September Event - Waltz of the Harlequin

[pumpkinhollow]

**Plain text version here.

WALTZ OF THE HARLEQUIN

ACT ONE: MAKE AN ENTRANCE

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: None }

SCENE: Leeds Estate Ballroom, night. Music can be heard from a small string band in the corner. Enter PARTYGOERS, stage right.

The estate is beautifully decorated, as it always is, in vivid blues against dark wood. Flowers made from blue and golden silk adorn the walls and furniture. Candles burn in tasteful centerpieces on the round dining tables. Delicious-looking foods can be seen on the serving tables, ready to be claimed and devoured. A member of DAHLIA’S diligent staff tends an ornate bar near the door and dancers in fine clothes twirl on the dance floor to upbeat string music.

DAHLIA can be seen in the center of the room, wearing a golden gown embroidered with roses and surrounded by her ENTOURAGE, which consists of DAISY, LAIOS, RADAR, and JEFF. All of them wear the colors of House Leeds---- blue and gold. She welcomes the PARTYGOERS warmly.

DAHLIA, going for an appropriate greeting for the person she is speaking to--- a handshake, a hug, a kiss on the cheek.
Welcome. So glad you could make it. You look ravishing. Please help yourself to something to eat, and enjoy your night.

It is a beautiful night. Formal only in appearances, the energy of the Gala is casual and light, if not a bit decadent. All seems well.

ACT TWO: ALL IS REVEALED

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: rotten food, blood, forced body transformation, unreality. }

SCENE: Leeds Estate Ballroom, one hour later. The party is well underway. When the grandfather clock chimes, it sounds strange and distorted.

The sound immediately draws the attention of DAHLIA, who grows concerned. The sour chiming continues. In the center of the ballroom, a plume of sickly yellow smog bursts as if from a smoke bomb, flooding the room and causing PARTYGOERS to stagger and cough. When it fades, the environment has changed.

Enter MENDEL, from the smoke burst.

The decor in the space has changed drastically. Where once the space was deep, cool browns and shades of blue accented with gold, it is now filled with ruddy browns, jaundiced yellows, plummy purples, and searing reds. The bundles of silk flowers are replaced with bouquets of decaying fishing nets, bloody gauze, and rotten fruit which seems to bloom from splitting bruises. Tattered swags in mismatched patterns line the walls, and each PARTYGOER is now in a masquerade mask designed to fit with their outfit.

DAHLIA, lightly panicked.
What are you doing here?

MENDEL, laughing raucously.
Surprise! Oh, I do so hate to cut in, but I simply could not go another year without doing something special for my favorite niece.

He wraps his arms, which look like graying, exposed meat, around DAHLIA.

MENDEL
You see, everyone---- Darling Dahlia here has been lying to you. Her whole life, even! Can you believe it? You see, her father was never Japhet Leeds. The man couldn’t stand her! Jane Leeds was still her mother, oh yes, but her father---

DAHLIA attempts to cut in, but MENDEL grips her tighter, clamping a hand over her mouth as he presents her to the crowd. His claws dig into her arm and her cheek. He continues to snicker as he speaks, and DAHLIA struggles.

MENDEL
Her father is my own baby brother, Prince Aster of the Dark Feast! Isn’t that a funny prank? But I think the joke has overstayed its welcome. It’s time to show your little friends who you really are, isn’t it, princess?

In a swift motion, MENDEL pulls DAHLIA into a twirl, as if dancing, sending her spinning toward the crowd. When it ceases, DAHLIA stands before her gala, changed. Her complexion is blue now, and her hair, raven black. A pair of bat-like wings adorn her back, and a crown of antlers like that of a deer wreath her head.

MENDEL
Ah, no, that’s not quite what I was going for. Let me try again.

With a snap of MENDEL’S fingers, DAHLIA changes again, her body shifting against her will. Her well-kept black locks morph into wiry ashen hair which covers her body. Her face extends into that of a cow-like skull with sharp teeth. Her hands become clawed, and her feet become cloven hooves. Before the crowd now stands THE PINE DEVIL.

MENDEL
There’s our birthday girl!

THE PINE DEVIL (DAHLIA) attempts to lunge at MENDEL, but with another snap of his fingers, his streamers and swags lash out at her like vines and lash her tightly.

MENDEL
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some catching up to do with my darling niece. And you all have a party to enjoy! I leave you in the care of my talented assistants.

He starts to turn away, but then holds up a finger to shake and turns back. Oh, one more thing, I almost forgot. I’ve left all of you some party favors in those masks. Have fun!

MENDEL grabs a bound and helpless DAHLIA and disappears once more in another plume of smoke.

Enter BLANCHE and SEEMINGLY (GLEE MASK), opposite sides of the stage. The pair of them meet eyes, and pantomime tugging on an invisible rope in opposite directions, and suddenly the ballroom expands as if unrolled like a scroll, becoming a sprawling labyrinth of tiny ballrooms, winding corridors, and secret alcoves. The PARTYGOERS are separated from one another. At the same time, the magic in their masks activates, inflicting one of the following curses:

• Leaky Bucket: deprives the party goer of their short-term memory. They know who they are, and why they're here insofar as understanding it's Dahlia's birthday gala, but all new information tends to leave their mind after a few minutes. (Think Dory from Finding Nemo.)
• Amnesiac's Lament: deprives the individual of long-term memory. All new information is retained, but they have no idea who they are or why they're here. How distressing this is can be at the player's discretion. Perhaps they despair at the memory loss and are trying to find a way to escape the ball, perhaps they don't see anything wrong with their lack of context and are just trying to enjoy this weird party.
• False Friend: the opposite of Zone of Truth, those with this affliction will be unable to tell the truth and can ONLY tell lies. Any fact from the most mundane to the most complex can only be lied about. Whether or not the person is cognizant of their new habit is the player's choice.
• The World Revolving: those afflicted suffer frequent bouts of vertigo which makes the space feel as though it is spinning, sometimes very slowly, sometimes very quickly.
• Dirge of Delusion: this particular curse will cause the mask-wearer to struggle to perceive reality correctly. Objects will appear as other objects, people as different people, rooms as some other place, or even the entire ball as somewhere entirely different. These disorienting visions will come and go at times.
• Feeling Funny: the wearers of these masks will find that their emotions are completely out of control, sometimes bursting into fits of laughter, tears, or abrupt paranoia, before going completely numb for a while.

All PARTYGOERS will find their masks incapable of being removed. Those with infernal resistance from NEIL or the HOUSE OF CARDS will find their masks are less impactful, but the resistance is imperfect. However, ALICE DYER and SAMAMA KHALID will find that they have absolutely no effect from the masks at all, due to the BOON OF DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY acquired by ALICE.

The party resumes.

ACT THREE: Dance with the Devil

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: rotten food being eaten, imprisonment, impending violence }

SCENE: a distorted Leeds Estate, time unknown. As the party devolves into chaos, a clandestine meeting is arranged to locate the host.

Somewhere in the distorted estate, ALICE locates JEAN. Once she gets the Golden Wolf Mask in their hands, JEAN will be able to remove their current mask to wear the new one, which has a unique effect---- the ability to see the path of MENDEL through its eyes.

JEAN and ALICE, along with anyone they are able to recruit for help, will find MENDEL and DAHLIA on the second floor, which has transformed into a large theater balcony overlooking the party. DAHLIA is caged, and MENDEL seems to be enjoying the view as he eats half-rotten tomatoes as if they are apples.

MENDEL’S assailants choose how to make their approach. When he is destroyed, the party will end.

GRAND FINALE

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: fire }

SCENE: Leeds Estate ballroom, late night. The stage has returned to its prior state, and we are left to the aftermath.

When MENDEL is at last destroyed, the ballroom is restored to its normal size and coloration, as if the events of the night never occurred. Masks fall away, and DAHLIA stands center stage, looking exactly as her friends and neighbors remember her. However, the memory of what has occurred here tonight cannot be wiped away, as evidenced from all the onlookers around her. Are their expressions concerned? Angry? Fearful? Hurt?

Does it matter?

DAHLIA, quietly.
Get out.

There is a moment of stillness and consideration, before she speaks again, louder.

DAHLIA, shouting.
GET. OUT.

As she speaks the second word, a massive burst of blue flame erupts behind her. Glass breaks. Tables topple. DAHLIA’s hair flutters in the force of the blast. She stands stiffly, unafraid as the hot, raging blue flames consume her ballroom, peeling the wallpaper and cracking the wood. She means to chase everyone out, even if it means bringing the room down upon herself.

When everyone is gone, the flames seem to retreat, as if sucked up into their original blast point. DAHLIA, spent, collapses to her knees in the burnt shell of her own birthday party, and sobs.

Blackout. Curtains fall.

After the event ends, Dahlia will be absent from town and her home only open to close CR until further notice. She will not be answering her sending stone or her phone calls.

Comments

[hadnoright]

"No, it's— you don't have to," Daisy assures, already turning properly from her path.

She can hear the feeling in her voice and the only thing worse than sitting still right now would be leaving Dahlia alone. So she retreats back to join her at the doorstep, offering her an arm to tuck into.

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia gladly accepts, her forehead slotting in neatly against Daisy's neck and her arms looping around Daisy's midsection. Her silhouette is a mass of fabric, a habit she has when she's not feeling well, with layers of dressing gowns and blankets padding her.

"Thank you for being here."

[hadnoright]

Daisy presses a kiss to the side of her head and murmurs, "'Course," into her hair before she turns her head enough not to be muffled, to just rest against Dahlia's. "Could never have left you alone after that. Never."

She gives her a little squeeze as she speaks with firm conviction. Once you have Daisy's loyalty, you really have her loyalty.

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia's fingers curl in the fabric of whatever Daisy is wearing, clutching tightly to her. Like an anchor in a storm. "I know," she murmurs. "I knew you would be here. You're--- the only one I was sure of. But still. Thank you."

[hadnoright]

She spared just enough time to change into something plain she doesn't mind getting ruined, before taking up her post outside. Prepared for the worst, even if she really hopes it doesn't come to it.

Another squeeze. "There'll... be more people than you think. That won't turn on you. Won't help everything, but— there will be."

There's a couple she's sure of, people like Fever most of all, but she's always been surprised by the grace people have given her when she least expects it. This isn't going to be easy. And it's certainly not going to be painless. But she won't be the only one, of that much she's sure.

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia nods stiffly. "Yeah, ah, Laios came back last night, actually. He's... He's the one who peeled me off the ballroom floor, hah." She reaches up to wipe her face. "And there's River. And Radar, for now."

[hadnoright]

"Mm, yeah. Saw the last two." Hard to miss River on her rounds and Radar popped outside earlier. The fact she missed Laois's return says a lot about how focused she's been on the actual possible threats coming from town. "But not just them. Fever, she's— more like us than she isn't. And there's others. People who're good friends of mine even after I hurt them. People... are more understanding than you'd think. Surprises me every time."

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia nods slowly, letting out a breath. "Cerrit was shockingly calm about it. Seemed pretty pressed about wanting others to know, but he ultimately wanted to protect me. Not sure I follow his logic, but he means well. It's mostly Neil's cronies I'm worried about. They're going to make a mess."

[hadnoright]

...she's going to need to have a talk with Jon. She's going to need to have a long and probably real difficult talk with Jon.

"Probably," she sighs, pressing another kiss to the side of Dahlia's head. No point in trying to mollify that very real concern, Dahlia knows what Neil's likely to encourage better than she does. "...we'll figure it out. Sure not gonna let anyone lay a hand on you. They'll have to go through me first."

[thethirteenthchild]

"They were already here, before the gala," Dahlia notes. "Tarantulas, CT, and--- There was a spirit energy signature, so I, ah, think they had a ghost with them."

She knows they had a ghost with them. Aster already told her who it was. But she doesn't want to say. Dahlia has absolutely no love for Valdis, even less so after the break-in, but she doesn't want to cause problems between her and Daisy.

Unfortunately, Dahlia is always painfully unhappy any time she has to lie, and today she doesn't have the bandwidth to conceal it.

[hadnoright]

Daisy considers letting it slide, at first, but already as concerned as she is about Dahlia's safety... she takes a breath and asks, "Who was it?"

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia looks guilty. "You're not going to be happy."

[hadnoright]

"Blodyn," Daisy says, somehow both dry and affectionate, "nothing about this situation's making any of us happy. I can take it."

[thethirteenthchild]

"...Valdis," Dahlia admits. "I know you two are friends, but she is one of Neil's confidantes, so I'm not really surprised... Though I think they assumed I was with Nyarlathotep, which--- ugh. There's a truce between the demons and him, but, ah, we don't really actually get on that well. The family can't stand him either."

Just keep talking and we don't have to address the Valdis thing.

[hadnoright]

Daisy groans, not even sure if she's surprised or not. A part of her was almost braced for it to be Jon, which makes her at least grateful it's not him getting his nose into places again, but... Valdis. Thinking to go in as a ghost does sound like something she'd think of, in hindsight. God fucking dammit. That's another unfun conversation.

"Well, good to know, I s'pose, but— Valdis. Guess I'm not that surprised either. She's a very— get stuff done kind of woman. But that's—" she makes another frustrated sound. "Ugh. That'll sure be a conversation."

[thethirteenthchild]

"You don't have to worry about it," Dahlia assures her. "I doubt many people are particularly interested in trying to get in with you and Cerrit around. Apparently Laios will be back this afternoon as well."

[hadnoright]

Daisy makes a weird noise, then, "Valdis— is one of only a couple people around here who can take me down. Without breaking a sweat, anyway. She wouldn't. Pretty sure of that. But. Even I've got limits."

As much as she resents them. She really doesn't think Valdis would try it again, especially with herself here—there'd be nothing to gain from it, and if Valdis wanted to hurt Dahlia she could have done so by now—but someone like her is a much different story than the townspeople or even a lot of the other otherworlders.