Past Entries - December 15
[An RP log - this happened after Wil and Auspice proceeded to dissect some very dangerous bugs back in Uldum.]
[22:20:31]Auspice inhales slowly, then exhales through her lips. Her shoulders shudder slightly. "I... it seems vaguely reminiscent to me. I... I don't know. I don't believe I saw it, but -" She shakes her head again. "I'd like to take a look at your head."
[22:22:03]Wilhiem turns to the woman, tugging her hair away from her face and behind her ear. "...are you sure you are in any condition to-?"
[22:23:50]Auspice offers a curt nod. "I... I should be. I can prepare myself with a few vials. I do not believe I am putting myself in danger - unless there is something I should know about the energies surrounding your brain."
[22:25:31]Wilhiem bites his lip. "I don't know... what's there and, to be frank, I am hoping that you could help me with this. All I know is that the apothecary carved out my dead brain and fed it through... cultivated it, then placed it into this body while I was bound to-
[22:26:03][Wilhiem] says: -it. Shadow energy, necromantic... I am not all too knowledgeable on the subject. This might be odd, and a bit difficult.
[22:26:45]Auspice lays a hand on the man's hand, gripping it gently. "I'll see what I can find out - but first, I will need to extricate myself from you - warm as you are."
[22:29:14]Wilhiem looks down, confused and a bit embarrassed. "Uhm.. yes, sorry.. sure." He relaxes his grip, slowly shuffling away. Awkward.
[22:30:45]Auspice offers a thin smile. "It's... fine." She crosses her arms, rubbing at her elbows. "I...I'm still directing most of my energy to standing and moving. I am rather cold." She pulls a blanket about her shoulders and wraps it about. She shuffles behind the -
[22:30:47][Auspice] says: man.
[22:31:41]Wilhiem nods, letting out a shuddering sigh. "Fine then uh- I suppose I should lie down?"
[22:33:12]Auspice nods. "Yes - lie down, and try to clear your mind. This may sting a bit - I will feed my energies against yours, in attempt to determine if there are any areas in your brain that are exhibiting abnormal activity."
[22:34:35]Wilhiem nods, lying down. "Well then- be gentle."
[22:35:58]Auspice lays her hand on her the man's forehead, pressing her thumbs against the man's brow. She pushes her fingers into the man's gray hair. "Try to clear your mind - I will need a neutral a profile as you can provide me."
[22:37:21]Wilhiem takes a deep breath. "I'm trying.. trying. Just to relax, right? Ugh-" He closes his eyes. "Looking at you doesn't help much though."
[22:38:07]Auspice presses down firmly. "I'm sorry if my presence is causing you stress, Will. I could blindfold you, if you wish."
[22:38:32]Wilhiem smirks. "Now, don't give me ideas."
[22:38:48][Wilhiem] says: Just go ahead. I should be fine.
[22:40:21]Auspice suppresses an annoyed quirk of her lips. She releases a bubble of weak light energy about the man's head. She draws the bubble smaller and smaller until it encompasses him. Knowing that he was animated by shadow energy, she would note the areas where resistance -
[22:40:46][Auspice] says: against this bubble were strongest - the highest concentration of activity would be found there.
[22:46:23]Wilhiem || There is a slight tug at the bubble as it moves across the man's cerebral cavity. A steady, careful tug as it moves across the temporal lobes, frontal, the energies flickering in and out, buzzing with activity.
[22:47:37]Wilhiem || Images flash on a constant loop. A man, barely forty years of age smiles, brown eyes, dark hair. A woman whose eyes seem to be gone only to be replaced by large glowing orbs. Her long black hair slowly covers her shoulders until she is completely-
[22:48:55]Wilhiem || -bare, she smiles and turns away. She has no legs. Children pass by, no defining features, just children. And above that - a woman. She looks like the one from before, but she moves with a growing persistence, as if she knows the place all too well.
[22:49:23]Auspice attempts to push the bubble towards the centers of activity, trying to isolate it. She sends in tendrils of her own energy into the bubble - she's attempting to imprint her own consciousness into the areas of activity. If successful, perhaps she would be -
[22:50:04]Auspice - able to interact with this vision, and Wilhiem's consciousness. Wilhiem would feel a sharp burst of pain as she did so, as if being injected with a hypodermic needle.
[22:52:29]Wilhiem shudders, letting out a sharp gasp. His mind gives in, not without some struggle, but it gives in. Take a step or two.
[22:53:09]Auspice 's eyes become distant, her body becoming rigid.
[22:55:14]Wilhiem || A narrow path is winding down. There is a world around - shifting and changing and as large as a dream. There is a figure down the road - will you walk towards it? It looks like a man, but you cannot be sure.
[22:56:46]Auspice looks about, taking in her surroundings. She raises her arms, offering a wave, a shout. "Hello...?"
[22:58:52]Wilhiem || It's quiet. The figure mirrors the woman's movements, motioning her to come closer. Something flutters about and around her head and flies off, up, and above. A leaf, too small to be a bird, a piece of paper - or a small insect? It's silent.
[23:00:06]Auspice raises a hand to rub at her eyes, squinting in vain attempt to bring focus to the turbulent mind-scape. She approaches cautiously. "Hello?" She raises an arm, "Who are you?"
[23:01:31]Wilhiem || The man has dark brown eyes and black hair. He smiles, but says nothing - just nods. He holds up a small piece of paper - one she's surely seen before - depicting himself, smiling and promoting a Scribe's Guild. He nods, stretching it out.
[23:02:47]Auspice purses her lips. She extends her hand as well. "You're... Wilhiem - I recognize you, from that photograph. Do you know who I am?" She keeps the man in the corner of her eye, looking about to watch for any other changes.
[23:05:17]Wilhiem || The man nods, smiling and letting the paper fly off in the wind, which suddenly picks up. He cocks his head. "Come. We need to go. You need to tell her to leave." He starts walking towards the path, which seems to stretch and wind down.
[23:06:40]Auspice frowns, hobbling afterward. It seemed whatever the nature of her injury, it persisted in her psychological state. "Wilhiem, wait." She struggles to keep up. "What happens when I do?"
[23:07:50]Wilhiem || Turns around. "It's up to him, really. But I am certain that you can shift her away. No one should be hurt."
[23:08:24]Wilhiem || Chuckling. "Do you really think he would allow it?"
[23:08:48]Auspice nods, wincing slightly as she matches his stride. "Aren't you him, or who he might have been? What do you think?"
[23:10:29]Wilhiem || The man sighs. "A part of him, I suppose - we all are. You will see other parts down the road, too. Not all of them are quite as pleasant - and I can only step that far." The sky is now getting shadowed by branches, trees coming into being from the-
[23:10:53]Wilhiem -thin air, which reeks of sulfur. "I trust him as he is right now. He is still in control here. You will not be hurt."
[23:11:36]Auspice nods. She reaches overhead, trying to grasp one of the branches overhead. "Is there anything you can do to help me?"
[23:12:55]Wilhiem || The branch breaks off easily, crumbling into dust and disappearing from her hand. "Yes. Be honest. And don't talk to him too much of what you see here." The ground starts to become soft, as if covered with moss.
[23:14:25]Auspice looks down at her hand, turning it over and letting the dust fall from her palm. "Nngh. Thank you." She concentrates on her hand. In the physical realm, her body convulses slightly as she feeds more energy into Wilhiem's cortex. She attempts to suggest -
[23:14:35][Auspice] says: the appearance of a staff into the man's mindscape.
[23:15:24]Wilhiem || The man stops shortly. The air around is stiff and the path seems to take even more turns. The man smiles, pulling over a strong, lean staff and stretching it out to the woman. "You're doing well. Careful down there."
[23:16:09]Wilhiem || "This is as far as I can go, he- He'll guide you through now. Don't be afraid, though... that might be difficult."
[23:20:03]Auspice grips the staff, offering a thin smile. "... Thank you. I'll keep your suggestions in mind." She leans on it for support, hobbling a bit faster now. Her breaths become more rapid and labored as the air thickens. She squints, attempting to cast her -
[23:20:16]Wilhiem || The man takes a step back, another. He gives Moira a quick wave before dissolving completely.
[23:20:38]Auspice | vision into the distance, before looking over her shoulder once more to once-Wilhiem - blinking as he was no longer there.
[23:22:54]Wilhiem || She would feel a tug at her sleeve, a breath of cold air and quiet grumbling. Skitter-scatter of insects crawling away.
[23:23:38]Auspice glances quickly down to her side, in the direction of the tug. She keeps moving though, plodding steadily down the path. "... Is there anyone here?"
[23:24:58]Wilhiem || The thing is tall and towering. Its large, yellow glowing eyes are looking down at the woman with a visible disappointment. Its clothes are torn and mangled, bone prodding through the slowly decaying flesh. It speaks in broken common.
[23:26:04]Wilhiem || "Akhrrre you herrrk afkhterr hkgherr?" It traces a bony finger down the woman's shoulder.
[23:26:53]Auspice blinks, stopping in her tracks. She turns about to face the creature, leaning on her staff for support. "You... " She shakes her head, looking down at the bony finger, "I don't u...." She pauses, "I... yes. I think so."
[23:28:07]Wilhiem || The creature lets out a growl, pulling a large, rusting axe from its back and prodding the woman in the back with it. "Thekrhhhn mooofff eightt." It growls.
[23:29:30]Wilhiem || The forest gets darker, the trees tighter, and it is almost impossible to see anything besides the creature's glowing eyes, shining like dim lamps that are about to run out of oil.
[23:30:31]Auspice shifts, taking a stumbling step forward before planting her feet, standing ground. "I can't - not yet. You... you're Wilhiem, as well." She shakes her head. "She takes a step back as her surroundings become dim. "I won't run away from you. Is there -
[23:30:41][Auspice] says: anything you can do to help?"
[23:33:01]Wilhiem || The thing shakes its head. "Just kheerrp movinghh. We dhooonhrt hggave muhchhh time. Dohhhn't lihhee. Bheee stronghhh and don't be afrhaiiid." It's steps are uneven, its back hunched. "H-here. Yeeehkhan meeht ghim, too nhhhow."
[23:34:26]Wilhiem || It urges, almost rushes forward - the trees are parting, giving way to a large cliff. There is a man sitting on its edge and smoking a long pipe, his nose is hooked, his hair long and gray. It looks like Wilhiem does right now - yet it does not.
[23:35:01]Auspice steps back, though keeps facing the creature. "I'll come back for you." She spares a glance at the creature, then moves towards the break in the tree line. "Wilhiem."
[23:36:21]Wilhiem || The creature lets out a stuttering sigh, retreating back into the forest. Auspice would hear a loud groan, a snap, and a scream - too human to be the ghoul's - and then quiet, consistent sobbing. The man on the cliff waves once again.
[23:38:09]Auspice spares one last glance over her shoulder, before striding her way to the cliff of the edge. "Wil - ..." She squints her eyes, "You look different."
[23:39:41]Wilhiem || The man smiles, taking a puff from the pipe. He pats a spot beside him. "Well, ain't you a pretty one, I say!" He chuckles. 'Sit down, lass, yer'most there. I ain't your fancy though - as much as I'd like t'be - see how intact this nose is?"
[23:40:30]Auspice blinks, her brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes widen in comprehension. "You're Wilhiem's friend. What are you doing here?"
[23:40:42]Auspice strides to stand beside the man, but doesn't sit down.
[23:42:11]Wilhiem || He smiles, smoke trailing out of his nostrils. "Jus' visitin', I guess. Like she is. 'Cept I jus' kinda wander 'round, watch, drop a suggestion or so e'ry now n' then. Nothin' too personal. I'll be out sooon 'nough too though. He seems t'be on the-
[23:42:16]Wilhiem || -right path now."
(A brief conversation is cut out - the bard asking Auspice to jump down with him, committing a sort of a suicide. Moira refuses to let him do it - correctly understanding Wil's true intentions about the situation and jumps herself, leaving the bard behind.)
[00:08:23]Auspice opens her eyes, letting out a yell as it became clear she was falling - ending abruptly as she found herself in the room. She kneels, picking herself up slowly. She feels about with the end of her staff. She decides to ... move east! Or right.
[00:09:41]Wilhiem || As she starts walking, the walls seem to narrow - a long corridor winding down and leading to a brightly lit room - but it is far away. There is a figure walking down the corridor and into that room. Follow it?
[00:11:41]Auspice brings a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sudden change in light. She keeps her staff at her side though, tapping it at the walls as she makes her way towards the figure, looking for any hidden recesses. "Hello?"
[00:14:33]Wilhiem || The figure ignores her, moving forwards - and towards the center of the room. It turns around just enough for her to note the familiar features - hooked and broken nose, long gray hair - and disappears into the depths of the room.
[00:15:50]Auspice pushes herself into a run, slowing down just long enough to probe the space in front of her with the staff before advancing each time. "Wil!"
[00:17:28]Wilhiem || A woman's chuckling fills the walls, ringing in Moira's ears with a frightening persistence. "Well, hello, love. Back again already?" Her voice echoes through as the elf approaches.
[00:19:01]Auspice glances about quickly, her hair whipping at her cheeks. She makes an attempt to locate the woman's voice. "When was I here last?"
[00:20:32]Wilhiem || The light dims, revealing a simple chair in the middle of the room. On it, a woman, her head completely bare. Wilhiem is standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. There is a knife in his hand. The woman looks back at Moira, smiling, her eyes-
[00:21:09]Wilhiem || -are empty and blue, pupil-less. "Oh, not you, of course. Him. He comes down here almost every night."
[00:22:02]Auspice approaches slowly. "Can he not speak, when he is here?" She looks up to the woman, then down to the knife. "Who are you?"
[00:23:42]Wilhiem || The woman chuckles. "Oh, he does not want to... usually, he just screams." She stretches out a porcelain hand, running it through the man's hair and pulling him closer. "How are you hurting me today, love?"
[00:24:22]Auspice 's brow furrows, before she takes two strides forward. "Step away from him."
[00:25:29]Wilhiem || The woman ignores the plead, pulling him in closer and kissing the man, long, mockingly. She lets go. Giggling. "Why, but I am on a chair. Why should I step out? Or away, at that matter?"
[00:26:31]Auspice would attempt to clap a hand on Wilhiem's shoulder. "Because you don't belong here." With her hand, she would try to grip the hand holding the knife, "And you don't, either."
[00:28:36]Wilhiem || The man lets out a snarl, snapping his head back at Moira, pulling his hands away. "Careful now... he bites." The woman giggles once again. "You'd have to be a bit more convincing than this."
[00:30:20]Auspice shakes her head, making a grab for the man's shoulders. "Why do you keep him here? And why won't he talk?" She grits her teeth, "Why are you here, really?"
[00:32:08]Wilhiem || The man sulks, falling to the ground with little sound. "Because he needs me, why else?" She gets up from the chair, starting to pace around the room. "Why else does he keep everyone else in here?"
[00:33:33]Auspice kneels down next to the man's body. She attempts to disarm him by taking aside his knife. "I don't need to talk to you," she directs at the woman. "Listen to me," she hisses at Wilhiem.
[00:34:58]Wilhiem || The man looks up, his eyelids barely fluttering. His lips move, but no sound escapes. The woman cackles. "Right. You're here for me! Haven't they told you? ME! Leave him alone!"
[00:36:51]Auspice ignores the woman. She cups the man's cheeks in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze (if permitted), "Listen to me. You're the only one who can sever this tether. You don't need her. That woman is dead. She died with that scarab. She is free -
[00:37:03][Auspice] says: you /cannot/ imprison her here."
[00:38:50]Wilhiem || He smiles, shaking his head. His eyes don't leave Moira's as he quietly whispers, almost breathes out. "She lets me be something I don't allow myself to be. How can I d- discard that? It's a... privilege. E-even after death."
[00:41:33]Auspice shakes the man's shoulders, "No. You are the one who told me to live in the present. There is ... a heart in you that is very much alive."
[00:42:44][Auspice] says: Relying on this woman is killing you, Wil - each day, each cut is a reminder of the past, not an affirmation of the present.
[00:44:06]Wilhiem || He smiles. "But I want to do it when I am awake - why? If I can have a release here, I won't hurt anyone out there. It works. It's perfect." The woman stops pacing now. She simply stands, her hands folded, observing the two.
[00:45:50]Auspice shakes her head. "This isn't real - none of this is." She attempts to take the knife from his hands. "And that isn't addressing the root of the problem - it is distracting, diverting it. There are people who believe in the good that you are capable of -
[00:46:31][Auspice] says: people who believe you can help others - but how can you help if you cannot even confront this fundamental truth within yourself?"
[00:48:49]Wilhiem || The man blinks. "Have I really helped anyone so far?" The knife clutters down on the stone-clad room and the woman lets out a shriek. He shudders. "You're real. What do I do?"
[00:50:50]Auspice slides the knife into her belt. "You're right. I am real. I need you to focus on me - you are the only one who can send me out of the labyrinth in your mind." She brings the man's hand up to her cheek. "Remember what you can touch, what you can smell, -
[00:51:56][Auspice] says: what you can see. Drive out the past. Live - now. Here. Do you remember telling me that?"
[00:54:27]Wilhiem || The man shudders, tracing his fingers down the woman's cheek. "Yes. Moira. You-" He shivers again. "Get out."
[00:55:30]Wilhiem || His voice raises up a tone. "Not Moira - you. Get out!" The woman takes a step back, another. Lets out a pleading gasp.
[00:56:16]Auspice grips the man's fingers tightly. "Release her. She has been pent up too long - in your mind, in your scarab. Do it!"
[00:58:29]Wilhiem || Sounds fill the room. Fluttering, swift clapping. Gentle, small, fragile wings, butterflies, filling every inch of it, the walls collapsing and the rubble flying up and away. The woman is gone, dissolved into a wisp of the flying creatures, soaring-
[00:59:46]Wilhiem -up into the air, the single cloud of white butterflies with their wings stained red. Wilhiem screams out, shudders, his spine bends back in the real world. His eyes snap open. The small bubble just above his cranium pops, pushing Auspice out.
[01:01:10]Auspice snaps back, her consciousness snapped back into her own body like a rubber band. She lets out a howl, the experiences she had accumulated in the man's head hitting her psyche like a slingshot loaded with bricks.
[01:02:58]Wilhiem 's eyes are bulging, he is grasping for breath, shivering, shaking. "M-Moira..."
[01:04:35]Auspice bends down, cradling her head in her thighs. She reaches out blindly to steady herself, splaying her fingers out on a nearby wall. "I... I'm here."
[22:20:31]Auspice inhales slowly, then exhales through her lips. Her shoulders shudder slightly. "I... it seems vaguely reminiscent to me. I... I don't know. I don't believe I saw it, but -" She shakes her head again. "I'd like to take a look at your head."
[22:22:03]Wilhiem turns to the woman, tugging her hair away from her face and behind her ear. "...are you sure you are in any condition to-?"
[22:23:50]Auspice offers a curt nod. "I... I should be. I can prepare myself with a few vials. I do not believe I am putting myself in danger - unless there is something I should know about the energies surrounding your brain."
[22:25:31]Wilhiem bites his lip. "I don't know... what's there and, to be frank, I am hoping that you could help me with this. All I know is that the apothecary carved out my dead brain and fed it through... cultivated it, then placed it into this body while I was bound to-
[22:26:03][Wilhiem] says: -it. Shadow energy, necromantic... I am not all too knowledgeable on the subject. This might be odd, and a bit difficult.
[22:26:45]Auspice lays a hand on the man's hand, gripping it gently. "I'll see what I can find out - but first, I will need to extricate myself from you - warm as you are."
[22:29:14]Wilhiem looks down, confused and a bit embarrassed. "Uhm.. yes, sorry.. sure." He relaxes his grip, slowly shuffling away. Awkward.
[22:30:45]Auspice offers a thin smile. "It's... fine." She crosses her arms, rubbing at her elbows. "I...I'm still directing most of my energy to standing and moving. I am rather cold." She pulls a blanket about her shoulders and wraps it about. She shuffles behind the -
[22:30:47][Auspice] says: man.
[22:31:41]Wilhiem nods, letting out a shuddering sigh. "Fine then uh- I suppose I should lie down?"
[22:33:12]Auspice nods. "Yes - lie down, and try to clear your mind. This may sting a bit - I will feed my energies against yours, in attempt to determine if there are any areas in your brain that are exhibiting abnormal activity."
[22:34:35]Wilhiem nods, lying down. "Well then- be gentle."
[22:35:58]Auspice lays her hand on her the man's forehead, pressing her thumbs against the man's brow. She pushes her fingers into the man's gray hair. "Try to clear your mind - I will need a neutral a profile as you can provide me."
[22:37:21]Wilhiem takes a deep breath. "I'm trying.. trying. Just to relax, right? Ugh-" He closes his eyes. "Looking at you doesn't help much though."
[22:38:07]Auspice presses down firmly. "I'm sorry if my presence is causing you stress, Will. I could blindfold you, if you wish."
[22:38:32]Wilhiem smirks. "Now, don't give me ideas."
[22:38:48][Wilhiem] says: Just go ahead. I should be fine.
[22:40:21]Auspice suppresses an annoyed quirk of her lips. She releases a bubble of weak light energy about the man's head. She draws the bubble smaller and smaller until it encompasses him. Knowing that he was animated by shadow energy, she would note the areas where resistance -
[22:40:46][Auspice] says: against this bubble were strongest - the highest concentration of activity would be found there.
[22:46:23]Wilhiem || There is a slight tug at the bubble as it moves across the man's cerebral cavity. A steady, careful tug as it moves across the temporal lobes, frontal, the energies flickering in and out, buzzing with activity.
[22:47:37]Wilhiem || Images flash on a constant loop. A man, barely forty years of age smiles, brown eyes, dark hair. A woman whose eyes seem to be gone only to be replaced by large glowing orbs. Her long black hair slowly covers her shoulders until she is completely-
[22:48:55]Wilhiem || -bare, she smiles and turns away. She has no legs. Children pass by, no defining features, just children. And above that - a woman. She looks like the one from before, but she moves with a growing persistence, as if she knows the place all too well.
[22:49:23]Auspice attempts to push the bubble towards the centers of activity, trying to isolate it. She sends in tendrils of her own energy into the bubble - she's attempting to imprint her own consciousness into the areas of activity. If successful, perhaps she would be -
[22:50:04]Auspice - able to interact with this vision, and Wilhiem's consciousness. Wilhiem would feel a sharp burst of pain as she did so, as if being injected with a hypodermic needle.
[22:52:29]Wilhiem shudders, letting out a sharp gasp. His mind gives in, not without some struggle, but it gives in. Take a step or two.
[22:53:09]Auspice 's eyes become distant, her body becoming rigid.
[22:55:14]Wilhiem || A narrow path is winding down. There is a world around - shifting and changing and as large as a dream. There is a figure down the road - will you walk towards it? It looks like a man, but you cannot be sure.
[22:56:46]Auspice looks about, taking in her surroundings. She raises her arms, offering a wave, a shout. "Hello...?"
[22:58:52]Wilhiem || It's quiet. The figure mirrors the woman's movements, motioning her to come closer. Something flutters about and around her head and flies off, up, and above. A leaf, too small to be a bird, a piece of paper - or a small insect? It's silent.
[23:00:06]Auspice raises a hand to rub at her eyes, squinting in vain attempt to bring focus to the turbulent mind-scape. She approaches cautiously. "Hello?" She raises an arm, "Who are you?"
[23:01:31]Wilhiem || The man has dark brown eyes and black hair. He smiles, but says nothing - just nods. He holds up a small piece of paper - one she's surely seen before - depicting himself, smiling and promoting a Scribe's Guild. He nods, stretching it out.
[23:02:47]Auspice purses her lips. She extends her hand as well. "You're... Wilhiem - I recognize you, from that photograph. Do you know who I am?" She keeps the man in the corner of her eye, looking about to watch for any other changes.
[23:05:17]Wilhiem || The man nods, smiling and letting the paper fly off in the wind, which suddenly picks up. He cocks his head. "Come. We need to go. You need to tell her to leave." He starts walking towards the path, which seems to stretch and wind down.
[23:06:40]Auspice frowns, hobbling afterward. It seemed whatever the nature of her injury, it persisted in her psychological state. "Wilhiem, wait." She struggles to keep up. "What happens when I do?"
[23:07:50]Wilhiem || Turns around. "It's up to him, really. But I am certain that you can shift her away. No one should be hurt."
[23:08:24]Wilhiem || Chuckling. "Do you really think he would allow it?"
[23:08:48]Auspice nods, wincing slightly as she matches his stride. "Aren't you him, or who he might have been? What do you think?"
[23:10:29]Wilhiem || The man sighs. "A part of him, I suppose - we all are. You will see other parts down the road, too. Not all of them are quite as pleasant - and I can only step that far." The sky is now getting shadowed by branches, trees coming into being from the-
[23:10:53]Wilhiem -thin air, which reeks of sulfur. "I trust him as he is right now. He is still in control here. You will not be hurt."
[23:11:36]Auspice nods. She reaches overhead, trying to grasp one of the branches overhead. "Is there anything you can do to help me?"
[23:12:55]Wilhiem || The branch breaks off easily, crumbling into dust and disappearing from her hand. "Yes. Be honest. And don't talk to him too much of what you see here." The ground starts to become soft, as if covered with moss.
[23:14:25]Auspice looks down at her hand, turning it over and letting the dust fall from her palm. "Nngh. Thank you." She concentrates on her hand. In the physical realm, her body convulses slightly as she feeds more energy into Wilhiem's cortex. She attempts to suggest -
[23:14:35][Auspice] says: the appearance of a staff into the man's mindscape.
[23:15:24]Wilhiem || The man stops shortly. The air around is stiff and the path seems to take even more turns. The man smiles, pulling over a strong, lean staff and stretching it out to the woman. "You're doing well. Careful down there."
[23:16:09]Wilhiem || "This is as far as I can go, he- He'll guide you through now. Don't be afraid, though... that might be difficult."
[23:20:03]Auspice grips the staff, offering a thin smile. "... Thank you. I'll keep your suggestions in mind." She leans on it for support, hobbling a bit faster now. Her breaths become more rapid and labored as the air thickens. She squints, attempting to cast her -
[23:20:16]Wilhiem || The man takes a step back, another. He gives Moira a quick wave before dissolving completely.
[23:20:38]Auspice | vision into the distance, before looking over her shoulder once more to once-Wilhiem - blinking as he was no longer there.
[23:22:54]Wilhiem || She would feel a tug at her sleeve, a breath of cold air and quiet grumbling. Skitter-scatter of insects crawling away.
[23:23:38]Auspice glances quickly down to her side, in the direction of the tug. She keeps moving though, plodding steadily down the path. "... Is there anyone here?"
[23:24:58]Wilhiem || The thing is tall and towering. Its large, yellow glowing eyes are looking down at the woman with a visible disappointment. Its clothes are torn and mangled, bone prodding through the slowly decaying flesh. It speaks in broken common.
[23:26:04]Wilhiem || "Akhrrre you herrrk afkhterr hkgherr?" It traces a bony finger down the woman's shoulder.
[23:26:53]Auspice blinks, stopping in her tracks. She turns about to face the creature, leaning on her staff for support. "You... " She shakes her head, looking down at the bony finger, "I don't u...." She pauses, "I... yes. I think so."
[23:28:07]Wilhiem || The creature lets out a growl, pulling a large, rusting axe from its back and prodding the woman in the back with it. "Thekrhhhn mooofff eightt." It growls.
[23:29:30]Wilhiem || The forest gets darker, the trees tighter, and it is almost impossible to see anything besides the creature's glowing eyes, shining like dim lamps that are about to run out of oil.
[23:30:31]Auspice shifts, taking a stumbling step forward before planting her feet, standing ground. "I can't - not yet. You... you're Wilhiem, as well." She shakes her head. "She takes a step back as her surroundings become dim. "I won't run away from you. Is there -
[23:30:41][Auspice] says: anything you can do to help?"
[23:33:01]Wilhiem || The thing shakes its head. "Just kheerrp movinghh. We dhooonhrt hggave muhchhh time. Dohhhn't lihhee. Bheee stronghhh and don't be afrhaiiid." It's steps are uneven, its back hunched. "H-here. Yeeehkhan meeht ghim, too nhhhow."
[23:34:26]Wilhiem || It urges, almost rushes forward - the trees are parting, giving way to a large cliff. There is a man sitting on its edge and smoking a long pipe, his nose is hooked, his hair long and gray. It looks like Wilhiem does right now - yet it does not.
[23:35:01]Auspice steps back, though keeps facing the creature. "I'll come back for you." She spares a glance at the creature, then moves towards the break in the tree line. "Wilhiem."
[23:36:21]Wilhiem || The creature lets out a stuttering sigh, retreating back into the forest. Auspice would hear a loud groan, a snap, and a scream - too human to be the ghoul's - and then quiet, consistent sobbing. The man on the cliff waves once again.
[23:38:09]Auspice spares one last glance over her shoulder, before striding her way to the cliff of the edge. "Wil - ..." She squints her eyes, "You look different."
[23:39:41]Wilhiem || The man smiles, taking a puff from the pipe. He pats a spot beside him. "Well, ain't you a pretty one, I say!" He chuckles. 'Sit down, lass, yer'most there. I ain't your fancy though - as much as I'd like t'be - see how intact this nose is?"
[23:40:30]Auspice blinks, her brow furrowing for a moment before her eyes widen in comprehension. "You're Wilhiem's friend. What are you doing here?"
[23:40:42]Auspice strides to stand beside the man, but doesn't sit down.
[23:42:11]Wilhiem || He smiles, smoke trailing out of his nostrils. "Jus' visitin', I guess. Like she is. 'Cept I jus' kinda wander 'round, watch, drop a suggestion or so e'ry now n' then. Nothin' too personal. I'll be out sooon 'nough too though. He seems t'be on the-
[23:42:16]Wilhiem || -right path now."
(A brief conversation is cut out - the bard asking Auspice to jump down with him, committing a sort of a suicide. Moira refuses to let him do it - correctly understanding Wil's true intentions about the situation and jumps herself, leaving the bard behind.)
[00:08:23]Auspice opens her eyes, letting out a yell as it became clear she was falling - ending abruptly as she found herself in the room. She kneels, picking herself up slowly. She feels about with the end of her staff. She decides to ... move east! Or right.
[00:09:41]Wilhiem || As she starts walking, the walls seem to narrow - a long corridor winding down and leading to a brightly lit room - but it is far away. There is a figure walking down the corridor and into that room. Follow it?
[00:11:41]Auspice brings a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sudden change in light. She keeps her staff at her side though, tapping it at the walls as she makes her way towards the figure, looking for any hidden recesses. "Hello?"
[00:14:33]Wilhiem || The figure ignores her, moving forwards - and towards the center of the room. It turns around just enough for her to note the familiar features - hooked and broken nose, long gray hair - and disappears into the depths of the room.
[00:15:50]Auspice pushes herself into a run, slowing down just long enough to probe the space in front of her with the staff before advancing each time. "Wil!"
[00:17:28]Wilhiem || A woman's chuckling fills the walls, ringing in Moira's ears with a frightening persistence. "Well, hello, love. Back again already?" Her voice echoes through as the elf approaches.
[00:19:01]Auspice glances about quickly, her hair whipping at her cheeks. She makes an attempt to locate the woman's voice. "When was I here last?"
[00:20:32]Wilhiem || The light dims, revealing a simple chair in the middle of the room. On it, a woman, her head completely bare. Wilhiem is standing behind her, his hands on her shoulders. There is a knife in his hand. The woman looks back at Moira, smiling, her eyes-
[00:21:09]Wilhiem || -are empty and blue, pupil-less. "Oh, not you, of course. Him. He comes down here almost every night."
[00:22:02]Auspice approaches slowly. "Can he not speak, when he is here?" She looks up to the woman, then down to the knife. "Who are you?"
[00:23:42]Wilhiem || The woman chuckles. "Oh, he does not want to... usually, he just screams." She stretches out a porcelain hand, running it through the man's hair and pulling him closer. "How are you hurting me today, love?"
[00:24:22]Auspice 's brow furrows, before she takes two strides forward. "Step away from him."
[00:25:29]Wilhiem || The woman ignores the plead, pulling him in closer and kissing the man, long, mockingly. She lets go. Giggling. "Why, but I am on a chair. Why should I step out? Or away, at that matter?"
[00:26:31]Auspice would attempt to clap a hand on Wilhiem's shoulder. "Because you don't belong here." With her hand, she would try to grip the hand holding the knife, "And you don't, either."
[00:28:36]Wilhiem || The man lets out a snarl, snapping his head back at Moira, pulling his hands away. "Careful now... he bites." The woman giggles once again. "You'd have to be a bit more convincing than this."
[00:30:20]Auspice shakes her head, making a grab for the man's shoulders. "Why do you keep him here? And why won't he talk?" She grits her teeth, "Why are you here, really?"
[00:32:08]Wilhiem || The man sulks, falling to the ground with little sound. "Because he needs me, why else?" She gets up from the chair, starting to pace around the room. "Why else does he keep everyone else in here?"
[00:33:33]Auspice kneels down next to the man's body. She attempts to disarm him by taking aside his knife. "I don't need to talk to you," she directs at the woman. "Listen to me," she hisses at Wilhiem.
[00:34:58]Wilhiem || The man looks up, his eyelids barely fluttering. His lips move, but no sound escapes. The woman cackles. "Right. You're here for me! Haven't they told you? ME! Leave him alone!"
[00:36:51]Auspice ignores the woman. She cups the man's cheeks in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze (if permitted), "Listen to me. You're the only one who can sever this tether. You don't need her. That woman is dead. She died with that scarab. She is free -
[00:37:03][Auspice] says: you /cannot/ imprison her here."
[00:38:50]Wilhiem || He smiles, shaking his head. His eyes don't leave Moira's as he quietly whispers, almost breathes out. "She lets me be something I don't allow myself to be. How can I d- discard that? It's a... privilege. E-even after death."
[00:41:33]Auspice shakes the man's shoulders, "No. You are the one who told me to live in the present. There is ... a heart in you that is very much alive."
[00:42:44][Auspice] says: Relying on this woman is killing you, Wil - each day, each cut is a reminder of the past, not an affirmation of the present.
[00:44:06]Wilhiem || He smiles. "But I want to do it when I am awake - why? If I can have a release here, I won't hurt anyone out there. It works. It's perfect." The woman stops pacing now. She simply stands, her hands folded, observing the two.
[00:45:50]Auspice shakes her head. "This isn't real - none of this is." She attempts to take the knife from his hands. "And that isn't addressing the root of the problem - it is distracting, diverting it. There are people who believe in the good that you are capable of -
[00:46:31][Auspice] says: people who believe you can help others - but how can you help if you cannot even confront this fundamental truth within yourself?"
[00:48:49]Wilhiem || The man blinks. "Have I really helped anyone so far?" The knife clutters down on the stone-clad room and the woman lets out a shriek. He shudders. "You're real. What do I do?"
[00:50:50]Auspice slides the knife into her belt. "You're right. I am real. I need you to focus on me - you are the only one who can send me out of the labyrinth in your mind." She brings the man's hand up to her cheek. "Remember what you can touch, what you can smell, -
[00:51:56][Auspice] says: what you can see. Drive out the past. Live - now. Here. Do you remember telling me that?"
[00:54:27]Wilhiem || The man shudders, tracing his fingers down the woman's cheek. "Yes. Moira. You-" He shivers again. "Get out."
[00:55:30]Wilhiem || His voice raises up a tone. "Not Moira - you. Get out!" The woman takes a step back, another. Lets out a pleading gasp.
[00:56:16]Auspice grips the man's fingers tightly. "Release her. She has been pent up too long - in your mind, in your scarab. Do it!"
[00:58:29]Wilhiem || Sounds fill the room. Fluttering, swift clapping. Gentle, small, fragile wings, butterflies, filling every inch of it, the walls collapsing and the rubble flying up and away. The woman is gone, dissolved into a wisp of the flying creatures, soaring-
[00:59:46]Wilhiem -up into the air, the single cloud of white butterflies with their wings stained red. Wilhiem screams out, shudders, his spine bends back in the real world. His eyes snap open. The small bubble just above his cranium pops, pushing Auspice out.
[01:01:10]Auspice snaps back, her consciousness snapped back into her own body like a rubber band. She lets out a howl, the experiences she had accumulated in the man's head hitting her psyche like a slingshot loaded with bricks.
[01:02:58]Wilhiem 's eyes are bulging, he is grasping for breath, shivering, shaking. "M-Moira..."
[01:04:35]Auspice bends down, cradling her head in her thighs. She reaches out blindly to steady herself, splaying her fingers out on a nearby wall. "I... I'm here."