OPEN SIGNUPS A Cruise Ship Experiment ( IC thread)

Lehna was sitting on that stool looking for all the world like a deer caught in headlights, but when Zale said he was cold and asked fr clothes and towels she slipped off the stool and left the bar area for a moment. She returned a few minutes later with a pair of black tuxedo pants, a white shirt with ruffles down the front, small ones that laid flat, and a black bow tie. She also carried three large towels. "Sorry this is formal, but my piano player usually wore these. No clue where he is at the moment, but you look about the same size..or close to it." Her nose scrunched up in a pensive expression, "It's dry at least...there's a shower in the dressing room if you want to try some hot water..."

She was of course offering all of Tony's amenities, but as Tony was nowhere in sight it seemed the right thing to do. Plus, it was better than thinking about what Darren and Zale had said and what it seemed to insinuate. It was in fact giving her a colossal headache. Se was completely oblivious to the exchange between the women.

She was about to sit down again when more people entered, and a cat. She'd seen people on the ship before with guide dogs but no cats. Since where were cats allowed on board? before she could really even process that thought another group, larger entered the lounge and joined them. "It seems everyone can enter but no one can leave..."

As soon as those words left her mouth the lights went out. "There are some lanterns under the bar...I think.." Not that knowing that fact was helpful since it was pitch black and Darren would have to fumble about under there blindly and more than likely in vain. But just as suddenly as the lights went out, they came back on. "That is strange...."
 
Fiona listened to Ari, "Well...hopefully we won't have to find out what it is then." At the moment that was her solution to everything, ignore it until she was forced to acknowledge it. She had listened to Joe's explanation and shrugged. She supposed if she was meant to remember then she would, and if not she didn't think she minded so much. In all likelihood, if she had died it had been in a really violent and torturous way. Maybe not knowing was actually a blessing.

Once they rejoined the men she noticed Dan's continued strange and hostile behavior. How had they found this passage way? Seemed a bit suspicious to her. Things like this didn't just appear without a reason. She needed something to write on. As soon as she found paper and a pen she was going to grab it and start asking questions without speak aloud. She actually FELT like she was being watched now, and it was not something she liked. She had a great deal of experience with the feeling, but she didn't like it one little bit.

The FBI agent led the way and they all followed, which she was beginning to question a bit. yes, FBI agents were trained to be leaders and to take charge in situations such as this, but the secret passage was just a little TOO convenient. The entered a large room and there were others there as well. They had barely entered when Peter began talking to a...cat? And then the lights went out. Well that wasn't good...she held onto Ari's hand a bit tighter and then let out a held breath when they came back on. "Do you still feel that...whatever it was?" She asked and then frowned, "Hey...where's Peter??"
 
Darren was pouring a second whiskey for Zale when Lehna left the bar area for a few minutes. "I guess she knows where some things are...hopefully anyway. If she doesn't we're not going to have much way to help you until the doors open. My stuff is all back in my room...and I doubt the ladies have anything that would fit you."

Unlike Lehna, Darren DID notice the nonverbal communication between the women, but he didn't let on that he'd seen it. Strange things were happening...too strange. He watched Lehna present Zale with the uppity duds and just grinned. "Yeah at least it's dry..bout all a man can say for such stuff really."

He was mixing more drinks for the group when the cat and the man and woman entered. They looked scared and out of breath, but he was confused, "hey if they can get in..maybe we can get...out..." But just as he said it another group entered and then the lights went out and someone was asking where someone went and all hell seemed to break loose.

"You are missing someone??" he asked, "Maybe we CAN leave now..." He started to try and open the door hoping it was unlocked now..though he had no reason to think it would be aside from the fact that someone was missing.
 
Constance didn't like the assessment Ari had given of the magical entity that was now present on the ship. They already had a ghost, which wasn't something she'd thought they would encounter, but now it seemed they had a magically summoned 'creature' of some sort among them as well. She jotted that down in her journal for later thought and reflection and followed the men into the tunnel.

She hadn't eben aware of these tunnels, and she was beginning to realize she'd been left out of most of the loops of this whole operation. It was beginning to worry her more and more as time passed. How horribly naive she'd been upon taking this assignment. How could she be totally sure she herself wasn't actually dead like the others? The thought hadn't occurred to her before but now it filed her mind with fear and doubt. Sadly, she realized immediately there was no way to know while she was in close proximity to Peter and leaving this ship was no longer a thing she was eager to do, just in case she was dead and reliant on Peter's magic to keep her alive. What a predicament??

They reached the end of the tunnel and were then in the lounge. Hmm...why? She recognized the singer and the man behind the bar, but not the other man or the women. Suddenly the lights went out and though she hadn't ever suffered fear of the dark in the past it threatened to suffocate her now. there was far too much going on here to feel safe in this tangible darkness. The lights weren't off long and she fell to her knees in relief. Her hands were shaking and she was gasping for breath when she hear Fiona's words. She looked around frantically and did not see him.

The tiny communication device in her ear relayed its message and she blinked. What the hell was going on?
 
Dan was following along but he wasn't liking it much. They ended up in the lounge, "At least there's alcohol here..real alcohol..." he was making his way to the bar when the lights went out. He couldn't see a damn thing, but he knew this ship like the back of his hand. He bumped into a few tables and chairs but he found the control panel for the lights. before he could work his magic on the circuits though the lights came back on. "Humph.."

Strange. He knew the wiring on this ship, and that should not have happened. He heard the words in his ear and scanned the group. Damn it! If they hadn't taken the necromancer, who had? He needed his gear, and he'd be able to find out who. There wasn't one inch of this place he didn't have eyes on. He had to be on the ship or all of these 'people' would be lying dead on the floor. He shut the control panel and went to the bar so as not to appear overly suspicious. Thing just took an odd turn and he needed to play his cards a little closer to his chest for a while.

He noticed Astrid sitting with this group and lifted a brow. What was she doing here? And why was Scarlet here? He didn't like any of this. there were too many variables active now for him. He walked over to the bar and looked at the guy behind it, "Any Jack back there?" He needed a good stiff one, maybe a whole bottle, but he'd settle for one so as to keep his wits about him. His eyes met Astrid's and he grinned a bit. Not something he did often so she'd know he needed to talk, at least he hoped she'd know.
 
Astrid put her drink to her lips to hide her reaction to the lights going out. On instinct she looked for Peter and.....oh shit, he wasn't here. Her bosses didn't seem to know shit either and she couldn't just use her powers on everyone to get more information. There had to be something to do fix this or at least gain the upper hand. She had to find the necromancer first, mostly to make sure he wasn't dead or that he didn't regain his memories suddenly.

Astrid met Dan's eyes while surveying the room, strangely finding them to be alluring for a few moments before remembering what the smile actually meant and that they were in a terrifying situation, which meant she had no time for her brain to act like a dumbass. She had to coordinate with him, and then go off to find the necromancer before they all died on the boat. Taking her drink, she slowly made her way to Dan, sitting next to him while everyone was distracted. "We have to find him. If he's not here, then our heads could be on the line." Astrid spoke in a low voice so only Dan would really hear her.

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"WHERE IS PETER?" Jeremy hollered, forcing everyone to focus on him. They had gone down a passage, met up with a suspicious amount of people and then Peter had collapsed and then he was gone. "He was here and now he's not! SOMETHING OR SOMEONE TOOK HIM!" Screw this, even if everyone was suspicious as shit, they were still here, and with their help he could find Peter. Peter needed him, had always needed him as his right hand man to ground him and his magic use. Peter was away from people, but...he had to be on the boat. Jeremy could see that everyone was still here and none of them had dropped, especially the Captain. Peter was alive, and he was still on the boat. Shitshitshitshit Peter was gone wherewasPeter...It took more than a few moments for him to push back the panic again. He was the rock that Peter depended on. He could freak out later when Peter was here. He had to be the calm one. All he knew was that Peter was alive. He could be unconscious, but someone was behind the scenes and was messing with Peter. He couldn't rest before he knew where Peter was. It didn't take him much time to locate objects in the lounge that made easy and functional shivs, so he took them and stashed them away for later. No matter how weird it made him look, it was either that or loose his marbles so he would take what he could get. Once he was done with this, he saw that Darren had gotten the door open way too easily, which only fed deeper into his suspicions.

_____________

It was like a hit to the gut. One minute she felt ok, and then the next like someone had punched her in the gut. Ari's hand was in Fiona's, and it was difficult to quantify how much relief holding onto the other girl's hand felt. "The door's open, and it feels noxious in here. The magic's really bad down here." Ari said, feeling the magic on her face even more strongly now. If the magic was hitting her before like a soft wind, now it was hitting her like a leafblower was blowing wind directly at her. Nudging Fiona subtly, she motioned her to look at the now unlocked door. Someone was playing them like a fiddle. "Do we look for him together or in two big groups? There's also the Olympian, but he's not exactly fighting fit and if we leave him here he might die."
 
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Chrissie Fletcher ( Fargothia)

The cat was one of the few who could see the thing that was chasing both Chrissie and Charles and boy, that thing was as ugly as it cold be. He wasn't sure if the other humans could see it or if it was just something that only it could see. The cat however wasn't phased by it.

Maybe it was due to the fact that despite how ungodly unnatural the creature appeared to be, the small black kitten was just as unnatural. The cat knew that it was not supposed to be alive at all. If it wasn't for the necromancer who had become its master, the cat would have been buried six feet underground. So, the creature was ugly and a monster, but the cat just would keep up with the humans, not because it was scared, but because it needed to make sure that the two idiot hairless ones didn't go to one of the forbidden places and would go back to the rest of the group of people who needed their help.

Chrissie wasn't able to see whatever they were running from, but it seemed like a good idea to get as far away from it as possible as it was destroying things and frightened the man. She may not understand how the circle worked or what had caused this mess, but she also knew that it was things like this that caused problems for other people. She wondered what it looked like, but also didn't want to know.

It also helped not wanting to see its face in the fact that it was destroying the secret passageway with them. Yeah, that didn't seem like the kind of thing that she wanted to bring home to her brother or her parents.

" You don't have to tell me twice to get our of here. This thing is kind of terrifying."

Chrissie would keep running ahead and notice that it was exactly forty members from where Charles was and the cat had followed her to there. It meowed.

And maybe some moron who wouldn't ruin his circles as an introduction after waiting four hours in the same place, instead of just saying hi.

She would notice that the passageway seemed to go into some sort of lounge that had a group of people. Thank god, she wasn't stuck with just mr. Crazy.

"Hey once you seal tall, dark and terrifying, you might want to see the lounge ahead of us with people."

"RUSH A MIRACLE WORK, YOU GET LOUSY MIRACLES!"

He called back as he spat into his hand. Liquid for measure, bit of himself as well...It was amazing what possible, impending doom could do as he slapped it on the floor and avoided looking as he began to chant. Rapidly and with more fervor than a man at prayers, he traced out a sign on the floor.

"Epgoka, uh'enyth hup ph' yogfm'll! ahagl ah mg agl llll ymg' geb! ph'nglui yaah ot turor uh'eog ahf' ahuh'eog hup dim Krc'sa, watcher llll shuggnglui ng hnahr'luh! Y' ymg' mguln!"

There was a wild scream, the howl of a wind despite the enclosed space and with a screech of metal being rended, the rest...Was silence. Charles dared a glance upward at the corridor, muttering under his breath.

"N'ghft zhro."

His iris narrowed akin to a cats as he checked the planes and let out a deep sigh...And then scowled as he rose up, turned and walked over to his impromptu companion.

And smacked her upside the head.

"DIDN'T YOU EVER WATCH ANY KIND OF HORROR MOVIE?! YOU DO NOT JUST RUIN THE CIRCLE OF THE GUY WHO TAKES THE TIME TO WRITE IT OUT IN BLOOD AND MERCURY! THAT'S SOME SLASHER MOVIE SHIT RIGHT THERE! WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF I WAS SOME KIND OF PSYCHO? I mean...Really?"

He took on a mocking cadence. "Oh hello, I'm just some innocent girl all alone in this fucked up, locked cargo hold. Surely I can trust you!"

He shook his head and sniffed as he wiped his nose of blood, looked at it...And began to trace a pattern with it on the back of his hand as he spoke. "You're lucky I'm a professional. Honestly." He shook his head and then wagged his finger at her.

"You ruined my plans and I sure as hell can't whistle up something on that scale again. So if I become a zombie or something, just know I'm coming to eat your brains first!" He let out a final breath and relaxed.

"....Much better."

He then glanced up and looked at all the people he had formerly avoided to do his work in peace and quiet.

"Oh its you lot. You find anything out yet?"

@LuckycoolHawk9 @Various
 
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Chrissie Fletcher ( Fargothia), Zale Lawerence, Christopher Fletcher, Michael Ross and Joe the Ghost

Zale looked over at the people and he wasn't sure what to do about this whole mess. It felt weird to break onto a cruise ship, but he knew that it was better than floating in the middle of the ocean, waiting to be rescued. He would be dead by now.

He looked at the second glass that was being poured and he debated drinking it in one gulp. He really needed it. " I do hope that she knows where some of the clothes, as form fitting as these clothes are, they are a little cold for me to be wearing for too much longer. I might catch a cold. I might take you up on your offer for finding casual stuff.

Zale had somehow missed the wordless exchange between the woman, it was something that he hadn't been paying attention too. What was happening on this cruise ship?

He looked at what the woman had brought back, not sure if he felt comfortable, dressing in them, but if they were all how he had as an option, he would have to take them. He didn't want to come off as rude, that was the death of so many famous people. One rude comment and the media sunk you like a fish. He looked over at the woman and offered a warm smile. " Well, if there is warm water, it might come in handy to warm up. The ocean was cold. Yeah, the stuff being dry is very useful, as opposed to walking around dripping water all over this cruise ship, perhaps it will make me feel a little better."

Zale wasn't sure if he had died, but he wasn't sure what he believed anymore. All of this was terribly confusing and all he wanted to do was go home. But somehow, he doubted that things were going to be that simple. He did have the little mouse that had borrowed itself into his pocket. He had to wonder why there were so many animals on the ship.

Zale had seen more people come in and even a cat. He hoped that the cat didn't smell the mouse, but he wasn't sure if he would get that lucky in the department. He wondered why it was that everyone could enter, but nobody can leave, there had to be an explanation for everything that was happening here. Maybe he could help them figure it out.

As soon as the lights went off, he nearly fell over on himself. He didn't know why, but he felt like somebody had punched him the gut. He managed to compose himself and he looked to see that some of the other people had the same reaction. Was it a coincidence or should he be worried that something terrible was currently happening to him?

_______________________________________________-

Joe was quiet, not certain what to make of the situation. Sometimes it made more sense to ignore death in favor of life, but the more time the ghost spent with the group, the less that things were starting to add up. Joe didn't understand what was happening, just that whatever it was was very offputting. Secret passageways, large groups. There was some sort of big picture, but the ghost had no clue what sort of danger the group was currently doing. It seemed very terrifying to Joe.

Joe didn't know much about technology, but the ghost did know this. Not many people here seemed to have the whole people. Even the people who had secrets seemed surprised by what had happened and the ghost wasn't sure what to make of that. If even the person who seemed suspect had no clue what was going on- then what the fuck was going on? It also didn't help that they kept meeting new people and then just as suddenly, those people would go dead or missing. It honestly made this experience even more terrifying then it should be.

The ghost had to wonder if these people were even there. People like Angelo and his family, Grace, the woman and her daughter. Heck, Joe could have sworn that there had been another person in the room, but maybe the ghost was imaging thing. Perhaps Peter could provide them with some answers, even if there was times that the ghost wa sn't sure that he was all there, seeing as he was currently talking to a cat. And the lights went out. And then three words had been said that terrified the ghost. Where's Peter? It also didn't help that the ghost felt weaker. " That can't be a good thing, especially with how I feel."

--------------------------------------------
Michael wasn't sure why he felt more on edge than before. He had all the information that the organization was willing to provide, but they had hired so many other people, more variables than he cared to admit. Between the scientist who didn't know how to shut the fuck up, he was starting to suspect that they had picked their helpers by throwing darts and whoever pictured it landed on was recruited.

It also didn't help that the others were scattered as far as possible. He got that they didn't want to look suspicious, but then why on Earth did they decide that it was a good idea to put Dan the Man on the surface team? He reeked of suspicious nature, even when he wasn't trying too. At least, unlike the rest of them, he wasn't spilling secrets or blowing his cover. Hell, nobody even knew who he really was. He had gotten himself so into character that nobody could see through the lie. Of course, there were some who suspected him, but nobody who could piece together. Hell, the people who had recruited thought he was just the FBI agent who had survived their deadly incident.

Of course, as he walked into the lounge, he noticed that there was something he hadn't expected. Zale. He knew that the swimmer had died on a cruise ship and was missing at sea, but he hadn't expected that the necromancer's power was powerful enough to wake the dead from a watery grave. As soon as the lights went out, he knew that the entity working behind the scenes had finally made their call. He had expected it to be sooner, but it was so interesting to watch the group try to figure out where Mr. Destin went. He already knew, but he remained stoic and took a breath.

" It seems incredibly important that we find our lost friend, it doesn't feel safe to leave him missing with these forces at work."
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Chrissie wasn't sure if that was true, but she wasn't about to question him.

God, what was it with men and magic that was so disgusting whenever she saw it? Couldn't people do magic without spitting in their hands? But hey, if it worked, she wouldn't complain about it, well, at least for now, there were certainly other reasons to complain, but that wasn't one of them for now.

God, she wished that she had some way to translate what he was saying because right now, it sounded like random gibberish that she didn't understand in the slightest.

You know, she was starting to suspect that he wasn't the safest person to be around. Who thought it was a good idea to summon a demon or whatever on a cruise ship full of other living people? She still wasn't sure what was about to him.

She took a deep breath.

The cat didn't look at the two of them, taking a moment to look at the ground. It seemed to be that there were a lot of people in the room and it seemed to only be interested in Jeremy.

Chrissie rubbed the back of his head.


"Can't say that I watch many horror movies, so I don't know most of these things. I can't say that the people in Slasher movies are honestly that smart, but to be fair, I had no clue what you were doing or why you were doing it. I am curious by nature and it would help if you warned me if you were worried about me doing it. As for what, I would do if you were a psycho, seeing as you have an XY chromosome, I would kick you where the sun doens't shine and then run away and hide again."

Chrissie tried to not roll her eyes, but she couldn't help herself, this man was being so stubborn and was being a complete tool. As far as she knew, he did have a few screws loose, even if he wouldn't admit it a loud. Thatt was the honest truth of the matter.

Why would you become a zombie? I think you might be overreacting. I mean, sure some freaky stuff is happening here, but like, there is no reason to freak out- it's not like there is someone here who could kill us easily."

She took a moment to look around. She noticed Peter before the lights went out. Huh- she had seen him in the cargo hold before Charles had arrived. " I know-" And then the lights went out and he was gone.


Chrissie was trying to piece together where she had seen him before and it was bugging him. She had seen someone who looked like him bring the corpse to the hold, but there was something different about the man, maybe he hadn't vanished, she would have figured it out, but it seemed that wasn't the case, maybe the answers would never be found though. She was okay with that.

___________________________

Christopher wasn't sure if they had found anything at all.

Okay, maybe they had found something, but it wasn't a good thing. All they seemed to be able to find was more questions that were piling up, sky high. So, there was no telling if that was something Charles would want to hear though.

Chris turned in the direction of Jeremy, but he wasn't sure what to make of that and instead decided to focus on what was going on around them and within his own field of view. He felt a great pain, almost like he had been stabbed twice in the heart, but he didn't know why he felt like that. He decided to focus on Darren, trying to see what was happening around and outside of the ship, but there was something else about the door opening. Chris could see that the weather had changed drastically, or rather, it looked like it had. The only thing that the group could see was a thick fog that seemed to creep outside of the room. For some reason, it didn't immediately come into the room. It instead lingered outside of the room, almost as if it wasn't natural but a trick of the light. The only places that Peter could be was outside in the thick fog. Chris would decide to look at the other passageways and he would find that none of them would open. It seemed that the only way to find answerss was to go into the fog and find them. But there was something that bugged the captain. Besides not knowing about the secret passageways, there was something else he didn't know. Why was the fog not coming in? He walked over to the door and he quickly found his answer. There was a glass set of doors between the exit and the open door. He noticed something else that was gone. It seemed that the pets Peter had on his person was also missing.

It seemed that the rabbit, cat and puppy were still here. First thing was first, it seemed very important to the entire party that they found Peter and he didn't disagree with that notation. He took a deep breath and finally composed himself. " Can't say that splitting up is a good idea, we always seem to find some sort of trouble, but if we have too, some of us should stay here and others should go out into the fog. I know this ship really well, so I can lead. Oh, yeah, sorry about my sister. I'm Christopher Fletcher, captain of the ship. Lehna, you mentioned some lanterns, how many do we have? I think as many as we have should go out while the rest of you lot see if there is something in this room. I'm going into the fog and I assume so will Jeremy, so that's two for sure." It was surprising to remember Christopher did have control and knew how to man the ship.


Peter Destin

Peter really had to wonder if the people who wired the ship knew what they were doing, especially when the lights started to flicker and then eventualy go out. In all the chaos, he felt someone grab him, but he wasn't sure who it was. But he knew it wasn't a friend because they were dragging him, while more bridal style, carrying him. He wasn't sure that made much of a difference, but he heard the door click as he was dragged out and down.

He wasn't sure who had taken him, but he also couldn't see in general. Whoever had taken had obscured his vision with a blindfold and his mouth with a gag. He had a feeling that whoever it was couldn't touch him though. He felt a glove and not a hand on him and he felt every bump. He knew for a fact that they were still on the cruise ship, but that was only because his connection to the pets who weren't directly in his pocket or on him were dead, that had alwas been hiss measure of how alive or dead a person was. He took a deep breath, wondering what had changed though.

Eventually, after about three staircases, he would find himself being taken out of the bag in a room. It was next to the the cargo hold and he felt it was barren. It was almost as if his powers had been dampened down here, they weren't dead, but they certainly weren't working and he looked to see if there wes anyone else in the area and he felt a cold shiver down his spine as he caught a reflection in the mirror of the one thing that he hated to see. The thing that was and wasn't him- the antithesis to his necromancy.


He stared at the man and took everything in. Though he wasn't there, he could still see him clearly. Hair more stylized than Peter, a less well grown beard and always, always the blue jacket with a grey shirt and a tie. It was what he always saw him. Though he wasn't real, Peter had started to call Mr. Death. Unlike Peter where everything he touched came back to life, everything that Mr. Death touched died- well, everything that was alive at least or held breath.

unknown.png


Of course, the reverse was also true. Whatever Mr. Death touched and died, he couldn't bring back to life. Neither could undo what the other did, no matter how hard they tried. But it couldn't have been who brought him here, he wasn't alive. He was just a figment of his imagination. " Come now, you know nothing is impossible, Peter. I think it is time that we have a long overdue chat about what is going on here because I feel I have insight," he replied. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to not do, he woud close his eyes and ask.

"What do you know?"


@Ringmaster @PoetLore @slifer
 
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God, what was it with men and magic that was so disgusting whenever she saw it? Couldn't people do magic without spitting in their hands? But hey, if it worked, she wouldn't complain about it, well, at least for now, there were certainly other reasons to complain, but that wasn't one of them for now.

God, she wished that she had some way to translate what he was saying because right now, it sounded like random gibberish that she didn't understand in the slightest.

You know, she was starting to suspect that he wasn't the safest person to be around. Who thought it was a good idea to summon a demon or whatever on a cruise ship full of other living people? She still wasn't sure what was about to him.

"And that's why you're the first to die in any movie."

He said decisively as he examined the symbol on his hand and nodded once. "Expecting the potential slasher to warn you what he's doing...Honestly. Anyway, you're muck deep in it now. Saying it now, if you fall behind I'm leaving your arse."

He flicked out his hands and took inventory before he spoke. "Anyway, a few things to note. One- Necromancy. Very taboo, as in 'burn-the-witch' taboo. Necromancers twist with the thread of life and death, creating hot spots of terror wherever they spring. Sure, they start out maybe with a canary or a puppy. But then they go for people and well...."

He snapped his fingers in thought, a constant need to be moving expressed before he spoke. "Pet Semetary! Stephen King book, cult classic movie. It's something like that. See, the process behind it is one of those major things regarding the Powers. Souls go one way or the other, so what you may whistle up might not be what you want. That's Necromancy."

He scowled and added. "Now what I do is cheat. I call things that aren't of our world at all. Had you not broken my circle, MY beast would have hunted down the undead scent to its source and I could have ended it there. The downside is that, well..." He did a little wriggle of his hand to indicate 'eh' before continuing.

"Well, maybe you've read Lovecraft. Same principle. So some ground rules then. One!"

He wagged his finger at her. "You do not smash the circle. Or I'll use some of that sacrificial rites I picked up. Two! Never interrupt the mage when working! Three! Don't be an utter tool. Those tend to die early in my line of work. That said?" He tapped his chin and shrugged.

"Don't be a bimbo like you've displayed so far and we're good."

And he turned and walked away.

"Hurry up! It'll be teatime in Leng before I can do another working on that scale, but any magi worth his salt knows a trick or two."
 
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Lehna handed the clothes to Zane and then made a surprised face and an shocked 'oh' with her mouth, "I'm so sorry...I should have realized you would need to warm up. There are showers in the dressing rooms, let me show you the way." She was about to take him when the lights went out and she felt horrible cramps in her stomach. The lights came back on and everyone was asking about someone who'd just arrived.

Since she couldn't be of any help with that situation she turned back to Zane She smiled and motioned for him to follow as she retraced her steps and led him to her dressing room. "The shower is right there..." she said pointing to the only other door in the room. "Take your time...seems weird things are going on."

She left him then and returned to the others, "Any luck with the doors? Or whoever is missing?" she asked smiling a sweet if not clueless smile. It would quickly become obvious to them that she really didn't understand what was going on around her. She looked at the captain, "Three I believe." shes aid and ducked behind the bar and through a small door. It was the storage closet for this bar. She returned with four lanterns, "Make that four."
 
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Constance dropped to her knees when the lights went out. There were two things she didn't like, water and total darkness and this was not a good thing considering she was on a piece of metal totally surrounded by one, and now trying to breathe while surrounded by the other. When the lights came back on she was gasping for air and clutching her waist with both arms. If anyone were to look they'd see she was visibly shaking. Then she heard the someone ask where Peter was. Oh no...no no no.

Trying to calm her irrational fears down to a mild roar in her head, she stood. It took a herculean amount of effort not to stumble as she did, but my some miracle she did. she looked at Joe the Ghost and frowned. The ghost looked a bit less corporeal, a bit more misty. That was odd. she looked around and noticed that all the 'dead' people seemed to be in pain or not look quite right either. How could that be? There was no way Peter was off the ship that quickly and if his powers had been strong enough to raise Zane...

What the hell was going on? What was the real purpose of this 'experiment'? She heard Michael and lifted a brow but only very slightly, "Maybe we should each take a door and see if we can get one to budge."
 
Fiona felt that gut punch too but when the lights came on no one would have guessed she had. She wasn't going to let anyone know she had a chink in her armor, ever. Hearing Constance's suggestion she scrunched up her face and looked at Constance shaking her head, "You ok?" she asked, "The Captain already tried them all." But then she saw the slight shaking and the wild look in the woman's eyes and moved closer, "Maybe you should head over to the bar and grab a stiff drink. You look like you could use it."

She was glad the Captain was acting like the Captain again and taking charge because this was one crazy train ride if you asked her. "Wait wait...you just said it was a bad idea to split up." She went closer to the Captain and the FBI agent. "Listen...I've been in a lot of dangerous situations and it's never a good thing when every option but one if closed. Doesn't this seem like a trap to you?" Was she the only one who could see this? "Am I the only one who feels like we are being corralled like cattle to the slaughterhouse?"

Glancing at the ominous fog she looked back at the two, "I'm not staying behind if you go out there, but I can't say I think it's a great idea."
 
Darren felt that gut clenching pain but luckily he had the bartop to steady himself and give him a point of reference in the pitch dark. He wasn't afraid of the dark, but sudden darkness wasn't fun for anyone especially given their present circumstances. The lights came back on and he watched the Captain try all the exits and then listened as he gave orders and instructions. He had to admit the little redhead had a point, even though he had no idea what she was talking about as far as being led to the slaughter. One way out was a bit suspicious given a moment ago they'd all been locked in and people were arriving but not leaving. Hmm.

"I'm going too. NO sense staying here and waiting around to get picked off one by one." He announced as he slipped from behind the bar and stood by the Captain watching for who else might be coming along.
 
Dan was watching them flit around like rats in a cage with some humor. He reached for a bottle of top shelf whiskey and took a long pull of it. "Nice." he said dryly and then nodded to Astrid. She was right, they needed to find the necromancer and get control of him before the 'men downstairs' figured out he was gone.

He knew a few things the others didn't though and he was hoping all of them took off with the Captain. "Um...no thank you. I'll stay here and wait for you all to send back word. No weird fog in here...but there is nice expensive whiskey free for the taking."

He wasn't sure is Astrid would go or stay or what any of the others were going to do either for that matter, but he was going to slip out of this room once they were gone. He had some investigating to do on his tech system, that seemed to have been hijacked. The very thought of that had his hackles up. His systems were hack proof damn it, and his rep was being smeared. He didn't like it one little bit. He was so focused on his drink and Astrid that he totally missed the ill look or pain of the 'dead' ones among them.
 
Astrid looked to Dan for a moment, letting out a small sigh before she began to speak. Even if Dan was kind of annoying, she knew that if she let him leave by himself she might never see him again. Which meant her ass on the line. "I'll stay here as well. IF we stay in big enough groups, anything that might attack us will think twice before doing so. Do you not remember that some people in the room can't leave?" Besides, the sad part was that Dan knew the score. Anyone with their memories wiped wouldn't like her in the least, and he was probably her biggest ally, depressing as that thought was. Sneakily, she gave a look to Dan, an unspoken agreement that she had his back with whatever he needed, as the man would probably ditch the group. It was what she herself wanted to do. Dan may be a sociopath but he was a predictable sociopath. There was also the matter of Zane- the Olympian wasn't exactly fit to traverse the cruise ship, and with how exhausted the man was- Olympian or not- he wasn't going to be of much use in that state.
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This idea suited Jeremy just fine. Staying in the room for too long without at least trying to find Peter. Besides, he could get away from Dan and someone else could deal with the psycho. "I definitely agree to go with you. I'm not staying here, even if you all don't come with me. Nothing will get done by staying here. I don't care if only half the group comes, but it's better than rotting in here. We were meant to find something, which is why we've been all over the boat." Now that a goal was set in place, his mind focused razor-sharp on only one thing- finding Peter. Now, from what he knew of the man's powers, he was still on the boat. The man had to be close enough to use his magic, otherwise the Captain would have died again. Looking at his hand, he could see the tattoo that bound him to Peter. Magical or not, maybe that could help with finding the other man?
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At least Ari could tell that it wasn't just her feeling the pain- it was other people as well. "Something's coming towards us, and it feels magical and wrong. Who else is on board here? It's not just us. I would have felt it if one of us had brought cursed magic like this on board. IT's coming toward us. I think if we don't keep moving, we'll be caught up in the magic. Fiona's right. We should all go together, and maybe we can prop Zane up and take him with us. Though...I don't see how staying here will help us. If we keep moving, we might find something that could help us leave this ship." She could see the Captain's pain that had happened at the same time as her own.....which wasn't a coincidence, as it had happened the moment Peter left the room. Which meant they had to search for him.
 
Chrissie Fletcher ( Fargothia), Zale Lawerence, Christopher Fletcher, Michael Ross and Joe the Ghost

"Not if it is a romance movie that I am in," Chrissie retorted back to him.

She looked over at the symbol on his hand, but decided to not answer that on, wondering how she gotten involved in this mess when all she wanted to do was visit her brother and see him. She did notice that some people were looking worse for wear.

"How do youI do know if the necromancer is even here? We haven't come across who has been actually dead before now. I can't believe that reviving the dead is so black and white. Sure necromancers are more likely to create terrors, but I refuse to believe that they are all evil. Hell, I bet you that there is a good necromancer on this ship.... at least I think so."

She paused for a moment to think before deciding to ask the question. "Do you think the state has something to do with some sort of experiment that may involve necromancers? There have been a whole lot corpses that we keep finding and that Olympian went missing and was pressumed dead years ago. I don't know- I feel like there is something that we are all missing."

As Chrissie continued to think this, she took note of the room and noticed that it was indeed the same as before and she looked over at the area. " There is something that is bothering me, there are a ton of in this room, but somehow whoever kidnapped Peter managed to make it past us. I would understand if it was a ghost- but I don't think the dead can kidnap the living so well."

She had a hard time ignoring the finger that was wagging in her face. " I will make sure to not smash your dumb circle next time and will make sure to not interrupt you while you were working. As for the last thing, I can make sure to not make you upset dear mage. The last thing we need to do is make more trouble than we already have. I can agree on that much."

She would watch as he turned and walked away.

" Well, I guess it is the only way we can figure things out is by entering that eerie fog, there is no other way out of this room. ...hopefully it is safe for all of us."

------------------------
Zale would took a deep breath and took the clothes, not bothering to think too much about the apology that Lehna had directed towards him, it seemed more likely that he was going to need that warm shower and he took a deep breath and looked over at her, wondering if there would have been a time where he would have thought all of this was normal, but now, he wasn't sure what to think of this whole message. He took a deep breath.

Zale offered a weak smile back to her, his words escaping him in the moment and he would smile. He nodded. " I can see that in the way that everyone is acting, thanks for showing me to the shower, I hope that it will help warm me up. I feel as cold as death, but hopefully we can find some answers to our questions."

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Joe was not sure why everything was happening and there was one thing that the ghost hated more than the labels that French society tried to put on things and it was uncertainty. Uncertain things put the ghost on edge. Things needed to be clearly understand in order to find answers and right now, othing was making sense. There was only one thing the ghost had to do in situations like this. Joe had to review the fact that they already had, the ones that were clear and well defined amongst other things.

Thing one, there was a diner last night where a lot had happened, but the ship had been full. Thing two, everyone had woken up within any knowledge on when they had fallen asleep. Thing three, Peter was a necromancer. Thing four, Charles was a mage of some sort, but one who didn't understand how everything was happening. Thing five, they had been led to this very spot by something. It wasn't by whoever the shady people worked for because they always seemed surprised by any developments.

Joe was about to answer Constance, but Fiona and the others beat the ghost to it. " Well, it looks like our whole choice to unravel this mystery is to figure out what is going on here and that involves going out. I'm going to stay here. I feel we missed something here."

-------------------------------------
Christopher felt the gut punch, but had to bear the pain, knowing that it seemed that they weren't going to get answers in the ways that they expected. There was something that the ghost that resonated him. There was something in the room they were overlooking. Both his sister and the ghost had said it. Four lanterns weren't enough for all of them. At best, it could keep eight of them safe, at worst, they were working into a trap. He didn't like either option.

He took a deep breath and decided to survey the room to see if there was anything out of place. It seemed that the room was pretty normal in terms of what it should have. A stage for Lehna to perform on, a piano for her player to accompany her and the bar for patrons to drink. All of these things seemed pretty standard. Even the lounge couch was the exact one that came with the ship, but there was something major that he was missing. What was it? What was out of place? He reviewed all the ways the room could be entered.

There was the passage from the west side, the north side passage had been taken from the cargo hold. The exit was to the east of him. Wait, that was only three of the four of the possible directions on a compass. But as far as he was led to understand, there were only three passages on the ship, but then again, he had a feeling he had been lied too. His first clue had been that he had felt pain once Peter was gone. It was something he was told the living dead could feel when he was gone or too far from them. He was dead and that unnerved him.

"Chrissie and Fiona both make an excellent point that I haven't considered until now. We might very well be wondering into a trap before we get the full picture. So, I guess we should review what we do know and then perhaps assess what the best course of action may be. We know that someone got into the room and took Peter out of us. Some of us felt weaker because of our closness with him. But we know he is still on the ship. We got four lanterns to go into the deep dark unknown, but we still haven't figured out why we are here. Every room we have been in as far as I can understand had some sort of puzzle to solve, hell, when you found me, my door was locked. So there has to be a piece of the puzzle that we are currently missing. Something in this very room that we haven't considered. We know that there are some dressing rooms here and a bar with a couch, but there has to be some sort of puzzle clue we are overlooking, some sort of key."

Christopher noticed that Joe's eyes light up when he said some of key. " That's right, we did need to solve a puzzle and I don't think we need to go into the mist. There is something we have been overlooking, Captain Christopher Fletcher. This whole time, we have been paying attention to each other and all the bad things, that we didn't consider that the key was trust. But that is not the realization I came to here, I think it has something to do with the piano, but I don't know how to say it. I think playing the piano might unlock some sort of passage, but I don't know where it might go. What if it is another trap? I wish there was some way to know if we were going the right way, but nobody here knows what sort of secrets that the ships hold?" Chris raised an eyebrow, noticing that the ghost had picked their wording quite deliberately. Was she trying to goad the people in the know out?
---------------------------------------------------
Michael was a good actor, so he pretended to be in pain for a bit, though it was noticeable that he wasn't entirely as pained as the others. He would send a look to Dan to make sure he knew that the captain knew he had died and that was going to be a problem. From his understanding of Peter's powers, the second that the subject realized they were dead, it was only a matter of time before they remembered how they died. Sure, he could act like he had no clue what was going on, but once the captain knew, things started to unravel. For that matter, the team was slowly coming undone already.. The captain was a living dead, Constance was on the edge of jumping off constantly and Dan had decided murder was an option to consider before he even had a chance to act.

There was something that this group had lacked and it was trust. While they could work together, he knew for a fact that nobody trusted the other person. He knew that betrayal was natural, but the fact that they had the necromancer pulled from under them made them seem so weak in comparsion to anyone else in the groups care. Hell, they had lost one of their own from the start. There had to be some way to regain control of this situation. Of course, the Olympian was the biggest factor he hadn't considered before.

While he had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn't caught that the captain had reconsidered going out in the fog, but then there was the ghost. He should have known that it was going to be trouble from the start. It seemed to read them like a book, making all of the people in the know look like fools. And now the ghost was talking about trust. He remained calm, knowing that he was being goaded. He was better than that. He paused when she mentioned the piano. Actually, nobw that he thought about it, the piano player was supposed to be alive still. He wasn't a living dead, he wasn't a passenger, he wasn't in the know, but he was someone Peter had known or as he liked to think of them tethers. The only tether who seemed stable enough wre those undead pets and Jeremy. He listened and paused, to contemplate the options he had before he would speak again. " You might be right, Joe. The piano hasn't been touched, but I don't think any of us know how to play the piano, so it seems to be a lot cause," he replied, hoping she would drop it and let them move towards their original plan.

Almost as if the universe was laughing at him, he was interrupted by a voice coming back from the dressing room. " I was classsically trained in piano since I was a kid, my mom wanted me to be the next Beethoven or Mozart. She was a little disappointed when I went into sports, but I never did stop practicing. Also, before you ask what I can play, when I finished my shower, I went into the piano player's room and I found this sheet music. Looks like it's a modern piece too," he replied back to him, approaching the piano. He started to play the keys for a moment, taking a moment to brush up and then playing a piece. As Zale played the melody, ALL four of the exits opened, including one that was directly behind the bar. For the brief moment that the fog got in, everyone started to cough and were almost knocked out, expect Zale removed his fingers closing all the doors expect the one behind the bar

" So, it was a trap, we would have been knocked out if we went into the fog. But another passageway opened behind the bar. I guess that is how our bad guy escaped, looks like this way needs a lantern as well," Joe replied. " So who's going now? The ghost asked.


Peter Destin/Mr. Death

"Finally, you ask the right question. I was afraid you would ask the wrong one dear. I know as much as you do, but just a bit more. But I am going to wait until more friends get here, it seems that someone figured out the puzzle."

@Ringmaster @PoetLore @slifer
 
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Lehna listened while everyone debated the possibilities and ways to move forward from where they were. The one girl Ari was freaking her out with that talk of magic and something coming to get them. She felt like she was in a friggin horror movie for heaven sakes. "I think everyone needs to calm down and take a deep breath." They all needed to stay calm, because she wasn't the most brilliant woman on the planet and she knew it. She was going to need these people to plan carefully if she had any chance of making it out of this alive, and she definitely planned on living through this craziness.

The captain thankfully began to speak logic and sense and she let out a steadying breath of thanks. She hadn't been there for most of their journey, but she was piecing things together bit by bit. Sadly, none of it made sense to her. In fact, shew as starting to get a headache trying to sort it all out so she stopped trying.

Zane returned from the shower and was obviously feeling better because he sounded and looked chipper to her. He began playing and she smiled remembering rehearsing with her accompanist. Her smile turned into a coughing fit as the mist came in but then luckily Zane stopped playing and the air cleared a bit. "What is in that mist?" she asked as she drank a bit of her drink to soothe her raw throat.

The door behind the bar was open and no mist was there so she pointed, "I vote for not suffocating in that...whatever it is out there." And she impulsively grabbed a lantern and went through the door without waiting to see what they were going to do.
 
Constance stood slowly but was still shaking. She stumbled a bit to the bar, grabbed the bottle that was on top of it and drank down a sizable swig before setting it back down. "This is not what I signed up for..." she said loud enough for anyone who wanted to hear her to hear her. She didn't care anymore what the people who hired her were up to, this was totally out of control.

She turned to the captain and to Joe and nodded. They already knew about her, so she wasn't giving away anything, and it was becoming very clear to her that she hadn't been as in the know as she'd thought she was. She lifted a brow when Zane announced he was a piano player and was enjoying his playing until the mist came in and choked off her air. What the hell was going on??? He stopped and the mist dissipated but the door behind the bar remained open.

She looked at the Captain, "Does anyone else feel like a sheep being herded along?" She frowned though when Lehna just took off with a lantern. "Oh for the love of ..." She closed her eyes and counted to ten, "We probably shouldn't let her go off alone.."
 
Fiona wasn't liking any of this. Ari's constant talk of IT coming to get them. "Are you a Steven King fan or something?" she asked trying to add a tiny bit of humor to the whole scene. Hopefully there was no killer clown on the ship, or no killer anything on the ship. Not that it mattered to most of them, they were already dead. She was trying to figure out which of them were dead and which were not but she still wasn't sure. Well with the exception of Constance, who had already told them she wasn't, but then she'd been curled up in a ball on the floor like she was dying so maybe she was dead and didn't know it. That would be ironic.

She watched Zane return like some kind of conquering hero with sheet music in hand and lifted a brow, "Wasn't that convenient?" she asked watching him. When the doors opened she pulled her shirt up and covered her mouth to avoid the mist, but it still stung her throat a bit. he stopped playing and once again all the doors were locked but one. She looked at Constance and rolled her eyes, "That's what I said just a few minutes ago...except I said cattle instead of sheep but same idea...and here wee are again with only one option. We are rats in a maze..."

She watched Lehna leave as well and sighed, "Says who? No one told her to take off...maybe we should wait to see if we hear a scream?" Her patience was at it's frazzled ends and she wasn't feeling too polite at the moment. "Sorry...that was probably uncalled for but can we agree that was rash behavior on the singer's part??"
 
Darren was getting more and more uncomfortable with the situation as time passed. The red haired girl with the freckles was making a lot of sense at the moment, but damned if he could let a woman go off even half cocked alone. The captain was right, they had to consider all options but hell...that girl was running headlong into who knows what. "We should follow her...or someone should...I will if no one else wants to."


Dan was sitting at the bar, not making any attempt to look like he was one of the dead people. He didn't give a rat's ass what anyone thought. He saw Michael's eye signal and gave him a nonchalant brow lift in reply. Ok, the Captain knew he was dead, and soon he'd know who killed him. Could be more people would figure out he had killed them since they'd arrived here too and he didn't actually care. He wasn't going to be held accountable for killing anyone when they LOOKED alive, now was he? "So mister cowboy...you go on ahead...we'll wait for your signal...one if by land and two if by sea..." He snickered at his own joke and drank the rest of his beer.

He turned on his stool and looked at Fiona, "Cattle and sheep are dumb animals led along without thought for their own survival. You can call yourself whatever you like little missy, but I am not stupid and I intend to fight for my life."


Darren looked around to see if anyone else was going to follow her and he shrugged and ran to the door and looked down the tunnel. He could still see the light of her lantern so he didn't take another but followed after her as fast as he could to overtake her. It didn't take long, "You shouldn't ahve gone off alone like that," he chided when he came up behind her.