The Visit to Jest Manor (Closed RP)

Jest Manor / 7:36 PM

The sky’s cold gloom hung overhead, as an old Victorian era mansion sat on a somber hilltop. Surrounded by a hill of windy grass and weeds, the lawn stretched into the grim forest of plain wood. A manor of rickety appearance, it held the character of hundreds of years’ worth of wicked experience. As the crackling sound of lightning tearing through the stormy sky, the misty smell of rainfall scented a forecasting thought.

The flickering light interrupted the usual darkness of the manor ground. With the gravel road winding a long while up from the main road, the manor was far from society. It held the creepy image of a sinister place, as the mansion sat boldly on the hill, the windows lied dark and black. Standing at four stories, the manor had spiked fences and gargoyles around the property. Spooky and odd, if stared at too long; one could mistakenly witness strange images and sound from the ancient household.

While the sun frightfully tucked behind the black clouds, the home bare a family supper. With the warmly lit lamp shining from the dining room, the Jest enjoyed their supper. Unexpecting of anyone, they fully engulfed themselves.

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@dr_halloween:

d^_^b

@superstay:

The air cracked and distorted around the beginning of the gravel path. With a pop, Jack was spat out face first before the air was back to normal. He rose to his feet and dusted off his hat while saying, "Sticks and stones, one day I will get that portal fixed."

Like in Thanagar the world portal in his home got Jack where he needed to go, but it threw him into the ground as well. He smiled to himself when he realized the portal was a one way trip. "Fine, I prefer rune traveling anways." Jack thought as he surveyed the area.

To the normal person the wicked looking mansion and the area around it would appear huanted, but to Jack it looked similar to his late father's mansion. Never the less, he was hired to investigate the weird sighting and invesigate he shall.

So Jack made his way up to the front door, and as he did his mind began to wander. Thoughts about the beatiful architecture, and why his client thought he was, "one of those masled freaks" bounced around his head as he reached the door.

Jack knocked four times and waited for a response.

@dr_halloween:

The sound of wind howling and whistled, causing the scuffling of Fall’s trees, as the porch sat quiet. With the patting knocks against the elder door, the sound of a large bell rung. Grand and deep, the grim ring was slow and eerie. With the graveyard-side cathedral, sitting many miles into the forest, the gonging bell was louder than the distance. Growlingly slow, the space between each individual ring left enough time for knowing anticipation to turn into growing irritation.

Marking the next hour, the door crept open, after the bell halted its succession of activity. The warm light glowed from inside, and the smell of roasted beef filled the threshold.“Yes…..”, a tall stocky being spoke with the slowest drawl imaginable. Baring a voice of deepness and vow volume, the man was a pale as he was lifeless. Opening the door fully, the butler’s cold eyes held the creepy demeanor of the undead. “How…May I…help…you?”, the drawling voice spoke with a bass as dull as the church bells. With white hair of wiry shaggy, it was as pale as his grim skin.

d^_^b

Intially, Jack was taken aback by the stocky man's appearance. "Is he a zombie... come now Jack you have no room to talk, be polite to the man." he thought to himself as the scent of roast beef drifted into his senses.

With a long bow and a bright smile, Jack said, "Greetings my good man my name is Doctor Jack Halloween, magician, detective, and healer of the mind!" He rose back up and explained, "I am truely sorry for bothering you at this hour, but I am here to investigate some weird sightings, would it be possible for me to enter?"

@dr_halloween:

Staring at the greeting face of the vibrant young, or at least compared to the rather lifeless butler, the servant stared out of black sockets of empty amounts of dullness. With silence filling his appearance, the man turned around. Walking through the entrance hall, pale brute spoke, “Follow me…..master Jest…has…..spoken rather highly of…you…..”. Stepping with the lumbering stride of a giant, the huge figure ignored the cold atmosphere that suddenly filled the room.

With the dark shadow of a chilling area, the entrance hall was filled to its threshold with the welcoming mutters of the manor’s past. Hollow and clear, the hall was neatly structured, before leading into the finely organized living room. Classy and antique, the room was dankly old and absent of warmth. With a few dimly lit wall-planted lanterns, the room barely held any light. As the farther hall held the warming light of the dining room, footsteps could be heard. “Boris!...who was at the door?”, a lovely voice call from around the corner. With the fancy appeal of an Englishwoman, the London accent spoke. Before too long, a lady of elegance arose. Carrying a plate of steaming stew, she showed a polite face of joy. “Ow, who might this be, Mr. Bronson?”, she sat the plate down.

Quickly stepping forward, the long hair brunette held the nurturing face of a mother. Baring the posture and grace of a well-aged lady, she carried the appearance of a twenty year old. Smiling with delight, the Brit reached out her hand, as the butler informed. “This…is the Doctor Halloween…….”, his bass crooned as the lady smiled. “Well, hello, Dr. Halloween…welcome to Jest Manor. I’m Tabitha Jest, the lady of the house.”, she warmly spoke as the butler continued. “He’s here…for the investigation…..that Mr. Jest spoke of.”, Boris stood stiff.

“Oh, those daft fools…..they consider this entire estate is haunted. Could you believe this bollocks?”, she giggled with the thought of her home being plagued with supernatural entities. With her eyes fixed on the boy, her mind was filled with the idea of what he might find in their mansion. Already hearing the voice speak to her about him, she knew something would happen, if he starts snooping around.

d^_^b

"Highly of me... how does this Master Jest know me well enough to speak highly of me?" Jack wondered as the sudden chill of invaded privacy crept over him.

As he entered Jack removed his hat as to be polite and followed the pale man. He pushed the questions out of his head in order to marvel at how well orginized everything was. In fact it topped the perfection that his late father's automatons produced back home.

Before he could marvel any futher a voice of elegance caught Jack's non-existant ears. As he turned to face the voice with a greeting he froze dumbstruck. The beatiful brunette standing before held herself with the type of grave and maturity he thought was extinct for the time.

Jack could only nod and hope his face did not blush as the woman introduced herself as Tabitha Jest. However, he snapped out of his daze when the pale man named Bronson mentioned the fact that Mr. Jest knew of his investigation.

Jack could tell somthing was off even though Tabitha tried to write off sightings as mere rumors. He cleared his throat and spoke up, "My apologies for the interuption, but I would rather see for myself if the rumors are false, that way it would put my employer at ease and you won't have to worry about anymore scrutiny Mrs. Jest."

@dr_halloween:

“Yes, yes, a man must perform his duties to his employers…I’ll leave you to that”, she smile, before turning to retrieve the plate. Making her way across the room, she continued, “…I’ll just be taking this up to my husband, who’ve in his studies. I would sugge-”. Cut off in mid-thought a groaning creek came from the room’s ceiling. With her eyes darting up, just to quickly rushed back down at him, she subtlety paid little attention to the odd sound. “Yes…like I was saying. I suggest checking the attics”, she lifted the plate of steaming stew, “…my husband keep some ‘rather odd’ objects up there”.

Disappearing into the large house, the lady hustled up the stairs. As she did, the huge brute butler stood still. Turning to face the investigator, Boris spoke. “Would…you…need…anymore of my…assistance?”, he asked half aware of the man. Standing well over the height of the average man, he glared straight into the empty view that lied ahead of him. As the room held a cold chill, “or, would you…rather investigate, independently?”, the lumbering figure stood blank.

d^_^b

"Odd, why would she suggest searching the attics?" Jack thought while rubbing his round orange head. Immediatley three scenarios ran through his head.

One, she was luring him into a trap. Two, she was trying to distract him from somthing else, perhaps what made that noise above. Three, she was eager to prove hers and her husband's innocence.

If three was the case then why point him to an exact spot and mention "rather odd" objects. "Alright I will play along." Jack thought as he turned to Boris to answer his question. "You are probably very busy so I will investigate on my own my good man."

In reality Jack did not want to take any chances with the strong fellow sneaking up on him or aiding with the trap.

@superstay:

(Crap forgot to tag you above, sorry.)

@dr_halloween:

“Yes…doctor…..”, the goliath man stepped back, and began to turn. Hulking away, the pale giant walked towards the staircase. Underneath, he walked into the shadowy tunnel, and soon disappeared into the large house. Leaving the investigator to freely roam the manor, the living room with fully open. With a light glowing from the following hall, the kitchen and dining room lied in two opposite directions. A staircase winded from the front of the room, and another from the back. Both leading to different sides of the upstairs, the centering room soon drowned itself in emptiness. The sound of silence area as the abyss of shadows engulfed the home.

Night had fallen, and rain was thunderously following its presence. Pits and pats filled the wooden frame of the building. Light flickered through the windows, blindingly immersing the room, before the roaring sound of thunder coming behind it. Creating more of a hollow feel, the mansion felt even more cold and eerie. The rainfall rammed the structure, and caused the interior light to glimmer and fade in and out.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack made sure the lumbering man was out of sight before ascending the winding stair case at his back. As he made his way up the creaking of the stairs, the rain, and the thunder gave him a feeling that ran shivers up his spine. But he braved on and in a few minutes he reached what he presumed to be the attic.

Before entering, Jack heated the tip of his cane and with practiced ease inscribed a rune that read chains outside the door. "That should stop anyone from sneaking in." He thought. If the room held nothing then he could easily dispel the rune.

Jack then opened the door and entered.

(Sorry if this is short, but I am at work. Break is at 12:00.)

@dr_halloween: (It's cool, bro...you have to work. So, you could take good care of your lady...)

As the lad headed up the stairs, he could see many wall planted portraits of Jest family members. Some dating back to the ancient times, before Christ, the walls held the history of many men and women who created the Jest bloodline. But, while long dead, their paintings were grand oil-drawn. Harking back to the art of the Florentine renaissance, the artwork was beautifully accurate. With the dim flicker of hall lanterns, the winding staircase bared the eyes of the home’s ancestors. Watching the boy, the manor cold presence filled the stairwell.

And, as the detective headed up, the lightning gave way to the tricks of the night. Filling the rooms with cracking and patting, each blinking light appeared a stalking shadow, which disappeared into the consuming darkness of the post-lightning norm.

The attic was at the very top of the house, above the four other floors. With a rickety door of wooden planks, the whistling wind of the floor skimmed outward. With the bumping creak of wood, the sound from the living room ceiling continued in the attic. As the cautious man opened the broken door, releasing a squeaking scrape, the black floor was freezing. With the windows open to the windy storm, the room with flushed with the wet air of the harsh weather.

A loud warning growl could be heard, followed by a bit of scuffling in the shadows. The space made up the mainframe of the mansions top. So, many pathways and corridors winded through the attic, like all the other levels of the house. As, the echoing growl grew louder, the silence of nothingness arrived. Followed by a few wining cries, the sound of a little girl’s whine is present deep within the attic. “Daddy?...is that you, I’m scared…..”, the tiny voice called for safety. Hidden behind the abyssal blackness that covered the many boxes and old furnisher, the girl was somewhere. “…Daddy, the monster almost got me…”, she trembled, as she spoke of the terror that also hid inside.

d^_^b

Jack squinted as the wind and rain hit his face. "Now this is baffling." he thought. Why would people who take such good care of their house leave the windows in the attic open on a night like this?

Jack did not have time to ponder this as the sound of threatening growls made him freeze. "Odd objects indeed." he muttered as he cast a barrier around himself waiting for the attack. Instead the next sound he heard was the crying of a frightened girl.

She was calling out to her father, possibly Mr. Jest. She spoke of a monster, but Jack could not see anything in the night black room. With a snap of his fingers a small ball of fire hovered in his hand.

Jack called out in a kind tone, "Here dear child I will not hurt you just come towards the light."

(This is getting creepier by the second XD)

@dr_halloween: (Awesome...d^o^b)

Silence loomed around, as the darkness drenched into the hallway. As the misty moisture of rain filled the air, the little girl slowly drew near. Seeing the flame, she fearfully moved through the abyss of blackness. Weeping in fright, she watched the flame closely. With wide blue eyes of adorable beauty, her rosy cheeks were cupped by her long blonde hair. As she walked forward, her big eye grew into even bigger pools of blue, as she witnessed the sight of her savior.

Standing tall, her eyes were more so drawn to who was behind him. Half hidden, its right side was on display. As red as blood, the being’s eyes held the fury of hell’s torture. With a body of shadowy black, sinister streaks of darkness ran across his face. With a gapping mouth, it’s tongue boiled with the heat of a flame. Shooting across the detective, the creature stood right behind him. Burning with rage, the girl stumbled back in screams, as a haunting hiss ripped from the demonic mouth of the beast.

“No!...the monster, he’s behind you…no…”, she screamed to the top of her little lungs. No caring to see if what she saw was real or not, the tiny one ran. Disappearing back into the darkness of her hiding spot, the hissing grew louder, as the demon stood behind the flame-baring man. Having transparently appeared, it seemed ghostly

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack smiled warmly as the frightened girl came into view with blue eyes as big as suacer plates. "Do not worry little one you are safe now." He reassured as the she looked up at him.

Suddenly she stopped and her eyes became wider. Jack became worried as the girl began to shake. "It is alright child, just get behind me and..." he said before a hot rage filled breath licked the back of his neck.

The girl screamed and warned him of the monster behind him. She ran back into the darkness as Jack stood completely still. Whatever was behind him had breath like fire.

"How did it get past my rune!?" Jack thought as fear began to build in him. "No, I have to protect the child, there is no time for fear." he steeled himself as he extingush the fire in his right hand.

Using magic to coat his right hand in flowing water, Jack quickly whipped around. Using the momentum to whip the water like a powerful tendril he lashed blindly at the creature behind him.

@dr_halloween:

As soon as he turned around, the creature vanished into the misty air of his moist attack. A ghost who wasn’t there, the monstrous figure was gone. Taking his hellish breath and trembling presence with him, the view was clear and safe, with no trace of their ever being a creature in the first place. Outside of the memory in the detective’s head, and the petrifying image in the little girl’s mind, there was no monster. As thunder roared, and the house blinked with lightning, a flood of light rushed through the attic.

Lighting the way, the girl cried in her small piece of safety. Cold and empty, the silent corridors were starting to flush out the darkness. With low whimpering, the little girl hid in panicking alarm. Behind an old grandfather clock, the girl hid in fright. Tall and brown, the distinct clock was timeworn, it tumbled against the wall.“Daddy!”, she cried threw her shaky breath.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack stood there with heavy breaths of fear. "Was that creature a ghost?" he wondered as the water dispeled from his hand. Was it even there to begin with...

The room was seemed safe now. The only noise was the frightend girl's sobbing. The only light came from the loud cracks of thunder outside.

As the room lit up Jack heard the girl call for her father through sobs. As he followed the sad cries, Jack steadied his fear and tried to reassure the girl.

"It is alright now child, I drove the monster away, it will not harm you." Jack said gentally. It may have been a lie but he needed the girl to calm herself and follow him. In reallity the doctor still maintained his barrier as a precoution.

@dr_halloween:

Stepping out of the darkness, the little girl looked for the calming voice. Whipping her soaked eyes, she stared through the blurring light, before witnessing the man. Walking closer, she listened to his words of safety. Looking around, fearing the creature might be near, the tiny blonde ran into the detective’s arms, as soon as she saw the terror was away.

“Where’s my daddy, where mommy?”, she asked, in a somber voice of searching security. As she stood near, a faint piano began playing. Distinct and piecing, the notes were shaper than the patting rain. Flowing to a melody of grim silence, the sound was very befitting of the rain. “Daddy!”, she little girl’s face lit with a huge smile, as she heard the playing of her father. “Come on…”, her joyful English voice exclaimed with glee, as she zipped out of the door. Gesturing for the investigator to follow, she hopped down the staircase.

d^_^b

@superstay:

As the little girl stepped from out of the shadows, Jack noticed that she was still in a state of worry. He continued to reassure the girl that everything was alright until she ran into the saftey of his arms. He smiled and said, "It's okay you are now, child."

The little girl reminded Jack of when he was young and needed someone to protect him from the dark. After a few momments the girl asked where her mother and father were. "I do not know, but I promise I will find..."

Suddenly the sharp sounds and somber tone of a piano began to play over the loud storm. The girl's face formed a joyus smile as she recognized the sound to be her father's. She beckoned Jack to follow as she ran towards the door.

Jack quickly dispeled the rune with a wave of his hand. "Too close, those runes do not discriminate." he sighed as the girl skipped across the now barren floor. He then followed her down the staircase.

@dr_halloween:

Hurrying to her father, the little girl was lit with joy. As the chilling keys of stabbed at the house, a faint whisper could be heard underneath the melodic refrain, the little girl was too excited to pay attention to it. The nearly silent voice was a fully aware haunting of the roaming figure, "cinis cinerem capiti rubras quasi sanguinem caro sicut faenum posui luto ......", Hissing through the night, it was the welcoming presence to the child, as she ran down the fourth floor hall. “Daddy, daddy…”, she called, as her face fled down the dark hallway.

With the rain softening up, the storm was relaxing with lengthy patting. With the blinding light flushing the way, the thunderous lightning was still very strong and hard. As the manor’s interior lights blinking in and out, the hallway flashed in and out. With the way becoming more and more mysteriously uncertain, each flash revealed a new sight. First being the amazing speed of the girl, as she presumably blinked down the passage, the blond one quickly disappeared around the corner.

The second flash started a series of horrid events. Each of the following blinks of light, after the disappearance of the little one, showed a leak floor. Soaking in the red of blood, the corridor gradually became filled with a bloody pool of liquid. Starting off as a downpour from the wall, it quickly rose to a waist-high state in mere blink; and was still growing higher.

d^_^b

@superstay:

It was an easy matter to keep up with the girl. In fact, Jack had to hold back from overtaking her. The girl seemed to know where she was going, so he was more concerned with keeping an eye on her instead of leading.

However, Jack began to hear something over the lound notes of the piano keys. It was a hiss more than a song and to Jack's trainned mind, it almost sounded like an incantation. Suddenly the lights began to flicker wildly giving his fiery sight brief images.

Startlingly, in between flashes the girl seemed to blink down the hallway at speeds that threw off Jack. As the girl disappered around a corner he quickened his pace and called out, "Wait!"

Then as the second flicker of the lights passed, Jack began to notice the floor ahead pool with a strange liquid. To his horror he realized the liquid was blood that was pouring from the walls. Soon his pace slowed to a crawl as the blood wrapped around his waist.

Knowing he would be overtaken soon, Jack rose a hand to a nearby window. Summoning his magic he fired a powerful blast of air at any window in his vision. Hopefully it would drain the blood before it reached his head.

@dr_halloween:

The night’s air violently ruched is, as the sky was covered with the blackness of storm clouds. Cold and chilly, the howling wind overtook the heated boil of blood. The girl and the piano were drowned under the violent wind, rain, and blood. As the window became stuffed with the grim storm, the black night was an abyss of empty mystery. The pale moon hid from thunderous booms, and the shining stars were blinded by ripping lightning.

As the blood poured through the window, the flesh pool lowered with each flash of light. Clearing into a soaked hallway, the area was clear of the hot blood. However, in that instance, the closest window was rammed by a beast of the horse. A creature of stone and sorcery, the being hit the hole with enough force to crash through it. Halted by the barriers of Jest manor, the head of a gargoyle reveal itself. With a gaped mouth, the beast immediately noticed the man. Growling in rage, the rock monster was violently tearing into the hall, like a rabid animal.

With two rows of inch long teeth, its mouth spewed the bark of a crazed animal. The wall cracked and banged with the rips that would give any second. The beast grey eyes were dead-set on the detective.

d^_^b

@superstay:

It worked, the blood that was momments before up to Jack's waist was now gone. The only trace was the grimmly soaked halls and his stained clothes. He began to shiver as the outside elements cooled his blood soaked clothes.

Jack would have to worry about his ruined suit later as a creature rammed loudly into the closest window. Jack immediatly turned to face the hideous maw of a gargoyle. Mouth agape and anger etched on its face the beast began thrashing its way in.

Jack immediatly activated his barrier and raised his hand to the stone beast. He was familiar with this kind of magic after all his adoptive father specialized in it among a few others. "You are still stone, and I am a master of elemental magic!" he declared as he tried to take control of the stone monster.

However, the beast still continued as the window frame began to buckle. Whatever magic birthed this creature made was strong enough to resist Jack's grasp.

Shocked but still thinking, Jack looked for any cracks in the stone beast. All he could do now was try to hold it off. His hand erupted into flames before throwing the heated ball at the creature's head.

@dr_halloween:

Breaking through, the stone creature jerked inwards, at the man. Seeing his lips move, the beast did not listen. It just scratched and clawed his way into the hallway. Tearing the wooden frame apart, he got in. However, he was unexcitingly shot with a flame of heat and sorcery. Right as his mouth yelled a roar of hateful aggression, his tongue of greystone was lit on fire. A small pop of mystic light escaped the mighty gargoyles’ muzzle, the beast hit the floor.

With a Griffin-ish body, the beast fell to the wet floor. It stumbled and fought to its feet, as its mouth coughed sparks and flames. Dazed and confused, the statue vomited and swayed around. Leaving burning lava on the floor, the gargoyle was spewing up his own insides. But, with enduring strength within his eyes, upon seeing that man’s face, the creature launched himself through the pain. Hurling through the freezing air, the monster pounced at the detective.

d^_^b

@superstay:

The ball of flame its target as the beast broke in. Jack noticed in magic light shining from its muzzle. "Did I crack it, only one way to find out. He again wrapped a coat of water around his hand, but this time he was ready to fire it into what he thought was a weakness in the monster's stone body.

The plan was simple, get water into the crack and expand it until it forced the stone apart. However, this plan immediatly went awry. As Jack tried to get a decent aim the gargoyle began to sway.

Jack then had to back away and readjust his aim as the stone creature began to vomit lava. "Sticks and stones!" he exclaimed as the beast luanched forward at him. The hall was too narrow to perform a dodge, the only option was to hope his barrier would hold.

With a loud crash, Jack was pinned and looking into the stone glare of the beast. Lava began to drip onto his barrier as he felt the crushing force of its grip. Quickly he flicked the water from his hand at the muzzle born light.

@dr_halloween:

Clawing at the barrier, the stone being buried his prey in rage and aggression. Biting at the wall of magic, he was in too much of a haze to notice his foe’s attack. With his heavy head knocking around, and the pounding paws banging the barrier, the gargoyle’s snarls echoes with the knifing vibration of guarding anger.

But, all of its attempts soon proved unsuccessful, as a projectile was thrown into his mouth. With a splash of intense water, the beast quickly huffed and puffed. He trembled up the same lava-like melted inner body, gushed out at the man. Now cooled by the enchanted liquid, the monster soon stumbled off of the barrier. Hitting the floor, he threw up more of his insides, before dying.

But, as he hitting the floor, he carried a ton of sold mass. Breaking the wooden floor, the hallway’s ground gave away and broke. Crumbling, the gargoyle sunk through a hole in the house. Thought, as he dropped, flames rose…the red fire of hell, the hall was then stuffed with the heat of a damned inferno. As if a storm wasn’t happening, no trace of moisture remained in the corridor that glowed high red. The hole sat loudly, as the piano music rose back into the background. An organ of intensity, the defined keys pumped a hellish blare of sound.

d^_^b

@superstay:

With a disgusting gurgle the beast stumbled off Jack's barrier as the hiss of water on fire threatened to drown the music. The gargoyle vomited one last time before dying.

Jack sighed as he examined his barrier. Several cracks had appeared in the wake of the beasts attack. He caculated it would take several minutes for his barrier to recharge if he deactivated it now.

Before he could, Jack heard the bending of wood and a loud crash. The beast's weight had created a hole in the floor. Not only that but hellish fire spewed from the hole evaporating anything that was wet.

Jack quickly scrambled to his feet as the fire burned the last bit of barrier he had. Pushing himself to the limit took off running in the opposite direction of the fire. He could not tell where he was going, but he had to find anyone he could and warn them.

Jack yelled, "FIRE!" as he ran.

@dr_halloween:

The hall burned furiously, as the detective sped down out of harm’s way. He successfully got away, as he charged his way through the house. The music bombastically strung out the manor, stretching the halls and rooms out. As a black image of darkness filled the path, the blinding view was guided by the ripping pianos keys. They slowly morphed into a mix of fast-paced Ragtime and jumping Boogie-Woogie. Chopping at the wood hall of darkness, the music broke the house. Causing the wooded structure to crack and bump with each bouncing bang of the piano, painting fell of the walls and lanterns few into combustion.

However, am the man ran through the chaos, the sound grew louder and louder. With the lively playing exploding into a busting wave of all-encompassing, it started to become noticeable. Behind a far sitting door, the location of the pianist was known present and reachable.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack did not know if the fire was was keeping up nor did care if it was. Right now his main concern was warning anyone in the house about it. He would have put it out himself, but the blaze was hot enough to evaporate any liquid in the hall in mere seconds.

Jack soon noticed everything begin to warp and crack as the music began to change. Paintings fell and lanterns combusted as he continued forward.

As chaos happened all around him, a realization hit Jack. After the ghostly creature in the attic, everything that attacked him was acompinied by the music of a piano. "It must be magic!" he thought as he noticed somthing in the distance.

A door where sounds of a piano played from. Not stopping, Jack blew open the door with a blast of wind. "Stop this now!" He yelled as he entered.

@dr_halloween:

The walls tightened with each low key, the hall grew tight and stuffy. Just as if would, a high would explode a surge of fire into the smoky passage. With the rippling rip of the ground, a shuffling segment of the piano pieced at the ceiling, as the walls started to cave in. The hallway even turned with the swirling measures of sound, as the flames rose. With only darkness condensing the red heat, the path was hellishly burning in a bouncing inferno. The detective sped through an endless tunnel of chaos, before reaching the end. Meeting a clearly content door, the sound of a still squeak ushered in the man’s entrance. As the door shut behind him, his voice rushed through the illuminating room.

The top floor of the library, the door led into one of the balcony floors of the grand room of widow. A area of enlightenment, the library had three levels of information. A collection of the family’s endless love of information, there was novels, journals, records, poems, encyclopedias, world dictionaries, and many other types of classics within this room. Many of they literally spewing over into stacks on the floor, the mildly messy ballroom was a sanctuary of knowledge.

The detective was standing at the entrance to the top floor; the personal level of the master of the mansion. As the sir of the house pounded at the keys of his centerpiece piano, the slim Englishman wildly played. While the familiar face of the lady Jest sat on the instrument’s hefty topmost, Olli serenaded her with the energetic sound of dancing music. But, their fun was cut shut, as the Doctor’s words halted both of them.

“Oh, Dr. Halloween…I couldn’t say we were expecting you…”, the brunette blessed her surprised eyes onto him. Gracefully standing up, Tabi stepped forward and welcomed the man into the now warningly silent room. Mr. Jest slowly stood, as a smile stretched across his face. With politeness in his eyes, Olli reached for his top hat, before bowing in greeting welcome. Straightening up, he quickly hand-brushed his hair, which was showing the messiness of a loose hair. As he walked forward, his wife asked, “…what might bring you here?”. With eyes of wonder, she figured he was either done, or still searching for these ‘hauntings’. With the library showing no signs of experiencing the same ordeal as the detective, the couple knew nothing of his worry.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Breathing heavily, Jack stood in front of the two. His normally bright expression was now serious as he stared the two with suspicion. Tabetha, the lady of the house was the one who pointed him in the direction of that nightmare.

The man next to her however was the presumed orchastrator of said nightmare. He surprising looked like Jack with a thin frame and a gentlman's attire minus the Jack-o-lantern head.

"Mr. Jest I presume." Jack stated ignoring Tabetha's question. "Where is your daughter?"

@dr_halloween:

Standing tall and lean, the magician bowed to the man, before closing the piano lid. With a gentle smile, he turned and walked towards a wall-planted nightstand. Holding a bottle of Irish Whisky, the mysterious figure in black lifted a glass. “Care for something to drink, lad?”, the wavy haired Brit asked, as he poured himself a glass of the bronzed drink. Raising the glass to his lips, the sir quietly drank his drink. As the detective asked him about his daughter, Olli turned to face him. “My daughter...which one, I have two?”, he deeply wondered, while he refilled him glass.

Sitting the bottle down on the stand, the Lancashirian smiled with curiosity. Walking over to the large black instrument, he leaned against it. “What makes ye think of them?”, the master asked, “…me wife and I rarely see our children…”. Olli finished his glass, with a light sign, “I couldn’t tell ye where any of them were…”.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack turned down the whiskey, he preferred sweets more than anything. He watched the man's face for any change of expression regarding his daughter. "She is small with long blonde hair and blue eyes." He answered.

Jack tried to listen to see if Mr. Jest's voice matched the one that spoke over the music earlier. But it became more and more difficult for him to keep his composure as he listened to the manor's master.

Jack caught the man's smile, his face began to grow hot as Mr. Jest explained how they rarely saw his daughters. His hand tightened around his cane as the master finished.

In Jack's mind, no father should have no idea where there child is in their own house. Holding back the urge to yell, Jack explained, "I found your daughter in the attic being haunted and crying out your name, it was the same place your wife pointed out when I arrived."

Jack eyed Tabetha with suspicion and said, "She said you had some odd objects up there, Mr. Jest."

@dr_halloween:

The sir stared with deep confusion, as he watched the face of the questioner. With flustered brows, he eyed the man, not knowing any child of his with that description. With a discarding chuckle, the Olli spoke, “You must be mistaken, lad…I don’t have any blonde children. My family are all brunette…”. Turning to head back to the bottle of liquor, his wife spoke up. “I believe he might be speaking of Caroline”, the lady cleaned up the level, as the two men talked. Carrying a group of books, she took them over to a shelf, and organized them.

“…she dyed her hair a long time ago, when left for America…”, Tabi knew her husband was still confused, as she tidied up the place. While the cautious man explained, Olli remembered his youngest daughter, “Ah, little Carrie…why would she be in the attic. She ran off with a biker, long ago…”. Sipping his drink, he smiled with eyes of amusement. “…besides, all of my children know not to venture into my attic. There are some highly dangerous objects, up there. But, I guess you already know of that”, his accent ran clear, as he turned to his wife.

With accusation within in smooth brown eyes, he stared at his wife. “Odd objects...what does that even mean, dear?”, he took a few steps towards his love, who walked up to him. “The lad wanted to investigate the strangeness of the house. So, I sent him to one of the strangest rooms on the grounds…”, she explained her reasons, to her husband. “Scis tu Atticae multus est mortuus fuerit in uada sunt ...”, she further explained in the family’s original language, which traced back to the Jest line in Ancient Rome. As her husband rolled his eyes, tired of hearing about his wife’s spooky suspicions, he spoke up.

“... Omnis spiritus saltu super domum aedificabis illud accidit imis excire sepulcris propinqui tui ...”, he rose his voice, in Latin, as he followed her. She walked over to the doorway, which led into his studies. “Don't raise your voice at me Oliver Militia Jest...you know I dislike it when you speak at me like this...”, she sternly stated, as she stormed into the room. With him shrugging behind her, she started to raise her voice.

Leaving the detective in the small area of the library’s third level, the firmly had a conversation that quickly became about nothing at all. As the door sat open, a staircase led to the rest of the library. And, the closed door, behind the detective, led back into the hall. By this point, the couple calmed down, and started discussing in Latin. Having forgotten about the boy, they continued talking with the door fully open. With a full balcony view of the three floor library, a staircase sat on the far side of the level. The door lied open, on the studies, as the two calmed into a low argument. And, the door behind the detective led back into the hallway.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack cooled down a bit as Mr. Jest and Tabetha explained that the girl he saw might have been their daughter. However, shock hit him when Mr. Jest Tabetha explained that the girl he saw was named Caroline and that she left for America with some biker.

The girl Jack saw was too young and seemed to be happy with her father. She did not seem like the type to run from home. "What is happening to me?" he thought while rubbing his forehead.

Then awkwardness struck as the master and lady of the house began to argue. Jack shifted uncomfortably but picked up on the change in their language. It sounded like what he heard over the piano music earlier.

The two left the room arguing leaving Jack dumbfounded. "I guess they forgot about me." he mummbled as he looked around. He sighed and woundered what to do next.

"I could enter my own mind, clear my head, but that will take time and put me in a vulnerable state." Jack thought. The only option he had was to explore the rest of this library.

@dr_halloween:

A grand ballroom-sized side of the house, the library was more of a museum. From the top of the house, to the lower levels of the manor’s basement, the area was humongous. Constructed out of rich golden steel and beautiful dark wood, the many levels are filled with ages of history (mostly Jest history). With various books everywhere, the four main levels were dedicated to specific categories of topics. With the top floor (which the detective was already on) being all poems, it is a rather small level. With many elevated pathways, catwalks, and balconies leading to different sides of the level. From Edgar Allen Poe to Homer, from European to Asian, centuries of beautiful poetry lives within the flat. Below that, the third floor is filled with giant corridors of chandelier-lit novels; separated by culture, religion, and theme, everything from Greek Myth to Shakespeare to Sun Wukong rest on this maze-like level. Under that are the many halls of science and educational books. With the same structuring as the third floor, they are both very confusing, and likely to be lost in. And the ground floor is the hall of the majority of the museum’s exhibits; though, many exhibits sit on the other levels, as well.

With elegant carpet running throughout the flooring, the ceiling of the library is covered in the paintings of Florentine-style oil painting. Similar to the Taj Mahal in design, the Sistine Chapel influenced the beautiful art that is distinctly seeable from the top floor. A paining of his ancestors, the ceiling is a welcoming to the Renaissance architecture of the library. With statues and pillared lanterns scattered through the building, as paintings and gargoyles carved into the walls and structuring, the man’s region echoed with the sound of flapping wings and hoots. They were drowned out by the sound of a deeper hoot, with longer flaps. But, they soon faded into the far distance.

Dr.Halloween was free to wonder through the grand library, all of the levels, and the rooms that connected to them. As the two Jest privately spoke within the comfort of Olli's studies, the area was open and welcoming to be explored. Warming and airy, the smell of enlightenment filled the building, as the man stood at the top of the library.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack's eyes brightened at the sight of the grand library. When it came to books of any kind, the detective always found it hard to control himself. Learning something new was part of the obsession, but it was more then that. Reading gave him a window into the personalities and beliefs of the very humans that made him so curious.

With a tremendous amount of self control, Jack shelved an Edger Allen Poe book that he grabbed out of instinct. With a deep breath, the detective focused his mind on the investigation. "There has to be some history about the Jest's in here." he told himself as he reluctantly began searching.

To distract himself, Jack tried to figure out the man he just talked to. Oliver Jest, as he was called was hard to read; he seemed like a polite upstanding man who cared enough to play music for his wife. However, him not even knowing what his own daughter looked like until reminded and the lack of concern he had over that fact made Jack very suspicious of his host.

Jack had to find the answer to who this man was, if anything it would clear Oliver's name. Jack began his search by departing the top floor to the one below. He then began to scan the endless shelves for any legends or history about the Jest. However, he did not realize that he was slowly getting lost in the maze of pages.

@dr_halloween:

As the man wondered, the huge library grew warm and cozy. While many aisles stretched longer than large houses, the array of books lied gloriously to the man. Illumination within grasp, the knowledge basked in the yellow glow of marvel. Spread far and wide, the Jest left their historical documents sped far and thin, within the library. But, it would become quite a search to find the books with the billions and billions of books that surrounded the man.

As the detective searched, the hooting continued throughout the library. Echoing with force, the sounds were accustomed by a deep whooshing flapped through the building. They grew louder and stronger, as eyes watched over the doctor. With the appearance of shadowy figures blurring through the distance, a presence grew closer and closer to the man.

“How may I help you?”, a smoothly profound voice announced himself to the wonderer. Close enough to be heard clearly, the figure stood at the human height of eight feet tall. Pitch black in appearance, the being stared at the man with deep eyes of cold shadowy darkness. With a moon-like face of white, the librarian stood as grand as the library that he roamed. As a group of owls watched from on the shelves, as their leader watched the detective with a content glare.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack wondered how the Jests could find anything in this labyrinth as he searched on. His disposition was back to normal now thanks to the house becoming warmer. However, he soon realized how lost he was.

Before he could try and get his baerings, Jack was alerted to a presence behind him. He could hear the hooting of owls and the flapping of wings draw closer. Fearing another attack he whirled around only to be face to face with what appeared to be a large owl man.

Standing taller then Jack and covered in black feathers except around it white face. The owl stared at him through deep dark eyes before asking, "May I help you."

Jack realized the creature meant no harm. So he smiled and said with a bow, "Hello, my name is Doctor Jack Halloween."

Jack then asked, "I am doing an investigation and I need to find some history on the master of this house, can you help me?"

@dr_halloween:

Standing tall and graceful, the great owl chuckled at the man’s generalized request. Knowing that there were thousands of books on the Jests, the librarian’s voice exited his shining beak. “This library hold thousands of books on the Jests. However, only a limited amount of them are centered on Sir Oliver Jest.”, his words echoed through the aisle. A few news articles and journals, the owls knew that the master have very little about him, within the library. “Most of the documents that are related to Mr. Jest are within his studies. And, I am denied entry into said location. However, we do have many novels written by the Sir…though; they express nothing about him, himself, outside of his narratives...”, the black figure spoke with a trace of detachment in his tone.

As he stepped back, he looked up at the horde of birds. And, with a loud caw of deep roar, the owl leaped into the air, and flew in all directions. Turning around, “we’ll be back with all we could find…explore if you want. We’ll find you when we’re done”, the librarian’s somberly finished. Slowly stalking his way out of the aisle, the figure stood as cold as the statues that were riddled around the library. “…we always to”, he silently muttered to himself, knowing that the he knew of everything that happened within the library, as his coat-like feathers whipped outward into two pitch black wings. Both equally matching the length of his body, his wingspan was more than twice as long as his frame. And, with one gently forceful flap, the owl shot to the sky and disappeared into the library with the rest of his owls.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack listened to the great bird and sighed as it explained where the books on oliver Jest were. "His private studies eh, well I know where to go if I the answers are not in this library." he thought to himself.

Before Jack could ask where Oliver's studies were the great black owl let out a loud caw and scattered the flock that accompanied him. The informed him that he would find all that he could and bring it back to him. He left Jack with the eerie statement that they always find whoever is in their halls.

Alone now and free to explore, Jack backtrack as best as he could but in the end settled on sitting cross legged on the floor and reading Journey to the West while he waited.

@dr_halloween:

As the man waited, and the birds of knowledge were out of sight, silence lingered within the halls that the detective was left in. The dim light of oil lanterns lit the halls, as a flicker of gold tent illuminated the library. As the aisle grew warmly quiet, a faint sound sparked in the distance. Coming from down the hall, the sound was of an electrical cackle. Subtle but noticeable, the cackle came from a doorway, which led to a lonely doorway.

As a flutter of owls flew high above, the electric cracking buzzed into a louder frequency, as the detective read. With a hissing level of sound becoming a cracking pound of waves, the electric current grew from behind the walls.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Jack chuckled as he read, he always loved the antics of the Monkey King. However, a sound interupted his amuzement. He listened closely as a crackling sound hummed loud enough to be noticable.

The electric sound increased in intensity until Jack began wincing at the noise. He looked around not noticing the sounds of the owls. After a minute or so he began to follow the sound.

With waves of intense sound hitting him, Jack found its origin at a doorway. Covering his nonexistant ears he made his way to open the door.

@dr_halloween:

As the door grew closer in reach, the sound grew clearer in essence. With the flickering lanterns around him, the detective could hear a indistinct hint of laughter underneath the energetic and buzzing. As the cackle doubled through the dark threshold, a yelping cry could be noticed. In painful despair, the cries became noticeable immediately after the electricity became thunderously beating. “Aaahhh…eh eh…aaoooohhhw!”, the groaning yell echoes with the lightning that illuminated the doorway.

Inside, the doorway led down a winding staircase of grimly grey stone. As stands of chemicals and full drums stood everywhere, the tight lab was dark and old. With webs everywhere, a green glow radiated off of the line of tubed chambers, which held uncertain figures within sludgy green liquid. As the light engulfed the room in green rays, blue tents of white flashed from the electrical currents that struck a table that lied in the middle of the room. “AAHHH!!!”, a shirtless figure screamed in dire pain, as extreme levels of energy surged through him. Screaming to the top of his lungs, a familiar manor owner stood hysterically next to him. Dressed in a long white lab coat, he matched the attire of the other scientist that stood in the dark room.

His fellow technological mate, one of the scientists kept watch of the energy levels, as he stared at the large sphere that generated electricity and sent in into the table that lied under it. “We’re at 78%...should I continue”, the man called out, asking the other real doctor in the room. And, the other brown-haired scientist continued checking the subject’s health, “Yes, his brain levels are fine, his heart levels are fine, his blood levels are fine….continue…”. As they watched the project closely, Olli turned from the table, baring a face-busting smile.

“HE’S ALIVE, HE’S ALIVE!!!.....I did it…he’s ALIVE”, the Sir leaned against the table; taking credit for the project that he had no hand in, besides finances. Quickly, he was met with a violet-haired woman of youth. Running up to him, she ripped him away from the sparking table, “Father…get away from there!”. Laughing uncontrollably, Olli cried tears of joy, as he gleefully hugged his daughter, who resembled her mother in not only look, but cautious responsibility.

d^_^b

@superstay:

Unsure of what was behind the door, Jack reached for the knob only to hear the hints of crazed laugther and a few seconds later loud screams. He causiously entered and made his way down a grim hallway.

As he entered what appeared to be an old lab, Jack could feel a chill up his spine as he noticed the tubes filled with green liquid and and dicernible figures. Another scream alreted him to a shirtless man strapped to a table with green rays of energy pouring into him.

Standing next to the table was Oliver himself dressed like a mad doctor. Jack watched as another scientist read off vitals until the master of the manor turned from the table and yelled "HE'S ALIVE!" with joyus insanity.

A violet haired girl told Oliver to get away from the table and ripped him away from the experiment. In a panicked state of confusion, Jack put his hand to the ground and created a barrier of earth between the two scientists and the table, believing they were in danger.

@dr_halloween:

Looking up, the violet woman stared into the detective’s eyes with furrowed brows. Coated by the shadows of her hood, she was dressed in black. With a stiff face of eerie security, she lifted her hand in defense. As she stepped over he father, she saw the intruder at a treat to them both. And, with one hand, she spoke in her forefather’s language. “Exire!”, she commanded in Latin, as a wave of black smoke shot out at him. Creating a wall-level of force, the air was meant to push him back. The wave was a strong as a wall of rock, as it ripped through the air.

While she attacked the man, the machinery stated to stark more and more. “The equiptment is overloading”, the first scientist yelled, before turning to see the master of the estate. Having crawled away, he gain control of the machine, and turned everything to their max. Causing the popping of the table, the laughing man fell over in chuckles. With the machine’s blowing into combustion, the room became filled with smoke and flames. “HAHAHAHA…Rise…rise my friend…I know you want to, DO IT hehe, GHAHAHA!!!”, Olli’s thick British accent could be heard over the explosions.

As the voice celebrated with encouragement, the roof slowly opened up. As the two scientists beg for the Sir to stop, the black abysmal night spat heavy rain into the lab. As the door into the library closed shut, the soaked scientist halted at the stilling sound of lightning. With the crackle, the buzzing electricity awakened the sky with burning light. And, with speed, a ripping strip of light rushed at the table, hitting the man in the metallic bars the restrained him. Explosions erupted across the lab, as one of the scientist was tossed into the air, and steaming smoke filled most of the moistly stormy lab.

d^_^b

@superstay:

It may not have been the way he used magic, but Jack could tell when someone was casting a spell. Using wind magic he pushed himself from his grounded position as the spell caught his red tie as it flew past. "If that hits me, I will be out cold or worse." he frantically thought. His barrier was already destroyed and would at least take a few hours to be at full strength.

Jack could hear Oliver madly encouraging his creation to rise as chaos around them ensued. Explosions, smoke, and overloading machinery filled the air as the roof opened up. The detective knew he had to stop this soon before anyone got hurt. "Stop this now before we are all dead!" he shouted at the girl before firing a freezing blast at her hands.

Suddenly a flash of violent lightning hit the table causing the lab to erupt in explosions and smoke. Jack covered his mouth as he was enveloped in the blinding smog. As his eyes began to tear up he used wind magic to push the smoke out through the open roof.

@dr_halloween:

“Mr. Jest…Doctor Denton’s adrenaline levels and rising, and his heartbeat is through the roof…”, one of the officers yelled, as a groaning grunt could be heard in the foggy air. As the father's laughter continued, the smoke covered the young lady. As she looked at the detective, she use the smoke to shield her. “Father, father…we need to leave…the experiment failed. Mr. Denton is changing.”, she yelled through the black watered filled smoke, “…we will all die if we stay here.”. While the lightning struck the smoky cloud twice more, a monstrous grunt echoed through the brick structure.

With speed, the smoke rushed out of the lab, by the detective’s command. Revealing a wrecked laboratory, one of the scientists ran for the staircase that the man stood at. “Run, go to safety…it’s alive”, his eyes filled with fear as he darted for the winding case of steps. But, as he reached the wall, a huge breast hurled at him. Ramming through everything in his way, he sped for the first thing that moved. With a deep bark of terrific intent, the furry beast leaped for the man.

And in a haze of blinding speed, it knocked the poor framed man into the brick wall. Nearly crushing it, the creature opened his wolf-like mouth and dug into the face of the man. As blood splattered faster than his scream, the scientist was dead. Olli stared in leering shock, as his daughter pulled at him to leave. As the ran for one of the three doors, the other scientist hid under the heated table. Whimpering, he feared what would happen once the creature stopped feeding.

d^_^b

@superstay:

The smoke cleared revealing a wrecked lab as well as Jack's opponent leading Mr. Jest, her father away. One of the scientists ran for the stair case while screaming about the man on the table, Mr. Denton.

Before Jack could stop anyone from running a large beast lunged at the scientist at great speeds. The dectective froze for a moment of surprise then whirled around to try and stop the beast. However, he reacted to late as the beast slammed into the scientist and began to maul him vicously.

Jack then caught a glimpse of Oliver and his daughter running away as well as the second scientist hiding under the experiment's table. With two options laid out before him the detective placed his hand on the ground again and created a breatheable dome of earth around the hiding scientist before turning his attention to the beast.

@dr_halloween:

Ripping off the scientist’s head, the beastly teeth of ferocity clinched into the mangled flesh that hung from the one bright-minded skull. As the head’s heat blood cooled over the creature’s cold saliva, the breath of anger surrounded it. The black furred savage was manhandling the lifeless body with angry movements of freedom. As he lingered over a pool of splattered blood and scattered flesh, the cryptic being’s ears twitched with the sound of the detective.

Dropping the head, the savage whipped himself around to see the prey that stood within his mist. With the roar of a monster, a mouth of two inch long fangs lied open with the fate of the protector. The once caring Doctor Denton was now lost inside of a fighting spirit of horrid survival. The sharp eyes of terror pieced into the soul of the young man, and saw nothing but looming danger, which it needed to destroy.

And, with less than a second of wait, the werewolf launched himself into the air; hurling himself into the sky, the monstrous being growled with a predatory gaze. As the night lit the lab with the pale gloom of the estate’s sky, the savage aimed to shred through his prey upon impact. With painfully large claws of razor sharpness, his huge seven foot tall size was stocky and bulky.

d^_^b