[PP - F11] More Hallowed Halls

[Lessa 1]

This is a continuation of Hallowed Halls.

She had lagged behind, and perhaps that was a good thing, in the end. As Jomei led her into the large room, one particular device caught her attention. "Odd," the woman breathed, shoving at her blonde hair to move it back from her face. Squinting against the darkness, she attempted to get a better look. What was this thing, anyway? Wooden beams, leather straps, some sort of round knob. Later, she might laugh at the fact that her first thought was ancient chiropractors table. Of course, in the moment, she was too tightly wound for humor.

As such, she missed Jomei's faint call to her, and the sound of clanking chains hardly registered. It was not until the cage met the hard ground with an impossibly loud crash that Lessa finally turned. One perk of the dim light, she supposed, was that it masked the absolute horror that crossed her face. "Jomei!" she cried out, lunging for him. He had already lapsed into a fit of coughs by the time she reached him, but the dust had not yet settled, and the sound of the crash still rang in her ears. One hand went instinctively to his shoulder, and she squeezed, as if to assure herself he was still there. "You okay?" she blurted. "You good?"

She was trembling, she realized, and the irony of her trying to steady him with an unsteady hand was not lost on her. But what could she do? This place was getting to her, regardless of how brave she tried to make herself. Were the stakes lower, and were death not such a real threat, she might have enjoyed the adventure. Now, however, she was just eager to find somewhere safer, and more well-lit. Maybe less dusty, too.

@Jomei

[Jomei 0]

A hand waved in front of the ginger's face trying to push away the ages old dust that carried through the air in front of him, causing him to cough uncontrollably after inhaling a good amount into his lungs. Once the cloud had subsided, and the last of the particles were clearing from his body, Jomei pushed himself up off of his side and onto a knee. The reassuring hand of Lessa's resting on his shoulder made him feel a bit safer,  reminding him that he was not alone in this. "Yeah... yeah I'm alright." the man said with a few nods, before slowly raising to his feet, leaving him to brush off the dirt that clung to his green cloak and clothes. "Are you okay?" he instinctively asked back to her as he felt the shivering of her body through the gentle touch on his shoulder. His chin turned to look over at her, searching her face for a true answer, rather then the falsely confident answer he expected from her.

Olive eyes trailed back to the mangled mess of broken metal bars on the floor in front of him, ones that once made up the large cage that suspended high above them. A chill ran down the man's spine, realizing that if he had not moved fast enough, the weight of the metal trap falling could have easily taken his life. Not only that, but the thought of being trapped in such a cage high above the ground triggered his phobia of falling, causing his heart to race a bit faster. A quick shake of his head rid the thought from his mind, and clamping his eyes shut, the man took a few steps past the twisted metal mess on the ground. "Come on, lets keep moving.. There has to be something down here"

On the other side of the room was an open doorway, leading to a long, dark hall that was just barely illuminated by a torch bolted to the wall. Jomei's steps were slow and cautious, yet the silence of the castle's lower levels caused his boots to echo loudly with each movement forward. As the man's eyes adjusted to the new lighting of the proceeding area, he saw the walls were lined with even more cages; some empty, others housing the skeletal remains of the poor person that had been confined to the cell. "What kind of cathedral has tools of torture and a cell in the basement... This is all too bizarre.."

@Lessa

[Lessa 1]

There was something comforting in Jomei’s closeness, and Lessa felt some of the tension leave her as she caught his eye. His olive gaze was so intense, and so full of concern, that she smiled despite herself. “Yeah,” she told him, giving a small nod that sent her mop of hair into her face. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before shoving the blonde mane back. “Yeah, I’m okay.” And she meant it. Fear still clambered up and down her spine, but it was easier to push it away knowing her friend had her back. 

Together, the pair moved on, the scuffing of their boots impossibly loud in the still silence. When Jomei finally slowed to a halt, she moved up alongside him. His question hung heavy, as both were lost in thought, before Lessa finally spoke. “This place isn’t like any church I’ve ever been to.” She had been to very few, of course, but that was unimportant. Even if Lessa had toured one hundred churches, she imagined that this would be the strangest.

Now her gaze swung to the remains. She had to squint to make out the particulars, but the dim light that did reflect off of the unnaturally white bones made her shiver. “Poor guy.” Then, with a frown, she corrected herself. “Er, poor girl, I guess.” She leaned forward, her forehead only a hair’s breadth from the old, iron bars. “I think that’s a dress she’s wearing.” When the woman turned back to Jomei, her eyes were wide. “Do you think we can pick the lock and get in?”

[Jomei 0]

Thoughts of why this church-like structure would replace the usual catacombs with a prison like setting circled through his mind, the lore behind the possibilities of this set up. Then he remembered the other rooms of the cathedral, the kitchen, the bedrooms; this really was more of a castle and Jomei had nearly forgotten. The avoid feeling any more embarrassed, he decided not to bring it up, and Lessa's gaze catching a glimpse of a poor soul trapped in one of the cages helped to change the subject quickly in his favor. The ginger watched as Lessa took a few steps past him towards one of the cells, which still held the mostly intact skeleton of what was once a woman. A dirty, white dress, which seemed to be much larger due to its wearer's lack of muscles and innards, laid atop the bones. A small frown crept onto Jomei's face at the unfortunate fate of the girl. 

His blonde friend suggested picking the lock to get inside the cell to take a closer look at the skeletal remains. The man lazily shrugged his shoulders, "I don't have the lock picking skill.. but we could give it a shot." With a large step forward, Jomei lowered himself to a knee just in front of the cell door, trying to get a good look at the lock that kept the door from being opened. The lack of light, aside from the singular torch on the opposite side of the room made it tough to see what he was working with.. but it wasn't going to get any better without another light, or the Night vision skill. 

Drawing his rapier from its scabbard on his hip, the ginger carefully slid the thin tip into the key hole, feeling around for the locking mechanism. Having never picked a lock before in his life, Jomei knew little of what he was looking for, yet that did not stop him from trying. Slowly, he made small circles with the tip of the rapier inside of the small hole, hoping it would catch onto something that could help them. The ginger stopped suddenly when he felt a cold chill run from the tip of his skull down his spine, the feeling of eyes other than Lessa's looking at him. The man turned his head towards the previous room with all of the torture devices, nothing. His gaze only lingered on the room for a moment more before continuing with his job, with a bit more haste than before. "Come on.." he said to himself under his breath.
 

@Lessa

[Lessa 1]

He feels it too.

In truth, Lessa could not decide if that fact was comforting or unsettling. At the same moment that the hair on the back of her neck stood up, Jomei turned to glance over his shoulder. The action came a split-second before Lessa turned to do the same. Jomei only would have turned if he heard something, or if he sensed something. As the room was still eerily silent, she assumed it was the latter, which lined up with her own feelings. Something was there, lurking just out of sight, the shadows providing necessary cover. Or, perhaps whatever watched them was entirely invisible. Given the oddness of their surroundings, she simply could not count it out. But she also did not want to think too much about it, because being stalked by a transparent being was a less than pleasant notion.

The tension was thick enough that it could be cut with any one of the sharp-edged torture devices lining the walls. It was as if the entirety of Aincrad, Lessa included, was holding its breath while Jomei worked. It was enough that she jumped, and gave a startled squeak when the click of the lock announced the Irishman's success. Her muscles were so wound that she paused to shake her arms out before stepping closer to the door. "Nice job," she told him. "I bet your breaking and entering skill just took a huge jump." The words were delivered with a tight-lipped smile, an expression as false as the humor in her tone. But she kept it as she slipped past him, and into the cell.

"Poor girl," she heard herself saying again, her voice soft, as if to utter a prayer. What was left of the body was crumpled in on itself, as if the woman had been in the fetal position when she finally passed. Gingerly, Lessa used the point of massive Claymore to roll the remains over, stretching them out a bit, allowing her to get a better view of the garment. Touching the bones with her hands seemed a little too far, but something about the white dress nagged at her. It was like a scratch at the back of her mind she could not itch, a far-away memory of something in the not-so-distant past.

"Jomei," she began, slowly, as realization dawned. "I think this-" She lifted her gaze to him, then dropped her sword in a panicked, graceless motion. It landed atop the bones in a heap as Lessa scrambled backward. "Jesus jesus jesus jesus," she kept repeating. Though she was not especially religious, no other words came to her in that chaotic moment. Directly behind Jomei, hovering a few inches off the ground, was the ghost. Her long, lace-lined white dress skimmed just above her bare ankles, and the sleeves bellowed around impossibly pale, impossibly thin fingers. It took Lessa a moment to make any sound at all, her lips making shapes like a fish out of water. "I think this is the same dress the ghost is wearing," she managed, finally.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Lessa

[Jomei 0]

Every muscle in Jomei's body tensed when he felt his rapier shift forward, accompanied the loud click of the locking mechanism shifting out of place. A tiny sigh passed through his partially parted lips as he removed the tip of the thin blade from the lock and rose to his feet, the barred, cell door swinging slightly open as he did so. The ginger chuckled at Lessa's remark, "Well.. first time breaking into a cell like this.. can't say the same about breaking out-" the man looked back over his shoulders at the blonde with a small shrug and a smirk, "Those times, I ended up kicking the door down though." Wrapping a gloved hand around one of the old, grime covered bars, Jomei pulled the door open with a loud creak, allowing Lessa to pass by and get a better look at the skeletal remains of the girl.

Jomei stood over Lessa as she observed the skeleton and what she wore. It did not take long for his blonde companion to speak out his name, a bit of fear and realization behind her voice. The weight of her claymore caused the weapon to slid through her trembling fingers, crashing to the floor with a loud clang. "Wh-what is it?" Jomei responded, looking towards Lessa with concern in his eyes. Her blue eyes, however, were not fixated on Jomei, but seemed to look past him, as she shared what she believed; the dress the skeleton wore bore many similarities to the one their ghost stalker had been wearing. The cold chill from before ran down Jomei's spine, and the breath he released was visible in a thin, misty cloud. The air had grown much, much colder, as if Jomei's back was mere inches from an open freezer, or block of ice. Slowly, the man turned to look over his shoulder, to see the thin, lifeless figure floating behind him. "[censored]!" Jomei shouted, stumbling forward towards Lessa.

The man quickly spun on his heel and stood in between the ghost and the blonde, extending an arm out to the side as if to protect Lessa in some way from the apparition in front of them. "What do you want from us?" Jomei responded, trying to hide the shivering fear in his voice. Lifting bony, thin arm from its side, the ghost extended a finger towards the lifeless body on the floor. Hesitantly, the man broke his gaze from the ghost to look down at the skeletal remains, noticing the one thing that made the corpse stand out from the ghost in front of them. Around its neck was a pendant, a red ruby with a distinct engraving on the face of the gem. "This..?" Jomei asked as he slowly crouched down next to the skeleton, taking the pendant from its neck. "What.. what do you want us to do with it?" 

@Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Though there was a quick flare of sweetness in Jomei's gesture, positioning himself between the threat and Lessa, she had very little time to dwell on it. The fact that they were interacting with a ghost, coupled with the pile of remains at their feet, had a way of consuming her attention. Later, she would reflect on how strange the sight of the bones was. How long had it been since she had seen a body decomposing? It was a bit morbid, but she had experienced it plenty back on the farm: carcasses of deer struck by cars, mice the barn cats had caught, birds that had fallen from the nest. But not here. Here, the dead burst into pixels, shimmering shapes that rain down on anyone lucky or unlucky enough to still be standing. So seeing the decaying flesh, the impossibly white bones... it was surreal.

"Should we really touch it?" the woman asked hesitantly, watching as her companion did just that. As he did not immediately burst into flames, or start convulsing, Lessa was forced to admit that maybe she was being paranoid. Still, her lips were drawn in a tight line as her gaze drifted from the ghost, to Jomei, then back to the ghost. As she watched, the woman reached toward the pair with long, lithe fingers that reminded her of icicles. She gave a small, graceful wave of her hand that was easily recognizable as a beckoning gesture. Then she slowly turned, hovering a full foot of the ground, and moved back the way that they had come.

"Alright," Lessa stated again. "Moment of truth. Is this some Casper the Friendly Ghost junk, or something more sinister? Because I've never liked the idea of following a ghost into the dark." Then she hesitated, and ammended, "I've never really had the idea, actually. Never had a situation that called for it. But here we are."

[Jomei 0]

"Well.." Jomei said taking in a deep breath as his fingers ran over the chain of the necklace, "Only one way to find out." Jomei could feel his heart beating faster as his fingers clenched around the necklace, his eyes going back and forth between the ghost in front of them and the pendant he worked to remove from the skeleton. Clenching his eyes shut, the man pulled the chain the rest of the way, freeing it from the corpse, and holding it in his hands. He crouched there for a moment, waiting for something to happen.. but lucky enough, he was fine, and Lessa was fine. Retracting her extended finger, the ghostly figure turned her hand before following suit with the rest of her body, and floating back the way they came. "A-Alright.. guess she wants us to follow her." Jomei rose to his feet and slowly followed after the ghost, wondering just what was in store for them.

The Irishman kept close to Lessa as they slowly continued back the way they came, around the twisted metal cage that fell from above, and the chain that held it up. "Lets just hope that... now that we are following this ghost, that we won't have to deal with any more surprises.." Once they reached the cast iron door that the two originally traveled through, the ghastly figure passed right through. "Tch, figures.. not even going to open the door for us." Jomei said as a joke to ease the tension. Placing a palm on the door, the ginger put his weight against it and pushed the door open, revealing a large hallway that the two had not been in yet. "Great..." escaped his lips through a sigh.

The room looked similar to the prior hallway the two had traveled through, but the lights were limited to a dimly lit chandelier that hung above their heads in the center of the corridor. Their ghostly 'friend' moved at a continuous pace to the other side of the room without stopping, and not drawing attention from any sort of unknown figures. "Seems safe enough..." Jomei said in a soft voice before beginning to step forward. The chandelier above slowly began to sway, bringing light to different parts of the corridor. On the opposite side of the room, in each of the corners stood a statue of an angel, its face hidden behind open palms. Turning to look over his shoulder, Jomei saw another two statues of the same type standing in the opposite corers on either side of them.. the only difference was that they were turned to face the two players. "Come on, those things are giving me the creeps.." Turning his attention forward, the man stopped, olive eyes wide in fear. The two statues on the opposite side of the wall had moved, and were now a couple of steps closer to them. The light that continued to swing back and forth over head revealing that their faces were no longer covered, their lifeless eyes staring the two players down. 

 

@Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Lessa's body trembled, frustration and exhaustion mingling with fresh fear. "This is ridiculous," she managed, though her teeth threatened to chatter if she spoke further. It did not take her very long to recognize how the dark seemed to breathe life into the stone creatures. It was pure instinct that had her body weaving a bit, always attempting to stay within the ring of light cast by the the swinging chandelier. It was using her peripheral vision that she saw the uncovered faces of the angels, and every fiber of her being urged her to turn, to look, to study. Why was this desire to meet the lifeless, stone eyes so overpowering? 

As if to physically fight the urge, the blonde moved into a trot. It was more difficult to remain in the light, now, but she was in a hurry to distance herself. Besides, their ghostly tour guide was already on the other end of the corridor, and passing seamlessly through the heavy, iron door. "She really does have bad manners," Lessa commented, attempting, and failing, to play off of Jomei's earlier humor. It was easier to be lighthearted when stone statues were not dancing around them. She hit the door at what was bordering on a run, and did not hesitate to grab for the handle. She jerked, and with a sound that was impossibly loud, heard the lock jangle. "Open the door!" Came Lessa's suddenly panicked cry, and her balled fists pounded. "Come on, ghost lady. Seriously. Open the door."

There was irony, there. Only an hour ago, she had told her companion that there was nothing worse than ghosts. Now, she was willing to admit that she had been wrong. In fact, she was pleading with a ghost for help, which was a very unforeseen plot twist. The color rode high on her cheeks as she turned back to Jomei. To her horror, the statues were much closer now. "Alright, game plan? Do we fight them?"

As if in answer, she heard the melodic sound of a child's giggling. Usually, the cheerful noise reduced her to a blubbering, oozing mess of mush. But given the situation, it made her want to vomit. Yes, she was sure of it now. There were worse things that ghosts.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei rushed up behind Lessa, also trying too pry the door on the opposite side of the hall open, hoping the door would magically open for him. Of course, it did not. "Dammit.. I knew this all seemed a bit too easy." The man spun around, four statues, all glaring at the two players. At the moment, they were not moving, and seemed lifeless. Jomei knew, however, as soon as the light was off of them, they would just move closer. "I doubt we can fight them..Most likely some sort of trap." Olive eyes frantically moved between each of the stone angels, trying to think of a plan.  His hands clenched into tight fists, realizing he still held on tightly to the ghost's amulet. Bringing a hand up, Jomei looked at the object in his hand before taking a deep breath. The chandelier above them continued to sway, allowing the statues to move closer and closer. 

"Well lady, if you don't want to help us.. then we don't have to help you!" The man shouted to the opposite side of the door, keeping his eyes on the statues. Stepping forward, Jomei chucked the necklace down the hall, back the way they had came. The amulet hit the stone floor on the opposite side of the angels with a clang, and Jomei could only hope the statues were more interested in that than them. The lights above them suddenly went out, leaving the two in pitch black, and silence. 

In one swift motion, cold, stone fingers wrapped around Jomei's neck, the palm of the statue's hand pressing into his throat. That did not go according to his plan at all, and in moments, the man saw his green health bar slowly deplete as his breathing was cut off. His hands gripped at the angel's hand, choking him, trying to break free. Though it felt as though he was actually trying to break free from a statue.. which was nearly impossible with his bare hands. When all hope seemed lost, the door behind Jomei and Lessa shot open,  the scream of a banshee echoing off the walls and piercing their ears. With a hand extended, the ghostly woman from before pushed back the angels with an icy wind, freeing Jomei and Lessa from their grasp. The angel statues began to crack and crumble, until their were nothing but frost covered dust and debris. 

The ginger fell to the floor, grasping at his throat and coughing. "All.. according to plan.." he joked, looking up to Lessa. Clearing his throat once more, the man retrieved the amulet from the other side of the hall and rejoined Lessa. 

 

@Lessa

[Lessa 1]

Lessa sucked in a deep breath. She was doubled over at the waist, hands planted on her knees, trying to regain some semblance of control. Aincrad had thrown a lot at her over the years, but this place? This place was in a league of it's own. "I honestly can't believe you can joke around after that." The blonde exhaled slowly, then straightened, turning to look at her companion. The vision of the angels bearing down on her friend, with stony hands wrapped around his neck... well, that was one that she didn't think she could ever shake. Lessa had been so fixed on Jomei that she'd hardly noticed the angels reaching for her neck. But she recognized that, had the banshee not made an appearance, they likely would have died in that hallway. She never enjoyed imagining her own end, but the concept of meeting it in that stupid fun-house of doom sparked anger in her gut. Time to get down to business, and get out of that horror show.

"What now?" she inquired, gaze shifting from Jomei to the ghostly woman still hovering in the doorway. The light cast by the still-swinging chandeliers reflected strangely off her shimmering form, and causing her to glow faintly. Or was that something else? Lessa could no longer pretend to know what was going on. But the banshee's long hair billowed out behind her as if she floated in the deep end of the pool, and dark eyes gazed down at the frazzled players. Though she did not beckon to them, Lessa understood the specter expected them to follow. "She did save us. Do you think if we stick with her, she'll do it again?"

As if in confirmation, the ghost pivoted mid-air, and drifted into the darkness. "Guess that settles it," Lessa muttered squaring her shoulders. "We follow." So the blonde left the long, dark corridor for... a longer, darker corridor. "Seriously?" The space was completely dark, save for the faint, soft light cast by their phantom guide. Then even that was gone when the ghost reached a door and simply poofed through it. Lessa breathed a quick curse, shuffling her way through the blackness. She could sense Jomei moving behind her, but was unable to see him. The sensation was incredibly unsettling.

Finally, the woman rammed directly into the door, the thunk impossibly loud in the quiet. "Ow," she groaned, but didn't stop until she yanked open the door and flooded the hall with light. Fresh air blasted them both, throwing back Lessa's hair, and bringing on a wave of relief unlike any she'd ever felt. "We made it!" Then, after a quick look around, she registered where they were. "A hallway that leads directly to the graveyard. Of course."

[Jomei 0]

The ginger brushed dust and small bits of shattered statue off of his clothes as he got back onto his feet. Once he had returned to where Lessa stood, both of their eyes locked onto the spectral figure that hovered in the doorway. It looked back at them with gaping, black holes for eyes.. but its expression was not one of ill intent. She almost seemed as if she was waiting for them. "You have a point.. we might as well follow along." Jomei agreed. Hearing the two players decide to put their trust in the ghost, the figure turned and began to float in a different direction. Lessa took to following the ghostly figure first, and Jomei followed soon in her step. 

Light quickly faded as the two continued on down the proceeding hallway, and eventually the two continued on in complete darkness. Jomei hurried his step to follow closely behind Lessa before losing sight to her in the blackness. His eyes darted around the corridor, hoping to catch a glimpse of something.. some sort of clue to show them the way to go. It was pointless, however, he might as well be walking with his eyes shut. The man reached a hand forward towards where he believed Lessa to be, cautiously walking so he would not crash into her in case she stopped.  Suddenly, a loud thud echoed throughout the corridor, and Jomei felt his hand meet Lessa's back. "You alright?" Jomei asked, taking a step back to allow Lessa to recover from whatever she had bumped into. After listening to her feel around for a moment, she managed to open the door the two stood in front. The corridor was immediately illuminated, and Jomei felt a breeze pass through the open threshold. "Finally." he said to himself, his eyes adjusting to the bright light before them. He had believed they were out of this ... but it would seem they were wrong. 

On the other side of the door was a graveyard lost to time. Vines and greenery had taken over much of the area. Jomei stepped past Lessa into the old cemetery, "It'll be alright, lets just follow our friend.. maybe there's a reason she led us here." Jomei slowly followed behind the figure as it floated farther into the graveyard, the tips of her feet passing right over the lines of tombstones. Jomei looked up at the ghost and noticed that her head was slowly turning, back and forth. Jomei fell back a bit to walk beside Lessa, "Is it just me, or does it look like she's looking for something?" 

[Lessa 1]

The specter did seem to hesitate near certain headstones. Rather than floating steadily across the graveyard, she paused occasionally before moving on again. The blonde nodded, then looked from the ghost to Jomei. "Yeah, I think you're right. She does seem to be looking for something." Lessa brought her thumb to her mouth, chewing on her nail as she returned to studying the spirit. A long silence fell between them, broken only by the rustle of the wind through the overgrown vegetation. Yet even after a full five minutes of searching, the paranormal being had not ceased her search. "I wonder what she wants," Lessa finally mused aloud. 

Her answer came shortly after. The banshee drifted downward, and while her feet never actually took her weight, she gave the impression of standing amongst thick foliage. A single hand reached out, ever so slowly, to hover a hairs-breadth from the rough, worn stone. Time had not been kind to the grave marker, wind and rain having nearly striped the surface of legible words. Yet their guide knew it immediately. After a pregnant pause, the woman turned to look at Jomei and Lessa, who stood motionless on the other side of the cemetery.

"I guess we check it out?" Lessa asked softly, voice only a step above the whisper of the wind. With her companion's confirmation, she picked her way through rogue vines and massive, leafy plants. They crunched beneath her boots, but most sprang back into place as soon as she passed. How many years had this tiny jungle dominated the sacred space? One hundred? Hundreds? Her presence would surely not be enough to change anything. When she stood a few feet from the ghost, Lessa glanced to Jomei. "Now what?"

[Jomei 0]

The ginger was cautious with his steps as he made his way forward into the old, forgotten graveyard, trying not to disturb any other unrestful spirits that the two of them may run into. The overgrown foliage and broken bits of tombstone that lay scattered made traversing through the abandoned cemetery difficult , especially if one wanted to remain respectful in such a place. As their etherial friend floated forward, its head swiveling back and forth in quick, jagged motions, Jomei decided to create some distance between himself and the ghost and just explore a bit. Making sure to keep an eye on Lessa, to make sure she was safe, Jomei searched curiously through the tombstones, walking before them so he could try and read any of the names of the deceased. For the most part, many of the grave markers had eroded, pieces containing the names either completely broken off, or faded to the point where he could not make out the name in the slightest. 

Suddenly, the corner of his eye caught something within the next row of tombstones. A single name readable, recognizable, that he caught only out of the corner of his eye thanks to a bit of light that trickled through. Seeing the name sent a chill down his spine, and as he turned to get a better look at the grave marker, he saw it was, in fact, a name he did not recognize. Simply a generic name, maybe linked to some old, abandoned quest, or maybe an easter egg. Jomei stared at the tombstone for a moment more, his brow furrowed before he turned to see how Lessa and the ghost were fairing. The spectral figure had stopped and hovered a few, mere inches over a marker that, from the back, seemed to be completely put together with no signs of wear. 

Jomei quickly moved up alongside his companion and stood there with her, looking over at the ghost. At first, she could have been mistaken for mourning the loss of someone.. like anyone would do at a loved one's burial site. Jomei took in a deep breath, before taking a few steps forward towards the floating figure, so he could get a better look at the tombstone. With another step forward, Jomei suddenly felt, through the overgrowth, the lack of earth below him. The ginger reached out to try and catch his footing, grabbing onto anything he could, but the vines and bushes failed to hold his body weight, and the man plummeted. He did not fall for long, however, as his side and shoulder crashed down into the dirt at the bottom of a six foot hole, with nothing in it but Jomei himself. "You could have warned me there was nothing there..." Jomei grunted under his breath to the spectral figure that still floated there, as if Jomei had not just fallen into an empty grave below her. 

[Lessa 1]

"This place is so sad." Lessa's voice came in little more than a breathy whisper, blue eyes draped by drooping eyelids. What was it about cemeteries that always evoked an emotional reaction from her? Alyssa had experienced something very similar when visiting her great uncle's final resting place. Hell, she felt that way when she spent too long looking at a graveyard through a car window. They were just dead people, right? Bodies bereft of a spirit. The only sadness came from the living, who likely left tears along with the flowers over the gravesite. So cemeteries, as an entity, shouldn't have so much energy trapped within them. Literally, in this case, came a sudden thought. Lessa's gaze swung toward the ghost, who hovered only a few feet away. 

As her eyes skimmed across the nearest grave markers, her stomach lurched into her throat. "Oh my god," came out on a gargled murmur, and as her legs went to jelly, Lessa thought she might fall to her knees. Only when she took a second look, and the nondescript name became clearer, was she able to take another breath. Not what I thought it said, her logical mind rationalized, though her heart continued to gallop like a spooked horse. A sudden, impossible urge to be closer to Jomei swamped her, and like a magnet, she allowed herself to be pulled toward him. Just as she neared her favorite Irishman, he tumbled out of sight.

Her already racing heart stuttered, and Lessa fought the instinct to dive after him. "Hey, hey, hey," she muttered frantically as she teetered on the edge. As he tried to right himself in the bottom of the pit, she managed, "Are you okay?"

[Jomei 0]

Jomei grunted as he righted himself within the pit, the top of his ginger head just poking out and breaking the surface. "Yeah.. I'm fine" he reassured Lessa as his hands searched for some sort of purchase that would allow him to climb out of the empty tomb. "Well.. that is definitely not something I want to experience ever again.. at least, until.. you know." his joke slowly turned sour, so he tried to clear his throat as if to wipe the slate of the conversation clean, "Anyway." Now standing beside Lessa once again, he looked towards the floating spirit, which had now rotated within the air and looked towards the two players. Even without many features, including eyes, Jomei could feel the sorrow and restlessness that the spectral feeling was giving off. 

His eyes trailed from the spirit, to the grave marker, to the six foot pit before he finally came to a conclusion. "Wait a second... She's not mourning someone at all."  He turned his head to look at his blonde companion, "I think this was supposed to be her resting place..." A hand ran through his hair, pushing his long ginger bangs from his face as he pondered what their next step was, "But.. we found her remains within the cathedral.. We're we supposed to bring her bones back to this grave?" 

[Lessa 1]

Though the joke was in bad humor, Lessa still forced a small, crooked smile. "Hah, yeah," she replied on a quick exhale. "How about that not happen for a very long time, okay?"

Only once her companion had climbed out of the grave did the blonde fully relax. Which, considering the haunted castle, Demogorgon, space and time inconsistencies, and creepy-ass angel statues was really saying something. How could she possibly relax in a place like this? At least she wasn't worried about his safety for the time being. And besides, the overwhelming sadness rolling off the ghost in waves dampened any fear. Instead, Lessa simply felt a numb emptiness, and a painful longing. Instinctively, she stepped closer to Jomei, allowing her arm to brush his. Even that slight contact created a physical tether, reminding her that she wasn't alone. But the other woman, who floated just above the tombstone, was.

"I-I don't know." Lessa admitted finally. "I can't imagine a quest or something requiring us to haul around a pile of bones. That's kind of morbid, even for SAO." Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she reconsidered. "But honestly, everything about this situation seems really messed up. Maybe we found a glitch or something? I've never even heard of the kind of things we've seen here. So I guess all bets are off."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei looked from the spirit hovering before them to the tombstone as he listened to Lessa's queries. "There were no quest markers or anything.. so its possible it could be an unfinished quest that was never pulled from the game. Could explain why the ghost flipped between seeming like an enemy and an ally." Despite, through all the confusion, and earlier terror.. he could not help but just feel an overwhelming sense of sadness as he looked upon the ghost. As if all of the happiness had been sucked from him. 

He pondered over their predicament for a moment before, blinking a few times and shaking his head to break the depressive spell. "What did we do that caused this spirit to start following us?" he tapped his forehead with a knuckle, trying to jog his memory. "Wait..." Slowly, the ginger lowered his hand into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a red pendant. "We found this on that corpse right? Right when the spirit appeared. It was almost calling out to us to take it. If it was hers, maybe..." 

With a small step forward towards the open grave, Jomei took a quick glance over his shoulder towards Lessa, as if to confirm that he would be careful. Taking one more look up at the spirit, Jomei lowered the necklace by the chain into the hole in the ground, letting it drop into the dirt once he held it at it full length. Almost immediately, the tension in the air seemed to release, and the ghastly expression of mourning on the spirit's face softened. Turning to face Jomei and Lessa, the spirit slowly lowered itself into the open grave before vanishing, leaving a light mist over the grave. 

Jomei finally stood by Lessa's side again, letting out a long drawn out sigh. "Looks like that's what we needed to do.." 

[Lessa 1]

Lessa blew out a long, slow breath. "Yeah," she confirmed after a few seconds. "It definitely feels like it worked. The air feels different, I think." Lessa motioned with her hand, as if to gesture to something that simply wasn't tangible. "Lighter, somehow. At least, not as sad."

The melancholy that had crushed her like deep-water pressure had vanished, leaving the general sense of unease cemeteries always caused her. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile bloomed across Lessa's face. The warmth and light pushed back some of that lingering unrest. "You figured it out! You're a regular Hardy Boy." Lessa glanced over her shoulder. "I guess we should start walking. I have no idea where we actually ended up, so getting back is going to be a little-"

A gentle tug on her back caught Lessa off-guard. It felt as if Jomei had grasped the hem of her cloak, and was slowly dragging her toward the open grave as a sort of silly prank. But when she shifted to scold her companion, she realized he wasn't the culprit. "What the-" she began again, but the words were lost to a hard gasp as the pressure increased, and she was yanked off her feet. With a shrill cry, the blonde free-fell into the same hole Jomei had climbed from only moments before. This time, however, she did not stop when she hit the bottom.

Instead, it was a hard, cobblestone street that rose to meet her. Lessa cracked her skull, hard, and groaned as she rolled over to check her health bar. No damage. Thank god for that, she managed to think as she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. Only then did she realize she was alone. "Jomei?!"

[Jomei 0]

The ginger nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, definitely. No sense of dread.. almost feels peaceful." The two stood in silence for a moment as the relief of their success set in. Jomei crossed his arms, looking to Lessa with a smirk, "That was luck more than anything.. I honestly had no idea that would work. But it was really the only connection I could think of.." And with that, it was time the two depart from this strange, abandoned location to a more civilized spot. It was nice spending time with Lessa in their own, though creepy, pocket of Aincrad.. but Jomei had enough of the lack of life and feeling of being constantly haunted. 

Turning on his heel towards the spot where the two had descended, Jomei took a step. "How exactly do we get back up to the town from here anyway?" Jomei questioned his blonde companion. However, when he looked over his shoulder, she was nowhere to be seen. "Lessa?" He called out, standing completely alone in the graveyard. A quick glance at the once open grave, and Jomei noticed it was now filled in, grass growing atop the once disturbed dirt. "The hell?" Jomei said to himself under his breath, looking over his shoulder towards the entrance yet again. 

This time when he turned, the view was much different. Not an old, decrepit cathedral lost to time, but a familiar, fully furnished chapel. The one he had entered while searching for Lessa in the first place. With a furrowed brow he turned his gaze to his front once again, where he found himself standing at the front of the chapel, before the alter. He stared forward for a moment, wondering if all that had just happened really happened. Finally, with slow steps, he turned and walked back into the lively streets of Taft.