Crypt Keepers [Kouri, Mirage]

[Mirage]

Amaryllis smiled at Kouri, "Yes child, that is exactly what we plan to do. Do not worry, he will die soon, but I am afraid we cannot just kill him." She raised a finger, her attention fully on the ghost girl, "You see we are playing a game. You, Annalisa, and even me and your maid as well. It's a very big, very complicated game with many many rules. One of our rules is that we cannot let anyone know that we killed him. No one can even suspect that we even thought about it, because if they did we would all lose and I do hate to lose."

She chuckled and looked back at Annalisa, "I am afraid I can give no certain answers in this. You wrote this riddle after all, and so it must be based on something you knew you would remember. Something you would be certain to write down in your notes. Think, what have you read in your notes that can give us clues to its meaning?"

Leaving Anna to think for a moment Amaryllis turned her attention back to the ghost child, folding her arms beneath her breasts and adopting a very relaxed posture, "Now Kouri dear, remember your promise you made to Wanda. She told you to behave while in the Citadel, and that you had to follow its rules as well. I know its hard, but you need to play this game by its rules. Otherwise it's not just your sister you put in harms way. You may risk Annalisa's life as well, even Kreim's life if we break too many rules. Promise me child that you will show restraint... for now." She smiled, not exactly a kind smile, but not quite so cold either. She leaned forward slightly, looking intently at Fubuki, "Now tell me, has anything strange happened tonight since you met up with Annalisa?"

Throughout the conversation Fubuki would hear what sounded like footsteps, which normally would not have been unusually, except for the fact that no one was in the Palsa Hydrasa. The footsteps sounded like they were just outside the door, pacing back and forth, the sounds of feet on stone echoing loudly in the emptiness, but neither Annalisa or Amaryllis seemed to notice it. Then as Amaryllis directed her question to Kouri a new sound would present itself that only she could hear. The sound of fingernails on the wooden door frame to the hall...

OOCIf you are having too much trouble with the riddle send me a PM and I will give you an OOC hint

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was less than pleased by Kouri's verbal defense of the Embalmer, the childish naivety was both useful and irritating at the same time. The apprentice made very certain to keep the displeasure from her face, she'd need to have a talk with the ghost later regarding trusting Amaryllis. She trusted the Nuit as much as she trusted herself which was next to none, respect was where positive, feel good thoughts about her master ended. The Nuit was dressed wrong in Anna's opinion, a wearing scaly hide would denote her true nature a little better. The apprentice knew that her past self was right, there was something more going on here.

Shaking the thoughts off she observed the Embalmer interact with ghost child, thankful that she was pacifying Kouri. Anna agreed with her mistress' thoughts here, though if political climate was not such an issue then she would have long ago impaled the fool. Then again, if that were the case Amaryllis and Maelstrom could have done away with him long before her arrival. By extension she'd likely be minus one arm, which would be inconvenient.

She shook her head slightly, knowing that she'd drive herself further down the path of madness with such thoughts. As much fun as Maelstrom seemed to have with possessing a fractured mind it wasn't anything she wanted... to...

That was it. She was so petching stupid for not picking up on it earlier! Maelstrom was the answer to the riddle, or rather the Element's Sanctum. Earth meeting fire referred to the para-element of lava, according to her notes she'd used lava to defend herself against water finding wind, ice. It seemed so obvious, why hadn't she thought of it sooner? As she had a second to reflect on it she had to wonder why she had been inclined to consider the Element Sanctum a sanctuary, considering her last welcome it was hardly a place on the top of her visiting list.

She let Amaryllis finish before stating her own discovery, her voice low and tone hushed to avoid unwanted ears.

"I believe I have the answer to the riddle. During my... spar with Master Maelstrom I summoned lava- fire meeting earth- to block a storm of ice shards- water finding air. I believe its telling me that I should go to the Element Sanctum once again." Anna stated.

Petch. She'd been hoping to avoid Maelstrom for a while yet, the madman was as likely to fry her alive as he was to assist her. His last greeting had nearly killed her, it had taken every ounce of energy to summon defenses against his attacks. Yet, her past self had considered it a sanctuary of sorts thought why was beyond her.

Anna turned her attention to her fellows looking for input, her gaze flicking mostly to Kouri as she was rather curious to know of strange happenings. The ghost had mentioned hearing a voice from her room, was that all she had heard or was there more? More to the point, why had only Kouri heard the voice from her room? Was that related to the voices her past self had warned her of, or were those similar to the one Maelstrom had spoken of? Too many question, not enough answers.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Uuuunh..." Kouri leaned her head and rubbed her cheek to Ama's right arm, seeking protection, as she listened to the embalmer's explanation. She agreed to kill the hypnotist, but oddly, she said they couldn't just kill him. "W-why?" Her question was answered in simple words that a little girl like her could understand. A game, so this whole mess was one big game, oh she loved games. "I-I see..." The game seemed to be too violent for her tastes... or was it? The insane part of her mind who was nurtured back to grow by Mia was intrigued by the "game". Kouri found herself compelled to listen. The game involved Kriem as well... when did Kriem ever come into this? Then again, when did Kouri herself ever want to be involved in this game? It seemed that everyone who dealt with Amaryllis would be participating, whether they were willing or not. "Eh uhm... O-okay..." Kouri didn't really understand the rules. No one must knew? Why was that? The man seemed to be evil, the death of an evil person shouldn't matter whether it was hidden or not. Unless... this person had friends, yes, the ghost girl understood now, Ama wanted to eliminate the evil man secretly so they could move on to their next targets. Kouri liked this game, she nodded. She let Anna handled the difficult riddles, listening to Amaryllis' further explanation instead. The promise that bound her, a promise that Mia was trying to make her break... Of course she remembered, she couldn't forget it for the rest of her unlife. The ghost girl looked down and mumbled something, Ama's warning branded itself deep, breaking rules would result in the danger of everyone she loved, got it. "S-strange..." There was only one thing of note, the whispers she heard coming from Annalisa's room. "Yes, Madame Ama, I heard whispers coming from Madame Anna's room earlier before we came here... I-I think it was the evil man! H-he said 'chase' and something, I didn't get the r-rest!" Kouri cowered, the ghost was truly afraid. "O-or it could be one of those m-monsters Mistress Wanda told me about! T-the ones that s-suck out h-hope... u-uuuhuk..." A crimson tear fell from her right eye, the fear was getting unbearable. What kept her from freaking out immediately was her sense of safety being inside Ama's office. "Hi?! Ha?! H-ha!" The girl suddenly released her hold on Ama's arms and gasped for breath, puffs of white mists rapidly escaped her small lips. She didn't notice it before, but with it was getting louder. She heard footsteps... coming from the other side of the door. "Hi... ha... uuh... d-did y-you h-hear that?!" The ghost girl flinched and closed her ears, but it didn't work. The footsteps still pierced through her. The fact that both Anna and Ama were unaware of it horrified her. "N-no!! H-how could you NOT HEAR THAT?!!" She was afraid, confused, and angry. Both of these adult women looked like ignorant fools, solving the stupid riddle instead of taking care of whatever was outside. The scraping sound of fingernails on wood was the last straw. Four powerful serrated tendrils of soulmist spawned from the ghost girl's back, a look of pure rage driven by fear plastered itself on her face, her eyes narrowing to reptilian slits and her alabaster locks whipped the air. "SOMETHING IS OUT THERE! Just outside the door... outside the door... k-kill it! Let's kill it! KILL IT NOW!! AAAGH!" With that, she blindly charged to the door, unmaterialized herself to phase through it. Once she was outside, she would unleash her rage on everything that moves and looked even the slightest bit hostile.

[Mirage]

"Voices...
Amaryllis said thoughtfully, sitting back in her chair once more. She looked at Annalisa, "Yes... yes that does seem to fit your riddle rather well. Well then it looks as if you both will need to pay a visit to your dear friend--"

Kouri's sudden panicked words interrupted the Embalmers speech, and she turned a slightly annoyed eye on the girl, "Hear what child? What are you on about?" The woman flinched, not beyond surprise despite her age, and seeing a child sprout tentacles and adopt a look of a savage spirit could still very much put her on edge. Amaryllis was not one to lose control of a situation, and with barely a moments hesitation she was already reaching into the folds of her robes, looking to her apprentice as she did so, "Annalisa, see to the child and to our guest." It was not a request, it was an order.

As Fubuki passed through the door she would immediately be met with a shocking sight... There was nothing beyond the door. No one was within the Palsa Hydrasa, no footsteps sounded, and there were no claw marks on the door frame. Should Annalisa open the door she would be presented with a similar sight as well. An empty corridor, still waters of the pools, and no voices...

As Annalisa turned around she might just note the half unsheathed dagger in the Master Emblamer's hand. From it came a strange power, something that resonated with the mark of chaos upon her own body. Perhaps it was a tick of the light, but for a moment there looked to be a hand with long claw like fingers grasping at the edge of the desk next to Amaryllis' chair, but with sudden clack the bladed was fully sheathed once more and the hand disappeared as if it were never there. The dagger was quickly stowed away once more, and the Embalmer leaned on her desk, eyes on Kouri, "I believe it is time that you told us everything you know about these voices. How long have you heard them, what did you hear just now, and how long has this been happening? Do not leave out any details, and be quick because our chances of winning our little game are growing slimmer by the tick."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna noted the ghost's frantic departure with a curse under her breath, impressed and somewhat frightened by the tendrils released by the powerful child. Nothing compared to true magic perhaps, however she had not doubt that she could prove a deadly opponent if ever conflict arose. The apprentice was silently glad for having approached the child with more tact than her previous self would have, Kouri was powerful but power needed direction. Currently Anna was questioning the ghost's mental stability even more, wondering just how useful she could be. Insanity was a tricky thing, the ghost's control over her mind needed work.

Anna, being the ever paranoid individual she was, had res sheathing her hand before Amaryllis' order was even fully out of her mouth. The liquid extended out from her fingertip in a claw-like fashion, the tips ready to be fired off as darts of earth at whatever laid beyond. She nodded in acknowledgement to the orders, standing and striding over to the door. Carefully she cracked the door, peering out to get a feel for the situation before swinging it wide with her res at the ready.

She arched an eyebrow, the Palsa Hydrasa was empty except for the trio as far as Anna could tell. Her grey eyes took a double glance over the area, there was nothing at all that she could see. The tall woman turned back to her mistress, slowly shaking her head to signal that there was nothing out there. The Chaon took note of the partially drawn dagger in the Embalmer's hands, feeling drawn towards it as it resonated with her mark. She caught sight of the hand, though she questioned whether her eyes had deceived her in seeing it.

Regardless the feeling brought up a number of questions and theories. The most prominent being that the dagger's resonance with her mark might go both ways, perhaps that was how Amaryllis had discovered her secret. What was the dagger beyond the obvious? Was it magical in nature? How much protection did it afford her favorite Embalmer? Anna's respect and stock of Amaryllis rose slightly, she was more than met the eye in more than one way it would seem. There was still much to learn from and about her.

Anna turned her attention to Kouri, her res receding back into her hands at will as she regarded the ghost with calm eyes. There was an odd gentleness to them, the same kind she would regard Velia with though if one had known of her betrayal of her best friend they might not have felt so comforted. The apprentice was careful not to lay a finger on the child unless specifically invited to do so, who knew how powerful she really was?

A memory of Kouri's stirred, the one she experienced from their little possession session. A time when she had been put to bed by her mother's singing. Anna was certainly no singer, and the foreign words had escaped her however the general tune was still something she remembered. Or perhaps it had been buried, only to resurface at the sight of the girl like this. Either way perhaps it would calm the child.

So the wizard idly hummed the tune as best she remembered it, hoping to placate the ghost at least for the time being. Her key was off in certain areas, that much she knew, but it was certainly better than the sound of a dying cat which would be her singing. It was a haunting tune, perhaps learning a bit of Kouri's native language would be in order to understand it. It might also afford time to further learn more about this extraordinarily powerful child.

The humming continued for about a minute, the tall woman halting after that to address the child. If Amaryllis was annoyed by the time loss then she could go petch herself, Anna's own life was on the line here as much as the Embalmer's game. Hopefully the little tune would be enough to get the answers Amaryllis wanted from her.

"Kouri, Amaryllis is right. We need answers, its not just this game that is at stake but my own life. If we can't figure all this out then I'll likely die, you can possibly prevent that. Please, do this for my sake if nothing else." Anna said, her tone equal parts gentle and pleading.

The apprentice actually felt a little bad attempting to play with Kouri's heartstrings here. It was one thing to betray her best friend, plan to murder a hypnotist, and torture Kelvic but children tended to be a slight soft spot for her. Kouri, for all her power, was still a child so the manipulation still felt a little off no matter how much she tried to push it aside. It wasn't going to stop her from saving her own skin of course, but she still felt bad.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"AAAAAAARGH!!" With blood-curling scream, the phantom rushed out of the office's door, her mouth wide open and her eyes filled with rage. Kouri hissed and snarled like a snake mixed with a wolf, her crimson slits searching around for the accursed hypnotist or spirit or... anyting that looked hostile. She found nothing though and that frustrated her even further. The ghost girl floated there in disbelief, her tendrils kept lashing the air ready to be commanded. Nothing, there was absolutely nothing out there except for the Morwen-damned pool and pillars. "Grrrr.... AAAAAAGH!!" Kouri screamed in frustration, focusing the soulmist on her right fist and slammed the door's frame. *BAM!!* The impact sound echoed in the empty Hydrasa. "....." She pulled her hand back, a deep crack was formed on the wood. Kouri hoped the Embalmer wouldn't mind, she needed to release her anger on something. Sighing angrily, Kouri retracted her tendrils and floated back inside the office. She didn't notice the dagger and claw for she didn't turn back at the same time as Anna. The ghost girl lowly snarled at both Anna and Ama, how come did this women do not hear those voices? It was so loud and obvious, even simpletons could hear that. Kouri crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes to calm herself down. For Rena... For Kriem... come on, you can do this, don't be angry... unleash that anger on the evil man... After a chime, she opened her eyes again, ready to explain. "I know, I know! I can't let anyone die!" She had gone through that. She was powerless when the tiger attacked, there was nothing she could do, but she had the power now, she could prevent more tragedies from happening. She took a glance to both the sorceress and the embalmer and with a puff of white mist, she began. "The voice, I might not remember the rest, but the last time I remember was when going to Madame Anna's room in the Quarters." The ghost girl played with a strand of her alabaster hair, forming her words in Vani then translating them to Common inside her mind. "The first one was a faint whisper... 'chase' something, I couldn't hear the rest." Unleashing her anger actually reduced her fear, she was now all determined in rooting out these enemies. "The second one was when we talked here in your office, Madame Ama, around when we discussed about that riddle... I heard footsteps getting louder just beyond your door then the scraping sound of... uhm... nail fingers on the door..." She still couldn't believe on the fact that the women didn't hear about those voices and sounds. "Is it true that you both really can't hear them? At all? How?! HOW?! K... I'm sorry... I mean, how?" She could barely contain her re-rising anger, it was like these two women were making fun of this situation by acting deaf.

[Mirage]

Amaryllis raised an eyebrow at Annalisa, the unexpected tenderness in the apprentice's voice catching the Embalmer by surprise, but her gaze returned to Kouri once more and the more she listened the more troubled her expression became. Placing a finger thoughtfully on her lips she said to the ghost girl, "Neither Annalisa or myself can hear these sounds child... And perhaps it is because of a very simple reason." Her eyes flicked to Annalisa before coming back to Kouri once more, "Perhaps the sounds you heard may only be heard by the dead..."

She sat back in her chair, crossing her legs and arms as she looked off to the side, "There are many tales of what happens when a person dies, and in fact a Master here studies this very phenomena. Trellaway Witsle has made quite a name for himself with his research into the boundary between life and death. He has reported that when a person comes close to death they are more open to the spiritual world of ghosts and spirits. At these times these test subjects are able to see and hear things that a living person, or a nuit, cannot." Falling silent for a chime the Embalmer absently twisted her ring on her finger before finding Annalisa's eyes once more, "It seems our time is truly running out, and somehow Daren Marlow has set out to end your life sooner rather than later. Go now to the Element Sanctum and retrieve your next letter. Afterwords pay a visit to Master Witsle in lab 7-G of the Gug Andjak. Perhaps he can shed some light on this situation."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna listened intently to Amaryllis' explanation, her grey eyes widening by a fraction of an inch at her words. Sounds that only the dead could hear, truly a frightening prospect but it didn't seem overly threatening to her own personal safety. More to Kouri's mental stability than anything else, though considering her apparent power Anna considered this to be a priority as well. As much chaos as the child might be able to make if her sanity completely shatter it was not worth it. Not only due to some misplaced sense of remorse, but to a waste of the child's true potential. The best kind of chaos was one that had some form of direction, the kind kept swimming just beneath the surface.

Trellaway Witsle, another master that she was unfamiliar with. his research sounded rather interesting, not anything she'd be interested in as more than a side project but interesting nonetheless. Anna's own mother had denied Dira's embrace, affording Anna time to research the nature of the dead that drifted the world. Naturally this would afford her at least some level of comfort surrounding the idea of death, as well as some level of rejection towards Dira.

Anna felt her blood run cold, apparently the voices Kouri was hearing were indeed related to Daren in someway. The hourglass of her life was ticking down, if she didn't move quickly and with the right actions she had no doubt that she would be very dead. All of her ambitions, her desires and dreams would be for naught if the hypnotist managed to kill her. The Element Sanctum, for all the danger it held, was indeed shaping up to appear like a sanctuary. Maelstrom, as insane as he was, hated Daren so it was unlikely he'd kill her or attack her again. At least that was the hope. If Kouri acted up... Anna didn't know exactly how he would take that, hopefully non-violently.

The apprentice was more concerned with this so called Master Witsle, unknown quantity that he was. The last time Amaryllis had sent her into another Master's lab it had ended with that duel with Maelstrom. At least with a name like the Element's Sanctum she had expected something like what had occurred. Witsle though... she knew about his research though the magic he practiced was unknown to her. For all she knew he could be another petching hypnotist.

Anna thought for a moment about demanding more about the unknown master, though Amaryllis was right. Haste was her friend in this instance, besides if Maelstrom was in the Sanctum perhaps he could shed some light on this Master Witsle. Hopefully without threats of painful death. So she nodded in affirmation of the Embalmer's orders.

"Understood Amaryllis, hopefully Master Maelstrom will be a little more welcoming this time around. I shall make utmost haste to the Sanctum." The apprentice said, turning again to Kouri.

"We are going to see a... friend of Amaryllis'. The bad man wouldn't dare attack us there, Master Maelstrom doesn't like him very much. Just stay as close to me as you are able and we'll get there just fine. If the voices starting to worry you tell me and I'll calm you down. You are not in this alone." Anna said, her tone switching back to its gentleness from before.

The wizard waited for a few ticks to see if Amaryllis had anything else to say. If so she would stay and listen, turning to depart only after she was done. If not she'd head out immediately from the office towards the magnificent doors. Her destination from here would be the long walk to the Dungeons, then the Caverns, and finally the domain of Roknus Maelstrom. Hopefully Daren wouldn't make his move on the way there, but just to be completely safe Anna drew a tiny puddle of res into her palm. The slight exertion sent tingles of pleasure down her spine, taking the edge off of her fear. By the end of this she intended to show Daren the true meaning of the word fear.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Even though she didn't consciously notice it, Kouri was comforted by the tune hummed by Anna, in her rage and fear, the general tune was enough even with the off-key notes. She slowly calmed down and her eyes took on a more relaxed state. The ghost girl pulled free one of her hair ribbons and played with it to ease her nervousness. Sounds that could only be heard by the 'dead'. To be honest, the ghost girl raised an eyebrow. She didn't really buy the explanation as Ama was a Nuit, Nuits were 'dead' so by her statement, she should be able to hear it too. Unless the voices were specifically directed at her. "Madame Ama, not to be rude but..." She slighty tilted her head in suspicion "Aren't all Nuits dead like ghosts? Only you occupy a body while we are... uhm... ethereals. I mean uhm... we are see-through and can go through walls!" She didn't understand difficult Common words so the 'ethereal' stayed in Vani. "Uh, Trellaway..." For some reason, the name sounded ominous to her. The ghost girl fidgeted with uncertainty, she was hoping they wouldn't have to meet with another powerful Nuit. She already had enough with Wanda and Amaryllis, especially as the way Ama described this 'Trellaway' made the ghost girl thought he was some kind of mad wizard or something. "T-test subjects? What did they do with those subje-... Hmph..." She decided to cut her question short and keep silent, this was not a good time to be arguing amongst themselves. Obviously, Anna would lead their expedition and Kouri would be coming with her, she just couldn't back off now, who knows what could happen? Her thoughts went to Kriemhild, wondering if she could ask the maid to come with her. Nah, I don't think that's a good idea.. The maid was not exactly made for combat, she was a good caretaker and soulmist provided, but combat? Absolute no-no. "I see, Madame Anna. Just take us there quick... and I will tell you if I hear more." She nodded, trying to sound confident for once. The ghost then took her station beside the wizard. She would follow Anna wherever she may go, keeping watch and ready to launch her serrated sword-tendrils into anything trying to hurt them.

[Mirage]

Amaryllis' eye twitched slightly at Kouri's question, but her voices was just as diplomatic as ever when she answered, "We nuit's are something quite different from our etheral counterparts. We are not truly dead, you see, rather somewhere in between living and dead. Because of this the realm of Dira is beyond us, and since I cannot hear this voice it too must belong to Dira's realm just as you do child." Amaryllis then turned her attention back to Anna and smiled, "I am certain this time you will be expected, and so he might very well avoid the lavish greetings he bestows upon those who show up unannounced."

With a wave of her hand Amaryllis signaled their meeting was over, and she took up a piece of parchment in her hand, not looking up as she said, "I do hope you survive Annalisa. You are turning into quite the valuable piece in this game. I would be most disappointed to lose you so soon." And that would be as close to a 'good luck' as they could get from the Master Embalmer.

***

The journey to the dungeons was rather uneventful, almost normal if such a thing were possible in Sahova. The halls were quiet, no mysterious voices followed their steps, and soon enough they found themselves at the entrance to the dungeons. As Annalisa pressed her hand against the door to open it her vision would go white, a whirling sound filling her ears.

Flashes of images passed before her eyes. She saw herself in the dungeons, running her hand along the bars. Another hand grabbed her wrist, forcing her around and pressing her back against the cold metal of the bars. Hands reached through the bars, pulling at her hair, a wet tongue licked her ear as the person who held her wrist leaned in close. His face was covered by shadows, indistinguishable. He said something she could not quite hear, and when Anna responded he yanked her back and threw her across to the other side of the hall. Her back slammed against the bars, knocking the wind from her longs and something flew free of her left hand, bouncing on the floor and rolling into a corner near the entrance to the caverns. The figure appeared over her once more, his hand covering her eyes and the vision went white once more.

The vision did not last long, and just as quickly it began to trickle away. She would have just half a tick to hold onto a single aspect of the vision before it was all gone.

Once they made it into the dungeon itself they would be greeted by horrific screams and gurgling sounds coming from behind bars 2 cells down. Within that cell they would be greeted by a human male, stripped naked, his stomach gutted open and his intestines spilling over his legs. Claw marks raked down his arms and chest, and long iron bars pierced his wrists pinning him to the wall. Blood gurgled from his mouth as he struggled, drowning in his own blood. As they watched a line would appear at the edge of his scalp, trace all the way down the center of his face before the skin was ripped free to hang limply by his hears, revealing the muscles beneath. By this point the man no longer moved, and his wild eyes stared sightlessly up at the ceiling.

Something flickered into view, a little girl crouching over the dead man, her finger absently drawing in the blood on his chest. Her white eyes turned to look at the new arrivals, and a grim spread across her lips, "Big sister Kouri!" She blinked right before Fubuki, wrapping her arms around he other ghost girl in a tight embrace. Giggling she looked up at Kouri, "Did you come to play again? Want to play skin the beast? Oh or what about hide and die? No, you don't like that game... What about thumb tacks!?"

She giggled, letting go of Kouri and spinning around excitedly, the doll held tightly in one hand as Mia looked eagerly at her adopted big sister. Her white eyes, empty of anything even remotely human, turned on Anna then, and she paused in her excitement. Looking at Kouri and pointed at the Pulser, "Can we play with her?"