realmofstories | Chapter 01: Act III - The Horseman of Christmas Future

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Chapter 01: Act III - The Horseman of Christmas Future

A Hollow Christmas Carol: Act III—

The party goes off with almost nary a hitch. Everyone plays their part, their actions developing the story in strange and interesting ways. Poor families are given gifts and tributes, bringing in some hope and life into the town. The party itself is filled with festive cheer—and a bit of mischief, but it remains under control. And thanks to a few brave souls, the mansion is also protected from attempted attacks from the Erasers, several fended off without anyone noticing inside. Compared to the muted, subdued beginning, everything and everyone is brighter and the entire town feels more alive.

Then, after the final scene comes to an explosive close, once more mist and fog from the forests roll over the entire town, casting a spell over everyone so that they fall asleep right where they are. Again they are left completely unaware as the the environment shifts and shuffles, letters and ink swirling as more constructs are formed. And just like before, the Aspects will have a dream depicting a little more of the story they've helped create.

In a sleigh pulled by a strong, heavy horse, the Horseman of Christmas Present pulls Ebegeeser through the town of Lowry. The Horseman tries to instill into Ebegeeser the lesson of generosity, and as they pass through the streets and come across poor families, the man is slowly moved to pity. He offers money, but it's the clothes off his own back that bring true joy and comfort to the people. Seeing this, Ebegeeser's heart begins to change and he vows to try and find a way to help them further.

After arriving at the party, Ebegeeser lives through the possible "what if" of the day. He shares a dance with Beltrina, awkward though it is. One might think she could be charmed, but Bromfred's love for the woman may be genuine. Despite the harrowing and terrifying tale of the Headless Horseman he shares, he treats Beltrina with care and charm before sharing a dance with her.

Seeing this, Ebegeeser is once again driven to consider his plans, even debating if he should actually kill Bromfred. But the Horseman of Christmas Present intervenes and manages to talk him out of executing such a nefarious plot. Thus already resigned to his fate, Ebegeeser asks Beltrina to meet him in private, a room on the second floor.

Although he already knows the answer, he makes one last attempt and proposes to Beltrina. She rejects him, but Ebegeeser takes it in stride. She then asks if he could help loosen her bodice as it had grown too tight for her. However, given his apparent inexperience, Ebegeeser accidentally tightens the garment instead, constricting the poor young woman's chest even further to the point that she struggles against him. In his attempt to help her, they both stumble instead, tripping over the carpet and she staggers toward the window...

.......And that is where the vision ends, the Horseman of Christmas Future bearing down, dragging in darkness and the stench of death. This is where our story continues...

When the dream fades, the fog disappears and everyone awakens scattered around a church and its cemetery. It's dark, the moon just a small sliver in the starless, night sky, and the fog covers the ground. There are some sounds—various insects and the occasional hoot of an owl. But a more sinister sound can sometimes be heard deep within the dark forests: hooves thundering over earth and gravel, the shrill neigh, and a hoarse, raucous laugh.

All Aspects have been assigned to their new roles, and their journals softly glow with their assignments. Everyone set to work with one another will find themselves near each other or in their set location. Aspects will also learn of a particular task regarding the collection of certain items that would help create the Segment road to connect this Story to the Index. There are also no enemies here except for one—the real Headless Horseman, which will look eerily like the one described in the story told during the party. Everyone should be wary for it it seeks not just Ebegeeser's head, but everyone's.

They are nearing the end—but what kind of end will it be?

§ instructions.
With fairly unanimous support, this will be the designated log for this Act. All Main Scenes and Sub Quests have their own top level created for those involved to respond under, but players are also free to post outside of the designated top levels to create your own for any additional prompts you'd like to take on. Each Main Scene top level has the scene prompts and casting, and assignments for the sub quests are listed below. If you haven't signed up for a sub quest yet, you can still do so!

As a reminder, characters will have the necessary information within their journals. Those who are selected to play a scene will find their journal flashing red, so hard to miss. The information they have is roughly the same as what is written OOCly.

If you have any questions, post them to the Game Notes.

§ sub quests.

Everyone is free to participate in the sub quests, including those of the main cast. You can also participate in both. Characters can help each other with their assignments, even if they do not have one or already finished theirs. If you have any questions, post them here.

Segment Scavenger Hunt. Characters are tasked in finding particular relics that will help forge the Segment path between the soon to be finished Story and the Index. These relics are scattered around the setting area and will be objects symbolic to the story. The list itself can be found in the journals with clues as to where to find the items and anyone is technically allowed to find any of them, but for our purpose we're using assignments to make it more organized. Upon finding and collecting the relics, the relic will glow a soft white before disappearing into a sparkle of white light and ink. Here are the assigned relics and their locations:

9S: The first is a large red apple. Located in a nearby apple orchard, most of the apples there are either green or rotten. But there is one large apple hanging near the top of one of the trees. Beware the hungry crow "guarding" it. His second is a small pumpkin. Somewhere within the graveyard is an open grave. Inside is a pumpkin along with a knife. Carve a face onto it.
Shizuo: Must reach the large church bell and ring it three times. It's found at the top of the church bell tower, but caution: the way up is rotten and rickety, and there is no rope to pull the bell. He'll have to find another way to ring the massive bell.
Alfyn: Must retrieve an old teacher's handbook. It's buried in the old headmaster's grave located in the center of the cemetery beneath a large oak tree. The skeletal remains are harmless, but its holding onto that book pretty tightly.

Players can still sign-up to find a Segment relic! Just comment here.

Hunting the Headless Horseman. Characters will need to fight the Headless Horseman and will have multiple chances to do so, like a repeating mini boss battle. Each time the Headless Horseman suffers a deep wound, it will disappear, only to reappear again later somewhere else. Although the characters own powers and weapons will be sufficient, there are additional items to help. Pumpkin bombs for explosive splash damage; pitchfork spears for the extra jabs; ornamental stars for piercing projectile attacks; and the handheld choir bells which when rung will have a charm and stun effect on the Horseman (good for distractions) and provide some healing and support buffs for the fighters.

Although the horse itself will be dangerous, the Horseman will also be armed with a fiery whip chain sword, capable of slashing and slinging it out to try and grab others. The order in which each particular part is hit is based off sign-up/assignment order ~~because lazy~~, and when struck the part will alight in flames and turn black before the Horseman disappears. When it reappears it will be unable to use that part. Although characters are assigned certain parts, they can still fight it multiple times to help others. Simultaneous hits are also allowed.

Here are the assignments:

Rokurou: Left Flank. A large enough slash will result in the left rear leg of the horse to become broken and limp, hindering and slowing its movements.
9S: Horse's eyes. The entire head is also viable, but damaging the eyes in particular will at least result in the horse losing more of its balance and erratic movements due to blindness.
Finn: Horseman's arm. Either arm, although its right arm is dominant. Damaging the arm will force the Horseman to only fight with one arm and potentially lose balance.
Asougi: Horseman's leg (either one). Damaging the leg will cause the Horseman to fall and unable to ride the horse.

As a reminder, the Horseman will disappear soon after receiving critical damage. Although a lot of progress is being done in the fight, there's still plenty of damage that can be dealt and there is no "final" piece to allow any late sign-ups or if anyone wants to do more. Just sign up here.

[Mod note: Refer to the accompanying Game Notes for more information. If you wish to switch out of your current role, let us know!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ noooo not her beautiful sparkly bike how could he

She had been grateful that she wasn't in swordlength's distance, but does that matter when he's lifting up her bike like it's a pillow and tossing it at her? NOPE.

Ophilia is going to immediately conjure up one of her essence's barriers to block the hit, but the impact against her magic is strong enough that she feels the resulting vibrations quiver up her arms and snap back into her mind, the attack is that strong. She spell breaks when her concentration does, and she stumbles backwards, nursing her wrist with one hand. ] Sir Disciple!

[ She remembers, last time, how he became like this. Perhaps she can still reach him? She's not sure, but she does know that she has to put more distance between them. Still backing away, she speaks: ] Enough, I yield the race!

Yield? Oh no, you don't get to make that decision. [With the current state of her bike, there's no way the race could continue. That didn't seem to matter to the Disciple though.] This isn't over until you're dead!

[He pulls off parts of the handle bar from the bike, his gleeful expression revealing his very intention of beating Ophilia with it. R-Run?]

[ She gapes as he pulls apart the metal handles of the bike like they're made of paper. That's no human strength, and it's made all the more chilling when paired with his twisted grin.

She has two options: test her chance out with standing her ground and fighting him here, or running. The former would be rather difficult considering that her abilities here are not the same as those of her home, but the latter seems rather pointless; exactly how can she expect to outrun someone like him for long?

Her hesitation costs her a few extra seconds of delay before she chooses to turn and run through the woods. ]

[Oh, she's running away. How delightful!] Aww, where are you going? Didn't you want to find out what happens if I catch you?

[He walks in after her, humming a tune as he lets her get another head start, the handlebar dragging along the ground.]

[ She won't be sure that he's actually letting her get a head start because she won't be looking back for the first few minutes of running. The cold wind whips through her hair as she weaves through the trees, leaping over fallen branches and patches of ice, all the while trying to come up with a plan. Does she have time to cast some sort of spell against him? Should she even fight back, knowing that he's actually still in there, and this Essence part of him is only emerging now? She doesn't want to hurt him...

Perhaps she should circle back-- try and steal his bike to get away? Or maybe she could erect a barrier to contain him-- although would that even work? He's still human, and she's not sure if her Essence's abilities work with humans in the first place.

Ophilia will choose to try for her first plan: of running to circle around to try to find his bike. BUT WILL SHE MAKE IT?? ]

Edited 2018-12-30 22:29 (UTC)

[The Disciple may not have eyes on Ophilia, but she's making so much noise running around that it's easy enough to keep track of the direction she was running.] Hm~ ♪ [He's humming like this was just a leisurely jog in the forest, jogging into trees and then climbing onto them. Tree branches creak and break as he moves about from above until-]

Hello! [There's a thump as he suddenly lands a few feet ahead of her. She's out of melee range, but that won't deter him from throwing the handlebar at her while she's taken by surprise.]

[ She feels as if she is being hunted-- but not like how H'aanit would nobly pursue her quarry. No, this is different. He's humming, he's playing, he's enjoying the pursuit, but how she's trying to escape. It's a game to him. ]

--Ah!

[ The handlebar strikes her like a smith's hammer to her upper side, knocking her back a few feet in the air. She falls to the ground almost immediately, and her body naturally curls in on itself, dazed. But the pain, impossibly sharp and stabbing on only one side, is enough to remind her that she's still in danger. Her mind is still reeling from the impact, but all of her nerves are screaming at her to continue going to remain awake because she doesn't know what will happen if she decides to sleep. ]

S-stop. Sir Disciple-- [ She manages between a cough, each word strained. There is no blood pouring from where she had been hit, so then why does it feel painful with each breath? ] ...This isn't you. Please remember!

[His humming had stopped, only his footsteps can be heard as he approaches her. Without any warning, he grabs her by the hair, forcing her to lift her head.]

Who says you can tell me what to do, huh?! You don't know me! [He slides his other hand up to her neck, stroking her with his fingers teasingly. so ripe to be ripped apart.] Any real last words before I break your pretty little neck?

[ Ophilia makes her best effort while still on the ground to move away from him as he approaches, every part of her fighting to put more distance between her and her attacker-- or, or conjure up some of her healing magic for herself, or something because this can't be the end, this can't-- ] Hrk--

[ Her reaction to being lifted up by her hair is violent in how painful it is, her body protesting entirely with tension before she lets out a strangled gasp as her feet struggle to find purchase upon the ground below her. Her lips have already grown pale, her breaths rasping and short, wheezing, quick and shallow. Shadows encroach on her eyesight when she feels his fingers brushing along her neck, and she swallows, shivering at his touch, at the thought that he could end it all right now.

For a moment she closes her eyes, and she wonders, briefly, if she did good here. If she did enough. If what she had managed to build here, meeting others and playing out this single scene, was helpful to restoring this broken world. She would like to believe it was.

She hopes it was. ] I...

[ It hurts.

It hurts so much, she can barely breathe. The side of her chest feels as if it's collapsed in on itself, her throat feels small, the air feels thin.

This isn't the first time one of her friends has hurt her so. The last time had been painful enough, a twisting knife plunging deep into her side, leaving her bleeding out, leaving her bedridden for days. But just like then, her sentiments will be the same: ] ...Whatever happens, know that I already forgive you.

[ All she can see before her is cruel, yellow eyes and a crooked smile: a monster that has taken over a his body, using him to cause harm. ] B-..because [ She chokes. ] this isn't who you really are. [ The Disciple she knows never wears such a smile, never holds such malice. He is aloof and serious, to be sure, but he is never cruel. Not like this. It's almost as painful as the injury itself, she finds, to witness someone she knows transform into a being like this. The real Disciple wouldn't do this. She's sure of it. The real Disciple would have been one of the first to protect someone. ] ...I'm sorry.

[ She lifts up a hand to his wrist, or tries to. For in the next moment it falls limply to her side, falling unconscious. ]

[He cocked his head to the side, hearing her feebly try to speak. Pathetic. Hearing her apologize, forgive him?? It pisses him off even further.

Stop.

He drops her head, fingers curling around her neck.

Stop!

His laughter echoes through the quiet forest, getting louder and louder...then gradually subsides. Her neck was still intact through all that, the Disciple had his hands pressed over his face, breathing heavily.] Stop it... [He props himself up with a hand, to keep him from completely falling into the dirt. The laughter still echoed in his mind as he tries to shake it off. With a sharp intake of breath, he lifts his head in a panic upon seeing Ophilia's limp body.] No....no, no, no- [He carefully grabs her by the wrist to find her pulse. She was still breathing, she had to still be alive. His hands were shaking, trembling himself of what had transpired, what he had nearly done. The Disciple distrust towards others is something he makes very clear to others the moment they meet him, but he would never go so far as to murder or attack anyone unprovoked.

You've always had the desire. Society is just holding you back. Learn to let go.

He shudders, disturbed by this to his very core.] Hey, are you still with me?! [There's uneasiness in his voice as he shouts for her. Anything to hear someone else that isn't a voice in his head right.]

[ Her head lolls to the side as soon as he releases her hair, her body completely limp. She's unmoving, pale and cold...

But then there's a breath, an agonal, sharp breath from her, where it looks like all of her energy-- what's left of it-- is simply being used to breathe. She's still alive, but definitely not "with" him in the sense that she will be able to respond. ]

[He grits his teeth. Dammit, of course she can't say anything like this.] Idiot. [Who he's referring to as the idiot is left for interpretation. He has to get her back into town, find some help, or do it himself. The only good thing that comes from this damn essence.

Calm down. He needs to examine her injuries first, avoid being too hasty and worsen her condition. She was having a difficult time breathing, so somewhere by her chest...?] I'm sorry for doing this. [He starts to undress her top, ripping into it if he has to until he finds a nasty bruise on her side. He wince at the sight, shutting his eyes for a moment to get his focus back. There's probably some internal bleeding, pressure being placed on the lungs. Too much movement will probably make it worse. He looks around, looking for something long and flat, anything he can tie to her to keep her from moving too much during transport.

Eventually, he'll be able to make his trek back to town, carrying Ophilia in his arms. A piece of wood had been tied to her with some of the torn clothes from her outfit. Once he's in town, he going to find the nearest building and get her laying on a proper flat surface. Being so focused on his objective, he doesn't pay attention to the locals whispering around them, their gasp of horror. They're no help to him, so it didn't matter what they thought was going on.]

[Alfyn never expected the story to take these kinds of turns, but then he's no expert in stories. Maybe this is how it was supposed to go all along. That'd worry him.

He isn't exactly right there when the Disciple comes back with Ophilia in his arms but he's nearby, and he's good at following the sound of trouble to see if he can do anything about it. Now, he'd help anyway, but when he comes upon them and realizes that man's carrying someone he knows really well? His fast jog turns into an all-out run and he just barely manages not to yell her name.

The man goes into a building and Alfyn follows him, not even stopping to catch his breath.]

Ophilia! [No, she can't answer him, but hopefully this fellow realizes they know each other because of it. Alfyn looks at the Disciple with worry openly written on his face.] Can you tell me what happened? I'm an apothecary, I'm here to help. [He lifts the strap of his bag as if that will help his case. Every bit of him is straining to turn and see to Ophilia but that'll be useless and might use up time if he doesn't know where to start.]

[He understands the urgency of this situation, but there was too much happening all at once. Who was this man? Why is he talking so much? Why is he shoving the bag up at him? He takes a step back from Alfyn, still holding onto Ophilia as he faces him in a guarded matter. He needs a moment to make sense of what he's telling him and realize he's not a threat.]

...She was hit by a blunt object, the lower chest area. [Finally, he manages to say something, his voice quiet and still shaken by what had happened, what he had done.]

[When he backs away, Alfyn realizes he's coming on strong - out of worry, but that's not helping anybody. He takes a step back and raises his open hands.]

Sorry I startled you there. It's just, Ophilia's a good friend of mine, and I'm worried about her. Ain't often I see her looking like this.

[Already he's thinking about what might be wrong just based on what the man here said happened. None of it's good.]

I just wanna help. You can stay right here with her if you're not sure about me. Heh, she'd probably like having more people by her side. [He wears a friendly but very worried not quite smile and is using his most soothing voice.] But it looks and sounds pretty serious, and I don't want her to keep hurting any longer than she already has.

. . . [The tension eases a little as Alfyn further explains himself. Yes, of course he's here to help, but his own paranoia got the better of him that he couldn't look pass it. He needs to put her down already. He turns to the table nearby and carefully sets her down onto her back.]

Tell me if there's anything I can do to assist. [He rather not be here when she wakes up, but it's his fault she got like this. He's not going to just leave without doing something to help.]

[That's a step in the right direction as far as Ophilia's health is concerned. Alfyn relaxes, too, stepping over to the table and examining what this fellow or someone else helpful has done so far.]

Were you there when it happened? [It's a standard question, as far as Alfyn is concerned; he has no idea the weight it might carry. But this man could describe the injury Alfyn is now carefully looking over, around the makeshift splint, so chances are he knows what went down.] Or can you tell me how long she's been unconscious?

[He's listening even while he listens to her breathing and feels around the visible bruise very carefully. If it's what he thinks it is, he doesn't want to make it any worse.]

I can't say how long, but I was there. My essence is a doctor, so I was able to examine her and did what I could to keep her injury from getting worse during transport. [He's not admitting everything, but it's still the truth. He moves around to the other side of the table to observe.]

The injury is making it difficult for her to breath. There may be some internal bleeding. [His voice is more steady now at least, now that Ophilia is getting help.]

[This smile is a little more relieved.]

Then I'm really glad she had you there to help her out. [Alfyn pulls his satchel off over his shoulder and sets it elsewhere on the table so he can look through it. They didn't have a lot of time in Index for him to figure out what would make medicines equivalent to the ones he knew best, but he tried to read about and then barter or forage for at least the basics.]

She's got a couple broken ribs, and they're moving when I press on them. I don't think they've hit her lung, though. [He thinks she'd have a lot more trouble breathing in that case. Gods, but he wishes for grape essence right about now.] There's not much we can do for her here besides keep her still and comfortable enough to breathe better.

[Ah, damn, if his essence knows that stuff already, Alfyn figures he must sound pretty silly. But he can worry about that later on. He knows that if Ophilia comes to, she'll be able to help herself heal. They just have to see her there.]

So I want to take that splint off, 'cause I've got a balm in here that'll soak in and numb most of the pain. I'd really appreciate your help with that, especially if she starts moving around.

[The Disciple quietly nods as Alfyn makes his own observation. Most of it lined up with what he suspected, which is nice to hear when you're technically not a trained doctor.]

So you want me to keep her still. [He'll come around at the foot of the table by her head. He then carefully unties the clothes he used to keep the splinter attached to her.]

Yeah, and keep some pressure right here too, if you can.

[Alfyn just barely doesn't touch the spot - the same one that splint is currently supporting. Most of all he doesn't want anything to move more than it already may have.

He works quickly after that, spreading an ointment of sorts that smells an awful lot like apples over the whole of her bruise. Much as he can tell she's having a harder time breathing than she should, it doesn't sound deadly, and he hopes it never ever gets that far.

Once he's done and the balm has a chance to set in, he smiles at the man standing there nearby.]

Thanks. We should wrap it back up so you don't have to keep standing there like that.

[Probably that isn't enough to get Ophilia to wake, but it'll be a more comfortable rest, and Alfyn is extra alert now in case she does stir.]

[He does as he's told, keeping Ophilia in check while Alfyn works. The balm had a curious fragrance to it. He was expecting it to have an unpleasant smell.]

Maybe there's something better we can use in here than a tree branch. [He glances around.] What is that balm made of? [If he was suspecting it to be some of kind poison, it's a little too late now.]

The paste from a couple different crushed seeds, from back in town, and the syrup from reducing apple blossoms.

[He pushes the jar over; the man is welcome to smell or test it himself. Meanwhile Alfyn casts around for something more...sturdy, or flat. Binding up ribs is never all that ideal...]

I spent a while reading up on the herbs and seeds native to this place, when I first got here. House even came with already tilled earth I could use to grow some. ...It was sort of a little intuition that told me maybe the stuff from apple trees would help. My essence is...uh, an...apple tree grower?

[Some of his talking happens just to keep the people around him calm; most folks lower their guard around friendly chatter, and it's always good to see the apothecary isn't looking worried.]

Might just have to wrap it tight with thicker cloth and bandages.

[He slowly tilts his head.] An apple tree grower. [People can write just about anything. He picks up the jar, the doctor's curiosity getting the better of him. He hesitant at first to ask, considering this man will figure out the rest of the truth eventually, but getting the knowledge where he can means he could look into dealing with his condition sooner as well.]

If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to learn what you've uncovered sometime. I've only had a chance to study what medicines to apply where, but not much behind their creation.

[He puts down the jar, looking down at Ophilia for a moment. Some thicker cloth. He takes the cloak off he had been made to wear for his role.] Will this do?

Sure! Can't say I'm exactly an expert on all the right plants and mixtures for this world, but I learn somethin' new every day.

[And he nods to the cloak, taking it gently and folding it up into something with more structure and stability.]

That'll do 'er. I've got bandages in my bag, too. We've still got to make sure she doesn't move, not until she heals some.

[Which should happen a lot faster than the weeks it'd take without her spells!]

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