ic [IC] History, Mystery, perhaps some Witchery?

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Sunday, September 8^th, 2017

Claremont Academy, Freedom City, New Jersey

2:24 PM

 

 

 

School was about to start again. Winter break-slash-holiday break was about to be over. Most students had left the academy during the holidays, gone home to their families scattered all across the globe to celebrate. Lilly King was no different. She had left and headed back to Oregon to celebrate the holidays with her family, keeping up with her new friends through the wonders of social media and instant communications.

 

 

She’d returned to Claremont late Saturday, to give her a day of time to settle back into the school life. So far, so good. Most people had arrived a bit earlier, or would only arrive sometime between Sunday and Monday. She’d gotten up at a (not very) reasonable time on Sunday, her sleep schedule still in holiday mode. And from there, she went on about her day as usual.

 

 

Everything was as it normally was, when her phone notified her she’d gotten a message by Jann. Short, as usual. But, normally he got to the point immediately, which was a bit strange.

 

 

Welcome back. Time to meet? Have things to discuss.

Edited January 8, 2017 by olopi

[Darksider42]

While it had been great to see her parents again, Lilly was just glad to be away from her hometown and back at Freedom City. The strange stares some of the other teenagers gave her when she was visiting were a lot more off putting. Maybe that coven is watching me? That thought did not comfort her at all.

 

She was yawning just as she got her message from Jann. The though of him trying to operate a touch screen with his talons did cross her mind for a moment before she tapped a reply.

Sure. Where?

[olopi]

GM

 

The phone showed that Jann saw the message immediately, and began typing right after it had arrived. It still took a few moments for him to actually send the text, probably due to, as Lilly thought, his talons. After a few seconds, the response came in.

 

Eclipse. 30 minutes from now? Will pay.

 

Eclipse. Lilly did not take Jann for somebody to really go there, but really evaluating him was difficult to begin with, so who knew? Eclipse was a club in Southside, built into what it boasted being “an old church”. It was the goth meetup of South Freedom. And while on Fridays and Saturdays people below 21 weren’t allowed in (usually, there were some exceptions on certain days of the year), on Sundays it was open for just about everyone. It was located close to Freedom College.

 

A fact which also meant it didn’t care much about fake IDs. If somebody wanted to get in, they probably could. And then, there were all the rumours of the place being run by actual vampires. Or demons, as others stated.

[Darksider42]

LIllian had heard of Eclipse. She even thought about going down there one day. Guess today's the day then. Still it was a bit odd. Eclipse would be the sort of place Jann would hang out. Then again she had never been so she honestly would not know for certain.

 

OK. Need to get ready.

 

Half an hour later the teen plant controller was a few feet away from teh club. She went for something casual. Black jeans, boots and a shirt with her leather jacket. It was still too cold for dresses. She started scanning the area for the Avian. "Where is he? Guy with wings should be pretty hard to miss." She mumbled to no one in particular.

[olopi]

GM

 

From outside, the club looked quite imposing. Was the building actually an old church, as the club officially claimed, or was it just something made to look like one, as some people claimed? One couldn’t really tell; they’d certainly done a good job if it was the latter. It didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the area, the black and red in contrast to the average city buildings surrounding it. But that added to a certain charm.

 

Inside, the building was better lit than Lilly would have expected of a club, especially a goth one. Sure, thanks to the rather dark palette of walls and furniture it still wasn’t bright, but it was easy enough to see across the room. Various tables had also been put up, the area that probably was the dancefloor smaller than during prime-time.  There was quite a crowd in here regardless, talking with each other and listening to the music, played at a nice volume, loud enough to be audible, but quiet enough to talk. Looks-wise, Lilly fit right in.

 

As she walked past, one man, probably in his early 20s, wearing a full industrial style outfit, with white contacts and clearly dyed black hair pointed her into the right direction. Past the bar, and up the metal spiral staircase. Finding Jann from there was easy, his wings really made him stand out. But, if it hadn’t been for them, she’d probably not found him nearly as quickly, as he looked quite different from the last time she’d seen him face to face, only a few weeks prior. He was wearing black cyber-style tac pants, together with a red jacket, sleeves cut off (as he was one to do, that much hadn’t changed it appeared).

[Darksider42]

It was almost unheard of for Lilly to find a place where she fitted in. Eclipse was rapidly turning into that for her. Feeling a little under dressed compared to some of these people. Then again, Thornwood was not the place for shopping for anything at all. Still the dark atmosphere and music was making Lilly smile. Which was a rare sight for anyone that knew her.

 

Moving through the crowd of people and black fabrics, she spotted a pair of wings. Janns appearance threw her off completely. She would have never guessed that would have been something he had somewhere in his closet.. "Uh...Hey, Jann!" She called out as she approached him.

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

When he saw Lilly approach, Jann actually smiled (which, too, wasn’t that common for him). He was sitting at a small, round table in one of the corners, by his own, and on his phone. However, the general attitude of the room suggested that at least some of the people here knew him, and he’d probably been talking with them for some time beforehand. This area of the club seemed to be a more relaxed one, with various couches set up. Some were empty, some currently occupied. A pinball machine, stood to a wall, Helsing, written on it.

 

 

Jann put his phone, still in a padded case, onto the table, black and made of metal, as he pulled over another seat from an empty table nearby. A gym bag was on the ground next to the table’s central leg,  Then, he looked over to Lilly.

 

 

“Hey. Right on time. How are things going?”

Edited January 8, 2017 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly took a seat near the Avian. She was still wondering how he managed to afford that outfit he was wearing. "Good. Just trying to get back to regular sleeping hours." She told him as she got comfortable. The teen gave Jann another once over. It was rare for Lilly to feel jealousy in her life but here she was. Must cost quite a bit... She also was not expecting the feeling that Jann was a regular. 

 

"So, whats going on?" Lilly asked, tilting her head. "You don't normally send texts that long."

[olopi]

PC

 

Jann nodded at Lilly’s question and remark. As she took a seat, Jann held his glass (more naturally than the last time Lilly had seen him do so), and drank. It probably was a cola, ice tea or something similar, judging by the colour. As he finished, he looked back at Lilly.

 

“Found something. Might interest you. Has to do with … room below the main …. Basement, correct? Talked with some people here. One mentioned a thing. Went to go and search, have it here. “

 

He leant downwards, picking up his bag (the one thing that really didn’t fit this place’s aesthetic, and the one thing Lilly had seen Jann use previously), and pulled out something. A tablet, quite a fancy modern one even. Had to be rather new, too.

 

He quickly entered the unlock code (probably), before turning it towards Lilly and using its case to prop it up. It showed an old-timey news-paper, from December of 1941. The Freedom Ledger, the first page. “St. Thomas Aquinas burns.” With a black-and-white picture of some sort of academy building.

[Darksider42]

There was now the growing question in Lillys mind as to how much money Jann had exactly when he pulled out a tablet computer. While her knowledge of the stranger parts of the world was limited, she would not have thought an part bird humanoid would have that much money. This would have been a question she would have asked if it had not been the mention of the basement. Puzzled, she took the device from Jann and started reading the page.

 

"Ooooh....Spooky." Lillian concluded after reading through everything with a slight smile on her lips. "So we were dealing with a vengeful spirit? One that can't move on?" She asked. 

[olopi]

PC

 

Jann waited for a bit, then simply shrugged. Shrugged, not just with his arms, but also his wings. It seemed quite natural for him, they moved at the same time.

 

“That is how I tell uncertainty, correct? But no. Do not know. Perhaps? Not that special for a building to burn. Is why there are extinguishers everywhere, right? But, strange thing is…”

 

 He took the tablet again, swiping to the side, onto a different newspaper entry. This one from much earlier. There was no date, it was only a single entry that had been … scanned probably. But, judging by the words and phrasing (Lit. History finally came to use!), it was from some time in most likely the 1800s. This wasn’t a headline, but still a lengthy article. “Construction Site ablaze – school opening delayed.”

 

“According to somebody I met, this is the same building. Maybe it is not just something standard. We have seen there is something in the … basement. And it used fire. “

[Darksider42]

Lilly read the article and frowned. "...Well, other than ghosts I'm drawing a blank." She said with a shrug. "I mean, it could always be spirits. But...." From her limited exposure they would attempt to communicate with her, either in the language of spirits (Which she still found difficulty understanding) or at least plain English.

 

She sighed then leaned back in her chair. "Sorry. Got any other ideas what it was then?"

[olopi]

PC

 

“No.”

 

Jann’s reply was as simple as ever, as he left it at that and then stopped talking. He only continued after a few seconds, realizing he should probably add more to it.

 

“Have heard talk about a “curse”. Have yet to translate that word. You mentioned a ghost. Worth following through on, may lead us to something if you feel it could be. Have no experience with these things. One of the reasons I am asking you, seem to know this better. Ideas where we could start looking if it is a ghost? Venture into the place again? “

 

Jann leaned back, something that probably was a lot more difficult than it looked. Or perhaps it was easier than it looked? Hard to tell.

 

“People here are not a big help, many don’t know much. Some have helped, but you have seen the thing before, that should help a lot more than some people, correct?”

 

[Darksider42]

She tilted her head. It was moments like this that reminded Lillian that English was not Janns primary language. Also that things like magic and the spirit courts were even more foreign to him that it already was to her. "Well if there is a curse on the place it would be smart to do a bit more digging. Though if ageing magic wards are a thing then I got the feeling things might get complicated fast."

 

She looked around the room and shrugged. "I will admit this is not exactly the best place to gather occult secrets." Most goths knew as much as the laymen when it came to magical matters. "Still not sure if it was something natural though. I mean, you saw it right?"

[olopi]

PC

 

“Yes. Saw it, and engaged in battle with it. Felt it, too. Rather powerful. Cannot say much about it other than that. “

 

“More digging? What do you suggest? Do not have much experience with curses, have been told some things, but none of much use. Do you know of anything we may be able to find useful?”

 

He didn’t seem to have much more to add onto that, so he simply sat there quietly, not moving. Which, even at this point still, was somewhat unsettling.

[Darksider42]

"I dunno." Lilly said with a shrug. "I've read about this stuff but until recently not a lot of hands on experience." 

"Kinda assumed you might have an idea who put the curse down in the first place since you already did some digging." She said with a quick tap on the article Jann had shown her. "But if we're this stuck, we might as well check the spot for anything else spooky. Assuming the teachers have not blocked off that part of the school."  She leaned back, relaxed and enjoyed whatever sounds were coming out of the sound system. It was her first time at Eclipse and she was gonna enjoy what little time she had left in it before diving back into flame monster territory.

[olopi]

GM

 

Upon hearing that, Jann nodded. “Okay. “ And then, just sat back and waited for a bit. Lilly had only just gotten there, and it appeared that even Jann realized as much. Or perhaps he didn’t feel like going back already?

 

A while later…

Claremont Academy

 

After the trip back to the Academy, fortunately a rather short one, the next course of action was to check out the basement once more. But first, Jann excused himself for a short while, as he apparently had something to attend to.

 

The two met back up about half an hour later. Jann had changed out of his previous outfit into something more like what Lilly knew him for, a simple gray outfit. And with that, the two went back to where they’d originally been attacked. Only to find that the short corridor that didn’t really lead anywhere had disappeared. There just was a wall there now, much like the rest of the floor.