interacting with group

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Faint mists played all around Bunny as the veil grew so thin that it had begun intruding on the world of the living. This was not the first time she had ever been here and because of that not afraid of the chill she felt pass through her body as she increased her conductivity then she seemed to become almost transparent as she walked towards a set of stairs leading to nowhere the crystal pendulum tugging on it’s chain like and eager dog. The spell was so powerful here that she was soon in a trance as she mounted the stairs and began climb them slowly in soft measured steps.

At the top of the flight a shimmering line of silver light began tracing the outlines of a door that had till then remained hidden and once it was completed she stepped through it and into a hidden place within the Mystery House not seen since the year of the Quake. (The Lost Hall) The hall stood as a strange connection between the present day and that long ago year 1906 when the area had become the greatest natural disaster on american soil and still showed signs of that day’s abuse.

This house is connected with the other world just not quite like……… said Bunny before she was abruptly cut off by a spirit that boiled around her seeking a chink in her necromantic wards.

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As Zara's protection spell enveloped the group, Emory scanned back through the clouds of memories he held darkly. "We need to find Bunny and Florian, once we do that, we can end this...I think" Holding up his wand, he followed the light with an incantation on his breath. They had to be careful, this house could throw anything at them before they got to the dynamic duo. Passing over a damp piece of floor, the Welsh wizard thought listening to the silence throughout the building. It was a large place of unimaginable terror yet there was no sound. Zara's thoughts not shared, he did not need to be a mind reader to understand. Vespa's parents were dead and so too probably was the Butler at this point. The place was a hot bed of evil, with the activity ramping up lately, why? He had no doubt that it was tied to the little girl.

Ascending the stairs, Emory followed his wand to a closed door, an extreme light peering beneath it's frame. "Be ready girls" He looked across his three companions. He held on to Zara's hand as Nickie comforted Vespa. Reaching for the handle he exhaled whay could potentially be his last breath before opening up the oak door. Gazing upon his two compatriots there was a relaxed sigh of relief as the protection spell ended.

"Velvet, Florian. Things just got interesting"

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Bunny looked at Emory as he and the others entered and exclaimed how interesting things had become his added presence and the rest of the team discouraging the spirit which was surrounding her to flee and seek better options.

That I believe is an understatement my dear Emory answered Velvet with an amused smile as she let the seeker spell fall away for the moment.

Then she stopped smiling as she noticed something dark following the others that made the spirit that had been assaulting her seem inconsequential and explain its presence here; it had been drawn by the hidden menace.

”Something Wicked This Way Comes” she said quoting Ray Bradbury as she prepared her mind for potential battle

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"I have a theory on what we're dealing with" Emory said as he forced closed the door behind him once all of the girls were in the room. "I think what it is, is a Sluagh. Sluagh are said to be the spirits of people so evil, that Hell rejected them. The Sluagh come in from the west like a flock of birds, which would explain all the west facing windows. They try to find a house where a person is dying. They will try to snatch the soul of the dying person. The strong smell clover, the restless spirits in this house...it all fits"

Emory had dealt with a Sluagh only once before, during one of his first cases as a Regulator five years ago. They were terrifying creatures, corrupted souls bent on claiming the spirits of others. In folklore they were often considered to be the attack dogs of the Wild Hunt. Emory and Arthur, along with some long since dead colleague's confronted several of these monsters at a house in Bray. There was only one sure fire way he knew how to get rid of a Sluagh and it wasn't pretty.

He glanced over to the cowering Vespa, a girl who only hours ago lead a regular life but who had now been forced to endure unimaginable things like monsters and magic. It was then that something clicked within the charms master's brain. "Of course, Sarah Winchester" He ran his hand through his hair and looked at the group. ”Sluagh come for dying people. Sarah claimed that she was haunted by those killed by Winchester rifles…if you were her, you’d be scared of dying, facing the wrath of the dead…makes sense to become something that devours the souls of the dead…Sarah became the Sluagh, taking souls and consuming them, building her strength so that she can escape”

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“Sluagh” the dark souls of the hunt? Thought Bunny as she looked into her memory to find the information she’d learned in Ghoul Studies at Hogwarts.

she whispered as mnemonic of her lessons to recall all she knew of the horrid creatures.

In muggle folklore the only way to avoid becoming the prey of the hunt was to offer the life of another but she was happily no muggle and had other options and planned on using them. She reached into her bag and drew out two items the first a feather from a raven of the tower of London that shown blue/black and glossy as she held it in her right palm as in the palm of that same hand she held a shiny black button that was the fetter of her uncle Tony and pulled from his jacket the night the storm tried to claim her as it had all her loved ones on the boat.
Nasty creatures was all she said as she loaded into her thoughts the three spells she might need if they tried to rush her.

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"It makes sense to keep Vespa alive too....she'd use her as a host. Someone of the same bloodline"

Emory turned his gaze away from the child and looked towards the rest of his group. They had to end the haunting of the Winchester House and they had to do it soon. They couldn't leave, not until the job was done. They could walk out the front door, hurry away like thiefs in the night and leave the Sluagh to torture more victims...they could do that or they could use the slim chance they had now and finally end it's miserable existence. He glanced over at what was once a hidden hallway witch Bunny and Florian had uncovered. Why was it hidden? More than likely at the end of that corridor was where the real evil and the real magic took place, the rest of the house was a show created by Sarah Winchester to trick the spirits within.

"Shall we?"

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Emory steadied his breath as he prepared to lead his team deep into the unknown of Winchester House. Time was non-existent within these walls. It had felt like they had been in there for days. He held onto Zara’s hand, whom in turn was clutching onto little Vespa. ”Lumos” With a flick of his wrist his wand was illuminated once again and he slowly began to walk into the lost hallway. It was dark and dirty, cobwebs and dust filling the air almost like fog during a damp fall night. This corridor had not seen the light of day in over a century and it was deathly apparent as its wallpaper sagged and the high wooden beams crumbled. He knew what he had to do but even still Emory felt like he was entering this place without a plan, that in itself was an alien concept to him. He never went anywhere without planning ahead, that was just his nature.

Pushing open the final door, the group entered a single room, adorned only by a single, circular table and the rotted skeleton that sat by it. The last resting place of Sarah Winchester. She must’ve had a servant use a dummy or maybe even another corpse to fool those when she died. The walls of the room were littered in occult markings, candles burned down to their cores, crushed clover floating atop a bowl of blood; magic having preserved it do this very day a hundred years on. Blood magic was the worst of the worst and it seemed that one Sarah Winchester was well versed during her days amongst the living.

”She’s going to know we’re here pretty soon, we need to get ready and we need to do it fast” Emory kneeled down to Vespa’s level and looked the little girl in the eye. The fear spread across her face could not be hidden by anything at this point.
”It’s nearly over sweetie, you just have to be brave for a little bit longer ok?” He got to his feet and cracked his neck. No soul would leave this house unscathed after tonight. ”Zara, keep her calm. Keep her head clear and when it’s time, do as I tell you. Bunny, Florian, we need a Devil’s Trap and we need one made sharpish. We haven’t got a lot of time. Nickie, me and you are going to have to contain this thing until they’re ready”

As the team began getting ready, the faint sound of rumbling began to echo throughout the silent halls. She was coming, they had to weaken her as best they could to prepare for what was to come. Raising his wand and aiming it at the table and corpse, Emory spoke clearly and precisely. ”Sarah Lockwood Pardee Winchester, I name thee. Come forth from the darkness and seek your justice. INCENDIO!” A jet of flame burst forth from the Welshman’s wand and tore through the room and ignited the body, forcing the hulking shroud that was once a woman to appear before them. The burning of a corpse often helped in spiritual cases but it was by no means a solution as tv would have you believe.

”Captarent funiculus ignis” Using his wand like a whip, he conjured a rope of flame which he use to ensnare the Sluagh’s arm. It wouldn’t hold long, they needed the trap to be ready soon as fire began to engulf the room.

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A pair of poltergeists had arrived to distract them; the Sluagh knew it was in trouble and had called for aid. Emory glanced over at his teammates, each doing their best to end the horror that was going on in this house. Nickie was doing her best to keep the intruders at bay, Velvet was working hard to get the cat’s cradle trap ready and Zara was doing everything within her vast legilimency powers to keep Vespa calm throughout; hers was probably the toughest job. How do you calm a muggle child in the midst of chaos like this? Shrouded demons, violent spirits and fire engulfing the room and by extension the house itself. Things were spiralling quickly.

The hardest part was remembering the spells. Emory’s mind was filled with holes and blanks that he could not peer into. Memory eluded him when he needed it most. He thought back to his first encounter with the Sluagh several years ago, the spell that the leader of the Regulators used. It was Celtic, something used by the druids of yore. What were those words?! Letting go of Zara’s hand by necessity, the charms master forced the free fire to wrap around the other arm of the Sluagh. Sweat dripped from his forehead from stress and heat as he tried with all his might to find the words.

”Madra ar an fiach, ina gceangal mé dhuit ag an fhuil a lorg agat” With the words spoken, the creature that was once Sarah Winchester began to shrink into the fire, blood curling screams bellowing throughout the corridors of the mystery house. In life, she had been a good woman, a fair woman. In fear of death and the tool of death that her family created, she made herself a monster to survive. The real evil of the world was the humans that called it home, both magical and non magical. As the Sluagh dissolved into a sphere of blackness, Emory motioned his hands and forced the darkness into Bunny’s trap.

”Zara, let her go!” Emory called as he flung the wand forward and forced the sphere into Vespa’s mouth.

”Madra ar an fiach, ina gceangal mé dhuit ag an fhuil a lorg agat” He repeated as the black smoke filled the young girls lungs. At this point the house was awash with flames, the lost souls of the deceased bound by the flickering embers that surrounded them. A tear fell from his dark eye as he looked deep into Vespa’s young face. ”Avada Kedavra” A quick flash of green light flew from Emory’s wand and struck Vespa in the centre of her head. The tiny girl fell back to the floor, stiff like a wooden board. An exasperated sigh escaped his throat as he felt a great sadness wash over him.

”We have to go, now. Out the house, move!” Grabbing Zara by the hand and glancing back at the others, he lead them through the flames, through the winding corridors and finally out of the god forsaken Winchester House.

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Interacting with: @Heretic@Sarcelle Renard

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”Well, well. Natalia DeVito, my Puerto Rican princess, I heard y’all were coming down here….ok well Caretaker called me and said you could do with some help” He climbed into the booth with the duo and a smile crept upon his bearded face. Wyatt Holden was the Regulator’s man in the south of America. Across the world there many witches and wizards whom although not recognised officially as Regulator, tended to help the ORO whenever it was required. Wyatt had been a long time associate, a man with his ears to the street, his eyes peeled and with everything you needed to know about the southern US of A. He was a country boy through and through but spent more time monster hunting than anything else. ”New partner is cute, very tasty. Anyway, you looking into the Candy Lady thing, I got a name for you. Clara Crane”

Interacting with:

Kieran & Wyatt

Interacting with:

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“Dearest,

Once again my heart is filled with dread and sorrow. It seems that I know not anything but these two emotions. If my soul truly does exist, why is it so tinged with sadness and pain? What has cursed me so? And why must I continue to breathe out into this terrible world?

Masters Corrigan had taken a team to California, a place so filled with light and beauty. They were there to hunt something inside of a famous muggle home. When they had returned, Mistress Zara and Mistress Velvet were both encased in a feeling I was all too familiar with; loss. The creature they chased was a Sluagh, a subordinate of the Wild Hunt. Sarah Winchester was too afraid to die, too afraid of the spirits of those her husbands guns killed and so she made a pact. She made a deal to become this foul creature to starve off death. The team managed to end her miserably long life but at the cost of a child’s. With what I know of these creatures, this was the only possible way to end it but it has left them shaken, changed. Mistress Arminstance; bless her. She has decided to leave us, feeling as though this world was too dark for the light to shine. She may have used a confundus on a muggle as I understand she now works for a law firm.

The Texas mission was also successful. Clara Crane had been alive in the nineteenth century, she was young and foolish so of course she fell in love. She have birth to a child but the child did not live to see its fifth birthday. Distraught, she did the only thing she thought she could, she tried to revive it with magic. Even after death, Clara continued to murder children in hopes of using their parts to reborn her spawn. And it worked, sadly too well. She had created an Infantata, a being of nothing but pure bloodlust. Master Twycross lead his team deep into the dark, they did not all make it out. Sadly Master Felix is missing, we do not know where he is though is lack of portrait in the memorium leads me to believe he is still alive somewhere. Masters Athos and Kieran both survived, as did Miss DeVito and Miss Fuji. They would not say what happened in those mines, only that the creature was gone.

Upon their return, Master Stone was approached by the Ministry to undertake a long term job in devising new protections for the muggle world, he accepted and decided to take Master Sebastian with him. I hope they are well and that they stay away. This place will never be safe.

I fear now that more will be sent to replace those that are gone. I fear now, that more lambs are being sent to slaughter. I fear this crushing wave of terror that washes over me. I fear the girl that haunts my waking day.

The pansy at my feet doth the same tale repeat. Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

Forever yours”

As a tear dropped upon the parchment, the Caretaker looked up from his letter and saw the face of Emory staring back at him. ”Who do you write those letters to my friend?” The Welshman asked.

With his glossy eyes brimming with tears, the creature looked to his master and breathed a tortured sigh. ”I know not” He whimpered. ”I know not for whom I write or to whom. My mind will not let me see”

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Emory looked over to Zara and a laboured breath escaped his lungs that were now tinged with black smoke. He didn’t have to be a mind reader like her to understand that she was struggling, hell so was he. He had just murdered a child and it split his heart deeply. This job had broken him, it had changed him. Had he more time he would’ve tried to think of another way to end it but trapping the Sluagh in the body of someone from its bloodline was the only method he knew; it just so happened that the trap was a child. Emory was doing everything in his power to rationalize his actions, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. One life for many is a small price to pay but it is a price nonetheless.

”I had to do it, Zara. There was no other way. She was a hero”

The Welshmen turned his head at the faint sound of muggle sirens in the distance. Police, ambulance and fire service if he was not mistaken. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled free the small gold coin that the Caretaker had given them each before the start of their case. An enchanted galleon that would apparate them back to Lundy.

”We need to go”

She couldn't focus on any one thing around her. Everything was coming at her all at once, completely overwhelming her senses. Zara could still hear the shrieks, the dark thoughts, the fear- all warped together in a chaotic mess at the front of her mind. All she could do was stand in one spot, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. Couldn't they have done something else? Surely there was something they could have done to save the child. She had been an innocent in all this- Sarah Winchester was the true evil here. Why did a little girl have to pay for the crimes of another?

Emory's voice seeped through the mess and she slowly glanced up at him. A small scoff escaped her throat at his statement before she once more looked away from him. Her voice was raspy and hoarse as she replied, "A hero...I'm sure she didn't feel that way. Just a teeny tiny babe all alone in the world...Orphaned all at once...Like abracadabra...Poof, everyone's dead." She knew she was starting to lose whatever sanity she had held so dearly to. Zara felt like her little world she had created for herself was slowly crumbling around her, and she didn't know how she was going to rebuild it.

Glancing towards the new noise, she let out a breath and shrugged weakly. "Here comes the cavalry...one if by land, two if by sea.." Her eyes caught sight of the gold coin that was pulled free of Emory's pocket. Snaking her fingers into her own, she pulled out the small object and stared at it. "Open sesame.."

"Mysterium Domum" Emory spoke clearly and concisely, flipping the coin in his palm and in an instant he found himself back in the occult office that he had called home for five years. The Caretaker sat in a nearby chair, reading as the others began to appear as well. The creature would take his leave to collect supplies as Emory looked upon his team.

"I am sorry for how this one turned out. I did what I had to"

He looked to those that were broken and sighed. It had become apparent to him now that among the members of ORO, Emory Corrigan had become the necessary evil, the man who made the hard calls. Surely one day they would understand? He did not do these things because he wanted too, in fact his heart broke more deeply over it but he could not let them see that. They needed him to be strong and if a hate or fear of him kept the office running, then hated and feared he would be. Moving on from the map room, the charms master entered a kitchen. In a moment of frustration he picked up a chair and threw it against the wall, breaking it into several pieces. An anguished scream burst from his chest as tears streamed down his face and he dropped to his knees, punding the cold oak floor with his closed fist until it was bloody.

Zara had muttered along the words to bring them home, arriving just as soon as Emory had. Her brow raised slightly at the look around the room. What had happened to everyone else? Where was...Where was Felix? Athos was missing from the room too, so maybe they were huddled up in one of their rooms together. The thought brought a small grin to her face. At least something good would come from today.

At Emory's words, she blinked and looked at him. He sounded about as great as she felt. She watched as he walked away- and finally allowed herself a dip into his mind. As he couldn't hide any new memories from her now, she felt the onslaught of emotions pouring from him. It drew a large gasp from her chest and she hurried into the kitchen at the moment when things began to fly. Blinking as she watched him fall to his knees, she hurried over without hesitation and fell down next to him. Zara tightly wrapped her arms around him as he did for her back at the house.

"I'm a monster" The poor man wept. "I'm no better than the things we hunt"

Emory raised his head from the floor at the touch of Zara's hands. In that moment he felt comfort, a feeling he rarely had any more. How could she forgive him for this? She was linked with that poor girl, felt everything that she felt. He had come to realise that this Kiwi girl was someone he could trust and rely on but they were not cut from the same cloth. In fact Emory was probably more alone in this place than anyone. He entwined the fingers of his non-bloodied hand with one of hers and let out a great sigh. Correcting his posture, Emory looked into Zara's eyes and felt the pain that she felt. Their noses grazed slightly in that awfully charged moment.

"You should rest, it's been a hard day"

"No, no, no, no, no..." She clicked her tongue at him as she ran her hands over his back, trying to ease his burden. Her eyes caught sight of his bloodied hand and she took a breath. No matter what had happened back at the house, they were here now. They had had a job to do, and a countless number of people to save. And they had succeeded in that. Yes, they had taken a life of an innocent. But that one innocent life, for numerous others? Zara knew it had to be done. She certainly didn't blame Emory for that. And for him to think she did...

As he took hold of her hand, she sucked in a small breath as his thoughts flooded her. She stared down at the fingers wrapped together, trying to sort everything out. He was hurting, just as much, if not more than she. While she had been connected to the child, he had been the one to take her life. She tilted her chin up to meet his gaze as he moved, brushing her nose with his. Her stomach flipped slightly and her free hand raised up to cup his cheek. "You're not a monster. Vespa was tormented; now she's at peace. You saved her." She leaned in ever so slightly, brushing her lips across his in a soft kiss before whispering against them, "you're not a monster."

Pulling back, she searched his face before standing. "I'll go find Felix. Your hand needs healing. I'll send him to your room."

@Sailorsadie@Shadow007

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Emory tried to quiet the raging fire in his mind as Zara left him in the kitchen. Why had she kissed him? Why would anyone? Isadora, Daisy…what another fine mess you’ve made Corrigan. He pulled himself to his feet and scanned the room around him, he had made a bit of a mess. Freeing his wand from his belt, he gave it a quick flick. ”Reparo” The chair he had smashed raised itself from the floor and mended itself in a moment and the blood stains on the floor from his hand quickly vanished as well.

Emerging from the kitchen, the charms master made his way down the hall in a daze, noticing as Natalia headed into the kitchen he had just been in with Zara. The unnerving feeling he had was once that he often got after returning from a case. It had been common practice since the implantation of the office that the Regulators be split amongst cases so as to share the workload. However it has oft resulted in times where only a handful would come home. All one had to do was look at the memory wall that the Caretaker so diligently took care of to see just how many of their number had fallen. On hard nights like this one, Emory’s mind would wander to how many of his colleague’s would return home and how many were waiting for him on the other side…or at least he hoped they were, along with Daisy.

Entering into his chamber, the battle worn wizard found Isa already there waiting for him. He was too exhausted to think about the implications of Zara’s kiss and his own feelings. His mind was muddled with thoughts that ran a thousand miles an hour. No quicker had he just started thinking about something before another idea took its place. Locking the door behind him, Emory gave Isa the once over, just to see if she was ok and noted her trembling frame. Something had happened on her case, something dark. Making his way over, he planted a kiss on her forehead before collapsing onto the edge of the bed. He placed his wand to his temple and sucked in a deep breath.

”Obliviate” He spoke in a hushed and exhausted tone as he pulled the memories of the days events from his war torn mind.

Falling back against the mattress, he dropped his wand on the floor, he reached up with his hand, beckoning Isadora to him. ”What happened to you?”