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Entry tags:
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈: 𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐍
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This month's patron is Odin the Allfather. Outside the back entrance of the hotel, down a little path to the side, you'll find a narrow, hedge-lined path that leads to a small clearing among some of the forest trees. There are a few benches on either side, an invitation to sit and think, or even to sit and talk, because while you're here, it feels as if you're not alone — though there isn't anyone to see past the other hotel guests who might be wandering about. At the center of the clearing is a moderately sized altar carved out of stone. The table of the altar stands about waist high and is large enough to place a downed deer... or lay a person on. The stone itself looks old, the edges worn smooth and that light gray now darker from being exposed to the elements over the years. The spots on top of the table, well, it wasn't uncommon to leave sacrificial offerings to the gods in the past, but it's probably best not to ask what the darker stains are if you don't want to know. There's a large slab rising up from the back of the table to stand over it, which comes to a point at the top. On the slab are carvings of ravens, wolves, something that looks to be similar to that frustrating black tree that appears if you've been hiking; though on this carving there appears to be a man hanging by one leg from one of the branches with runes falling around him. There's also a large ᚨ in the center of the slab and even if you don't know Norse mythology and any of its gods, you get the impression that it represents Odin. Why don't you try leaving an offering? ■ |
ōs byþ ordfruma ǣlcre sprǣce, wīsdōmes wraþu and wītena frōfur, and eorla gehwām ēadnys and tō hiht
(click to expand)
I. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (ARRIVALS)
double, double, toil and trouble ♫♪
The hotel bus shows up just after dinner on Saturday, May 1st, impeded from its usual noontime arrival by of a flat tire and a delayed flight from the United States. A load of new guests disembark — along with a group of high school (NPC) students, but so many you'd wonder how they'd fit into their ride. They're loud and rowdy, clad in robes common to British boarding schools, and they fill up the place quickly, never seeming to run out of energy or just stop chattering.
They also interrupt what's supposed to be a chill barbecue bonfire that evening. The hotel staff do the best they can to get the new arrivals settled, and also apologize profusely to their valued guests, who'd checked in weeks or even months before.
For those staying on the eighth floor, what's incredibly strange is that the students seem to have the same rooms as some of the other guests. And yet there's been no discussion of being double booked where the students are concerned. Those that have rooms on the sixth floor will note that the students do seem to gravitate toward that floor like they are staying on it. They even have keys for the different rooms, getting off the elevators chatting rapidly to their friends like this is completely normal. But after unlocking and opening the door to the room, they simply vanish in the steps that take them over the threshold. Or did you walk past a room only to have the door seemingly open on its own but then suddenly a student is just magically walking out of it into you?
The sounds of chatter and students running up and down the hallway at all hours of the night will also be heard even when there doesn't seem to be a student in sight. Or, is that thump and sounds of someone walking around actually coming from the bathroom in your room? Does the bed seem to dip like someone's just gotten into bed with you despite no one being there? The students are here for the duration, so you might want to find a way to cohabitate with your invisible guest. Or find someone who's willing to share their room with you, because any calls to the front desk for a room change will be answered with apologies, but the hotel is full booked so there is no room to move you to.
The week's itinerary follows that of the TDM:Throughout the week, people just randomly show up in the different scenic areas outside the hotel, but when they arrive at the front desk they have a room waiting for them despite the place supposedly being full. Though some end up being double booked... and won't realize it until their roommate comes banging the door in the middle of the night, or steps out of the shower. (Lalala.) Please see the Arrivals tab of our directory for the complete list and details!
- May 2, Sunday - FREE DAY
- May 3, Monday - Massage and Yoga
- May 4, Tuesday - Hiking
- May 5, Wednesday - Pool Party
- May 6, Thursday - Spelunking
- May 7, Friday - Chocolate Demonstration
II. HOO-HOO! BIG SUMMER BLOWOUT! (BONFIRE)
hygge means sitting by the fire with your cheeks all rosy ♫♪
The following Saturday, May 8th, the hotel bus is late again. Or so the guests assume, since everyone in the hotel is busy and occupied with the summer blót, a feast for the Norse god of war, Odin.
There's a bonfire and face painting and singing and dancing, teenage boys and girls in Viking-inspired costumes (yes, they're still there!), and of course, free-flowing booze and lots of good food. The mead is particularly popular, for it's not only really delicious, it's also extremely potent, able to get even the broodiest of brooders loosening up and those normally unaffected by alcohol inebriated.
That's perhaps why nobody remembers new people arriving that evening?
III. TAG, TAG, TAG, TAG (WAR GAMES)
baby, tag, you're it ♫♪
The hotel bus still hasn't arrived. Or has it? Everyone's nursing a hangover on Sunday, May 9th — or at least, something that feels like a hangover. Even the students are affected, mostly keeping to their rooms and requesting room service instead of going down to the restaurant for meals.
The quiet doesn't last though, because there is a disturbance in the Force on the sixth floor, and porgs start appearing by the dozen well before the day is over. They're cute... until they start screaming. That's not going to help with everyone's hangover at all, no. And they especially seem to like calling out to one another in the wee hours of the night.
The week's itinerary reads:Those who go hiking during and after the night of the new moon will report sightings of an old, blackened tree — but once you turn and walk away from it, it disappears. The tree also never seems to be quite in the same place.
- May 10, Monday - Pilates and Zumba
- May 11, Tuesday - Stargazing (because it's the new moon)
- May 12, Wednesday - Norwegian Cakefest
- May 13, Thursday - Hiking
- May 14, Friday - Lakeside Barbeque
During the lakeside barbecue, the guests will be handed out flyers for a game of outdoor laser tag on Saturday, May 15th, to be held out in the forest. The hotel staff has even already formed the groups and appointed team captains to save everyone the trouble. So it's time to gather around and strategize!
... Aw c'mon, don't be a spoilsport. What could go wrong with a game of laser tag?
A lot, actually. If you refuse, your audience of NPC students (management says they're too young to play) will grow hostile and start a smear campaign against you. Because they're petty like that. Did you want caricature mugshots of you posted on the bulletin board? Called names and pranked? That's the fate that awaits you.
And if you play, well, there's a chance that you're walking away injured — and you're not finding that out until well into the game. When did laser tag hurt? Apparently it does now. What are they using for these laser guns, anyway?
The outcome of the match will be OOCly influenced by several factors:
1. who the team captain is (teams can stick with their staff-appointed leader, or choose a different person, or have someone declare themselves leader, or even not select a captain at all)
2. how many in your team are playing
3. who are playing
4. what runes were selected for those who are playing
5. your team's overall strategy
6. good ol' RNG
Check out the Laser Tag tab of directory for the team assignments, and the OOC post for more details as well as plotting and the check in. The game will also result to some characters getting injured and requiring medical attention (if they play), though it's to the players' discretion where and how they get injured. The game will likewise be a memory regain opportunity for the Afterlife arrivals (and Julia).
The members of the winning team will each receive a Viking drinking horn with their names carved on it.
IV. WITHOUT YOU IS HOW I DISAPPEAR (MYSTERIES)
drain all the blood and give the kids a show ♫♪
The laser tag mishap isn't the only thing that causes a ruckus in the following week. On Sunday, May 16th, the bus that's supposed to take the students and some of the guests back to Oslo is nowhere to be found, and the hotel staff will insist that they're not supposed to check out yet. If you get angry and insist on speaking with a manager, you'll find that their records will match with what the staff's saying. You're not due to leave until... a very faraway date.
The hotel is also suddenly littered with missing posters. At first it starts in the business center, for someone named Chewie, but as the days pass you will find more posters and handwritten notes on the bulletin board at the front desk. They're people you don't know... or do you? Why do you have a vague recollection of who they are?
(Remember all those people who tagged around the TDM but didn't make it? Yup, they're the missing ones.)
The hotel management assures that the authorities have been alerted and efforts are being undertaken to find and bring back the missing individuals, but a week passes with no visible progress. Investigations initiated by the guests will not yield any results, and excursions into the forest and the surrounding areas will only result in the frustrating black tree experience on the TDM. Those who pay particular attention to the tree will even start dreaming of it — though it seems to be worse for one John Constantine of the tree carving fame. Others might just get a cute shadow bonsai dancing like Groot, or maybe the tree playfully shaking its booty, but John's is more of the creepy variety.
The daily activities will continue as scheduled, but they'll be exactly the same as the first week, and by Friday, May 21st, all activities will be restricted indoors. Not as fun, because even with the movie room and the karaoke room tensions are already higher than usual in the premises. The students' smear campaigns are getting worse, targeting those who didn't participate in laser tag, those who stole from the bar or the gift shop, those who have been snooping around, those who have pets or have brought in hordes of animals, heck even the winning laser tag team isn't safe from being blamed for the series of unfortunate events.
Thankfully, things haven't gotten violent... yet. But wait, what are these whispers of a ritual sacrifice?
TO BE CONTINUED...
no subject
So keeping distant is for the best. Even if it's hard. Jesse falls into this catagory for John. He likes her a bit, she's pleasant. Awkward, but not a bad lady at all. So despite himself, he relaxes a bit when she's there. It's better than staring at the cold unseen roof of their shared prison alone.] It's a little different back home. Not much. I think we've got a few more constellations. What about your skies? Do the stars shine the same for you back home?
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Close enough for some comfort. [ Her head tilts backwards as she looks up at the night sky. Her eyes scan across the glittering lights before she stops on one in particular. A hand raises to point to it. ] It looks like they've got their own version of Polaris - the North Star.
no subject
For now, anyway. John's intentions and how things play out rarely work out to be the same thing.]
Seems like it. [There's some good magic and information that can be gleaned from the stars. It's not his strongest skill set, but he's been working hard here to brush up on things he wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. It's a little harder when all of his knowledge is based on a different sky, regardless of how minor those differences are.] Suppose it's good to keep that in mind. Not that we'll be going too far off property if the staff have anything to say about it.
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[ 'Hiking really isn't my thing.' ]
It might be fun though. Camping with the night sky. It's ... something I haven't really done in a while.
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[John tilts his head, thinking.] There's that, at least. If nothing else, we've got a beautiful sky above the blood-soaked grounds. Might as well do it now, while you've got the chance to.
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[ She reaches up and rubs her arm slightly as she thinks. There's a few things she can think to try. Maybe she could access the Motel from here? She hasn't heard a peep from the Board, but, the Service Weapon is working.
PEople just... disappear. There has to be a reason. Some monster, or some sort of fault between realities they fall through? There's so many weird things she's found in the Oldest House that could explain this. Just, not enough testing for this particular AWE. ]
You don't strike me as the the kind of person who would join someone going camping, Constantine.
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[It's easier if everyone is a monster and he doesn't have to think too much about who to save from their own shitty choices. But if an innocent person is caught up in this, it's so much harder for him to look away. He tries to, he always thinks to save his own skin first, but if he looks back over his shoulder mid-run he'll turn back before he realizes it.
Bah. He blames Zee for so much of that.]
I'll have you know I'm an expert at camping. I even lived with a group of travelers for a while. [He'd still take a comfortable bed any day, but he knows what he's doing under the open sky. On top of it, he thinks it might even be safer outdoors than in the goddamned hotel.]
no subject
Alright then. What's the best kind of way to put up a tent? Do you have camping gear inside that trenchcoat of yours?
[ She smirks ever so slightly. Somehow, she really doubts he does camping. ]
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Oh, testing me are you? Well, no gear here, but I'm pretty damn sure that those helpful employees could get us a tent or two no probable. Probably in minutes, if it means getting me out of their hair for a bit. [He looks to the sky for a minute, thinking of the lessons he learned.] I don't think we're in for rain, but just in case, the most important lesson I learned was to make sure you don't wake up drowning in your tent. Pick a good spot, or dig so things flow away from you. No one likes soggy mornings. Knowing how to make a proper fire is important too. [He lifts up a finger, and flames surround the tip of it for a moment before fading away.] Thankfully I've got that handled. Also, a bit of substance abuse makes camping a hell of a lot more fun than going without. Not that the staff will be so accommodating there, I'm afraid.
no subject
[ The smirk widens just a little bit. It's... nice being able to tease someone. She really hasn't since Dylan and her were children. Now, there's no promise she'll even get to speak to Dylan again. He can't stay in coma forever... right? ]
If I see the staff up-in-arms over someone wanting a tent, I know who to blame how. [ Her eyebrows raise then--did he just... ] Hang on, did you just make fire out of thin air?
No problem, autocorrect *why*...
autocorrect is all of our banes :(
[ Which she still might be... just a little. ]
I'm guessing it has something to do with breaking and understanding a few laws of nature? Or, laws that we don't understand just yet. It's something my Head of Research would say...