Amore Belle

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Amore Belle

Post by Keeper of Stories »

October 14th: Dockside District

The wreck of the luxury liner Amore Belle has arisen to dock one last time.

In the glory days of glamor and luxury, the Amore Belle was built as a sleek and lovely craft, taking a swinging party port to port, and transporting the beautiful and rich on their carefree lives.

Until one dark and stormy night when the Amore Belle ran afoul of the rollers in a shallow stretch of sea. First lifted high onto a wave, then dropped low into the trench, her engines flooded and she lacked the power to steam out of her predicament. First, the Amore Belle rolled, and then slammed back down to the seabed. She managed to settle on her keel… forever. One by one, the engines chugged to a halt. The lights extinguished. The cold and dark sea took possession of the vessel. Little was ever found to mark her fate, a few empty lifeboats, a handful of floatation devices with the ship’s name stencilled on it, and some deck chairs. Not one body was ever found.

However, rumors of the ship flew. It was said that on moonless nights, ships sailing over the grave of the Amore Belle could see lights under the water. Music could be heard, faint and distorted. Laughter and the sounds of a party in full cry.

One hundred years after her sinking, the Amore Belle has finally made port, covered in kelp and encrusted with coral. The water surrounding the ship at port is disturbingly dark, implying an unfathomable depth. Step aboard, walk the slimy and seagrass festooned gangway to walk to the promenade deck, awash in eerie fog and dank with saltwater and seaweed. Enter the Salon, where a wide buffet awaits, tended by the unfortunate souls who served the ship in life, wearing the livery of the Amore Belle, their skin gray, dark and peculiarly, scaled. Their hands are webbed and cold.

Something strange has been happening aboard the Amore Belle…



((Credit to Pharlen’s player for contributing this storyline hook. Thank you Pharlen! This is an Orktoberfest Forum Thread/Story Post for all to participate in and can be used for the Orktoberfest Achievement. Feel free to have your characters come aboard the Amore Belle, interact with the drowned staff, dance to a haunted waltz, investigate the ship, find luxury liner ticket stubs, eat some of the proffered food, find old journals with a few entries still legible, meet a lovely ghost couple etc. Just don’t solve the plot yet! You will have until Sunday, October 20th before the next installment.))
“... If we don't tell strange stories, when something strange happens we won't believe it.”
― Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl
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Desdenova VonTombs
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Desdenova VonTombs »

Desdenova wandered the docks fearlessly as the daylight stole away, his brows knitting. Something... something... It called him. His head tilted and he began to walk with a purpose. Suki, the little blue shop dragon, trailed after him cheerfully, though the closer they came to the docks, the more her tail lowered, her head ducking down. She whistled and nattered uneasily.

There she was, a glory of times past and a horror of sea-change. The Amore Belle. Desdenova stared at her in wonder.

Darkness was a wide spread around the long lost ship. She poised gracefully at dock, her gangway down and festooned in seaweed and grass, and didn't she, for a moment, didn't she look like she was decked out in colorful paper streamers and flowers? Wasn't there confetti and petals floating in the air? Wasn't there a jolly company upon that ship...?

Suki snatched the back of Desdenova's coat in her teeth and dug in, her eyes wide and frightened. Desdenova stopped as the little dragon pulled, looking back at her in some confusion.

"It's just a ship, Suki," he reassured her.

"Nononononono," the dragon insisted, keeping her teeth tightly locked in the fabric, "Vadd. Vadd."

"Bad?" Desdenova chuckled softly, turning to pet her head, "Oh, don't be silly, Suki. You're a lake dragon, and I'm a mariner. It's not like we can drown."

Suki could drown, and she gave a good shake of her head, knocking Desdenova aside. She took advantage of that and put her head to his stomach and started bulldozing the boy away from the ill fated craft.

"Oh, come on, Suki. Daisy's not worried," Desdenova pointed out, looking down for his shadow.

Except, he wasn't casting a shadow. His brows knit.

"Daisy?" he called uneasily, shifting to put his arm around Suki's head.

No answer came. Desdenova bit his lower lip, worried.

"Daisy?!" he called again.

Bubbles rose in a slow succession around the bow of the Amore Belle. Bubbles tainted dark greenish, frothing a sick yellow. More and more. Desdenova's lightless eyes opened wide, showing a bare scrap of sclera. Suki whined, shuffling back. Desdenova moved with her.

"Don't run, don't run, running makes them chase," Desdenova hissed to the dragon as he started backing away with purpose. Suki gulped, still clenching his coat in her teeth.

Fog poured from the bursting foam, and sketched its way across the dock in eerie patterns, like fingers reaching relentlessly outwards. The chill became profound.

Desdenova and Suki got to the road. Desdenova carefully pried open Suki's jaws, his gaze trained on the ship. He could see ghosts, he could command them if he tried hard enough, and he could destroy them if he called on all of his resources. He much preferred to simply live and let die, as it were.

It was Jackie, after all, who had inherited the lions share of their father's abilities.

"Whut?" Suki asked in a nervous undertone.

"Now we run," Desdenova told her, nodding. He turned and took off at a mad dash, the dragon right beside him. They careened around a few corners and went crashing into the Anchor Bar. Mom had a gate home there, after all.

He'd just have to explain the whole small blue dragon thing with him, and hoped that his dad was busy in the morgue and that there weren't any customers in the livingroom...

~Meanwhile~

Daisy pulled herself from the dark waters with a few good flaps of skeletal and tattered wings, tarry innards sloughing across the dock, bone showing through her sodden and decaying hide. She laughed hilariously, her seawater choked airways gurgling on each cackle. It wasn't easy to spook Desdenova, but Daisy knew where all of his nightmares lay, naturally.

The nightmare turned to regard the ship, switching the remains of her tail. Curious, Daisy sundered from her form, and rose up as a simple shadow of a humanoid figure. As she stepped daintily up the gangplank, her form altered to take on the impression of a flowing gown and a strange moony mask.

Drinks? Of course. Daisy accepted a glass of champagne from one of the odd crewmen, then appraised the buffet. It had been some time since the nightmare had gone to a party without holding onto Desdenova's leash. She was due to cut loose a little.
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Keeper of Stories »

Dockside District

The Amore Belle has a dark and alluring way about her. The waters lapping against her rotten hull are dark and deceptive. In contrast, the ghostly lights on the ship are enticing, even inviting. The further you explore her depths, the more the mystery draws you in. Bits and pieces of journals are found washed up against a bed, hidden in a rotten dresser, or left by the helm.

Wendy Adams’ Journal
Octo… 1.. ’19
“We did not stop. Why didn’t we stop…?”
...
“They screamed at us, begging us - but we didn’t hear them amidst our merrymaking.”
...
“I hope they found their way to shore.”

O… 13 ‘19
“Last night, I dreamt of the sunless seas of hell… and all the poor souls who are trapped there.”

Assistant Captain Marcus: A Seafaring Journal
September 23rd, ‘19
The ship is full to bursting! The Captain is ... our beautiful ship has gotten. The cruise is ... magnificent success. …

September 30th, ‘19
… I can’t say I agree with the Captain’s decision. Perhaps, ... helped them?

In small caches hidden around the ship are gold and platinum coins, worth tens of thousands of dollars. In the kitchens and the dining room are crystal, chinaware, porcelain tableware, and hand-crafted glassware. It is all in perfect condition. What will you do with such a luxurious prize? And can you take it without the passengers noticing? There are risks and consequences when stealing from such unhallowed ground.

((Feel free to have your characters come aboard the Amore Belle! Do you investigate the journals? Perhaps there are entries you find which I haven’t mentioned - feel free to add to what is there! Maybe you find the record of star-crossed lovers? Or perhaps a kitchen maid who is having an affair with the Captain? It’s up to you! Do you collect some of the gold or precious commodities? Does a ghost attack you as you try to take it? Feel free to take this and run with it! You can also build on the first post. The next installment will come on Monday, October 28th.))
“... If we don't tell strange stories, when something strange happens we won't believe it.”
― Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

Of course, the Danvers would be like that, they were rather new money, and didn't quite understand how things were done. And it was frightfully thrilling about Tommy and his aeroplane, it was a cracker, alright. Then there was grandmother and she was feeling so left out what with all the preparations and they really should take time to visit and buoy up her spirits, once the cruise was …

Mist shook his head slightly, his brows knitting. He lowered his head to his hand and found his hand caught in the fingers of a perfectly darling young woman. He stared at her, baffled. She looked like something from an old advertisement, alabaster skin with pinked cheeks and lips, twinkling brown eyes, a smile that was somewhere between innocent and come hither.

He'd been dancing a terrible long time. He looked around the ballroom, confused, seeking a clock. There was none. There was no light from the windows. It was just... a ball. The orchestra played sweeping swing, the lights were dim and golden. Festoons of gold and silver lamé were punctuated with balloons and bows. The dance floor was filled with handsome men in gorgeous suits and tuxedos, with beautiful woman in breathtaking gowns.

It was a dream of romance, and what the hell was he doing in the middle of it? Mist blinked several times, drawing back from his partner. She giggled and quickly grabbed for his hands once more.

"Oh, darling, don't go now, it's not even midnight. Aren't you having a lovely time? Isn't it marvelous to dance while the ship sways along with us?" the girl twittered, pulling him back into the dance, "You're such a wonderful dancer, not like that silly boor, Denny. I daresay he spent more time upon my toes than his own!"

"I... I'm sorry, I don't know your name..." Mist faltered, unwilling to be rude, and once she had him moving once more, he didn't seem to be able to keep from dancing. He loved to dance, after all.

"Oh don't be so silly! I'm your darling little Maisy Daisy! Remember? We would play for hours and hours in Mama's garden, and I would be queen of all the fairies and you would be my knight in shining armor... Or Mama's pots!"

He wanted so much for all of what she said to sound charming and adorable and familiar. But none of it did. Each word pressed him back a little bit further.

What am I doing here...? Where am I?

There were white gloves on his hands. He drew back again from Maisy, not noticing the sudden glare of annoyance that stamped itself over her features. Someone murmured something to her, and she was all smiles again.

"Darling, don't take off your gloves, that's terribly naughty of you," she burbled, trying to stop him. Yet, Mist managed to peel the left glove away and found himself staring at a wreckage of scars over the back of his hand. His brows knit. He couldn't remember how he had gotten such a scar.

"Dearest, now, look at that, put your glove back on, why, that silly Miss Leone would just faint right away to see such a scar," Maisy insisted, forcefully pulling the glove back over his hand, "I told you that you shouldn't fiddle about with the engine of that car, that's what the chauffeur is for!"

"Engine..." Mist echoed, his brows knitting. He could hear her nattering about the chauffeur, how he had put his hand into a running engine, it was all so terrible and she was very brave and didn't faint even a little until after the doctor had...

For a moment, it was like standing in the middle of a merry-go-round wildly careening out of control. The music ran too fast, then too slow, the faces of the people whirled around him, voices lulled and roared, he couldn't understand the words.

Mist backed up another step, and abruptly focused on the grand stairs. He turned and walked quickly for them, abruptly starting to run. He scrambled up the first rank of steps, and stumbled in confusion, faced by a huge, gilt framed mirror.

It was him? Tall, lanky, slender, trim and elegant in a deep gray tuxedo and tails. There was a domino mask on his face. As he moved to pull it away, he realized...

His hair was cut short, above his ears. Stylishly slicked back. Mist's breath caught in a yelp of protest, his knees buckling.

"Darling! Come back! The ball isn't over!" Maisy called in a laughing voice. She was coming after him. Mist glanced back at her and panic bit through his mind. He abruptly plowed straight into the mirror...

...And found his feet hitting the steel deck, rusted and mossy, slippery, dank. He looked around wildly. He was on one of the upper decks of the ship. What ship? The Amore Belle. It was written on a rotting life preserver. He stepped towards the railing.

How did I get there...? Did I simply walk up the gang plank? I did. Mist swallowed hard and looked for the gangway, but all he could see was dark water.

"I'm on the wrong side," he whispered to himself, running his hands back into his hair.

Gone. All of it. Cut neatly above his ears.

"Darling!"

Mist whirled as Maisy's voice sounded. She stood, a gleaming paragon of beauty, with smartly shingled and curled auburn hair, and big round brown eyes and adorably curved in a pretty princess gown, sparkling pink in the moonlight. Her arms reached out for him.

"Come back to the ball. We're too old to play hide and go seek!" she giggled.

Mist's breath left him all at once, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. Then he gulped in air and turned to run.

"Silly boy. I know everywhere you could possibly hide on this ship," Maisy tittered. She vanished into a tiny ball of shadowy light, and whipped away.
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

Image

Up, down, Mist wasn't certain which way to go. He jumped as ancient machinery clanked and groaned to life: the lift engine had come on, and the elaborate bronze and iron cage of the elevator was gliding less than majestically downwards. Rust shrieked, the cables groaned, the motor seemed to be a nickel away from shredding itself.

Yet it decided his course, Mist promptly grabbed the sea-fouled railing and rushed upwards. He looked around frantically, trying to get to the other side of the ship. Somehow he couldn't. The promenade which should have carried him around the stern of the ship only lead to stairs. The bow was no different.

It was dark. Mist gestured, an idle flick of his fingers, intended to cast a small spell which would create a ball of light.

Nothing. Mist shook himself. His hands were shaking, that was all. He tried again. And again. Finally, he carefully spoke the words of the cantrip, and still nothing.

"What is... what is...?" Mist gasped, touching his fingers to his face, pulling the domino mask off of his head. He couldn't see the familiar blue illumination cast by the runes cut into his skin. Startled by that revelation, he gripped at his face, then, panicking, tore the gloves from his hands. He touched at his face, around his left eye, but could feel nothing but his skin, clammy and beaded with sweat.

"Don't panic. Don't panic," Mist told himself in a breathless voice, leaning heavily to a bulwark to catch his breath.

"It's just nerves. You're fine. The spell was cast, you just can't see it," he went on, ragged and slow. Looking around for the were light despite seeing no sign of it.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked a few moments later, stumbling into a doorway. He paused. He could hear voices, paper rusting, for all the world as if he was outside an office. He was, he could see. There was a brass plate on the door before him, announcing the Captain's name.

Mist pushed the door open and found a nautical opulence. A comfortable and ship-shape office, with beautiful paintings, a thick woolen carpeting. A huge oak desk, papers and charts neatly laid out. He frowned, trying to make sense of it.

The voices came closer. Men, speaking in sharp tones to one another.

"It is the law of the sea! We live and die by..."

"Stow that talk, we are modern men, not..."

"Even so! Where is your decency, man!?"

The door handle turned. Mist darted away, smacking open a door and abruptly finding himself trapped in the captain's lavatory. He turned and found himself staring into another mirror.

Time spun to a halt as he regarded his own face.

The runes were gone. Not just his hair, but the runes that had been inflicted upon him decades ago. His skin was ghastly pale under his summer tan, unmarked, perfect. A strange stuttering sound escaped his lips as he struggled to unfasten the collar and shirt he wore, but only managed to pull the cravat tighter. He yelped, crashing back into the captain's office.

"Here, now, what are you doing in here?!" a man barked. It was dark and dank. Mist turned, and abruptly found himself face to face with the ghastly remains of a long dead victim of the remorseless sea.

"Young Silverwood, sir, looks like the malaria's back, sure as shooting. Best get him to the infectious hospital," another ghoul replied.

"What? I'm not... I don't have..." Mist blurted out, confused, but as he struggled to free himself from the creatures, everything changed once more. It was bright and comfortable, and two stately, handsome men in pristine white uniforms were regarding him in concern.

"There, lad, didn't the doctor warn you this would happen if you didn't take his treatment seriously? Purser, get Silverwood down to the infectious hospital."

"I'm not... I'm not sick, I … I want to get off of this ship, I'm not Silverwood, my name is Mist! Mist Silhaeven!" Mist stuttered, realizing abruptly that he actually was named Silverwood. In English.

"Ah, lad's been courtin' pretty Miss Maisy Cherrington, is what, seems that Denny Williams was trying to swoop in while young Mist was abed," someone chortled, pulling Mist to his feet. Mist staggered.

He felt as if he was burning with fever. His hands shook uncontrollably. Reality was a ragged stagger of madness away. His breathing was hard, labored, as if a weight sat on his chest.

"Oh no, my dearest!"

Mist flinched, struggling once more to escape when he heard Maisy's voice. They were dragging him somewhere. They put him onto the lift, and it was the most beautiful and modern thing he had ever seen, slowly lowering through the various decks, and it was a creaking, dying machine just waiting to spill him hundreds of feet to an unknown fate.

Their voices were a bizarre babbling. Everything he saw was veering wildly between beautiful and new, and decaying under the heavy hand of the ocean. Panic rose through him until he was eerily calm. Distant. Removed from what was happening to him.

A beautiful face, an older woman with kind hazel eyes, gray hair gloriously arrayed with pearls and silver, appeared before him. She cupped his face in her hands. They were warm and comforting.

"Oh, my precious boy. I know you're frightened, and I know nothing makes sense right now. It's just the illness. We'll have you treated properly and you'll be right as rain. You'll come home with your father and I, and you know Maisy would never have Denny over you, and everything will be lovely."

"...I'm not... I'm … I'm a..."

"Shh. You told me all about those strange fever dreams, RhyDin and elves and magic and all of those wondrous things. You must write them all down as stories, they were so strange and fantastic," she went on with a soft chuckle, kissing his brow, "And so horrible, why, your father and I would be devastated if you had been taken away from us and made into some sort of a mage. We would never leave you to such an awful and lonely fate, my dear little wanderer."

Mist fell utterly still, staring flatly into the woman's eyes. Everything left him. Memory, fear, confusion, it all silenced.

With a smile, the woman petted Mist's hair back and helped him lay down into a cot gone black and slimy with mold, covering him with a sheet just as filthy, inside a half flooded hospital cabin.

Mist's eyes closed.
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Keeper of Stories »

Dockside District

As you explore more deeply into the Amore Belle, a terrifying story unfolds. A ship full of refugees fleeing from a razed city was foundering. As the cruise ship passed, they hailed the Captain seeking help. This would have stopped the cruise as soon as it started. When the Captain realized he would have to refund the passengers' tickets, his greed got the better of him, and he ignored the foundering ship. On the return voyage, passing over the same spot, where the waters were known to be calm, the Amore Belle ran afoul of rollers in a shallow stretch of water. The passengers and crew were pulled down to the Sunless Seas of Hell.

The more you take from the ship, the harder you will find it to leave; even if you manage to disembark, you want to return, and a part of you may always be there. Perhaps you will become transfixed by the sea, addicted to it. Maybe you'll take on a haunted aspect. Or, you'll go onto the ship, and sink to the Sunless Seas of Hell. Maybe, you'll just drown.

Image

((I apologize that this is a day late! Feel free to write a story on any of the Amore Belle posts, you can use this thread or link them here. As for the curse or bond to the ship, your character can find a way to break it! One possibility is a sacrificial act opposite of greed. It's your story, so feel free to come up with another solution or ending.))
“... If we don't tell strange stories, when something strange happens we won't believe it.”
― Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl
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Mist Gul
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

The stars wheeled overhead, endless in a vast sea that was glass smooth, reflecting their twinkle back up to them, until it was impossible to orient oneself. Between the slight sway of the deck and … something. Perhaps it was the alcohol. He couldn't recall how many mimosa's he'd drunk before...

Dancing? They were dancing. It was a beautiful night, the orchestra's romantic waltz music poured over the top deck where the beautiful people danced under an endless midnight sky. Mist's brows knit slightly, and he looked down in to Maisie's big, brown eyes. She returned his gaze adoringly, raising a hand from his shoulder to caress a chill palm over his jaw. She was singing, he realized, along to the orchestra.

"...Just a song at twilight, when the lights are low,
And the flickering shadows softly come and go,
Tho' the heart be weary, sad, the day and long,
Still to us at twilight comes Love's old song,
Comes Love's old sweet song.

Even today we hear Love's song of yore,
Deep in hearts it dwells forevermore.
Footsteps may falter, weary grow the way,
Still we can hear it at the close of day.
So till the end when life's dim shadow's fall,
Love will be found the sweetest song of all..."


"...Uh... I... What am I doing here?" Mist asked abruptly, his brows knitting, pushing back slightly from the woman, uncomfortable and confused.

"We're dancing, silly. Under the beautiful stars. Don't you want to dance with me, dearest? My beloved, my one true..."

"...What?" Mist stammered, pulling a hand free to rub at his brow. His head was pounding, and he couldn't seem to focus. He was thirsty. Dehydrated.

"My one?" Maisy ventured, watching him keenly. That caught his attention, returning a sort of vapid confusion onto her.

"No. No. That's done. That's over. I need to... I need to go home..." Mist faltered, a hand gripping over his cheek, pressing at the flesh painfully.

"Oh, no, no, please, darling, no, you must stay with me. Mist. My beloved. Please, stay with me. What can you possibly have at home that is more dear and precious than our love?" Maisy whispered, grasping his hand and holding it between hers, pressing his fingers to her lips as she gazed into his eyes.

He was desperately confused, but he was strong willed, as well. He shook his head.

"I have to get home to Amaris, to the cats, to my horses..."

"They'll all be fine, darling! Oh, silly boy, you wouldn't leave on this lovely cruise with me without making sure your little family was all well cared for! And we'll be home with them again in no time, with your mother and father and all your friends and me, and we'll announce our engagement and it will be a dream of love," Maisy crooned, swaying side to side.

He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe her so much.

"Come, darling, what else is there? All alone in the world, in a place where you're always alone, always apart, never truly in your own loving family? Don't you want to belong? To belong to me? To your family? A mother and father who adore you, a love who sees only you, the man within those beautiful eyes, that strong and gracious soul...?" she whispered.

Mist closed his eyes, brows knitting faintly.

"I want that. I want it desperately," he whispered, "But it's not to be. It can't be. I need to go home, I need to get home to Amaris..."

"Oooh, he's like a broken record!" Maisy complained, turning her head to glare at a ghoul that had been captain in life. Mist kept speaking in a soft whispering, his head lolling to the side. Blood ran thickly from jagged cuts at the back of his neck. He sprawled in a wreckage of half coiled hawser, old life jackets, and deck chairs.

"I don't understand it, he should be dead by now," the captain responded, annoyed, "Beaulah was doing much better with him, have..."

"No! He's mine! I found him, he's mine!" Maisy snapped, ghastly and decayed in her anger, her finery replaced with seaweed and her eyes missing entirely.

"It's his power we need, Maisy, and don't you forget that," the captain replied coldly, "Without it, our doom remains the same."

Maisy glowered at the captain as he staggered away on broken legs and rotting joints. She mocked his words viciously under her breath.

"Our doom, you mean, your doom, you nasty old cad," Maisy muttered. She put a sour smile onto her decaying face as the matronly Beaulah shambled to her.

"It gives me such hope when a young, handsome man would rather have his dear mummy than some gilded tart," she crooned, kneeling beside Mist and taking his hand her in fish-clammy fingers. Maisy rolled her eyes and made a face.

Why wouldn't he die? He had cut himself at least a dozen times on sharp points of metal and glass, some of the wounds were quite deep, as they pushed him around the ship. The wounds bled for a while, stopped, then bled more when they could get him to move, only to stop again.

Maisy wondered if his strange tattoos had anything to do with it.



(Love's Old Sweet Song; music by James Molloy, words by G. Clifton Bingham.)
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

Dusk was falling over the docks, and it did nothing to improve the appearance of the Amore Belle. She had once been a gleaming beauty of a passenger craft, but now, she was derelict, covered in coral, barnacles, and seaweed. Her hull was battered, her bow smashed, much of the top deck was crushed. Black waters swirled around her, so maybe Maggie's idea of snorkling around the ship wasn't such a good one.

As the daylight faded, the Amore Belle began to gleam. Pale werelights flickered within the dark windows. Now and then, they could hear music of days gone by, laughter, singing. They could feel the press of something ... something dark and tasting of evil.

To the heightened senses, the place was filled with ghosts. Some may be benevolent or kind, but many were dark and harsh, and just as many were confused, mindlessly clinging to their fetters. There was also some familiar scents around the ship.

Desdenova looked the ship over then grinned wryly and walked to meet Maggie, looking the Amore over once more.

"She's still creepy. So. Double Dog Dare you to go on board." Though that was what they'd talked about earlier, exploring the wreck. Maggie studied the murky waters and the ship swaying in them. This was even stranger than one of her normal encounters with the dead. That is, if one could call seeing and speaking to the spirits of the dead normal.

"What ever you do, Des, take no souvenirs out of here. I'm pretty sure you know it already, but the dead are funny about people taking what they think is theirs."

Maggie heard the chatter of dolphins, it was usually a comforting sound. When the sea mammals poked their heads up there was no noise of water being moved. The dolphins were not of this plane, they had attached themselves to the Amore Belle. Perhaps, the poor creatures had died warding off people from boarding the vessel. Maggie eyed them warily much like she had other creatures that seemed out of place.

"Pfft, no way. I hope no one's been trying to loot this thing, it's a hot box," Desdenova noted, and with a toss of his head, he headed for the gang plank. Wearing his usual dark hoodie and jeans, sneakers and a knitted cap, his backpack over his shoulder, he was ready to do some spelunking. He cast a small cantrip, creating a ball of light to bobble ahead and above them. It shed a whitish light over about a twenty foot square.

"And by the way, darers go first." There had been a challenge in Maggie's tone, but, for a moment, an impish twinkle lit her eyes.

"Okay, so if we run into a pissy ghost, what's the plan?" Desdenova asked, stepping slowly to the gangplank. He pressed his weight against the steel as hard as he could. It felt solid, but slick where it wasn't rusty. He looked back over the docks, chewing his lower lip, like he was hoping his sister was going to come barging in to tell them to get on home.

Nope. Nope. They were cool, they were tough, they could handle this!

"We run into a cranky ghost, we call in reinforcements!" Maggie nodded sagely. "A few of those soldier spirits at Battlefield Park have been known to do patrols around the city not just the Haunted Armory. Most people don't see them because they don't want to be seen."

Maggie tugged up the zipper and hood of her heavy jacket. "Besides, it's almost Samhain. The spirits might think we belong here, recent arrivals if you get my meaning." Carefully, she followed Desdenova along the gangplank.

"Reinforcements? Now you sound all responsible and stuff," Desdenova scoffed softly. But he remained wary as he paced up the gang, hands loose at his side, his head turning and bobbing often. He was catching scents as he walked. He stopped near the passageway onto the deck of the ship.

There was a pile of wreckage, and from it has hung several golden strands of hair. And blood in stagnant puddles on the steel floor.

"...Hey Maggie. This is ... This is Mist's hair. And his blood," Desdenova called, frowning.

"Have you met my parents?" Maggie was about to start teasing Desdenova, however, a few seconds before he called out to her again, the familiar coppery smell of blood hit her nose. Hearing the explanation for it caused Maggie's eyes to narrow.

"Not a good sign." Maggie had one hand on the railing as she steadied herself climbing aboard. "How are his fighting skills, any idea?"

Mist had always shown the healer side of himself to her. Maggie knew very well that people were never one sided.

"Mist can fight to safe his life, but..." Desdenova replied, taking out his phone, "I mean, he says he used to be a battlefield mage, but he hated the killing..." He texted Mist, and waited. After a few minutes, he texted Amaris.

'Where are you? Where's your dad?' he typed.

"I saw him at fright fest, he threw down a major spell, but he was hurt after, I heard." Desdenova added. He frowned at the phone, shaking it a few times as if that'd make someone respond faster. Then he looked deeper into the ship, sending the ball of light inside.

A wide open area, the promenade deck. One could walk from one side of the ship to the other through a wide avenue where there were stairs, a spidery set of elevators, and long closed shops. Jewelry spilled across the deck from one. There were sounds of a cocktail party in progress coming up from the elevator shafts. Both were old fashioned, open cages in a steel frames. The stairs were wide and grand, going up a deck and down a deck respectively.

"Maybe someone brought him here. Unless they're desperate, people don't generally leave their own blood and hair behind." Maggie offered. She stepped into the air and began to float. "Give me your hand, ok? Those stairs might not be as sturdy as they look and cages are cages even when they look like elevators. I think I can get us both down there without stepping on the deck, but we need to go quickly."

"Feather fall? Okay, but I reserve the right to flail if you let me go," Desdenova replied, wrinkling his nose. No reply from Mist or Amaris. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and offered his hand to Maggie. "Maybe, there's no sign of a struggle, just his hair, like he got it caught on something walking through here."

"I won't if you won't," Maggie smiled slightly as she took his hand. As they came down the stairs, Maggie did her best to make it look like they were wandering spirits. There were so many inside the ship already, the best way to not be noticed was to be in plain sight. "Or someone grabbed it?"

"I don't know. There isn't another scent associated with it, like if someone was dragging him or something." Desdenova paused as they regarded the stairs, lifting his head and rather obviously taking in the scents.

The walkway around the steps was lined with what had been expensive gilt framed mirrors, now salt fouled and dim, rotting away with the rest of the ship. There were foot marks, scuffs, in the algae and muck on the floor.

"...Up, I think," Desdenova finally decided, his brows knitting as he looked up the stair well. Bouncing around near the top deck skylight were four small were lights, some four decks up. He pointed at them.

Maggie tipped her head as she studied the bouncing lights.

"Uh, Des? I don't think spirits have scents, at least not all of them."

"Some do, they smell like oranges or dirt or sometimes of whatever killed them," Desdenova replied, "Those are magic lights, like mine. Those are cast spells. They should be following the caster around. Those are just sort of hovering there."

"Any way to find out who they belong to?" Maggie suddenly closed her eyes as she mulled over an idea or two in her head. "What happens to them if the caster is knocked out cold?"

"Depends. A strong enough caster, and they'd just sort of bobble around even if the caster was unconscious. They'd fade out if the caster was dead," Desdenova responded with a slight shrug a moment later. "Yup, I can find out. But I'm going to have to grab one to tug on it. Come on." Desdenova grinned wide and creepy. Onwards!

Amaris had no cell service as she ran through the forests in wolf form. Her phone chimed though from within the tooth indented backpack, her were bag, as she called it. Skidding to a halt she set down the pack with a thump and stood straight, closing her eyes and concentrating.

School was helping Amaris get even more of a handle on her wolfing. She started to change back, slowly but it was more fluid then before. Bones creaked and cracked as they shifted into the human structure of Amaris.

During the shift Amaris fell to the ground and lay on her stomach naked for a few moments before another insistent chirp from her phone had her groaning and getting up shuffling through the bag throwing on the packed cloths. She blinked a few times before coming into focus of the messages texting back.

'I thought he went to check on Juniper she's suppose to have her baby any day now. Betsy wasn't happy but let him go at least check on her... Why?'

Desdenova paused when his phone chimed, and he quickly tapped a response.

'At the docks, Amore Belle, the wrecked ship. We found some of your dad's hair and blood here. He's not answering my texts. Me and Maggie are on deck, follow your nose.'

Amaris stopped long enough to text again: 'I'm on my way.'

Fast as she could, Amaris tossed off her clothes and threw them into her pack, as well as the phone. Fur was growing before she'd even focused. Dad's blood and hair? Not answering his texts? She groaned as her bones shifted and changed, letting out a howl before scooping up her bag into her jaws.

Amaris took off like a shot, sniffing as she ran. Once she struck the scent, it took her little time to arrive at the ship. She looked up at the ghastly ship, lips curled a little as her fur rose on end. She carefully stepped onto the plank following their scent to stop behind them with a soft whimper.

"Amaris? Yeah. Uh. You've got the sharper nose and you're faster," Desdenova noted, "We can see some were-lights on the top deck, those might be his. I don't know. Take the point."

Another soft whimper and Amaris's voice sounded softly in their minds.

~Yeah it's me, Hi Des, Maggie.~

Amaris ruffled, surprised. Her, lead? She hoped Desdenova knew what he was doing. She looked around and sniffed. It was easy to pick up the scent, and away she went the moment she struck Mist's scent. Her pace a bit fast, but she did her best to hold back for her friends to keep up.

"Glad you are here," Maggie said. A moment or two passed before she turned to Desdenova. "We bringing up the rear?"

"Yeh," Desdenova nodded, trying to hurry after Amaris.

Stepping through the foyer, Amaris looked around. It was so strange in the ship and she let out another whimper and a chuff. The scent led her towards the mirrors. Mist's scent was pooled there, strong, but not fresh. Amaris's wolf instincts pushed at her, and she rushed into the slick steel. A moment later she slid across the foyer, arms cartwheeling, and wincing as she realized she was going to crash into the mirrors. She braced herself.

Amaris slid into the mirror, vanishing with a ripple of water where there was glass.

"....!!! AMARIS!" Desdenova and Maggie yelped, scrambling after the girl. Desdenova pressed hands to the mirror, but it was once more cold glass.

To Amaris, everything was a dark refection of the real world, which, in this case meant the ship was all lovely and new and even creepier. There were sounds of happy people, the deep thrum of the ship's engines, the smell of the sea. And there was still the smell of Mist.

~Amaris!! Don't move! Stay right where you are! Can you see us!?~ Desdenova called, focussing his mental voice towards her.

Amaris tumbled on the other side of the mirror, unable to not move as Desdenova had instructed her, but after a few moments of collecting herself, she stood up and dusted herself off. Shuddering, she moved towards the mirror, fully intending to step right on back through.

Except, it was a solid mirror again. Amaris tapped on it, confused.

~... I..Is that you?~ Amaris narrowed her eyes seeing bright lighted versions of the two, though Maggie looked scary to which she whimpered, when she looked at Desdenova she almost laughed, he looked like a sweet innocent little kid instead of the devil child he was.. except his skin was blue.

~What's going on, I see you but... you're both strange looking~

~You're seeing through the Penumbra. So you're seeing more than your eyes would usually see,~ Desdenova explained, hand over his face. ~The Penumbra is like a reflection of the real world. But it can lead to places dark and far away and you'd be lost. So. This is super important. Kind of grab over your heart, and think of home. After a few tries, you should find a silver string in your hand. Push that string to the frame of the mirror. That will anchor you so you won't get lost.~

~Be careful to not eat or drink anything.~ Maggie added, the story of how Persephone became Queen of the Underworld drifting through her mind.

"I'm more worried something would eat her," Desdenova laughed abruptly to Maggie, "Do you know how to get into the Penumbra?"

"No," she shook her head, "The Underworld, yes, mirror worlds ... not yet."

"I know how to get there, but I'm not supposed to go there without someone experienced," Desdenova responded, biting his lower lip. He wondered how grounded he'd get if he just yanked Amaris out. Except. Things always happened for a reason with the Penumbra. There must be a reason now for it to have let Amaris slide within it.

~Penumbra...~ a soft grunt came from Amaris as she closed her eyes, placing her hand over her heart, thinking of the cave, her warm bed, the cats snuggling her, her chores, her art supplies... Mist! Roni! Auntie, Maggie, Desdenova, Pops, Dillon even. She thought hard about these things separately first, stringing out the details of each, then started thinking of them as a whole:

Holy shit she had a home!

Tears pricked in her eyes as that realization hit her. A strong clear light, silvery lavender in color glowed from her hands, a string strong and beautiful that she turned and pushed into the mirror frame. Amaris cleared her throat a few times

~I hear ... a party?~ Amaris's voice sounded softer then before

"Sometimes, you have to bend the rules to save a life," Maggie murmured to Desdenova.

~A party...?~ Desdenova frowned, and then he grinned at Maggie, shouldering her gently.

"You know my family. Baptism in fire and damn the torpedos, which is why mom keeps a short leash on me." He lifted his left wrist to show her his Medic-Alert bracelet again. Then he frowned, thinking. They could hear party sounds as well, in the dark of the real ship.

~Can you still smell Mist, Amaris?~ This might be the easier way to get Mist home! By the way Desdenova held himself, he wasn't sure if the girls were going to think he was crazy or not.

Maggie held up her right arm to show him her comm-link.

"Independence is a big responsibility. They trust us, but we're still their babies."

Amaris sniffed a few times

~Yes...~ Amaris looked around anxiously, ~he's.. down... stairs. He's bleeding... I gotta get down to him~

Maggie's brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed. She was doing some serious thought in her head as she studied that mirror, that gateway.

"I think I know someone that can help..."

Maggie poked a few buttons on her commlink.

"Catie, put Riddle on the back porch and tell him to find me, make sure he's ready for anything."

The commlink made a crackling noise and a young girl's voice answered:

"You better know what you're doing, Miss Bossy Pants."

~Hang on, Amaris, we'll head downstairs, too,~ Desdenova called, then he tilted his head, peering at Maggie's link. "Riddle?"

"Mama's dog. I hope he doesn't weird you out," Maggie explained.

"Dogs don't weird me out," he scoffed, amused. ~Wait, Amaris.~

"He's not just any dog. He was a gift from Uncle Hades," Maggie informed them.

It was a short while before what appeared to be an elderly Collie dog wearing a pack arrived to join them. From inside that mirror, Riddle looked the same as he did on the outside of it. His hidden self rarely showed.

While the others waited for the dog, Amaris had shifted back to her human self, getting dressed bag still with her.

"Hades, huh?" Desdenova noted, eying the dog suspiciously, but still scritching the animal's ears, "I heard the real reason Persephone got with Hades is because she wanted to pet his dog."

While Maggie choked on that little tidbit, Desdenova asked Riddle to go to Amaris and guide her. The dog wagged and easily passed into the Penumbra via the mirror.

"Go to Mist. Hopefully, there's a mirror or a piece of glass or something where you can see us from."

Desdenova had neglected to explain that little problem with the Penumbra: without glass or mirrors or other reflective surfaces, Amaris and Riddle wouldn't be able to see the real world, and Desdenova and Maggie wouldn't be able to see them.

Desdenova turned to Maggie and offered his hand.

"Downstairs."

Maggie took Desdenova's hand.

"Let's do this. Or as Aunt Rhi likes to say, the game is afoot," Maggie grinned.

(Taken from live play with Amaris and Maggie <3)
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

Riddle howled once to announce his presence, anything that had wandered into this place from the Underworld or other such places would know stay clear of him and give the dog a wide berth. Amaris greeted Riddle, but wasted no time rushing down the stairs. She sniffed as she looking around, wide eyed and curious.

Riddle followed Amaris, she knew the scent they needed to follow. He was there to help tow the man out, to protect her, and possibly other things.

They ran downwards two flights, and stumbled into the grand ballroom. To Maggie and Desdenova, it was a horrific sight, filled with seaweed and slime, the wreckage of the furnishings, even a few lobsters and crabs. It stank.

Fortunately, the walls were studded with elaborate mirrors, many cracked and corroded. Around the bandstand, there was a bank of them. It was there, sprawled over the ruins of an old chair, that they found the elf. Unconscious, and bleeding.

What Amaris and Riddle saw from the mirrors around the old band stand? The beautiful craft at her height of luxury, filled with beautiful people in beautiful garbing. But Mist... Mist had several bizarre spectral green tentacles sunk into his chest.

Maggie's eyes widened at the sight of Mist.

"Holy Zeus spinning on a trident, they Davey Jonesed him!" While emphatic, Maggie's words were spoken softly.

Amaris looked around in wonder.

~So pretty~ she gawked and then moved through the people, after a few moments of nods and curtsies. After a few moments, she laid eyes on Mist and squealed she rushed towards the Mist's side, Riddle on her heels.

"Daddy!?" she touched his shoulder. It was cold. He was cold. She sucked in her breath.

Mist was entirely unresponsive, bleeding from his neck and shoulders, his chest, all of his runes were glowing. There was a beautiful brown haired woman leaning beside him on Amaris and Riddle's side.

"No, go away, he's ours!" the woman snapped.

A low growl came from the dog, whatever was going on here, he was not comfortable with it. Amaris's eyes glowed and she glared at the woman.

"That's my daddy, leave him alone! He is not yours, he's ours!" the girl snapped. She pulled on the tentacles trying to get them free, and found that her hands just sank through them. She stared, her hands covered in gooey ectoplasm.

Riddle bit into one of the tentacles to try and sever it, and was able to chew through the viscid goo, though it kept reforming around his jaws. Slowly, he changed form: his three heads were now revealed. The dog needed the extra biting power.

Amaris blinked and whispered 'I'm so glad you're on our side!' to Riddle. Then she started to growl softly towards the woman.

"Leave my daddy alone."

"You don't understand!" Maise wailed, clinging to Mist's shoulders.

Desdenova and Maggie stared at the ghost, but to their eyes, she was rotted and decayed, long ago taken by the sea. Her voice was distant and echoed as if she was speaking from underwater.

"What do you mean, he's yours, he's not yours, he's living, let him go!" Desdenova snapped to the ghost woman, glancing to Maggie, "Try and heal him."

"Some stuff in Riddle's packs will help," Maggie said in answer to Desdenova.

Amaris pulled her knife out and got into a fighting stance to protect Mist, and hoped Riddle could rip through the tentacles. She stared briefly at the dog's three heads, but her questions for Maggie would wait.

"Okay. ~Amaris! There's stuff in Riddle's packs to help heal Mist~," Desdenova called, turning to find the nearest mirror, which was, helpfully, right beside them, the wall around the bandstand was lined with them.

The ghost snarled and lashed at Amaris and Riddle both, pushing at them, trying to drive them back.

"You can't take him, he's got to free us!" Maise yelled, angry tears in her eyes, "He's got to help us!"

"Open his packs, Amaris!" Maggie called out hoping her voice would cross between the dimensions. She froze in place as she heard the female ghost.

"Free you from what? You just can't force people into doing those things!!" Maggie yelped, outraged.

A curse was spat out by Maggie as Riddle grew some in size. "This. Is. Not. Good."

Amaris moved to Riddle and started going through the bag. When Maise lunged, Amaris stopped searching and slashed her blade towards the woman.

"If you learned to ask nicely, he might have helped!" Amaris snapped, turning back to the bag

"What are you talking about?" Desdenova demanded of Maise, reaching over to cast a healing spell onto the elf.

The moment he cast the spell, another tentacle came spiraling out to grab for Desdenova. Shocked, he turned and threw his hands up at it, managing to stop it in its tracks, but not with a spell. He wasn't a necromancer like his sister, but he did have some of her powers.

Nostrils flared as Riddle seemed to be doing a head count of the spirits on the bandstand.

"Des! I have an idea!" Maggie yelped.

"He has to help!" Maise wailed, and all hell broke loose. Things begin to fly around, the ship seemed to lurch. Des struggled against the tentacle and the flying debris.

"An idea is good, what is the idea?!" Desdenova yelled, "I can't command the dead like Jackie can!"

Maggie uttered a few words in Greek, it didn't matter who else understood them, it was the best way to get Riddle to understand her.

"I can't command the dead, but Riddle's father might be able to herd them into the Underworld. Riddle can't cross into that plane without help, but Cerberus can come to him."

"...That's kind of a level of insane that would make our parents proud," Desdenova sputtered, "But I don't know if you can get Kerberos here..."

Amaris stared at the ghost, shifting to keep her balance at the poltergeist storm raging around them. She took a deep breath before swaying and almost tumbling.

"How is killing my dad helping you?"

The ghost woman stared at Amaris.

"Because. He is powerful. He can free us. Don't you understand? We're trapped here, we've been cursed, and he is powerful enough to break the curse." As Maise spoke to Amaris, the flying debris calmed, and the ship slowed in its rolling.

"Please, let us have him. We've been trapped here so long."

"We aren't letting you take him, Amaris needs her dad. We can do our best to help you," Maggie told Maise, her eyes narrow. Then she looked to Desdenova with a gleeful expression, "Really? I'm honored!"

"My first parents are dead, you can't have my dad. I would hurt too much. Could you let him go, and I'll beg him to help you, and IF he says he will, he will; but it's not right, it's not honorable, to just take without asking," Amaris told Maise, her voice clear and stern.

"I can sing to Cerberus to get him to come here, Des. If Uncle Hades follows, though, this might get even more insane!" Maggie hissed, watching Desdenova struggling with the tentacle anxiously.

Desdenova slid back a few feet under the pressure of the tentacle and finally had enough. He sank fingers into the ectoplasm and began to drain it of its energy. Or, he tried. It was, he realized belatedly, the pooled energy of the entire ship's complement of ghosts. He abruptly flung himself away from it, panting, before vomiting behind the bandstand.

"...Try!" Desdenova yelped to Maggie, falling to his backside and raising a shield to shove the tentacle back.

Maggie began to sing a siren's song tailored to the canine ear. Riddle stayed on guard of Amaris as he continued to free Mist.

Maise started to weep as Amaris spoke to her, wringing her hands together.

"But... We would love him. I would love him. We would make him a family. He would be happy. We've been here so long...." Maise sniffled, looking at Amaris. "He kept saying Amaris, Amaris. You must be her. You're such a pretty girl. He must love you so much, too."

The ghost woman lit up with a happy smile.

"You come too!"

One of the tentacles came weaving in to try and grab Amaris. Amaris swiped at the tentacle with her blade. The strange steel slashed through the ectoplasm, but it simply re-formed and tried again. She could hear, and feel, howls of pain and anger each time she slashed at the tentacles.

"No thank you, if you are lonely, why don't you pass on? Is it because of the curse? Who cursed you? Why did they curse you?"

"...Oh!" Maise yelped, angry again, but there wasn't any reason to not answer Amaris's questions. "It was the Captain! He broke the law of the sea! And it damned all of us, but it's not fair! I told him he must help those people and he wouldn't! He wouldn't turn the ship to help refugees on the sea! It's not our fault!"

Somewhere near those spirits a gateway opened. A shadowy three headed canine creature lumbered to that gate and stood, its tail switching. Three heads turned aside as a gleaming white creature joined it. It was as ancient as the dog, and watched the scene with keen eyes as mystic blue as the skies of Olympus.

Amaris frowned and glanced at Desdenova and Maggie, then back to the girl.

"How is dad helping you like this?" She waved towards Mist, "You are trying to drain his energy, that isn't gonna help you, is it? Keeping him here takes him away from me, and others at home: my sister needs him too."

Amaris exhaled, pushing her hair out of her face and appealing to Maise.

"Don't you miss those that you left behind? Why would you take from someone else? It seems like you are just as bad as the captain," Amaris told her quietly.

"Amaris has that deep down crazy, she's one of us," Desdenova decided.

"So, you are going to curse Amaris and her Dad because it was done to you? How is that right or fair?" Maggie demanded of Maise.

"I... it... I don't know, it was Captain's idea..." Maise floundered. She stared at the girls haplessly, looking from Maggie to Amaris. She hung her head. "...I don't know."
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

A loud cacophony resolved into music... He was dancing...? He was laying in a heap? Mist couldn't tell anymore. He gazed with dim eyes upon Maise. After a moment, he struggled to lift his hand to touch her cheek. He frowned as he realized that his touch had left rot and filth tracing down her pristine skin. Maise was sobbing, and only clutched his hand despite the ruin it had left her face in.

"Mist. Dearest, beloved, don't you want to stay with us? With me? You could free us all and we would be free, and we would be together. I would love you forever, you would have a mother and father who love you so much, we could even bring your daughter..." she whimpered.

Mist's brows knit. How much he wanted someone to love, who loved him. To have a family, his parents, to know they did love him. But his head shook. Those things could not be.

"I have a family," he rasped, "I need them. They need me."

"But but you could have them here with us! Mist! Please!" Maise begged, trying to pull him closer. He pressed her back with a gentle motion of his hand, frowning again as he realized that his touch turned pristine, living flesh to cadaverous waste.

"We need your help," Maise finally blurted out, pressing her brow to his chest, "We're trapped here forever, you can help us..."

"All you had to do is ask," Mist whispered, "Let me go."
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Re: Amore Belle

Post by Mist Gul »

Cerberus bellowed, but, did not enter further. Instead, he threw a proxy in: he summoned Jackie. The teen came tumbling into the penumbra to stagger next to Amaris. She quickly got her feet under her, astonished, wrapped a 'skin' of plasm around Amaris, got a look at Mist, then through the mirror at Desdenova, and Maggie, and...

"WHAT THE DEMONLORDS PANTIES IS FUCKING GOING ON DO NOT TOUCH MY BROTHER BITCHES, HANDS OFF THE HOT ELF!" Jackie roared.

And Jackie cleared the deck in a darkling wave of white hot energy, tendrils burned off of Mist, away from Amaris and Desdenova, and brought a dead calm to the scene.

Amaris gasped, shocked at the sudden appearance of Jackie. She lifted her arms, looking at the weird plasm around her. It was odd and goopy, but she abruptly could see all of the ghosts as they were. Most had been forced back to the main doors, but Maise remained beside Mist. Another female ghost was just yards away.

Amaris moved towards Maise and looked up at her. She hugged the ghost warmly.

"I'm sorry you are hurting and angry, but you aren't the captain. You shouldn't try to be like him... be better," she nodded and looked up at the woman. It was probably a stupid idea, but she thought maybe compassion was needed to help Maise remember who she was and that she was innocent of the curse.

Amaris pointed towards Jackie and Riddle, then to Maggie and Desdenova.

"They can help, but you are not making them want to help you, you know."

"Des, does this mean your sister is going to lose her mind because we were holding hands?" Maggie whispered to Desdenova, perversely amused.

"...No, worse, she teases," Desdenova replied, immeasurably relieved to see and hear his sister.

Jackie cleared her throat and nodded, though her fingers twitched as if she was restraining an urge to devour every ghost on board.

"....Okay. Explain. And I will try to help," Jackie agreed stiffly.

"Their captain broke the law of the sea," Desdenova replied, and since the tendrils had been burned away from Mist, Desdenova promptly began to heal him, casting a major healing. He stood still and quiet as he worked the magic, a gleam of green waking over Mist, soon answered by the elf's own runes.

"That is a grave thing," Jackie responded, turning to look at Maise, then turning and gesturing at the gathered ghosts, until the captain was forced to stand in the middle of the ballroom. "We are creatures of the sea, all of us. And Her will must done, Her Law must be followed. This sin must be great for all of you to be held here."

"There was a ship floundering. It was filled with refugees. Women and children," the older female ghost explained, tears in rotting eye sockets, "He refused to help, even when we, the passengers, begged him to. We could have overcome him, but we didn't. We let ourselves be ruled by this horrible man."

Jackie shook her head slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"It still isn't fair," Amaris insisted, "They don't know how to run a boat anyhow probably."

The gleaming figure at Cerberus's side lowered its gracious head, whispering. A point of light gathered along its horn, then fluttered away to land lightly on Amaris's head. It faded into her aura. The girl blinked, perplexed, touching where the light had touched her, and words whispered in her mind: Friend of Spirits.

"Mother Sea must judge them," Jackie replied to Amaris, "And She has, but it has been a long time, we will ask Her to judge anew."

"Okay," Amaris nodded, hugging Maise once more, "It'll be okay," she reassured the ghost.

"I didn't want to hurt him. He's so kind and sweet and handsome and fun. ...I knew it was wrong, but..." Maise sobbed. She looked at Amaris and touched her face. "I'm so sorry Amaris. I tried to take your Daddy away."

Amaris gave the ghost a smile.

"You're forgiven, you forgot that's all," the girl responded with a smile, then she looked through the mirrors to Desdenova and Mist, "He's gonna heal, right?"

Maise blinked away tears, then gleamed brilliantly. She touched Amaris's cheek... and was able to walk to Cerebus and through the portal. Jackie and Desdenova stared, wide eyed, as the ghost left the ship.

"Yes, he's healing," Desdenova replied, his voice cracking.

"Come on, I'll bring you both back into the real world now," Jackie finally said, shaking herself. She reached for Amaris's hand, and carefully walked her through the mirror. Riddle followed easily. The moment Amaris was back in reality, she rushed to Mist, kneeling beside him and pulling his hands to her.

"Daddy!"

"Dude, did she just free that ghost from her fetter?!" Desdenova asked Jackie, astonished. Jackie shrugged and nodded, wide eyed.

The rest of the ghosts were restless and each of them were working through exactly what had happened to have freed Maise.

Amaris looked at Desdenova in confusion.

"What?"

"You freed that ghost," Desdenova replied, shifting to help get Mist onto his feet. The elf was more unconscious than conscious at that point.

"Hold on," Jackie muttered. She reached up and pushed several of the cuts around Mist's throat shut, molding his flesh like putty. Then she got under the man's arm to help him up.

"I can't do that" Amaris grinned, thinking Desdenova was joking.

"But... you did do it," Maggie said as she looked Riddle over for wounds. He had slowly returned to looking like a Collie dog.

The ghost of Beulah, that of the older woman who had tried to convince Mist that she was his mother, appeared as a floating light near them. She was also weeping, wringing her hands. This time, Amaris could see the ghost as well as Des and Maggie and Jackie.

"Her. Cut her fetter. That's a long leash that binds her here," Desdenova called, pointing to the ghost.

Amaris looked confused, but saw the weeping ghost. She moved closer to Beulah. She looking up and decided she'd just do the same thing, and hugged the ghost or at least wrapped around the spectral form.

"Don't cry, I forgive you," Amaris assured the woman warmly.

"I would have loved him as a son.. and you..." Beulah whispered tearfully. Once more, the fetter cut. The woman took a moment to look at them all, whispering "thank you" before she, too slipped away.

"DUDE!!! She did it! She totally did it!" Desdenova and Jackie cheered.

Amaris looked at Jackie and Desdenova and moved back towards the mirror.

"Can I go in and help all the ghosts? That woman was right, it isn't fair they get punished for the captain's meanness and rule breaking."

"It's not that easy, Amaris. Those two ghosts had already realized a lot from Mist," Jackie advised, "And some of them don't deserve it. The captain, for instance. But now you've shown them all what they need to do in order to escape the curse. They have to forgive themselves."

Amaris thought about it for a few moments and nodded. Then she beamed and hugged Mist tightly. He gave a soft laugh, stumbling a bit, and returned her embrace. He'd lost a lot of blood, and most of his hair. He was exhausted and dehydrated, though the healings were bringing him back around.

"...Finally. It is you. ...You're alive," Mist whispered, only to thump back to the deck. Jackie winced.

"Yeah. We need to get him to the ...oh wait, Maggie's gramma is a healer. Come on. I'll open a door," Jackie decided, walking back to the mirror. She tapped on it, and the glass rippled like water. Desdenova, Maggie, and Amaris helped walk Mist to the mirror, Amaris and Maggie staring in wonder at the connections that Jackie had crafted with that simple knock.

"Uhm... Okay, dead people?" Jackie called, turning back to regard the ghosts, "It's all on you. Cerebus will leave a way out for when you can leave on your own."

"Can I learn to do this?" Amaris asked as the other door opened before them.

"No," Jackie replied flatly.

"Jackie, she's a were, she should know how," Desdenova protested. Maggie sputtered laughing. Amaris gave the teen puppy dog eyes.

"You know what Mom said. So she can learn from Mom or her Dad, I'm not going to spend the next twelve months being Mom's chore slave," Jackie responded tartly, tossing her head when the brats had the temerity to giggle at her.

As if she knew they were coming, Colleen was waiting for them. She groaned upon seeing the state Mist was in, and put an arm around him, yelling for help to get him upstairs.

"This is IT, Mist Gul Silhaeven, you are on medical leave until further notice," Colleen informed him sharply. The kids flinched when she busted out all three of Mist's names. Mist didn't have the energy to protest, and that just further concerned the woman.

"Let's get you cleaned up and into bed," Colleen grumbled, then she turned to look at the rag tag batch of little ghost busters, "Go on, dinner's in the kitchen."

"Man, I hate being summoned," Jackie grumbled, then she cackled, watching Amaris, Maggie, and Desdenova descending on the dinner waiting for them, "Dudes, you're going to be getting your Hogwart's Letter any day now."
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