Something Wicked (Villainous Magical Boy Quest)

Happy belated Halloween, everyone.

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You're still curious about the morgue, but Kyoko and Kaoru appear to silently agree that enough time has been spent there, so when they head toward the door you follow them. They're your main reference for normal human behavior, after all. It wouldn't do to defy their expectations too much. Not this early in Kai Tendou's acquaintance with them, anyway.

The basement landing is noticeably warmer than the morgue. Kyoko visibly relaxes as the door closes behind the three of you. You hadn't really noticed how tense she was until now.

"You all right?" you ask her. "You look cold."

She shakes her and wraps her good arm around herself. "It's not that. It's just… I've spent so long reading about things like that, but the reality was still something else."

"Reading about something is never the same as experiencing it."

"Very true," Kaoru adds with a sad smile. "You can read a hundred horror stories and not really understand any of them. But if you live just one…" His words trail off as he, too, wraps his arms around himself.

"If you live just one?" you prompt after a moment.

He squeezes his eyes shut. "Then you understand every horror story ever written."

That sounds like a bit of an exaggeration. But Kaoru's face does not invite further comment. You glance sideways at Kyoko to find her doing the same thing. You both nod and silently agree not to press him. He's technically doing you a favor here, after all.

"Where should we go next?" you ask.

Kyoko firms her shoulders and steps forward, heading for the middle door. "Let's explore the rest of the basement. I don't think there'll be anything interesting in the boiler room."

You aren't entirely sure what a boiler room does, but the door to the right still feels rather harmless. You're comfortable turning your back on it and following Kyoko's lead here.

She starts to open the door, glances through the gap, and immediately slides it shut again. Then she whirls around, plastering her back to it, and looks at you with wide eyes. "There are people in there!"

You hurry forward to join her at the door. "What kind of people?"

Even as you say that, your senses are stretching out to investigate.

Zaiyu magic perception roll: D100 + 2D10 => (4 + (10 +1) ) = 15
Kyoko magic perception roll: D100 + D10 => (91 + 10) = 101

Kyoko trait gained: To See the Truth.
A basic perception skill. Kyoko can see illusions and obfuscations. She knows when a veil is being pulled over her eyes, even if she cannot pierce through it... or tell who, precisely, is trying to trick her. Kyoko rolls as one level higher for perception checks.

Well, there sure are people out there in the hallway. Yeah. Human people.

…in your defence, you do most of your scouting alone or with people who know who you are and what you can do. Having Kyoko and Kaoru around, looking over your shoulder and wondering what you're doing, is harshing your vibe.

Kyoko clearly has more ability to focus around people than you do. She closes her eyes and her trickle of power wafts outward down the hall. It twists and dissipates like the wind on contact with others, only to swoosh back to her like an esoteric form of echolocation. That's a fairly advanced method of scanning. You could do it too, easily, if you could just focus properly.

"I found the people who were coming to the basement," she says, opening her eyes.

Kaoru nods warily. "I'm guessing we shouldn't open the door, then."

She shakes her head.

"We could crack the door open and peek through," you suggest. "They didn't notice you starting to open it, did they?"

"They didn't," Kyoko confirms.

"Then they probably won't notice the door sliding open a little if we're careful," you conclude.

Kaoru rolls his eyes. "If they're that oblivious, we could just open the door all the way and sneak through. Or we could turn around and go back," he adds, but he doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it. "These people have already been mentally compromised. How observant can they really be? Even if they do notice us, we can pretend we belong there."

"Or we could stay right here and listen through the door until we have an idea of what they're doing!" Kyoko hisses. "They were standing in a circle when I saw them! What if they're conducting some kind of ritual? What if they're summoning a demon? If we interrupt them carelessly, this whole building could be doomed!"

A demon? What's a demon?

Whatever it is, this suggestion is clearly an excuse for Kyoko to feel around with her wind magic some more. Which is fine, it'll also let you take another try at telling what's going on out there. Downside, Kaoru may notice that neither of you are actually listening to anything, and you already let slip some of your magical ability to Kyoko. Also, she's being a little dramatic. You're pretty sure you would notice if they were trying to summon something bigger than an ant.



You have entered the Basement Landing.


View: https://imgur.com/a/28PwnKV

Pick 1:

[ ] STEALTH ABOVE ALL ELSE

Stay hidden behind the door and scan the hallway with magic to figure out what the humans out there are doing.

[ ] JUST A LITTLE PEEK

Crack the door open and peek outside to see what's going on in the hallway.

[ ] BAVARIAN FIRE DRILL

Open the hallway door and slip inside. If anyone notices that you don't belong here, no they didn't.