logsinthenight | Darkness Descends on the Landmark Inn

characters: Ardyn + OPEN
location: The Landmark
date/time: March 9-16
content: The Landmark gets a little Darker
warnings: Sickness related things including purging in the Ardyn portion with elements of body horror

Closed to Carmilla

Ardyn lies supine on the floor of his suite, gazing up towards the ceiling with clouded eyes. The bed is too soft; he feels like he'd drown in it.

The firmness against his back, however, his calming. It's real... not like the two phantoms standing in the room with him. He knows that Somnus and Aera are not really there; it's hardly the first time his fevered mind has conjured their faces, either. It's happened before out of crushing boredom or loneliness.

"Aera..."

His glowing eyes turn towards the blonde woman kneeling beside him.

"I'm dying."

"You're not dying," she scolds. "You can't die, even that choice was taken from you."

Despite the harsh words, she reaches out and touches his cheek, now damp with miasma. Ardyn could swear he actually feels her caress.

"You're just sick, you big baby. You'll be fine."

Sick? Preposterous, he doesn't get sick.

In the corner he sees Somnus move through the deepening shadows. Miasma is spread across the floor. Clouds of it rise to the ceiling only to condense around him the moment he feels sleep start to take him, when his body radiates light enough to burn the Starscourge and fill him with pain. The miasma gathers to consume that light.

I'm eating myself.

He thinks and barks with laughter.

Someone moves on the other side of the door and the phantom Somnus points in the sound's direction.

"Now, brother, I shouldn't have to tell you this but remember: Friends, not food."

Open

Ardyn's miasma seeps throughout the building, consuming light. It creeps under door frames, through windows and through areas damaged in the storm.

Shadows deepen and lanterns are growing dimmer.

[ooc: People are encouraged to make top levels and mingle among themselves at the Landmark. Go forth into the shadows and bump into each other!

If you would really like for your character to seek out the source of the darkness and locate Ardyn, drop me a PM at this journal or at

PsiYamaneko which accepts PMs from anyone.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Carmilla knows dark magic when she sees it.

Residents of the Landmark have eyes, so, of course they've noticed it's a lot darker in the halls that were never too bright to begin with. Still, nobody seemed to have a huge issue with it. Common consensus seemed to be that it was some spirit shenanigan and that it was probably not a big deal if nobody keeled over dead from it. Carmilla is too much cat not to be curious, so of course, she's decided to look into it.

She's found what she thinks is the source. Fourth floor — she hadn't even known there was someone living on this floor. If everyone's right and it's some spirit nonsense, maybe nobody does. The darkness seems to pool at one door in particular and thanks to vampiric hearing, she can definitely hear something moving and talking in there.

She pounds on the door, rather abruptly. If she was supposed to proceed with caution, she missed the memo. "Who the hell is in there?" She inquires, the picture of kindness and compassion.

Ardyn hisses.

"Ignore her," says the image of Aera. "You need rest."

Somnus guffaws. "Do you think she's going to just leave? Gods know what your darkness is doing to the rest of the inn. You owe them answers."

"Begone!"

Ardyn barks at the door, but his voice comes out as a distorted rumble, as if it is echoing from the depths of a cavern instead of his own throat.

Whether they're owed or not, Carmilla is absolutely here to find them. And if there was a way to scare her off the scent (there probably isn't), trying to roar her into submission was just never going to work.

She unabashedly tries the door, which is, of course, locked. "I can tell you're up to some black magic bullshit in there, so I'm not leaving. Either open this or I'll open it for you."

Since commanding worked so well for her last time. Maybe adding a threat will help!

Gods, how irritating.

Ardyn rolls over and decides to ignore the demand.

"What if she breaks your door down?" Somnus hums mockingly. "You'll hardly have privacy then."

Damn it.

He pulls himself up on to his bare feet and staggers to the door, leaving a trail of miasma behind him.

When he wrenches it open, Carmilla will see what is probably the man she'd spoken to during the flood. Most of his clothes are in a heap in the corner, leaving him in a buttoned up silk shirt and his trousers... The most undressed he ever gets is to wear what most people would consider a normal number of layers.

His skin is ashen, dark miasma trickles from the corners of his mouth and from his eyes which are clouded in pain. Beneath the film they're glowing green.

"I was unable to find you any converse or combat boots," he rumbles.

It's true. Somnus has a point. And it would be such a pain to repair this door, so better to not make her go G.I. Jane on this thing. She's a lazy creature by nature, though there's this whole saying about cats and curiosity, and for better or worse, Carmilla has always suffered from that particular cliche.

She's really not expecting an answer. She'd almost be glad that she doesn't have to put energy into something, if she weren't distracted by... wow, everything he's got going on there.

"Jesus," she notes, nose wrinkling. This is a bit of a muted reaction for a normal human, but honestly this isn't even the most terrifying display of black magic she's ever seen. Comes with the territory of being the daughter of an ageless creature of unknown and powerful magic. Lilita sure has a way of disillusioning a girl.

The green eyes are more of a tell than anything. "I'd ask what the hell is wrong with you, but I can already tell it has to do with a spirit. I hope whatever you were trying to do is worth puking your guts out." She maybe should have tried to keep her own experience a little closer to the chest, but Carmilla isn't as cagey about her vampirism with other supernaturals.

And looking at Ardyn, he sure as shit does not look human right now.

"Crass."

Ardyn draws back to close the door, then hesitates. His persistent vomiting isn't something anyone else should be aware of...

"You've experienced this?"

You don't know the half of it, Ardyn. She's just getting started on being crass. She left any sense of demurity in the 1700s. She lifts her eyebrows at the correction, though. Really? That's what's most relevant in this situation?

"I drained a spirit like it was a capri sun. And then I got to spend three days choking back up every last bit of it. If you did any kind of spirit consumption, I'm guessing you're going to be about the same." She runs dark eyes over him, pushing past the shock to really take him in. He's horrifying to look at, drowned in darkness and the muted green cast to his eyes. It's terrifyingly supernatural, and even more so because she's got no idea exactly how.

"I'm guessing you're to thank for this place being even more badly lit than before. What are you, some kind of wendigo?" She's guessing, but thanks to the black magic and the likely consumption of a spirit, it seems a decent guess.

"Has it grown darker? I hadn't noticed."

Ardyn leans out the door slightly and peers around. It does look like the shadows are deeper than before. If he allows himself a moment of silence he can feel the miasma seeping through the building.

Oh, well.

"I am not a wendigo, no. I am..."

Gods, how to put it?

"Ardyn."

Sure.

Darkness Descends on the Landmark Inn

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