(M) The Shadows that walk among Us. (IC)

[Undead_Fears]

After purchasing the kit Link looked at is before smiling. "Worth the money," she said as she slipped her money back in her bag and locked it up. She stood and smiled, waving and greeting passing fans, most of which probably watched her Supernatural makeups. She continued to go around the con, entering a costume contest to test her skills.

[Cfavano]

Unsurprisingly, She won the contest, and that prize was not only monetary (increase wealth by 1), but also a brand new Diamondback X-20 mountain bike. The Con went on normally, there were panels, workshops, shows. Some seemed legit, while more than one loony had their chance to spew.

However, one by one, our heroes were approached by a staff member, and given a ticket. They were informed that, along with a few hundred others, they were being invited to a very special party, tonight. Similar to a private club party, and that they will see things they never thought they'd see.


-----



That night, they were escorted deep into the castle, away from the con area, and they found themselves in a large and very ornate ballroom. Erotic scenes were painted on the walls, as well as suggestive statues of being both human and monstrous performing incredibly lewd sex acts. They were given champagne, and caviar, and other rich canapes, and they could see famous people here among the con-goers invited like them, actors, actresses, musicians and artists from all walks were there. Sabina even recognizes a few of them.

But that was not all. A heady aroma hung in the air, incense. A strong exotic, spicy aroma that makes the head swim. Not unpleasant, not at all. Exotic, and calming.

[Undead_Fears]

Link graciously took her prizes and the ticket that was handed to her, excited to go to the party. Once the con was over for the afternoon she quickly went to her room, freeing herself from her makeup she slipped into something she had found in the old wardrobe that was in her room. It was a sleeveless black dress that stopped right above her knees. She didn't know where it came from, but she was grateful for it.

After doing her makeup and pinning her hair up she joined the others to be escorted to the ballroom. Once she entered the aroma hit her, causing a smile to bloom on her face. She graciously took a glass of champagne and took note of all the art, noting their erotic nature. She mingled and ate, mostly staying to herself in the room. While a con crowd was normal for her, this crowd wasn't anything she'd experienced before.

[Ma1chbox]

Having successfully bought a taser, Patches gave in a little trick spin in his palm before pocketing it. "Snazzy." He nodded at the stall's attendant and disappeared into the crowd again. While walking, he fumbled around in his pocket, gauging how much cash he had left on him by feeling out how many bills and coins he had. The thief grimaced upon finding substantially less than he'd wanted to. He'd knew have to start taking marks sooner or later.

Suddenly, a staff member came out from seemingly nowhere and interrupted Patches' planning. The guy held up a ticket and said something about a private party of sorts, and that Patches was invited. The thief hesitated at first, wondering why he was chosen in the first place. "Hey listen, buddy, I don't--" He immediately cut himself off and took a few seconds to think. "A private party, you say? With, like, special people and all that?" A grin began to form on the thief's face as he thought about the high-class snobs he'd get clean access to. His job seemed to just get easier and easier at this point. Smiling from ear to ear, Patches turned back to the staff member and grabbed the ticket excitedly. "Tell you what, I'll be there! Give your boss or whoever gave me this ticket my regards, eh?"

For the rest of the day, Patches remained distracted, trying to mentally practice buttering up some rich folk with his words. He was pretty confident in his skills, but a little practice never killed anyone. Eventually, he'd decided to end the day early to prepare for the big hit later that night.

Of course, he couldn't resist getting at least one mark picked clean, so he made his way over to a particularly busy show with a whole bunch of distracted patrons packed together. He pretended to listen intently to the speaker, but was silently eyeing a particularly well-dressed man who seemed to be engrossed in the show. The thief shimmied through the crowd like an eel covered in butter and proceeded to bump hard, but harmlessly into the man. In the midst of this split-second distraction, the thief's hands felt around the man's pockets and yanked out the first thing that felt like a wallet, then immediately hid it in his jacket. He mumbled a quick "Sorry about that, mate," and attempted to disappear into the crowd as quick as he entered, just in case the criminal act didn't go unnoticed.

Satisfied with himself, Patches left the con immediately and headed to his room for a quick nap and shower to freshen up. Thankfully, he slept fine this time and woke up still in the bed. Refreshed, Patches jumped up and donned an aged but still decent-looking dress shirt, a formal vest, and some comfortable slacks. Just in case, he slipped his new taser in his pocket as well. As soon as he finished, a knock on the door signaled that it was time for the party.

The moment Patches stepped into the ballroom, a strange scent assailed his sense of smell. If it was a drug, it was definitely nothing he'd ever tried before. Still, it did seem to calm the nerves, which quelled any little feeling of nervousness he might have had. The statues were the next to catch his attention. The thief laughed at first, noting that the sculptor must have been watching too much weird Japanese porn, but immediately became unsettled. "Oh jeezus... Weird drugs... Kinky statues... Rich people... Is this gonna be some weird sex party? ... Eh, whatever." Shrugging the notion off, he grabbed some food on a plate and a glass of champagne before mingling with some more possible marks, asking innocently-put questions to find out who was rich, but not rich enough to have security.

[Enigma]

The Werewolf panel was a disappointment, it was three authors talking about how they saw the werewolves in their book, and screaming at each other for "getting it wrong." One of them even claimed that he turned into a werewolf at night, then offered any interested young women to pay a visit to his room later to see for themselves. She rolled her eyes while the catcalls roared.


"Miss Lang?" someone called out as she stepped out of the door.

"Who...? Oh, it's you," she said crossly. It was the porter from last night. He raised one eyebrow.
"I almost didn't recognize you," he sniffed, handing her a ticket. "You've been invited to a special party tonight."
"Party?" she demanded, accepting the slip of paper. "I wasn't expecting any parties, I didn't bring anything to wear!"
"Clearly."


Sabina bristled at the cheap shot, but glanced determinedly towards the Dealer Room. "Maybe I can find...."
"I'm afraid they closed five minutes ago," the porter said in huge disinterest. "There will be a few hundred guests there, I assure you nobody will care how you look coming in."
"Huh?"
"Yes," the porter said, his mouth quirking into a very grim-looking almost-smile. "Shall we say in two hours?"


The ballroom was... unexpected, to say the least. Certainly not the elegant room she was expecting in a castle as old as this. The archaeologist in her wanted to take out her phone and take pictures of everything. Momma June would have liked it.

The pragmatist in her was glad she tucked her taser in her pocket. With the champagne, the odd incense and the erotic art, she may need to remind some of the other guests that "no" really meant "no".


She hoped the hour and a half or so she spent charging it was enough. Just in case she packed the leatherman.


There was something... off, about this room, and not just the strange erotica all over the place, it made her skin crawl between her shoulder blades. Or maybe it was how some of the guys were sizing up the women in the room, perhaps anticipating a sex party? The offered champagne she barely sipped, really just wetting her lip as she wandered through the crowd, passing on the trays of snacks going around and trying to listen to some of the conversations going around.

(listen)

[IsaacGaming]

After attending a few of the panels, of which he found the one on Vampires the most interesting, he was approached by one of the staff as he wandered toward the next. “Oh, what’s this?”, Garmr asked, intrigued by his approach. “For you, sir.” The staff member said as he held out the ticket. “For the gathering tonight.” Garmr was skeptical at first. After all, he was no one of true importance. But then again, a free party is a free party. So, Garmr graciously took the ticket and ran back to his room to prepare for the party. After showering and recharging his phone, Garmr put on his nicest pair of jeans and his cleanest t-shirt and began to make his way to the party.

Garmr was extremely uncomfortable when he first arrived. Between the erotic art on the walls, the strange smell in the air and the type of people that were here, he thought that this might be one of those weird “sex parties” he’d heard about back in California. So, in his usual awkward manner, Garmr made his way to a corner. Thankfully, the sword he carried with him, while making him stick out like a sore thumb, brought a surprising amount of comfort to Garmr. With it at his side, Garmr decided to finally begin mingling with the crowd, keeping an eye out for anyone who stood out like himself.

[Undead_Fears]

As Link walked around, she saw a glint of metal on someone's back, catching her eye in the dim light. She turned to see a large figure with an elegant long sword strapped to his back. She giggled slightly at the sight, but understood where the man could've been coming from.

Making her way through the crowd Link caught up with the man, going on her toes slightly to tap the man on his shoulder. He was much taller than her, which caused her to blush slightly. "Uh, h-hi," she said shyly. "I like your sword..!"

[IsaacGaming]

Needless to say, Garmr was taken by surprise. He’s almost never approached by others. His surprised as soon as this stranger mentioned the sword on his back. “Th-thanks! Probably should have left it back at my room, though…” Garmr responded in a flustered tone. “Oh! Wh-where are my manners. The names Garmr. Say, have I seen you somewhere before? You look familiar…”.

[Undead_Fears]

Link blushed and giggled, at Garmr, smiling at his flustered nature. "I'm Link, you might know me from YouTube, I run the PulseFX channel. I was also in one of the cosplay contests with one of my creatures," she said with a smile. She didn't like to flaunt being a famous person, but she was always happy to see a fan.

[IsaacGaming]

“Oh, of course! I love your videos! Very professional.” Garmr was finally beginning to warm up to Link, but something about the party was rubbing him the wrong way. “Say, do you find this party strange at all? Other than the fact that I’m here, at least?”