Log:This Spooky Old House: Exploration Edition

This Spooky Old House 2020/06/29 	 Felix Blockbuster Kid Tengu Bran Phantom Night Hound

1

Travis contacted all of you individually and asked you to meet him at an adddress in Golden Sands. The address proves to be outside a Victorian era mansion sitting on a fairly good zied plot of land at the end of a long residential street. The rest of the houses on the street are old (2030s to 2040s) but very nice houses in this nice area of town.

The house on the left hand side at the dead end of the street is a very well preserved loooking red brick Victorian house. It's on that middle ground between a large house and a mansion. Ivy covers the walls of the house. The yard is about 200 feet long by 100 feet deep and surrounded by an eight foot tall stone wall. There are only two entrance through the wall: one a wooden gate leading up the winding path to the front door and the other a larger gate at one end of the poroerty that leads to a carriage house/garage made of wood. Bushes line the border of the house and are scattered along the walkway to the front door. The yard's a bit overgrown, but not badly. A afed For Sale sign from a local realty firm sits outsdie the gate by the driveway. Large oaks and elms dot the property which seems to stretch back into the woods between Goldeen Sands and Locke Business Park.

The day is overcast and a little warm but not bad for early summer in CB.

Phantom is waiting for the others to arrive, eyes closed and leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. His mind is on the astral plane, seeking the ghost Night Hound who helped him earlier.

Felix will show off his brains. And did you ask people to show up in costume or as themselves?

Bran comes walking down the street from the closest MagLev station, and he makes his way to the address in question.

Blockbuster drops out of the sky, a pillar of light abruptly erupting from her lower body as she nears the ground. She twirls several times as she eradicates the vast majority of her downward momentum, eventually coming to land beside Phantom as Bran arrives. Cheerily, Blockbuster smiles and waves to Bran.

"Hey! What's up?"

To Travis senses, he sees the ghostly figure of the Night Hound in all his man of mystery look leaning on the same lightpost as before. Today, he smoking a cigarette, the cherry end cupped in his hand to conceal it even though it'

...even though it's daylight.

KT strides up cooly, keeping his eyes on Phantom as he nears until Blockbuster and Bran arrive. He watches Blockbuster's dazzling entrance and smiles a bit. Then he slides up next to the others, He nods to the othersand says, "You're all looking well."

Bran waves to Blockbuster, and then the others as he arrives. "Hey there."

On the astral plane, Phantom says to the ghostly vigilante, "So, I gathered some people in the hopes that we can figure out what's going on with this mansion. Maybe we can clear it so it's safe for spirits and people. Maybe even free the spirits trapped in there."

Felix comes striding out of the woods at the end of the street, brushing debris from his outfit. "Heya! No other gates, Travis. Well, used to be one but it's bricked in." He waves at the others present.

"It seems the neighbors across the street and next door aren't home right now either. So, good times."

Phantom doesn't seem to notice the people around him, and hasn't reacted on the physical plane. But to Code Dark, Phantom is still linked to their minds and can be heard.

"Do you want me to enter with you, kid?" murmurs the Night Hound in his sepulchral mixed New York/CB drawl.

 Phantom says, "Just checking in with one of the ghosts that's been trying to keep this place safe. I'll be back in my body in a moment."

 Phantom says, "Give Bran a nice welcome for me. He came to help when I asked."

Phantom's astral self nods to Night Hound. "Only if it's safe for you. Unless you think it's better for you to be out here in case things go badly."

Felix looks at Kid Tengu and Blockbuster then to Bran. "Heya Bran! Travis is, umm, checking things out mentally right now. He'll be back in sec. Thanks for coming."

KT nods and looks to Bran. "Yeah- what he said." He says as he points to Felix with a warm and welcoming smile. "Glad you could join us."

Bran nods in return to Felix. He did show up as a favor to Travis...but Felix's actions previously have...angered him. At least he manages to hold his tongue.

"Also he wanted us to give you a warm welcome!"

Blockbuster abruptly bounds over to give Bran an enormous hug! She steps back after a few seconds and smiles cheerily at him while planting her hands on her hips.

"Like, thanks for coming to give us a hand!"

"I still cannot see what happens beyond the walls, kid. So, unless you've a way to send up a flare signalling you need help, how would I know?" Night Hound murmurs. "So, might be best if I tagged along, huh?"

Bran is taken by surprise by Blockbuster's hug, so he's a bit...stiff, when he's grabbed. But he chuckles in response. "Umm...thanks."

Phantom's astral self nods to Night Hound. "I guess so. Just be careful." He looks to the signs around the house's astral projection, warning that it's an astral trap. "I better go on the physical again. My friends are here."

"I can see them, kid," murmurs the Night Hound with a chuckle. "The living glow to us. Well, to me in any case."

Astral Phantom chuckles a bit. "Okay, creepy. But hopefully I can hear you on the other side. Let me see what's up." Phantom opens his eyes in the physical and smiles, pushing off the wall. "Hey, Bran, you made it," he says warmly while offering a fistbump.

KT looks around at the others and shrugs, loosing his revolutionary look and picks up something at least bordering on heroic, though not specifically his Kid Tengu look. Instead he chooses something much more conventional-though bordering on fan-made cosplay for deniability's sake.

He smiles, perking up a bit with Phantom returns.

Bran returns the fist bump from Phantom. "So, umm...you mentioned something about an evil spirit?

"Hi, hi, Phantom!"

Blockbuster smiles and waves to Phantom as his senses return. She smiles cheerily back at Bran before she skips over toward the fenceline, inspecting it idly.

Felix takes out a package of gum which he tosses to Kid Tengu. "Juicy Fruit for luck. Grab a piece and pass it on."

He then opens up his PDA and pulls up an image. "So, this is the owner of the house who went missing in 2015: Damon Harrington, real estate developer. Reported missing after several weeks of not talking to anyone on the phone or online. Police entered the house, found no sign of him or signs of foul play. House went on the market after he was declarted dead in 2023. Been on and off the market seince then. Most owners left abruptly. Been unoccupoied now for 7 years since last owner committed suicide by hanging, one Ms Charlotte Green, biochemist with Olsen Pharma in Locke Business Park."

He then looks over at Travis. "And Phantom? I found out who the sundial ghost is."

KT catches it, takes a piece and tosses it to Blockbuster.

The image of Damon Harrington shows a very sharply dressed man, late 40s, with a shark's smile. Handsome in a severe way.

Blockbuster gets pegged in the back of the head with a Juicy Fruit pack. Crouching to collect the Juicy Fruit, she takes a piece before tossing it to Bran.

Bran passes the gum on to Phantom, without taking one for himself.

KT looks over the image of Damon, memorizing his features for later as he opens the gum and puts it in his mouth.

He adopts the shark's smile for his own immediately, clearly finding it pleasing. THe combination give him a strange, menacing look tussed up like the clone of 'Omega'.

Phantom nods to Bran. "An evil entity or spirit's trapping astral spirits here. This place is a bit spooky. It could be dangerous, though." He looks to Blockbuster and waves back with a smile. "Hey, BB. Guess the gang's all here except for Blink." He quiets and listens to Felix's research, taking a stick of gum and passing it back to Felix. "You did? Tell me. I'm dying to know--wait. Strike that. I didn't just say that."

Felix pulls up another image this one a colored pencil drawing of a sandy haired man with indeterminate eye color wearing wire rimmed glasses and what looks like a tie around his neck. It then morphs into a 2D photo of the same gentleman. Turns out he's got a pleasant smile and kind nut brown eyes. "May I present Chalmers Hornbeck, financial wizard and missing person. Reported missing here in CB in April 2001. Never showed up anywhere again...which makes sense since Phantom's seen his ghost in the yard beyond the fence. Looked like to Tr...Phantom that his checst had been hacked open and his heart removed."

KT doesnt beleive in this 'luck' business but leaves his humans to believe what they will. Instead he watches on, learning from their interactions and listening to the situation at hand. Ghosts are well otuside his normal operating area so he's here to lend a hand wherever possible.

He makes a face at the way Chalmers' ghost appeared. "That seems like an unfortunate way loose one's life." He murmurs quietly as he looks towards the house again.

Bran points to Felix, "You already called Phantom by his real name at least once while I've been here, by the way."

"That sounds like some straight Aztec shick," opines Blockbuster. She pops her piece of Juicy Fruit into her mouth and chews thoughtfully while listening to Felix's presentation. Blockbuster idly crosses her wrists behind her back as she rocks on the balls of her feet.

Felix sighs at Bran's statement. "Shick. Sorry Phantom. I'm not used to this whole shick yet."

Phantom chuckles at Bran pointing that out. He says to the other members of Code Dark, "Yeah, so Bran knows who I really am. But I haven't told him who you all are," he explains. "But let's try to stick to our code names if we have them, yeah?" He smiles patiently at Felix. "No angst. We'll get there. So...did this finance whiz own this house before, too?"

"Nope, he lived and worked in Toronto, Canada. Worked as a high powered financial advisor. Mr Hornbeck was here in his capacity as an indepedent financial analsyt for a charity called 'Project Angel Heart' based out of CB.

Oh, that the compass you saw him turn into? Turns out the symbols on are supposed to protect one's mind and soul according to, umm, books I read about esoteric Western Thaumaturgy."

KT turns back away from the house and towards Felix and then Bran then back again one more time as things seem to escalate for a moment.

He looks relieved when Phantom speaks up and lets everyone know what the situation is. He's naturally less concerned with his identity but he likes it kept secret all the same.

"Let's pretend some of us haven't read a book on Western Thaumaturgy..." He says to Felix. "Like- how about starting with the classic, 'What /is/ Western Thaumaturgy?'"

"Clearly it's, like, Cowboys and Clerics," replies Blockbuster to Kid Tengu. She looks supremely proud about her "deduction" as she looks to Felix for agreement.

Felix shuts down the imager on his PDA before replying. He then nods to Blockbuster. "Ya know, that's not to bad an analogy, Blockbuster. But, um, Western Thaumaturgy is a system of ritual magic devleoped in, well, Western Europe. Uses symbols from Greek and Roman and even Celtic sources, mathematical formulae, and ancient languages to alter reality. YOu know, use magick."

"So this finance guy was a mage?" Phantom asks. "And man, Project Angel Heart, and he gets his heart ripped out? That seems like an odd coincidence."

"Oh- /That/ 'Western Thaumaturgy'." KT says in reply before nodding in response to the coincidence Phantom pointed out.

Felix rubs his upper right arm with his left hand as he says, "Well, um, probably not. Sacrificing one of the mage gifted would a hefty dose of, umm, power to someone who practices Black Magick. So, um, probably was deliberate rather than coincendental."

Bran nods. "So....are we going inside to check things out?"

Blockbuster narrows her eyes suspiciously at Felix's more detailed explanation.

"Math magicians," hisses Blockbuster, "I KNEW it."

Felix opens his mouth it seems but closes it without speaking. He instead turns to Phantom and says, "So, plan, fearless leader?"

KT shifts into Mrs. Slatherly- elderly math teacher at Bayside Academy, though he gives her a new, muscular body and a robe fit for a math-magician of some considerable power. She raises her eyebrows at Blockbuster and gives witchy- magic fingers in BBs direction.

Phantom takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I can't scope it out on the astral plane. Whatever's in the house now is powerful enough to trap me there. So I figure we check it out on the physical. Stick together, see if we can get inside and find clues on what's really going on."

Phantom shivers at the fake Mrs. Slathrly. "Oh, that is so wrong, KT. Nightmares for days."

Felix steps back a little from Kid Tengu/Mrs 'Math Magician' Slatherly as he listens to Phantom. "So, what you're saying is you're Fred, BB is Daphne, KT is Velma, Bran is Shaggy and I'm Scooby Doo?" he then adds mildly. "Except we don't split up?

Blockbuster rolls her shoulders, stretching herself out slowly as she limbers up for proper adventuring. She looks around at the others for a few moments before smiling and quickly adding, "I'm pretty sure you're Velma and KT is Scooby Doo. Unless you can turn into a Great Dane and haven't told us, Felix?"

KT laughs, clearly pleased by the results as he returns to his Omega-Kid shape.

"Velma?" He asks, pulling out his PDA to pull up an image of this 'Velma'. He assumes the proper shape for such a statement.

"I do not get it." She says plainly. "Though- I do like the plan of 'Not splitting up in the haunted house where people are murdered or off themseleves'." She adds thoughtfully ebfore searching this Scooby-Doo up too. Easy since the link is right there on the wiki. She shifts into a non-licensed variant of the great dane detective for good measure.

"Still don't get it." He says.

"I....am not -not- saying that," Phantom says after a pause to Felix. "But yeah, definitely don't split up in the murder house."

Blockbuster hugs on Kid Velma.

"We'll totally binge watch it later, KT. Promise."

Felix nods to Phantom and finally takes a piece of Juicy Fruit for himself. As he lifts the lower half of his mask, a healing split lip is revealed for a moment before being covered again.

"Oh! Well then this is clearly a win then!" KT says in response to BBs Binge Bonus.

"Oh- That's great. I'm posting that. He starts tapping away at his PDA. THose following the #CodeDark tag will find the following post: '#CodeDark is investigating a #MurderHouse. More after we solve a mystery!'

Phantom finally unwraps his gum and pops it in his mouth. "I've watched you guys play a lot of scary video games to prepare myself for this," he chuckles before getting more serious. "But honestly, it's a bit unnerving once we pass the threshold. So if you're having second thoughts, those who want to stay out here can remain as backup or to call for help."

Phantom holds up a finger. "And the usual rule still applies. We don't leave anyone behind."

"And we don't let Phantom lag behind to hold the read guard," murmurs Felix softly.

Kid Tengu snickers but nods at the 'Usual Rule'. "Wouldn't have it any other way." He says, clearly not willing to stand bywhy his friends may be in danger.

"Of course not," affirms Blockbuster to Felix, "He could get stuck in there if we let him be anywhere but in the middle."

Bran nods quietly as he listens to the discussion.

Phantom is a bit surprised by Felix's comment. He's about to ask why when Blockbuster sort of answers. "Hmph. Alright," he says, then relents with a chuckle. He looks toward Bran. "You good? Got any questions?"

Bran shakes his head, "No questions yet."

Felix heads over to the gate to the pathway. "So, enter here or slog down to the driveway?" He seems a bit nervous by his tone of voice.

KT steps up, patting Felix on the shoulder. "I'll go first- just in case. Going to be harder to hurt me than you." He gives Felix a confident smile and moves to the gate and opens it, holding it open for the others for now.

When you all pass through the gate, the sky immediately gets a little darker and the temperature seems to drop a little. Shadows seem a bit menacing now and all of you have the sensation you are being watched but cannot tell from where.

"May as well enter from here. Both ways are equally spooky," Phantom suggests. "The place has that weird ...aura thing about it, too. You guys might see what we mean."

Bran raises a brow as he follows after the others. "Huh. That's...interesting."

Phantom feels a sudden jerk as if someone's wrapped an invisble rope around one of his legs and it pullling on it. Pulling on it twoards the front door.

On a mental level, he feels the presence he associates with the Night Hound about halfway down the pathway but not moving now. A moment ago, he seemed to fly past Phantom.

KT is the last one through the gate so he's still very skeptical about this whole thing until he's on the other side of the gate. The transition from skeptic to beleiver is punctuated by the following sentence:

"Maybe its a spook thing? Because it just looks like a regular hous-- Oh."

He's suddenly regretting volunteering to lead the way, but he moves that way nonetheless and his skin takes on a hardened, chitinous texture as he steps up.

His eyes go wide as Phantom is yanked away.

He streeeeeetches his arms out to try to grab a hold of his friend.

Phantom stumbles a bit forward as he feels something pulling on his legs. "Shick, guys? I think the house is pulling me towards the front door...-again-." His head tracks suddenly to Night Hound's spirit flying past and stopping head of the path.

Blockbuster follows KT's lead, but ends up preceeding everyone onto the property, looking around curiously as the atmosphere becomes intensely spooky rather suddenly. She looks around slowly, shrugging a little bit while she looks around.

"Totally, like, tres Addams Family."

Bran continues following hte others toward the door, keeping his eyes out for anything he can actually see that's odd.

KT's stretchy arms wrap around Phantom after he says he's being pulled on- one arm goes around his shoulders and the other around his waist. "Maybe we should ave sent a letter to the house to inform it we were planning on staying together for this...visit." He says to the others as he grows extra limbs in case others need grabbing.

Felix starts towards Travis then stops to look around. "Did anyone else just hear that? Someone shouting 'Get out!'

"Um. No?" replies Blockbuster to Felix. She looks around curiously, attention now piqued.

Phantom struggles with the sensation of something pulling his leg. "If it wants us to get out, why is it...unnff...pulling me in?" he grunts as KT gets ahold of him, much to his relief.

Bran poitns to an empty flower bed. "There's something under there. Like...a creature burrowing?"

"We could, like, totally put in a lanai and a pool," comments Blockbuster. She blinks and looks toward where Bran is pointing, cocking her head to one side in puzzlement. "Moles?"

KT looks, whils simultaneously releasing one of his arms from Phantom. One seems enough for now- and he may not be able to grab everyone otherwsie.

"I don't hear anything..." He answers.

"Oh shick. I see something- right there." KT says, pointing to the bulge moving through the ground.

He moves to put himself between the teens and the burrower- whatever it is.

Bran keeps a wide berth from whatever is underground, making sure to give way.

Blockbuster huffs and stamps a boot on the ground.

"Are you guys messing with me? I don't hear anything and I don't see anything except this poor, gorgeous, open front yard!"

"No, we're not messing with you, BB," Phantom strains. "I don't sense a mind there, whatever it is under the ground there...."

From certain people's POV, they see the brown/white twigs push hard and then the dome of white/brown...oh shick is that a skull rising up out of the ground. And a bony neck?

This last part if seen by all of you.

"This would be quite an elaborate prank to pull... but I give you my word, BB- I am not messing with you." KT answers earnestly before he falls silent at the skull rising up from the Earth.

Phantom is about to say something when he spies the rising skull from everyone else's senses. "Still a nice garden, BB?" he manages to quip halfheartedly before gulping.

A rib cage follows as the skeletal figure pulls itself from the ground. Perhaps from its grave. Hard to tell as there;s no clothing on the former person. One does note that its ribs are hacked away in the center of its ribcage.

Blockbuster rolls her eyes at Phantom's question. She is notably not looking at the garden that's busily disgorging a skeleton with a hacked open rib cage.

"Sure, guys. Oooh. So spooky."

"Well it's certainly a 'Fixer Upper'." KT replies with a smirk before asking rhetorically, "But isn't this what people mean by a place having 'good bones'? I mean- these even get up on their own- no muscles needed."

He glances back to make sure Blockbuster is seeing what he's seeing.

Her lack of concern helps him feel a bit more confident about the situation though. So he bulks up, his musculature doubling in size and density just in case this Bonehead wants trouble.

"Blockbuster, this isn't us pulling a prank. Seriously!" Phantom emphasizes as BB is unperterbed. He looks at the hacked apart rib cage. "Creepy. That's...that's not where I saw Hornbeck's ghost, though..."

"Um, guys? It seems like Mr Hornbeck's here as well," Felix says as he points back to the opposite corner of the house where the skeleton is rising.

In that direction, one can see a translucent figure, his chest hacked open, his heart missing, the reamins of his shirt, vest, and jacket soaked with blood. A pair of broken wire rimmed glasses hang from one ear. He appears to fighting against a wind as he moves towards the pathway but more towards the door of the house than directly at all of you. By fighting against thw wind, one means that it seems like a wind you all cannot feel is pushing him /away/ from the front door.

Bran :looks at the skeletal figured...and then the translucent one. "Are...they one and the same? Or two different people?"

"That...might be his body, but it's not him. His mind is over where that ghost is...and...uh...the house has a mind of its own. Wait...the house has a mind of it's own!" Phantom says, and that gives him an idea.

The skeleton finally finishes pulling itself from the ground and wobbles to it's bony feet. It then begins to stalk over towards your group, its clawlike white/brown hands stretching out at you all.

The mind Phantom enters is steeped in rage and paranoia. They dominate its thoughts. But the willpower of this formerly human mind is strong and you cannot penetrate deep into his thoughts. "Get out! Rise! Destroy them! Kill! Bring me their hearts! GET OUT! GET OUT!GETOUT!GETOUT!GETOUT!"

This mind is so drenched in evil that entering it is like drinking acid.

KT doesn't liek the look of that skeleton. It holds four arms up- two defensively, two others ready to strike the skeleton. He keeps his last spare limb on Phantom.

Felix takes out a rod from a holder on the side of his tactical backpack. He';s turned to look further to one side, having slipped on some steampunk styled goggles. "Mr Hornbeck's not heading towards us, but, um, I think I see more skeletons pushing up out of the ground over in the woods over there." He points to the woods at the far end of the property.

Phantom grunts and staggers a little, but KT is holding him firmly. "The house...it's making the skeleton rise up. It wants it to bring our hearts to it. So...maybe destroy the skeleton?" he suggests as he rubs his temple. "Ow..."

"Guys. Get over to the house. I'll cover you guys," offers Blockbuster. She, at least, seems to have noticed the ghost that's been pointed out. Looking over at Phantom, Blockbuster frowns slightly and cocks her head to one side. "Or don't? If it wants our hearts, maybe we shouldn't go into the house?"

Kid Tengu moves to strike the skeleton now that its in his range.

He brings down two massive hands stretched out to crush the skeleton.

He tries to make himself the target while the decide wheterh or not to go in.

Kid Tengu uses +BODY to increase Body statistic.

THe skeleton is frail and brittle- a fact punctuated by KTs massive fists coming down on it. THe skeleton shatters where ever able- other parts are pulverized into dust. Shards stick out of the soil when KT lifts his hands and returns them tot eh their original size.

Bran could feel hte house strike out at Phantom...and he unleashes his own will in the direction of the house as a whole...sicne it seems to have a mind?

Phantom says to Blockbuster, "It also wants us to get out, so it's probably afraid what'll happen if we get in alive. And this place has been killing people for almost half a century. We got to do something."

"Woah- did you guys see that?" KT asks as he moves towards the smashed skeleton- looking for something he noticed mid-smash.

"No. The only thing I'm seeing today is the creepy ghost trying to go into the house that wants our hearts," replies Blockbuster to KT.

"Yeah, we saw you handle that skeleton, KT," Phantom says approvingly. "That was awesome!"

"What skeleton?!" demands Blockbuster.

KT nods. "Seeing some of that too..." He says as he uses two of his arms to sort through the shards of skeleton to try to find the black stone he saw. It definitely seemed ot be from /inside/ the skeleton and it sure wasn't top soil.

"This skeleton..." KT says holding up a chunk of bone.

"or what's left of it." H eadds before grinning nad looking ot Phantom. "It was arid for sure- but not what I was talking about. I meant this... little black rock thing..." He trails off as he returns to trying to find it and quickly.

Phantom stares in Blockbuster's direction. "Are...are you seriously not seeing that?"

Blockbuster failed her latest PERC roll by 6. Phantom is lucky that Blockbuster still sees him!

You all hear the a voice shout "GET OUT!" combined with a shout of pain. The presence in the house fades out of reach but the sense of oppressiveness remains.

Those who glance to the right see pale 'figures' moving in the trees. Maybe ten or so?

And those tracking Chalmers Hornbeck seem him pantomining grabbing a rope and pulling on it.

Which, for Phantom, coincides with feeling the tugging lessen on his leg and the Night Hound's mental signature shifting towards Hornbeck as the ghost mimes pulling in a rope.

Phantom looks to Bran and smiles. "Nice one. I bet if we get in the house, we can do something about that entity," he suggests. He looks off towards the pantomiming ghost. "There's...something going on on the astral plane. Something weird."

"Found it!" KT exclaims as he holds up a small black gemstone triumphantly. "This! This... black gem." He says. He feelsi its grittiness and enhances the texture on his fingertips. He immediately wishes he didn't. But at 10x zoom he can tell the grit is dried blood.

He frowns and says "Its got blood on it."

"Ew. Blood gems," opines Blockbuster as she looks over at KT.

"So, inside or leave?" asks Felix as he taps the rod against his leg. He then flicks it out and it expands into a staff.

"Inside. We're okay so far," Phantom suggests, unless anyone else disagrees.

Bran furrows his brow at hte idea of the blood gems. "I guess I'm okay with heading inside."

Chalmers Hornbeck looks over his shoulder at your group and seems to speak, but you cannot hear him. While he does this, he seems to reach out and grab something, wrapping both his arms around whatever it is.

This 'grab' coincides with the tugging sensation on Phantom's leg disappearing entirely. And the mental signatures of the Nigh Hound and Chalmers Hornbeck nealy overlapping. Like they're standing almost on top of each other.

"Let's go inside then," cheers Blockbuster. She kicks off of the ground, zipping toward the house on a pillar of light.