A Haunted House (Open)

“The Warden!” Ryuu exclaimed, feeling foolish for not having made the association before. She knew of this supernatural being from her studies into western mythology. The Warden, a terrifying being that outranked most other phantoms in its powerful ability to capture an individual within its ghostly chains and consume the soul of its prey, both dead and undead. Rapture had been too caught up in her own hubris to thread the creepy chanting together into coherent sentences, but things began to fall into place.

“Cling clang go the chains… drag the chains… the Warden’s out to find you…”

All snippets of a child’s rhyme describing the terrifying beast belonging to Native American folklore. Just as she had put two and two together, another eerie verse rang through the desolate house.

“Clank now, the sinking chains…. Approach with their true strength…”

“We’re dealing with something much more sinister than a ghost!” Rapture declared now that the group had gotten to their feet. “We’re trapped with a very hostile tenuemonok, or Native American spirit who sucks the souls from the living and the dead. This one is sometimes translated as ‘The Warden.’” She forced herself to breathe deeply. Of all western spirits, she had become most wary of Wendigo, but this guy tugged at her interest seeing that it had very similar powers.

“Suzuki, Hazel, Danny…” Ryuuzaki addressed her unwitting colleagues by name to emphasize importance. “We have to tear this motherfucker down, and we’ll need some extra help.”

 By 'help,' Ryuuzaki meant an upgrade in forme. “Tsuyo,” she began cryptically. “Bōgyo. Osore.” As the prayer began, Rapture’s eyes began to turn an icy blue, and a strange blue-white mist enshrouded her body as her attire changed into that of an armored getup, complete with a traditional kimono waist bow, frosty locks, and blue tattoos that glowed forebodingly. “Akumo,” she continued, and an icy mist appeared around her as a set of enchanted brass knuckles appeared upon her hands and emanated dread, a complete disarming aura of suffocating fear. Should anyone come near her in this state and it was her will, they would be bombarded by psychological torture of the most horrifying degree. Coming into contact with this infernal weapon would result in mental torment. “Okāsan.” Perhaps fighting the Warned fire-with-fire style would prove fruitful.

Rapture seemed to change her tune as she decided on the name of the spirit they were facing. She was happier for the help, which was nice, but Suzuki couldn't help but feel like they were off to a terrible start. Danny did well to ease her mood with his optimism. He had confidence in her abilities, which was nice. The group didn't see it, but the lightning strike she'd called to the enemy was sizable. Enough to buy them time and create a distraction, but it wasn't a direct hit and she didn't imagine she could do it more than once or twice more at most.

"Fair enough, then. I'll take the lead. Rapture, what is it you know about this creature beyond it's name? Anything about it's abilities?"

She asked, stepping towards the direction the chains were coming from. Every once in a while there would be a slight tug, but it seemed like the Warden was still too weak to be pressing them... or it was a trap and he wanted them closer. It was hard to tell, so Suzuki was sure to keep her eyes activated and alert as she watched for danger.

"Youuuu..."

A raspy voice called from around the corner, making Suzuki stop and draw her sword.

"No kill, no kill Dotty. Yes?"

A creature poked it's head from around the corner. It wasn't a spirit, no, it was a small - barely a foot tall, really - little hairless... goblin? Gremlin? What in the Heavens was that thing?

"Dotty can show you where chains are from. Dotty came in to help a little human, can't find way out. Been here long time! You help Dotty get out?"

Suzuki glanced back at the group, a hint of a scowl on her face as she read their expressions.

"He might be useful. It could be a trap. Or we can just follow the chains and meet them head on."

Hazel would have been following along with the group, watching Ryuu's transformation, thinking it was really cool, then a goblin-like thing appeared and made her jump a little, wand gripped tight in her hand before calming a little "I say we help him, he's not a ghost" said Hazel with her seemingly naive reasoning.

“Only what the urban legends have to say,” Rapture replied, pursing her lips. It annoyed her that she knew nothing further, but had to accept that fact as she pushed forward and into the bottom of this. Cracking her knuckles carefully as to not disturb the enchanted brass that encased them, the young woman had turned to investigate further when an ugly little… ‘what the fuck is that?’… thing introduced itself warily. Immediately, Ryuuzaki took a defensive stance; little or not, it could be dangerous as looks were often deceiving. Suzuki and Hazel seemed carefully on board, but not the Icelandic-Japanese mystic.

“We follow the chains on our own,” she insisted, scowling at the creature. “We have nothing to give us reason to trust you, Dotty, and I don’t trust anyone or anything until they can prove themselves. Got anything to fit that criteria?” Rapture would choose the dead over the living for truthfulness, for the dead had nothing to lose or lie over. Spirits were much easier to read, and this creature seemed incredibly shading and ill-timed. It was nothing personal; just logical.