2019-12-11 - Door #1 - Fairy Tale Jail

Plenty of texts went out ahead of time to the group and individuals letting them know the rough plan. Easton has a key and a theory. The theory is that there is a door somewhere in the Addington House that will accept that key and open up to the asylum in the veil where there are possibly people being held against their will. The texts indicate to come armed if prepared and to be ready for insanity. Aidan and Geoff both get texts that they may need to heal people if it turns into any type of violent situation.

Easton has been prepping people through out the day with information via texts such as:

"There is no splitting up. At any time. Ever."
"There are cursed objects in the house, keep your hands to yourself."

A picture of the key is also sent around so that everyone know what kind of lock they are looking for. The key itself looks very much like an old time-y treasure chest key complete with only a few rough teeth and multiple loops on the back. (Something like these https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61ZRf9sY0FL._SY355_.jpg)

And once they are all assembled at the meeting point Easton greets everyone with only a silent nod and then leads the way to an out of the way back door. With a twist of his wrist the locks on the inside of the door slide open and they are free to enter.

Justin shows up as recommended, armed and dang.. well, armed anyway. He's dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark blue sweater and a black jacket over that. He's got gloves on, because there are cursed objects in the house and he'd prefer to avoid inadvertent touching. He's got his cell and his picture of the key and gives a nod to Easton on arrival. He's a little surprised to see Vivian, of all people, there. There's a questioning look and a raised eyebrow, "Fancy meeting you here," he murmurs quietly under his breath before slipping inside.

Unlike maybe some others, guess who does not show up armed? Vivian. Unless being armed with her mind counts. Because the blonde shows up with that, and some comfortable clothes. Jeans, running shoes, a nice cable-knit sweater. It's all understated posh, but she looks mildly nervous about it all, anyways. There is the faintest look of surprise for Justin, but she doesn't say anything more as she heads inside as well.

Geoff pulls up in his pickup alongside Harper who rides with him, the man dressed in a pair of jeans, an iron maiden christmas sweater and a black leather jacket over that. Strolling up to the assembled group he's telling Harper "Nice try but I'm still not telling you what you're getting for Christmas. You'll just have to wait and find out." Raising his hand in greeting to the others he says simply "Yo."

Aidan is here! And as armed as he ever is, which is to say, probably mainly with his mind. He doesn't look particularly armed otherwise, and he's a touch fidgety at the meeting point, somewhere between unease and anticipation as they wait for everyone to be there. So the grins of greeting the others get once they arrive (and it's clear they're all, you know, meant to be here in a not meant to be here sort of way) are a little incongruous, but genuine nonetheless. He's dressed decidedly subdued for him, black jeans and black leather jacket over a black henley and a... black overshirt. Though that's got little metallic silver stars all over it. He has gloves, but they're poking out of a pocket as he follows on in.

Harper hops out of the passenger side of Geoff's truck and skip-jumps over a muddy puddle to walk beside him. "... Scrooge if you're not careful, Turner." A navy, wool peacoat, a looping plaid scarf, grey pants, and a red sweater clothe the librarian. If she's brought weapons of any kind, they're not visible on her person. Easton receives a bright bit of a smile and then the others present get a little wave and openly curious once-overs. "Hi. Harper." People aren't talking much, so she keeps her personal introduction simple. She walks over to Easton and asks to see the key as if all questions could be answered with an in-person glimpse of it.

Easton hands the key over to Harper and says, "Frankly I expected it to be a key to a torture dungeon or something, so magic insane asylum is actually a step up?" He takes the key back before they move on though, worried that it might attract some sort of unwanted attention and he can't have anything happen to Harper. Who else is going to give him sweetly scathingly sarcastic gift baskets. No one.

The Addington House is now a museum that people can tour through, at least on the ground floor. Which means that Easton isn't all that interested in the first floor. It feels like having this door out in plain sight would be too obvious. He carries a mini tactical flashlight that he uses to peak around with the group. The fact that there was apparently some water damage actually works in their favor as the place is totally shut off from visitors for the time being.

Stopping at the main staircase, Easton waits and does a head count before pulling out a flask and taking a sip before offering it to Justin, "See? Just like old times." Referencing the many times they used to sneak around old houses in Gray Harbor as kids, including the Addington House. Granted back then they didn't know enough to believe in ghosts so it's a wonder they didn't end up dead or Lost.

Heading up the staircases he walks through the hall trying to find a door anydoor that might fit the key. Finally starting to get a little annoyed he takes the key out of his pocket to take another look at the pattern. Even though the lock in front of him looks nothing like the key he feels something shift when he moves the key in front of the lock. Confused he starts to put the key in and watches as reality itself shifts around the key making it 'fit' the lock.

"Oh that's weird..." Easton manages to get out before the door swings open on it's own and reveals an entirely pitch black room beyond. "And that's not a good fuckin' sign."

Justin takes the flask from Easton and grins, taking a swig from it and then handing it back over. "Just like," he agrees with a little bit of a laugh. Considering all the things they did as kids, it's any wonder either of them made it to adulthood, let alone adults and finding themselves back breaking into Addington House again. "Maybe it woulda worked in any of the doors? Try it in another one.. maybe it just needs any old door?" But then the door is swinging open and he frowns just a bit, "That place feels.. just.. sad inside. Can you feel that?" It isn't asked of anyone in particular but the group at large.

Geoff watches as the door swings open and the inky blackness obscures the space beyond. Holding out his fist to Easton for a fistbump he says "Well I guess we're gonna have to go inside." With a wry grin aimed towards Justin he says "You know, I think I'd be more alarmed if it felt happy or joyous inside. At least with sad it fits with the magical asylum angle." Looking back to Easton he says "Are you going first or am I?" as if the first one in had to be one of them.

"Sad? I'm not entirely surprised by that...considering." Vivian offers quietly to Justin, her hands tucking themselves in higher beneath her sleeves, then she rubs her hands against her sides.

Harper inspects the key Easton hands over, tap-tapping it against her palm. "That's a key, alright." The smile is quick but no less droll for its brevity. "Magic insane asylum. How can you not want to check that out?" Torture dungeon. Harper flickers a thoughtful look back at Easton, then follows where he leads. She's not been inside the Addington House, so the dim hints of furniture, doorways, and other bits of water-damaged-spooky draw her attention here and there, but usually returning to where Easton is pointing the tactical flashlight and the general direction the group is headed. Of course they're going upstairs. It's either that or some dank basement. Gotta be. Opaque blackness is revealed after that reality shift and Harper rubs her palms together. "It's not welcoming, that's for sure," Harper replies quietly, in reply to Justin's comment. Geoff's logic is sound. Harper slides her hands into the pockets of her coat.

"They kinda usually are," Aidan says, peering into the gloom. "Or pissed. Or both." He glances at the others, reaching into his pocket for his phone even as he asks, "Any other real flashlights or should we just go with phone lights? 'cause I dunno if we wanna do just dark."

Easton laughs at Geoff and fist-bumps him and then pushes him back so that he can step in first. He's the one with the guns right? And the one with the crazy undead uncle who is mysteriously leaving keys to him. He steps into the darkness and turns back to try and say something to the group but can't see through the door anymore. "Super." So he lets his eyes adjust to the scene, bracing himself as he sees the cots and the writhing figures in pain. Until he makes out the Big Bad Wolf. And then the Fair Godmother is coming around to give them a tour. He looks down at the key and swears, "You mother fucker Monty. Piece of shit, good for god damn nothin-.." But his mouth is suddenly bandaged shut with the wave of the tour guides wand.

"Oh we don't condone such naughty language here." She all but giggles at him, "It upsets the inmates."

Justin steps through the door after Easton just in time to hear his half-sentence and watch it get cut off. He opens his mouth, and then closes it again, just staring. He's been in a Dream before, but the whole experience is still very new to him comparatively, and he isn't sure at all what to make of storybook villains strapped to cots in an old-timey insane asylum. He glances over at Easton, both brows rising, but for the moment, he just moves over to the side. "Pardon ma'am," he says to the tour guide, "But you don't happen to know a Monty do you?" Because hey, doesn't hurt to ask, right? Maybe?

Geoff steps in immediately after Easton just in time to catch his cursing and punishment. With a sage nod of his head he agrees with the fairy god mother "This is a place of healing and rehabilitation Easton, you've got to keep it positive." There is a faint amused shake of his head as if to condemn the cursing before looking around and taking in the surroundings fully.

Definitely eyes need to adjust to the dim, oil-lamp-lit space on the side of the bars where the group is walking, Harper blinks a few times as if closing her eyes and opening them once more would change the tableau of fictional, storytime villains in various states of bondage. "What's a story without an antagonist?" she muses when the tour guide chides in her giggly fashion. "What happens when the inmates get upset?" she lifts her voice just a bit to ask from further back behind the swearing ex-Marine. "I mean, aren't they upset by definition?" Harper's not a pro with Dreams, herself. But she can shift realities with startling ease. Best not to think about it much. Geoff's suggestion about keeping things positive earns him a sidelong assessing glance from Harper.

Vivian's eyes flick around the room, taking in the way it looks, the situation they've found themselves in. While Easton gets in trouble, and others talk to the guide, she starts to move towards the windows to look out of them. Then she moves towards one of the patients, her hands tucking behind her back.

This is... weird, right? Aidan pauses after stepping in, taking things in, but it's the BBW that settles it. Yeah. That's weird. A glance at the others, just to make sure they're seeing the same thing, and he gives a small nod when it seems clear they are. All right, then. He studies the fairy godmother, the wings in particular, until Easton gets, uh, disciplined. Those bandages get a sharp look, checking how... insistently they seem applied. He'd ask, but Easton probably can't really tell him right now.

Geoff's comment about the swearing and keeping things positive only gets a glare from Easton and then he turns to flip him off with both hands. Which really, he should have learned his lesson by now because with a soft tsk tsk and another swipe of the wand the Fairy Guidemother has his hands bound up in the same bandaging material. Easton heaves a sigh and trudges on with the tour, checking out the window into the Leech Room with a disgusted look on his face, well at least in his eyes which are visible.

"I take it this wasn't exactly where we thought we were going?" Justin asks of Easton, since at least he can shake his head yes or no, even if he's becoming more mummified the longer things go on. He remains with the tour, stealing a glance outside the windows, brow furrowing at the lollipop fields. Yeah, this is something else. It's written all over his face that he's a little bit perplexed and a little bit disturbed by this whole arrangement. But he sticks near Easton and Geoff for now, since they're moving on, casting a glance back at the creatures behind them as they go.

Geoff eyes the various fable rights violations he gives a shake of his head and falls in closer to Harper as if to be ready to protect her from their surroundings "I don't suppose you have a room where you make them listen to badly composed and performed munchkin choir pieces for days a time?" with a touch more seriousness to his voice he adds "What are your rehabilitation rates here, and what's the average stay length? It seems you've got the deterrence part down pat."

"Why are they here to begin with?" Harper inquires of the fairy, content to pass the time with playing the role of tour-ee. She opens her mouth and closes it again when Easton's hands are bound in bandages. He doesn't seem as though he's going to attempt to free himself, so she continues to walk along. Justin's question gets a querying look from the librarian. She'd like to know the answer to that question as well. Candy out the windows. The fox earns an apologetic look from Harper. Bleeding a troll with leeches? That seems pointless. Harper walks along beside Geoff and murmurs unnecessarily, "Try not to flip anyone off." Rehabilitation rates? Maybe his question will get an answer. Harper bumps her shoulder against Geoff's arm and continues along the tour.

"Excuse me..." Vivian lifts a hand to try and get the attention of the fairy guide, "I wonder, will we be safe here when the storm hits?" She gestures towards the windows, and the storm brewing out there in candy land.

Aidan steps closer to Easton, reaching over to offer to try to unbandage the guy's hands -- the standard way, not via glimmer at present. "Don't think it's the one we had in mind, nah," he says quietly toward Justin, and watches uncomfortably as they pass by the various... tortures. It makes his shoulders tense as they go, and the patients get empathetic looks. "Why are you doing these things to them if they're hopeless cases?"

Easton slips his hands towards Aidan with a glance over his shoulder at the Fairy Godmother. With his eyes he tries to get Aidan's attention and point at the wand. He shoulder bumps Geoff next and mimes a headbutt, or a serious nod? It's harder to mime than he ever gave those weird french clowns credit for.

Justin is having a little bit of trouble processing everything that's going on currently. The disturbing nature of the torture that mimics every bad 1800s asylum in a movie that he's ever seen combined with fairytale villains and lollipop fields is somehow even weirder than anything he's experienced before. There's a glance from Easton to Aidan and then to Geoff, and he takes a small step back, and to one side, giving him a clear line of sight on the fairy guidemother. But he doesn't do anything just yet.

Geoff coughs into his hand to hide a chuckle, though his tone has a wry note to it "Of course, we must only focus on the positive. This is a house of healing." the bump and the pantomimed headbanging garners a nod from Geoff "Sure man, we can go home and listen to some Pantera after this."

Aidan is paying attention to Easton already, so at least it isn't that hard to get his attention. He follows the point, and makes a small nod -- and a mime of his own, like using a crutch. It's a question, from the way his eyebrows lift. Maybe some kind of confirmation? Either way, he tries to untie those bandages if Easton lets him, but it's a little less focused now, and a small shift of his weight has him more balanced on his feet.

Harper pushes between the men and their posturing to try to dart past their guide and around to the other side of her. "Fairy Drug-Mother? I'm absolutely befuddled. Explain to me what it is that you do again, here. And do you think recidivism is a factor once rehabilitation is successful?" Her intent is to get their guide to turn her back on the rest of the group, standing right behind her as she asks her questions with as 'loud' of a thoughtful expression as she is able. Shoulder tap. Tap tap tap.

The bandages on Easton's hands won't budge even as Aidan picks at them, some of them fall off but only enough that Easton ends up with bandaged lobster claw hands as opposed to completely balled up fists. He shrugs at Aidan gratefully before turning to Geoff and giving him his best WTF?! look. It's a really good WTF look. Much better than his miming.

The Fairy Godmother on the other hand turns to Harper and very sweetly smiles at her and laughs with a sound like tinkling bells and says, "Oh dearie. Get back in line." She swishes her wand and Harper gets a little zap on her behind to encourage her to rejoin the others.

Meanwhile the sound of falling gumdrop rain starts to patter against the roof, growing louder by the second. This seems to be of some concern to the fairy godmother who calls out, "Okay, tours nearly over. Move along lovelies!"

Justin can't help but lift a hand to cover his mouth when Harper gets a zap from the Fairy Guidemother who doesn't seem to be at all falling for her distraction tactics. He coughs a little, not really meaning to laugh, but it is just a little bit funny. The sound of gumdrops raining down has him glancing up -- not that there's anything to see, but it's a reflexive thing.

Geoff keeps up with the others and having seen the attempts made on Easton's bandages, well it's his turn to try his hand at them...Though the fact that Harper is going up to try and distract the fairy godmother is of some distraction to the man even as he picks at the handages, his eye brow arching as the wand is waved with a touch of the bibbity bobbity zap.

Stymied, Harper is zapped back toward the group with a stumble at the zap and a grumpy look that is rare to see on the librarian's face. So much for that attempt. Gumdrop rain. Loud gumdrop rain. Harper glances upward in the lamplit darkness. Now a bit more of her unquashed opinion, stern but nevertheless even-keeled. "You're really ruining the whole point of literature by institutionalizing and torturing antagonists. Without them, you're just a ..." Harper pauses and looks the fairy up and down. "Candy-pelted, misdirected, unpleasantly maternal sort of tyrant with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. You've become what you're trying to rid --" A truncated hand motion toward the folk-tale-asylum in general, "-- whatever-this-place-is of. Really, I mean, think about it for a moment. It's self-defeating in the most obvious way." She heaves a breath and exhales as if she is counting a few Mississippis. "And I'm certain that is not what you could possibly want to be." She leans on that argument a bit heavily.

Aidan gives the ban-- handages a frustrated look when they won't come free for him, but nods back to Easton when his miming gets an eager nod back. The zap Harper gets sets him more certain, and he takes a breath, stepping away to let Geoff at the bandages. And about when, hopefully, they might be coming free, Aidan focuses firmly on the Godmother's wand, and... Tries Something.

Geoff is able to pull the bandages off Easton's hands, and Easton quickly grabs them and tosses them off to the side, hopefully out of sight of the Fairy Godmother. Thankfully Harper is giving her the breakdown on narratives and hypocrisy and other such literary topics that are very much turning her face red. She draws herself up to full height, somehow going from a tiny little old lady to imposing figure without shifting-shape at all. She raises her wand and prepares to give Harper her what for when

SNAP

Aidan's glimmer makes sure that wand isn't going to be doing much damage to them anytime soon.

Tearing at the bandages off his face, Easton manages to not only not get them off his face but somehow gets his hands stuck in these banadages as well. Oh well, time to use actions instead of words, with a look around at all of the assembled folks he moves his head forward and then starts to run, awkwardly with his hands stuck to his face for the door. He's sure to look back and make sure that everyone got the we outtie message though.

Geoff isn't going without Harper, nosiree so when easton begins to make a bolt for it, he turns and bolts for Harper to grab her hand and then run towards the exit. As he passes by the witch he says "The sky is falling, the sky is falling." with some sort of grim amusement as the place begins to fall apart around them. There's a mad grin plastered on his features that shows he's quite enjoying the hectic falling apart of things.

With Easton semi-freed and then semi-trapped again by the bandages, and their seeming to make a break for it, Justin goes into motion as well. He doesn't linger once the 'we out' signal has been given. Particularly when gumdrops start crashing in through the ceiling and destroying the place around him. "We are definitely going drinking after this," he informs Easton as he catches up to him. Then he snickers at Geoff's comment, "So it would seem, Chicken Little."

It really doesn't take more than Aidan's wand snapping and Easton's hasty departure to kick Harper into gear after the latter. Geoff grabs her hand and pulls her a bit faster than she'd have been on her own. She trusts Justin and Aidan to do the same. She lifts her free hand over her head as if a single hand could stop the ceiling caving in from hurting her.

Aidan does not need to be cued twice. Not for this, anyway. The captives get another of those somewhat apologetic looks as they run, a glance up toward the falling ceiling and the oncoming gumdrops making him wince. "This is really gonna suck for them," he mutters to no one in particular, "...not that everything wasn't already sucking pretty hard, but..." Not a lot he can do about that, or at least not that comes to immediate mind while the gumdrops are still falling. But maybe he can at least get a rematch with Easton's bandages.

At Aidan's insitence the bandages fall from Easton's hands and mouth and coil themselves neatly on the ground obediently. Easton looks at him gratefully and says, "I owe you. Again." He claps a hand on his shoulder and pushes him towards the exit though.

The door at the other end of the hall opens and standing there is a cricket. He's the size of an actual cricket but he's got his little white coat on and glasses and a clipboard and he looks out across the crumbling room and makes a very familiar tsk tsk sound, "Oh dear, did she get out again?" And then with a chirp of his legs and a hop, suddenly the Fairy Godmother is changed into a Wicked Witch and promptly bound in matching manacles. The cricket patiently explains, "She sometime has delusions of being good. It's very sad."

As soon as the manacles fall on the witches hands the gumdrop deluge stops.

The cricket leads the Wicked Witch back towards the interior of the asylum while a pretty blond nurse calls out, "Yoo-Hoo! All tours are ending! It's time for lights out and you know what that means!" At the blank look on at least Easton's face, the nurse giggles and says, "It's time to choose an inmate to sacrifice to keep children everywhere smiling brightly!"

Easton looks back at the crowd before smiling big and saying, "Yay?" before walking for the exit which thankfully dumps them all back out in the Addington House.

Before the others are even through the door Easton has his flask out and is drinking greedily from it.

"OH. FUCK. That."

Booze and swearing and all is right again with his world. Kind of.

Geoff shakes his his head ruefully "That's was...." he shakes his head "Fuck, even our prisons are that. Think that witch was doing a fair amount of reality, she'd become the baddie." turning his attention on Harper he asks "Are you okay babe? Did she magic you? Did you survive the literary assault?" Not till he is sure she is okay does he look back to Easton "Hey man, you're crashing at my place tomorrow. It's been too long since we last hung."

Harper steps back through with Geoff, asking no one in particular, "Was that supposed to make sense, be allegorical, or at least have some greater meaning or symbology? Because, really, that was just ..." Harper just shakes her head. Doing reality, Geoff says. Harper just starts laughing. "It's just easier to be morality-fluid when it all comes down to it."

"Oh.. kaaay.." Justin says and then he's heading right out the door because yeah, fuck that noise. He is not hanging around for inmate sacrifice in crazy Dream land. "Okay, the creepy things we couldn't see except in reflections were less fucked up than that just was," he says once they are back in Addington House. He glances over at Harper and says, "I'm not sure that it.. was?" He has no idea. "I haven't had a bad trip like that since college."

Aidan gives Easton a quick grin for the thanks, shaking his head. "All good," he says, and nothing else until they're out the door, when he drops back against the wall, taking a deep breath. Steadying sort of thing. "I dunno who defined good and bad guys in there but I'm pretty sure that isn't... that's not best practices kinda shit." Another breath, and he stands properly again. "Are we gonna keep looking? Or do we try again another night?"

Harper turns toward Aidan and offers him her free hand. "Hi, I'm Harper." Good to know the badass by name. Especially when he saved her from a fate far worse than butt-zapping.

Are we going to keep looking?

Easton pulls the key back out of his pocket to look at it. He shakes his head, "Nope. I think I've had enough adventures in Wonderland for one night. Thanks for being down for trying though y'all."

He looks at Geoff and raises the flask in toast, "Hell yea, I am. And also, really numbnuts? Pantera? That's what you thought? Yer hopeless Turner. Hopeless. At least your girlfriend's pretty and useful with the distractions. You'll have to just settle for pretty."

Handing the flask to Justin he agrees, "Yea, I shudder to think that that was based anything on my subconscious." He claps an arm around him and says, "Now then, where are we drinking?"

The chirp of a cricket sounds throughout the empty mansion as our intrepid heroes make their way out. Easton can't help but shudder just a tiny bit at that.

In response to Geoff's query, Harper just leans back against the side of his body. "She magicked my butt," she complains, mildly. As for the literary assault, Harper shakes her head. "I've seen worse fan fiction." But is that really saying anything? She turns her head around while still leaning back into Geoff and smiles at Easton. "You got worse than I did." All the censoring of pretty much the essence of Easton.

To Easton, Harper brightens her smile to a full-fledged grin. "Thanks, Easton." So she wasn't just sound and fury signifying nothing. The day is looking brighter.

Geoff cracks a grin at Easton "Well then man I'll just have to settle for being pretty and being a pro at feeding you sausage." Yep he's just going to leave that hanging there as Harper's situation is explained to him and a scowl comes across his features "Hey that's no fair, the only one who magicks your butt is me." as if this offense is the greatest one scene this evening and not the fact that there was a fairty tale gitmo that played out in front of them.

Aidan does not protest the 'not tonight'. "Aidan," he replies to Harper, giving her a smile and shaking the hand, "Nice wicked-godmother-tanking. And nice meeting you, too."

"My place? Your place? Someplace where there are no fairytale fucking creatures, and I'm buying," Justin says, accepting the flask and taking a hearty swig from it, pausing, and then taking another before he hands it back over to Easton with a slight hiss in through his teeth. Yeah, that was definitely needed after that little adventure. He then says to those gathered, "Justin, by the way. Nice to meet most of you."

"It is very good sausage." Easton agrees easily, as if that were perfectly normal to agree to.

"My place. And I won't argue if you want to stop and buy some on the way, though it's probably already there."

With bear hugs for all those that he's not going drinking with Easton says his goodbyes and thanks people.

"J-Money, let's do this!"

Harper is largely immune to the banter between Geoff and Easton in that it doesn't seem to bother her. It may even amuse her since the grin lingers. "It wasn't bad," she proffers, just to poke at Geoff's malcontent a bit more. "Kinda tingly." Harper turns back to Aidan. "Well thank you, Aidan." She slides an assessing look down the man in all black and back up again good-naturedly. "You've got some skills." Next she looks over to Justin. "Hi. Nice to meet you." To Geoff once more, "I don't think I ever want to eat another gumdrop."