Forums » General Roleplay » Trick Or Treat - The Grande Vaalen Estate

Like all things to do with magic, the Vaalen estate was very deceptive. The white-stone house, the cornerstone of the family sat in the middle of lush green fields. One would think that it took an entire troupe of gardeners to keep it so impeccably green and perfectly short. But no - it was magic. Just as magic blew through the trees at opportune moments, to make the perfectly orange leaves blow elegantly over the path as visitors walked below them, and magic made sure they landed out of sight in the flowerbeds. And the house - while extraordinarily large on the outside, was even more extraordinary large on the inside.

The young master of the house - one Nero cracked open the curtains just a tad to see if any visitors were yet to arrive. The secluded location of the house made uninvited guests uncommon, and while this was usually a positive thing, it was a very very negative thing on the night of Halloween. Hopefully, a commoner or two realised that rich people always give the best candy.

But the treats were not what the young sorcerer was most excited about, but the tricks. His green eyes flicked to the strategically placed pumpkins, faux cobwebs, and skeletons adorning his front yard. This was a house of magic, and everything - everything was enchanted and placed just to scare the wits out of any who dare enter this place.

Calico was a pirate, a thieving rotten pirate, daring and defiant, with little fear to show having crossed blades with many brigands and having had enough scrapes with death itself. He had decided he would be raiding and plundering the place for all its worth and that he would.

As per the norm, his group of scallywags accompanied him on this foul deed of ill intent, though his crew were more supersitious, especially Edward Teach commonly called Blackbeard. He came close to the grounds but cautious at that.

They were all dressed like proper pirates, with hats and eye patches and even a parrot and the great detail caused them to get nods of approval and twinkles of the eye from other passers-by much to Calico's suprise.

This place, wherever they happen to have landed at, seemed to be welcoming thieves and marauders, whereas where they came from, seeing their figures roam the streets would have made anyone shudder and scream and run for cover.

Nonetheless this particular estate caught their eyes, so neatly trimmed and so well kept, it was clear the resident must have been a very wealthy landlord and made it the perfect target for pillage and plunder. Little did they know that inside, the house was not at all empty, despite appearances and they would soon encounter the resident indeed.

A woman in a witch outfit was making her way towards the house as well, looking at the pirates as she passed but assuming them to just be a bunch of very dedicated men in costumes with a strong theme going on. Yin herself looked like just a normal person with black hair, angular features and a nose that was just a little too big.

She was looking forwards to encountering the owner of the mansion, or whomever would come to greet her if the owner wouldn't show up in person. Yin had quite a trick in mind for him indeed... "Nice costumes boys!" She called out to the band of pirates.

Cretax needed no costume, as most considered the Hive Thrall to be a monster enough. He continued across the streets until he spotted the manor. Hungry, he approached the house with little fear, as he had once served the Taken King, the only known being to corrupt and turn his enemies to his will. In his hand, a little pail filled with black spores and candies of different proportions swung by his side. A true hater of the light, he stuck to the shadows untouched by streetlights as he crawled to the manor.

Calico immediately puffed out his chest in a rather showy, impressive pose

"You hear that lads, the lass seems to have a taste for sea dogs like us, clear taste over here" grinned Calico with a broad grin, some of his men wolf whistling at the woman.

Dom Dimagio looked wide eyed horrified as he caught a glimpse of Cretax.

"Swords out, lads, there's creatures roaming... creatures of the dark...." warned in a lower voice and shuddering at the horrid vision he had set eyes upon briefly, cutlass to hand and latern well raised for better measure.

"AHH!" Cretax screamed in pain when the light shone upon him, backing from the halo of illumination. "No light, no light," he howled, covering his eyeless face with his claws, "Light hurts Cretax, harms, burns, stings poor Cretax." He writhed in agony, perhaps a bit over exaggerated, on the street floor, clutching his face and screeching in torment.

"Ma! It looks like there's a house just ahead!" the oldest of the three children shouted to the taller woman that trailed after them. It was obvious that they were all related in some fashion -- the presumed mother had an elvish appearance and green hair. All three kids also had pointed ears, but they were shorter than one would think they would be... their hair also in shades of green save for one whose hair was more of strawberry blonde.

"Gen, keep your sisters close!" Aera called out to the children. The older sibling took the hands of both her sisters, though still seemed excited to arrive at the house to receive any goodies that the owner had to offer. Aera watched after them, though she did take a moment to observe the others that were within the area as well. Pirates, what looked like another woman but with black hair, and... there was something in the shadows, but Aera was not quite sure what.

Frowning momentarily, Aera's protectiveness surfaced as she lengthened her stride so that she was within closer proximity to her daughters. There was little time for her to look around at the surroundings, but it seemed that the kids were awestruck at the very least.

"Wow! Gen! Look at this place! This yard could fit mama's store!" the strawberry blonde child on Gen's left said, practically having to be dragged by her older sister as they continued toward the house.

"Not just mama's store, Vian -- it could probably fit papa's gym!" the sister on the right of Gen added, also having a look around.

"C'mon! Fera, Vian, do you want candy or not?" Gen asked, instantly grabbing both sisters' attentions.

"Yeah, of course!" and "I want candy, Gen!" were said simultaneously from the younger siblings as the paid more attention and hurried the trip to have that chance to knock on the door of the home.

As the sun began to blaze across the horizon, visitors finally arrived at the estate. He twisted a loose strand of his silver hair around his elegant finger, as a devious grin spread across his face. The first group to catch his eye was a large group of pirates. He had to commend the dedication to the theme. Everybody in the group had a very authentic looking costume - he could practically smell the stench from the second-story window. He raised his hand, about to summon his first trick when suddenly they turned, casting their lantern upon a shadowy section of the garden - and for just a second Nero could have sworn he saw some kind of abomination slink away into the shadows. He tilted his head in contemplation. One of the spells must've misfired early. He would have to look into it - he must've messed up the enchantment. But - just one creature against all those pirates, it was hardly a fair fight. He wrote a sigil in the air a trail of purple light following his finger, and remained suspended in the air. Down below, feet away from the group of pirates three skeletons began to shudder and stood up on their plastic bones. They lurched forward, bone hands reaching hungrily for the pirates.

Next his eyes focused on a woman. He was uncertain if she was even a trick-or-treater, since she didn't seem to be wearing a costume (and wasn't she a little old for it anyway?) Regardless, if she was a door-to-door salesman, she had picked the wrong hour for it, so she wasn't immune to the pranks. The wizard drew forth another sigil, and as she passed under a low hanging branch a tennis-ball sized felt spider above her began to quiver, and descending on a strand of white wool, fell upon the white-haired woman's head.

And finally - a mother and her children! Actual trick-or-treaters! How wonderful. He watched them from above chatter excitedly and approach his door. A few paces before them, dirt began to shift, and suddenly, a grotesque green hand bursts forth - its damp skin glistening in the golden remains of the sun. Stench wafts through the garden, as a second hand claws its way free (or most of a hand - the pinky finger is broken off. Plastic and rotting meat mind you - the man of the house is an enchanter not a necromancer). The earth shakes, and moans can be heard from beneath the shallow dirt.

"Shiver me timbers! Them wish to rob us blind!" protested Calico Jack seeing the skeletons reach forward, thus aiming his sword at the skeletons to take them down, whilst the other hand kept hold of the latern.

"Blimey! Keep a weather eye open mateys! cut 'em down, me hearties, no one plunders gentlemen o' fortune as we be, no nay ne'er!" barked Sir Henry Morgan further, jumping to a fencing ready stance position and lunging forward to attack right away with his cutlass

"Arrr! aye, aye, capt'n!" agreed Edward Teach "Come forth, you landlubbers... you bilge rats... you scurvy dogs!" barked Blackbeard taking an old pistol out to shoot at the skeleton, as well a lunging the cutlass forward offended the skeletons dared to rob from them

"Ahoy! sorcery... 'tis scallywaygs belong to Davy Jones' Locker" gasped Dom Dimagio slashing forward too, the three men back to back to one another striking down the approaching skeletons with two swords at hand.

It was getting rather crowded and Yin was startled when the pirates suddenly turned to face something and she too saw some shadowy figure dart away. Then suddenly what appeared to be a spider-decoration come to life descended from her hat and a mother with her kids were assaulted by some kind of stinking zombie thing.

She batted at the spider and ran towards the mansion, yammering as she did. It was the combination of everything that made Yin certain this was some kind of trick but that didn't make it any less terrifying.

Before the girls could even reach the door, the earth started to crack and present hands clawing out from underneath. The smell cut through the air, and it was the smell that got the three girls' attention before the appearance of the faux hands that seemed to be reaching for anything. Gen's grip on both her sisters' hands in either hand tightened, though it was the middle child, Fera, who screamed and broke away.

"Mama, mama!" Fera yelled, sounding almost like she was about to cry. Aera had leaned down and held her hands out, scooping the spooked child into her hold and picking her up. Bouncing her up and down as well as trying to shush her with affirmations that everything was going to be okay, the mother of three looked to the hands that had appeared.

"It's okay, ni'dufel... mama's here. I won't let anything hurt you," Aera said, doing her best to stay steeled and calm for her children. Meanwhile, Gen had her brow furrowed, and she had her own defensive stance assumed while she kept a shivering Vian close by and away from whatever creatures that were trying to escape from under the ground.

Striding forward, Aera positioned herself closer to her other daughters. While she felt a little less capable without her halberd, and certainly while she held onto one of her kids to keep them safe, her mind cycled through any magics that she could feasibly use under duress if the time called for it.

Noticing that the light no longer shone on him and that everyone was distracted, Cretax ran nearer to the green hand, thinking it a Hive light. When he got closer, he saw the woman and her three children backing away from said hand. Without thinking, Cretax bit the hand that he believed would feed him, only to find it not of the spores his kind usually ate, but of rotting meat and plastic, which the Thrall spat out immediately after his first bite.

"We better rush inside and take shelter until these beings are passed, most of these are creatures of the dark" decided Calico making a quick pace towards the front door knocking it hard and surrounding those already close to it.

"Look it they crawl from the ground" noted Teach coming to stomp on the rising hands.