lostcarnival | ⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

Entry tags:

⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 170 - Day ???
Where: Heartstone Manor
What: The carnival arrives at the Heartstone Manor. Do your best to play along, and try not to get too far ahead of the schedule with threading if you can avoid it, in case something that would affect your character happens early on.
Warnings: Individually marked! Could be a lot of things.

BEAUTIES AND THE BEAST↴

When the carnival arrives at the Manor, everyone will be taken into the Throne Room to greet the Prince for the first time. He will be lounging on his throne, and will take a look at the guests that the Ringmaster has brought before eventually dismissing everyone so that he can talk to her alone. After that, they will be given a brief tour of the Manor by some of the servants, and then brought to their rooms to start picking out clothes for tomorrow. On the first night they will be permitted to wear regular clothes, but starting the next morning the dress code will be enforced.

There will be a number of servants helping guests with clothing, and making alterations to suit the non-humanoid features they may have. The tailors work with fabric by hand, but their stitching is impossibly quick and accurate, with changes being made to complex clothing at unbelievable speed. Some guests may note while working with them that one of the seamstresses has wooden mannequin-esque hands instead of human ones, and another has two sets of arms. The arms are one of the most obviously inhuman traits that they'll see while first touring the building.

Come the morning of Day 171, the daily routine will begin.

⇨ THE DAILY SCHEDULE ⇦

► FIVE MEALS A DAY: Between breakfast, lunch, tea, supper, and evening drinks, the meals you are required to attend are frequent and long. Each meal (except drinks and tea) will have multiple rounds, and use all of the fancy cutlery. It will be difficult to keep up for those that are untrained. The food will vary greatly, but will generally to be palatable to those that are into whatever kind of food it might be. Some of them are odd delicacies that are very much an acquired taste, however. People who cannot eat will be given a pass once the Ringmaster explains it, but will be looked down on for it.

► DAILY ACTIVITIES: There are scheduled activities for every morning and afternoon,
and everyone is required to attend. Descriptions of each activity are provided on the "Event Descriptions" tab of the spreadsheet linked up above. There is only one hour of free time scheduled per day, after supper, and beyond that the servants will almost constantly have you on the go. The Prince and Ringmaster will not be present for most of the activities, but they will be there for every meal. If you character refuses to follow the schedule or makes a huge mess out of proceedings, make sure to report it here.

► AFTER CURFEW: At 11PM, everyone is expected to return to their quarters and spend the rest of the night there. Wandering after curfew is unacceptable by the Prince's rules, and if you do it there will be the chance of discover. Based on your character's stealth abilities, there will be dice rolling to determine if they are discovered or not, and by whom. Make sure you report any after curfew activity to the mod post here. This can also take place as an investigation if they are actually looking for something instead of just farting around.

► ROOM AND BOARD: The servants will remain upbeat for most of the time the guests are here, unless something is done to provoke them. They will be present at every activity, and there will be a variety of different individuals. One frequently spotted character will be the butler, a man with dark hair and small, sharp horns. He seems to be the main organizer of things.

► ODDITIES: Even beyond the obvious, there is something off about the Manor. Doors, windows, and other household objects will sometimes move seemingly without cause, and other times there will be banging sounds in the walls, or mysterious voices heard at a distance. It feels like you're being haunted. If you have a moment to wander the corridors, then you'll sometimes see open doors abruptly slam shut the moment you lay eyes on them, and wall sconces turn off or on. It's weird, man.

► THE HUNT: The Hunt activity will have its own event post, and some sign ups for those that will participate meaningfully. There will be some dice rolling to determine who hunts the most impressive game, and rewards handed out accordingly. Before that post goes up, however, you can do some investigations for the start of the event, if your character is interested in looking into the specifics of the contest and overall context.

MAKE SURE THAT ALL DECORUM VIOLATIONS ARE REPORTED HERE.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Strange can't help but match that incredulous smile with a small smile of his own. "It's a spell she uses regularly. She's used it twice already during our stay at the carnival." Once against Morningstar and once, though Strange was unconscious for this part, against the Portland fae.

And, based on the tone of Strange's voice, it's really fucking cool. But back to their main conversation.

"He's a faerie—I doubt he's helping out of the goodness of his heart in the first place." Is that racist? Probably! But all the fae Strange have encountered weren't things like 'altruistic' or 'kind hearted.' Even the Ringmaster had an agenda for taking carnival members on. "Perhaps the Ringmaster is unwilling to pay whatever price he's asking for."

"Perhaps, but then why does it involve all of us?" Given the way he demanded the carnival as a while to stay in his territory when they aren't involved in the negotiations at all, Syrlya can't helpbut be suspicious about what he's asking for. You don't involve innocents without purpose, and the goal usually isn't in their favor.

"He must be looking for something out of this, but I cannot tell what. He keeps his manor very controlled, it is difficult to find anything about the Prince at all."

He worries over his lip a moment. "Perhaps it is only loneliness, but I think it's more likely we are collateral."

"I agree," Strange remarks, with a little frown. "Either collateral or a threat. If the Ringmaster tries to do something rash, we are in the Prince's realm, under his magic. It would be easy for him to strike at us."

Considering everything, the Ringmaster doing something rash is...a bit expected. And since the Prince is apparently family, perhaps he knows of her traits and habits. Perhaps they were collateral, a chip on the bargaining table for both sides. But perhaps they were a threat.

"I wish she would tell us what was going on," Strange admits, seemingly out of nowhere, sighing slightly. "I know she thinks we're only human, but this secrecy is maddening. Some members of the carnival have proved their worth five times over—they deserve to know." Not him. Strange knows that his relationship with the Ringmaster is rocky at best, due to his actions in Portland and summoning that winter fae in Alola. But she trusts the supervisors. Surely she could tell them what she was up to?

Ugh. Syrlya hates being in this position--typically he was the one doing the--okay, less 'bargaining' and more 'forceful action', but the point is he's not used to being the one being manipulated and threatened.

"All of us deserve to know, because we are already involved by virtue of the Prince. You do not conscript a soldier and then fail to enlighten them on the enemy they will fight, or the path of their battlefield." That's a horrible and morbid example and Syrlya pauses before shaking his head.

"I think we're lucky there isn't any explicit danger yet. Is anyone able to contact the Ringmaster right now? Lambert, or Sans?"

"I might." It's said in a confused tone of voice, as if Strange literally just now realized that he should be able to contact the Ringmaster. But no, he can. The more he thinks about it, the more a plan starts forming. "It all depends on where she is. You know I can travel through them, but I can talk with someone through a reflection as well. If I scry on the Ringmaster and see her pass by a mirror, if I quickly swap spells then I might be able to use the reflection used in scrying as communication instead!"

Use the scrying to creep on the Ringmaster, watch if she passes a mirror, if she does then quickly swap the spell and hope she'll manage to pay attention when he calls out her name. It's risky, and Strange honestly doubts it will work properly, but it's worth a shot. Because Syrlya's right. The Ringmaster likely won't tell them, but they do deserve to know.

"I wouldn't want to do it tonight. I slept terribly and unlike our illustrious nightrider, I'm only human. But I can try to contact her tomorrow night."

"Well, I was hoping that she was keeping in contact with one of us willingly..." Even if it does work, how is the Ringmaster going to react to Strange creeping up on her through a reflection? He crosses his arms, not looking sold on the idea, but.

"But I do think we should reach her before something terrible actually does happen." Like, oh, someone going completely missing. "Focus on that when you are rested, and the rest of us will... continue to navigate our own way."

He hopes Strange understands what he means by that, because this is not a masked conversation and Syrlya would rather nobody overhear what the Nightrunners are up to.

He does know what Syrlya means by that. Navigate in their own way, that means sneak around and try to find information and prowl around the corridors after curfew. Something that Strange knows that he himself isn't too good at, a fact that still rankles him slightly.

He managed to scry on the Ringmaster, though. Strange might not be a typical example of one of the mercenaries, but he has plenty of use for his talents nonetheless.

"I will," he responds, with a nod. "If I find anything, I'll write it on the map. Depending on what it is, I'll seek out the other supervisors myself as well."

Or, at least, he'll seek out a few of the supervisors.

Syrlya nods. He's kept the map permanently on his person since he received it, but he's very careful not to pull it out during the day.

"Can I ask... does the system of leadership here usually break down so much?"

Sure, this isn't really an organization. That much Syrlya can understand. But this all seems to tenuous. He's had enough terrible luck the past few months that he's a bit tense for the other shoe to drop. "Or is this just a sign of how much control the Prince has?"

There's a pause, while Strange mulls it over. What's a nice way to phrase how he feels about the whole thing...because he does like the Ringmaster. She's entertaining to talk with. But hoo boy does she have some very obvious and very glaring flaws.

"It's not that the Ringmaster doesn't trust us, per se, it's simply that she refuses to tell us things she deems unimportant. The problem with that is that there's far too many things the Ringmaster deems unimportant to begin with."

And then she wonders why people get into trouble or why things go wrong. It's because the carnival gets dropped places with no explanation, dragged into the Ringmaster's personal business with no explanation, and is occasionally tasked to help clean up some of those messes with no explanation.

"I wish she could just be human for a day or so," Strange admits, with a sigh. Because that's the crux of the problem, isn't it. She's fae. They aren't. "Perhaps that would help her understand us better."

Syrlya's expression turns wry and he raises a brow. "I don't think willful ignorance is a trait to particular races."

Syrlya hasn't seen the worst of it, but he's been talking and he's been picking up context. The carnival's been though some disasters, people still end up missing key information when they sign up... she either doesn't care, or is incapable of learning from past mistakes.

It's a dangerous trait in a person, let alone a leader.

"Let's focus on surviving this. We can worry about what we are and aren't told once we escape in one piece."

The problem with Strange is that he always worried about what he's told and what he's not. Considering that he can trace the majority of his bad decisions to the fact that he didn't know something, the lack of knowledge has become a bit of a sore spot for him. As such, he gives Syrlya an ironic little smile. Worry about what we aren't told later, well guess what buddy, he's already worried about that right now.

"Truth be told, I'm not worried about either of us surviving this. It's certain other people I'm more worried about." The gems. The children. All the various nonhumans. And even some of the actual adult humans, like poor Lambert. "I do wonder what the Prince's tipping point is and which of us poor souls is going to reach it first."

So... they should be worried about almost everyone.

"I'd prefer if everyone survived this! I hope if the Ringmaster cares for anything, it's her contracts." It's probably only going to hurt morale worse if they died because they weren't as snobbish as human nobles were.

Strange...just is keeping quiet about that whole 'people got turned into vampires and the previous Nightrider died' debacle that happened a few months back. The Ringmaster certainly cares for her contracts, but occasionally, shit happens.

"I think we'd all prefer if everyone survived. Nothing ruins a party like a death." It's a joke! He's joking! "Still, I think executing someone for a breach of etiquette is more rude than any breach of etiquette imaginable!"

"I wonder about that," Syrlya mumbles, but waves the thought off with his hand before that thought can be considered further.

"So you have the ability to watch others from afar...?" He gives Strange and inquisitive look. He can't dent he isn't curious about the nature of that magic.

Strange matches Syrlya's inquisitive look with a smile of his own. And, in true Strange fashion, he looks far too smug about the whole thing.

"I do. It involves a few components that I've left in my room, but I'd love to show you some time." Not just because that means he can show off a bit.

Syrlya looks around for... a clock, or something. Anything to gauge how much time they have left. "I suppose we do have free wandering right now... unless there is something else important you've noticed?"

He's getting the feeling that they won't find a lot of clues during the day, activity to activity, from the servants--or the castle itself. It's an illusion, not by magic, but a veil that the Prince is very carefully maintaining. He wishes it were just a spell, because that's so much easier to break than trying to coax people out of a web of fear and lies.

Strange smiles and is about to say something...but then the thought of prior commitments rears it's head. Ah. Yes, he had agreed to teach Rita how to dance today, didn't he. Scrying might have to be put on hold.

"We have some free wandering time," Strange remarks, with a frown. "I need to get back to Miss Mordio—I don't want to keep her waiting too long. I would suggest I visit you after curfew, but I've no idea which room is yours. It's damn hard to travel through the mirrors if you're doing it blindly."

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⇨ HEARTSTONE MANOR

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