Meme - Welcome to Rose Red

[callmeles]

𝖂𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔 𝕽𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖉, 𝕾𝖎𝖗/𝕸𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖒

You find yourself being helped out of a coach in front of a large majestic mansion. Inside is a party in full swing with people you may know, others you may not and some may even be celebrities from a time before who you swear mysteriously disappeared. Music is pouring out of the open doors and inside is a variety of foods and drinks to consume, dancing to be done and endless entertainment. At the end of the night, complimentary smokes and party favors are given out (if you make it). The garden is lit by tiny lights and has its own fully stocked bar should you prefer a quiet and intimate conversation with someone special.

Beyond the extravagant decor and party, is something much more sinister.

If you choose to explore, you might want to take a friend or bread crumbs (or rope) because the way you came may not be how you return. Windows, doors, and hallways tend to appear and disappear at the whim of the house. Rooms the owners may not even be aware of suddenly appear and others disappear. Ignore everything that rational thought tells you about a house being an inanimate object. This house is alive and it loves to play. It isn't only rooms, doors, and hallways that disappear - people do as well. Ghosts are rumored to haunt these halls and perhaps be responsible for the number of disappearances and deaths reported in and around the home.

If you're "lucky", you may even receive a welcome from one of its illustrious hosts, Ellen and Sukeena. If you're "really lucky", you may even get an offer to stay... permanently.

How to play
1 Tag in (use the prompts, don't use the prompts. up to you!)
2 Tag around
3 Have fun
4 Don't fuck with the house

Prompts:
1. Arrival Welcome to Rose Red. You'll be assisted out of your coach and led to the front door where someone will take your coat and welcome you in. From there, you are free to roam to your heart's content. Please stay a while, won't you?

2. Schmooze with the Rich and Famous There are people everywhere - the who's who of now and maybe even of a bygone era. Maybe you see someone you think you know or someone you swear mysteriously disappeared in the 20s or 30s. Go, introduce yourself! What's the worst that can happen?

3. The Garden We get it, you need to take a breather. Why not stroll out into the conservatory or into the garden? There are twinkle lights to set the mood but plenty of shadowy corners to disappear with a special someone. A fully stocked bar is ready for guests to stop by for a drink. You may want to stay clear of certain plants though, they have thorns and they really love blood.

4. Exploration The lure of being invited to an estate like this is exploring and you should definitely do so. The house seems welcoming and invites you to explore its depths. But, you may want to bring a rope or bread crumbs with you, you don't want to get lost, do you? Hallways and doors can be very misleading and you could end up in an entirely different part of the house than you expected. No one knows quite how big the place is and it just keeps adding on. Is that hammering you hear in the distance?

5. Apparitions and Ghosts Lore has it that a number of people have either died here during its construction (and after its construction) or have simply disappeared. If the locals are to be believed, it now requires blood to sustain itself. Who's to say, really? But, in between the music, the talking, the endless food, and the flowing alcohol, you swear you can hear a faint hammering in the distance. The bartender that you were just chatting up suddenly disappears and now there is a woman there offering you a tequila shot. Where did the young man go? Are there suddenly more or less guests?

6. What is This Feeling? The longer you stay, eat, drink, and be merry the more... your thoughts change. You were happy, you were enjoying yourself and now you're... what? Angry? Feeling overcome with guilt? Feeling betrayed? Or are you lustful? These feelings may not be your feelings but the emotions of the house. Just what are you doing to do with these feelings?

7. The Escape / Leaving Leaving so soon? Just when things were really getting good? Well, if you must. You'll be met outside with decadent party favors and smokes as you go which may or may not disappear as soon as you leave the premises. After all, were you really attending a party at the infamous Rose Red? When it's been run down and/or even demolished years ago?
For extra spice, use rng to determine if you stay or if you go. Evens: you make it out safely. Odds: Go back to #1

8. Choose Your Own Adventure!

Comments

Fright at the Festival!

[noreasonneeded]

Ketterdam’s yearly fall festival, known widely as The Festival of Bounty in honor of Ghezen, is popular throughout the world. It’s a known tourist trap as well as local favorite, the odd time when society mixes the two because there’s status in being seen at it. Kerch tradesmen show off and sell their wares, wealthy merchants lower themselves to trail among the masses - though often with security - diplomats and dignitaries make grand speeches and donations to earn favor. The Church of Barter has clergy accepting donations which they highlight on a large pole, the largest donors' names flying highest to the top. The University district recruits students and presents research projects that aid the city, and a very select few performers from the Barrel have even broken through society’s ranks to perform at one of the sidestages set up around the food and shopping tents. There are games and competitions, performances and deals. It’s bustling and alive, colorful silver and purple flags and streamers with three fishes adorned on them everywhere to demonstrate Kerch pride.

Kaz has gone before for the sake of jobs, and the sheer amount of bodies sets his teeth on edge. He’s glad he can avoid the crowds in favor of breaking into the impenetrable Grisha-guarded tower of one of his current greatest enemies who’s already tried to kill him.

Getting inside and snooping proves easier than getting out. He’s called on Jesper for distraction and the man does his job well, but the Tidemakers aren’t easily trifled with. When getting out he runs into two of them he hadn’t accounted for earlier, and his mind is frantic in trying to think of a new threat to avoid them filling his lungs with water and drowning him. It’s only when, being right on the harbor, both he and the Tidemakers are distracted by a curious sight.

The waves are pulling backwards.

Mangled, bloated bodies are staggering out onto the sand, heading towards the center of the city.

Kaz is positive it’s a trick. That, or he’s going mad. The only thing that grounds him is the fact that the Tidemakers look shocked, too. Taking advantage of this fact, Kaz jabs his cane into one’s face and another’s stomach, making them double over and giving him time to get away. He’s got what he needed within his jacket. Stumbling and coughing up water, Kaz races to where Jesper’s on the edge of the fair. They don’t have much time.

He looks a rumpled mess, with saltwater dribbling out of his mouth that he wipes away and has wet his shirtfront. He’s bleeding a little from the corner of his mouth, but Kaz has looked worse. No, what stands out now is that Kaz looks rattled. He tries to hide it, but he can’t entirely. Though he's not so startled that he can't think quick on his feet. He actually pulls Jesper aside, grasping his sleeve at a time like this, saying in a harsh, raspy whisper, “We need to clear the area. All of it. If a tidal wave doesn’t crash through here, something worse is. I saw… I don’t know what they are, but something…” Okay, he’ll just sound crazy. “People are rising out of the harbor, and they’re heading this way. Barricade what you can with the metal around here, they’re approaching from fifth harbor. I’ll get Nina and Piper.”

Kaz sends them a quick group text, including Adonis since he can teleport. ’Near the harbor exit. Head here now. Party of at least 30 approaching. Might be more. Capabilities TBD.’

[pearlhandles]

Unlike Kaz, Jesper loves the festival. The people, the sights, the sounds, the food (especially the food) and the games were his favorite. For the most part, he and Wylan got to enjoy the festival and got to take in everything it had to offer.

Until, that was, Kaz made his move to get into and out of the watchtower.

Making a distraction was easy and just plain fun. Sometimes he didn't even count it as work. Afterward, he expected Kaz to stroll up with the air of a man who had accomplished his mission for the night but what he got instead surprised him... and frankly alarmed him.

Kaz was never rattled and he definitely looked rattled now!

"What?" Because clearly he hadn't heard him right... right?

But there's a noise in the distance and Jesper nods. "Clear the area and barricade it, got it."

It says a lot about his trust in Kaz (and knowing Piper was in Ketterdam) that it takes Adonis all of a few minutes to read over the text, change and grab a weapon before teleporting to the said harbor exit. "Who and what are we dealing with?" He didn't need the weapon - he had enough abilities on his own but it had been a while and he needed the practice.

[noreasonneeded]

Kaz doesn’t think the part about him having been with the Tidemakers when it started is important, or at least not relevant enough to share right now, so he skips to the chase. “I saw bodies climbing out of the harbor as the waves were pushed back. They didn’t look like they should be up and about walking, if you get my meaning.” The fish-bellied flesh, gray and slimy, makes him shudder inside with past memories that he pushes through. “I don’t know what they can actually do aside from rise from the dead. The only one I know who can do that is Nina, and I’m going out on a limb to say that she isn’t doing this.” He knows she could raise an army, but there’s no reason she would right now. She’s been focused on pie all day.

Which begs the question of who would, really. Things like this don’t just happen by themselves.

“I told Jesper to barricade this entrance as best he can to buy us some time, both in figuring this out and getting people away from ground zero.” Kaz looks over at Jesper then. He knows this is a needle in a haystack question but he still asks it. “Was there anyone you noticed conspicuously missing from the festival? Or conspicuously present that normally isn’t?” One or the other might be a place to start in figuring out who is causing this, and from there how to stop it for good.

Nina comes running up then, her face pale and looking ill like she can sense something wrong within her bones. Wylan’s not far behind. “What’s going on?”

“Walking dead,” Kaz explains by way of shorthand, then pointing a finger at Jesper, “Do not make a show reference.” He looks back at Nina. “Can you stop it?”

“I don’t even know what started it, Kaz. As far as I know, I can control them when I make them rise, or when I call on a ghost. I can try, but…” In the distance she can see the figures wobbling towards them and shudders. Licking her lips she raises her hands and concentrates. Some of them stagger but don’t stop and she shakes her head. “No. They’re not listening to me. Whatever magic is causing this, they’re listening to that. We’ll have to stop them another way. While you do that, I'm going to focus on calming the crowds and convincing them to exit. Now.”

“When in doubt, a good shot to the head never hurt.” Kaz glances over at Jesper and Wylan. “Let’s try some long-range tactics to see if we can thin the herd at least.”

Wylan looks terrified but he’s quick to act, having already an explosive in hand. Glancing over at Jesper he suggests, “I can’t throw for shit, carry this for me?” With Jesper’s abilities the grenade could go far, and that certainly splatters some of the bodies to the ground. They don’t get up. “Looks like violence is the answer. For now.”

“It’s Ketterdam,” Kaz replies, his eyes on the distant horizon and his cane ready. “Of course that’s the answer.”

[pearlhandles]

"You mean to tell me that we have zombies in Ketterdam. Fucking zombies?" Jesper asks as he gets to work on the barricade. Was it really going to help them? "Nina wouldn't do something like this," he agrees without a second thought. But he knew he didn't need to convince Kaz of that; she and Piper had been busy on their entry to the contest all day to even give another thought to raising an undead army.

He had the fleeting thought that if those two ever truly pared up together to take something on other than a pie contest, nothing would stop them.

As he works, he considers Kaz's question. "No one that comes top of mind, no. But that's like a fucking needle in a haystack."

Adonis frowns as he considers that. It wasn't often that he ran into something like zombies. As all of the possibilities run through his mind, he helps Jesper out with the barricade. There's barely any time at all before he senses Nina and Wylan coming closer and not far behind them is Piper. At least they were safe.

As she runs up to them, she hears the part about the actual walking dead and only barely holds in her own joke about the TV show. "Fantastic," she says, her hands going to her hips and watching as Nina attempts to control the forms coming closer to no avail. "We can't go one trip without something crazy happening, can we," she asks.

"You got it, boss," Jesper says after snorting at Piper's comment while pulling out his beloved pistols and then nodding at Wylan. Between them, they're able to flatten some with the grenade before he rapid-fire shoots others in the head, watching them fall.

Adonis looks at Kaz. "Are there other points we need to barricade?"

Piper lifts a hand, watching a fireball form before tossing it at one of the figures stumbling their way up. "Who else has the ability to call forth an undead army?"

[noreasonneeded]

“There’s an exit to the east that will take people towards the embassies. Otherwise there’s just the main entrance, where Nina’s hopefully spearheading escorting everyone out through it.” An enormous job to wrangle moving this many people, but if anyone is up to the task, it’s her. Kaz still shoots off a quick message to a few of his other Dregs to offer her support in the endeavor. Thankfully they know by now not to question it and simply respond with an affirmative that they’re heading in Nina’s direction. Glancing back up, Kaz looks over to Pipe and shakes his head. “Nobody. This isn’t something anyone in Ketterdam should be able to do, except for Nina.” She’s the only Corpsewitch he knows, and while there are magic users who aren’t Grisha in Ketterdam, none he knows who could handle something like this.

“Maybe they aren’t working alone,” Wylan suggests, scrambling to toss another grenade for Jesper to help carry. At Kaz’s side eye quirk, Wylan feels emboldened to add onto it. “We are after all in Ketterdam, Kaz. Why do something yourself when you can make a deal to get it done.” Sometimes Wylan’s quiet demeanor and moral fortitude makes people forget that he, too, has been born and raised in this city. He knows what Ketterdam is like.

There’s a faint look of almost pride from Kaz at that. “Who would want to make a deal to raise the dead is the question, then.”

“Someone who had a deal turn sour and wants to make someone pay?” Wylan suggests.

Kaz shakes his head. “That would call for a more targeted approach. This is messy. Sloppy, even. Jesper might have had a point about needles and haystacks - someone might be raising a haystack looking for a needle. Who recently suffered a loss, and has the means to make a deal of this nature to get them back? Someone rich, and someone who doesn’t care who gets harmed in the process.”

He looks over at Jesper, to see if he’s thinking of the same Councilman that Kaz is who lost his wife recently at sea. Which gives Kaz another idea. “Some of us should hold down the fort, the rest should start heading to the Councilman’s house. I have an idea for a little backup that might come in handy. I’ll meet you there.”

[pearlhandles]

While Jesper is busy shooting a few more of the zombies, Piper flicks a finger using telekinesis to move the grenade to the oncoming passes. "He raises a valid point," she remarks before tossing another fireball in the same direction as Jesper's bullets and the grenades. Even in her experience, Nina was the only one she knew who could do something like this. Most witches and even voodoo practitioners weren't skilled in this way.

Jesper grins proudly at Wylan. "He's learning," he says before leaning over and pressing a smacking kiss to his cheek then looks at Kaz when he asks the question and nods. "Sounds about right," he says before shooting at another.

"What kind of backup are you needing," Adonis asks knowing Piper can take care of things here. "I'll come with you.

"You guys go, I've got this," she says, keeping her focus on the horde stumbling in their direction.