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Post by Ashe on Oct 16, 2021 14:02:20 GMT -6
Ashe had visited the quest board and found a cute little hand written note left by a child. Apparently her cruel mother wouldn't help her find a precious doll, and she was desperate enough for this toy that she wrote a quest all on her own. She probably put it up by herself, too, or else the mother would have taken it down. Ashe felt especially obligated to help complete this one! The only thing that made him a little... not quite skeptical, but he raised an eyebrow over it, was the fact that the doll was in a cemetery. He had to read it three times before he realized, with a stab to the heart, that her father was dead... in the cemetery. Well no wonder the dad couldn't just return it next time he saw her! Still feeling a bit chilled upon realizing this poor child lost her father, he returned home to find a companion. He didn't have to go far before he was bombarded by dark shapes on the ground. Shadowlings. What are you doing, Ashe?Where are you going, Ashe?Can we come?We never get to come.With an eyeroll, Ashe sighed. "Sit this one out, alright, Inyala? I'm gonna take the mini shadows." And with that, Inyala stayed at home, and Bump and Boogey swirled around Ashe's legs, delighted. 1
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Post by Ashe on Oct 29, 2021 3:04:18 GMT -6
Ashe called them Mini shadows, because they were not full size Shadow Lurkers like Kitty was. They weren't exactly babies, either, he had come to find out. They were like... tendrils off of Kitty, that got their own minds and broke off from the mother shadow. It was weird. Ashe struggled with thinking of Kitty as a solid creature when she was really an actual ethereal shadow... They played by different rules, he supposed. He left his home, making sure the gate shut behind him, then he headed to the city's cemetery. He had been here before, but he didn't honestly spend that much time here. He felt like it should be more. His reasoning was, this was a place for spirits to rest peacefully. Ashe more wanted to reach the ones that were restless, not at peace, not quite happy with moving on. He respected this dynamic. He didn't have anyone to visit there anyway.
His feet carried him to the graveyard. It was midday, with clouds gathering so it felt like dusk was coming even faster. It was Ashe's natural active time, yet it was oddly suited for this trip. Bump and Boogey darted around his legs, playing shadow games, forming shapes and chasing leaves.
2
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Post by Ashe on Nov 19, 2021 2:00:00 GMT -6
The cemetery was a beautiful, if a bit solemn and mournful, place. It was kept nice with tender, loving care, the stone markers were immaculate and clean. People tended to leave gifts and tokens at the markers of their loved ones, for holidays and such, and the old ones were cleared away a week after celebration. In this case, Vai Min Mur decorations were still there for some. It was mostly plastic pumpkins lit with candles, or lawn stakes with something cutesy on it. Not many people, and for good reason of course, ventured into the creepier side of the holiday.
As Ashe, and his two mini shadows that darted from his own shadow into the shadows of the tombstones and then back again, walked deeper into the cemetery, he started seeing less decoration and more... What was the word for it? Reverence, maybe? The people would light a single candle and leave it there. They had to come back every day and replace the candle, clean up the wax drippings, and light it again... But every time he had ventured in here, he had seen candles lit. It was pretty neat, he thought, to have people that loved you so much they would visit daily even after death.
3
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Post by Ashe on Nov 19, 2021 2:18:43 GMT -6
Ashe look at this
Ashe over here!
What's this?
I can't read this
The near constant chatter of Ashe's shadowlings went on in the background of Ashe's conscious attentive mind. He kept one ear on them, listening in case they came across something, but he kept one ear on everything else. Part of his brain on scanning over their words, part of his brain on the task at hand. He didn't know where this little girl's dad was buried, or even what his name was, but Ashe had the time to browse the entire cemetery if he had to, until he found a doll on the ground. Couldn't be too hard, right?
The shadowlings eventually returned to him, their bright eyes opening within his shadow at his feet. He couldn't see their bodies when they did this, and hoped they knew better than to get stepped on. He didn't know for sure if that ever hurt them... So far, he just assumed they'd dodged.
"We are looking for a little girl's doll, remember. Don't get distracted, and don't get lost!"
We won't
We know!
Their eyes blinked and disappeared, only to reappear a little later, as if swimming through his shadow. He wondered if they ever tried to climb up on him, on the shadows on his body.
4
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Post by Ashe on Nov 19, 2021 3:42:53 GMT -6
That was a thought for a different time, though! Maybe he would ask them sometime. Would it hurt? Would he feel them? Would it be cold? He may be able to talk to these shadows - and appear crazy while doing it - but he had never touched one of them. They'd swarmed up around his hand before, without any real contact. Yet they hadn't been actually on him at that point. Dusk was well upon them now, with the sky darkening even further, no longer threatening to allow darkness to consume, but promising that it would. And soon. Ashe had come prepared to walk through the cemetery after dark. He had a flashlight with him in case he needed a more direct light later, and a lantern that he brought out now and lit. It cast the most wonderfully spooky shadows, and even the 'lings seemed to enjoy it. They darted around in the swinging shadows, their actual shapes sometimes caught in the light and revealed. Never for too long before they flickered away again. Ashe continued on, glancing at the stones as he passed them. He supposed he could summon something that might help them go faster... He had a pride, though, that wanted him to do this on his own first. 5
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Post by Ashe on Nov 19, 2021 3:51:34 GMT -6
He wanted to exhaust every effort of his own first, then he would use magic. He loved his magic, felt powerful with his magic, but he really wanted to also be strong in his own body and mind. Not relying on the magic to get him through. If he somehow lost his nodes - Spirit rest the soul of anyone who even tried to take them from him - then he didn't want to be helpless completely. So he followed his gut, walking through the stones, sometimes passing by ones with a candle flame flickering. Earlier, he had seen some people in the distance, visiting their loved ones' resting places, but they had since gone. He was sure he was alone now. The cemetery was, for all legal intents and purposes, closed after dark. Ashe didn't bother with regulations like that. He'd hop the fence or teleport in somehow. Not much stopped him when he put his mind to it.
Someone is here
Who?
Someone
Someone!
But who?
The chorus of shadowling speculations caught Ashe's ear and he turned in the direction their hissing voices, unheard by the normal ear but made audible by Ashe's glowing green ring. He saw their darkness swirling around one tombstone in particular, their attention further down that path.
6
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Post by Ashe on Nov 19, 2021 5:09:47 GMT -6
There was a wispy impression of something, perhaps human size and shape, down that path. Ashe squinted and it flickered out of sight. He frowned, listening to the shadowlings discuss what they had seen. They swarmed Ashe's legs, babbling excitedly about something happening, something new and exciting. They wanted to go after it and see what it really was. Like pets, like owner - Ashe, too, wanted to go investigate. So he urged the Lings on, and the trio walked down the different path of tombstones. Ashe raised the light to better get a look at the inscriptions carved there, and saw some newer dates. It looked like this wasn't that ancient of a row. That meant two things to him: One, this wouldn't be as thrilling as visiting the old and dated section of the cemetery, where interesting things might actually happen, and two, this little girl was, well, a little girl. Her dad dying wouldn't have been too long ago, so of course he'd be in a newer section. Which meant they were on the right path to get the task done.
Note to self, come back later. Maybe a full moon. Or a new moon.
Ashe walked easily, not rushing. The shadowlings darted around, excited as full night began to descend. It came so fast!
7
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 2:21:27 GMT -6
The trio walked down the row of stones, with Ashe using the flashlight to try and see what dates were on the stones, looking for the more recent. Also keeping the light moving to the ground in front of them, looking for a doll shaped lump or shadow or something on the ground. Dolls came in all shapes and sizes, Ashe wasn't completely sure what the one he was looking for looked like. How hard could it be? To see a doll, or any toy, laying on the ground. It wasn't like there were a bunch of those!
The lings were darting around, checking behind the stones, perching on top of the stones in total darkness. Ashe could see this by their glowing eyes. He wondered how they worked... They were creatures, just like any other creature, but they were ethereal. He had a couple of Shijin, they were ethereal as well and floated around as if they were corporal. But the Lurkers tended to stick to the shadows, away from full view. He wondered if that was just his, or if that was the species as a whole.
It was impossible to tell Bump from Boogey in the darkness, and the voices were extremely similar so he couldn't tell them apart. But both were on the move!
8/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 2:25:46 GMT -6
There! One of them said suddenly.
"What? Ashe asked them, not sure what they'd found. Ghost? Doll? Some small creature? It could be anything!
There! Came the repeated reply.
Here! An echo.
Ashe moved the light around himself, trying to locate shadows the move, or flashing eyes in the darkness. He didn't know what direction they were in, what they were doing. In a split second, his light went over something that looked like a human crouched by a stone. It whipped its head around, pale and dirty, and Ashe had already moved the beam away. A chill shot down his spine as he moved the flashlight back to where he had seen the thing - and nothing was there. Or he was in the wrong spot. Shit.
Over here! Called one of the lings. Ashe slowly backed away from where he'd been standing, trying to listen for sounds of movement. If there was a person coming toward him now, or if it had been a ghost, or maybe it ran away... He wasn't scared of it - Necromancers were never scared in graveyards! They had entire armies they could summon to defend them, after all. But he didn't want to be jumped from behind or taken unawares. He preferred having the upper hand.
9/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 3:02:32 GMT -6
It took a little bit of trial and error, but Ashe eventually located the Lings. They weren't easy to find because they weren't standing still! Or, floating still. Whatever it was they did. They were moving excitedly, darting between graves, calling for Ashe, then hiding because they heard someone approaching... Who happened to be Ashe. But he found them, and they were excited to see him. They gathered about his legs and he could feel them tugging gently - it was a strange feeling, not a physical one, but a more... gut-pull in a direction. An urge. He knew it was just the shadows, though.
He moved the light beam around the tombstones, then to the ground. There, by his feet but up against a stone itself, sat a doll. It appeared to be wooden, with cloth clothing. Its face was done up in a way people 'back in the day' might have thought was pretty and expected of women, but in a style Ashe would never understand. He knelt by the doll to pick it up - but he felt a strange presence when he was close to it. How strange.
"Thanks for finding this, guys," Ashe said to the lings, praising them. His ring glowed a faint green that lit up the doll's face.
10/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 3:19:17 GMT -6
He was sure it was just the glow, but it looked like... the doll's eyes had moved. Like it was staring right at him, with those painted eyes boring into his soul. He frowned down at the doll, thinking that he had just been seeing things. There were, of course, dolls that moved and were haunted and creepy. He had a couple of stuffed dogs that had eerie powers! But those dolls didn't usually belong to sweet little girls who just missed their dad. The haunted ones came with tragic stories where the little girl was killed or something.
He picked up the doll and felt a chill down that same arm, to his elbow. It faded before it reached his shoulder. How odd. He didn't think too much of it, though. He glanced around for his lings and saw, instead, the pale figure of a ghost a few rows over. Was it the same one as before? He thought it might be. And, just like that, the Lings noticed as well.
We have company!
Friend or foe?
I have no clue. Maybe they want to play!
Ashe doesn't play with us.
Oh, woe!
Ashe could sense the Lings moving on, toward the ghost, to investigate it. Ashe decided to go as well, what could it hurt?
11/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 3:39:09 GMT -6
Walking in the dark with the light trained on where Ashe was going, instead of where he was, caused him to trip and stumble a couple of times. The first time, he caught himself and just kept going. The second time, he waved the light down to his feet to see what it was he tripped on and found it to be a root coming out of the ground.
But the third time, he went down. He hadn't learned from his previous trips and now he was face first in the dirt at the base of a tombstone. He groaned and rubbed his cheek, which had scraped a rock or something when he'd gone down. He dragged himself to a sitting position, looking around for the flashlight that had fallen out of his hand on impact. It had rolled a ways away in the grass. The doll was perfectly seated next to the stone, looking at him. He tried not to look back at it as he took stock of himself and what else needed hunting down. He couldn't believe he had been so careless. He could hear the Lings darting around, questioning where he'd went. But they sounded so distant now, far away... And it was oddly quiet down here on the ground... with the doll.
12/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 3:52:05 GMT -6
The sound of the Lings' chatter faded to the point where Ashe couldn't hear them at all. Unusual, because he had the magical ring, and they should be coming back to check on him and see why he wasn't with them... Unless maybe the ghost got them somehow? Ethereal beings could touch each other possibly? But he felt almost like he was in a bubble of silence himself, not that anything else was wrong. He finally dragged his eyes to the doll and it looked like her eyes were glowing faintly. He lunged forward, away from the doll, and grabbed for his flashlight. It felt like something grabbed his pant leg to try and keep him from getting the light, but he was strong enough to press on and grab the light. With the light in hand, he rolled onto his back and shined it on the doll. The doll was on his pant leg, weighing him down. It hadn't been that heavy before!
"Get off me!" He growled at the doll, more pissed than anything. Pissed that a doll of all things would dare to attack him. He was able to kick the doll off and away from him with ease. And then, suddenly, he was surrounded by two shadowlings, wrapping themselves around him.
Ashe!
13/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 4:01:12 GMT -6
The Lings clung to his arms, his chest, tiny weights that he felt more on his soul than his physical body. He sat up, gathering the baby lurkers into his arms as best as he could.
Ashe!
What happened!
Where'd you go!
You were gone!
The chorus of the Lings' voices echoed in and around his head, making it hard for him to concentrate. Had that really just happened? With the doll? He had the flashlight in his hand now and he turned it onto the doll, laying discarded in the dirt where he'd kicked it. It laid there, harmlessly, looking like a child's toy dropped in a rush. It hadn't moved to right itself or sit up, and it wasn't clinging to Ashe again like he'd half expected.
Was the darkness getting to him? Darkness never bothered Ashe. He felt more at home in the darkness. Yet here he was, losing his mind over a creepy looking doll owned by some child... He shook his head.
"I don't know what happened. I - I tripped. That's all. I landed weird, might have hit my head a bit. But I'm okay now, I promise." He put the Lings on the ground, so to speak. Habitual from working with creatures he could touch and feel.
14/20
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Post by Ashe on Dec 10, 2021 4:36:21 GMT -6
He couldn't really handle the shadowlings, since they were ethereal shadows, but he felt them leave him and move to the ground. He got to his knees, gathering up the light and the doll, checking to make sure his nodes and other such things were still secured in their pockets. Once satisfied, he stood up and looked around. The ghost was gone. He was mad at himself now, next to furious. Because he'd been so stupid, he'd missed his chance to interact with a ghost! He kicked the ground until his foot hurt, then he thought about throwing the doll. But for all of this... He had to at least turn the doll in to the little girl. He gave a deep sigh and figured it would be time to leave the graveyard now. He would probably wait until morning to deliver the doll, because who wants to be disturbed in the middle of the night. He thought about exploring the graveyard a little more before turning in, but... Did he want to, with this doll?
"Let's get going..." Ashe said reluctantly. The Shadowlings protested lightly, but in the end they decided it was best to stick with Ashe. Because Ashe sometimes had interesting things happen to him, whether or not he was looking for adventure!
15/20
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