missing for more than 72 hours, the missing person in question, was a man he recognised. Not only was he a crosser, Redmist had met him a few times in the wee hours of the night at the 24-hour convenience store.

In view of his own observations of the town, Redmist wondered if Randall Kayne's disappearance had anything to do with the new train blight. Unlike a certain phantom jacket, Redmist knew that this ether being is a dangerous blight. It looks like he will have to go out tonight to see The Train for himself.

Time: 0255
Location: Pebbleton Subway Station

Redmist thought that his bottom felt sore from sitting on the hard bench for too long. He had been here since nearly an hour ago, and all the waiting was making him irritated. Furthermore, leaving the home without his personal digital assistant or his smartphone was an uncomfortable feeling, but he could not risk accidentally emitting ether while on a recce excursion for a dangerous gigantic blight.

Just how long more are you going to make me wait? he sighed.

And then, proceeded by a rumbling that shook all of him, The Train approached. Redmist instantly got up and positioned himself near the edge of the platform. As the train chugged past him, he saw two things that the cameras in the station did not show him. One: the flailing life energy of a person, namely, that of Randall Kayne. Two: the structure of The Train.

Time: 0410
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 44 #12-108

The following message was composed by Redmist:
  • ATTENTION
    An extremely dangerous blight, The Train has appeared. Termination is of extreme priority.
    • The Train is powered by the furnace in the steam locomotive at the front.
    • If the carriages are disconnected from the locomotive, they should stop moving.
    • If the coals are removed from the furnace, the blight should weaken.
    Please also note that there is a human casualty in the 4th carriage. He is weak, but still alive.
    A reward will be given to all who are involved in it's defeat.
Time: 0730
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 44 #12-108

After an extremely long soak in his bathtub, it was now bedtime for Redmist. He fixed an adaptor and a data cable to his spine and fell asleep, face down.

In the mean time, the alert was being sent out. As long as any crosser or panzer in the area uses an electronic device, be it a mobile phone or a computer or a MPUD, they will receive the message.
Last edited by marcien on Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 3:30 pm, Afternoon
Weather: Clear
Location: Herston Public Library and Museum
PC: Mirto
================


Mirto finishes pinning her name card to the front of her shirt. Her shift doesn't start until another thirty minutes, and she doesn't have much to do until then - The Irony of Demon Overlords is sitting back on its shelf in the row of occult books, and she doesn't have any homework from her classes besides to study for her finals tomorrow. Perhaps now would be a good time to check her email...

Nothing particularly interesting shows up on her cell phone's screen, except some bizarre message apparently sent during the early hours of the morning. She scans the message.

Personally, she finds that it sounds more like an emergency bulletin than any ordinary friendly email. Something about a rampaging train monster thing. A Blight.

...

The hell is a Blight? It sounds strangely familiar to her, but she can't really put her finger on it. Maybe it's from one of those RPGs she hasn't played in a while - not too unbelievable, since the entire email sounds like something taken out of one. It's like one of those quests.

Mirto briefly ponders if the whole thing is a joke. She doesn't remember signing up for any type of email RPG recently (not like she'd have the time to)...

Her eyes move to glance at the sender's name. Pretty cryptic, Z. Redmist. An IGN maybe? Nonetheless, his email address and his name serve to offer her no hints about the real nature of the message, or even if there is any. Well, whatever, she'll just leave it in her inbox for a while, maybe something'll come to her.

She gives her screen a brief once over again before sliding her cell phone shut. If it was some sort of RPG message, the only notably interesting schematic was that it was a rescue mission and search-and-destroy quest all rolled into one. A person stuck inside a train...

Mirto leans back in her chair, watching the clock. Five, ten minutes left, hm...

Now that she thinks about it, she hasn't seen that museum guard in a while. He usually doesn't appear until close to the end of her shift, but occasionally she catches sight of him wandering around through the shelves a bit earlier than that. Vaguely she recalls one of the librarians doing some snooping around his house and turning in a missing person report a day or so ago. If that's the case, he's most likely not just taking sick leave, or out on a family emergency.

It's not part of her concern though. From what she'd heard, he was always a reliable guy - he's bound to show up again eventually. Probably.

Mirto is sure that it's none of her business. She stands, and gets to work.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 4:00 pm, Afternoon
Weather: Clear
Location: Telston Mall
PC: M
================


After getting maybe the scare of his life (as a Stray, that is), he's managed to calm down after a few hours and running multiple circuits around the mall. A giant train Blight. Although nowhere near as grotesque as the dog-lamp post hybrid Blight he had run into a month ago, the sheer vastness of that Blight brought a different kind of fearsome. The swallow-you-up-in-complete-darkness kind.

M tries not to dwell on the issue.

Unfortunately he doesn't have much to focus on otherwise. In the end, he settles for watching a group of high school girls flit from shop window to shop window, giggling and pointing at the latest summer fashions.

He finds the girls keep coming back to ogle the piece displayed in front of a chic women's brand store. A bright green sundress. He tries not to wince at the bold color. Is green in style now? He's been seeing multiple outfits in that same color over the past few days - shop clerks switching spring blouses for cheerful-looking tank tops and skirts.

His eyes are bleeding from the highlighter shades of female clothing. Maybe he needs a change of pace.

Before he can make his decision however, he feels the forboding rumbling underneath the mall again. It seems a lot stronger this time, and the twisted part of him entertains the idea that it had increased it's momentum after hitting a person or two in it's cycle around town. If that's the case though, maybe it would be a good idea not to go out around town after all.

As empty as his life is, M decides that he likes it just the way it is.

Wouldn't want to be the next one to get gutted by some train Blight, you know.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 4:00 PM - Late Noon
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Feel16 Radio Tower
PC: Hailey

================

Far above the city skyline, a ruffled looking black raven glides gracefully down to her perch atop a tall radio tower. A massive banner reading "FEEL 16" is the only thing that decorates the otherwise plain-looking structure.

The bird took a moment to scan the horizon before her, then lightly poked at a small device buried in her feathers. Suddenly, a complex array of holographic panels materialized in a mild arc before the raven. After scanning the dancing, multicolored lights with focused eyes, she began to work.

At lightning speed, the raven's beak flew across the many panels, gently prodding at the floating buttons, menus, text fields, and dials. Her actions were professional and precise; not one mistake was made in her choice of input. After she was done, a whole new set of hologram panels had appeared.

Before the raven's eyes laid several small neon screens, each depicting what appeared to be a live video feed concentrated on different people:
  • a young girl typing away on her cell phone in what seemed like a library
  • a hooded and scruffy looking young man leaning restlessly against a wall
  • a curious, blonde-haired girl napping in broad daylight in the middle of a park
  • a cat scampering along a railing
  • a suspicious, masked individual clad entirely in black, save for a yellow sports jacket
  • and finally, most peculiar of all, an aerial view of a large black steam train puffing its way through... the streets?!
At the center of all these video feeds is a larger, hexagonal hologram panel which constantly streamed text and other information. Briefly, the words "CLASS: B-M-A" and "KAYNE, RANDALL" scrolled past, quickly devoured by volumes of other text.

After a while of scanning over the text window, the raven gave it a light prod with her beak. The window shrunk in size and faded away, leaving only the video feeds to neatly line themselves up next to each other.

At this moment, if anyone were up there to spy on this particular raven, they would have sworn that it gave a frustrated sigh. And then, they would have witnessed another unbelievable event.

*FUMF!*

A gentle burst of dark feathers fell gently toward the ground, and were swept away by a gust of wind.

In an instant, the raven was no longer there. In her place, sat a solemn looking young woman. Undaunted by the height of her seat, she lazily leaned forward, and propped her face up on a balled fist. In her dull eyes - plagued with dark bags and sleeplessness - the images from the video feed glinted.

"So, these are our players so far, huh?"

Her gaze shifted to focus on the black steam train, still racing through the town. Then, the woman closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

"You house-rat. You really think your little warning will do much against something of this scale?"

Reaching into her pants pocket, she pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. In one swift movement, she swung open the lid and popped out a smoke. As she leaned in to give herself a light, the woman muttered over the cigarette between her lips.

"...Looks like things might get a bit ugly."
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

(OOC: this is a pointless post. i just could not resist the opportunity to troll this guy)

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1605
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 44 #12-108
PCs: Redmist (and Hailey)
================


Redmist woke up sneezing violently. Of course, it was only natural, since he had went to bed without a shirt on, in his room with a temperature of 16 degrees celsius. He lazily pulled the cables out of his spine and returned them to the table. The sun shone sharply through the gaps of his curtains.

Oh my-- Redmist put his face to his palm.

What he saw atop the radio tower was someone that is a pain to see as the first thing the moment you wake up.

Tch.

Redmist found his stapler. Which he then used to clip the curtains edges together.
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by SavviG »

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 4:04 pm, late noon
Weather: Clear skies
Location: Dawnview Park
PC: Graciel

♪♫♪♪♪♫♫♪♫♪♪♫♪♫♪♪♪♫♫


Twinkle sounds of water splashing against each other and birds gather to wash and drink. The fountain is busy. Then, a cat appears and said "BOO!". All the birds flutter in chaos, panic.

Silent, then the fountain's water twinkles can be focused once more. The Graciel looked up to the falling feathers then down to the water.

Graciel tip toed on the ledge and stuck in his hind leg into the water and gave a violent shake. The gum, didn't budged. Inward sigh, Graciel scanned the area for people, no one is about.

Graciel changed into his human form, in a café atire, white shirt, waist coat, black tie and trousers. Graciel stood on one leg and inspected the chewed gum sticking under his shoes. Then pulled off the gun with his hand. "Ugh, gross... ." Graciel had the urge to sniff the gum. Disgusting. Threw the gum to the nearest bin then proceeded to rinse his hands and shoe with care.

Graciel puts on his ear reciever and turns it on with just a touch. A gadge that connects to his MPUD, convinient reader. A few more taps to bring up the mail system. Graciel brings up the message recieved today.

• ATTENTION
An extremely dangerous blight, The Train has appeared. Termination is of extreme priority.
• The Train is powered by the furnace in the steam locomotive at the front.
• If the carriages are disconnected from the locomotive, they should stop moving.
• If the coals are removed from the furnace, the blight should weaken.
Please also note that there is a human casualty in the 4th carriage. He is weak, but still alive.
A reward will be given to all who are involved in it's defeat.


"Time to play, Mr locomotive Blight."
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Sentrovasi »

Yay. I excited things. Even from the past.

Date: Trainday
Time: Hour the First
Weather: Non-existent
Location: The Train
PC: Randall Kayne


Randall fell.

"That was a surprise."

The surprise wasn't so much the falling itself; he just hadn't expected to be conscious when he fell. Bracing yourself to be hit by a train only goes so far.

He stood, removing his face from the cool wooden boards under him. Wooden boards, he thought, and here I thought we'd gone with the modern.

His voice seemed okay when he'd first croaked out his words, so he decided to call out again against the rhythmic chug-chug which was the only other sound in the strangely still air.

"Hello?! Anyone there?"

He shouted it down both ends of the carriage he was in, just to be sure. But there was no reply. As both directions looked practically identical to him, he randomly chose one of them and decided to move down it.

It was one of those quaint old trains, nothing like the subway train that he had seen crash. That was the first surprise, for him, although in all fairness, he reflected, he hadn't actually expected to regain consciousness inside the train, either.

On either side of the narrow hallway he walked down were doors set into the wooden walls: it looked as though they would slide open if pushed, although Randall held slight reservations about intruding into cabins possibly occupied by other passengers. Some small part of him seemed to warn that he was better off alone than with whatever inhabited the train.

He jumped at the sharp sound to his left as he passed the next door. Freezing for a moment and gingerly turning in the direction of the sound, he realized that the door had in fact slid open.

"Good... morning?"

Randall took a step toward the compartment, his mind just barely keeping track of what time it'd been since the strange accident had left him here... comatose? He wondered about the reality of this place for the first time. But the place had felt real enough to him.

As he scanned the room, a new thought occurred to him that he was dead. But he shrugged that off as well. If he was dead, he wasn't going to let that get in the way of the second really interesting thing that had happened since he'd come to Pebbleton. Not that the room seemed very interesting at present, being empty.

It was a moderately-sized cabin, probably for the more well-to-do people, and seemed well-equipped for a long journey, with a small single bed occupying a quarter of the room and the rest equipped with a plush sofa and a small writing desk. The windows of the train were above the sofa, but he didn't realize that until he actually examined them: they showed nothing but inky blackness, with blurred shapes that seemed more like reflections appearing for but a second before some strange wind seemed to blow them away again. Certainly nothing like the scenic Pebbleton he was used to.

As he moved away from the window, he realized why the air seemed so still to him. There was no trace of Ether in the air at all. Just like in the museum archives? No, not quite, he corrected himself. Here, the air seemed stretched thin, as though it was more than just a blank space, but a hole yearning for Ether.

A hole he was going to try to fill.

"Just like we practiced: one serving of Ether coming right up!"

There was but one source of Ether he knew he could count on: himself. Whenever he had manipulated any of his own auras, he realized now it was because that, too, was comprised of Ether. "Ether" was a word, he realized, that had many connotations. It was "Energy" and "Life" and "Soul" and "Strength" and "Karma" and "Magic".

"It's also mine." He grinned as he felt a surge of Ether begin the slow rush down his arm and into the palm of his hand. In this atmosphere where Ether itself was absent, he found himself better able to manipulate what he could find, simply because it was easier to locate, to gather and to direct.

He let the Ether run from him, forming a small orb of the same familiar light that he knew so well from his time in Pebbleton.

And then winced as the energy ruptured, arcing from his hand and dissipating into the room. Images flickered across the face of the windows, but then they grew dim again. Was that Pebbleton outside? Maybe? It was almost impossible to tell.

But Randall knew one thing: something had taken advantage of the conduit he'd opened to his Ether, maybe whatever it was that was sucking the Ether from the air. The Ether he had summoned had been snatched away, and in its place was left a gnawing sensation that left Randall's nerves on edge.

Whatever was responsible for the lack of Ether was making sure every last speck of Ether was drained from the environment.

Randall Kayne was now a part of that environment.
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marcien
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by marcien »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1610
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 44 #12-108
PCs: Redmist
================


A thought came to Redmist as he was brushing his teeth, nearly causing him to bite his toothbrush to pieces.

He powered up his desktop from it's standby mode and typed a short string of words followed by a final tap. (Then he went to spit out the toothpaste in his mouth and returned with his mouth full of water.) Next he scrolled until he found a satisfactory choice and clicked. (Then he went to spit out the water he had been gargling.)

He saw the result he expected to see.

So that's why this blight was so massive. A century's worth of hatred.
[img]http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1452/assignment23.jpg[/img]
Pasonia
Posts: 175
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 0730
Location: Oceanside Drive Block 43 #05-62 (Home)
Weather: Light f*ckin' drizzle
PCs: Martin Chang


===================================================
(For the purpose of this character and for everyone's mental health, every thought marked with an f-word is colored. As they say, swearing is colorful. XD)

Character Prologue: The Beginning of the End of Everyday Normalcy

Good morning, Pebbleton, the first thing that came across Martin's head as he woke up. Work begins at 9am, and cycling to work takes about forty-five minutes.

The same routine everyday,, he laments, getting the heater ready for a bath while he tosses a pre-made breakfast into the microwave.

For Martin Chang, June the 1st is just like any other day.

Awake and freshen in thirty minutes, ten minutes to check personal and corporate emails, then use five minutes to get downstairs and the rest of the time to ride to work.

Exciting. Wow wee.

A slight annoyance got in the way of his exciting morning as he hosed his head down with bath water. The night prior, he had won nearly all his games, but he couldn't forgive himself for misreading the mid-game on the one he lost.

"I should've played out the eye and killed his chances instead of going for territory," growled Martin as he gobbled through his breakfast. "That was just dumb of me."

Shuffling through the clothing in his wardrobe, he decided to go with an all-lime series today - lime shirt, lime tie, lime... wait, there ain't no lime pants, so white it'll be. After dress-up, he turned on his laptop from hibernation mode, and scanned through the mail.

"Linnard, 'hey that was a great game, too bad you misread his intentions there.' Yea, about just right. Boss, 'see me in the office at 0930 with your proposals'. What the bloody heck, I ain't in charge of the-- wait, what's this?"

Martin adjusted his rounded specs for a bit. It was an email address he'd never seen before, and it seemed to be sent to the wrong person. Martin thought that the open-endedness of the mail meant that it could have been stupid spam.

"Probably stupid kids from the Private High. Let's see, what's this about...?"

"To: CROSSER NET PROTOCOL
From: Redmist of Pebbleton
Subject: [NOTICE] Appearance of Dangerous Blight

• ATTENTION
An extremely dangerous blight, The Train has appeared. Termination is of extreme priority.
• The Train is powered by the furnace in the steam locomotive at the front.
• If the carriages are disconnected from the locomotive, they should stop moving.
• If the coals are removed from the furnace, the blight should weaken.
Please also note that there is a human casualty in the 4th carriage. He is weak, but still alive.
A reward will be given to all who are involved in it's defeat."


"What the fuck. I ain't crossed enough to be playing no role playing games. Ain't my type."

Click, marked as spam, deleted. Can't be delayed for work coz of a stupid mail.
Last edited by Pasonia on Sun Oct 17, 2010 12:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
ginz
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by ginz »

Date: 1 June, Tuesday
Time: 4:10pm
Weather: Fairly cloudy
Location: Unnamed cliff north of Pebbleton
PC: Elyse


----------------------------------

What would you do, if you ever saw a train coming towards you? Get off the tracks? Normally , that'd have helped... But not today. Damn my luck... :(

It's one of those days when I'd be caught on the cliff alone, staring blankly at the horizon ..It's a beautiful sight, but trains do not pass by here (if at all!)! UNFORTUNATELY, today isn't my normal day, DAMNIT. I was trying to lose some of my unhappy thoughts and perhaps fall asleep (it's a nice place to sleep in <3) when I heard a distinctive whoosh. I fell back onto the ground flat on my back, tilt my head up... and saw this ... Train. COMING RIGHT AT ME. That definitely sent my unhappy thoughts away though, LIKE WOAH.

For once, I've got a need to run for my life. Who'd have thought that I'd have died by a runaway train of all things! It didnt help that the train looked as if it had a mouth full of jagged teeths D;!

Unfortunately, quiet me never had a good pressure threshold. It's like the hulk, an endless cycle of transforming into an angry beast who'd rather tear the obstacle infront of me apart, and back to the misanthropically quiet me. I simply had to get out of there right away! But... how do you run away when you're trapped between a high cliff, a dangerous hungry-looking train, and the sea!? To make things worse, I've got a seriously heavy prosthetic right hand. Urgh. I never quite figured out if being paranoid of being attacked - which led to my decision to build this pretty fearsome but bulky arm of mine, was a blessing in disguise or a curse. Sigh...

* * *

My memory got fuzzy after a while, as the stress apprently got to me... All i remembered was myelf (*shudder*) running towards the train, THE BITING, SNARLING, SCARY TRAIN! I can't really describe the feeling other than it seems that my body seemed to have... literally taken control over itself in a fight for survival, and that I'm (while having a lack of control) playing a first person shooter game. I can't possibly describe myself doing the actions, and as such--

Anyway, although this isn't the first time that my body has taken control over herself, the experience is still rather unnerving. I never knew I could do all I could. All of a sudden, she (as mentioned earlier) ran towards the train, jumped as if my right arm didn't really matter, barely being sucked into the enormous steel maw of the train , and ran on the roof of the train, jumping over the gaps as if she's a parkour master before falling off to the left side of the train as it attempt to turn around to avoid the cliff.

I'm not sure if my body is sentinent or not, but somehow, she made use of the arm-weapon that I've made, scratched across the train, tearing part of its cabin walls off. Somehow, this act of barbaric (IMO) self defense made the train roar in pain, a weird mix of metallic clanging, whooshing of train whistles, and a monsterous howl.

(As a portion of the roof of the fourth cabin came off, I thought I caught a glimpse of some dude inside. ...... I must be imagining things. No one can be dumb enough to get caught by this... Wait, didn't my body just rushed towards it? DAMN.)

Well, I guess I'm unconsciously beastial myself. Seeing that the monsterous train is distracted, my body took the chance and destroyed some of the fifth cabin's wheels, causing it be unstably dragged ahead by the locomotive. (Did the train seem to be slowing down?)

* * *

Whatever the case is, this train scares me way too much for my liking. Hoping that I've at least some form of control over my body, I meantally screamed for us to just escape while we can. Apparently she seem to have heard me, for after that, she instantly sprinted away to safety before the train could catch up to me.

After some distance, she (and my body) collapsed in a park out of sheer exhaustion...
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Pictor
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pictor »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 4:11 - Late Noon
Weather: Clear Skies
Location: Herston Public Library & Museum
PC: Jacket

================

*WROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR---!!!*

Terrible noise exploded through the afternoon air. The sound of... a million pounds of grating steel accompanied by a deep, hollow reverb. Strangely, above all else, it seemed organic, like the awakening roar of some ancient, colossal beast.

A roar so overwhelming that it wracked my very core, blistering through my body. For the moment it sounded, I felt as though I was briefly falling through an endless abyss.

Didn't take a mastermind to guess where that came from.

Still feeling the painful after effects of my previous plight, I'd been stumbling around. Hiding's not as easy when half your body refuses to function without feeling like you're dredging it through molten lava.

--I'd been wrong.

I wasn't at the warehouse lot at all. Merely, someplace that also had warehouses. Upon leaving the crevice I fell into, I realized where I actually was. In truth, my personal ground-zero had been the rear property of the "Herston Public Library and Museum".

As the many road-signs pegged across the street pointed out, anyway.

After ambling across the back lot, I turned around and finally saw the extent of my crash landing. The small alley between the warehouses was more of a mess than I previously thought. Aside from the lone dumpster, everything else seemed to be a mess. Cardboard boxes and their non-descript contents were strewn all over the place. Also, I'd managed to take a clean, concrete chunk out of one of the warehouse roofs. Not that I'm bragging or anything.

"Damn. I must have made such a commotion..."

However, despite it being quite late into the day the area seemed conveniently deserted. Which, for me, was an incredibly welcome thing.

"Heh! I guess nobody'd want to hang around this lousy place at this time of the year!"

Unless you were some sort of an insane bookworm, I guess. I attempted to take another step across the lot, and instantly regretted it.

"Tch--!"

Still hurts. I wonder how much Ether I've been expending? Not an amount I can just shrug off, that's for sure. I feel so... damned weak.

"Aaaaargh! Wake up!!"

I shook my head violently in an effort to stimulate myself. The resultant pain also helped quite a bit.

"Can't space out now. Gotta focus. Or those... thoughts... might return."

And isn't that why I got hit by that damned Blight in the first place? I had another relapse of those malicious thoughts... and I zoned out. The Train caught me completely off guard. I guess... for now I'd be smarter to find a place to regain my strength. As much as I'd like to keep moving, it'd be stupid to walk around in my current condition. I looked up and examined the imposing building before me.

"The library, huh? As good a place as any I suppose. Maybe I'll hide out in the attic or somethin'..."
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1630
Location: Dawnview Park
Weather: Clear skies
PCs: Martin Chang
NPCs: Lanette Hindfell


Wrench in the Works

Lanette received the notice in the morning; she hadn't expected to, as she would usually visit the local Crosser head-honcho to get news of evil Blights. But it may as well, since that way she saves time in having to look for a job.

After all, the rewards that come with this job do get pretty substantial, and this Train Blight thing, while a step up from the usual petty Blights, is a good way to test her own mettle.

"Once I take care of this Train Blight, I'm going to continue looking for that Jacket Blight. It'll be troublesome if it gets in on the one-two with this Train."

She registered a powerfully churning sense of negativity in the vicinity, one so impacting that she couldn't help but feel a bit chilled to the bones despite the clear weather. That, however, also provided information about the Train and its nature.

"This Blight is a Massive Hi-Speed type. Ether-based powers may not be enough to slow it down completely. Wait a minute, how could a Hindfell think of her own abilities as limited?" She promptly slapped herself for a bit before considering the details of her plan at hand...

...which, in the end, after ten minutes of internal struggling, was a side-swipe ambush. So simple. She slapped her head again in mock anguish at her own wishy-washiness.

"I need a long, deep bath at a hotel once I get the money for the job," she sighed, knowing the Olympic-pool-sized bath at home isn't going to help. But she wasn't about to go back to the Hindfell mansion a loser, and that was her resolve from the beginning. She knew once she stepped out of the mansion, she was to expect no more help nor expect any luxury.

"But I still miss the bath, god dammit -- You're made of awesome, Shadow Buster, you don't need no stinkin' bath---"

"Incoming!!!"

Before Lanette could yelp, biker and superheroine-wannabe crashed in a heap beside the pavement.

"Oww... that hurts! Hey, don't you know how to ride a bike?!" Growled a visibly pissed Lanette as she rubbed her sore behind.

"Oh man, I'm terribly sorry," answered the young man, whose tone of voice totally betrayed the supposed humility of the statement. "But you're standing in the middle of the bike pavement, so you can't blame me for crashing into you I guess."
"What...?"
"I mean, if you feel angry, upset, and totally aggrieved about it beyond all resolution, you are welcome to make a police report or something."
"It didn't occur to me that I was angry! NOW I AM!"
"Cool. See you around then."

The bearded, bespectacled man then rode off astride without so much as a glance.
"Ooh, that buster's done it... if Dad's here I'll have that goatee-man kowtow to me a hundred times---"

And it was in this moment of unbridled, girlish temper that a very cold chill buzzed through the air, a wave of mind-numbing static fleeting through the top of the skin as though it was crossed by powerful electricity.

"...I'll deal with that buster later," she growled, taking off into the sky and skirting past kids, swings, and rides in the park. To give her superhero persona justice, Lanette skirted through the park's trees (and skipping quick enough to not show her face, but enough to see leaping shadows) and began tracking this "source of deep evil".

The leaping continued for quite a while, and it was when her chase led her to a road intersection, that she noticed that the goatee-man that bumped into her was in the way, too.

"I'd love to see that guy get hit by the train," thought Lanette, "but... he's human. He probably wouldn't even see the Blight. I guess I'll give him a scare with the gavel."

Lanette fished out her Gavel from her haversack, then timed the Train Blight's arrival as she predicted it whooshing along the road from the right of her visual range.

"Steady... steady..."

The goatee-man was about to cross the street on his bike as the lights go green.

"Now! Shadow Buster Power Leap!"

===================

It was at this time that Martin turned back upon hearing a rather familiar voice ring from way behind him. Moments later, he turned his head around to find, of all things...

"A steam train on the streets?
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit oh shit oh shit---"

Martin tried his darnedest to out-ride the steam-bellowing train before it collides into him, but he suddenly felt the weight of a million tons on his bike. The train was sucking him in.

"This is no good~" he wailed in utter desperation.
"Fuck my lifeeeeeeeeee------"

He got his wish... in a rather amazing manner (and that was really, really putting things mildly). To put things in a concise manner would be pretty harsh, but...

You see, Martin was struck by the gavel and the train almost simultaneously. That would most certainly be FML.

As for Lanette, she lost her grip on the jump (having overdone it) and the gavel, and could only watch in utter horror as her gavel struck Martin square on the head. Instead of making her heroic entrance, she basically left her own gavel on Martin's head as she crashed into the clumps of bushes across the street, and rolled for several meters before crashing out of another clump of bushes and into the path of rather startled white-collars.

"Ugh..."

Lanette picked herself off the floor quickly before anyone could even offer her help, springing forward again with her Shadow Buster Power Leap as she sought to chase after the train;

By the time she rushed back out the street, however, the train was gone.

"...The goatee-grouch's a Crosser?"
Pasonia
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: 1700
Location: Dawnview Park
Weather: Clear skies
PCs: Martin Chang
NPCs: Lanette Hindfell

The Accidental Concealer?

"It can't be... that goatee-grouch's actually a Concealer?"

Lanette had heard of Crossers who can remain undetected even when they use Ether, but, according to ancient legends passed down in the Hindfell family, those Crossers were already banished and should have been wiped out in the time of Alexander the Great, whose identity as a Crosser was masked under a guise of great militaristic wisdom.

"That's so unfair! A meanie like him couldn't have been a Concealer!" She couldn't help but pout, angry that she'd failed to land a big meal ticket to pay for her expenses.

The growling in her stomach would only serve to fuel the anger, and she resigned herself, once again and all so pathetically, to eating sandwich packs at the Park.

============================================

Martin couldn't tell for how long he was knocked out.
In fact, given the perpetual darkness of his surroundings, he couldn't even tell where he was. He looked at his watch, and realised that it was spinning rather furiously without ever stopping.

On top of that, Martin couldn't shake off the feeling that he was walking in thin air. Several meters from him, however, he noticed the faint figure of a boy.

"Just where the fuck am I?"

Martin stopped to ponder. The whole situation now felt like a literally allegory of the round he'd lost yesterday - he was trapped and surrounded by Black.

"Stupid move, really. One misreading of intention and I ended up with nothing," sighed the dead-end salaryman. He really wished he hadn't misread the move because he rarely misread opponent intentions, and it was one game in the longest time that he'd liked to have replayed the outcome.

But this game in front of him now should occupy his time wholly.

It dawned on Martin that this wasn't as simple as a game of Go anymore;
it really was a matter of life and death, and certainly not of the tsumego variety.
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AYC
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by AYC »

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 4:15 pm, Afternoon
Weather: Clear
Location: Herston Public Library and Museum
PC: Mirto
================


Not more than fifteen minutes into her work does Mirto hear a painful-sounding crash and thud from outside. It's too bad she has her hands too full of new books to bother to pay any mind to the noise, but a few sleeping students jerk awake from the sound of the impact. She resists the urge to scoff at the way they were using the library to sleep rather than study.

One of the librarians point out the oddly human-shaped hole in the roof of a warehouse outside. If she wasn't so focused on shelving the books at the moment, she would've laughed at how comical it seemed. Like something out of a cartoon.

"At least that's the empty museum storage," she comments flatly to the librarian, "No priceless artifacts were harmed in the making of that hole. Just crates."

That being said, there was a silent consensus amongst the librarians that investigating the damage could come another day. For now, Mirto is handed another stack of books to take up the fourth floor. The archives.

Although she does love her share of fantasy novels and mystery fiction, it's the shelves and shelves of nonfiction and reference texts that's won her heart over. At this point, there are practically no people on this floor, be them students, adults or even staff in general. Nobody has reports to make so close to the end of the school year, and most people have a natural aversion to long-winded essays.

But Mirto is more than happy to have the entire floor to herself. Even if she can't read a single textbook or thesaurus.

Thump.

In midst of climbing the ladder to get up to the higher shelves, she pauses. Maybe it was just her imagination.

Thump. Clunk.

Or not. Even so, she choicedly ignores it, sliding one new book after another into the shelf.

THUMP.

She expertly slides the ladder towards the next area of books.

THUMP THUMP.

...

THUMP THUMP -- CLUNK -- THUMP.

. . .

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP --

Mirto is not strong, but she nears snaps the spine of The Fish of Pebbleton in half. There's nothing upstairs but the attic, and there's no reason for anyone to be up there when all the extra books are kept in the storage room downstairs.

Thump.

Although she's not really pissed at whoever's up there or even the slightest bit interested, she ends up in front of the attic door in less than minute, carrying the seldom-used lacrosse stick (reserved specifically for the library's purpose of taking out intruders) as a weapon.

Whether she likes it or not, it's part of her job - written in the fine print - to take care of people wandering around in off-limits places. It only irritates her that she has to take time away from her real job to do this.

And so, Mirto promptly kicks open the door, less than cautiously steps in, and pretty much runs into and trips over the strangely bulky, human-shaped intruder.

Ow.
Pasonia
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Re: Lamentable Nights: The RP

Post by Pasonia »

Date: 1 Jun, Tuesday
Time: Kind of lost (estimated to be around 1745, by Martin's reckoning)
Location: Unknown
Weather: What the fuck is being surrounded by black called?
PCs: Martin Chang


====================================================

The boy was still not within reach, even though there was clearly no barrier between him and the boy. Martin guessed that whatever environment he was in, it was blocking the way. Martin knew as much when the boy suddenly got away just as he walked closer, and the gavel left on his head by that brat didn't do much to smash any way through - he was literally just waving at thin air.

"I can't quite figure out the meaning of this," lamented Martin. "I can't tell where I am, even though I know I must be sitting somewhere... like..."

The train made a sudden turn, and the unwitting swear toad fell on his behind, crashing into what he thought might have been the floors of a moving train.

"God damn it," cursed Martin as he tried to pick himself off the wobbly 'floor'.

"...if the coals are removed from the furnace..." Martin mumbled to himself, suddenly remembering the email which he glanced over in the morning. It was that that suddenly jolted his entire being into an excited "OH!"

"Hey, whoever you are in front... or behind! I can't see a god damn thing here. Wake up dammit, motherfucker! Where's the god damn furnace---"

Before he could complete his sentence, Martin suddenly felt something crashing down on his back. It was almost as though someone had just thrown him to the floor or something. Martin spun around, flailing the gavel around uselessly before giving up.

"What the bloody heck struck me in the back?" Martin yelled, knowing full well that whoever did that knew Martin was unable to see him/her/it.
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