THE THRILL OF THE HUNT

[missleading]

WHO: Characters listed here
WHAT: The Phantom Thieves (and others) infiltrate the palace of a pair of mages who have been murdering innocents in the British countryside
WHEN: October 13
WHERE: A small town in Great Britain
WARNINGS: Some gore, will update as necessary

"Vivianne and Roland Wolfe. Murderers. Amusement park."

The Outland seemed to pulse, as if the world beat like a living heart.

"Coordinates accepted. Beginning navigation."

The red-eyed icon on Ren’s cell phone began glowing brightly as the space around the team began warping as flashes of red and black seemed to rewrite the tenuous reality.

As the world once again came into focus, a scene of horror and carnage unfolded. The team was now in an amusement park, its walls and rides sheathed in garish gold plate that sparkled eerily under a blood-red moon. The whir and creak of highly suspect machinery echoed through the park as rollercoasters sped through the park. Those sounds, however, might well not exist for the extended, sustained screams of terror, shrieks of pain, and the weeping, pleading, and groaning of the dying.

Littering the ground were corpses - shadows, in this world, but bleeding and dismembered as any true human might be. In every case they were missing body parts, grisly trophies taken from them after they breathed their last… or at least, one would hope. Spotlights scanned the ground as those shadows that still lived fled in desperation. A spotlight affixing itself to a fleeing shadow would lock on as one of the mages, Roland in a white suit and tie splattered with blood and Vivianne in a blood-red cocktail dress would swoop down, chasing them with any number of means such as small cars, paragliders, or even glowing magical disks. In all cases, the result was typically the same. The shadow would run, screaming or sobbing, as they were chased down. In most cases the mages would toy with them, perhaps shooting out a kneecap, or speeding by and lopping an arm. This grisly "game" would continue until the mage grew bored, ending the shadow and claiming some kind of gruesome trophy.

Notably, both mages had glowing yellow eyes and somewhat sunken, distorted features - clear signs that these were not truly the people but their shadows, the lord and lady of this palace of horror. And they were thirsty for even more blood.

Comments

INFILTRATION

[prisoneroffate]

Joker gave the team a meaningful look as he crept alongside one of the many blood-spattered walls of the park.

“It’s showtime.”

There was no emotion in his words, not even the typical cocky lilt that Joker usually carried with him in this form. The words were grim and deadly serious. It was time to get to work. With a wave of his red-gloved hand, he lead the party into the carnage and darkness. They had a treasure to find.

[lastexit]

Maya's stealth suit wasn't active, but the full gray catsuit was more than enough to blend her into the shadows and darkness provided she wasn't in direct light. And with an owl-like mask, she'd fit right in with any actual phantom thieves. She'd save activating the invisibility for when she needed it. The outlands were always 'fun' for her senses, the very magic of the world was different there. So the soundscape around her changed with it.

And the sounds belonging to Joker, which she might need to ask about later. Also why they had a child along, the one with the hat. The thief she met in a dream made sense.

"Cheerful." She didn't feel anything looking at all the carnage, it wasn't exactly real. But- she wouldn't feel much anyway, just walking into this place caused that familiar numbness to wrap around her senses, "Any idea what we're after? I might be able to listen for it better with something to visualize."

[bolderfell]

"...Who knows."

Apparently there to bring down the aesthetic value of the whole team, Therion's only change to his usual guy-in-a-hoodie wardrobe was the addition of a baseball cap. Still, somehow, just that and his hood made his features difficult to discern in the darkness. It was his magic at work, keeping what he looked like from sticking in anyone's mind. For him, avoiding notice was as automatic as breathing--even among the people he was supposed to work with. He probably didn't mean anything by it. ...Probably.

At the very least, he didn't seem keen to flit off on his own into the carnival of horrors around them. The corners of his eyes were tight as he pulled his hoodie collar up and over his nose, though Therion didn't otherwise flinch from the bodies on the ground or the awful wailing. He scanned the area slowly, taking in the gaudy decor, the spotlights, the gleeful, cartoonish ostentation of the mages' Shadows' hunt. This is what they were about, behind their deadly carousel: fun and games. A roller coaster thrill.

"If I had to guess where to look for it, though... I'd search whatever this park's biggest attraction's supposed to be. The scariest, the fastest." Though, given their penchant for trophy-taking... "Or wherever you win prizes for skills."

He nodded in the general direction of the entrance.

"Info booths usually have maps or ads for the biggest hits. Might give us a hint if we find one."

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail nods approvingly at Therion's suggestion, agreeing with his point.]

[She looks the same as ever, hammer slung casually over her shoulder. She has some new equipment on her belt, prototypes she's testing, to see how well they handle this unusual space between the physical and mental... but she's got some more blunt instruments to back them up, if it comes down to it.]

What I wanna know right now is where not to go. They ain't looking for us yet, but that don't mean we're safe just walking around. I'd bet good money there's gonna be traps around here, 'specially once we start getting closer to where we need to be.

[Her gaze traces lightly over the surroundings, searching for something out of place, any more subtle threat to counterbalance the obvious display of blood and violence.]

[foolishjustice]

Akechi, or Crow as he calls himself here, is clad in his bright, princely outfit and red mask, but his expression is far less cheerful. He's seen a lot of corpses in his life - made some of them, even - but this level of gruesome dismemberment and gore is still enough to make his stomach turn. Fortunately, he was prepared for it, and doesn't do more than grimace at the sight.

"Traps in Palaces can vary a lot. A map is a good start, though. In places like this, they generally aren't too heavily protected. An info booth is supposed to be open to visit, after all."

[prisoneroffate]

Immediately west of the team, a ramshackle, bullet-hole and bloodstained visitor's booth still stood, with maps hanging off a rack. The map itself showed a chaotic scene with a lot of "attractions" positioned haphazardly around a large, central room tagged as the "Trophy Room". All of the rollercoaster tracks seemed to radiate outward from this point, something Joker noticed immediately as he started tracing his finger over the pathways as he held the map up for the rest of the team to observe.

[lastexit]

"Everything sounds like murder, I don't really think anywhere is somewhere we want to be." She was getting used to the subtleties under it, other sounds from the shadows on the ground. The things that were people, but not real. No, don't expect Maya to make sense of that. She was glad her mask kept her entire face out of view, cause the sound of this place was definitely having an impact.

The map was giving them a destination, and routes. She didn't like it. At all. "Places I definitely wouldn't want to go is on the roller coaster tracks in a crazy murder carnival."

[bolderfell]

"Obviously." Literally on roller coaster tracks was a bad place to be in any circumstances. "But all roads lead to Rome. Or something."

And they wouldn't get anywhere if they didn't start somewhere. If the Trophy Room was the heart of the park, it might well hold the 'heart' of this Palace thing, too, as far as Therion understood what they were doing. (Admittedly, it was all kind of abstract, but whatever.)

"Assuming the Trophy Room's our first priority?" began Therion, glancing at the others for agreement or dissent before he continued. "Following the tracks will get us there, but they don't exactly offer cover from around or above. And I doubt trying to blend in with the locals will get us far, since it looks like everyone but those two," he said with faint distaste, "is fair game for target practice. So it's a matter of staying completely unseen without missing any traps ourselves."

Straightforward to say, difficult to pull off. After another measuring glance across his team, Therion's gaze flickered off towards the roller coaster rails, as hard to catch and keep hold of as his codename: Smoke. "I might be able to help provide cover for one or two people if needed, but I don't have much experience sniffing out supernatural traps."

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail... keeps looking back from the map to the coasters, a thoughtful expression on her face.]

[This can't be good.]

Wonder what direction those go in...

[Oh no.]

The tracks ain't much cover, but if we could get one of the cars on 'em going towards the Trophy Room, and going fast enough? We might be able to get in and out before they have a chance to react.

[foolishjustice]

Hiding in here is easier than it is in the real world, but we still do need at least some cover.

[He examines the map, looking for anything that might be boarding for a roller coaster.]

We might also find some useful things in the 'attractions'. It's pretty common for these places to be full of puzzles that reflect the owner's mindset.

[prisoneroffate]

[ Joker nods along with the discussion ]

We can at least use the tracks as a guide to stay on course. Investigating the rooms might not be a bad idea...

[ And as he says this, a horrific scream, followed by the sound of flesh tearing and a soul-wrenching gurgling noise follow from a nearby tent ]

On the other hand...

[lastexit]

"No offense, I'd like to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible and don't wanna visit anything we don't have to." She wasn't looking at the group, or the map, she'd diverted her attention to the carnival trying to track the sounds she could almost hear, variations in the landscape. Nothing she could be concrete of at this distance. There was too much noise in the Outlands. But... it was there.

Maya flinches at the screaming. But not the screaming, she can hear the magical damage done to the soul of a shade in the space. Which was another thing that she didn't like to hear. "Let's just follow the tracks to wherever we're going."

[bolderfell]

"Yeah. On our feet, thanks." Whether he was more appalled by the noise coming out of the tent or Jailbreak's suggestion they zoom in on a modified nightmare roller coaster, sight unseen, was unclear. "Strapped into an open car, on rails, a hundred feet up? We'd be sitting ducks. I'm not going up there."

Shaking off a shudder, Therion edged further forward into another shadow. There, he adjusted the bill of his cap and faded even further into the background, near impossible to keep eyes on.

"It may be we have to duck into one of the tents or rides to avoid that spotlight, but if we don't have to, let's not."

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jail shrugs amiably at her suggestion being discarded.]

Maybe next time.

[WHAT 'NEXT TIME', JAIL, WHEN DO YOU THINK THIS SITUATION IS GOING TO COME UP AGAIN???]

[She traces lightly over a path on the map, then straightens up and turns away.]

This route's the shortest, looks like. Let's go while the going's good.

[She doesn't fade out as dramatically as Therion, but she seems to always be just out of reach as she saunters casually from cover to cover, never quite stepping into the line of fire despite her seeming ease.]