Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr=class,bulk] None of Yuna’s experiences in the Headstone Forest had ended well, so she hadn’t been eager to return to the haunted woods. Especially not at night, but come midnight, she found herself standing by some barren railroad tracks just outside of the thicket of trees anyway. The winter air was chilly, and even wrapped up in a coat, Yuna could feel it down to her bones as her breath rose in tiny patches of fog in front of her. In one hand she held a paper flyer that she struggled to read by moonlight even though she knew the whole thing by heart.
The Carnival Maléfique. The reason she was here.
Yuna had been hired to look into the festival happening in the Headstone Forest ever since the advertisements had started appearing around Provo. Dozens had disappeared from town in recent weeks, though nothing had been definitively linked to the carnival yet. It was even whispered that the workers might have been ghosts themselves, called to life during the celebration and then vanishing into thin air every morning as the sunrise began to peek over the horizon.
Either way, Yuna intended to find out what was happening in the Headstone Forest at the Carnival. If she could find evidence that the disappearances were linked to it, then she intended to shut it down in one way or another. And if ghosts really were involved, then Yuna would perform the sending so that they could find peace in Zephon’s afterlife. Her staff would have looked out of place at a carnival, and it was too big to hide, so instead she had the jeweled dagger that Celes had given her tucked into her belt. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to use it, but if she did, then it should work as a decent spellcasting focus.
A distant whistle echoed through the silent night air towards her, and Yuna stood up straight as a train came impossibly rumbling into view. The tracks on the forest floor were overgrown and missing vital pieces, but that didn’t seem to matter to this particular train as it slowed to a stop directly beside her. The pattern on the very front looked something like a skull, which did nothing to alleviate Yuna’s anxiety. As she stared at it, the doors opened by themselves in a clear invitation. After only a moment of hesitation, Yuna climbed aboard. The doors shuddered to a close behind her with a click that seemed definitive. There was no going back now.
The train sped off further into the forest, and Yuna was rocked backwards a little on the balls of her feet until she quickly took one of the available seats on the train. There were a few other people already onboard, and Yuna wondered as to their reasons for attending the carnival. Distantly, the upbeat sound of music started drifting closer. Maybe it was only Yuna’s imagination, but there was something a little off about how it sounded.
And the arms of the ocean are carrying me And all this devotion was rushing out of me
What Bartz had been up to lately even he wasn't sure. There had been the affair with the mermaids, then he and Boko had just been roaming the land mostly taking in the sites and staying away from most of the major cities. Something bad always seemed to be happening in them, so Bartz had decided to just do his own thing for awhile. That was until he woke up one morning nuzzled in Boko's chest when he found a letter inscribed with his name on it lying on his chest. He'd always been a heavy sleeper, but he wondered who knew him well enough to bring this to him. Not that it mattered really, it was an invitation to some kind of party and carnival, so having nothing better to do he followed the crudely drawn map after Boko shook his head "No he would not be going on this one."
Bartz was no stranger to the midnight hour seeing as usually he and Faris were still up in a tavern, but boy was it a bit cold as he hugged his cape to him at the most run down little train station he'd ever seen in his life. To be fair it might have been the only train station he'd ever seen so who was he to judge.
Bartz held the ticket in his hand as he looked over the invitation once more. The Carnival Maléfique. He took a glance again at the rest of the paper, just inviting him to a night of devilry and merriment within the Headstone Forest, but his eye kept flicking back up to that word. Maléfique. He wasn't sure what that mean but it sounded like that fancy word that people with accents used to describe fancy foods so he was game to go. His mouth began to salivate as he thought of tearing into a large chunk of meat when the whistle of a train sounded slowing as it pulled up to pick him up. Not really looking at much but the steps so he didn't trip, Bartz scrambled up the stairs as the train didn't seem like it was going to fully stop as it began to creep up in speed as he made it through the door.
The lights were dim, and it seemed he had ended up on the dining car, but dinner seemed to be over as empty plates with scraps littered the plates. If he had looked closer he would have seen the mold and decay, but since there was no food to be eaten, Bartz saw a brighter light coming from the car ahead, and so he made his way that way wondering if he could at least get a snack or something. However, when he emerged from the dining car he found himself in a passenger car with a spatter of people either sitting or milling about. He tried asking a few people if they minded sitting next to them, but they were silent looking ahead without so much as a glance his way. Weird, but he just shrugged his shoulders til he saw someone actually moving a bit.
"Bunch of stiffs round here, am I right?" he joked coming up to the person fidgeting in their seat until he caught a glimpse of her face. His own lit up in a bright smile as his eyes crinkled into wrinkles at the edges and he proclaimed a little louder than was appropriate for a train car, "Yuna?! Is that you. How you been? Remember me? Bartz?" He took a seat without asking this time so excited to contain himself? "You got invited to the carnival too?" Bartz pulled out his personal letter and ticket to show her. A spark of memory caught and he looked about real quick. "I shouldn't be worried about being burnt by your friend this time should I?" he asked hesitantly before turning back to her with the smile as the accordion music crescendo outside the window. "Anyway, are you alone we could go do the sites together. Sounds more fun than milling about alone. That is if you want to that is. I've not been to a carnival like this before!"
[attr=class,bulk] It was a little unnerving how smooth the train ride was given how dilapidated the tracks were, but Yuna was more concerned with her fellow passengers. The train car had thick cobwebs strung overhead and dusty windows that made it hard to see outside, but no one in the seats around her seemed to even be looking at them. From her position, they were so still that Yuna couldn’t even be sure they were breathing. Tensing a little, she started to reach for her dagger, wondering if she should risk trying a sending before she’d even arrived. Before she’d made up her mind though, there was actually some movement behind her and a friendly voice joked over her shoulder about the other passengers.
Looking up at the brunette boy standing next to her, Yuna felt so much relief at seeing a familiar face that she broke into a smile as he sat down next to her and started asking questions a little too loudly. “Bartz! Of course I remember, but it’s been ages. Did you ever find your chocobo friend?”
Yuna was glad to see him of course, but as he pulled out a personal letter and started chattering excitedly about the carnival, she was suddenly incredibly worried for his safety. “There are fliers around Provo that I picked up. But…you’re telling me someone invited you personally?”That did not bode well at all, but she still couldn’t help a small laugh when he mentioned being set on fire last time.
“Caius isn’t here today, so your cape should be safe. I see less of him than I used to because I actually run a small Provo outpost for the Dragonblades now.” It was more of a healer’s clinic than anything, but she did take outside jobs sometimes. Like this one, for instance.
Bartz offered to go around the carnival together, and Yuna nodded slowly as she altered her plans on the fly. Honestly, the older boy was such a cinnamon roll that she had no intention of letting him go running off alone if the ghosts had wanted him here personally. “No, that sounds perfect. I’d love to walk around with you. Though um…” Yuna lowered her voice since she wasn’t sure how much the passengers around them could hear. Probably everything. Bartz wasn’t really bothering to keep his voice down. “I don’t think this is a normal carnival. Do you notice anything…strange?”
The off-putting accordion music was getting louder, though Yuna still couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong. Possibly that it had been shifted down to be played in the minor key, but it was putting her even more on edge than she wanted to be. “We’ll just have to be careful. They’re saying in town that people have been going missing since the festival started.” She didn’t really want to use the words ‘unsent’ or ‘ghost’ until they had proof. There was no point in needlessly scaring Bartz after all, even if the general vibe of the train passengers wasn’t giving her much confidence.
The train suddenly rolled to a stop and the doors opened up seemingly on their own. As one, the other travelers stood up and started to disembark in a weirdly organized pattern, but Yuna was more than happy to take her time and let them go first. Pulling her coat tighter around her, she followed her friend’s lead as they hopped off the doom train into a small, crowded station.
Ahead of them, a pathway through the trees was lined with lit torches, and Yuna stood close to the first one, grateful for the fire given how cold it was tonight. “...Ready to go in?” Now that they were closer, the smell of pastries and grilled meat was heavy in the air, and she could hear the distant sound of amusement park rides clanking and whirring. There were screams in the air over the sound of the rides, but to Yuna’s ears, she couldn’t tell if they were delighted or terrified.
"Oh Boko!" Bartz exclaimed glad to see that Yuna remembered him after all. "Yeah broke him out of a festival's chocobo race. We've been hanging out on and off since seeing as I got summoned by mermaids to deal with a peace treaty as repayment for when they saved me by turning me into a frog, so we got separated for a while because of that. I invited Boko along to the carnival, but he just looked at me like I was crazy and said no. Party pooper, but he probably just wanted some alone time, you know how chocobos are."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure by whom," he answered showing her the letter again and recounting his story of waking up to it as though this was just a normal every day occurrence. "Guess I'll find out sooner or later, but it's awesome you saw the fliers and just decided to go for it!" He gave a shrug to suggest that if it happened that would be cool, but if not he wasn't going to sweat it. Bartz pretended to wipe sweat from his brow learning it would just be the two of them and pumping his fist when Yuna agreed to accompany him. "Alright! Look at you running things, reminds me of my good friend Faris who is a pirate captain. And just between us, I don't think that Caius guy would know how to have fun at something like this. Seemed all business no time for fun. Guess you and I are cut from a different cloth at least for tonight." He winked before Yuna looked slightly concerned. He wondered if had been a bit too mean with his comment, but Yuna had something else on her mind.
Bartz , not so subtly, popped his head over the seat to take a gander at the rest of the people in the train car before leaning back down to whisper back at Yuna. "Yeah some of these people seem to be a little old to be out so late, but maybe they're just young at heart." Bartz nodded solemnly as he swayed slightly to the carnival music. When they stopped, Bartz was surprised at just how fast the other passengers seemed to bounce to life as they all left. Yuna didn't seem to be in any hurry, so they waited to exit. Bartz shouted a "Thanks for the ride," to the empty cart just in case the conductor could hear him before following the group.
"Ready as ever!" Bartz said with a big grin and a thumbs up. His stomach gurgled as he smelled all the wonderful foods' aromas swirling on the cold breeze. Although he should have felt cold, his adrenaline was pumping heat through his system as the pair came across the ticket booth. The hole was black and Bartz couldn't make out anyone in it before a bony hand shot out. "Coin for entry." A mechanical, raspy voice said to them from inside the ticket booth.
Bartz looked at Yuna with a soft shrug before turning to the ticket booth placing his ticket in the hand. "Um, I already have this ticket, so yeah how's that work?" The hand closed quickly and withdrew into the booth leaving the pair in silence for a moment. "Guess they couldn't get someone to work this late, but don't worry I'll pay your way in since I asked you to walk with me." As he began to scrounge in his pocket the silence continued until a less mechanical voice, this time decidedly feminine in nature and more human spoke.
"Ah Mr. Klauser we've been expecting you; although we didn't have you marked with a plus one. No matter. We've taken a quick glance and found her worthy of joining you. A compartment will open below this opening and you'll find a map and two VIP passes allowing you to skip any lines and enjoy any meals you may desire. We look forward to having you, one way or another, Mr. Klauser. Please proceed through the gate." The voice cut off and Bartz tried to look in to see how the voices changed so fast but his face pressed up against cold black glass before he heard the springs of a hidden door open door and reveal the promised goods.
"Wow isn't this awesome, Yuna? VIP passes!" He said giddy with excitement putting his pass around his neck then walking over to put Yuna's on her. If Bartz had been paying any attention he would have noticed the red, bold, V.I.P seemed hastily drawn on the weathered pass and the letters were still wet as though just drawn on the page. "C'mon we can decide what to do first on the other side of the gate!" He hurried through the gate and somehow it was as though the forest melted away into a meadow that seemed far larger than it should packed to the brim with lights and characters and more people than there had been on the train. Not wanting to miss a single moment of the fun he unfurled the map standing shoulder to shoulder with Yuna. "So what sounds like fun first? Just um not the uum wheel, I don't do well with heights" His voice wavered looking up at the ferris wheel that they should have seen from outside the forest.
[attr=class,bulk] Yuna had no idea what to make of Bartz’ story about the mermaids who had turned him into a frog—if it were anyone else, she might have thought that they were making fun of her, but she had a feeling that the upbeat brunette boy was entirely serious. She was at least glad that he’d managed to find Boko, even if the chocobo had apparently elected to remain behind. It was an uncharitable thought, but Yuna had to wonder if Bartz had a bit less common sense than Boko did. He at least didn’t seem very good at identifying when situations were suspicious.
“No, you’re right, Caius would definitely be all business at this particular carnival,” Yuna said with a small smile as she eyed the crowded clearing around the train station. Thankfully there seemed to be more living people in this area, though Yuna wasn’t sure what would prompt someone to attend for real. Maybe they were thrill-seekers, or maybe they didn’t fully realize the danger.
“...Wait, you know Faris?” That briefly shocked Yuna out of her unease, and she felt her cheeks go a bit red as she thought about the purple-haired pirate. They had been paired together for a dating event in Provo a few years back. Faris had taken her out on a sunset sailboat tour afterwards, but she hadn’t really seen him since. He had seemed a bit worried for some reason when they’d gotten closer. Maybe he just hadn’t liked her very much after all. Not that she should be focused on her love life right now.
When Bartz answered solemnly what he’d noticed about the carnival, Yuna had to fight the urge to press a hand to her mouth. The other patrons being old weren’t exactly what she’d had in mind, but she couldn’t help a slight giggle anyway. There wasn’t anything funny about the situation, but the two of them were in so far over their heads that she couldn’t help it. “Just…please be careful,” she said sincerely as they moved past the torches and towards the ticket-counter. “I have a feeling about this place.” Yuna had encountered so many unsent at this point that she liked to think her feelings counted for something.
The ticket booth appeared empty and dark, so Yuna squinted suspiciously at the hand emerging from the tiny hole. “...I’m sorry, are those bones?” Before she could get a better look at the hand in the torch light though it was already retracting back into the booth along with Bartz’ ticket. The brunette boy offered to pay for her entry which was very sweet and all but was also the least of her concerns at the moment. Still, her manners made her protest anyway. “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly make you pay for me. I was coming out anyway.” It turned out not to be necessary though as a feminine voice suddenly spoke to them through the hole, making Yuna jump.
The woman kindly offered Yuna her own VIP badge, though in this instance, she wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or not. Gripping the hilt of her jeweled dagger from Celes, Yuna crept a little closer to the glass as she contemplated breaking in the side door. Before she could act though, Bartz strode over and put her badge over her head so it hung from a lanyard around her neck. “Oh! Thank you…” The badge honestly looked used, and the red lettering gleamed in the torch light in a way that made it shimmer like blood.
That wasn’t foreboding at all.
Yuna still wanted to break in the ticket booth honestly, but Bartz was already rushing ahead, so after a moment, she just sighed and vowed to hit it up on the way out. Trotting after her friend instead, they ended up in the clearing where the carnival was being held, and it seemed almost impossibly large. Yuna couldn’t see the end of it, which was odd for a forest clearing, and there were several rides that she felt should have been visible from the train station. Not to mention the ferris wheel that they probably should have seen from outside the forest but hadn’t.
Bartz unveiled the map for both of them, and Yuna laughed weakly as he vetoed the ferris wheel. She had a feeling the rides here wouldn't be the safest to begin with anyway. “That’s okay. We can stick with ground activities then.” She scanned the map and frowned as she took each thing in. “The fortune teller tent sounds interesting…Oh no. They have a haunted house?” That was so on the nose that it almost hurt. Finally her mismatched eyes zeroed in on the large tent in the center of the carnival and her frown deepened. “The Main Show Stage…I wonder what kind of shows they put on there?” If nothing else, Yuna suspected that they’d be acquainted with the answer before the night was over.
“Maybe we should start with food,” she finally managed. “I heard your stomach growl earlier. Can’t have fun on an empty stomach, right?” Or send the dead back to the Farplane, though she was slightly anxious about what they’d serve here. She might avoid the meat at any rate.
“Looks like there’s a spot! ‘Spoon for One More…’” As she said the name of the food stall out loud, she almost wanted to change her mind, but after a moment she steeled herself and pushed back the tent flap to walk inside.
It was actually a cozy little food stall with dim lighting and delicious smells wafting through the air. As Yuna took in the man working the counter though, she reached for her dagger again on instinct, wondering if she should try a sending. It wasn’t that he was definitely an unsent, it was that she couldn’t tell at all. He wore a hooded cloak that completely covered his face. Weirdly enough even the lamplight didn’t seem to penetrate it.
Bartz beamed with delight as he answered. "Of course, I know Faris. He's my bestest friend aside from Boko, of course." His smile slightly turned into a squiggle of emotion as he though about how Faris would react to him not having contacted him for so long, but Bartz shrugged it off determined to have a good time and deal with the consequences later. "Bit of a hottie, am I right?" He said nudging Yuna just a bit with his elbow. "Hopefully he didn't knock you upside the head like he does to me all the time. Guy can be such a meanie sometimes." He laughed as if to say he wasn't being too serious as they pondered the map.
Relived that Yuna didn't seem to want to go on the ride in the sky, Bartz hmmed and nodded to most of the suggestions until she said food. "I'm down" he exclaimed not caring who about heard as they trotted over to the tent. "If anything we can probably sneak in a bit late to the main show with our VIP tickets if anything, and who's to say we won't find something more fun to do." He said as they ducked into the tent and his stomach growled even louder as the smells fought for supremacy in his nostrils. Bartz wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth to keep Yuna from noticing as he sat down from the cloaked man at the counter top.
"Ah Mr. Klauser, we'll need a special menu for you and your....friend." The figure said in a monotone voice, cold, and unfeeling. as it whisked the preset menues off the bar top. "We wouldn't want you to have anything......spoiled....spoiling your spirit...spirits after all." The figure said turning to the back as Bartz leaned in to whisper to Yuna. "Poor guy. He's so brave working with a stutter like that." He winked at Yuna knowing he was going to leave a great tip. Almost as soon as he leaned back into his seat the man had their menus ready, and Bartz looked over it with fervor deciding in almost an instant. The pork ramen sounded too good and he ordered it with gusto leaning ever so slightly back on his stool beaming over at Yuna before ordering them some sake as well.
"Cheers," he called as soon as the warm liquor hit the table pouring her shot first before his, clinking the glass ramekins and downing the warm concoction. "To a fun and memorable night. Hope that feeling you had earlier was one of fun and adventure." He smiled sitting the glass back on the counter as he perused the map again. "I know you pointed out the fortune teller, and I'll go if you want, but I've always just felt like the future is wherever the wind takes me. And you didn't seem too keen on the haunted house," he paused tapping at his chin before pointing at an attraction. "This circle thing "the carousel" seems pretty tame, I think I saw people riding that on the way in. It's the slow circle thing I think. Might be a good start" He pondered looking at the map and the picture of chocobos and behemoths in a circle. His stomach growled once more as he waited for their dinner to arrive.
[attr=class,bulk] As they sat down at the counter in the food tent, Yuna laughed nervously when Bartz elbowed her and pointed out that Faris was attractive. “Is he? I didn’t notice…” She would kill for some water to drink anxiously to hide the obvious lie, but nothing was in front of them yet except menus. “I’m glad you two are friends though. But he…probably shouldn’t hit you…” Perhaps that had to do with being a pirate, but it wasn’t very nice of Faris. Especially when Bartz seemed like one of the sweetest people that Yuna had encountered on Zephon so far. Somehow he seemed to get himself in the worst situations though.
The cloaked man whisked the pre-set menus away from them before offering them different ones. Yuna eyed him suspiciously the entire time, sighing when Bartz whispered that he was brave to work with a stutter. “I’d call it more a slip of the tongue.” The unsent didn’t seem to be very subtle here, but maybe they had been dead for so long that they were turning into fiends.
Bartz ordered the pork ramen without having to give it too much thought, and Yuna quickly chimed in “I’ll have the same.” Not because it would necessarily be her favorite, but the carnival had wanted Bartz here for a reason. She wasn’t going to let them poison her friend or do something else nefarious to his food, so she wanted the same thing he was having to test it. He also ordered them two shots of sake, and she was careful to watch the bartender pour them straight from the bottle before she deemed them safe to drink. In spite of herself, Yuna couldn’t help but smile at how excited Bartz seemed about the evening. “To fun and adventure,” she relented, downing the liquor with a slight grimace. She had never drunk much alcohol on Spira, but she was getting more used to it on Zephon. It could be a really nice feeling when she was in the right environment. Unfortunately Yuna wasn’t sure this carnival qualified. She was probably safer here than she had been in that tavern with Ardyn though. It was a low bar to clear.
Bartz suggested that the carousel might be a good place to start after they ate, and Yuna latched onto the idea. “Yes! Anything that doesn’t go too fast sounds great.” A slow-moving circle sounded like the least dangerous option while Yuna continued to investigate the carnival. Speaking of…
A few other live people had trickled in for food, and while the man behind the counter was busy with them, Yuna slid off her stool and did her best to stay low. “I’m going to find a bathroom.” She gave Bartz her best ‘everything is fine’ smile. “Keep an eye out while I’m gone, okay?” With that, she crept behind the counter, doing her best to stay out of the bartender’s sight until she could slip into the back kitchen area. Honestly, Bartz could probably see her sneaking around but hopefully he’d just think she had taken a wrong turn to the bathroom. Or maybe he’d finally realize something was wrong.
Unlike the front of the food stall which had plenty of lamps, the back was very dimly lit. There were delicious food smells wafting through the air, but Yuna had to squint to see everything by the light of the cooking fires. There were a few figures scuttling around and preparing the food, and Yuna took a step back when one of them looked at her. She barely had time to register that the creature was all bones and claws when all the lights in the kitchen suddenly flickered out.
With her heart pounding, Yuna wrenched her dagger out of her sash, wishing she could have brought her staff. It would have to do though as her magical focus. “Shell,” she murmured, giving herself magical protection and also a brief light source. Enough to make her realize that the workers had vanished. Frowning, Yuna stretched out a hand and fumbled forward until she bumped into one of the wood-burning stoves that had been going just a second ago. Taking care with her aim, she cast a weak fire spell into it until it crackled to life again. As the light sprang up around her, Yuna realized with some amount of horror that two bowls of steaming ramen were on the counter top in front of her. Next to them was a piece of paper with the same shining red letters that appeared on their VIP badges.
Employees only, Lady Summoner.
Somehow, Yuna was able to eventually compose herself and carry the bowls of ramen back to Bartz. “You know, it just smelled so delicious that I thought I’d get them myself,” she said a bit weakly as she took a seat, her eyes on the cloaked man behind the counter. If his expression had changed, she couldn’t tell.
