Open Exploration: The Old Capital.

[thequestgiver]

Where: The Old Capital
When: RD6, all day
What: The Hero of the Mountains has come and gone from the Old Capital, just passing our heroes on the way. Time to explore the city in her aftermath?



On the surface, the Old Capital looks much like Schwanheim, only without the two rivers flanking the castle. It's much smaller, the houses father apart and older looking that the more crowded capital, and far more ordered. It has the feel of a city that was planned out. The castle stands in the center, simple, yet impressive, navy blue banners flapping from the the towers that grace each corner, acting as gateway to the 4 wide streets that slice through the circular town like the spokes of a wheel, dividing it into sections. One quarter is the market and craftsman district, the road leading to the castle lined with stalls and merchants with goods on blankets, side streets winding down towards the less sightly businesses. Flanking it on both ends are two housing districts, the smaller homes closer to the market, getting larger as they head for the 4th district, full of large mansions and an impressive church.

There's a large clock tower in the market district that matches the one back in Schwanheim, and a bulletin board much the same.

The clock is stopped, the board blank, and there is an eerie feeling as if something is just... missing. A lack of bird song. A lack of breeze. An odd feeling of stillness, almost as if one were walking through a ghost town even though there are still people about their daily chores as if nothing's wrong.

Comments

[consultmybooks]

Giles is surprised to see so many people around a seemingly blank bulletin board. After watching them for a second, just to be sure that they aren't just that interested in the woodwork, he finally ducks in front of the nearest citizen, trying to get their attention.

"E-Excuse me. Um, sorry, I was just wondering...what are you staring at?"

[thequestgiver]

There's no reply, as if the man can't even hear Giles. Or see him, as he continues to focus on the blank board despite there being someone in front of him.

[consultmybooks]

...odd. Very, very odd. Disconcerting, as well, because even when he's made himself invisible, Giles can still be heard.

Even so, he stares at his hands, trying to see for himself if he hadn't somehow faded out of sight, and not noticed. Finally determining that he hasn't, he can't have, and even if he had that would be less of an issue, Giles moves away from the bulletin board to try and get someone else's attention. He's got a theory, and bunnies are not involved.

[thequestgiver]

Everywhere he goes, no matter who he talks to, it's the same. No one can see or hear him.

[consultmybooks]

Well, dammit.

It looks as though his belief that this town would be abandoned isn't that far off the mark. For Giles, it might as well be.

He settles down by the side of the road, between a couple of stalls in the market district, to observe the people and mull over what he should do next. His eventual decision is to try for the church. The religious and the spiritual are supposed to be more likely to see spirits, especially in fairy tales. Perhaps he might have a bit more luck there.

[thequestgiver]

In direct contrast to the lively and bustling city, the church, and the area around it is abandoned. A few of the stained glass windows have broken and the doors don't hang quite right on their hinges, and it seems almost colder in this part of town. Significantly colder. There's even a few flakes of snow falling.

[consultmybooks]

Giles isn't quite so far gone that he doesn't remember what it's like to be cold. And yet...the presence of the snow doesn't sit right with him, either. Is it really that close to winter? Yes, it would probably be colder, up in the mountains, but this particular phenomena seems much too localized.

Honestly, the only things he knows of that could explain this are magic in general, or...ghosts, in particular.

Giles isn't entirely sure how he feels about that.

Now doubting that he'll be able to find anyone who can see him, but unwilling to turn back without investigating, Giles will phase through the doors of the church to begin hsi search inside.

The Judy has been prompted to actually read the thread properly!

[knowsmorethanyou]

Aralu is already in the church, staring at the unseasonable snow coming through the broken windows. This does not match what she had expected from the bustling market. Doesn't anyone fix things?

She looks up as Giles enters. "Looks like we have a temporal anomaly here," she says, shaking her head and kicking at the snow. "Can't think of any other reason a church would look like this."

[consultmybooks]

Giles comes up short when he's suddenly addressed, eyes widening in surprise. He'd given up hope of anyone noticing him, even after a quick pass through the city. The people of Schwanheim tended to ignore and walk through him, now, but they did acknowledge his existence.

"Um...I, I-I can think of a few, actually," he says, once he's recovered himself. "Out of academic curiosity, though, w-why do you suspect that?"

[knowsmorethanyou]

"Well, I suppose people could have given up religion, or destroyed the place in a fit of pique. But the snow. Last the bulletin was properly updated, we were nearing summer. We're not far enough North for snow in summer. That says one of two things to me: weather witch, or time paradox. Since I haven't seen anything like the first around here, I decided it must be the second."

She slips down into the broken pews, nudging things with her foot to see if she can find anything.

"Although I haven't seen much in the way of time anomalies either, so I could be wrong."

[consultmybooks]

"Localized pocket dimension or, um, the presence of restless spirits or ghosts might also provide an explanation. While, um, the requirements for snow go far beyond temperature, enough concentrated spiritual activity could, um, certainly bring that down a few degrees."

A beat, and then he adds:

"I will say, however, that while I've been told I feel a bit chilly, I've never made it snow in summer."

Giles follows behind her, for lack of anything else to do, staring up at the ceiling, the windows broken and unbroken, and up ahead at the alter.

"I've, um, experienced a couple, in the past. They, th-they weren't as spectacular as I might have though, although the fact that we'd, um, that we had all been taken out of time and shoved into a pocket dimension might have accounted for the lack of damage t-to our own personal timelines."

[knowsmorethanyou]

"Hm. Hadn't considered pocket dimensions. Could account for things. I tried to go to the castle, but that didn't work, so I figured I'd try here instead. Castle's probably the hub of what's happening, whatever it is."

She tried to pick up a disintegrating prayerbook, but her hand went right through it.

"Also, I thought you were the only ghost around here."

[consultmybooks]

"Not necessarily. I, um, I-I'm the only ghost that's m-made itself known, or so I've gathered from, um, from everyone's reactions. But there, th-there might be others. Others that's might be, um, less able t-to manifest themselves, or make themselves known on a recognizable human level."

He watches the prayerbook flop back to the ground, its ink ruined, its cover faded to unrecognizability. He wonders what it might have said, what sort of prayers to what sort of gods it might have contained. But, he'll never know, even if he could have reached out and picked it up. A few words that sound about right, that might have been suitable, flicker through his mind...but, nothing more, and he doesn't recognize them for what they are.

"...if there are others, though...I, um, I confess, I'd quite like to meet them."

[knowsmorethanyou]

She continues looking to see what's on the ground. "Considering this place, I'd think that if they existed we'd know it already."

She straightens after a minute. "This place looks more than destroyed. It looks like those old buildings that haven't been used in decades. Is that even possible?"

[consultmybooks]

"Left to disrepair? Entirely possible."

Giles leaves Aralu to her examination, instead casting around the rest of the hall for any sign of further movement, checking the doors, the windows, the snow swirling inside. He tries to keep alert for trouble, since Aralu is the only one in a position to be alert for anything else.

"Completely abandoned, in a city this size? Also possible but, um, n-not without some sort of catastrophe or plague involved...and, well, I still w-would have expected to see a few scavengers."

[knowsmorethanyou]

"Lack of scavengers I can understand. There's nothing left to scavenge. But there should at least be homeless people or drunks using the place, no matter the condition. And unless there's some smaller place of worship, this is THE church for this city. Some people might have lost religion, but the whole place?"