+- Omni Archive (https://omni.zulenka.com)
+-- Forum: The Omniverse (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: The Astral Realm (https://omni.zulenka.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=12)
+--- Thread: Wine, Ale & Spirit Quest (/showthread.php?tid=6188)
Wine, Ale & Spirit Quest - Alex Mercer - 05-31-2017
Appearing in the Astral Realm felt familiar. As he peered around, Aang surmised this was where Roku had appeared in his dream. No matter which way he looked, the world appeared limited; shrouded and finite. When he stepped, it expanded, but just barely. It seemed the land was swathed in a dense fog. "Well... I'm here... what now?"
Aang decided it was best to look around for starters. However, the alehouse did not appear. He was in the middle of nowhere. The Avatar was immediately reminded of the Spirit World he was used to; a strange and mysterious place. It was outrageously complicated, and sectioned depending on the desires of the local spirit. Some were pleasant... some... not so much.
At the very thought of one such unpleasant spirit, the fog fades to one side. Aang's heart stopped as he saw a familiar cave. "Oh no..." It couldn't be. Aang shook his head, removing the very idea of Koh from his mind. "No... no one else followed me. I'm the only one." The fog slowly covered the path again. That was not very settling at all...
Laughter broke the setting dread. It was a distant giggle, but Aang was following it almost desperately. The laugh would be so much better than Koh, no matter what it was. It sounded high pitched, but not shrill, the laughter of a child. The innocent sound might be from a good spirit. That would make his day, right about now.
Though the Avatar expected a spirit, what he did not expect to come across was what appeared to be a whole town of spirits. Not only that, but many of them appeared to be human. Aang had been running, but his pace slowed. The laughter's source was obvious now; a pair of children just outside of this odd town.
"Ehem..." Aang cleared his throat to make his presence known. The children did not quite seem to notice him. He moves closer and tries again. "Ehhehemmm...." Still nothing. It was so strange, like the children could not even see or hear him. When Aang came to kneel beside them, he caught a glimpse of their faces for the first time.
The monk immediately stands and backs away. They were faceless. Koh really was here. Aang was almost ready to pass out when a chilling presence startled him back to life. His gaze shifted, and there stood a man-like beast, shrouded with branches growing form his brow. All Aang could see of the spirit was its eyes. They seemed to stare into his soul.
Tempted to run, Aang stayed only because his legs refused to work. He felt like a child again. He could not fight, especially not a spirit this strong. Almost a minute passed, and the Beast did not advance. Aang still did not flee, but now it was more because this spirit did not advance. The fear Aang held slowly faded. It did not appear outright malevolent - at least not at this point in time.
With slow, careful steps, Aang walks around the children and into the town. The beast did not follow. It did not even keep its gaze on Aang for long. When those eyes were off of him, it felt like his heart started beating again. Fresh oxygen ran to his head as he remembered to breath.
Now he had to focus on actually doing what he came here to do... He could figure everything else out later.
RE: Wine, Ale & Spirit Quest - Alex Mercer - 06-01-2017
The town was a literal ghost town. He could see that some of the people here looked deceased, a few even bearing the marks of their untimely demise. Many looked normal, as if they were lost to a perpetual dream. Some were twisted in other ways. Though a great many looked humanoid, others appeared to be something else, things which reminded Aang of the Spirit World he was used to. That did not make them any less eerie.
"Pardon m--" Aang did not even have the chance to finish his sentence before the woman he was approaching turned towards him. Instantly it felt like he had to swallow his heart back down. This woman was missing half of her face. Not in the Koh manner, more in the much-more-severe Zuko way. "I... I'm sorry... um... I'm just looking for some help..."
"Why suure!" The way the woman's mouth moved unnaturally to one side had Aang shivering. "Name's Nancy! I'd be happy to answer any questions ya got!"
Despite the hesitation Aang had to approach, he felt a wave of relief that this woman was so willing to help. "Thank you... My name is Aang. Me and my friend are looking for information on a spirit that haunts the Crescent Moon Alehouse in Minas Tirith." Aang secretly crossed his fingers, hoping today was his lucky day.
Sadly, it was not. "Hmmm. I don't know much about them haunting types, I'm afraid. Sorry, sonny. Hey, why doncha try the Doc - he's haunted his fair share, maybe he knows." She pointed down the dusty road to what looks like ... yet another tavern.
"Thank you for your time, ma'am. I hope you get well soon." He bowed, the words coming even before he realized the obsurdity in them.
"Nice notion kid, but I'm already dead!" The laugh that followed chilled Aang to the bones. "Now scoot along, he's a hard one to find if ya don't focus."
Aang thanked the woman again before quickly making his way towards the suggested tavern. It had a strange appearance to it, not like any of the Nations he was used to. Pressing past the doors, the monk was instantly bombarded with visuals he never would have expected. The denizens were as crazy as before, but the proximity of one had Aang's flesh crawling with cold chills.
He stared face to face with a massive aberration, its hide a purple miasma. It had no legs at all, and its hands were detached and floating free of its body. The massive entity had an equally massive grin, and eyes that could burn through solid stone. It cackled, a bone crippling sound, before it vanished right in front of Aang's eyes. His breath returned moments later, labored and visible in the air.
It felt colder than either of the Water Tribes in the tavern. The Monk was normally resilient against the cold, but at this point in time it seemed the chill was more of his soul than his body - which he had left back in the material world. "I'm, uh... I'm looking for ... Doc...?" His voice was not the most confident. Something about that spirit's stare had left him shaken. It was definitely unnatural, maybe it had some sort of weird power?
"Ya just missed 'em." The bartender, a man of very dead appearance responds. Aang could not see any outright markings of death, but the paleness of flesh, the sunken eyes, it was obvious this man was a lingering soul. He spat into a glass then wiped it out with a dirty rag. Ew...
Aang glanced behind him, out the door. Maybe "just missed him" was not quite so obvious. The bartender laughed at the monk. "A new guy, aye? Ya might wanna check who yer lookin for. He's a Spirit fer Hire 'round here, with a nasty reputation."
This was promising. Maybe he could hire this mercenary to help? "Well... where did he go? Do you know when he'll be back?"
It was then that Aang's luck flourished. The bartender's next words sounded sweeter than a bumble wasp's richest honey. "I heard he's been haunt'n Minas Tirith for some ol' bloke."