Scene 2: Cursed blood

Elias watches his sister walk upstairs with only mild interest. Looking around the foyer and waiting for a servant to arrive, Elias finally gets bored and wanders off himself. Even though he's lived here his whole life, except for his time in the Army, the old house feels somewhat alien to him. That's when he finds himself in front of it. A old door adorned with a ornate plaque. A rather detailed carving of a pair of swords carved on it.

Opening the door, in an almost reverent manner, Elias finds himself in his favorite room of the house. The Rookwood hall of Arms. Filled with mementos of past Rookwood military men, Elias would spend hours in here as a young boy. Even now looking upon the armor and weapons..a flood of memories comes back at Elias. Walking farther into the room, Elias finds himself in a small library filled with all manner of books based on the art of War. Taking his hand and tracing the back of the books Elias loses himself in the moment and picks a random volume to read again.

@Dr_B Roderick, possibly hoping to catch those trespassers red-handed, decides to follow the voices. While he expected to find some annoying teenagers he could scare easily; he is surprised to find three women instead. At first, it would seem that they could be the youngsters that he suspected, but after a closer look, Roderick can tell they are probably older than they look, maybe late 30s or early 40s. Time has been surprisingly kind to them! Somehow, seeing these women has a calming effect on Roderick. It doesn't seem like they would be the ones turning statutes around or cutting chains now, does it?

They stop talking to each other and turn towards him, unsurprising by his sudden interruption. The red-haired woman smiles charmingly at the old man. She then speaks with her soft, melodic voice, her words and her looks giving away a foreign origin Roderick can't quite pin down. "Good day, man of the living. You must be the master of the house" she looks over Roderick's shoulder at the Manor. "Rookwood is the name we heard. Yes, it is our pleasure to finally meet you." She puts her ironshod cane on the ground to help herself move one step closer, her smile seemingly as bright as the sunlight, as she greets the old man with a kiss on his cheek... likely another foreign custom that catches the old man by surprise.

---

@Cettish




Claire takes her time to check out her old room, reliving some of her childhood memories. She grabs the old Teddy bear that used to keep her safe from the monsters she read in her old fairy-tale books putting it on top of a big closet. She won't be needing protection from monsters any longer, but for some reason, it is comforting to have it still watching over the room... As she thinks about it, she notices her favorite book, still on the shelf where she last left it. She takes it and browses through the colorful pages without paying much attention to the content, just remembering how she used to love those scary stories. As Claire finds places for the new things she brought from Riverlight Manor, she walks past the window and stops, taking in the view. Though as a child she made nothing of it, the view of the graveyard feels a bit more unsettling now that she grew up and understands better what that place means.

As Claire looks out the window, she finally manages to find someone else! For a moment it seemed like the Manor had been abandoned, so it feels good to know that they are not alone... While the girl is overthinking what would be best to do in case the old man notices her, she sees him with 3 very good looking ladies; one of which seems to be kissing him on his cheek. The old man still has his charms, she thinks, though the thought of it makes her giggle.

That is when Claire hears a noise from behind her, somewhere in the room. A sound like something cracking, but also... whispering... She turns to see what it was, but doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

---

@Squadfather44
Though Elias can't help but worry about his sister, she is at home now so she doesn't need his protection. The man insists on waiting for a servant to greet him, as it would be proper, but, seeing how that is not happening, he decides to wander off.

Despite most of the Manor being kept like it was before he left to join the King's army, Elias notices a few things here and there that are not exactly the same. Almost... but not quite the same. Somehow, these small changes make the Manor feel stranger. A feeling of being home, but not at home the same time. Maybe he has just gotten too used to the rough conditions of his training and will need to get used to the contrasting luxury of the Manor again...

Instinctively, Elias find himself wondering in front of a familiar old door. The Rookwood Hall of Arms, the place where he spent so many hours as a young boy. But now, after his battle experiences, this room takes on a different meaning. All the old armor and weapons in the room... he knows what they can do and how they are used. He moves deeper, sitting down at the small library, picking a book, and slowly flipping through it, reading some passages that catch his interest.

Time flies in this manner; but, having left the door open, Elias is interrupted by the giggling of a woman. As he takes his eyes off the book, he notices two shapes passing by the old door of the armory, in the direction of the great hall...

---

@KingHotTrash,@crazybirdman After their meeting with Guther, Alexander and Nathanial briefly comment on the strangeness of the the man's words. The old servant seems to talk about their grandmother as if there was nothing strange about it. But, as far as you can tell, the events he described happened decades ago. It's possible the man lost his sense of time, after all, at his age, it's not uncommon to mix up memories. But the fact none of you don't seem to remember your grandmother makes you even more uneasy about this whole Ceremony.

And then, there is that wolf story... Though wolves are not uncommon, that something like that would even bother the Knights of the Sacred Congregation is just baffling. The man could have lost it, or have some motivation to lie or hide something. After all, he did become suspiciously nervous when talking about the rumors...

As they walk up the hill, making their way to the Manor, the two cousins fall silent, trying to make sense of what is going on. On their way to the Manor, the cousins notice a small group of strange men walking into the woods. This would have gone unnoticed were it not for Guther mentioning the Hunters hired by the Reeve. Those strangers... they are definitely armed and hunting...

It takes Alexander and Nathaniel some time, both clearly wishing it would have taken them longer, but eventually they make it to the Manor's front. There, the two cousins notice the main doors are open; a small black cat rubbing itself on the edges while peeking inside.

Players Waiting:

History

KingHotTrash July 23, 2022 5:44 am

KingHotTrash July 29, 2022 8:46 pm

KingHotTrash July 29, 2022 8:46 pm

The silence that fell between Alexander and his cousin was not comfortable but not quite uncomfortable. There was a nagging strangeness that lurked in Alex's mind that demanded that answers be made. The focus at which these thoughts lingered made his injured eye ache, a dullness that made his mind pound lightly. What he wouldn't give for a bit more inebriation. His thoughts were only silenced by the motion of the strange men walking into the woods armed and ready for the hunt. Alexander watched as they disappeared into the thick foliage, the cracks of branches and crunching of leaves being all the betrayed them until that too went silent.

"Strange times, cousin, strange times..." Alex whispered, willing his feet forward towards his unpleasant destination. The manor rose before them, like a massive tomb welcoming them into the dark. It seemed somehow larger than what he remembered, an unsettling quietness surrounding it. Big buildings in the city were alive with sound, movement, and life. This place felt much more like a maw opening wide for its meal.

The main doors were open, unattended except for a small feline that had settled nearby. No memory of a cat struck Alexander but he had a fondness for the animals. Skilled ratcatchers when it suited them and lazy fools the rest of the time. How many hours had he spent obliterated with only the rumbling purr and the soft fur of a feline to keep him focused and seated in reality?

"Hello there little friend. I wouldn't go in there, nothing good comes in to it or out of it." Alexander whispers, crouching down and doing his best to not appear threatening. Offering his hand out, he quietly called for the animal's attention.

Roderick jolts back, stepping away from the red-haired woman as she leans in for the kiss. He will try avoid contact with this stranger, albeit a good-looking one.

"What... what are you doing?... Stay in your place, woman!" he barks annoyed, but wishing to sound less confused than he does.

Regaining composure and straightening, one step away from her, he continues sternly. "I have never seen you around these parts. Explain who you are, ladies, and what is your business trespassing in the Rookwood grounds. This is not some public parkland for you to stroll at leisure. You are fortunate our mastiffs were in the kennels. Were you in the family cemetery? "

Claire looks down at the little scene going on between grandfather and the three ladies.
What was goin on there? If she could only hear it.

She didn't recall these ladies. Had she ever seen them before? No, probably not.
Wait? Did the redhead just kiss grandfather? Did she see that correctly?
She rubbed her glasses clean on her sleeves and put them on again.

Without really intending it, she'd moved a bit. From standing fully visible in front of the window, to being half hidden behind the curtains.
Her eyes linger on the three ladies. Trying to remember them, should she ever meet them... The Raven haired... The Red... the Blonde... and the Raven haired...

As she hears the sound behind her... a whisper... she spins around. For a moment imagining that grandfather Roderick would have suddenly appeared behind her catching her on spying on him. Of course not... still... it gave her the creeps.

She knew it was dumb, and probably just imagination. But she couldn't help but say "Hello?"

"Hmm, I guess I was hoping the door would be locked and we could just give up on this whole ordeal. Yet the door is open, and there appears to be a feline doorman working here now." Nathaniel says with a half smile

@Dr_B

Roderick is taken by surprise by the woman's closeness and quickly avoids any physical contact. Anyone who has met the man knows how much he seems to despise any physical contact. The red-haired woman doesn't make much of it as Roderick orders her to stay away, simply looking at the old man, her face letting none of her thought escape.

"We are the sun, the moon and the stars. Dawn and Dusk, the Twilight" she answers Roderick's question, pointing at the others as she speaks.


The blond woman bows as the first one mentions the Dawn, and adds "We do not trespass, for the sun rises in all places"

The third woman bows as well, reacting when Dusk is mentioned, "And the moon shines upon all lands"








Roderick struggles to follow the women's words. That is not the sort of introduction he had in mind, though it would seem they don't really care whose grounds these are. They are either mad, heathens or both! It is even more clear to Roderick that they are not from this realm, as no heathen would speak so freely, fearing the retribution of the Puritans. His thoughts are interrupted as the red-haired woman continues to cryptically explains their reasons for trespassing. "We are here to see the dead. Tell us, man of the living. Are your dead at peace?"

---

@Cettish

Claire is distracted by the three strange ladies and, as she steps back, she hears a cracking sound and a whisper. She turns back, almost waiting to see Roderick mysteriously materialized out of her guilt in the room. Instead, there is no one there. For a moment, she looks around, unsure of what happened. Maybe it was just the creaking sounds of the old house. Maybe it was her brother walking on the wooden floor, looking for his room... She call out and gets no answer. Her heart beat is racing, and even the deep breaths she takes are not enough to calm it down. She looks at her teddy bear, instinctively looking for her guardian and protector, a childish reflex she assumed she had lost...

And that's when her breath stops, a chill going down her spine as the room temperature suddenly feels both warm and cold!

Did she leave the teddy like that? No, she's sure it was not looking that way! Looking defiantly at the old standing mirror in the room...

---

@Squadfather44

The giggling continues, followed by happy chatter and... slow music. From your location deep in the armory's library, the sounds are faint and seem to come and go. The intermittence of the voices makes you think that something may be blocking the sound... Maybe those two shapes opening the doors of the great hall allowed the sound to escape from the room?

Could that be why the staff did not meet you at the entrance? But then... shouldn't you not have met at least someone, or at least notice something, on your way to the armory?

---

@KingHotTrash, @crazybirdman

Alexander and Nathaniel reach their dreaded destination, each with their own uneasy feelings and memories... and each hoping for a reason not to walk into the maws of the Rookhood manor. Finding the main doors open, they give up all hope of escaping the call back home and continue their automated movements towards it. And that's when Alexander finds the small black cat. Alexander, having developed a fondness for these creatures, offers his hand to the animal. They were only ones who always kept him company during his downward spiral into oblivion... maybe even somehow kept him from giving in completely into his own darkness.

The cat looks the young man in the eyes, almost as if considering his warning. He decides to take Alexander's hand, smelling it for a moment and then rubbing it as it gracefully moves around the man. It does not seem to have any identification, as Alexander had seen done in the City. But in remote villages, it is very common to have strays being kept by everyone, so it would not be surprising if the animal had no specific owner.

When Nathaniel catches up and jokes about the "feline doorman", the cat once again looks at the man as if to listen. It meows, and jumps away from the door, running to the corner of the Manor, where it stops, looking back at the two men, you'd swear almost with a smile on its face.

"I'm even less in tune with cats than I am with people, but does that cat want us to follow it?"

"Cousin...that is something I'd say while lost in the clouds." Alexander says with a grin that slowly died on his lips as he looked back at the still open door of the manor. "That said...something is askew. Come on." Moving his bags to the inside of the door before hoping down the way, Alexander would begin to follow the strange feline to the corner. Unlike what the Puritans would say, black cats weren't bringers of doom and curses. They kept the home free from rats, provided comfort to those without comfort, and warmth on the coldest nights. There was also something to be said about cats, something about their eyes. It was like they were all in on a joke that no one else knew; mischievous yet not unkind.

He would step through the dead leaves as the wind picked up and chilled his flesh, arms wrapping around himself as he stepped closer to the corner where the black cat waited.

Elias closes his book and sets it on the small table. Getting up, he straightens his uniform and makes to leave the armory. Closing the door he turns and starts walking towards where the noise came from.

Roderick casts quick glances around. Are these women crazy, hinting so blatantly at a strange cult? All it takes is the wrong ear within range, and they'll be burnt at the stake... Last thing we need is a witch hunt on our grounds.

"Know that you are on Rookwood land, and it is the Rookwood dead you are talking about!" he exclaims, trying to intimidate the three heathen trespassers, but clearly seeing his words do not cause a reaction.

Yet the women intrigue him... so fearless... so cryptic... I wonder what arcane knowledge these hags are masters of... "Answer me at once, before I set our mastiffs lose on you! What is it you want from the Rookwood dead??"

Claire looks at Teddy. It had certainly... moved? Had it? Did it turn? Rotate? Where were those bead-like eyes staring at?

Her mirror. It was quite like she remembered it. Mom always liked if she put on fancy dresses, and she looked pretty. And they looked in the mirror together. Claire was more a practical girl. A good dress was a good dress. Sure, Riverlight also cared about looking fancy. So she often did. But really, she didn't care much for it.

Slowly she stood in front of the mirror again. She looked at her own reflection. Straightened her glasses. Tied her hair a bit. Was she pretty? Not as pretty as some other girls she knew. Passable. She took of her glasses, holding them in her hand. Did that improve anything? She squinted her eyes to see. To see deeper into the mirror...

What was it what she was actually seeing?

Claire spit on her glasses, rubbed them clean on her sleeve and set them straight on her nose before staring at the mirror again.

@Dr_B

The women don't seem to react to Roderick's intimidation, which takes him by surprise. Usually, just mentioning the Rookwood name is enough to strike fear deep into anyone's heart. When did his name, his family's name, lose its commanding authority? Had they already fallen further than he realized? And why does it seem that these women feel no fear, even at the idea of being hunted down by the family's hounds? Somehow, this makes him even more curious about the forbidden cult they belong to.

The red-haired woman he now identifies as "Twilight" looks at the old man, disappointed, but also somewhat condescending. "All we wish if for the dead to rest in peace." She adds, touching one of the nearby graves with her cane.The dead? The dead? Her words seem to trigger something in the back of Roderick's mind. A memory, a rumor? Something,within wants him to know. He feels it, like an hardening inside. His heart perhaps? No, not just his heart, but his full body. He feels himself becoming slower until he can no longer move, his skin feeling as cold as stone, his eyes, blinded by a strange greyness. Paralised, powerless, petrified.

But he hears them, the whispers of centuries-old souls, all around him. He feels the spark of life in every stone, every rock. His mind bounces from place to place; his conscience expanding across the graveyard. He again focuses on his sister's statue; she turns and smiles to greet him. "It is time, brother. We will meet again soon" she whispers in her youthful voice. The night mists burst from the graves, engulfing her until she is dissolved into the moonlight. Only the shadow of the deer creature remains, standing in her place, defiant. "The dead must rest. The dead must rest. The dead must rest" it repeats itself as it turns its back on him and walks away, its distorted voice echoing in the old man's mind. Roderick is startled by a loud noise coming from the ground below him. He notices that he is standing on top of the grave Twilight pointed out with her cane, and watches as a rotten hand tries to push it open from the inside. As he tries to grab it, it quickly hides back, the stone slab too heavy for an old man to move.

Roderick hears the noise of someone approaching and at that moment, he sees Alexander and Nathaniel, apparently following a stray cat. He turns around and finds himself alone, the three women nowhere to be found... just one villager looking at him with a confused expression. The man quickly tries to pretend nothing happens and goes on his way.

---

@Cettish
Claire can't tell how her teddy moved or changed position. Maybe it simply fell out of place. She probably didn't put it down properly to start with. But something in the way it looked at the mirror... something was pulling her to look into it as well. As if some supernatural magic was controlling her body, moving her closer, somehow, willing her to see her own reflection. Forced to confront herself, she is taken by her doubts and insecurities, but the woman on the mirror, that woman, is pretty, is graceful, is sad...

Clair takes off her glasses and, surprisingly, she actually sees the reflection clearer. However, it was never her reflection in that mirror. The woman in it looks like her, but maybe a bit older... like a future version of herself; a prettier version of herself. The woman stares at Claire for a moment, before deciding to walk back to bed. Claire stands there, looking in the mirror. There is no reflection of herself. It is as if Claire was nothing but a ghost, a memory... Claire hears a familiar music playing softly in the background, and the pleasant perfume of roses fills the room. Instinctively she turns to see where the woman went, finding her otherself opening the window, opening the room to the dark moonless night. The cold airs sweeps in as white mists creep through the window.

The woman smiles and whispers to the invisible moon... and the moon... the moon whispers back from the darkness of the sky.

Suddenly, the scent of roses changes to something rotten. As the mists surround him, Claire notices a man sleeping in her bed. A multitude of shapeless hands grab him and drag him out across the floor to the woman. Her sweet smile twists into some macabre version of itself as that woman, the woman who looks like Claire, that is Claire... she... she... Her heart racing, Claire takes her hands to her eyes, trying to avoid seeing what happens next, but her hands turn invisible, refusing to protect her from the horror of that man's dead...

She tries to run, but there is nowhere to go. The teddy! Her guardian! She looks for him, finding it now standing between this her and the that other her. He points her to the mirror. The mirror! Of course, she puts her glasses on again and looks deeper into the mirror...

This time, all she sees is her mother holding a dead grey rose, smiling at her, dressed in her pretty pink dress ...

---

@Squadfather44

Elias, maybe bothered by the noises, maybe curious about what is going on, decides to stand up and walk up to the great hall next to the armory. However, as he touches the small side door to the room, he stops. Something is not quite right. The soldier suddenly gets the strange feeling that, being this close to the room, he should be hearing the noise from inside. The noise that got him here in the first place... Instead, he is surrounded by deafening silence. A silence that is broken, only by faint echoes of a cat meowing far inside the Manor. Probably another stray that found its way into the entrance hall...

---

@KingHotTrash, @crazybirdman

Unsure of what is going on, or simply still clinging to the hope they can avoid the impending family meeting, Alexander and Nathaniel decide to follow the stray black cat around the corner of the Manor and then to the back of it, passing the old dead tree and into the graveyard, where they lose track of the little creature. Once again, the idea that cats are all on to some joke comes to Alexander's mind, as he notices Roderick standing on top of a grave on his own, with a lost look on his face. Maybe the man has finally gone mad? As Alexander is trying to figure out what the old man is doing, Nathaniel also spots something a bit strange... the Caretaker working nearby, shovel in hands... Is he... digging a grave?

Claire gazes in the mirror. Her mouth hanging open in amazement.

She almost forgets to breathe as she looks at the scenes unfolding in front of her.

The woman that looks like her and seems to be from the future... really? Could that be? Was thet what she would look like? Quite pretty really. She never imagined herself to be really pretty. She followed the figure to the window. What was she doing? Talking to the moon? How? Why?
Claire doesn’t understand any of it. As she turns around and saw a man in her bed she yelped. What was he doing in her bed? Gross!

"Get out of there!" she commands in a whisper.

And she gasps as he gets pulled out towards… yes… it has to be future her…
She claps her hands against her head, holding her head. In front of her eyes... but she sees right through them.

Afraid that it might fall off. What is going on here? Who is the man in her bed? Why and how is he dragged off? And what is future her doing to him? Did she kill him in the future? Has she already killed him? Why? Would she become a murderer? Was she already one... no... she'd never. Right?

"No no no" she just repeats as a sort of mantra.

"Teddy?" is he actually standing there? Actually alive? That isn’t possible. Yet he points at the mirror. She looks.

Tears swell in her eyes.

"Mother…" Claire reaches out with her finger tips to touch the surface of the mirror. The reflection of mother. Holding her favorite flower a rose… a rose that has somehow lost its color. Another of the countless weird mysteries.

Claire recalled the dress. Mother wore it often when Claire was still very young. Claire had always loved it so much and hope that she’d one day grow into it and could wear it herself. Nowadays it was a dress that really wouldn’t be her style.

Claire stood in front of the mirror for as long as the image would last. The man in her bed… she hadn’t really forgotten him. But he was of less concern to her now. As the image of mother faded from the mirror, Claire stood there. In front of the mirror. Looking at the quite empty reflection of her room. She could see her room. The window, her curtains, her bed. All seemed quite normal… still a bit childish… but normal.

Until it dawns to her that she is looking in a mirror and misses something obvious. She looks again. Her own reflection seems to be missing. It is silly, but she looks behind the standing mirror. As if expecting her own reflection to be hiding there. No… of course all is it should be there. She looks in the mirror again. Still no reflection. She touches her face, just to make sure that she is actually there herself. She looks at her hands, her real hands, not at the mirror. They seem to be back again.

Another view at the mirror. Just her room. An empty room. She is not in it. While she actually is. But not in the mirror. Has the mirror just forgotten what her reflection looks like? Is she here but not here? Is she invisible to all but herself?

Her mind races. So many thoughts... Her future self killing a man in her bed... Teddy being alive... Mom with a colorless rose... her reflection.... She can't handle it anymore...

"AAAAH!!!" she yells louder than she has ever yelled before and rushes out of her room, down the stairs.

She has to find Elias. Or grandfather. Or even the ravenhaired woman for all she cares. Someone!

"Damn thing has gotten away. I would've loved some kind of good company...no offense, cousin." Alexander offers to Nathaniel, a small smirk on his face. Turning around, he catches sight of a figure standing a distance away upon a grave within the family cemetery. The lost look on his face earns a momentary thought of concern before it is quickly replaced with anger then shame. The emotions only flutter across his face for a moment before he lets out a sigh.

"I'll take on the brunt of it." Alexander offers, stepping up towards his confused elder cautiously. Alex's head tilts slightly, studying the man carefully in case he had truly lost his wits. "Grandfather? Are you alright?"

"No offense taken. Looks like the cat has the good sense to leave after all." Still putting of talking to the old man even further, Nathaniel decides to check in with the Caretaker while Alexander checks on Roderick.

"Good evening, I don't suppose you've seen a little black cat, or know where it's headed?" he offers as a conversation starter.