Paranormal Investigations

[thewatchers]

Paranormal Investigations
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Though sightings of a paranormal (or, as some have theorized, an extraterrestrial) nature have long been reported across human culture, the Heralds of Nightfall both defeated and yet to come have played no small part in threatening to break the tenuous veil of secrecy that separates magic from mundane. With the Outlands and its creatures in a fervour, those who have been charged with the task of maintaining the Veil - or have taken it upon themselves - have been overwhelmed by the sudden bursts of activity and have reluctantly requested the Academy’s assistance in three places from the 23rd to the 26th.

Travel is provided to and from the Academy, as well as between locations.

A - Stories in Stained Glass - Beauvais, France
In France, you can throw a rock and hit a cathedral window, and this relatively obscure cathedral is just one of many, overshadowed by several other cathedrals in Beauvais. It’s renowned, however, for its complex, eerie stained glass window designs. While other cathedrals of the period depict saints, martyrs, and other religious imagery popular at the time, the windows of this place of worship are significantly more abstracted scenes of transformation and destruction, their meanings seemingly lost with the artist’s death. Dark legends abound of what the artist might have done to be able to capture such things in the glass.
And lately, it’s said that when the sun goes down, the pictures in the windows spring to life - and the creatures trapped within them long ago whisper dark secrets of the past, present, and future, for a hefty price.

The tasks assigned to students and staff at this location are twofold:
The first task is to repel the creatures using the windows as portals from the Outlands by any means possible and to discourage them from capturing souls for their own purposes. Heavy violence is highly discouraged, if only because it might damage the cathedral’s structure (light to medium violence is grudgingly acceptable, however). Traps, wards and attempting to bind, negotiate or trick the strange fae things that make the cathedral their playground by night back into the Outlands are the recommended courses of action.

The second task is to keep out any ghost hunters and camera crews looking for a paranormal scoop. While discretion is advised when possible, the Academy has reluctantly allowed for a certain degree of leeway, as long as nobody is injured. Keeping humans away from a potential Outlands feeding ground and likely death is worth far more than striking lifelong fear into their hearts. Feeding them faulty information through phony interviews is also a viable and encouraged option.

B - Devil’s Bridge - Suceava, Romania
An old stone bridge over a narrow, inhospitable gorge has been the source of rumors for centuries - its unusually ingenious construction led to humans assuming it was made by the devil or other supernatural means in exchange for the first soul to cross it, but all rumors amounted to nothing. However, photos are starting to pick up odd, unearthly figures in procession around the gorge at night, and any audio recordings - no matter the equipment - are static. Often, any equipment used to record audio inexplicably remains broken, though there seems to be nothing wrong with it, mechanical or otherwise.

In truth, the bridge and its location once served a purpose as a thoroughfare between Earth and the Outlands, though the details of that purpose and how it came to be appear lost to time. What is evident, however, is that it remains a place of crossing-over - and no attempts to block or impede it has worked as of yet. Worse, the increasing activity has led to more curious visitors to try and catch firsthand glimpses of these specters, who likely won’t take kindly to being interrupted.

The tasks presented to students and staff at this location are to divert visitors from getting into dangerous positions in the gorge - either through discouraging them at the nearby town before they decide to visit or from catching those who manage to slip through - which may well be quite literal, as the gorge is treacherous. Their secondary task is to turn back the strange processions of undead led by a single solitary daemon, fae, or odd Outlands creature, each of which has their own separate reasons for doing so...but seem to be compelled to use this crossing anyway.


C - Exhibition of a Painted World - Tokyo, Japan
A showcase of the works of a long-dead artist, recently unearthed, in a Japanese museum is rumored to be haunted, as eerie things happen not just during the night, but during the day as well. Sculptures seem unable to stay put, and paintings change when you look at them. In addition, several incidents have occurred before the Academy was called in to control the situation that resulted in hospitalized night guards and the occasional shell shocked visitor, all of which described their experiences as ‘getting lost in another world.’

Students and staff in this location are tasked with guiding and escorting curious visitors away from exhibits that seem off during the daytime, as certain paintings and sculptures seem to be able to draw or lure people ‘deeper into a painted world’, according to victim accounts.

At night, the exhibits become exceptionally more mobile, and often hostile. Unfortunately, due to rising interest in the paranormal, it’s likely that people will attempt to sneak into the gallery or overstay their welcome in order to get photo or video evidence - these people should be escorted out, tricked into obtaining faked footage, or better yet, ‘discouraged’ from staying entirely.

The Academy has authorized the use of force in self-defense, as sculptures and paintings that have proven hostile enough to spring for ‘intruders’ attempt to inflict serious damage. Research is ongoing as to why this exhibit is so aggressive.


[OOC note: Players are free to use daemons, fae and other Outlands creatures related to their characters in this event for developmental or entertainment purposes. Each mission will have it's own top-level so please post there]