[IC] 🦄 Machiavellian Masquerade - Chapter 1

[Lady Absinthia]

Mr. Titian

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Chair 5 -> Away from Chair 5
Skills: Perception, Will, Charisma
Hit Points: 4
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Well, wasn't that a sight enough to make ones butt pucker. A chair went sky high with the woman who had been in his lap. He had noticed that before but it kept climbing until it was much further above the ground than he thought was safe. Cupping each side of his mouth with his large hands, Mr. Titian gave a rather loud holler. "Bet ya wished you had stayed in my lap now!" The man laughed as he lowered his hands and got comfortable. Glancing to the left and then to the right and then back up to the sky. His fingers laced together as he leaned forward, eyes never leaving the sky as it reached its apex and well as the old saying went - What goes up...

Must come down. At least that was how he thought it went. Either way, it seemed one person at least was getting their rear-end out of the way. Couldn't say he blamed them. They were in one of the two chairs between him and the launch site. Standing up in a carefree manner, Titian took several large steps and joined the person over near the road. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked back up at the sky. "Hope people here got a strong stomach because let me tell you this. Watching a body explode on impact is something else," he said watching as he rubbed his chin.

[BlueSky44]

Sister Penance

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Location: Shadowell Manor (Chair 10) -> Away from Chair 10
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 4
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She had no idea how to react to the person getting shot up in their seat a hundred feet in the air or so. The woman in the chair she noticed was the one who had fainted earlier, which was definitely an interesting thing. However, it became apparent that what was said was true, generally what goes up must come down, and she wasn't too keen on figuring out where she'd land. There was one thing that she did notice, and that was that the woman and the chair seemed to have separated and gone two different directions, which meant two people were at risk of getting hit.

The instant she noticed that, Penance started looking to see where they'd land, and she was not too thrilled at the direction the woman's body went, as it was heading straight for her. She started panicking, a little freaked out about the fact that someone's body might land on her at any moment. It took her a few seconds to calm herself, at least to the point where she got out of the way of the body. It was a good thing that she moved when she did, as the instant she hit the road and turned around, Director Kindle's body hit her chair, and splattered everywhere around where she had been moments before. Though it was an interesting thing, seeing how a body reacted when dropped from that high and it hit a chair, but that was the only thing that she admired about it. "Well, it's a good thing I moved when I did," she said, shaking her head ever so slightly as she looked at Director Kindle's body in her chair, not to mention the bit of a nasty mess that it had made when it had landed in the seat.

[Nallore]

Captain Moss

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Location: Shadowell Manor Gate
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 6
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Captain Moss, jumped when he watched a chair with a woman suddenly shot up high into the air, which made him worry that maybe this was the worse idea in his head to even come here. Seeing the chair go up to a hundred feet or so in the air, Moss started to back up some more looking quiet worried and stressed out at what he saw was unfolding. Seeing Cassius move up next to him, as Owen the gatekeeper was panicking at what had just happened. He really just wanted to go back home now at this point, but he was here now and he was extremely cold and tired from the traveling that he had done all day.

Moss then watched as the chair finally ended up hitting the ground, seeing the bloodied remains of a woman in the chair which made Captain Moss want to turn around and look away. He hadn't seen to many bodies in his lifetime but just the way it happened was just a little to hard to take in. One of the men even joked about it which made him shudder even more seeing what had just happened Moss then turned towards Owen, still holding his invitation in his hand while looking over at Cassius. "Are all of the chairs going to do that?" Moss asked looking at the group of people that were there.

[Gordoth]

Lady Lechery

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Location:Shadowell Manor Grounds - Chair 9
Skills:N/A
Hit Points:6
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And so the lady at the front departed, as if urged, or taken, by a Bzou. Lady Lechery had never seen such a thing - and would probably never again see it - and that made her curious. Things that fell from the sky either broke or bounced off. What would happen if a human fell from the sky - would it be a wondrous tale of a wyrm landing, or would it be the gruesome fate of a frog jumping off a cliff?

There was, obviously, an instance of danger, as she was quite close to the young lady who had decided to leave her, and the seat itself could decide to join the blue-haired woman in her own chair, even though there was no space for two, thus exposing her own life to danger. However, as the egg-like object-turned-projectile reached its peak, it decided start falling, surprising absolutely nobody. Her eyes traced the object as it fell, and a sense of calm overtook her. It would not land on top of her, so she figured there would be no need to move out of the way in a panic, as others had done. The use of one's brain was reserved for them alone, and if they would not use it, she could do nothing to prevent it. They would only slow down the movement of the strange carriage they had boarded.

"If you did not want to sit with me, you should not have thrown the delicate flower of life away like that..." Cooed Lady Lechery as the figure of the Director disappeared behind the back of her chair. What a sad event, she thought. No doubt orchestrated by someone with more directorial rights than the Director herself...

[Morose]

Professor Walnut

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Chair 7 ---> Away from Chair 7
Skills: Dexterity
Hit Points: 4
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Walnut's attention was temporarily diverted by a rather phallic exclamation. She arched an eyebrow, still on the floor, as she rose to her feet. The chair-body combo had continued to climb and climb, reaching its apex at a distance that boggled the senses. The comments of the others couldn't hold her attention for long, yet Walnut quickly came to a startling conclusion. The chair might have traveled an enormous vertical distance, but horizontally...Well, it was not nearly as impressive in that regard. Recognizing the danger of becoming the second victim of a chair that evening, Walnut sprung into action - and sprung being the operative word here...

As Walnut tried to take off into a run away from her chair, she still hadn't quite gotten up and she tripped over her own two feet. The silver lining was that she skid forward into the dirt, and without enough time or coordination to get to her feet, Walnut did an awkward shuffle-scoot on her knees to put more distance between herself and her chair. Barely making it to the road before she heard the resounding crash of the fallen chair smashing into her own vacated seat, she felt her face for a moment. Her mask had stayed on throughout the entire ordeal.

She let out a breath, before taking another one deeply as she scrambled to her feet near the others who had hurried off to the side of the road. "Such a remarkable death for an unremarkable person..." Walnut observed quietly, looking at the body that had fallen a few chairs away from her own.

[mnkee]

Madam Mauve

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Location: Shadowell Manor (Front Gate: Chair 3) ⇢ Away from Chair 3
Skills: Dexterity
Hit Points: 3
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Madam Mauve blinked as the doctor's quiet laughter and charged words washed over her. She stiffly pivoted her head to lock her intense gaze with his insufferably amused one. Her dark blue eyes narrowed dangerously. Yet, by some saving grace, albeit of the twisted variety, new developments nearby garnered her immediate attention before she could manage to put her foot in her mouth yet again. She arched a bit of a brow as she curiously followed the man's gaze to land on the object of everyone's attention: a chair, oddly enough, rapidly ascending skyward with the fainter aboard. Such a shame, she thought to herself.

She eyed the chair and its rider as it progressed higher and higher until finally it reached an apex. A jolt of fear-induced adrenaline suddenly coursed through her veins as it promptly began to make its rapid descent. Sure, the contraption had launched itself from several seats down, but there was no telling the trajectory of its inevitable landing. Needless to say, she wasn't about to sit around and find out if she was to be crushed to death or not. "Bloody hell!!" she exclaimed aloud as she bolted from her seat and made a blind run for cover. And, I do mean blind, as she ended up running straight into one of the many guards' horses that were in the surrounding area. The impact of her masked face into the muscular chest of the horse effectively knocked her backwards right onto her butt. She was left a bit dazed and with a bruised butt and ego but otherwise not much worse for wear.

She shook her head, coming to her senses just as a loud crash and a wet splat filled the air. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she looked up to see the splattered mess that now was the Director Kindle. Her gaze lingered a bit longer on the woman's remains before she glanced around at those around her. "Is someone going to help me up?" she questioned.

[Darth Shadow]

Mounte Bank

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Location: Shadowell Manor (Front Gate, chair 11)-> Shadowell Manor (Front Gate, away from chair 11)
Skills:Dexterity
Hit Points: 3
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Raising an eyebrow as the woman gave her answer, Mounte was left speechless. Although the woman’s attires coated her in a well-mannered aura, her speech surprised him for its strong coming. And although he felt a slight sense of gratitude in his heart for the woman to respond his question, at the very least it was informative, his expectations were not met. There were things that he still did not know that had taken place on this metallic contraptions.

Fixing his posture before asking the woman in front, his jaws constantly moving as he whispers to himself about what to say. But just as his fingers were able to feel the leather texture and the warmth of its owner, the woman just stood up and left her seat. Is she avoiding to answer my question or just leaving due to some other matters that I had no knowledge about? Mounte strokes his chin, perplexed by the reason everyone behaves so strangely.

And then, Mounte realized why the woman in front of him had left her seat. Looking up to the sky as the sound of something approaching begins to appear in his ears, Mounte found something black and ominous heading in his direction. Its metallic surface gave him a false impression of a meteorite while the four thin lines behind or nothing more but smoke and chunks of rocks falling apart due to friction. And doing what he should have done a few seconds earlier, Mounte jumps out of his seat and land on the road next to him, just as the unidentified object make an impact with his seat. But instead of the screeching sound of metal being tear by the meteorite, followed by a shockwave that would knock him to his feet, there is just a simple sound of a balloon being popped. More peculiar, his overcoat seems to be a little wet. Sniffing at the collar of his coat, Mounte nose picks up something strange among the fur of dead animals.

Rust?

[Romero]

Justice Cobalt

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Chair 1 ⇢ Away from Chair 1
Skills: Charisma
Hit Points: 6
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There was a sudden flurry of moment past Cobalt as several of the other guests scrambled for the relative safety of the path, in varying degrees of elegance and poise. Cobalt himself turned to glance absentmindedly up at the chair, which seemed to have reached its apex, some 100 feet in the air. The chair had almost faded into the half-darkness of the late evening, but he could make out that the unfortunate occupant had slipped from the chair, the two falling separately. Despite Cobalt's earlier statement, it appeared that the lady did not know how to fly, and was instead falling. Or perhaps plummeting would be a better word.

Despite a part of him wanting to sit back and watch the carnage of the no-doubt bloody landing, Cobalt decided that it was better to join the other guests that had gathered on the path, if nothing else than to continue mingling with the people he would presumably be spending the next several days with. Stretching his legs out for a moment, Cobalt rose to his feet, strolling across to the path. As he walked, he caught the hurried conversation between Owen and Cassius. He raised an eyebrow slightly beneath his mask, and diverted towards where Cassius stood. Cobalt smiled, his eyes flashing slightly.

"An unfortunate accident, or should I be more concerned?"

Cassius glanced over towards the guest speaking to him and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked back at the scene. "Lad, honestly, I have no idea."

"I know the Ambesires have a certain... reputation, but will your employers not mind one of their guests having to arrive in a bucket?"

There was a cast of the eyes to the side towards the man and a chuckle as he gave him a pat on the back. "Nothing to be concerning yerself over."

Cobalt frowned slightly. The answers had hardly filled him with confidence, or indeed shed much light on the events still transpiring, but regardless, he sensed that Cassius had closed the door on the conversation. Smiling, and nodding towards the servant, Cobalt turned back to the group in time to see the lady he had been talking to earlier run straight into one of the gathered horses, knocking herself to the floor. Smirking slightly, Cobalt strode across the short distance and held out his hand to help her up.

"You ought to be more careful"

[FantasyChic]

Debutante Blush

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Location: Shadowell Forest - Front Gate - Chair 12 -> Away From Chairs
Skills: Dexterity, Will
Hit Points: 4
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A subtle smile passed along her lips as the delightful lady asked if she would spend the night with her. It was cute how taken aback she was at this request. Debutante Blush couldn't help but giggle gleefully. The offer was tempting and exactly what she wanted. "Why of course, petal. I would be delighted to be your...companion for the night, and perchance longer? After all, as you said, we are entering unknown territory and it would be best to have someone to watch our backs. I intend to watch yours very closely."

Blush was handling herself well as a devilish grin appeared on her face. It was quickly met with shock and surprise as she heard the loud noise behind her and turned to see a chair, of all things, rocket to the sky with its inhabitant following along. Debutante Blush quickly stood up. "Goodness, quickly, get away!" she called out to Miss Creme beside her. Blush was panicked as she moved from her chair, stumbling slightly on the legs as she did so. She caught herself and moved along with the others to see the mess crash down. The body (as it could surely be called that after landing in such a manner) was crumpled on the ground. The others, in various states of amusement, disdain, sadness, perhaps even arousal? Debutante Blush quickly regained her composure.

"So is anyone going to explain just what happened? Are all our chairs going to shoot up to the sky now? That was not what I agreed to."

[Ciaran]

Master Tack

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Location: Shadowell Manor, Chair 14
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 5
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Master Tack had been so intrigued by the character behind him that he had entirely failed to notice the strange and unfortunate fate of Director Kindle. Listening intently to the strange man's verse, Tack nodded in response to his final line, as Tack, though prepared for the weather, was still not enjoying it, and thus was looking forward happily to the idea of warmer climes. Turning around calmly, he was about to return his head to its prior, relaxed position against the chair, when he saw it.

The director, flung up into the air. Rising, falling, dying. Tack's reaction was one of profound terror, though he did not get up, and he did not run or scream. Instead, he was perfectly still, pale as death itself, hands gripping the sides of the chair so hard it seemed he might snap a piece off. He was fully sat up, back perfectly straight and rigidly fixed in place, a total contrast to his relaxed position just a second ago. He had never seen someone die before, and now he saw not only a death but a spectacularly violent one, and as he sat with his eyes locked on what was left of Director Kindle, the only thing he could think of was that he had almost taken that chair, the one which in an instant could have sentenced him to death. It was not a pleasant thought.

Master Tack would remain frozen for maybe thirty seconds after the impact before he could begin to regain his composure. It would occur to him a few minutes later that he should have moved, that the two falling masses could have been lethal projectiles had they hit him. It had been stupid to stay still like that, when he could have died. But intelligence had nothing to do with it. Fear had simply frozen him to the point where logical thought was entirely impossible.

[Sigil]

Dr. Swamp

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Chair 2 -> STAYING IN CHAIR 2
Skills: Will
Hit Points: 4
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A sigh and a chuckle escaped the stately Dr. Swamp as he watched people scatter. It was just a mechanically propelled chair, hurling an unsuspecting lady(?) high into the air to await her inevitable concussive liquefying on the ground below. It's not like they were out of bacon. The good Doctor made a mental note to inquire that they were not, in fact, out of bacon; such things could ruin their "blackmail reveal" party. Seriously, were they out of bacon?

Such was the lack of spare fornication that Dr. Swamp gave the situation at present. He was a man of education, as befitted his profession. The Doctor had seen the path that the chair had taken; estimated where it should land, and while it was sure to make some noise and considerable arterial drenching, he figured that the best spot to be was right where he was sitting. It would take a hell of a lot more than a springloaded seating death apparatus promising an exhilarating ride followed by the separation of his innards from his outards on the cold ground below to get him to move. After all that drama, Chair 2 was his, and that was the end of it.

He did make note of the human flotsam and jetsam running and/or diving for cover, including the two persons who were formerly on either side of him. Given their wildly fluctuating demeanors on the subject of sitting next to one another, Dr. Swamp thought that this might be a gratifying turn of events for them. Just as soon as the corpse-splattering crash sounded further back on the line, the Doctor decided that it was the proper time to share his observations. He adjusted the clockwork flower on his lapel, crossed his ankles in front of him, and casually mentioned, "Madame, Sir - At your pleasure, several new seating options have very recently opened. Do enjoy your ride in." Absently, he wondered if this little accident would delay them very much. It was quite cold out, after all.

[The Grey Dust]

Master Plum

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Chair 15 -> Chair 15.
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 6
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There were two ravens sat comfortably.
They were as black as black could be.
Then one of them said to his mate,
where shall our dinner take?
With a downe derrie derrie derrie downe downe...

A cawing crow indeed, the bird's beady eyes begging at the bits of body, broken, battered, and bloodied. The smell of death freshly dealt, permeated the air as the carrion called out to be ripped asunder. Oh how the chair had done much to pulverize the meat, the tender flesh no doubt scattered across bone and marrow. A shake of preening feathers, and a ruffle of hunger flitted the talons upon his left shoulder. His companion it seemed minded not the cold as much as he. Down the man or woman fell, but not before divorcing the chair in one final act of desperation to escape. And yet now between the odd pair, surely one them could certainly have a premature dinner from this life cut short, surely it was dead. Or if not on the cusp of dying and not just fainted as before, given the evident splatter that excited his raven. Yet the bird waited patiently, as often he would claim the first cut and distribute the spoils, that and the beaks of ravens oft were not made to cut the sinew well from bone thus required greater predators to take claim. For still the master calmly sat, watching the events all unfold beneath the long-nosed mask and stroking his feathered friend.

what were they playing at? He pondered if indeed the guards were as innocent as they claimed? The surprise caught everyone, and most had scrambled out of their seats either fearing for their lives of being crushed from the falling duo or next up into the air. Yet he stood his ground, or rather stayed his seat, watching the show of panic set into motion. Scrambling underneath the projected trajectory, accounting for the pull, the wind, the last act and final swansong. The man in the last chair did not as much budge nor show a sign of concern, at a death nor the prospect of his very own. There was little argument to move, as certainly his chosen seat would have been adequately far from the fallout, and it seemed the curious man in the penultimate chair thought the very same. All the while most of the other guests took to their feet to escape, save for perhaps the other beaked man on the other end of the parade of chairs. What foul plot was afoot? The man in black had ironically survived the forest long enough to die. The grim twist of fate, which gave them all such a terrible beginning, and to one of them a terrifying end.

"Minced meat of exquisite taste,
A guest for some hors d'oeuvres,
We'll let nothing go to waste,
And thus our dinner is served."

A macabre sing-song comment came from the back. Still ominously stroking his bird as if such soothing touch was holding the hungry avian back. Certainly it was only naturally for a raven to eat what slivers of carrion it could find, yet the mockery of the dead may have been seen as a little more than just a fool's attempt to make gallows humor. Just what sort of dinner were they all going to attend?

[Natsu]

Miss Creme

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Location: Shadowell Forest, Chair 13
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 3
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Miss Creme made a noise that could only be described as a cross between a squeak and a cough at Blush's comment. She didn't want her getting the wrong idea, Creme only wanted a friend to stay with her. Creme looked away, a nervous and embarrassed look on her face. She wasn't interested in Blush that way at all. For the love of Eka, she wasn't even attracted to other girls. At this point, Creme was most worried about making Blush think she'd been led on somehow, not wanting to risk losing her new friend, but knowing that she had to make that clear to her. She stuttered and stumbled for words, looking for a way to gently talk Blush down, but she was quickly distracted by something absolutely terrifying.

Miss Creme was about to respond to Blush when a chair flew up in the air, giving Creme the worst fright. A scream escaped her lips, and she began to feel very light headed. Covering her face from the sight, she vaguely heard her new friend crying out for her to move, but alas, she didn't have the strength. She sunk into the back of her chair, her heart pounding. She might've been okay, but as she heard the crash of the chair to the ground, it became too much, and Creme found herself quickly drifting into unconsciousness. Now dead to the world, she lie limp in her chair, her hands falling to her sides, nothing but a look of fright still visible on her face. After a few moments, she found herself stirring, and coming back to consciousness just in time to hear Blush speak again. "I desperately hope that won't continue happening, I don't know if I can take it." She felt dizzy, and was still a bit out of it, but she was awake.

[Lady Absinthia]

𝕄ust ℂome 𝔻own...

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The man standing next to Captain Moss shook his head. "Nope." The answer was slow. A moments pause before addressing the question. Cassius slowly looked over to Owen whose eye brows threatened to eat his hair line they were lifted so high. "Owen?" Cassius said inflecting a question into his voice. Owen shook his head. "Alright." The shake of the head seemed to be good enough for him. It was a mess but the men on horses didn't move, that was until they were addressed by Cassius. "Seems we have a bit of a mess boys. You know what to do." Was that all he was going to say on the matter?

Owen nodded and sat back down. The men lowered their weapons and dismounted. One chair was in pieces, on top of another and a third was completely covered in the remains of what had been known as Director Kindle. Some other chairs had a little bit of mess but they were not attended to. It was quick work as men dismounted, unlatched the two chairs in question. They were shuffled off to the line of trees and left there, as well as the major pieces of Kindle being kicked aside. Hands bloody and dirty they returned to their horses as if nothing had happened other than moving some furniture.

"Owen, if you would," Cassius said to the driver. Owen nodded. Leo stepped over to Cassius and handed over the invitations, whispering something in the mans ear. Cassius looked down at the invitations and nodded before pocketing them. The engine seemed to speed up. Chairs, whether someone was in them or not, all turned facing forward. Those that had a hole between them from a chair being removed got pulled closer together. The backs of the chairs folded down, the sides folding out. Slowly they moved together and created a long bench with a short backing. It ensuring that there was enough room for everyone to sit next to each other.

"Everyone take a seat, we are going to main house now," Cassius said as he walked over to his horse and mounted it. Leo walked to the gate as the last and carriage people had driven to the grounds was moved within the gate and down the side path before the flora was put back into place to hide the path. Once the gate was locked and secure Leo climbed back onto his horse and nodded. It seemed they were ready to go and weren't going to linger any longer.

[Lady Absinthia]

Mr. Titian

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Location: Shadowell Grounds: Seat Q
Skills: Strength, Constitution
Hit Points: 4
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Looking left and then right and then back at the scene, Titian placed his hands on his hips as the body hit. "I said it would be a mess." He had. Shaking his hands, it seemed the people that met them at the gate were getting to work. That was interesting, or it might have been if the giant of a man had been paying half a lick of attention. He wasn't. His eyes were on the woman whose chair had been crushed by the other chair. "Just call me Mr. Pick Up." The words were more to himself than to anyone around as he strode over to her.

"Let's get you off the ground." He didn't wait for an answer, just scooping the woman up in his arms. The very small woman. She had to be more than a foot shorter than him and he had to out weigh her by at least a hundred pounds. It was like picking up a kitten. Can't get that dress dirty now can we?" he chuckled as he waltzed over to the bench and had a seat with her still in his arms. Adjusting her he kept her in his lap and leaned in close to her ear.

After a moment he leaned back and grinned broadly towards the damsel. "I would suggest you staying right here. My lap is much safer," he said with a chuckle as he slipped his arms around her and held her there. Tapping his pinky ring against the bone structure of her corset he seemed rather content with this new arrangement. "Oh yes, much better than the last one."

[rivaan]

Prima Rave

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Location: Shadowell Grounds: Seat U
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 6
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Well this was certainly shaping up to be a interesting night, Rave realized though she was also beginning to realize her initial expectations weren't to par with reality. A death was already happening before they even entered the main building. She did ponder before coming here that she might be forced to kill someone, but a death like this was rather enough to shock her and make her gain a realization of how much she had underestimated this event. Certainly a death like this was probably a freak accident, but... no maybe not... What with the people of the manor had said in the happening of the event... Finally she decided to stop thinking about that train of logic.

Finally as the body went down and was about to turn into a nice meat chunks and gore, Rave averted her eyes to the side, not daring to even look in the direction of the fall as the body collided and probably was turned into pieces of flesh. She could hear the others speaking about it, but it only make her doubt her own ears at the sheer disinterest some were displaying and the lack of reaction from a death. Rave place a hand on her mouth as she continued to keep looking away while the servants were busy cleaning the director from the seats. If you can call it cleaning really.

“Finally...” She muttered quietly as the seats were rearranged and she started making her way back over to them, trying to keep her line of sight away from places where it was a gory and the parts of flesh were thrown to. Vaguely she wondered if beasts roamed around or if those were simply going to be fed to the dogs as disgusting as that sounded. She certainly hoped not! She walked to the seats and took her former seat. Well sort of it was at least countwise her former one... Well unless she got her counting wrong here. She just wrapped her hands around her to keep as warm as she can and kept her eyes away from where the body fell earlier, wishing they would arrive at that place at last so they can put this behind them for now.

[Morose]

Professor Walnut

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Location: Shadowell Manor: Seat Titian Q
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 4
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"I would hope not," Walnut muttered under her breath, hearing the exclamation of the nearby fallen Madam Mauve. Unfortunately, it appeared that one such person elected to do so and it caused some irritation for Walnut. She was pretty sure they had been involved with the fuss that happened at the front of the row of chairs. Some people were best seen and not heard - yet for them, Walnut was of the opinion that to be never seen and never heard would suffice. There was more chatter on the subject, with one person pointing out that they had not agreed to such a thing - yet it struck Walnut as an unfortunate accident.

Yet a moment later, Walnut found herself being picked up like a rag doll by a sturdy set of arms. Peering up at the man who she estimated to be easily twice her size, she found herself quite taken by a charming and lengthy scar. Yet whereas Kindle had been a damsel in distress and had been frantic to get away from Titian, Walnut truthfully did not mind. She relaxed in his grip, resting her head against him, as if he were a human chair of his own. After he leaned in, Walnut's pupils dilated ever so slightly as she whispered something privately to him in return.

"Your previous one was quite irritating," Walnut then mused, thinking on how obnoxiously Kindle had hyperventilated.

[mnkee]

Madam Mauve

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Location: Shadowell Grounds: Seat O
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 3
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The corner of Madam Mauve's lips twitched upwards as a familiar voice floated to her ears. Her blue-eyed gaze slowly traveled up the man's lean form to rest on the dark eyes that peeked out from behind the devil mask. Her gaze then flitted down to his outstretched hand before returning to his face. "My hero," she replied coyly, but with the barest hint of sarcasm intermingled within the tone of her voice. Nevertheless, she appreciatively took his hand and let him help her up. Her slender hand was a striking white that was a stark contrast to her dark locks and attire, and it was smooth to the touch as if she hadn't worked a day in her life. Once on her feet again, her hand lingered a moment longer in Cobalt's before eventually pulling away. Her gaze seemed to study his features, before eventually too leaving to take in the others around them; however, she made no move to step away from Cobalt just yet.

She chuckled softly, an almost melodious sound, at Blush's exclamation but otherwise made no comment about the woman's words. Her gaze turned sharply as she heard another familiar, albeit annoyingly so, voice. She arched a brow at the doctor, but of course, he couldn't see that due to her full face mask. "You don't say," she replied a bit plainly. Her head turned as another commotion caught her attention, the less "exciting" cleanup on Aisle 10. She let out a soft breath, lacing her hands in front of her as she watched the guards carry away the broken chairs and the much more broken Director Kindle. Such a shame, she mentally echoed her earlier thoughts. Her gaze drifted back to her mode of transportation as the guards nonchalantly returned to their horses with blood and dirt covered hands and all.

Her head tilted a bit to the side as the chairs morphed into a long bench of sorts. Intriguing, she thought. Now can we get on with this? She turned smoothly to face Cobalt, a brightness to her eyes despite the death she had just witnessed and her earlier irritation. "Join me if you wish. I have a feeling we could have quite a bit of fun together," she stated charmingly. She bit her lip before giving him a wink and turning to sashay over to the odd contraption that was being used as their transportation. She passed by Dr. Swamp, obviously not wishing to sit by him again. She similarly passed by Madam Envy, before eventually deciding upon a spot two "seats" down from the big fellow and his new lap dog. She gathered up the folds of her skirt and settled down into the rather uncomfortable spot.

[Congee]

Madam Envy

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Location: Shadowell Manor Front gate. Seat T .
Skills: Dexterity
Hit Points: 6
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Madam Envy wasnt doing any good from where she's sitting. Despite the commotion happening behind her, she couldn't keep herself from coughing. That's to say she's currently having one of the worst coughing fits she had ever encounter. It never happens often, not in this type of weather at least. The atmosphere, the commotion and among other things were likely the contribution to her inconvenience. Never the less she tried to get up on her seat, and raced to a safe spot, but the coughing was too much for her.

She felt the force of the explosion just a few seats behind her, taking a short peak she saw the rubble behind her and just farther, what remained of the unfortunate passenger. She leaned on the chair, relieved at the idea of evading death with just a couple of seats between them.

Now on to the matter of her coughing, she was trying to control it, at least. She rummaged through her purse and picked a few mint leaves, she could sniff the soft aroma as she opened the small packet. Chewing on them, and accompanied by deep breaths through her shawl, it somewhat did give her the relief that she needed, at least for a while probably.

As she was about to calm down from the episode, Madam Envy jolted a bit as the chairs, in all their curios engineering , started moving! Madam Envy was bracing all the way as the contraption budged, "What in the name of..." The now horizontal seated contraption relaxed. At this point if an exploding chair, a flying body and her coughing hadnt killed her, a heart attack will certainly will, Eka help her."And to think the fireworks show still hadn't come to an end." she muttered in weary sarcasm. She heard Owen calling out to take their seats, for they were on the way to the mansion. Today has been, exceptional and baffling least to say. And thinking that the night hadn't been really started yet, Madam Envy's feeling of hurry then shifted to some slight caution. Now all this stressful pondering was making her throat itch again.

[Romero]

Justice Cobalt

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Location: Shadowell Grounds : Seat R
Skills: N/A
Hit Points: 6
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Cobalt couldn't help but grin as he gripped the slender hand held up to him. The touch lingered for a moment longer than was necessary. In truth, he barely noticed the chairs, as they reassembled themselves into a long bench. Seating issues were the last thing on his mind at the moment. The biting of the lip and the wink almost floored Cobalt, and he had to hold back a slight laugh. Here he was thinking that he would have to be the charmer, but he found himself beaten to every punch. Even as he watched her walk away, the only word that came to mind was 'sashay'. Well, the only word that he could say in polite company at least.

He smiled ruefully again. The offer was clear, and it was apparent that the woman was far from some delicate, innocent flower. If anything, it appeared he had stumbled across an equal, and he relished the opportunity. However, he somehow managed to break the spell that the woman seemed to have cast, a burst of cold wind suddenly shaking him free. Taking a deep breath, he was able to tear his eyes away. If he had only been here to... He struggled to find the right words... have fun, then he would have happily taken her up on her offer. But he was here for business, and the business of blackmail was a dark and dangerous one that he didn't want to stumble into while making puppy-dog eyes at the first, presumably, pretty girl who looked his way. Now he thought of it, any one of the other guests gathered around him could be this elusive Ardad Lili, and he remembered to keep his wits about him.

In all the confusion and chaos of the skyward-bound chair, and the subsequent sudden descent, a handful of the guests hadn't thought to flee. He couldn't say whether it was due to a paralysis of fear, or an iron will, but they intrigued him. The nearest such character, was the beak-faced man, and he doubted he would be able to make much headway there. But the next closest, another woman, her face totally obscured behind a white and gold mask, was one that Cobalt hadn't had the pleasure to meet yet. And if he was pushed away, he would be only a few seats from his new... friend? He hesitated to use the word, but it was the one that fitted, seeing as in all their talking they had yet to make introductions. He approached the new woman, taking a seat just down the bench from her as she seemed to be just recovering from a coughing fit. The smell of tobacco that clung to her may well go someway to explain it, but Cobalt was loathe to not show at least some concern. Turning towards the guards, he raised his voice to be heard above the engine.

"Could the lady get a drink? Some water perhaps."

Turning back to the woman, Cobalt held out his hand, flashing a wide smile and lowering his voice.

"The name is Justice Cobalt, or at least it is for the time being. I don't believe we've had the pleasure."