[Day 2, Night - A House South of Town]

[direstnews]

[Written into the ground alongside one of the houses to the south of town tonight are a series of strange letters, forming a rough circle near the wall. A figure of approximately Loki's build, not there during the day's exploration, leans against the wall at the corner. The door to the house is open.]

[Some hours after the sudden switch from day to night, Loki stands in front of the door, a candle before him, a kitchen knife in one hand and a spoon in the other. He checks the mirror set carefully in the darkness, nothing yet visible in its surface. Then he strikes the knife with the spoon's handle, and he holds his breath - and he waits.]

Comments

[12npcs]

[The luminescence of the summoning begins to roll out and upward from the inside of the circle, boiling up into the eerie, eldritch form of one of the oldest terrors. The strange, sloped face gazes around the area, some measure of suspicion, surprise and uncanny, feral interest twisting the ancient features.

But almost immediately, it's long, clawed hands clutch it's own form. Something pitch begins to roil up in it.. making the edges of its form insubstantial... the quill like whiskers on its face lengthen, scraping the ground.]

Here, here? Is this mockery or wonder in this tu

rned page

[direstnews]

[Eyes narrow at the sight in the mirror, at the blur in the form. He crouches to set the spoon down, but holds to the knife, and remains low to the ground, ready to grab the candle and run.]

But one mystery among many this evening.

I would speak with you, Teller of Tales.

[12npcs]

[It's enormous stooped form reaches forward, towards a suggestion of a figure, as if blind. Its back hunches and distorts under its robes.]

You dare... you dare twice and thrice again, you dare!

[Something dark dribbles down from its fangs.]

[direstnews]

[S-swallows. But holds his ground.]

And yet you took your price, in the end. You gained that which you sought.

Or did you? It occurs to me now that the me of old bought your services with scarce more than a lie.

[12npcs]

Is it, a lie? Or are you-[A shudder wracks its form, plumes of black ripple over its features and fingers that stretched out pull back, clawing furrows in its own neck.] You seek

a story

here.

It already

LET ME HAVE IT!

[direstnews]

[Eeeedging toward the door.]

He promised you the grandest tale ever wrought by Loki's hands. And yet here I remain, and by the fact that I do so, your bartered story lies unfinished.

It stands crippled – imperfect. Will you satisfy yourself with something so inadequate, when you ought have had what was pledged you?

[12npcs]

It iii[the sound raises in pitch, becoming a shrill, wordless shriek. Another, calmer voice starts again, over it.] The story of that world remains

incomplete

mine. I h

mine

you've not the

you've touched it

I will

devour

[At that it loses all semblance of the being summoned and simple races forward, lips baring to great fangs.]

[direstnews]

[Checks its trajectory in the mirror.]

I offer you a trade! No trickery - no lies.

[Hand on the candle, he slips halfway into the open door.]

An ending for an ending. But devour me here, and your payment remains ever incomplete.

[12npcs]

¡ʎɹǝʞɔıɹʇ

[It collapses on the makeshift figure of roughly constructed and propped doll parts, some going flying across the room, others sinking into the mass.]

[direstnews]

[Snatches up the candle and bolts into the house, slamming the door shut behind him.]

[He wrenches the chair beside the door beneath the handle, stuffs the candle into his tunic to damp the light, and feels along the back wall for the missing plank.]

[12npcs]

[It stands again, something strange, glowing blue and sprouting blue whiskers from every imaginable shambles, stumbles a few steps.

It presses into a suit of broken doll parts, wearing them in not quite the right order... walking without quite acknowledging joints...]

[It stops and sniffs the air, round doll head whipping this way and then that...]

[direstnews]

[Slips through the hole in the wall as silently as he's able, sliding around to the side it's NOT glowing on. And then realizes what side that is.]

[Is it out of the circle? It's out of the circle, isn't it.]

[12npcs]

[It is out of the circle, as if such a thing didn't have any bearing on it at all.]

[12npcs]

[It roars.

The sound is a scream, ugly rough and bubbling, like some horrific frustration, liquified into noise and vibration.

It echoes off of all the buildings, shuddering in the chests of people in the inns and square to the north. This wretched noise the first truly organic thing anyone had heard beyond each other.]

[12npcs]

[The door that Loki entered splinters at its very first enraged punch.]

[direstnews]

[Runs.]

[12npcs]

[The tiny doll head on the liquid mass whips around, following the motion...

The beast turns, one wooden leg clicking the cobblestone delicately.]

[BACK AT THE INNS]

[12npcs]

[So. Uh.

That couldn't have been good.]

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[tonewlengths]

[WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING, races out of her room to see]

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[allsneakandnoplay]

[UP]

What the hell was that?

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[atacarme]

[hooooly shit. Immediately out of her room to go see what's going on]

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[overclocking]

[......



I'm just gonna go get my ENORMOUS BOX FULL OF EXPLOSIVES if that's okay with everyone.]

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[beeductionist]

[ ....... so, clearly the smartest thing to do is to head out the front door of his inn with his phone to see if there's anything worth snapping a picture of ]

[direstnews]

[There isn't any cover, is there?]

[It wasn't supposed to be able to FOLLOW ME, this was the worst plan.]

Re: [BACK AT THE INNS]

[soul_sister]

Chrono! [Drops a hand to her empty holster and throws a look back to her partner.]

Gospel to start with!