Graveyard

[lesmodsalouette]

Graveyard

The garden is still sprawling and green – despite having entirely lost all its riotous flowers and colors, along with any sign of wildlife or birdsong – though one thing stands out more than anything else: from Monday to Thursday, you can’t see the castle anymore. All that remains where it once stood (or perhaps, usually stands) is an incongruously large tree that towers over everything else and somehow looks larger and more imposing than the castle ever did. The tree’s branches are bare, without any hint of life nor leaf – however, on the weekends (that is to say, Friday through Sunday) a faint projection of the castle appears around it, cradling the only things that the denizens of this alternate garden can see in detail from the other side: the flurry of activity around the investigation, the circus-like dimension that holds the trial, and the mirrors and the grassy dimension that display the execution.

For those curious what the land of the living are up to, a mirage-like and upside-down reflection of the castle garden in its original arrangement can be spotted occasionally overlaying the sky. This strange illusion may sometimes show those in the garden on the other side, flitting in and out of view like stray clouds; but much like the weather, their appearance is mercurial – they cannot be reached and cannot be heard.

Water, Flower, Everywhere

The fountains remain active somehow, though their features seem to have eroded, obscuring the identities of the deities and the wings of the birds, cracking pottery down into nothing but worn shards and handles. At night, only maybe half the lights work (and here they are real candlelight, rather than magical), plunging most of the garden into crepuscular darkness. The trellis walkway looks quite overgrown (mysteriously, bamboo is taking over), entirely covering some statues and other features along its length, and it’s no longer walkable – a miniature canal runs the whole length underneath the arches, feeding into other new waterways around the garden that cut off footpaths seemingly at random. There are small footbridges here and there, but the lack of logic to the whole arrangement makes falling into one of the streams or canals a real hazard.

The waterways do all manage to converge at the pond by the pavilion – neither of which are all that soothing or classical anymore. The pond is only half-full, and entirely lacks water lilies or any dragonflies; its banks sit jagged above the dark waters, and perhaps that’s why the pavilion, too, is half collapsed down into it all. Gone are the curtains and ivies; only dead curling vines and half-collapsed columns are left, but there’s still someplace to sit if you put your mind to it.

Most of the flowerbeds sit fallow or overtaken by weeds – there’s signs here and there that someone might have tried to clear them out, but the bulk of the effort seems to have gone to the orchard by the gardener’s cottage. It might be more accurate to say cottages, given that there are a few of them dotted around that area for some reason. None of them are locked, but all of them have only minimal furnishings apart from the original; they’re also all provided with the full complement of gardener’s tools. Next to them, there are new saplings and half-grown flowering trees: some pear and apple, but also some not. There are new shoots in the kitchen orchard that have just barely taken root, the dirt recently turned.

Hedge Maze(?)

The other most eye-catching feature is what once was an ornamental hedge maze: instead of being a tame height here, it has seemingly grown wild and completely unchecked, towering above the rest of the garden almost like its own overgrown mountain. The hedge walls go up and up and up, making it entirely impossible to see the center or even how far it goes despite the fact that sections of the hedges have also died, reduced to the branches underneath, bristling with interlocked thorns.

Part of it had even spilled over into the garden itself, huge gnarled branches spreading out like burnt-blackened fingers all the way to the edge of the pond – wherever the branches touch, even the greenery is withered, and any statues look more ruined than those in the rest of the area. As of the end of Week 3, however, the branches have retracted entirely and the way into the hedge maze has opened even more. However, there is now a storm brewing over what might be the center or the general area of it. Getting close to the hedge maze or any of the hedge(?) branches is... unpleasant, though it doesn’t usually go beyond a buzz of wrongness and a slight headache.

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Week 4: Friday - Graveyard Endgame FINALE

[lesmodsalouette]

[As the fierce battles rage on in the maze, slashing blackened leaves and littering thorns and weapons and apparently body parts every which way, the storm also rages overhead and lightning continues to shine through the slightly slowing rain (moisture (3)). They've fought through the night, and it seems as though the dawn is not yet here.

The crash of thunder and the general din of the weather makes it difficult to communicate or know where their allies are -- so what happens eventually is that Yamanbagiri comes dropping down from the top of the hedge maze wherever each group is, landing lightly and nodding at them as though he didn't just drop out of an extremely-not-clear sky. His cloak swirls around him, wet with blood and rain and mud, but he's apparently elected not to take it off, regardless. His sword flashes as he holds it at the ready.]

... I've found the gate. I think we've cleared out enough of the maze, so there should be time for us to close it if we hurry. Before anything worse comes through. Follow me.

[And before anyone can question him on what worse actually means, he's already moving -- perhaps too quickly for the conditions and suddenness of the message, but they have more people to gather so they can bring a proper and quite literal close to this thing.

Once those who have been patrolling the maze have gathered, they move on. Deeper and deeper, twisting and winding in single-or-double file on the path; the farther they go the more the rain drums down, though it seems as though the violence of the storm itself is calming, like moving into the eye of the maelstrom. As things quiet down without, however, other troubles start within: the headache and buzzing ramp up again, not quite to the point that no one can walk, but Tiamat and Sabo might recognize this particular unwelcome escalation.

And in fact, it's easy to tell when they get to the center of the maze, because not only is there a large, freestanding double-gate with criss-crossing bars pouring black miasma and that unpleasant feeling out of every opening, but arrayed in front of the open doors of that gate are a number of warriors who look to be at least semi-black mist as well, glimpses of armor and bone flashing in the lightning and the reddened glow of their eyes. None of them are armed, but their sheer numbers and the bizarre mental oppression of their existence are menace enough.

Beside them, Yamanbagiri mutters, half to himself:]

Historical Revisionists...!

No. They're not right.

[distain]

[It might not be enough to completely debilitate, but after feeling like she's been walking on sunshine for most of the maze, the sudden reminder that it's possible to feel not just discomfort but pain hits her like that bucket of bricks the one girl was carrying.

She looks up at the huge group of tangled, altered figures, her mouth slightly open as she takes in the sight.]

It's like we're waging war against time itself...and those twisted by it.

[siffriend]

[ (You

are very tired of waging war against time itself!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Siffrin shuffles closer to her, protective, despite the... more keen use of their right hand. ]

Yeah, but in the end... the victory'll be hours.

[ ... ]

[distain]

[she kills him for this]

[diel]

[ yoru pets siffrin. ]

Very good!

[ somewhere in his dreams, jin's brow scrunches up in discomfort. ]

[vivens]

[ ....pfft.

okay but, like, someone had to make that pun. ]

[siffriend]

[ The feeling hasn't bothered Siffrin too much thus far, partially because of their own... numbness to many things, at this point, and partially because they've known better than to get too close to a threat they can't see -- like an animal, instinctively giving humans a wide berth until invited closer. But it does scratch at him now, tense and blanketing their senses with a heightened awareness.

(There's so, so many. You don't mind that.)

His left hand is thankfully hidden beneath his mud, blood splattered cloak, but anyone who's seen Siffrin knows it's the hand he prefers -- the right carries a knife this time, and a soft huff expels at the situation. ]

... They're just gonna keep coming if we don't shut-- or destroy, that gate, right? So... why don't we split responsibilities?

[diel]

I'm ready to give everyone a helping hand! Plum Blossoms, unite!

[ he's taking this seriously though ok ]

[thesharpestroy]

We’d need to destroy the path from them to the gate, yeah? How would we do that?

[diel]

[ hello! yoru waves (oh, not that one, the one with the actual hand) at everyone present, wheeling in the weapon cache (wheelbarrow).

he can't quite tell if his injuries hurt. maybe they will in the future, maybe it'll be like before where injuries were a minor thing to him. it's... honestly whatever. he doesn't seem to mind his state. it's nothing compared to losing his heart. ]

They're already all bone... More time and they'll be nothing at all.

[distain]

[Getting a knife from the wheelbarrow. Now she has 4 weapons! That's normal.]

If only we could wait it out. But I think we, too, would be reduced to nothing but smoke and ash if we let this tear stay here.

[spotsalone]

[ Thank god someone is looking more worse for wear than Hickey. Hey, Yoru. ]

You look like you've been through the ringer.

[ Glancing at the hand situation... but, oh, wait. He frowns and pulls his hatchet out of the wheelbarrow. Maybe his luck is turning around after all!! ]

Where'd you find this?

[snakeblood]

[ Trudging towards everyone, he feels like a zombie himself. What's use being dead when you don't have the perks of being a ghost, exactly?

Anyway, okay great. ]

Now what?

[diel]

Yoon~hee! You made it!

[spotsalone]

[ Hi hello the Hickster is here, covered in dirt and scratches from his bush adventure—and the subsequent pouting he did, lying in the mud staring up at the storm like maybe the rain would do anything to cleanse his pride.

IT DIDN'T WORK. There's still a couple leaves in his hair as he brings up the rear of the group. At least he still has his knife. How much good that will do against this bloody gate is debatable, but his luck has to turn around soon, doesn't it? ]

Anyone have any ideas for what we're meant to do with this?

[fillintheblanket]

We close the gate.

[That simple, apparently?? Yamanbagiri has his sword pointed straight at the ghostly things by the gate even while engaging with the others, his gaze not wavering from their movements.

Some of them have started advancing, so they may not have long for this team huddle.]

Normally, a gate like this would close on its own -- it should already be closed. But they must be trying to keep it open from the other side.

If we cut it off from here, it should be enough.

[siffriend]

[ Hickey are you okay. ]

[vivens]

[ SABO IS NOT A FAN OF THE HEADACHES AND BUZZING AGAIN!!!!!!!

he is also going to be here and decidedly ignoring how he is covered in blood and bleeding from a slash wound himself. insert waxing poetic about how all of sabo's lovely blue, black, and white clothing is dyed in blood. but what's really important here is how sabo joining everyone else with the staring contest with the new gathering of warriors... or, maybe, "warriors"? ]

Historical Revisionists...?

[ LIKE REVOLUTIONARIES?! not that sabo would claim any of these from the look of things. though he's ready for more fighting, easily, there's something he can't help but wonder. ]

Are they going to come at us with their bare hands?

[siffriend]

If they do, then me and Yoru'll be in a pickle. They out-arm us.

[ This isn't going to get any better. ]

[fillintheblanket]

They're usually armed. These... must have changed, somehow.

[fillintheblanket]

[They've had a brief standoff to discuss what they're looking at and where they might go with it, but it's looking like the reprieve is finally over: more of their enemies are moving, fanning out from the gate but still encircling it like they're the thing's personal guard.

Yamanbagiri moves up in response, eyes narrowing.

Thunder crackles, a long low grumble in the background like a signal.]

We shouldn't stall any longer. I don't know what else might come out of that gate.

[He's going to jump the way he did in the hedges, aiming to clear the encirclement; instead one of the encroaching warriors lets out a roar and takes off in a way just as unnatural, meeting him in the air. They roll on the ground, but closer to the gate--

It might be a good time to try and actually get to the gate before you're pushed back.]

[distain]

It might not be a bad time to empty that wheelbarrow.

[Why not wheel it directly into the fray and use it like a battering ram to the gate - without weapons in it, because let's not arm the monsters, hm?

Andrew will move too, now that she can run without impediment, but unlike Manba who's doing the cool midair anime jump clash, she'll keep her feet on the ground and mostly weave her way through, ducking beneath the swinging and swiping.

I rolled for the shits of it and she got a 15 so she's probably Hall and Oatesing it.]

[vivens]

[ welp...

he's not exactly thrilled about rushing in without paying much attention to the others, but everyone seems capable enough to be able to get through on their own. albeit maybe needing some help with knocking some of the bodies back if they just happen to get too close to either siffrin or yoru should it seem like they need the help.

because, once again, he has enough trust that they're able to make it out on their own devices. UNLESS NOT AND THIS COMMENT SEEMS LIKE AN ASSHOLE MOVE THEN GOMEN. ]

[siffriend]

[ Oh.

Yaman's so cool, actually. Can't ever let him and G'raha meet. Siffrin's already got stiff competition.

That said, like the sword himself -- they're focused on something more mid-air, graceful as a panther as they leap up and, unlike the sword, into the fray itself despite the obvious injury they've got as the cloak lifts. No, that wrist does not look good, but it's got little impact on Siffrin as they dance in and out of danger, offering something of an aggravating distraction for the creatures as they try and grab for the wanderer.

And their expression? Pretty bored, all things considered, but their one eye offers a focus and awareness that makes it certain that he's doing this very much on purpose to help others -- their less combat inclined -- gain headway. To the point that any that might lose interest get a quick stab to remind them of who the actual threat nearby is. ]

[snakeblood]

[ maybe it's time to start throwing knives like he can darts? ]