( HUNTERS - WEEK 3 )

[abhoth]

For this week, there will be no sudden loss of control for those who have signed their souls away for the greater good. As long as they're in the Curio Shop by 6:05 PM on Monday, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. All they must do is knock on the shop's door, carefully as if to not draw attention towards themselves, and the door will creak open by itself much like the previous week. As per usual, inside this strange room they'll find Craftly seated at a round table. Shelves of antiques line the walls and the smell of peppermint tea wafts through the air. A thin tendril slips across the table from Craftly's sleeve, hooking around his cup of tea. As smug as ever, he smiles to the group. "Come in, Hunters. It's time for us to begin". Welcome, Hunters! As of this week, you'll get the chance to either investigate one other character or arm them with a randomized weapon. If you have any questions, you can shoot us a quick PP or PM as always! ( quick navigation ) ic rulebook | locations | statuses | room assignments private conversations | ic profiles | graveyard | full navigation hunter's handbook

Comments

[ninjay]

Or... someone?

[ murders are only supposed to happen at the end of the week though, so that doesn't make sense. ]

They need to manually turn the power back on then, right?

[abhoth]

I can not say for certain, but I have no inklings on some mass murder occurring. Let's ease our nerves. Drink your tea before it gets cold.

[ He motions with his tentafingies. ]

If your fellow guests have any wits about them, they'd look for the electrical room to assess any damage. If not, my men will be on it shortly.

[thawedheart]

[She casts a slightly dubious look in his direction (though perhaps it looks more sinister with the dim lighting).

But she picks up her tea and sips at it.]

...is there anything we can do from here? To help?

[nowyouseeit]

[taps his fingers against his own tea cup, visibly anxious in the candlelight]

Or are we stuck here until they flip the lights back on?

[ninjay]

Something tells me that we already know the answer to that question and none of us will like it.

[ he also takes a sip of his tea. ]

[abhoth]

No, you must remain here. It is my duty to keep you from doing anything incredibly ill-advised and thus, I am. My men are trained to attend to every problem with the motel within 30 minutes if a guest does not take the bravado to do it themselves.

[ He sits in silence for a moment. ]

I don't hear screams of horror, so that's always a good sign!

[thawedheart]

[No screams of horror is a good sign, but Yukina can't quite feel comforted by that.]

Why would it be ill-advised for us to go look at it, and not for them to...?

[nowyouseeit]

[finally picks his tea up and takes a sip, though he makes a face when he does so. he's so not a tea person]

[Yukina asked the question of the hour, so he stays quiet, waiting for the answer]

[ninjay]

Because when it comes to ending the game sooner rather than later, we're more valuable than the rest of them.

[ he sounds a little... bitter when saying it. he's frowning, but it's hard to tell even with the candlelight. ]

[abhoth]

Jay is correct, young miss. I do hate the word value as it's so very subjective. You three are here at my side to follow through with your duties, much as I am. Ending the game is crucial and you all play an immense part in that.

[ A pause. ]

Don't think of me as some brute, children. I doubt they are all lambs waiting for slaughter — on the off chance they were, I'd like to avoid losing you by such petty grievances.

[thawedheart]

[She casts an uneasy glance at her door, then down at her teacup.]

...are we in danger by staying here? If... someone notices that none of us were out there, when all of that happened? Won't it make them suspicious?

[Especially right now.]

It's dark now, but... the lights will come back on. If we're not there when they do, then...

[nowyouseeit]

["more valuable than the rest," huh. he ducks his head; it's already dark, so his expression is impossible to read, but the movement doesn't help]

[his voice is, at least, still even when he next speaks]

We can always say we were in town when the lights went out. It's dark, and there are a lot of people here. I doubt people will miss us that badly.

[ninjay]

Right. We can come up with an excuse if we need to, but I doubt everyone will be in the same place. It's probably too dark for everyone to group together like that in such a short amount of time.

[ at least not without a few people tripping and maybe breaking their neck in the dark. ]

[abhoth]

You're safe, you have my word.

[ There's a genuine smile on his face. But, Craftly outstretches his tentacles, one to his left and one to his right. ]

Take my hands, children.

[ ??? ]

I wish to assure you that whatever happens next, you have no choice but to deal with it or perish. Whatever waits outside this room, it is the reality you're faced with.

[thawedheart]

[Yukina stares hard at the tentacle in the dim lighting.

She's... seen worse. Demons come in all sorts of shapes where she comes from - tentacles are sort of the norm. But she's spent so much time around humans lately that, well... it seems a little odd.

But, she takes a breath, and reaches out to hold his... "hand".]

...to deal with it? [She bites her lip.] ...or to make a deal, like we did with you?

[nowyouseeit]

[Kaito stares at his other tentafingie. opens his mouth, closes it again. his brows furrow, and he hesitantly reaches out to take Craftly's other "hand"]

[THIS IS GROSS]

[WHY IS THIS HAPPENING]

Craftly. . . what's happening out there?

[because those were some ominous words, to say the least]

[ninjay]

[ jay already had a tentacle on his mouth so the least the two of you can do is hold them. but this actual prayer circle really is not helping with his nerves. ]

I think... that's an ultimatum that we accepted when we signed those contracts.

[ he's staring at the door though. ]

[abhoth]

[ This prayer circle is happening. Craftly squeezes onto Yukina's grasp, tighter onto Kaito. There's a slight shake to his limbs as he leans closer to the light. ]

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

[ :) ]

That... that is what you must contend with. Your contract is binding and thus, until the very end... you must face the unknown.

[thawedheart]

...

[He's so cryptic. It's like he's trying to freak them out - or maybe that's just the paranoia talking. Who can really say?]

...and we will. We knew what we were getting into when we agreed, so... we'll see this through to the end.

[nowyouseeit]

[. . . Kaito almost thinks he might be trying to soothe them, in a way. a weird backwards way, in which he warns them of the dangers to come in order to mentally prepare them for whatever might happen. it's. it's kind of working? but also kind of not, because Kaito feels a chill course up his spine, and he can't tell if it's because of the gross tentacle against his palm, the dark room, the edge of nervousness and paranoia niggling at the back of his mind, or Craftly's words]

I've never been the type to let fear stop me before.

[he says, chin tilted up]

Whatever it is. . . we'll stare it down, head on and eyes forward.

[ninjay]

[ jay looks at his companions, not answering as quickly as they did. it's funny, how wrong a first impression can be. even when they were put into this group together, he was fearful that they might be too idealistic to face harsher truths. even now, he still kind of feels that way, but...

they're good people, even if there's a voice trying to convince him otherwise. ]

You heard them. We are, for better or for worse, yours.