After how many years, there's no getting used to it. The chill that kisses the skin and cuts down to where the bone should be. The frozen blankets of ice were not a welcoming sign. Neither was the presence that sat on the frozen throne. "You louts! Gather already! You all lay about as if you were Moldavian noblemen!" King Erik Karaman. It was hard to imagine anyone could still remain this angry so long. But he somehow managed it. In no small feat, no matter how much time had passed, his anger stayed all the same. He held onto it. Death never had much of an impact on him. He already stained the history pages of one of the most petty kings in the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps he was brushed off, as just some puppet who had no role on anything, but that's only because modern people aren't subject to still residing in his domain. For residents of his castle, his memory remains perfectly fresh on the mind. Perhaps his role on the political sphere was as a mere footnote, but there's still one thing even modern historians remember about him. His cruelty. @Mazoku Yseult Giroux all too well remembers his tyranny. The closest to having a softer side, was probably praising the swordsmanship of one his knights. Then he praised his own as being even better. It was no wonder that when he was finally assassinated, they never found the guilty party. He had too many enemies to list. Even then, nobody ever really looked all that hard afterward. Yet, despite everyone else in the country apparently able to get on with their lives, those of the castle and the servants under him never left his rule. Much of the aid, Yesult had with the legion of maids she created, but not all of them were simply products of her ability. Many were, but there were a few that were resolutely their own spirit. Which is why, right across from where Yseult stood, she could see Anita standing right across from her. The blond's face remained as stiff as usual, as perfectly poised as the day she was hired. It was hard to tell, but if she wanted to say something to the other maid, she was waiting until the king finished addressing the subjects he gathered. "Haha, Oh no! I think someone's a Grumpy Gus!" Hearing the male voice ring with cheerful laughter, it was enough to force the stoic maid and everyone with her to actually tense. No matter how little risk you had of dying, it took...for less than an eloquent turn of phrase, serious balls to grab the king's nose. "Boy! Keep your blasted hands to yourself!" Naturally the king threw his arms back to push the blue skinned man away, but the well dressed younger looking man didn't lose his smile. "Hey, hey! Relaaax. You're going to pop a blood vessel. It's bad for your health." And there it was again. The same dam joke for the last forty five years. The king wasn't amused. "Why did I execute you if that wasn't even enough to get you to shut up?" "D'aw. I love you too, dad." Prince Altan was much like his dad. At least in the respect that his personality had never changed that much over the years. He had always been insistent that there was just no point in complaining about what they were, and was more concerned with finding ways to keep himself amused. To that effect, he had already prepared to phase through the floor. "Where are you going now, you dam fool!? How dare you ignore your father's summons? " @Daylan Not answering the king, the prince turned away to face the boy who had been waiting for the address. And he saw it. A flash of seriousness to the ghost's face. An almost intense severity to it. His face having the same kind of coldness that matched his aura, almost silently judging the water demon. His arm quickly shot out without warning, the prince's hand coming right to the young spirit's head as if he was about to strike him, only to stop at the last minute. In the pale blue palm that he showed, he revealed a glimmer of gold. "You got something behind your ear." There was no joking tone to the way he said it, but he presented a key and handed it off to the boy. "Bottom floors. You aren't afraid of new things." Sebastian might not know what the key was for, but he knew enough to put together what the meaning was. Prince Altan clearly intended whatever this was for to be handed to a modern ghost. One that wasn't confused or afraid of electronics of the hotel area. The King called that tourist trap vandalism of his castle, but the prince seemed to be enamored with the new devices and modern changes he found there. That applied to the ghosts that were closer to the modern era as well. But...why did he need a key? He knew that Sebastian could just phase through walls. Almost all of them could? Why would they ever need to unlock a door to anything when they could just phase through it? Whatever the reason, he wasn't issued an explanation, as the prince fell through the floor, and the reaction of the room was almost immediate, the ice dissolving into nothing. Now just leaving the typical bleak look of the king's throne room. The king remained seated as the rest of the residents began to make an influx of travelling, bunched up together, all different shapes and colors, but not having much trouble squeezing in when they could pass through each other's body and float, but all leaving a wide breath of space to watch and listen to the king's address. "I will keep this short and simple. There seems to be some confusion of who is in command. This is my castle and my word is law. Do as I say and command, and be granted free reign as you see fit. Disrespect my rule, and you'll lose a lot more than just your lives. It is however, not enough to simply reside here. We have the numbers. We lack the means. Prnce Altan's place to expand our flock has been effective...on many of you. Yet, what good is it to raise our numbers still confined to these walls? Thus, today marks the day of Operation Zion. We as proud warriors of the Ottoman Empire will raise it from the ashes. The plan is this. Finding a way to expand our sphere of influence to outside of these walls that contain us. When our guests arrive, I will not tolerate killing any of them we may need. The weak and useless must be disposed of, but those who can benefit in finally freeing us of this dam curse keeping our armies here must be brought into our flock, and as willingly as possible. They must not be killed. We need the living who can barter with mortals and gather us the resources we do not have. Your mission is this. Influence, but do not kill. Lie, steal, whatever you must. But the mortals that are useful MUST remain alive. Anyone who thinks they have a better plan, is welcome to challenge me at anytime. Do not fret. I know you won't. Now...dismissed. If you must be summoned again for disobeying my orders...you need not worry about getting the chance for failure again. Alright. That's covered. Get out of my sight, begone. I don't want to hear anything from any of you, other than news of success."
Ghost: At this moment, Yseult felt closer to Anita than she had before. Both of their lips were drawn into a delicately neutral expression as they dutifully listened to the petty tyrant's words. She snuck in a quick acknowledgment and a nod toward her counterpart. Right now was such a busy time for both of them. Yseult had to learn how all of those toys Prince Altan insisted on bringing up to the castle functioned while Anita had her duties that required attention. It had been difficult to adjust, was still difficult as Yseult noted that the bespeckled Eseld right now busied herself pulling a bedsheet out of a vacuum cleaner. The Head Maid's expression tightened further as she sent a mental command to her second self to turn off the infernal machine before she damaged the silken sheets any further. She couldn't be too angry at herself, Eseld reminded her of how she had been as a young maid first entering the service of the Master and Mistress and hadn't yet met her love. Elsewhere in the castle, Izolda breezed through the cleaning of silverware, while over in the Mirror World, Iseut did her best to impose order on the twisted alternate dimension. If she, hoping beyond hope, found her love's incarnation amongst the guests, then she wanted everything to be perfect for their honeymoon. And the Mirror World still managed to be less chaotic than the aftermath of what Lord Karaman called a banquet, so all she needed was time. Other clones of her also had their assigned tasks. The Prince's antics blissfully didn't last too long as they tended to infuriate the lord, which would inevitably end up with one of her or Anita cleaning up the mess. They were more alike than either seemed willing to admit, at least truthfully, in Altan's case. His interruption did seem to have the effect of making Lord Karaman summarize his speech, cutting it short. The Prince had his good points too, she had to admit. It was all things she agreed with, killing any of the guests risked the death of her love, while the main thrust of Operation Zion would allow her to widen her horizon and search the world. Yseult curtsied deeply, fully aware of her many, many chores that needed to be performed. She floated silently across the throne's floor with another glance at Anita before phasing through the main door. The expensively furnished guestroom only needed a quick dusting, so Yseult brought out her feather-duster and moved efficiently along the surfaces while she waited for Anita to join her. The relative privacy here would allow them to speak more freely if it was a sensitive subject. Provided Yseult had interpreted the expressionless maid's intentions correctly, she could never be quite sure what that woman was keeping hidden.
Sebastian flinched slightly at both the intense look and then braced for being smacked... only to blink at the key being held before him. "Y-Yes, sir," he said meekly as he took said key, staring at it curiously as he tried to figure out what possible use he might have for it now... or why the seemingly mischievous specter seemed so grim about giving it to him. It was true he was quite a bit younger than most of the other spirits gathered here (if age even really meant anything anymore), so he was certainly familiar with most modern day devices and would be able to find his way around them easily enough but... still, what point was there in trusting such a horrible monster like himself with whatever this task entailed? Melting through the floor once they had been dismissed, Sebastian thought over the king's words. It would be nice to escape this place, if only so he could discover what had happened to Rachel and if she had recovered from... what he had done to her. Whatever plans the king had for the rest of the world were not his concern and, like the seemingly eternally furious monarch had said, it was not like he had any better plan in mind for getting out. He eventually reached the ground floor, taking a look around both to make sure he had the layout of the place down and if there was anything that obviously looked like a lock the key would fit into.
(I'm still wondering how people should alternate between characters) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The town did somehow a good job of looking how it should from the postcard. Clearly with modern technology incorporated, but somehow still managing to look old and outdated. But while the town's exterior didn't mean any itself, the castle overlooking the area on the hill, almost screamed eerie and ominous. @Daylan In the center, there was the bustle of other film crews filling up for space. Most from shows nobody ever heard or cared existed, all did online for podcasts since anyone was allowed to run it. There was only one guy who really struck out in anyway. From his suit, to all the equipment that he had being strictly high end, he stood out from the rest. I want camera one on me, camera two panning out to get a landscape shot. It's not any good if we don't focus on my face now, is it?" Not lacking in confidence, that's for sure. He was directing his crew through how he planned all this out to open with, only for a couple locals to cut him off apparently wanting his autograph. Scribbling something down, whoever this guy she never heard of was, apparently made these people's day as he sent them on their way, taking a look around at the other crews before taking notice of Kelsa and calling for a break as he approached. "Excuse me. You're....Kelsa Richards. I've seen your show. I'm a fan of it. I actually brought more gear than I need and it's just going to slow me down, so do you want to borrow some of mine?" @Mazoku While many of the nonlocals were here to capture proof of the supernatural for fame, not all of them were. There was still a handful of people...that while they definitely looked unusual in their own way, clearly weren't here for profit. This site must attract a lot of visitors. It was enough to raise the question if it was just a tourist trap, but as he kept away from the crowds he was there to overhear and catch glimpses of a conversation of a woman talking to the locals. "We already paid your travel expenses! Are you serious?" "It's only fair, isn't? To be paid what I'm owed? Six thousand, minimum. Rates subject to change." The argument between the woman got heated, but it did tell him something useful. It sounded like she was actually paid to be called in and she didn't particularly want to be here. If she was a fraud, then she'd jump at the chance to get paid for nothing, but she made it sound like she had infinitely better things to do. Which meant she was most likely real, and called in by the local population. It made it more likely there might be something to these rumors than just superstition, but no way to be sure without seeing the castle for itself. "Grah! Fine, you bitch! Gouge us some more! Six grand more and the castle gets purged." "Six thousand per spirit." Clearly, not everyone shared the same ideas of being here for the right reasons. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Human: Leaning against a brick wall, Johannes listened with amusement in on the heated back-and-forth. Exorcists required money unless you wanted to end up with your persaukinen. Tapping his backpack slung across one of his shoulders in for good luck and sympathy with the woman. It contained an extra set of clothes, toiletries, and a trove of exotic ingredients. Dried mandrake roots, pulverized bear claws, even eye of newt were not things you could find at your local supermarket. Maybe the mandrake roots. And if worse came to worse, chalk and a few candles could go a fair distance. But that didn't matter as he nearly spit out his tongue with laughter when he heard the negotiated price were per spirit. He waved away the concerned glances the locals gave him after he had sunk to the street, doubled over. Well, if they were willing to pay, he thought and rose up again. "Let me hear what exactly is on offer here. Multiple spirits. Dangerous ones, I'm guessing, either that or you're getting scammed. Johannes Korrpinen. Witch, and part-time exorcist. Interested in the pay, but willing to go for a lower price if I get to keep anything interesting I find inside the haunted castle. Don't intend to loot the entire place, just pocket a few trinkets and books." Like his namesake, the raven, he had a love for things that glittered and couldn't help but to take them for himself. Magical knowledge of course was the shiniest bauble you could find among the refuse of a haunting. "Willing to team up, there's strength in numbers?" Asking the woman. "You can keep what you banish, no splitting the fee or anything if that worries you." His grin widened, reaching his eyes as he held one of his hand forward for her to take.
Kelsa was a bit surprised to be approached by the rather striking and professional looking man. Obviously either came from money or was working for someone with it, given the fancy gear and assistance he had come with. A few suspicious thoughts ran through her mind at first as most people who approached her knowing who she was were either other ghost hunters looking to insult her for her... unique footage and how she was embarrassing the entire field or horny, socially awkward fans that assumed that since she (kinda) worked in porn that must have meant she was easy and thus available to be hit on. While she would admit that maybe she was a LITTLE bit easy at times, she DID have standards. If they could not meet the bare minimum of "bathes regularly" they were not getting into her pants or any other piece of clothing she had on for that matter! Still, she managed to flash him a smile, keeping her suspicions to herself for the moment as she shook her camcorder lightly and replied, "No, thank you. Gotta keep with that whole DIY spirit I'm known for or the fans start thinking you're some kind of sell out. That's a pretty generous offer though, given how much that stuff must cost, Mister...?"
Castle Grounds: @Tjf Louise was smarter than the rest. While they clung to town talking about what to do, she had the sense to get to the site and investigate before the rest of those fake journalists had a chance to trample all over her valuable evidence. The rest of them were waiting until nightfall to get to the hotel area, but it just didn't seem to occur to anybody they could just arrive and collect evidence before anyone else. The site had a interesting mix of archaic structure and modern technology and lights strewn about. They seemed intent on keeping the castle like theme as close as possible, modern luxuries added in. "Wow, mom. This place looks so cool!" Amanda was excited to see the interior and explore, looking around of where to go too first. "Should we check in now or-" "I can do that for you." Amanda froze as she heard a man's voice. Both from the fact, it was surprising to hear anyone's voice in a place that was supposed to be abandoned and it's tones. Silky and rich. This guy was...a little feminine, but attractive. Louise could practically see her daughter's heart start to pound from the sight of him. He approached, with a calm look, slightly shifting into a polite smile, focusing on Louise, eyes remaining perfectly level with hers, his gaze not seeming to wander in anyway. He really did seem to capture that style of old world gallantry well. "You're here to investigate, correct? We should get you booked in then before the rest come to claim rooms. I'd hate to leave you stuck with the boiler room." "Yes! We're here to investigate all the hauntings!" Amanda had piped up excitedly before Lousie could speak, before looking a little puzzled at the guy's presence at all. "So...you work here. But the hotel is abandoned. But you guys are still staffed?" His face shifted into a small trace of laughter. "It can't be all the abandoned if there's people still coming here. The ghost stories are better for business than you'd think...unfortunately..." Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a couple pages of what looked like a boiler plate document. "I'm going to have to ask you a sign a waiver. If you don't trust that, you can try your luck with one of the local hostels, but most who come here prefer to stay in the hotel itself. Saves you the trip of running back and forth to get your stuff." ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ @Mazoku Between Yesult's and Anita's hard and ever busy work, they had gotten the suites into tip top condition. The best she could anyway. They were starting to show their age a little, but it had seemed to be part of the appeal to the travelers who made their way here. Anita was always focused on work, but after finishing her cleaning of the windows, she let out an audible and contended sigh, staring at wonder in the new miracle weapon in cleaning in her hands. The small plastic bottle with blue liquid. Despite it's odd shape, you just needed to squeeze the handle on it's head and it would let out a spray that worked wonders for cleaning glass. Anita was clearly impressed by it. "I don't understand how all these things are naturally intuitive for him to use...I must admit. I must confess, these things make cleaning easier by about a hundredfold." Anita like Yesult, was willing to experiment with whatever new trinkets Prince Altan brought to their attention, but he rarely ever steered them wrong. "...it does make me curious of the state of the country outside these walls and what's changed." _______________________________________________________________________________________ It was easy enough to phase through the floors, right down the bottom floors. As nice as the bar area was, it wasn't the furthest the basement levels had went. They got progressively worse. Even with most of them not needing to fear dying again, or any ghosts other than themselves, it didn't seem like many of the servants liked spending any longer down here than they had to. It wasn't an issue for him to get into though, locks on the doors, or not. Why exactly had the prince insisted on dumping him to this section at all? And then.... This was as it. The bottom level. A place that you didn't need supernatural sense to know, nothing good had ever happened here. And he was supposed to be put here....to do what? He had the supposedly all important key. But he didn't need it. None of them did. So what was the point of any of this? He could just float right back through the walls, so it wasn't like he was being confined here. There was something to this, definitely... But before he had much longer to deliberate, he could see the faint view of lights on the upper stairway flicker, and from where he was, in the corridor, able to make out the sounds of music and liveliness from the bar above coming into play.. Sebastian would know it's the kind of Jazz music that bars used in lounges, as much as King Erik referred to it as just noise. The lights and the sounds, of everything happening above them....obviously a tactic to worsen the experience of the prisoners down here but hearing all the joy and partying up above them while the prisoners were being completely forgotten about. As he blinked, a tuft of blond hair got near his face in a wisp then pulled away, a fussy ponytail trailing along with the woman's face as she looked at him. "Sebastian. Did they really stick you down here? Here." The woman in the bunny suit offered her palm to him and with it something that looked like a fresh orange. Plump, ripe and reminding Sebastian that even if he didn't need it, he could still enjoy the taste anyway. Perhaps it was because of Fiona being from close to the same time and only having been hear just a little longer than he was, she had always remained pretty pleasant to him. She seemed more prone to treating him like a little brother than a potentially dangerous monster, though she was always busy maintaining the bar area. As it turned out, even ghosts still loved alcohol and they loved her more for her ability to actually convert it into a drinkable substance for them. "Why are you down here all by yourself?"
Louise subtly eyes the man, not unaffected by his looks, but not allowing herself to become distracted. After all, this is business, even if she's here with her daughter. That said, he is handsome, and I haven't had a man in so long... She dismisses the though in contempt. I'm a professional, not some hussy like that slut Kelsa. Louise clears her head and takes the papers. Not the sort of woman to casually sign anything put in front of her, Louise analyses every word of the waiver, looking for any loopholes, especially something that would deny her the right to publish her findings. If she's satisfied, Louise signs the papers and hands them back with a polite smile. "There you are."
Town: @Mazoku Johannes: The villagers seem split between almost immediate panicked at the claims of him being a witch, but while clearly hesitant they were obviously desperate for another exorcist who was actually affordable. The one who was previously arguing with the woman, finally opens his mouth to speak. "A lot of them. Too many to count. Nobody in town is dumb enough to go near there, but you people keep flocking to that dam castle." The woman shakes her head, looking somewhat annoyed. "I did the math. Tailsman's plus prep time, factoring in risk, health insurance, dental, my price rate is pretty reasonable. Besides, unlike those idiots with cameras who are just going to prod around, there isn't that many who know how to actually sanctify the place. That's just supply and demand." She seemed intent on taking her projected pay for the job, and while she definitely had a serious enough look that gave him the impression she might actually be able to do it, the villagers definitely looked unsure of who to listen to. "...if it belongs to the bastard king, anything in that castle is already cursed...but if you can purify it, then it may as well be yours. But the spirits...are...different. More active. Louder. Bad news is happening there." The old man spoke, and the purple haired woman gave a slight nod of acknowledgment, obviously not doubting his claims. "...if you're really the exorcist you want to say you are, then you probably can purify whatever dam trinkets are in there. If not, then you're just getting it for false advertising. The offer is a flat 3,000 for ghost, proof of it's existence and exorcism, each." A fairly sizable amount. Maybe not enough to live off, but certainly enough that it couldn't hurt anything. Of course, whatever valuables were in the castle probably were worth far more than just the lump sum cash the townsfolk could offer. Clearly having to weigh the pros and cons, and looking over the witch as if trying to determine if he's lying. "....fine....I'm Katsumi Araya." @Daylan Kelsa: "Connor Benton." As he introduced himself, his face became a lot more familiar to her now that she could put it together. If there was some crappy reality show out on the network, he probably at one point had or is hosting it. Outlaw Island. Man VS Cats From Hell. Topless Pimps. Granted, not every show he's done had been a classic. He's done his share of movies too, but it occurs to her that means he's probably here from the latest show his network was trying to promoted. Ghosting And You or something. Some stupid name they tried to pick out to try and sound trendy, though it doesn't really work too well on selling people on that. "I can honestly say, your fans would follow you anywhere. If it's a castle, then the hallways will be tight, so I just fear a proper film crew might slow me down." He seemed puzzled on the problem, before holding his smile looking over Kelsa. "I'd certainly hate to get in your way of your investigation...." Pulling out a blank card with one hand, he offered a pen with the other. "How about I get our autograph and we can try to be friends instead of butting heads?"
From everything she can see on the paper, it’s standard legal jargon, but she knows enough of her own to follow it. It’s all stock practice talk, though a hotel shouldn’t need it. The agreement stating that it’s acknowledged this is an entertainment establishment and some risks existed with it and that they would not sue for injury, physically or emotionally. But nothing out of the ordinary other than it was apparent that the rumours of ghost might have something to them then to be so common. Taking the papers back after being signed, he smiled. “Thank you. I’ll put you up in a luxury suite, discounted to normal rates. I don’t know about ghosts, but I have to respect a serious reporter.” “Yeah, mom’s the best!” Amanda was quick to chime in, and he laughed a little more. “Should I point you to our kitchen area before you get settled in for the night? If you’re here to investigate, then you have questions for me. My shift for the day is almost over. Maybe it would be better to talk over dinner?” “Uhh...okay. Wow. You work fast.” Amanda was a little stunned with the guy making the offer so freely, but he laughed it off. “I know a lot about what goes on here and when you’ve been here as long as I have, when you see something you want, it’s worth a gamble.”
Sebastion "The Prince wants me here for some reason," Sebastian replied softly as he took the orange, looking away from Fiona as he did so. It was not unusual for him not to make eye contact with the any of the female ghosts, perhaps making him come off as a bit girl shy at times. In truth, it was as much his own feelings of not being worth talking to as it was the... temptation... he felt when he let himself stare for too long. Rachel had always joked about how fortunate she had been that he just seemed to have a taste for older women and-- no! He suddenly tore into the orange, peeling off the skin enough to take a bite out of the fruit's flesh underneath, letting the sweet tang break the train of thought. Once he swallowed his mouthful, a little bit of juice dripping off his chin, he looked in Fiona's general dirrection and asked, "... Have you ever found a door down here you can't open or get through before?" Oh right. She had seen him before, she remembered. Sometimes seemed a little too willing to whore himself out to whoever was paying, given all the shows he had cycled in and out of. Though she had no room to cast stones on that count given the kind of content she was willing to put online. She bit down the urge to snark about how her fans following her was not always what it was cracked up to be, but actually smiled a little when he started to talk about the logistics of filming. "It's always good to go light for these kinds of things, since you never know when you're going to have to move somewhere cramped or... well... run away really fast. So you either go light and solo or make sure you have a big, strapping camera man with ungodly stamina to lug anything that might need carrying around." Shrugging, Kelsa took the blank card and pen when he offered, looking both over. "Sure," she said, "Almost... anything... for a fan and fellow investigator." To Connor, Always Believe In The Beyond Kelsa She added in the extra touch next to her name of what was basically the "mascot" logo on her videos: A valentine heart with a jack-o-lantern mouth and two big, round eyes. And they WERE supposed to be eyes despite the fact some people claimed her way of drawing them made them look like boobs. But they weren't! They were eyes! Honest!
Luxury suite? I'm not an idiot, no one gives away a suite because they respect journalistic integrity. I should be careful with this guy. Louise smiles. "Thank you, I'd be honoured." She giggles at her daughter's enthusiasm, before looking the man in the eye. "I have no problem with dinner, if Amanda doesn't mind." She looks to her daughter, then back at the man. "Something you want? What is it you want, exactly?"
Yseult: They truly were a marvel, the spectral head maid agreed. Especially for a castle this size, even small improvements on the time they spent on each room added together to a truly staggering figure. She thought about all the hours she could've spent together with the heir while she had been alive and had all of these cleaning reagents and devices available. "Darling~." Yseult, and her many duplicates elsewhere in the castle, sighed forlornly. Her cheeks flushed hotly in her hands while her eyes staring into the distance gleamed with undisguised lust. It took a while for her to collect herself, her body still tingling with the pleasant memories and fantasies washing over her. "The prince is... special in his many and unique ways so it's best not to compare ourselves to him even if we owe him and his loudmouth lout of a father much. But, sometimes, I wish we could hand the pair of them a mop, so they can better appreciate our work." Another difference from when she alive was an openness to gossip and voice her complaints which she formerly would've chastised the servants under her for, even if nothing would ultimately come from it. Not being able to leave, left little else to pass the time. Oh, there was that boy Sebastian who knew how to fill the emptiness. If only he wasn't so fearful and held himself back to fully express his feelings of love. "Imagine the humans outside would say the same of our time. Isn't that why they come here to relive and experience, at least part of, the past. Don't think I've asked about which family you served, but mine were collectors of rare and antique art. Rarely my taste, or theirs I suspect, but it was more about owning and displaying them than their aesthetics... One day I hope to travel the world alongside my darling." She admitted at the end. Johannes: Johannes nodded as the townspeople's spokesman confirmed the figures, casting a sideways glance at the woman exorcist. She made a few fair points as far as costs were concerned, already doing the mental calculations in his head. Sanctification was something he couldn't do, but, then again, he was far away once any spirits considered returning. Still, "Dental insurance, though?" Shaking his head, a hint of disbelief in his voice. He didn't have that. "Fine, it's a fair price." Ceding the point as the spokesperson continued his explanation. "3,000 is perfect." Johannes lived on the road mostly, staying in cheap hostels or with one of his friends made on paranormal sites before moving on to the next hint of a haunting or rumor of an artifact. He rented part of a warehouse where he sent most of his stuff after his initial study, which cost a fair deal but nothing too expensive. "Think our... Shinto Miko here?" Looking at the woman with a Japanese sounding name as if to confirm. He'd love to see how those slips of paper inscribed with spells and blessings were used if she actually was one. "Has a skill set more suited to what we'll be doing inside the castle." "Loud. Many. Organized under this king of theirs." Their description troubled him as well, but the lure of magical artifacts. The curses themselves almost as valuable as the artifacts, learning about and teasing apart the spellwork would be an informative experience and well-worth going without a few meals if it came to that. He let his hand fall and rest at his side. "Anyway, Katsumi, thank you for your trust. Here, let's exchange numbers just in case." He offered up his phone number, prepared to enter hers into his smartphone if she returned the favor. "Hope we get to spend some time together outside the castle, once we're done." Despite the concern lacing the undertones of his words, Johannes made it sound as if he expected it to be easy. "A drink or two to celebrate."
"Why...I'm going to complain. If he wants people stuck all the way down here, he should be doing it himself, if it's so important." Fiona made her annoyance clear, though she raised an eyebrow hearing the question, clearly unsure of how to answer. "No. I'm not really down here all that often, but...locks aren't really a problem for us. We can just go anywhere we want...at least inside of the castle, so trying to lock anything, doesn't really make sense." She clearly questioned the logic of this, but approached Sebastian, doing her best to look friendly. "Why don't you come up to the bar for a bit? If they didn't tell you what you're supposed to do, there's no reason to spend the whole day skulking about the place." _________________________________________________________________ Kelsa: The tv host accepted the autograph, looking happy to take it, though taking a few seconds to look at the logo, but choosing not to comment on it. "I'll treasure it." He reached to grab the paper back, his fingers just brushing against Kelsa's for a moment. It sent a tingle down her spine...but not for the reasons he probably thought it should have. Her sensitivity to the paranormal started to spike up when they touched. As far as she could tell, he was definitely alive. Which was enough to provide a thought. If she could sense things by a connection to the supernatural, does that mean she could sense other people with a sixth sense too? But...looking at this guy. If that was the case, was he even aware of it? If he had the same reaction to them coming into contact, from trying to read his face he apparently completely failed to notice. "But I'd treasure your company a lot more. Do you plan on staying inside of the castle hotel?" He carried on the conversation and his filtration like nothing had happened, frowning for a moment. "The director insists I should stay at the resort and only be on site to shoot, but that's no way to run an investigation...unless....a beautiful woman were to keep my company there and change my mind?" His mood was hard to read. Her own acting skills gave her the impression, that he was being genuine on both accounts. His show might be bad, but the intent to do his part in right was there. Just as much as it seemed he was willing to drop whatever he was doing if Kelsa asked him too.
"Well.." Amanda thought for a moment as if trying to make of an excuse, but she caved pretty quickly when the man flashed a smile at her. "It's not an issue. He's just trying to be friendly, right?" "Truth is, the usual sort of people we get investigating these sites are...weird. I'm just happy to be talking to the first few normal people. Besides, it's my job to make sure the guests are happy. I'm the owner, after all." The explanation did make Amanda look a little bewildered. "The hotel? Is that actually true or are you just trying to impress my mom?" Amanda already seemed pretty wowed by him, but even the more skeptical questions that crossed her mind were laughed off. "It's not as amazing as it sounds. I'm kind of short staffed, so I need to fill in a lot of positions right now. I'm currently answering phones, the receptionist, luggage handler, general manager, administrative staff, massage therapist and fitness instructor. What I DO still have is a top quality kitchen staff that can do just about anything with the right spices. If you doubt me, you're welcome to see for yourself."
"Weird? I suppose most ghost hunters aren't exactly 'normal'." Louise is still a little suspicious of the man, but seeing her normally reserved and shy daughter so animated and excited around him has left Louise a little unwilling to displease her. "I see." She smiles at the man. "In that case, we'd love to have dinner, Mr...?"
Ghost: Anita looks a little baffled by the proclamation, but doesn't say a lot of it other than giving a strange look, then struggling to change the subject. "But...would that work? How does that even happen? I want to see more of the world, but I'm not sure how you'd even manage that. I've tried just leaving before...I can't say I enjoyed it." Yesult understood exactly what she was talking about. Everyone had at least one point thought to just phase through the walls of the castle and try to leave only to discover that something just wouldn't let them. It hurt to try....not that this prevented most from trying at least once or twice a day. Some could only get to the courtyard before the pain became too much to bear, a few actually managed to get all the way to the upper half of the village. If what Prince Altan said was actually true, he could juuust reach ever so slightly into the next town over. But nobody ever made it as far as they liked. "King Erik....in his...wisdom." Anita strained herself for the words. "...he realized that he needs to set aside his pride, to make new allegiances." Yesult could translate that as Even that idiot realizes we're going to need living people to do it. "...but I just can't imagine what the process is...do you think that means we'll be...swapping places with them? Or...expanding the radius somehow? I'd be fine with the later, but...with the former...as weary as I am, I don't think I'd like "trading places" with someone if meant, leaving them to do the same thing here. I'm used to being here. It's not so bad, really. But I don't think someone would really volunteer to take anyone's place if it meant being here forever." Town: "Yeah...sure." The woman looking more focused now that that she had promises of getting her pay, looked to the young man, obviously unsure of having any tag alongs. "Let's not waste all day like the rest of these people then. If they only come out at night, then we should capitalize now when they're least active. According to the curse, between the hours of midnight and before sunrise, there's no way in or out...but that doesn't stop us from just purging the place before there's anything kicking around to stop us."
"Barnett?" Louise chuckles. "We're not related, are we?" She doesn't seem to make anything of the shared name, seeing it as just a coincidence. "But yes, we'd both love to go to dinner, Mr Barnett."
"I think if we were, you'd know. Silas Barnett is the full name. But why don't we talk about that after you see what we have to offer?" The journey to the lounge was pretty easy, Silas asking a few questions about Louise's work, and also remaining friendly with Amanda. Though, Louise saw it only for an instant that while laughing and joking with her, Amanda approaching him a little too closely and him stepping away slightly from her. But the event was only a couple of seconds and before she knew it, they arrived to the dining room. Amanda looked visibly dejected at the prince like man who didn't seem interested, but it was quickly forgotten with amazement of the kitchen area. "Holy....this is WAY more than I expected." "What'd I tell you? It's not just the looks either The quality is all there too."
