Night At The Museum
| Night At The Museum | |
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Keep your old dusty Anubis dicks! | |
| Players |
A taunting shadow creature enrages a Summer and a mortal with fire, when they break into the Museum at night. |
The Oriental Institute has ridiculous hours. As night falls, the place has been locked up since well before dusk. Probably not enough people really come here to justify later hours or something. The building is very nice though, with thick glass doors one can peer through to see things inside, mostly standing signage discussing events and exhibits and so on. There is no opening the front doors without damaging something or using a key, and interfering with the lock might take some time and leave the burglar visible out front like this. There is a side door though, out of public view and where one could work in relative privacy. Most people are not interested in a museum after dark, but Five and Arnaud are not most people! The pair are wandering the street randomly, either heading toward or on their way from some sort of food situation. As they pass by the museum, the mortal's walk slooooows until she stops. Bright green eyes peer from underneath her hood, brows furrowing a bit as she watches the building. "You ever been there before? They tried chasing me out last time. Not as nice as the fish people." Whatever that means! She gives a mischievous look to Arnaud, grinning a bit. "Want to see if we can get in there? Probably cooler without most of the people in there anyways." Arnaud is in fact still eating, his hand in a bag of crisps as he strolls alongside Five, a foot taller than her. He's a bit high strung and alert cause everytime he's with Shorty here, trouble happens. Not that he minds. It's the best sort of friendship! He pauses as she does and glares at the museum with something akin to scorn. "Why would I go see old junk?" he says, spewing out crumbs of crisps. He wipes his mouth and glances down at her, then at the building; he points to the side where he spies a door, seeing almost as well in the dark as during the day. "But I guess, if you want." So accomodating, isn't he? He throws the bag in a bin (he doesn't litter), and stalks towards the side entrance. Knowing something about modern's society paranoia and love of CCTV he looks around to see if there is one before he tries the door. "Want me to break it open or do you know how to do this the subtle way." The place has recognizeable little cameras up front, but apparently someone skimped on the site security evaluation because once again, that side door has something going for it. Someone has allowed a bush to grow up in the way of the one camera mounted up high on a corner of the building such that it obscures view of the side door. It's almost like someone had that placed there on purpose, and maybe cultivated it over long years to get it to grow up nice and bushy and in the way. Five has the best thing against security cameras... A HOODIE! Approaching the side entrance, the mortal is definitely not looking for cameras because that sort of thought just doesn't cross her mind. "I can try!" she exclaims, always up for a challenge. Stepping up toward the door, she digs through her pockets for a small metal piece she randomly has. Before she can even attempt to make a fool of herself at her lack of lockpicking skills, she tries the handle first and it just... opens? Such has a perplexed expression on Five's face, but she doesn't further question it. "Hey! Seems like somebody forgot to lock up." Grinning back at Arnaud, she waltzes right on in like she owns the place! Arnaud squints at the bush, and the camera barely seen behind it. He narrows his eyes at that, but then shrugs. Lucky circumstances! He's not the kind to think too closely on it. If he was, he wouldn't break into a museum in the first place. Back to the door, he gapes a bit at Five. "Wooah. Alright, that's great." He strolls along behind her, one thumb hooked to the belt, his other hand running a hand through his hair and grinning like a proper scoundrel. "Middle East, North Africa... I used to go to Morocco quite often. I've been to Egypt too." The side door leads into a maintenance area that is full of switches and fuse boxes as well as buckets and cleaning supplies for custodial staff. It looks grubby, as such areas do, with scuffed markings on the floor and all that. It leads to another door farther in that opens onto the actual lobby of the museum, and there is where the magic lingers. The place is utterly silent, shadows stretching across the floor. A computer monitor at the front desk where a person sits during business hours flickers a little with the light of a screen saver, but otherwise nothing is really alive in here save for the occasional insect and the two intruders. One hopes... Five casually swipes a flashlight from the a shelf she passes by in the maintenance. She might not be a pickpocket but she apparently has no problem with just taking things that aren't hers. The mortal is quiet as listens to her friend and they make their way into the museum proper. Those bright green eyes of hers go a bit wide, unable to help but smile at the initial sight. Then she glances to Arnaud, a playful smirk touching the edges of her lips. "Old stuff is cool. It's been around way longer than either of us and the way people take care of this stuff... will be around longer than either of us." She doesn't say that morbidly, just matter of factly! Then she springs a little forward to shine her flashlight onto a sculpture behind some glass. "What'd you go to those places for?" she wonders, glancing at Arnaud. "Mmmhmmm," Arnaud says, squinting hard as he tries to think deeply. He doesn't seem to be that into history or old items, or he's just acting tough. Either or, he follows along with the small woman like an unruly puppy. He snaps out of it when she asks that. "Drugs, mostly," he replies distractedly as they go look at that sculpture, some Egyptian treasure. "Sometimes vacation. Sometimes both. It was a long time ago." Five minutes ago... Hal was enjoying a quiet meditation in front of his Egyptian exhibits, basking in memories. He does this from time to time, letting himself in with the key he had illegally copied from one of the curators that works here. Some sense of something alerts him though, and his eyes snap open. He looks down past the lobby just in time to see the shadows depart around to the side of the building. Then he hears the door in the maintenance room open, and scowls at himself for forgetting to lock it after. Back to now... A black mass of darkness conceals the place where Haliburton stands, impervious to some mere flashlight. It doesn't move, and stands behind a tall display so that it looks appropriately placed. The problem is other shadows. Something flits across the floor, black, silent, and utterly two-dimensional. It's right out in the open too, and one might think it was a rat or something, but it looks Wrong for that. Too flat. Maybe the shadow of a rat without the rat attached to it. The shadow slides up a wall and quickly out of sight. Is this place haunted?? +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 7 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: Perception Result: Success (2) -- (4 6 5 9 4 9 6) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ +----------------------------+ Five rolls 4 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Perception Result: Success (1) -- (10 4 6 6 1) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ "Would you ever want to go back there?" Five questions with a small tilt of her head. Stepping back from the sculpture, she continues their exploration of the seemingly empty space. Her flashlight is shining this way and that, helping to illuminate the dimly lit museum. A brow raises as she catches something from her peripheral vision. Immediately she shines the flashlight beam that way and sees.... nothing! Such is a relief and she lets out a quick breath. "Thought we might have had to start running!" she exclaims with a light grin. Stepping up toward a larger statue of a sphinx, she tilts her head up to get a view of it all. "I wonder how long something like this takes to make..." +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 5 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: Kenning Result: Success (2) -- (9 5 4 8 7) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ <spend> Arnaud spends 1 point of his Willpower pool, for Kenning. "I don't know," Arnaud replies grimly, the thoughts she invokes in him bringing back memories that are painful and even worse, not painful. Of a time long gone, that he might as well forget. "No point looking back." He gives her a thin smile, and then tenses up as he too spots the odd little shadow. He immediately takes Five's wrist and pulls her closer, finger to his lips to shush her. There's a moment when he clearly focuses, eyes taking on an odd gleam as he scans the room - he's looking, listening, searching, not even breathing. The Lost's magical senses don't even have trouble picking up on it. There is something here all right, and it is subtle and tied deeply to the shadows. That magic feels old and strange and dusty, not unlike the memory of Egypt itself. From the shadow of the great Tutankhamun statue that sits centrally in the Egyptian wing a shadow actually silently snakes along the floor toward the couple of intruders, looking literally like a snake as it winds its way back and forth and then spreads a cobra's hood where the head should be. It has no substance to it, being literally shadow and as flat as that. It's moving though, and blacker than the surrounding darkness, and most strangely of all it does not dispel under the cast of Five's flashlight. The mortal is about to bound off to the next thing to catch her attention when she's suddenly pulled close to Arnaud. Blinking a few times, she quickly quiets herself. Her brows raise in alarm and she starts to look around again herself. Unable to see anything herself at first, she gives an odd look at Arnaud. Then her flashlight passes over some shadows and... what? Turning her gaze away from the Changeling, her focus is solely on the still darkness now. Swipe swipe swipe, her flash goes quickly over the area a couple times. "Um... Why... What?" She doesn't distance herself fully from Arnaud, but like a moth to a flame the curious mortal can't help but take a couple steps in that direction. "Why... is my flashlight broken?" It's clear she doesn't think her flashlight is broken! <spend> Arnaud spends 2 (-2 points) of his Glamour pool, for Flames of Summer - +2 to all physical rolls for the duration and other stuff. Arnaud only knows one way to handle threats, and that's with more brute force. Though even he isn't sure how to fight a shadow, he sure will try if it comes to that. The complication is that he's not alone, and Five is mortal and only knows so much about all of this. Still, the shadow started it! He holds an arm out to cover her slightly but knows she can handle herself quite well, so that's more to keep her back and close to himself for now. "It's something magic," he hisses at her, gaze not leaving the snake-like shadow. He lifts his chin and seem to grow. Not physically - it's like his presence is hot like the sun, hard to ignore, a feeling of pure wrath emanating from him in a wave of Fae power. Even a human might notice it. "I see you. You'd be smarter leaving us alone," he challenges, eyes gleaming ferally, his lips spreading into an anialistic and predatory grin. The shadow-cobra comes up to them and then slithers past to then turn into a blob of shadow on the floor...and then it becomes words, one at a time. EAT THE DOG DICK OF ANUBIS YOU ASSWIPE
Arnaud expected something. Arrogantly, he assumed the shadow would slink off in face of such MIGHT, so when it insults him with such clever words and weird-ass symbols, his face turns red and he curls his fists so his own claws dig in. He can't even speak, because he's not good at witty retorts, so he just has steam coming out of his ears. In fact, he doesn't even notice that Five is walking over and then lurches forward to grab at her and try to pull her back; he seems somewhat protective of the small woman, so maybe he's not a TOTAL asswipe. "Well, I might have already," he growls. "I've eaten a lot of things." That... didn't really come out as he wanted. "Five, what're you DOING!" The shadowblob, no longer sticking to be a cobra or letters, resolves into a big ol middle finger that dances around, tauntingly. Then once again it becomes a cobra and slithers around, pieces of shadow calving off as it moves. In its wake it leaves the word WANKER over and over again so before long it's trying to leave a circle of WANKER on repeat all around the pair, taunting them horribly. And then, in the darkness, there is an unmistakable giggle. +----------------------------+ Five rolls 4 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Perception Result: Failure -- (3 2 7 2) +-------------------------------------------------------- failure (public) ----+ +-------------------------+ Haliburton rolls 1 Dice +--------------------------+ Roll: 1 Result: Success (1) -- (10 1) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ Five in all her glory was so PUMPED to take on this shadow snake. Especially when the shadow shifts and taunts them even more! Arnaud might be the Summer, but it's clear that the mortal could probably find a home there as well. It's gotten her all sorts of riled up, not true righteous anger but that frustrated anger at it's worst. The stakes are too low for anything more. Until. That. Giggle. Perhaps too caught up in herself and the moment, her brain triggers a recent memory and well... her eyes widen with that 'oooooh shit' look. With slow but deliberate steps, she makes her way back to Arnaud's close company. "Is... is that..." Her voice is no louder than a whisper. "I thought we killed it." It's hilarious to watch a Summer with impotent rage, having no direct target for it. Arnaud is spinning around to watch the words, growling like a beast, struggling with the internal need to go berserk, versus not revealing even more of himself and making things even worse. He's got a strategic mind to fighting though and whatever this is, it isn't attacking him physically, and he isn't sure he can even fight IT. Five's carefulness makes his hackles rise. "Wait. This is the same thing?" he asks, now more alarmed and wary. "That thing DIED. It's not the same, it didn't feel-- I mean, uh. It's not the same." He almost told her he is sure because he can feel the magic, but held back. "Listen, we'll just bugger off and get out of your hair, you Shadow Worm. Keep your old dusty Anubis dicks." That's when all the shadows within about a ten meter radius of that snake-shadow start to...melt out of themselves. They stretch and warp and begin to cover over the objects that cast them, as if climbing out of the primordial darkness that is The Other Side, no longer respected the border of light and dark. All of this happens in silence. ...because Hal realized he let himself go a bit much by making the noise and locked down on any more amused noises... The shadows sprout a dozen gnarly hands that stretch toward Arnaud and Five, all coming from the Egyptian exhibit! At least the WANKER words have finally vanished. <spend> Five spends 1 point of her Willpower pool. +----------------------------+ Five rolls 9 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Resolve +Occult Result: Success (3) -- (7 9 10 4 3 2 6 6 10 5 1) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ <spend> Haliburton spends 1 point of his Willpower pool, for resist frenzy. +-------------------------+ Haliburton rolls 4 Dice +--------------------------+ Roll: Resolve +Composure +3 -3 Result: Success (1) -- (6 8 2 3) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ <spend> Arnaud spends 1 (-1 points) of his Glamour pool, for Seven-League Leap. +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 9 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: Strength +Athletics +2 Result: Success (3) -- (5 4 7 1 7 10 3 10 7 9 3) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+
Arnaud has flashbacks to horrors from his Durance, seeing those arms reaching for him. It darkens his eyes and he reflexively uses some of the Fae power to give himself supernatural speed, ready to grab Five and get the hell out of here. He's not going to stay and fight this, not with her here. However, she beats him to it and is in front of him with fire, and he remembers she's quite capable of taking care of herself. "Five, careful! I can get us out of here in seconds, you just got to cling on." He is behind her and ready to snatch her away, to avoid those shadowy arms and claws reaching for them, his head moving quickly in every direction to keep track of them. His motions are jerky and too speedy, blurring supernaturally. +---------------------------+ Arnaud rolls 5 Dice +----------------------------+ Roll: Wits +Crafts Result: Success (2) -- (2 4 8 4 9) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ +----------------------------+ Five rolls 1 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Wits -1 (untrained larceny) Result: Failure -- (5) +-------------------------------------------------------- failure (public) ----+ The flames by their very presence have an immediate effect. The shadows snap back, responding to firelight in ways they felt free to defy a mere flashlight. There is something magical about fire, something very old and powerful that can never be packed into a battery. From his concealed position Hal suddenly struggles against his Beast, clenching fists tightly. All right, perhaps the prank got a little overplayed there at the end... One thing that Arnaud learned quite early on after coming out of hell, was the fact that sprinkler systems are a thing. Raised in an era where people smoked everywhere, Arnaud also smoked... everywhere. His Freehold had quite a bit of an issue sorting out a chaotic event in a mall, after he set the sprinkler system off in Miami. Arms go back, he cheers at Five, and then... looks up. His supernaturally enhanced eyesight spots those little nozzles up there. "Oh heeeeey. There's sprinklers here," he tells her, almost a bit giddy. Sprinklers are fun. He doesn't really care about the invaluable ancient art, cause he's a bit of a jerk. +----------------------------+ Five rolls 9 Dice +-----------------------------+ Roll: Resolve +Occult Result: Success (3) -- (4 7 8 7 5 2 8 8 4) +-------------------------------------------------------- success (public) ----+ A mixture of the shadows retreating and Arnaud's words pull her back toward the Changeling. She's breathing just a little heavier, previously amped up for some sort of fight or combat but having to use all of her restraint to hold it in. Five gives a nod toward Arnaud. Similar to the last time she displayed such in front of him, she pretty much just slams her hands together to snuff out the flames. "I don't want to destroy anything..." She says quietly, her voice shaky just a moment. Then without warning, she jumps up and onto Arnaud's back, believing the Changeling that they can scramble out of here quickly. Now the museum is quiet. The haunted shadows are no longer spelling out insults. There's no movement in the darkness. Fortunately the sprinklers haven't gone off, and the cops or fire department haven't been rolled...that anyone knows. And the way out is the way in, and there's no reason to think it's locked.
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