Stephanie's Heart: The Archive

[reading_rainstorm]

In your dreams you are in a thick and foggy forest. It could be mistaken for the woods around Tributary if you don’t know your plants. You are on a trail leading into a clearing, in the center of which is a simple, concrete structure with a single door. A chaos star has been spray painted on it with a stencil.

You approach the structure. Looking over your shoulder you see a large shape lurking in the fog, obscured by the foliage. Two shining Feline eyes peer at you from the brush. You feel your heart rate spike as you turn the knob and find an old fashioned elevator tucked neatly inside with an accordion grate standing between you and the ornate, gilded interior. It creaks open as the presence behind you steps into the clearing. It is a sphinx, an eight foot tall lioness with the face of a woman and the large brown wings of an eagle on her back . The feminine face and olive skin tone of a Greek woman from antiquity smiles as she readies herself to to pounce, the wings on her back stretching and give a few readying flaps.You back into the elevator and close the gate with shaking hands as the sphinx leaps at the elevator. Her claws twisting and shearing the metal of the grate slowly, but she is too late. The elevator springs to life and you descend.

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A small light above flickers on as it illuminates your view outside the exposed elevator as you sink into the concrete structure. You descend for a few moments before an opening in the concrete gives you the view of an observation deck on a hill, looking down on the sprawling suburbs and campus of a college town. The elevator continues downward. The concrete gives way to old, dusty marble as you continue sinking. You see a vast maze stretch far and away that gets nearer and nearer. This has to be it, right? Your destination? No. You plunge further down, past the walls of the maze and the marble is replaced again by well polished wood. Beautiful stained mahogany rises past you as your descent finally starts to slow. You are greeted by another grate that creaks open for you. Entreating you to enter.

Comments

[peccatore]

[First: Marco misreads Diorama Hall as Diorama Hell, which may or may not be indicative of where he's at mentally tonight. Second: Lost and a little overwhelmed, he opts to ring the-- Is that silver.

... If he's in Stephanie's Heart, like he thinks he may be, the Usual Rules may not apply. That has been the case so far.

He still taps the silver bell very lightly, just in case one of these dreams has decided to treat him like a vampire for once.]

[reading_rainstorm]

Sorry Marco, if there's one person who's mind works on rules, it's Stephanie's. The light touch means it only burns you lightly. Like accidentally touching something hot. It's enough to make make a bright chime that echoes in the hall. A lively, sweet voice calls from behind the card catalogue.

“Just a moment please!”

There is a sound of papers being rustled and a drawer closing before a figure rounds the corner of the card catalog drawers.

It is a woman carved entirely from wood wearing a brightly colored paisley dress. She shares a striking resemblance to Stephanie. Her brows are thinner and her lips rest in an easy smile. She moves strangely, like she is at a lower framerate than a living person, like she is being animated by stop motion.


“Welcome to the Archives of High Priestess Spiros. How can I aid you today?”

[peccatore]

[Ouch. He withdraws his hand with a start, and...

And the sight of the strangely animated woman does not make him feel any more at ease.]

Um. He... Hello. I'm... looking for Stephanie?

[reading_rainstorm]

Her smile fades a little, seeing Marco's concern.

"The High Priestess has unfortunately kept her office a bit inaccessible to guests without a library card, unfortunately. If you want to reach her, you'll have to go through the Hall of Fate. It's...currently locked though, and with so many memories missing it's hard to get to open. Oh! I did find one just a bit earlier though."

She opens a drawer and presents a tarot card to you. The Tower.

[peccatore]

[... Hm.]

This is a library card?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Oh no, it's a tarot card. Usually they are for divination. I taught Stephanie all about them when she was young. The ones around here can be used to open the Hall of Fate."

[peccatore]

O-Of course. Silly me.

Oh, er, I'm not sure I got your name?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Harmony Spiros, head librarian. That's the kind of position seniority gets you."

She laughs lightly at her own joke.

[peccatore]

Ah. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Spiros. ... Mrs.?

[There must be a relation, he presumes.]

[reading_rainstorm]

She looks a bit sad. "...Mrs. My husband should be around here too. I think he was tending to the Remembered Rooms."

[peccatore]

I see. Thank you.

[... He hesitates.]

I... should be looking for Stephanie, right?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Yes, the High Priestess. My daughter."

[peccatore]

... Just making sure. [He smiles courteously.] Thank you.

[Off to this Hall of Fate, then...?]

[reading_rainstorm]

The entrance to the hall of fate is a large arched double door. On closer inspection of the door you can see three unlit sconces. One on either side and one at the top of the arch. You try to to open the double doors...it's locked. Firmly shut. You do notice a table beside the wall with a velvet cloth atop it along with five unlit candles. One at each corner and one at the top center.

[peccatore]

[... Hmm. Now what does he do with this...?

He stares at the tarot card as if it might have an answer for him.]

[reading_rainstorm]

Could be good to hold on to it. Gotta be answer around here somewhere, right? There's also the Diorama Hall and Remembered Rooms to check out on the floor above.

[peccatore]

[He has a bad feeling about the Diorama Hall, which may be entirely because of the trick his eyes played on him earlier. The Remembered Rooms, though... The head librarian mentioned those. He'll check them out.]

[reading_rainstorm]

The hall of Remembered Rooms is well lit and has more of the bookcases like the main hall, but between the cases are doors that do not match with the rest of the decor of this place. There is an anxious looking man in a well pressed button down shirt stocking the shelves with books. Like the Harmony he is carved from wood and moves like he is being animated by stop motion. He looks at you as you enter but does not say anything, he has Stephanie's thick eyebrows.

There is a simple rectangular door with a cheery blue coat of paint on it, a simple wooden door that seems familiar somehow, a rotting, decrepit door that could easily be broken apart, and a plain metal door painted white with a small slit window in it.

[peccatore]

[He still really, really doesn't like the uncanny stop motion people, but hey, who is he to judge Stephanie's psyche.]

E... Excuse me. Do you mind me looking around?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Not at all, sir. The rooms are here to be visited and explored. Feel free. " He glances with a bit of worry at the rotting door, whatever is in there, he certainly doesn't like being near it

[peccatore]

[...

Well, he might as well ask.]

Should I start there?

[reading_rainstorm]

"Ah...I-I don't know if that's a good idea. That one is a little...intense. That and the hospital one. At least the hospital one isn't so damned spooky."

[peccatore]

I... can probably handle spooky.

[reading_rainstorm]

"...Feel free then, I suppose."

The rotting door waits for you Marco. Let's get Spooky.

Opening the door and stepping through, you are on the inside of a ruined cabin. There are three college age humans around the room. Moss grows on their limbs. Vines twist around their bodies, creeping from inside a stone circle in the center of the room. Behind the circle there's an altar built of discarded furniture. Scrawled pages of yellowing notebook paper are stapled to it all over. There's an open bag that looks to have some implements for a spell prepared.

[peccatore]

[How bad could it possibly be? He IS a spooky thing. What could be so baaaaaaaaaaa--]

Oh... Oh dear.

[Is there anything written on all that paper? He tries to take a look.]