Berkeley's Phantasmagoria

[Serela]

>STOP!
>Listen!
>Watch that motion, and identify what it is.
>Palm that orb. Why didn't we do this before? Oh yes, because we're a nub at this.

>You STOP! And LISTEN! Unfortunately, you apparently fail your roll (if there is such a thing); you don't hear anything despite the thing you see definitely moving. The thing seems to have noticed you, and is coming closer. You think it looks like a person.
>Orb wielded! And yeah; you're pretty new to this stuff. Yesterday you were a (somewhat) normal teenager, and now this?!

> "Shite.  Please tell me someone else saw that."

>You call the others attention; they both look, before nodding silently, watching it as it comes closer.

[Hello Purvis]

>Identify oncoming thing! Or at least examine it.
>Think of lasers. The orb can probably do something like that. Hopefully.
>No shooting them, mind. Just be ready. Trigger discipline and all that.

[Serela]

>Identify oncoming thing! Or at least examine it.
>Think of lasers. The orb can probably do something like that. Hopefully.
>No shooting them, mind. Just be ready. Trigger discipline and all that.

>As it gets closer, you can tell its definitely a person. They seem... really pale though. Practically white all over.
>Well, you shot a laser with it when you were fighting the spiderwoman; you're pretty sure you could do that again.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look to Veronica. "Who's that?"

[Serela]

>Look to Veronica. "Who's that?"

>She blinks. "I don't recognize her; but it's not like I knew everyone who lived here. Still, something doesn't seem right about her."
>As the person gets closer, you notice something wrong too; it's not that she's pale, she's just... transparent. You were seeing the snow through her, making you think she was just really white.

[Hello Purvis]

>"OH GOD SHE'S A GHOST!"

[Serela]

>"OH GOD SHE'S A GHOST!"

>The ghost speaks up; "Wh-what?! But I don't remember dying! I can't be dead... I've just got to find my body, I know it's still alive somewhere!"
>Veronica and the fairy are too freaked out to respond. You assume ghosts are not a normal thing, even in this magical world.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Can you tell us something that happened before...er...you left your body?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Can you tell us something that happened before...er...you left your body?"

>Before this:
>"...Oh."
>She's not trying to bite our heart of fuck us up in our dreams for reals.  So she can't be that bad.
>"Well, uh...um...maybe I'm wrong? Uh...hello! Sorry about the shouting and stuff."

[Serela]

>"Can you tell us something that happened before...er...you left your body?"

>Before this:
>"...Oh."
>She's not trying to bite our heart of fuck us up in our dreams for reals.  So she can't be that bad.
>"Well, uh...um...maybe I'm wrong? Uh...hello! Sorry about the shouting and stuff."

>"Well, err... that's the problem. I can't really remember what happened, the most recent thing was... I think I saw some lady. And I can't remember anything after that until I woke up, and... I didn't have a body anymore!"
>Yeah, if she's a ghost, at least she isn't the mean kind! Maybe she's the Casper kind of ghost~

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"Do you remember your name?
>"Was this lady...charismatic or perhaps really pretty lookin'?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Idly wonder how you cure a ghost.

[Serela]

>"Do you remember your name?
>"Was this lady...charismatic or perhaps really pretty lookin'?"

>Idly wonder how you cure a ghost.

>"Oh, my name's Rinoa. It's nice to meet the three of you!"
>Veronica and Dotsy nod vacantly, still staring at Rinoa, mouths agape.
>Depends on what you mean by "cure".

[COPIRIGHTO]

>Introduce ourselves
>Tell Dotsy and Veronica to get a hold of themselves "It's not everyday we get to meet a ghost!"
>"What was this lady like

[Serela]

>Introduce ourselves
>Tell Dotsy and Veronica to get a hold of themselves "It's not everyday we get to meet a ghost!"
>"What was this lady like

>You introduce yourself, and tell your companions to get a grip. "A-ah, well, I'm Veronica Spinelli." "And I'm Dotsy!"
>They still seem pretty freaked out, but at least they're functioning again.
>"Oh, right, the lady! She had long hair, and was wearing a really beautiful, colorful dress... and I just felt like I knew her all my life, like I could trust her with anything. I don't remember what happened after I first saw her, though."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Doesn't that sound like the person you met, Dotsy?"

[Kasu]

> Facepalm.
> "Aw dammit.  She is really screwing crap up for me isn't she?"

[Serela]

>"Doesn't that sound like the person you met, Dotsy?"

>The fairy perks up. "Yeah, it does!"

> Facepalm.
> "Aw dammit.  She is really screwing crap up for me isn't she?"

>You facepalm, and Dotsy blushes at her forgetfulness.
>"Either she likes causing random mayhem, or she's one of Estelle's minions. She sounds pretty dangerous, so we should watch out for any colorful dresses; I think something like that would stand out, at least.", Veronica says.

[Kasu]

> Gasp at Veronica.
> "Estelle has MINIONS?!"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Does Estelle usually do this kind of thing with her games?"
>Try to recall details about those people (that person?) who got petrified.

[Serela]

> Gasp at Veronica.
> "Estelle has MINIONS?!"

>You gasp, and utter words. "Err, well, we think she does. No proof about it though, especially since these are the first times we've had a witness to talk about it..."

>"Does Estelle usually do this kind of thing with her games?"
>Try to recall details about those people (that person?) who got petrified.

>"If you mean the entire population of Wintervale vanishing; no. Usually it's just the person she brought from your world who disappears. Stella thinks she has minions she sends to kill 'em, or bring them to her mansion for... stuff. But that's just what Stella thinks."
>From what you know, it was Sister Masha La, the village Priestess-y person. Jigen told you to see her if you wanted to learn more about how faith works.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I guess it's too late for us to do anything, then."
>Look to the ghost. "Um, do you remember it being all snowy beforehand?"

[Serela]

>"I guess it's too late for us to do anything, then."
>Look to the ghost. "Um, do you remember it being all snowy beforehand?"

>"B-but... there's gotta be something...!", stammers Veronica.
>Rinoa shakes her head to your question. "Nope. And I don't know how long it's been since my memory of seeing that lady..."

[Hello Purvis]

>"There might be people hanging on, at least, but if they just left that body out there...I'm not too hopeful."
>Westward, where those peoples that Veronica were talking about were at. Invite the ghost to tag long if she doesn't on her own.

[Serela]

>"There might be people hanging on, at least, but if they just left that body out there...I'm not too hopeful."
>Westward, where those peoples that Veronica were talking about were at. Invite the ghost to tag long if she doesn't on her own.

>After you say this, Rinoa pipes in. "I've only been here for a short while, but... I feel someone living nearby. I guess that's like a sixth sense that comes from being a ghost? I was looking around, hoping it was my body, when I felt you three coming too."
>The four of you begin to go west, further into the area of houses. Before long you reach a dead end; you haven't heard or seen anything amiss, just the sound of you and Veronica's footsteps and the lightly falling snow.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Where did you feel the living person, Rinoa?"

[Serela]

>"Where did you feel the living person, Rinoa?"

>Rinoa frowns; or at least, you think she does. With so much bright white snow and her transparent form, it's a bit hard to tell. After a minute, she points at one of the houses. "In there."
>"That's... where Stella used to live.", says Veronica.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod to Veronica, and head that way.
>Presuming no tragedies occur along the way, peek into a window.

[Serela]

>Nod to Veronica, and head that way.
>Presuming no tragedies occur along the way, peek into a window.

>You nod to Veronica, before heading up to Stella's old house. You brush some snow off a window and look in.
>Inside the window, you see a living room; with a couch, rug, table, fireplace... it looks like a cozy place to live. There isn't anyone in that room, but there are entrances into other areas as well.

[Hello Purvis]

>Is the fireplace lit?