[Celestial Arms Quest 2-3] Haunted

[Capsule]

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Aleksei was eager to be back in Snowdonia, after spending a month or two in Sarum with Capsule. The bear appreciated all the honey and affection Capsule provided him with, but nothing could compare to being back on one's home turf. The bear stared anxiously at the snow covered land where he was born and raised. Penguins, demented snowmen, reindeer made of crystal, and other polar bears roamed freely across the land, unmolested by time or Adventurers. Capsule guided the homesick bear away from the reminders of home, and towards a mountain draped in fog. Resting atop of was their destination: the Purple Mirror Mansion.

Capsule had attended the mansion last year, with Shira, whom she had dressed as a woman, and even equipped him with a padded bra. Her own costume was probably the Form Shift Zombie skill skin; nothing fancy. 'No, wait.' The closer they got to the mansion, the more her memories strengthened. She had not been a zombie, but an elegant spider lady, from a popular MOBA. And the two of them had no advanced very far into the mansion. Shira was kind of a wuss, and Capsule was not the sort to pressure someone into doing something against their will.

Much to her disappointment, the mansion appeared to have been degraded to nothing more than a tourist trap. Halloween must be to blame for that, so rather than being faced with puzzles, which she adored oh so much, Capsule could feel herself walking up to some big party. Parties were too tiring for this pale skinned and haired Enchanter. She would avoid it if she could, and try to get to the bottom of things… somehow. The men in the memory only pointed out the mansion to her; they gave no hint of what she was looking for. Lot of help they were.

She dismounted from her bear, and desummoned him back into his slot. Bosco was permitted to walk around, of course. She had nowhere else to stash him for now. The two of them stepped into the mansion, which was unnervingly quiet. Capsule took out the pebble; for comfort or guidance, she could not say. From somewhere deeper within the mansion, a voice called out. Capsule stopped at the sound, her heart rate picking up. Who did that voice belong to? She glanced around in the hall, and figuring that there were no other leads or instructions, reluctantly padded off towards the source.

Bosco softly whined as they came to a stop outside of a door, where the voice was clearly coming from. This was his first time in being in such a place, the poor mutt. Capsule reached down to pet the uneasy dog. He stopped whimpering, though did not relax. He probably never would, not as long as they remained in this spooky building. She placed her other hand on the doorknob, and nodded at Bosco to get ready. "On the count of three! One… two… three," she whispered, before whisking the door open.

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∝: 503
♫: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
✏: ---
@: Capsule

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[Capsule]

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The Enchanter had no idea of what to expect when she opened the door. Before that, her mind could only envision a blackness so infinite that it bordered on the macabre. It greeted her now, a vast darkness that threatened to swallow her and Bosco whole. The voice had fallen silent seconds ago, almost as if it was waiting for her. It was surely not a coincidence... right? Before plucking the pebble from her pocket, the mansion showed very little activity; an odd occurrence, for a supposed tourist trap. Capsule gave a soft exhale of exasperation. She may have just walked straight into a trap.

At her soft exhalation, a deep, gravelly chuckle came from within the dark room. Something about that laugh sent shivers down her spine. "We have been expecting you, Adventurer." For a brief moment, Capsule thought she saw a pair of red eyes coming from the direction of the voice. And then everything suddenly lit up. Pumpkin folk and costumed Landers and Adventurers yelled out "surprise," as confetti and string rained down from the ceiling. A large banner with her name plastered on it was supported from the ceiling: GOOD FRIGHT, CAPSULE, the lettering bold and in alternating colors of black and orange.

An Adventurer with realistic makeup that made them look like a skeleton shuffled on over, the grass skirt clinging to their hips jostling around with each step. Capsule assumed it was a woman, as they had long hair and a bra made from coconut shells, and the figure to match. (S)he then attempted to slip a cheap plastic mask onto the Enchanter. Capsule waved them off, and proved herself worthy of being here by donning her Goat-kun mask. The skeletal hula girl squealed in elation, and embraced the Enchanter for two seconds. Capsule felt two warm and firm, but soft breasts press into her own. That was definitely a female - body wise, at the very least.

More people crowded around the Enchanter, giving her pats on the back or offering her goblets of pumpkin juice, pumpkin spiced cocoa, pumpkin shaped cookies with sinister faces, bat shaped cookies with dark icing, and other delicacies that she dismissed. This was all overwhelming for the woman, and Bosco was too unnerved to do more than whimper. Capsule shrugged the people off, forcing her way through them to where the only people who had remained sitting were.

A figure that was clad in the cape of a vampire, the attire of the stereotypical witch, and bore a Jack - o - Lantern for a head, was seated at the far side of the room. He was nestled in between a sexy nurse and a very raunchy witch. Capsule swallowed a lump in her throat as she averted her eyes from the voluptuous and seductive women flanking Pumpkin head. The man gave off the air of ownership; not of the women, but the Mansion. He very well might have been king of the pumpkin folk, too. "You gonna stand there all day, girl?" With unsteady legs and a heavy feeling of dread, Capsule slowly lowered herself onto a couch adjacent to Pumpkin head's.

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∝: 526
♫: Time Warp
✏: pimp > joker
@: Capsule

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[Capsule]

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Capsule held out one hand to the pumpkin man, the pebble nestled safely in her palm. She was careful to remain at a distance where he would not have an easy time of snatching the pebble away from her. "Ah, Mr. Pumpkin, sir, do you know anything about this pebble?" She felt incredibly absurd right now; asking a man with a pumpkin for a head about a pebble would be considered bizarre in the real world. "I know it may sound hard to believe, but I found this pebble while exploring an island out near the Thames. There was this fountain, and when I touched the pebble, it sent memories into my mind…" She fell silent, waiting for some sort of response from Pumpkin head.

"The name is Trickster," he corrected. "You can relax. I have no intentions of taking the pebble from you." He stretched his arms over the shoulders of the women on either side of him. "It was in a fountain, you say? That fool would never have found it on its own, hah!" The broads and some of the nearby Pumpkin folk laughed along. Capsule did not get the joke, but she laughed along, regardless. "And the memories told you to come all the way out here?"

She shook her head. "It was not that set of memories. There was more, when I inserted the pebble into the cuneiform. I had a sort of… vision, but I was actually in the memory that time. There were a lot of people, all dressed like military men. And they were studying a map with this location marked. And--" She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. "There was something about this place called Lonsdale. I don’t think I exists now, but it certainly did back then." But how could this strange man possible help her? She was not even sure if he was even human or not… like the Messier Sage, his garment covered nearly his entire body. What would she find if she were to pull away his robes?

"Lonsdale, eh? I remember it bright as day." He rubbed the thigh of the nurse, head slightly tilted to the side in thought. "It was a settlement -- mythical, mind you -- smack dab in the middle of three kingdoms. While Lonsdale was destroyed and sacked, its neighbors did nothing to aid it. The three of them could have easily driven the invaders away, but they did not want to get involved." His glowing red eyes flashed. "In turn, the three kingdoms were cursed by the very one they left to rot. One kingdom disappeared out of the blue, while another found itself in the maw of the abyss, and the third sequestered itself behind a barrier, which remains active to this day." His twinkled brighter at that last remark.

Capsule did not need to have it spelled out for her. As one of the many Adventurers that rushed to uncover the city of Sarum, she was well aware of the invisible barrier that protected the city from outsiders. "Sarum. So that is why the barrier exists. I thought they only wanted to keep Adventurers or other Landers out. I never imagined that there could be another reason for it." Everything was finally starting to make sense now. "But if all of that is true, then… the place on the map!"

Grinning, the Pumpkin head slapped the scantily clad witch on the romp. "Now yer getting it!" With his other hand, he summoned up an exact replica of the map Capsule had seen in the pensieve. "The Purple Mirror Mansion resides where the Fairy Gate of Lonsdale once stood tall." He tapped the nurse on the thigh with one finger, but Capsule assumed he was indicating the room itself. "Right in this very room, to be exact!" More laughter followed, and this time the partying Landers and Adventurers joined in. Only Capsule refrained from joining in on the chorus.

"Just who… what are you, Trickster?" Forget being rude; Capsule was worried about greater things than that. Was Trickster also a Genius? Is that how he seemed to know so much? "And how do you know so much about the pebble and Lonsdale?" The laughter had died down by now, the lack of amusement settling heavily into the atmosphere.

"I am the caretaker of the mansion, my dear. Come, surely you know of me, Capsule? Or not, seeing as how you never made it past the first puzzle!" He was sneering at her now. "My existence goes beyond even the time of the pebble's formation. I am, and that is all you need to know." He turned his head to nuzzle the neck of the nurse, before dipping his head into her cleavage. Capsule grimaced in distaste as the other woman just smirked at the witch. Did she really enjoy that? The Enchanter would be horrified and feel violated.

After motor boating the woman, The Trickster faced Capsule, his eyes glowing with a keen intensity. "I can teleport you to Lonsdale for a price. The price of a future where the city lives on. Travel back in time and defeat those who invaded our city. Will you become one of the heroes that can achieve what we could not?"

Capsule shrunk under that gaze. She wanted to say no, and then leave before things got any stranger. Fighting Brachyura once was more than enough for the albino. How was she expected to right the wrongs of a long dead civilization on her own? But then again… she despised leaving affairs unfinished, and she had come this far already. Why not take it a step further? "I… yes. I will do it." The second she agreed, the room started to glow. The Trickster was not going to give her time to change her mind. As her body left the room, she could hear the disembodied voice of the Trickster reassuring her that her dog would be safe with him and the party goers until she returned.

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∝: 1005
♫: A Promise
✏: le poof
@: Capsule

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