⇨ DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone out in the library.
When: Day 59
Where: The Athenaeum
What: Towards the end of the visit, we are visited by a series of worrisome NPCs, who may or may not be illusions. There will be at least 5 NPC toplevels posted overall, all happening in a similar time period ICly (in rough chronological order), so not everyone needs to be in every thread.
Warnings: Possibility of very real danger to anyone who participates. Remember that Sans has told everyone to travel in groups, so if you aren't, you'll probably get a scolding later.

TURNING THE PAGE↴ As the carnival continues to explore the Athenaeum in the pursuit of more information about the legendary Miracles, the tension is thick with the knowledge that the Summer Court could be in pursuit any day now. On Day 59, a series of threatening encounters will begin manifesting - but are they real, or an illusion?

Comments

[moonfang]

"Don't talk ta me like that, ya big citrus-flavored asshole! I didn't want to come back here! I wanted to go back to the Carnival."

He huffs petulantly and crosses his arms. Being back with this group is kind of the last place he wanted to be. Flashlights, though? He quickly digs around in Strange's bag and finds... some soggy paper, a pair of big feathers, and a bottle of water. Wow. Extra useless.

And then there's Jasper the Orange-Nosed Reindeer. He snorts. "Yer just fulla fun party tricks, aren't cha."

[anti_nonsense]

Perhaps fortunately, Rita doesn't have the energy to make any of her own snide comments about Jasper's glowing nose.

Instead, she answers the call for flashlights by quietly holding up a hand. Above her palm, a ball of fire forms. Unlike her water spell from earlier, this one is conjured instantaneously and with minimal effort. It provides about as much lighting as a torch, anyway, and she can conjure more if needed.

But when she looks down the hall and into the darkness, the fact that they aren't out of danger yet starts to sink in. "We should look for another way," she says.

[scientificist]

Almost laughing at Jasper's solution, Herbert quickly turns it into a strangled cough before he slips his radio back into his pocket. He hopes...that his reagent doesn't wear off with all of this...being forced to keep going he's doing.

"Yeees," he says, "it's best that we make our way back to the Carnival as quickly as possible--Zangetsu, how did you, loop around so quickly? We...shouldn't be that far from the Carnival."

[stompadour]

Jasper sweeps the corridors with her nose beam, scowling. "I'll talk to you however I want, runt," she snaps to Zangetsu -- and then, "I'm not going back to the Carnival until I've found Lapis Lazuli."

[moonfang]

"Hhrrrgggghhh. Open up your ears, Doc; I SAID I didn't want to come back here. All I did was walk in a straight line down that corridor! I even kept touching the wall!" He looks at the hallway again with a pout. "Before Ignatius showed up, that hall led straight back to the Carnival. Always had. You could see it before! Something happened. Something... feels different."

He snaps back at Jasper with a hiss, "I'm really not in the mood for your shit, lady! YOU need to listen, too! Herb said she vanished, probably taken by some other fae asshole. We need to get back to the Ringmaster and regroup."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita seems to perk up at Zangetsu describing what happened. That has to be magic... but...

"Shadow magic is within the purview of the Winter Court. Whatever happened to that path, Ignatius didn't do it. Someone else could be setting a trap for us."

Glancing at Zangetsu, she adds, "I hate to say it, but he's right. We can't go chasing after them now. Not when we've got two faerie courts trying to pick us off."

[scientificist]

This is definitely A Night. Herbert spreads his hands, as well as his currently fairly gross wings that look like a parrot with plucking problems and stares Jasper down, his jaw jutting slightly.

"We, have no idea where any of the fae are, and we're clearly incapable of defeating them like this--I frankly, don't care whether or not you're certain you can punch seven fae to death with one blow! You're walking at the head of the group down..." He stops, and casts about before pointing with a wing rather than his bruised and burnt arm. "...that aisle and you can take out whatever this is you have going on on whatever we meet next. Girls? Stay in the middle and. Watch the aisle behind us, Zangetsu, Iiii hope it's just dark, and misleading, but if you two are right...maybe it was changing behind you?"

He puts a hand to his forehead, his forefinger and thumb sliding out tiredly along his brow before he looks over to Rita again.

"Is Ignatius part of the Summer Court, then."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita nods at the question about Ignatius, confirming the fact, but she can't not comment on Herbert's efforts in giving orders.

"Oh, so you think you're in charge now?" she asks, apparently having recovered some of her usual sass.

[stompadour]

Jasper bristles visibly. But, well, Herbert is a supervisor, and for all that she very badly wants to secure Lapis Lazuli's return -- Blue Diamond's orders are more important. Restoring Pink Diamond is more important, by an order of magnitude, than anything to do with Lapis.

"Fine," she says curtly, and turns to stomp in the direction Herbert told her -- but apparently not everyone is on the same page. She shoots Rita an annoyed look. "He's a supervisor," she points out, although by her tone of voice she clearly doesn't like this fact much. "If we're going to defer to anyone's authority..."

[scientificist]

Herbert nods, and adds that to his growing mental pile of bits of Actual Carnival History he has going. But...honestly, he expected this reaction from all of them, so Jasper actually deferring to his authority (such as it is) as the Doctor actually staggers him for a second. He manages to rally soon enough, and speaks, getting progressively more aggravated as he goes.

"We can stand here forever arguing over who should be allowed to lead our group or we can start moving and argue later--there are fae wandering the Library, at least two people have been kidnapped, I suspect I have second degree burns and I would like to get back to the Carnival so can we please just go!

[fusionactuallysuitsher]

"He's right." Yuzu said, just a little bit drained now. "We need to figure out a way to get back and warn everyone about all of this." She let out a defeated sigh and crossed her arms. Great, now she's certain Yuya and the others are going to try to fight through two Courts to rescue Strange now...

[anti_nonsense]

Authority? Rita wrinkles her nose. Carnival authority's never really meant much to her... but whatever. They're best off sticking together, and if Herbert feels like trying to organize them, then fine, he can have that miserable task.

"Fine," she concedes. "We'll try it your way."

To Yuzu, she gives a brief glance. "We can just warn them over the radio, right?" She unclips hers and holds it up to make sure it's still working. The fireball she conjured remains floating in the air, apparently not needing her full attention. She turns the sound on, and it doesn't take long to get the gist of what's being said. Mentions of being lost, getting turned around in the dark...

"...Sounds like they've already caught on to this latest development."

[stompadour]

Jasper huffs quietly, her lower jaw separating slightly to expose her tusks for a second. She isn't injured. She hasn't been kidnapped.

"I'll help escort everyone else back to the Carnival," she says. "But then I'm coming back out here to look for Lazuli."

If Herbert agrees to that then she won't have broken any rules.

[scientificist]

"You can ask Ginko or the Psionic," says Herbert, back to sounding exhausted as he starts walking forward where Jasper did, trying to start the group actually moving. He's limping slightly due to a burn on his left leg where he didn't smother the fire soon enough. "They know better than I where and whether you're required."

He pats his pants pocket where he's slipped his radio. "I already let them know about Ignatius."

[moonfang]

"Maybe?" Zangetsu says with a shrug. He isn't sure that "changing behind him" thing would work, what with him walking forward and all.

He frowns and folds his arms inside his oversized sleeves, listening to the radio chatter. "Not just here, then... great." To Jasper, he shrugs. "I feel like I'm required to remind you about what the Warden said about the buddy system.. and what I heard Lambert say about not leaving the carnival at all, just a second ago. Not that I care enough to stop you from going back out, but now no one can say I didn't try!"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita follows in formation as the group moves, conjuring several more fireballs and spreading them out to illuminate their path. But even with the extra light, it's still weirdly difficult to keep their bearings.

So Herbert already informed people about Ignatius. "Good," Rita says, but there's a grimness in her expression that suggests otherwise. There's nothing good about what just happened...

While the others talk, Rita turns down her radio's volume and holds it close to her head, occasionally talking into it.

[stompadour]

Jasper glares at Zangetsu. "Are you offering to go with me?" she sneers.