central mission

[promittere]

ECHOING PAST MARZIALE

The sun sets on the manor when Tatara seeks out Akira, Kurapika, Syrlya, Kiryu, and Mòrag individually and brings them all outside, saying they've been summoned.

When they step outside, they will quickly see why: dressed in the royal blues and golds of the Granvelle family is an entourage waiting for them on horseback. Among the multitude of castle guards are two distinguished-looking gentlemen that everyone here will have seen at the ball. One, a shorter, portly man, leaps from his horse when he sees the wizards emerge, while the taller of the two remains perched atop his white horse to watch in silence.

"Good! You decided to show yourselves," the man says. He remains professional, but there is a hint of distrust in his eyes. "I am Drummond, Minister of Arcane Management at Granvelle Castle, and we have summoned you today to fulfill a direct request of ours.

"We believe the the castle is experiencing—don't laugh!—a haunting to a degree never before recorded or spoken of. It is simply unbearable to be there after dark. It is so much worse in the lower levels of the castle. Too many of our staff are flat-out refusing to come to work, and the situation is growing dire.

"We believe a magical artifact located somewhere in our vault is causing this. Locate this item and neutralize it."

He gestures to five horses, saddled with no riders.

"You will be coming with us back to the castle. Chop-chop! We don't have all night."

OOC NOTES

Welcome, Central wizards (and witch), to your mission!

Missions are mod-guided events that are partial CYOA, partial play-by-post instances. In general, you are free to interact with a scene as you please, and the mod will tell you how the scene reacts as a consequence of your actions. Some scenes will allow for more flexible threading, such as exploration or conversation, while some scenes will require strict turn order to preserve rounds, such as combat or other time-sensitive conflict. The mod will inform you if strict turn order is required at the start of a scene. Regardless, always be sure to bold any important actions you take.

This mission has been specifically tailored to Central disposition, attitudes, and magic. If you find yourself struggling to tackle a situation, refresh yourself on the description of Central on the locations page, and make sure to confer with your teammates too!

As a bonus, here's your theme music!

You will have until 11:59 AM EDT on Saturday, May 4 to reach a conclusion for this mission. Good luck!

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[jokey]

[Ah. They really are ghost busters now, aren't they? Akira never goes anywhere without his trusty dagger and (airsoft) gun, so if a fight is inevitable, he's more than prepared.

...But hold on a sec. Not all hope of a non-violent confrontation is lost. The ghosts have been jumpy from the start, so Akira's gonna just... try and calm them down......]

Relax. We're not here to steal your dinner. In fact, did you need some help? Sorry we didn't knock first, but we're here to help out on behalf of our good friend Ser Alec.

[promittere]

[These ghosts are much jumpier than the others—and just as armed. One of them fumbles with his sword (my nat 1....), and doesn't manage much...

The other, however, manages to draw his blade. He's not about to ask questions, scoffing.]

Please, if you were comrades we'd know you were coming!

[Seems there's not much communication between ghost gangs?

This ghost swings and his strike hits true, slashing Morag. Please imagine some cool battle music, thank you.

If you can dispatch the ghosts quickly enough, you might be able to back to sneaking, but you can also just fight your way through to the vault if you're feeling frisky.]

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

[All hopes for a peaceful encounter were gone the moment one of them slashed at Morag and actually managed to strike her]

No choice but to subdue them.

[Kiryu faces this kind of situation incredibly often, that's for sure. A pair of people not willing to talk and instead going to violence? Story of his life, happens even when he's just strolling down the street]

Let's not take long here. We don't need a whole bunch of fights.

[Who knows if there'd be reinforcements if they take their time. It's because of this focus on going for defense that Kiryu doesn't hesitate and goes for the prep table, using his typical tendency of grabbing nearby heavy objects at hand for fighting to lift it up, focusing and channeling his magic through it, trying to turn it into a magical tool for fighting the ghosts. With this prep table he should be able to both defend himself against the ghosts' swords and strike at them, is his intention!

Which is why after stepping ahead of the rest to avoid friendly fire, Kiryu swings the prep table at the ghosts]

[specialinquisitor]

[Make no mistake, the hit landed cleanly and it hurt, but she isn't about to acknowledge that. With combat so suddenly declared, she darts forward into the midst of the room in the table's wake, sweeping a lash of fire around towards the ghost that had just engaged her.]

[It doesn't go well.]

[jokey]

[Off to a swinging start... literally, in the case of the prep table. Akira won't dock any points for a lack of sophistication so long as Kiryu does numbers on those ghosts. Good luck and godspeed not dying, Morag.

Akira channels the ball of flames in his palm into his gun and fires at the ghosts surrounding Morag (15) to give her a chance to recover. Better luck next roll.]

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya watches Kiryu lift up that prep table with the face of a person thinking "well, whatever works". Things are immediate chaos, and Syrlya filters into the kitchen behind the others and immediately shuffles along the side until he's perpendicular to the ghosts and everyone else. He has the space now and draws his sword, pointing it forward toward the ghosts, trying to get them in line as he speaks his incantation.

And then a laser of condensed magic just shoots straight from the tip of his blade (14) at the ghosts.]

[revengier]

[ Honestly, the table is a pretty creative move, and Kurapika is taking notes. He’ll wait for it to connect with one of the ghosts before aiming a blast of wind at one of them with the intent to knock them down, or at least off balance (16). ]

[promittere]

[ The kitchen descends into chaos in the blink of an eye. Kiryu's reaction is instant, his table swing (16) connecting with both ghosts in one elegant sweep. This guy is oddly proficient with table, isn't he...?

As they stagger, Akira's magical bullet strikes true at the one that hit Mòrag, while Syrlya's sword laser pierces the other. Kurapika sees his chance, and his gust of wind connects, knocking both on the ground before they can retaliate.

Mòrag isn't so lucky, however (1). She sweeps forward with a burst of fire, only for the embers to catch on a shelf on the opposite wall. The wood smoulders, and begins to burn. Oops.

Both ghosts are knocked prone but not "dead" yet, while a shelf is about to catch fire. ]

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

[A potential fire in an enclosed space that probably won't have as much ventilation as it should? Oh, better try to get rid of that problem right away. Kiryu tries to focus the same way Bruno did not too long before this day, making a deluge of water appear from nothingness and splashing on the wood. Plenty of water, to ensure that, if it's not extinguished, at least its surroundings will be too wet to catch fire.

The other four can handle the ghosts, clearly. They can be trusted to do that]

[jokey]

[He owes you a golf clap for that well-timed deluge, Kiryu. In the meantime, Akira continues targeting the most aggressive of the ghosts, aiming for headshots (15) whenever he can.]

[chronosynthesis]

[Since Kiryu's swiftly dealing with the fire, Syrlya fires off another magic laser at the ghosts (8).]

[revengier]

[ Kurapika is about to aim at the ghosts again, but he slips on some of that water Kiryu has summoned and just... falls right on his ass (2). ]

[jokey]

[PFFT,]

[specialinquisitor]

[This is exactly why she asked about collateral damage earlier.]

[All right, she has to admit, she underestimated how strongly she would be affected by not being a Driver at present. Rather than lunge in again as she would were she wielding her proper weapons, she steadies herself to fire a more focused, carefully aim lance of flames at one of the ghosts.]

[It goes slightly better than the first one, in that it just misses instead of igniting the room.]

[promittere]

[ Kiryu swiftly and decisively deals with the fire, and what could have been a big problem is rendered not a problem at all. Thanks, dad.

Akira keeps his head cool, aiming another shot at the ghost that attacked Mòrag. It cleanly pierces its forehead, and dissipates. One ghost down.

The others, however, don't do so hot. Syrlya's laser misses the other ghost as it jumps to its feet, and Mòrag's blast sails past it on the other side. Kurapika strides forward, presumably to deal the finishing blow, except he falls on his ass. ]

I need backup! [ The ghost turns to one of the other doors in the room, the one on the wall to the right of where the group entered. It seems intent to get there and open it. Presumably, there is ghost backup behind it. ]

[specialinquisitor]

[This shan't be allowed! Rather than attack directly, she hurls out what is more like a whip of fire, aiming to wrap it around the ghost and interrupt its movement! And also burn it!]

[As it happens, using her powers more like the whipswords she's accustomed to works much better.]

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

[Well, when you have a hammer, all that's around you looks like a nail.

Kiryu just tosses the table towards the door, slamming it against the door to block the way for the ghost and make it harder to get there because of the obvious obstacle. This way even if the other four fail to dispel the ghost due to one reason or another, at least this should get them more time]

[revengier]

[ Kurapika gets up and tries to cast another spell aimed at the remaining ghost, but he loses his balance again (4). No spell for him this time.

At least he just barely manages not to fall on his ass. ]

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya is running to intercept the ghost but proceeds to also slip on the water (4), though he at least manages to grab a shelf before he actually falls over.]

[jokey]

Haha— ooooooowwwww.

[Akira is downed by a debilitating cramp brought on by laughing at Syrlya and Kurapika (7).]

[promittere]

[ Mòrag's flame whip catches the ghost in place, and Kiryu's perfect table throw blocks its access to the door.

The others struggle to meaningfully attack the ghost, but it does not seem to matter. It kicks at the flames around its ankle, but fails to free itself—it cannot reach the others from where it stands. And before it can do anything, the flames crawl up its leg, and consume it whole.

When the flames die down, the ghost is gone. Both ghosts are dead. Well done, despite it all.

The room falls silent.

Besides the one door, the one on the wall to the right of where you came in that is now blocked by Kiryu's table, there is another door on the opposite wall of where you came in. Where would you like to go? ]

[specialinquisitor]

I remain skeptical that this is the room we seek. I would prefer to try the hallway we came from.

[She's not going to force the issue, though -- the group can decide as a whole.]

[revengier]

[ HE'S GOING TO GET YOU. ]

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

[FRIENDLY FIRE THANKS KIRYU]

[revengier]

[ it's fine. he'll recover. maybe not his pride though ]