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Grand Opening and Restless Spirit

Scene details

Setting: The Star Chasers christen the name "Time for Crab" as part of the La Crima merchantry-owned restaurant. There is a discovery of the crab's vengeful spirit.

Log


  Night time pervades the sky with a blanket of darkness hovering over the scattered world. The stars glisten with brimming light as night settles around the Lakeside Town. The docks had undergone a bit of repair, but appears to be in an incompleted state for the night.

  Within the unnamed shop, there is a feast to be had. The large row of tables are set in place, filled with plates of crab meat. There is a numerous size of the dish from the small crabs to... a very massive chunk that had to be cut into smaller pieces (likely with the help of Anna).

  Reize had been preparing the plates while having young Constatin help with the bottles and other assortment of goods. of course, the young chief is not without the rat pack helping with the set up.

  Reize brightens into a smile, "We have a toast for the opening of our new restaurant with a great feast!" He thinks over to himself. ...The place doesn't really have a name yet, does it?
 

Ruidosa is huddling inside a giant crab shell. +_+. She's gonna live in this shell, raise a family in the shell, die in this shell, Reize's desires be damnned! But in all seriousness that's what she's been doing since the crab started to be cleaned out and canned.

She then arrives , into the restaurant and vibrates. "Crab. Crab crab crab crab." she says to Reize, as if it's the only thing she can think about right now.

Because it is. +_+


 "The flavor is so *rich*," one tourist is saying, her words muffled between bites of crab procured from the largest heaping pile of crab meat, under which a table groans in protest. "It melts in your mouth -- and such nuance. I've never had crab like this before."
 "We definitely made the right course to come here the other day," her fellow tourist replies, beaming. "Where in the world did you find this high quality crab? And so much of it!"
 Ivo smiles.
 PREVIOUSLY

 The tourists dine peacefully inside the restaurant while a wild melee rages visibly through the window behind them.
 NOW
 The enormous crab shell that Ruidosa has been huddling inside is visibly behind the tourists, while they face him awaiting his response.
 "That," he grandly replies, "is a trade secret."
 The self-appointed sommelier is sauntering about the room, topping up glasses, mugs, and thimbles (in the case of their rat friends) with either wine or grape juice, to prepare them for the toast to come. He pauses only to drip a little drop of juice into a tiny saucer, to which the Heavenly Crowned Beetle, perched safely upon a countertop, crawls.


  Constatin looks at Ruidosa, becoming dot-eyed. "... Big sis is acting scary."

 "You'll get used to it," retorts Reize with a sweatbead appearing behind his head. However, he is happy to see that Ruidosa is overjoyed this day. In comparison, they failed to get the crab to make up for the bad date, which made things worse when he opened his mouth. However, water under the bridge.

 There is a look of relief on Reize's face when Ivo convinces the tourists about the commotion being a 'trade secret'. He brightens as Ivo gets the wine together.

 "Oh! I realize... let's get the drinks out for everyone." He looks over at Constatin, "...Let's make sure we give him grape juice." He looks at Ruidosa, "Oi, Rui! Let's get the drinks out to everyone and get Tranq as well!" He adds, "Want to make an announcement!"
 

Tranquila is busy in the back, and might be busy trying to figure out how much product Ruidosa ate way earlier.

It was a lot, okay?

Still, Tranquila comes out, dressed in her yellow, fancy dress and Ruidosa, dressed in her blue dress, and she looks to Tranquila, who looks to Ruidosa and the two get stars in their eyes.

"Time for Crab!" they say.

"That's the name!" Ruidosa says. "Because it's always time for crab." says Tranquila. *_*.

They two vibrate with antcipation!


 Ivo, making his way about the still-shabby but decidedly cheery interior of their restaurant, casts a look at Constatin that seems equal parts relieved and tentative. If the boy prince can be intimidated by Ruidosa's antics, he is hopefully not too affected by his experiences previously. The Cosmopolitan casts a look outside the main restaurant window. There, on the shores of a once again peaceful Lake Gerisia, stands MegaCapo, the automaton conveying a sort of dignified yet melancholic air as it seems to gaze out onto the horizon. In fact, it is currently nonfunctional due to the damage sustained in the battle.
 ...They'll figure out something.
 At least, Ivo reflects, Constatin has his rat friends.
 PREVIOUSLY
 Jimmy the Rat, Jr., places a small paw on Constatin as the boy prince sits huddled, extracted from MegaCapo moments before.
 "Squeak squeak," says Jimmy. "Squeak."
 NOW
 Ivo is sure they were wise words, whatever they were.
 "To Time for Crab!" he proclaims, raising his glass. "May it never end!"
 And may a certain angry crab never return to haunt them.


  Meanwhile, young Constatin reaches over to Jimmy Jr to scoop the rat into his arms for a hug. This is his rat for now. "... I wonder if momma and papa will let me keep you." He gives a thoughtful look. Then he gives a grimace.

 ~ "NO PETS!" ~

 He pouts at the prospects not looking well in his favor.

 The young explorer approaches both Ruidosa and Tranquila, grinning at the two as they give out the name and then he places each arm around the two sisters. "Great! That will be part of my announcement!"

 As one of the gathered rat pack are passing the drinks together, they aptly make sure that the younger ones such as Reize, the sisters, and Constatin receive the juice.

 With all of the tourists receiving their drinks, Reize gives a bright smile.

 "I thank you all for attending the grand opening of the restraunt established by the La Crima family." He looks over towards the two sisters, keeping them on each arm fondly. As they give out the name, he gives a cheerful smile.

 "The owners of the restaurant have titled the place, 'Time for Crab!', so we are here to honor the branding of this restaurant!"
 

Ruidosa and Tranquila and are both vibrating up and down when the name is announced and the juice is served. Both Ruidosa and Tranquila make faces at this. They look between one another, make a face again and look back to one another and Ruidosa swooooops Reize's drink away.

"I'm sorry there's a mistake. This is juice. Where is the champagne?" asks Ruidosa, curtly.

"We're not telling you our ages, that's rude!" says Tranquila.

"Yeah Reizey can handle it just fine!" Ruidosa says.


 "Time, for, Crab! Time, for, Crab!"
 Ivo is helpfully starting to lead a chant. The two tourists, in between delectable bites of the King Crab's flesh, start joining in.
 "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
 Jimmy Jr. is joining in too, unless Constatin is just hugging him too tight and he's making noise like a squeaky toy.
 "Time, for, Crab!" Ivo flashes Reize a wide grin, the magitechnician in high spirits. "Time, for--"
 His gaze drifts back toward the window, expecting to see the lake shrouded in night again, the torchlight playing delicately off of MegaCapo's lonely hull by the water. What he sees instead stops him short. There, translucent, looming, is the hazy outline of an all too familiar enormous crab, its eerie eyestalks positioned right outside the window, huge bulk hunched to peer right into Ivo's eyes.
 Please imagine a horror sting here. DUN!!!
 "R-R-Reize--!"
 Ivo, blanching, whirls back to his friend.
 "D-D-Did you see--"
 As Ruidosa makes complaints as to his sommelier performance and makes some very dangerous proposals, Ivo fails to pay any attention, totally absorbed in what he thinks he has seen. But when he looks back to the window, nothing is there... but the night.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=18.
Comment: Something strange... in the neighborhood...
Roll(s): 12. Total result is 12. This is a failure (by 6).


  As the boy jovially keep the vampire sisters within his arms, he gives out a grin before he looks at the two make a face at their drink. "... Ah?" He has a large sweatbead on his face, "Do--don't like the dri---o-oi!" He notices that his drink get swiped away.

 He was going to enjoy that! Alas.

 Upon command, the rat returns with some wine for the noble vampires and the young boy. The young man gives a bit of a nervous look, but then he looks over at the sisters. He gives a grin, "To the 'Time for Crab!'"

 Soon, Constatin lets the rat go so that it can join with the group. As he looks over towards the group, he brightens a smile. Luckily, he did have Jimmy Jr help him calm down from the earlier moment until..

 Ivo panics.

 Reize turns his head towards Ivo, who is stammering with bewilderment. "Huh? What's wrong, Ivo?" He takes a sip of the wine. ...Oh hey... his brain feels fuzzy now. Kinda nice!
 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=18.
Comment: Roll to detect underage drinking while haunted by giant crab
Roll(s): 11. Total result is 11. This is a failure (by 7).

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Become Wine-o
Roll(s): 7. Total result is 7. This is a failure (by 3).

Ruidosa La Crima and Tranquila La Crima obtain 'actual champagne' and both immediately get tipsy from it. She doesn't notice anything amiss outside as Ivo looks like he's seen a ghost (crab) and she blinks a little. Ruidosa says. "Relax a little." she says. "Have fun."

"What we're we supposed to see?" asks a tipsy Tranquila as she places her nose against the glass and looks outside. She sees nothing.

"I don't see anything you're seeing things. I might be drunk thou." she says with a giggle as Tranquila prances off.


 "I'm not crazy," Ivo is muttering to himself, eyes wide and quietly trembling as Tranquila merrily prances away and the party heats up while, for once, he has nothing to do with the carousing. "I'm not crazy..."
 Suddenly, his eyes snap wide.
 "The beetle!!!"
 Totally ignoring the rapidly degenerating proceedings, brusquely picking his way past happily squeaking rats clicking their thimbles together, he rushes over to where the Heavenly Crowned Beetle is trying not to drown in its own little saucer of juice. The Cosmopolitan unceremoniously plucks it from the countertop and rushes back over to the window, pressing it against the glass.
 "The undead are attracted to the domain of Creation," he proclaims to no one. "Give it a spark!" He waits for several long moments as nothing happens. "Don't tell me you're *out* after flying MegaCapo over here!"
 By all appearances, Ivo is now arguing with a beetle as he rubs it against a darkened windowpane. He is in no position to rescue Reize from himself and/or Ruidosa.


  Reize is looking rather blissful, beaming from ear to ear as he drinks the contents of the champagne with the sisters. "Hee, this is nice and fizzy. Rather tasty!" He can definitely feel like his head is in the clouds. He then calls out to Ivo, "Oooi! Ivo! Let's enjoy the fun!"
 

 Young Constatin is noticing the franticness of Ivo's state and when he messes around with the Heavenly Crowned Beetle. He approaches the older man, now curious. He goves as far as reaching over for Ivo's leg to tug against his pants

 "Umm... is something wrong, Mr. Galvan?" His eyes widen, then he looks at the crown.
 

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Further become wine mom?
Roll(s): 15. Total result is 15. This is a success (by 5).

Ruidosa La Crima is having a ball now. Yes. This is perfect, with every sip she's getting more and more tipsy and leans against Reize, who is getting fuzzy headed himself. "I'm enjoying myself for a change, stop being so weird Ivo!" she calls out.

Tranquila watches Ivo fight with a beetle and rub it against the window and she makes a face and step away backwards slowly as she sips at her own drink.

"What's this about the undead anyways!?" she asks. "We're over here. And cute." says Tranquila. Ruidosa agrees.


 Ivo's mind is racing. Now is not the time for partying. Now is the time... for mad science. He *may* have been spending too much time around Fabroxo recently.
 "Constatin," he says firmly, "take good care of our friend." He hands off the beetle to the prince, wearer of the eponymous crown. Somehow, the insect, despite lacking any capacity for expression, has a general air of indignation. "Is it just its grudge that draws it here? Or..."
 Talking to himself again, Ivo's gaze scans the crowd, utterly overlooking the increasingly buzzed Ruidosa -- truly taking after her mother, or so Ivo would imagine if he were paying attention -- and Reize, before settling on a certain all-too-conspicuous looming object: the giant crab shell in which Rui was huddling earlier.
 "Of *course*," he says, slapping a fist into a palm. "If we concentrate Creation aether into the *shell*... but even then, the specifics of channeling the aether would be... only an expert on the undead would..."
 Just then, interrupting his unsettling mutters, Tranquila charmingly chimes in. Ivo stops, his expression turning still. Slowly, he turns to face her. Then, with an expression of uncharacteristic resolve and intensity, he approaches the blonde vampire girl and, without hesitation, attempts to reach out and clasp her free hand.
 "Tranquila," he says, gazing into her eyes with manly earnestness, "you are cute indeed, breathtakingly so. That I have been remiss in complimenting your ravishing dress is an outrage for which I cannot be forgiven. Bold though I am, I am driven to beg of you..."
 He pauses, never breaking eye contact. Should she have allowed him to continue clasping her hand this whole while, why, one might even begin to see sparkles in the air, at least if they had been drinking a little too much champagne.
 "Will you help me summon the ghost of a giant crab?"


  The young prince looks over at Ivo, looking a bit offput at Ivo's change. He didn't answer him! Instead, he is left to take care of the crown! However, he does reach over to scoop the insect into his arms, carefully hugging it close. He tilts his head over at Ivo as the older man wanders the restaurant.

 Meanwhile, Reize reaches over to wrap his arms around Ruidosa. He eyees Ivo as he is inspecting the large crab shell. "Err... Ivo?" He tilts his head over.

 He furrows his eyebrows, now looking at Ruidosa. "...We should see what is going on." He pauses as Ivo takes a hold of Tranquila's hand. It looks like that his partner is working on charming his fiancee's sister. "Well... day of merriment!" He cheerfully chimes to Ruidosa while sipping the champagne from the glass.

Ivo goes on a CHARM OFFENSIVE and hits Tranquila right in the heart, and Tranquila who had a crush on Ivo anyways, let's her hand be held and her non-beating heart skips a beat and she gasps. "A ghost. Of a giant crab? But. I'm not nearly drunk enough for that yet, but sure." she says, dramatically. "I will help you summon the ghost of a giant crab."

"Maybe it's upset Ruidosa is living it's drying out husk of a body."

"HEY!" goes Ruidosa. "IT'S MY GIANT SHELL NOW." she says drunkenly as she follows along with Reize to find out what's wrong.

"LEAVE MY NEW SUMMER COTTAGE ALONE."


 "I knew," Ivo solemnly says to Tranquila, "I could count on you."
 He squeezes her hand once.
 "I'll retrieve... the implements."
 He ominously departs. As the party continues, wine and champagne shared freely and blissfully unaware party-goers (granted, mostly rats) chow down on the heaping piles of incomparably delicious King Crab meat, Ivo sweeps away as well as he can without his cloak. He gathers up some candles from a cupboard and returns, marching over to the giant shell taking up way too much room in the restaurant and ducking inside to begin to arrange them, lighting them with sparks from a red elesphere.
 "Perfect."
 As his friends look on, it seems that Ivo has arranged things as he must imagine an occult ritual requires, with a ring of lit candles, their small flames painting dancing shadows on the inner curves of the crab shell. It actually looks quite cozy and intimate, evocative of a candlelit dinner, except for the fact that, you know, it's inside of a giant crab shell.
 "Now for the blood."
 Pronouncing this, Ivo promptly exits and strides over to the kitchen. After a few moments, he pushes his way back through the swinging door with a heavy sloshing bucket in each hand. A little spatter of eerie blue splashes from one onto the weathered wooden floor of the restaurant.
 "I knew I kept these for a reason," he says as he slowly makes his way over to the shell. A pause follows. "That being that I didn't know how to dispose of it. But it's good that it'll come to some use."
 And why are there big buckets of crab blood in the kitchen? Well...
 PREVIOUSLY
 Ivo, pale and queasy looking, wipes down Anna's axe and wrings it out into an increasingly filling bucket.
 NOW
 ...take a guess.
 "Now then," he calmly says to his friends as he approaches the shell again, "what manner of occult designs must we paint?"
 So much for the cozy interior.


  Reize thoughtfully watches both Ivo and Tranquila briefly, but decides that getting some crab meat would be a better idea. After all, they worked hard to get the meat together! Om nom nom. This leaves Ivo without Reize during his expedition to gather materials.

 Meanwhile, Constatin is right behind Ivo with the Heavenly Crown Beetle in his arms. "Mr. Galvan! How can I help?" He then watches Ivo come back with two buckets. "... Err..."

 As for what kind of designs must they paint.....

 ".... Okult?" Constatin squints.
 

Tranquila looks at all the crab blood, and in her drunken states go. "Lovely!" she says as she starts haphazardly painting occult runes on the crab. Because yes, she does know this.

Ruidosa has decided to stay with Reize and eat crab in a drunken stupor as she giggles and noms happily into crab with a fork this time. Because picking up CRAB MEAT is rude as opposed to entire crab swallowing when it isn't!?

Tranquila covered in blue crab blood now is chanting ... something... under the moonlight. +_+


 Ivo nods firmly as Tranquila begins painting crab blood runes all over the interior of the giant crab shell, as though this is all proceeding exactly as planned and also is completely fine and nothing to worry about. With a small smile, seeming to have relaxed a little now that the occult ritual is underway, he looks down at the concerned and ever helpful Constatin and places a hand on the boy's shoulder.
 "Our beetle friend is all tired out," he gently says. "Can you try to gather what energy you can into your Crown? You're a natural at using it, and the residual Creation aether will help."
 The moonlight gleams through the window as though bearing witness to the proceedings, the partygoers carousing on as this dark-ish deed is done, all while Ivo watches on implacably, and does not watch Reize and Ruidosa's shenanigans at all. Should Constantin devote his efforts as well, the ambient aether-disrupting aspects of the activated Crown will add some eerie touches, the lights inside the restaurant flickering even as the feasting continues. A cold wind seems to rush through the restaurant, but no window is open.
 "There!!!!"
 Finally, at last, thanks to Tranquila's drunken and devoted efforts, Ivo is vindicated: hovering above them all, faint and wavering but there, is the spectre of a crab the exact size and shape as the shell taking up way too much space below, its vaporous claws menacing, its eyestalks swiveling. Silence slowly falls like a pall over the party. Rats and tourists alike stare up at the baffling sight. A long pause follows, with Ivo frozen, pointing up at the ghost.
 "More crab!" a tourist then shouts, clearly intoxicated. Cheers rise up. "Time, for, Crab! Time, for, Crab!" The rats squeak in union, swaying back in forth, wine sloshing from thimbles.
 Ivo stares at them blankly, then looks up at the ghost of the giant crab. The ghost of the giant crab swivels its eyestalks to look down at him. They stare at each other for a little while.
 Then Ivo shrugs and looks to Tranquila.
 "Say, gorgeous," he offhandedly asks the bloodsoaked blonde, "do you know anything about materializing the ghosts of animals? So that, hypothetically, one could eat them?"
 The giant crab ghost, hovering above, sweatdrops.


  As Ivo comments on the state of the beetle, the boy gives a determined nod to Ivo and goes to place the crown on his head. This is where he starts to focus on the artifact in order to help the beetle.

"..."
"..."

"Ah... how do I do that again?" It will take the boy a bit. He takes a few deep breaths, trying to collect himself in order to try again. After moments, he manages to get a good feel of the aether around him, relaxing and letting it gather around him.

 Reize is beside Ruidosa, happily eating with his partner until he sees the outcome of the dark ritual: The manifestation of the crabby spectral.

 He cheers, "More crab! Time for crab!" He chants along with the guests, already a bit tipsy, from the champagne.
 

Ruidosa is chanting with Reize in the restaurant as Tranquila helps summon a dumb crab ghost. "TIME. FOR. CRAB!" she cheers.

Tranquila, who is covered in crab blood and having helped conduct the ritual merely looks at Ivo with a twinkle in her eyes.

"OF COURSE, HANDSOME." she says drunkenly and starts chanting something different and picking up the second bucket of blood and inducting arcane drawings on her own arm as she continues to chant something horrid!


 "Hm..."
 As the carousing redoubles in the presence of the impotently staring King Crab ghost, Ivo, eyes gleaming with schemes, gazes into the middle distance, scratching his chin thoughtfully, showing no sign of alarm as Tranquila gleefully covers herself in yet more crab blood.
 "So long as the ghost of this ancient crab is bound to its shell, we could summon it for its incomparable meat again and again," Ivo is murmuring. "It won't be cheap to procure the concentrated Creation aether we'd need to repeat the ritual, but... if we can pull it off... then..."
 He brightens and, for the first time since seeing the spectre that haunts them, grins widely, beaming.
 "Crab necromancy would be the ultimate in sustainable fishing!!"
 SOMEWHERE
 Faruja sweatdrops.
 HERE
 "What could go wrong?"