2017-06-12: A Vampire, a Demon, and a Ghost Walk Into A Haunted House...

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  • Log: A Vampire, a Demon and a Ghost Walk Into a Haunted House...
  • Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Seraph Ragnell
  • Where: Adelyn Ranchlands
  • Date: 12th June 2017
  • Summary: Noeline, Riesenlied and Ragnell head to the haunted house together, mostly out of a need to tease Riese about her phobia of ~GHOOOOOOOOSTS~


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

And now for something a bit lighter...

Riesenlied blinks as Noeline inevitably gets the whimsy to tug her somewhere -- and that 'somewhere' just happens to be a particularly creepy, dilapidated manor that has just managed to spawn in a recess within the Adelyn Ranchlands. The skies are suitably purple and dark with a high moon looming over, and there's ominous thunder and squeaky laughter as a cloud of bats fly off into the distance.

Undocumented weakness of Riesenlied, now documented:

She's kinda terrified of ghosts.

"E-eh... um, why-- why exactly did we come here?" Riesenlied mumbles, lowering her head while trying her hardest to not sound like she's scared white. "... I admit I do sense something inside, but still... m-maybe we could get one of the Ebony Wings to come instead?"

It's a bit late, though, because a myriad assortment of bottles, forks, and other things start flying at them! She stares up and-- bites her lip, turning paler already as she springs up and tries to coast an evasive route around. "W-w-what are those?! They're not... g-" Don't say the g-word don't say the g-word don't say the g-word

=============================<* Haunted Manor *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Hon Hon Hon Hon *>=======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The Haunted Manor stands before the party. Never is its appearance the same,  
and it welcomes guests differently everytime too. This time, the welcome is   
rather loud. As the party steps towards the front gates, shadowy figures on   
the roof of the manor begin hurling down various things! Bottles, furniture,  
weaponry, anything they can get their hands on. Are they trying to make you   
leave, or force you inside?                                                   
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================

DG: You use your Tool Dragon Wings against your party's Challenge, Hon Hon Hon Hon!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon Wings toward her party's challenge, Hon Hon Hon Hon.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Of late, Ragnell's been tagging around the Metal Demons in general and Riesenlied in particular. There are other things she *could* be doing, sure. But why turn down an opportunity to learn more about this particular ally? After all... she--and her companion Noeline--remind Ragnell of a certain pair of someones (whoever could they beeee).

That said, given that Rose conflates Seraphim with ghosts, and Riesenlied seems A-OK with Seraphim, Ragnell would not have guessed that she's scared of ghosts. As she follows them up to the strange old manor that appears every so often on the Adelyn Ranchlands and passes through the front gates, she quirks an eyebrow at Riesenlied.

"What's got her so nervous?" she asks Noeline--though perhaps before an answer can be given, the house lights up (darks up?) with dark, indistinct figures that throw a hailstorm of anything and everything down at them. A couch nearly nails Ragnell dead-on, her reflexes saving her from a cartoonish end as she hops to one side--but there's plenty more where that came from, and she makes a zig-zagging dash for the front door.

"They sure know how to welcome guests, huh?!" she calls to the others.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline looks /so/ pleased with herself as she tugs Riesenlied through the gates of the manor, her face lit up with delight at the sight of both the spooky house and the spooked commander. Notably, she has both arms around one of Riese's, at once 'supporting' her and tugging her forwards. "Because I have ample reason to believe that it might be connected to some of my research, for a start - besides, wouldn't you rather ensure that the area around Adlehyde remains as safe as possible?" she teases brightly.

To be honest, both of those statements are entirely true. Noeline isn't fond of trouble near the blasted city right now - and if anything would seem likely to be connected to the Hades Guardian, a haunted mansion appearing in the middle of nowhere would certainly count in her books. Perhaps, just perhaps, there's something to be found here.

"Besides," the Crimson Noble adds with a gleeful hum, "Don't you think it's appropriate for us? A demon, a Crimson Noble, and a spirit all walk into a house together, what a perfect setup!... --oh, but really--"

She cuts herself off, nimbly dodging what looks like a junk-sale vase as it impacts against one of the pillars that make up the outer face. "Doesn't this seem a little mundane a start?" she grouses, her free hand on her hips. "The poltergeist activity should happen inside, if it happens anywhere. A library, perhaps, or at least a study. Lots of books, pens, sharp things like that. Doing this outside doesn't exactly feel dramatic, you know," she adds with a frown, as if expecting the spirits on the rooftop to offer an apology or something.

With this much space available, it isn't hard for her to pick her way forwards towards the front door, ducking and weaving past most of the rain without a care; where larger objects threaten to strike her she's got Strife tucked under one arm, using thrusts of its engine to propel herself forwards.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Hon Hon Hon Hon.

DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hon Hon Hon Hon.

DG: You pass the challenge, and take 3 Exhaustion! You have 3 total Exhaustion.

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 22 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The angry ghosts let out an almost... too theatrical 'oooo', waving their arms around. For others, they would probably find this overdone and overwrought, but somehow, the forces conspire to terrify Riesenlied even more as she squeaks in the highest pitch anyone's ever seen the commander of the Ebony Wings elicit. She just about zooms past the objects, and Noeline and Ragnell both dance their way around the thrown projectiles in tandem.

"This-- this house is definitely haunted...!" Riesenlied is a little blue in her forehead. "But you're right in that... I wouldn't want this to harm anyone..."

DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Haunted Manor *>==============================
============================ <* CHALLENGE - Torture Room *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
A torture chamber lay before you, filled to the brim with rusty,              
cobweb-covered instruments and tools. The wood creaks, the metal too, and     
everything in the room comes alive! Pincers, knives and saws fly towards the  
party, an iron maiden attempts to trap someone, ropes and chains seek to      
bind! Run to the next room if you can!                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

In good spirits - unlike those on the roof - Noeline slowly pushes open the front door. In order to be fair about it, she does it slowly, allowing the old wood a good amount of creak. "You know, I'm honestly not sure," she replies to open air, obviously discussing poor Riese's state with the Seraph alongside them; Noeline can't help but grin, but it is tinged with a sympathetic look as she pats Riesenlied on the shoulder. "Surely you've faced down worse than this, in your time? --I will admit, I'm a lot more aligned to this sort of thing than you, but I very much doubt you'll be in danger with us around, hm?"

Aww. But then Noeline ruins the moment as she lets the door close behind them; it slams shut with too-loud a noise, leaving them staring at the gruesome sight in front of them - rather than a main hall, a fully laid-out torture chamber scattered with implements and shackles, topped off by an ominously glowing iron maiden in the middle.

"... oh--that's a bit sudden, isn't it?" the faux-vampire says with honest surprise, right before a rusted crowbar impacts with the wall right where her head was a moment ago. A sweep of her scythe, appearing in her hands out of nowhere, parries away the pair of tongs that follows it - then she's bolted forwards further into the manor, dodging and weaving the hail of items once more.

"See, this is /much/ more like it!" she calls over the sudden din, somehow managing to stay elegant right up until she's forced to place both hands on the encroaching, snapping iron maiden to haul it momentarily into a corner in hopes of removing it from the equation. There's an electronic squeal from behind her as Trouble nearly gets trapped and wrapped up in chain - but then a burst of light and sparks as the second of her paired ARMS covers for it in a burst of speed, bouncing them both forward to roll along the ground after their master.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Torture Room.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied begs through bated breath, finding the ominous slow creak of the door to add to the ambience of horror, "There's nothing 'like' this at all! This is simply untoward!" Her wings are -- are very cutely flicking up and down in a bit of a panic, and pretty soon, her horns are going to join in too. There's a whimper as she curls her wings and lets out a pained noise as a crowbar dings off against it, but then she's on the move again as she-- mumbles, "Ugh, I can definitely feel Miss Ragnell laughing at me too....."

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Torture Room.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell snorts at Noeline's set-up, but it's accompanied by a smile. "That *is* a good set-up," she remarks. "I'd wanna hear the rest of that joke."

Except it looks like the joke's on them, if the ghosts menacing them have anything to say about it. The theatrical, overwrought 'oooOOOoooo'ing from the spirits on top of the house get a hearty laugh out of Ragnell--hearty and ill-timed, because a second or two after she starts laughing, she gets beaned right on the chest with a chair. Why are they throwing chairs? Who cares? With an 'OOF,' Ragnell shuts up for once and hurries the rest of the way inside.

"They got good arms for ghosts," she wheezes. After a cough or two, she catches her breath, then straightens as she follows the other two inside. Riesenlied looks *really* freaked out... and Noeline needs this place for her research slash wants to keep the area safe, huh? Ragnell smiles. She wonders how much of that is true. Ah well--it doesn't matter much to her either way whether it is or not.

"You know, there's a girl named Rose, hangs out with the Shepherd," she remarks. "She thinks Seraphim are basically ghosts. Scared stiff of us--when she isn't yellin' at us for hauntin' her." Ragnell laughs at that, and then *again* when Riese complains that she can feel her laughing at her while also twitching her wings and horns in fear, then adds, "So I gotta wonder--why's Riese okay with me if she doesn't care for 'ghosts'? Not that we *are* the same thing, but still."

Noeline shuts the door then, and Ragnell steps to one side to check out the inside. Sudden isn't even the word. After a blink of surprise, she squints at what she sees. A torture chamber? Really? "This house needs new contractors. You don't put your torture implements right there in the foyer for anyone t' see. It's just rude," Ragnell faux-complains, all while grinning. Tools and blades fly, ropes and chains strike like snakes, and Ragnell laughs, dancing in between them as she follows the others to the next room. If she *were* a ghost, this is *exactly* the kind of thing she'd do to mess with people randomly showing up, so perhaps she's better able to appreciate the humor here.

DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Torture Room.

DG: You fail the challenge, and take 22 Exhaustion! You have 25 total Exhaustion.

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 17 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"I suspect that Riese is less scared of you than other ghosts because you at least have yet to appear to us as a shadowy form intent on throwing things at us, Ragnell dear," she says aloud and rather deadpan, making sure that the winged woman can hear it for the Seraph's sake - and then huffing as she turns towards Riese in turn. "And I can assure you, she isn't laughing at /you/. ... everything else around us, on the other hand, certainly."

If she's taking things a bit too casually, though, then she pays for it - they're nearly out of the room when she lets out a very unladylike squawk as one of the errant pieces of chain suddenly wraps around her ankle and yanks her backwards back into the thick of it, taken by surprise and forced to throw her arms haphazardly up in front of her face to block a flying hammer.

From there, things get messier in something of a chain reaction - the iron maiden encroaches on them again, requiring another pained launch into the corner, while a web of chains and blades restrict Ragnell and Riesenlied's movements.

By the time they do manage to get out of range of the flailing torture devices, Noeline is looking rather the worse for wear; serious injury has been avoided but she's clearly got a lot of scrapes and an angry mark along one arm, not to mention a large and very B-Movie tear in her skirts. More important to her, probably, is the way she's heaving for surprised breath and looking like she's just eaten a lot of crow. "... honestly," she grumbles, recovering as if she were a cat and striding onwards.

DG: Seraph Ragnell has drawn a new Challenge.

================================== <* Haunted Manor *>===============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Hall Full of Traps *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You knew it would happen eventually. The manor clearly hates you. This next   
hallway seems safe at first, until it turns out to be full of traps.          
Projectiles shooting from the walls, weapons dangling from the ceiling,       
pitfalls and spikes! Stay quick on your feet if you want to get through in    
one piece.                                                                    
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Ragnell shrugs at Noeline. "That's fair." Ish. Fair-ish. "And that's true," she adds cheerfully, of laughing at everything else. Ragnell *could* throw things at Riesenlied and Noeline if she really wanted to, but now isn't really the time for that. Now's the time to have a fun and funny experience. At least, the experience is funny until Noeline's dragged back into the room via a chain, and a spinning knife catches Ragnell on the leg, forcing her to stumble into the waiting grips of a rope that swiftly constricts around her like a boa... Ragnell's response is to channel lightning through it until it sparks and burns, but it's a lot more effort than she would've wanted. By the time she makes it across the room, they're all a bit worse for the wear.

'Honestly,' Noeline grumps, and Ragnell snorts, half-smiling. Then she walks on forwards with her, into a long, long, too-long hallway. How long does this stretch? Is it stretching further and futher before their eyes? Aside from the strange dimensions, it seems safe enough... but that's only a ruse to bring down everyone's guard, as once they're no longer within safe leaping distance of a door, darts fly from the walls on each side, blades swoop down from the ceiling, and pitfalls of spikes open up at critical points in the floor.

"Woah--!" she utters, ducking and rolling to avoid the former, then using that momentum to leap over the lattermost. "Should I say 'sorry about criticizing the decor'?" she calls to no one in particular as she continues to attempt this dodge-fest all down the hallway. "I like the hail of darts with the ceiling blades and the pitfalls, really! Very effective combo! Very 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on'!"

The house probably won't appreciate her critique, positive *or* negative, but it's worth a shot, maybe?

DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hall Full of Traps.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied's eyes widen as she turns and exclaims, "N-Noeline!" She stops and turns, throwing herself back as she stares into the middle of the iron maiden and suddenly draws her thin sword in a circular motion, desperate to just strike and help bat away at the various utensils of torture coming down towards them.

At the exact moment Noeline walks out, Riesenlied walks out with a tear in her eye, a very cute and comical cross-shaped bandage that's mysteriously placed on her hair, and a few errant locks of hair that's shaped into a bit of a twang along with some scrapes and cuts from her as well. "Too mean... no more ... uuuu ..."

Her eyes widen as she-- throws herself upwards, her wings spreading instinctively as she dodges darts, weaves through the blades and lets out a little 'eek!' to say, "Give me a chance to breathe... please..." She begs of Ragnell, "Now's not the time to feel impressed at their attempts to kill us!"

Hey, she might be developing her senses more and more.

DG: You use your Tool Dragon Wings against your party's Challenge, Hall Full of Traps!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon Wings toward her party's challenge, Hall Full of Traps.


<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

At the first sight of the pits opening up beneath Ragnell, the Crimson Noble has summoned Strife forwards, nimbly hopping up onto it as she and Riesenlied both opt to take the aerial approach. Riesenlied's managing to address Ragnell directly does not go unnoticed, but isn't a surprise - after all, Riese would be her first pick for 'empathic communication'. Instead, another sensation starts to slowly tug at her mind, a rising suspicion that perhaps--...

A set of spikes suddenly stab downwards towards her from the ceiling; the result is a burst of angry sparks as she raises her scythe to meet them, angling Strife downwards with their momentum before she's forced to parry away the next blade, covering the little robot's flight path as she goes.

"I am /starting/ to wonder if we're even dealing with spirits," she grumbles heavily. "Does this not all seem a little /mundane/?"

DG: Noeline has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hall Full of Traps.

DG: You pass the challenge, and take 6 Exhaustion! You have 31 total Exhaustion.

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 26 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Oho. Ragnell also notices the way Riesenlied responds directly to something she says without need for an interpreter. Is it fear that's sharpening her senses, or is it something in the house itself? Either way, she calls back, "Now's the *perfect* time for it! I'm not gonna be too chatty about it after I'm dead!"

VERY REASSURING. Though, while the traps lash out aggressively and without end in sight, there *is* a rhythm to them--and though Ragnell adds to her collection of nicks and cuts by the time she's on the other end, she does at least make it, and so too do Noeline and Riesenlied. Ugh, Ragnell's a fast one, but this much time on her feet sprinting and dodging *is* starting to wear her out...

"Hm? Hmm," she murmurs, blinking at Noeline. "You know, now that you mention it, you're right." She gestures at the hallway at their backs, now... /relatively/ normal. "That didn't really feel a lot like paranormal activity. It's just a bunch of traps. Where's the bleedin' walls? The messages scrawled everywhere to 'GET OUT'? The inexplicable cold spots?" She shakes her head. "The dark shadows outside were one thing, but this... You think this was set up by humans playin' silly buggers?"

Either way, once everyone's collected, she'll move on forward with the others. She'll congratulate Riesenlied on the progress in her Seraphim-sensing later. ...Assuming they get out of this place in one piece.

DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Haunted Manor *>==============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Chandelier Dash! *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Billowing lava makes this room stand out. Coming out of the previous one      
onto a balcony, you stand over what used to be a dining hall, but is now      
filled with red hot liquid flames. The only way across, to the next balcony,  
is a set of large ornate chandeliers you could jump across, but careful,      
they swing a lot!                                                             
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied is less the fast one, compared to Noeline and Ragnell -- there's an utter limit to how much physical burden her body can take at once, and she's definitely reaching it. She wipes at her forehead and sags against a doorway for just a moment, drawing her breath. "I--I think this is plenty scary to me. It'd be a lot less frightening if ghosts would just let me talk to them..."

Ah, is that it? Not being allowed to talk to someone makes her scared... how cute!!

She pauses as she-- sees the bright red glow from afar, walking down the hallway towards the balcony. "This is... this is a bit much, isn't it?" she repeats in what seems like too short a time, before shaking her head with a sigh as she rises and tries to fly and...

...drops again. "Ahh--" she winces, as she reaches behind her, where that crowbar is still kinda stuck through the cartilege of her wings. "Let's just... try to take this slowly?" She looks towards the first chandelier, making the jump, then the next...

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Chandelier Dash!.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"I certainly feel like it might be set up by /someone/, yes," Noeline responds as she touches down lightly from Strife, her scythe winking out as she brings one hand to her chin to begin thinking on the matter properly. "I did already have a suspicion, but things like haunted manors and ghost tales do not usually crop up overnight - they build up from legends over time. Besides, does this situation not seem rather familiar? A homestead, made to look like something it is not in order to provide cover - there are definite similarities to Old Petra, here, and I wonder what is in the middle of it."

"Additionally, that room is full of lava," she comments as they emerge from the doorway on an upper balcony. For all that she's just been saying this place must be non-haunted, there's a terribly flat and grumpy tone to her voice as she stares down at what she has to assume is an illusion. This might wood couldn't burn for that long without there being nothing left of the place, after all.

There's a worried glance at Riesenlied's wings as the commander fails to take to the air; she winces at the sight of the crowbar lodged in her wings, and feels her brow start to furrow with a protective sort of anger. "... agreed..." she mutters, picking her way across the chandeliers with short hops and jumps, ready to explode into motion if required.

DG: Noeline has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Chandelier Dash!.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

The next room... is full of lava. Ragnell peers down at the blistering, boiling magma, then slowly places a hand atop her hat. If this is a game of silly buggers, then that lava might not be real... but to her senses, it *seems* real enough. If in a not-quite-real, spiritual-ish way. Hm. If this *is* fake, it's a well-crafted fake.

"You got a point," she says to Noeline. "If nothin' else, you'd think there'd be more rumors around 'bout this kinda thing. Or that this lava woulda burned the place to ash ages ago." She glances up at Riesenlied, then smiles. "Talkin' to ghosts, huh...? Well, you're already on your way there."

Slowly, huh? Well, after all the previous challenges, Ragnell's not against taking things slow and steady. She waits for Riesenlied and Noeline to take their turns, then carefully but nimbly leaps for the chandelier as it crests its arc in her direction. Just take it one thing at a time, and shift her weight to create the trajectory and motion she needs.

DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Chandelier Dash!.

DG: You fail the challenge, and take 13 Exhaustion! You have 44 total Exhaustion.

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 16 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Haunted Manor *>==============================
======================== <* CHALLENGE - The Mournful Father *>=====================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Finally, the party reaches the most ornate bedchambers they have ever seen.   
Pictures of a beautiful blonde woman are everywhere. In some, a gentle old    
man is holding her hand, and together it seems they saw countless sights. On  
the bed, hundreds of flowers form a crown like one might see at funerals.     
With a crack of thunder, the old man appears, dressed like a decorated        
general, rifle on his shoulder. He seems hostile, insulted. Perhaps, laid     
about the room, are the clues you need to calm his raging spirit, at least    
temporarily?                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied gets up onto the second chandelier when it creaks and... she finds her balance rather unsteady -- reflexively, she tries to bat her wings, and there's a painful-sounding tearing noise as the crowbar causes further trouble and has her wincing and losing her balance. "Ahh--" Noeline, however, is more than ready to sweep her up into motion, and along with Ragnell's ability to counterbalance each of the chandeliers, the group mercifully make it to the other end without any further trouble.

"... this does not have the feeling of a particular type of recent construction," Riesenlied admits. "The fact that it just appeared out of nowhere rather lends credence to the supernatural, does it not...?"

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Landing nimbly on the opposite balcony, Noeline hangs onto Riese for rather longer than is strictly necessary, looking ever so slightly silly given she's the shorter of the two, but evidently possessed with enough strength to manage it. Eventually, though, she lowers the commander carefully to the ground with a soft huff. "I suppose that much is true. ... call it a hunch, at least, and one that-- appears to have been proven wrong..."

She's trailing off because they've crossed into what appears to be their final chamber, an ornate bedroom with any number of lost memories obviously bound up within it. Her eyes are just a little wide; for her, at least, this is apparently the epitome of proper ghostliness - especially the roses, which she hums at positively.

The arrival of the ghost is almost expected at this point, though she still starts carefully at the first clap of thunder. After a moment, she huffs to herself and straightens up. "I see," the Crimson Noble adds as she flicks out her hair, perhaps a little too confident for her own good. "... and here you are, trapped by the past. I suppose if there were ever a time to work on your ghostly communication, Riese, this would be it, hm?"

DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Mournful Father.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied finds herself swallowing rather nervously, placing a hand to her forehead. "B-but it's a gh--" Nooo don't call him the g-word that'd be nasty

The winged woman does look up towards the portraits, and quietly looks towards the old man as she holds her hands to her chest. She closes her eyes... and even through the damage's ripped through her extremities, her wings still shimmer with a soft light that starts to incandescently surround the room. She starts to expel all other thoughts, and concentrate on her inner ones. Much like how K.K. told her, and how the others taught her as well.

"... I can... feel your pain..."

She trembles, just a little, lowering her head. "... your love was unbreakable. You were both in bliss, through sickness and health both... but..."

She opens her eyes. "She wouldn't want you to dwell upon the past, forever trapped in a sorrowful cycle you cannot break." She extends one hand. "... I can help you let go."

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Mournful Father.

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Although Ragnell nearly misses the catch at the end of the room, leading to a tense moment where she scrabbles at the ledge with VERY INSISTENT DETERMINATION until she's ultimately able to pull herself up, they manage to get across without anyone getting burned alive. Phew. She's pretty done with this place by now... Resting a hand on her hat again, she peers back down at the lava with a frown.

"Might not *necessarily* be supernatural," she remarks to Riesenlied, feeling the searing heat waft up on her face. She turns and half-smiles as Noeline literally carries the commander and sets her down. Awww, how cute. "Could be any number of--annnnnd there's a ghost," she concludes, red eyes turning forward to see the general-looking guy with the rifle as they pass a threshhold into a bedroom. Flowers, portraits, a beautiful young woman... and this old man. Probably her father, though who knows with humans? Ragnell produces her fan to air away the sweat the lava room produced; once she's cooled off enough, she turns it on the flowers on the bed, letting the breeze drift through them to give them a semblance of a field of flowers still lively and in bloom, such as it was when that girl was (presumably) still alive.

"It's all up to you, Riese," she says, helpfully, as she at least contributes towards creating some proper, peaceful ambience.

DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Portable Fan toward her party's challenge, The Mournful Father.

DG: Noeline is too exhausted to continue!

DG: You fail the challenge, and take 100 Exhaustion! You have 144 total Exhaustion. You can't carry on and must retreat!

DG: Riesenlied is too exhausted to continue!

DG: Seraph Ragnell is too exhausted to continue!

DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. Your party can no longer continue and is forced to retreat!

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has been fully Exhausted by Haunted Manor!

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline would never admit it in words, but the smile on her face as Riese spreads her wings is clearly one that is tinged with pride; she lays a hand on the commander's arm once more, resting it there as if to offer silent support and perhaps a faintly spiritual touch to support her. "... you can do this," she hums with certainty, throwing a fanged grin towards Ragnell as she spreads the aroma of the flowers around the room.

But the air in the manor changes all of a sudden, making the hairs on the back of her neck raise - and she only gets as far as opening her mouth and tightening her hold on Riesenlied's arm before the old general's face twists and contorts into something inhuman. He speaks no words - but his anger is plain to see, and a wave of sudden concussive force knocks Noeline clear off her feet, sliding roughly on her backside until her shoulders bump against the wall.

The air shimmers again, and Noeline doesn't need a Guardian within her to realize: "--another is--"

She doesn't get to finish before the next wave comes, and the next; the first presses them up against the far wall, and the second--

The second sends them stumbling back through the entrance gate, suddenly outside and in the open air. Sprawling, Noeline snaps her neck up just in time to see the gate close with a very final sort of 'clang', suddenly draped in chains and padlocks.

Ever so slowly and with a wince, the spy picks herself up and does her best to dust herself down, leaning down afterwards to offer Riese a hand upwards. "... how rude," she grumbles, but her heart isn't in it. "You could just /tell/ us to leave."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied gasps for a moment as she's just about reached the apex of what she sees as an understanding, on some level imperceptible to her five senses--

--and then anger takes over. She's overwhelmed, clutching at her head as she whispers, "No... no, why-- why? Enmity is not the path towards the future...! Please, I just want to understand--" but then Noeline's flung back, and she follows suit with a whimper as they're unceremoniously thrown out, the winged woman rolling a few times on the ground with a soft groan.

"... ghosts are scary ..."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Herst first it seems like things might go well--Ragnell's trick works nicely, spreading not just a breeze to create an atmosphere but also spreading a lovely scent--but then things to wrong very, very fast. She looks over at Noeline and Riesenlied, smiling slightly at the former's support of the latter--but then the ghost general's mien turns truly ghoulish, and wave upon wave of concussive force smash out into all three of them until finally they're sent hurtling out of the house, past the gates, which lock themselves with chain and padlock.

"I know, right?" she drawls wryly to Noeline, staggering up to her feet. She tucks her miraculously-unbroken fan away, then staggers over to Riesenlied to pat her on the shoulder. "They can be pretty tough. You'll get it eventually, though. Hey--you can even hear *me*, now." Surely that's enough success to mitigate this failure! ...No? No? Anyone? Well, that's fine, too.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

With a sigh, Noeline turns her skirts to and fro, assessing the damage; she might even look glam for a moment while doing so. Little victories. "... that's a good point, at the very least. Can you sense our companion any better?" she wonders of Riese, watching the demon's reactions as she gets patted on the shoulder. "You certainly came rather close, on both her and that angry fellow."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied kind of rolls over, jolting just a little at the invisible touch of death-- no, wait, that's just Ragnell. Or are they... one and the same?? (Who even knows.) "... ah..." Riesenlied blinks, before looking up towards empty air and seating herself to a polite seated position. "Um--"

She hesitates, as she tilts her head. "Say something?"

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.

Hm? Did Riesenlied... not even realize she was talking to Ragnell? Ragnell raises an eyebrow at Noeline (lookin' nice there with those skirts, even if that's not really the Seraph's style), then looks back at the demon commander.

She leans in.

"OOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!"

...You probably should have specified what she should say, Riese.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The resulting scream can be heard trailing off as Riesenlied no doubt flies off into the background, possibly as the scene shrinks around her fleeing down the path and Noeline wedging her way in shrugging and going, "That's all, folks!"