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.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
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In moments, the crystal and body are gone. As both the evidence and culprit disappear, the butler is left gaping. ”That...That ruffian!” he gasps, touching at his mouth. ”Master de Lune! The crystal! They’re-!” He turns on the remaining two. ”You have to recover them! You must! He is clearly the killer!”
With that, he sinks to the floor, a hand over his mouth. He is utterly broken and will not be available for further questioning.
There are voices above and then the distinct crackle of a fire. There’s no doubt about it. Something on the upper balcony is burning. The door closes with a heavy slam. The arsonist has clearly left the flames to their own devices.
In the distance, you hear the dissonant smash of piano keys and a sharp, girlish yelp. Clearly, everything is going as planned.
The ballroom is at a central location to the entire manor. From here, anything is possible. The fire, the scream, the mysterious man, there’s no end to the trouble to chase. Then of course there’s the investigation. Somewhere in this manor’s halls lies a murderer, a mystery, and two missing people whose lives hang in the balance.
Adjacent Locations
The Parlor Room: You know that a team was already sent in this direction, and they might still be inside. Did the scream come from this direction? While you certainly could enter this room, there will be too much to take in at once. Talk to Fin.
Kitchen: The kitchen still smells of the ghost of a meal. Dirty plates pile in the sink. Used glasses show the residue of wine. The room is hot with the heat of the ovens. A door near the back leads to the pantry.
East and West Courtyards: The storm rages within these courtyards. It is a muddy mess heavy with rainwater. In the center of each, a fountain overflows with the swell. Atop the eastern fountain sits a stone dragon. Atop the western, there is a coiled serpent. In the back of the eastern courtyard, a hulking figure is barely visible.
Entrance Hall: This grand room is a marvel of marble floors and ornate greco-roman statues. Four chandeliers hang from the ceiling, flickering with their dim and insubstantial light. The room’s centerpiece is a massive statue of a griffon set atop a great stone pedestal. It faces the heavy oaken doors leading to the lawn. They are currently locked.
Second Floor Landing: You know that another team was already sent in this direction. You know only too well. While you can’t smell the flames from here, its acrid scent hasn’t left you from the first floor ballroom. The floors echo here, reaching up to a high ceiling lit by crystal chandeliers. An extra staircase leads to what you can presume to be the upper balcony of the ballroom. Wood splinters litter the floor around a door which was clearly destroyed and then set back into place. Three people are in this space including the man in red you saw descend on his single wing.
The storage room is well-kept, but cluttered with cleaning supplies, extra linens, and spare plates piled onto the front and back of six shelves lining each side of the room. The room is almost too dark to see, lit only by the pale blue of the thundery night and the occasional flickering of lightning.
Nestled within the shelves is a row of lanterns complete with a supply of oil.The row of shelves along the right side are knocked backwards, each one falling into each other successively until the last hits the opposite wall, cracking the window. Rain peels into the room, collecting in puddles around curtains which dance in the wind.
There are potions smashed here, glittering among the broken glass. Forks and knives and the shards of shattered porcelain tea pots carelessly litter the floor. The shelf nearest the door is smashed inwards. The wood is splintered.
Along the right side of the room, a staircase descends into utter darkness. The smell leads this way.
Adjacent Locations:
Storage Room B: The room is dark. Excessively dark. You can hear the scratch of rats, the gnawing of their teeth. Your feet crunch on splintered wood and glass. The smell is strong here -- meaty, strange, and stale. It smells of blood.
Lycoris finds that the bathroom mirror has been cracked. Not just cracked but shattered so badly that the backing is visible behind the glass. This kind of destruction should be visible on the tiled floor, but it isn’t. Someone has swept up the glass. A further look at the sinks shows that the porcelain has been chipped in several places. Was someone thrown into it?
As Keimusho enters the Lady’s Bedroom, the first thing that strikes them is the view. The estate’s grounds are clearly visible from the wide nook of windows, extending out onto the second story. The trees around the clearing feel twisted and dark. It is as nature herself is a victim of the spreading corruption.
The bedroom itself is notable for its sheer size. Even with the space, it is cramped with dressers, shelves, and unopened crates. It seems the inhabitant hasn’t quite moved into the space. A few of the crates are open. Others are still packed tight. Set onto a dresser are a collection of perfumes, oils, and a few spare sets of eyeglasses.
Among the crates are journals which detail a series of magical experiments signed with the name Susan Stein. They’re too numerous to read without a length of dedicated time, but they appear to be related to the effects of magic on the human body. Others speak on the power of the time mage class.
The Parlor Room is indeed free of signs of a struggle. It feels strangely hushed as Vossler enters it, his feet padding along the heavy rugs. The portrait feels somehow ghoulish and harsh. The hard black eyes seem to follow him as he moves about the room. This man is not de Lune, but perhaps a relative. A pocket journal peeks out of the man’s breast pocket.
The words have hardly left Genesis’ lips before a strange power overcomes the balcony. A man appears before him -- the same from the ballroom first floor.
He smirks without any real interest. ”I said you are an uncultured savage, you duckfaced buffoon. And your barbarism is matched only by your atrocious sense of fashion. If you desire satisfaction, come and take it.”
He stays for a moment longer to draw Genesis’ attention before disappearing again.
Adjacent Locations:
West Wing Hallway: The west wing hallway leads to the multitude of guest rooms where you would have stayed. Windows along the inner quadrant show an aerial view of the western courtyard. You remember that the servants had claimed to bring whatever possessions you’d travelled with up to these rooms.
These books were priceless. Hand-written, they will be lost to time as their pages flutter softly to the ground. It is indeed snowing. Snowing knowledge, that is.
The first few coats yield nothing of note. However, in the pocket of an absurdly large coat you find a whistle still wet with the rain. Searching the other pocket, you find a lighter powered by a Torensten fire crystal. It's engraved with the initials R.C.
As the group is speaking, there is a strange chill in the air. You feel as though you’re being watched by malicious eyes. It is as though the very walls themselves are bearing down on you, and the whistle of the wind through the window is like a whisper.
Suddenly and without pretense, you are not alone.
The figure stands in shadow, head lulling, eyes hollow. Its face is twisted on one side. Blood stains its chest. It steps into the moonlight and a crack of lightning carves the face in stark contrast. The features become distinctly apparent. The burn. The wound. The slicked hair. Before you is the dead count -- Jules de Lune. He shambles forward like a corpse, one hand raising to a point in G’raha’s direction.
”You…” Its mouth falls open, the word slurred on a bloated tongue. For a moment, fury lights its glazed eyes before it stumbles, falling to its knees. It hits the ground hard and falls lifeless forward.
And as quickly as it had appeared, the count is gone.
Adjacent Locations:
The Cloak Room: This room is dark and cramped with lines of shelves. There are no windows and no candles. The only light comes from the open door of the waiting room. There are coats here, and yes, cloaks. Do these all belong to the de Lune family? It seems unlikely, and in fact, several of them are wet with rain. Do they belong to the guests? You don’t remember hanging your coat (if you had one) in this room.
The East Hallway: Candles are set into the wall here -- all lit. Rivulets of wax drip down them from the wick. This wing is meant primarily for servants, storage, and other practical matters. Directly adjacent to the cloak room are the men’s servant quarters, the butler’s bedroom, and the servant’s hall. The hallway also connects to the pantry, the women’s servant quarters, and the bedroom of Primrose Ware, the maid who was present when you woke. The odd smell leads to the storage room.
The body disappears into shadow. There's a moment's pause and then a horrible, piano crash pierces the silence of the manor's west wing. First there's the thump then the shriek of the keys then another smash followed by shouts of surprise. The body has landed. If Emet intended to entirely derail the efforts of the guests' mystery solving then he has succeeded.
The drawer is locked by only a key and no magical wards. As such, the contents drop onto the desk with a quiet clatter.
Ink quills roll across the wood, leaving a trail of black behind them. The count's official family seal stamp bounces off the desk onto the floor. Papers scatter across the desk in a rain of fine print. They land next to a strange, electric green vial. It is firmly corked.
The papers are too many to read in a simple scan, but they appear to be letters. These are addressed towards de Lune and signed by a certain Susan Stein. She speaks of her research combining Sonoran science with Torensten magic. There's something about a new breed of monster with a kind of superior strength and intellect. She's in need of test subjects for development. The moon crystal has greatly aided her study into the properties of time reversal.
Another series of letters are signed by Roman Castillo. Most of the text involves haggling over a proper salary. He agreed to come to the manor to deal with training a strange species of monster.
It feels as though this is somehow too easy. As though Emet has entirely bypassed the efforts of less powerful beings. Somewhere, from far beyond the veil of reality, he feels the slight chill of altered fate.
Caius calls for Rem. Rem, the mage. Rem, the only real chance of easily activating the crystal. However, as Rem nods her affirmation and rushes towards the crystal, the ship gives another lurch, tilting almost sideways. Gravity seems to fall away, and for a terrible, sickening moment it feels as though the ship might capsize. A wave crashes into the deck, rushing against them and threatening to tear away their footing. It’s almost unbearable. Once the ship rights itself, and the terrible, drowning weight of the water lightens enough to stand, one thing becomes horrifyingly clear.
Rem is gone.
Keimusho feels his energy drained into crystal. He can feel it working. He can see the crystal light up in brilliant green, but despite his calls for aid, none comes. Keimusho is left on his own -- his energy powering it to maximum capacity. As the tentacles thrash through the water, the crystal bursts with light, rushing out in a shockwave of magic. In an instant, the rain has slowed to a drizzle. The ship gives a final shudder as the waves calm to slow pulse. Outside of the perimeter of the magic, the storm rages with all of its howling might.
This peace has come with a cost. As Keimusho was the only one giving his energy, he feels drained and tired. His moves are more sluggish. While the immediate threat has been dealt with, Keimusho will have to be more crafty than relying on blunt force.
The tentacles wave menacingly. All eight of them rise out of the water -- four on both sides of the ship. The ones slashed by Caius recoil, thrusting back in a desperate attempt to dodge. Sabin’s aura attack launches in rapid succession, striking two with fireballs that likewise cause the tentacles to writhe in pain.
The others, however, are not so easily given pause.
One tentacle reaches out blindly, sweeping across the deck and coiling around a sailor who cries for help. Another slaps against the mast, threatening to break it in its crushing grasp.
Three of them wrap around the deck itself, one from one side and two from the other. They grasp it tight and the ship gives a lurch.
The Kraken threatens to drag the entire ship under.
Rem can’t see anything as she’s thrust underwater. Under the crashing waves, it’s impossible to tell which way is up. Even when she breaks through the waves, she’s quickly forced right back down again.
Her lungs scream for air. Is this how she dies?
No. Anything but that! Rem uses the only spell that comes to mind. Tornado. She feels herself caught in the overwhelming spiral of the spell, helpless in its grasp, and then she’s lifted up, up, up. The whirlwind explodes from the water, reaching high into the sky. Rem feels herself thrown from it, rocketing out at an unnatural speed. She screams, but the sound is stolen away by the wind. Her stomach heaves. Her vision goes black.
Conscious returns to her slowly. Where…? She feels sand underneath her. Wet, sticky sand. A white mage stands over her, a look of worry and astonishment on his face.
”You wouldn’t believe how I found you.”
All seems lost when suddenly a great whirlwind overtakes the ship. It lurches heavily. The winds are intense and blinding. One of the tentacles wrapped around the ship is caught by it and thrust backwards, exploding in a great rain of flesh and rubber octopus puckers. Seawater falls down like rain, and if you squint closely, you can see a small, almost human form rocketing out from the whirlwind like a bullet, flying away until it is completely out of sight.
The tentacles draw the eye of a certain Qu. Tasty. Giant octopus could be the tastiest of all. As Quina watches the meat rain down upon the water, the decision is made. They back up before launching themselves into the sea with a cry of "FOR THE MUNCHIES!"The remaining sailors are left baffled as the strange creature disappears beneath the waves.
Quina propels themselves forward, latching onto one of the tentacles from underwater. He stabs it repeatedly with his fork, bringing up clouds of blood. The tentacle writhes, and Quina is left grasping it for their life. With a hard flick, it sends the Qu flying with a sharp "Ughaaaah!" Quina lands outside of the calming sphere of the crystal and into the storm.
The Qu doesn't know how they survived. In fact, as the storm finally dies down, they find themselves floating on their back, squinting into the sun. When their feet hit a bank of sand, they blink dumbly before thrusting themselves upright. Still lodged onto their fork is a chunk of tentacle.
Quina has succeeded in his quest for rare octopus cuisine. Mission accomplished.
As Emet-Selch defies the laws of space, he finds that the mansion has a strange energy. A dark, timeless energy that seems raw and recent. This place has been altered by time -- that much is apparent. It gives the same aura as the crystal. The specifics cannot as of yet be determined.
The corpse slumps into its chair in a cruel mockery of its recent life. Like this, the effects of its wounds are even more gruesome. The room is lit only by the flickering light of one, slowly melting candle and the sharp flashes of lightning through the half-curtained window. Every flash sets de Lune in a grisly silhouette.
Emet's magic courses through him, and the burns heal to smooth skin. The stab wound closes, leaving behind jagged, blood-stained cloth from his suit jacket. In moments, it seems as though he merely died on a whim -- perhaps by heart attack rather than murder. Emet casts again, and the room is lit in the ethereal glow of magic.
Nothing happens.
Despite Emet's power, nothing can return the souls of the permanently departed -- at least not by any standard magic. De Lune remains lifeless and cold, his mouth slightly open in a kind of prolonged horror. He won't be answering any questions tonight.
”Mysteries?” The butler looks surprised. ”Well no, not that I’m aware of. He kept mostly out of the domain of fiction. Though I suppose he liked his speculative science stories…”
The butler watches nervously as de Lune’s body is examined. He looks about to say something before the wooden bang makes him jump, letting out a startled yelp as he looks upstairs in horror. ”No, no! Not the balcony!”
His pleas fall on deaf ears however as the indistinct voices from above continue. He’s so preoccupied that he doesn’t notice the crystal as it’s swept away into another dimension. The crystal, on its part, disappeared quite nicely into darkness.
There’s shuffling from upstairs. The sound of crunching glass. Then a figure hops over the side, descending as though weightless on a single, motionless wing. His coat furls out behind him as he lands, and he takes you all in, squinting at Emma before giving them a dismissive, ”Don’t mind me. Carry on.”
He shoots back up to the third floor again. He says something else, but the words echo among the rafters.
The butler looks stunned. For the first time in the night, he is speechless. After a moment, he mutters a prayer and says, ”Please. Just find whoever did this.”
Adjacent Rooms:
Entrance Hall - North: Nothing appears out of the ordinary in the hall directly outside of the ballroom. The two attached doors lead to the parlor room and the kitchen. Another hall connects to the staircases and the eastern and western courtyards. Further still is the entrance hall. From your vantage point, you can see the back of the entrance hall’s great griffon statue.
Parlor Room: You know that one of the teams was already sent to search this room. Three people are currently inside: Rufus, Garnet, and Lumina. See: Research and Ruminations.
Kitchen: The kitchen is still hot with the fires of the stove only recently extinguished. A heavy table sits at the center laden with dishes, glasses, and other flatware, all used. In the back, a mousy woman faces the corner, a hand over her mouth. The maid, Primrose Ware.
The Eastern and Western Courtyards: Both courtyards are under assault by the heavy, almost oppressive rain. There are no lights here to see by, and many clues would need deep inspection if they haven’t already been washed away. A fountain acts as the centerpiece for both courtyards. In the eastern courtyard, you can make out the hulking figure of the gardener, Adrian Giles, through the rain. He’s hauling what appears to be rocks into a pile in the northeastern corner.
The Office (because some people like to break my thread structure, Emet): The office is not an adjacent room. It lies at the extreme end of the western wing. However, should Emet decide to teleport here, he would find a cramped room of leather furniture, oaken bookshelves, and cabinets. One cabinet drawer is open. Inside, it looks as though files have been searched. On the desk, there are what appear to be letters titled with names you haven't heard of. They are copies of your own invitation. The desk drawer is locked.
A few words from the butler come to mind, 'If you're the stray, well, who knows what might happen?'
Garnet feels something strange and metal as she reaches inside the piano. It’s attached to the strings and can’t be removed but appears to be some kind of electronic device. Further inspection finds three more of them for a total of four attached to four piano strings. Removing them would require cutting these strings.
The emblem in the fireplace doesn’t press in under pressure. However, it seems as though the panel might slide behind the surrounding mantle. It cannot be manually moved -- not easily that is.
Lightning flashes as Vincent passes through the round room. It lights the room in sharp contrast, flickering dangerously before passing. The door leads to a long hallway lit in dim candlelight. The rug muffles his footsteps as he steps forward.
Directly across the hall is the master bathroom. To the right is the dining room. Down the hall is the game room, the office, the music room, the library, and the lounge which leads into the west courtyard.
While Vincent is free to strike out on his own, the words of the butler ring as a clear reminder: ’If you’re to stray, well, who knows what might happen?’
Before Vincent can leave the round room entirely, there's a terrible crash of piano keys back in the parlor. As Rufus and Garnet examine the piano, there is a strange chill, a gathering of shadows, and then something falls on top of the keys. There's a great, clamorous smash and the piano jolts, the top slamming shut with a loud crash.
Slumped there on the piano keys is the body of Jules de Lune. On further inspection, it has been mysteriously healed of his burns and stab wound.
Adjacent Locations:
Bathroom: You find an open-spaced, tiled bathroom with a basin sink and a claw-footed bathtub. The sink is still slightly wet.
Dining Room: A grand dining room table stretches out from end to end over a rug woven with diamond patterns. Sixteen chairs are pushed in along both edges. Two couches sit along the windows alcove and there are cabinets full of china along the eastern and western walls. Though the room is spotless, several china sets are missing. The table has very recently been cleaned. It still shines with cleaner and polish.
Game Room: Eight sets of armor stand vigil over the game room. They appear to have once been used in the Provo army, but they haven’t been used in some time. On one end is a fireplace, still hot with embers. Balls are scattered on the billiards table. The cards are placed around the game table in four hands. The remaining card deck has been scattered across the floor.
Yellow Lounge: The yellow lounge lives up to its name. Everywhere, there is a blinding yellow. The walls, the rug, the daisy flowers. Seated at one of the couches is Rowan Castillo, the mercenary hired to guard the manor.
As Garnet and Tellah slip into the well, they see much the same as Quistis had.
They feel the same chill, the same lack of vision, the same weightless void. They to hear the whisper of the unknowable woman, ’Pray, cleanse these waters and thy heart.’
When they wake, they are alone.
They find themselves in a gleaming, immaculate shrine not so unlike the one they left. This one has been untouched by time -- the columns are no longer crumbling, the stone is no longer worn, and the walls reflect a deep black that could go on forever. The entranceway to leave is shrouded in a deep, impassable mist. The room is lit in a familiar blue-green -- but there are no sigils like above. The only light comes from the brilliant power of the crystal. It is nearly blinding as it hovers above its pedestal, turning in a slow, aimless dance.
The shadows that had once guarded the crystal’s dais are no more. However, it is not without protection. The arches opening around it are guarded with a shimmering, shadowy veil. They magically repel anyone who attempts to pass through.
Garnet is alone. Her footsteps echo strangely in this timeless space. There is no entrance and seemingly no exit except…
”Princess?” A familiar voice, echoing from one of the six doors set into the room’s perimeter. It’s open now, and the stairs lead up into shadows. ”I hope you haven’t run off again.”
She would know that voice anywhere. General Beatrix.
Tellah awakens on the hard floor -- a floor too hard for a back like his. There’s a strange, muffled resistance to the air as though muffled underwater. As he approaches the dais, another sound calls to him. Not voices, but music.
It’s a haunting sound played on graceful strings. The sound of a harp. Its melody echoes from stone stairs leading into the darkness of a door mysteriously opened. There is nothing else.
The stairs lead up into darkness. Perhaps Quistis has passed through a portal. Perhaps she’s gone nowhere at all, but as light finally reaches her, she emerges to find herself on a coastal cliffside beneath a cloudless blue sky.
The sound of the waves finds her first. They pulse with the rhythm of a distant shore.
She stands on a windswept plateau. Below her, the beach winds into the blinding blue sea. In the distance, a lighthouse spirals towards the sun. Its path leads to stone buildings inset with classical columns and reliefs. A woman stands at the cliffside, her head tilted to consider the sky. She wears a dark, form-fitting dress. Her hair falls down only a little past her waist. As Quistis approaches, she turns.
”Quistis?” Matron’s eyebrows raise in surprise before she gives her a small smile. ”You’ve come home.”
