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| The Ballroom | |
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| Category | Story Event |
| Type | Story |
| Data ID | 291328 |
The Ballroom is a Sunless Skies Story Event.
Story description[]
"White-tinted gaslights cast an eery pallor over the polished glass and shrouded furniture of this vast, sepulchral ballroom. Looking for Lord Langley(Ballroom)"
Trigger conditions[]
Looking for Lord Langley ≥ 15 ≤ 69,
Location: Langley Hall
Area: Limbo
Frequency: Always (100%)
Interactions[]
| Actions | Requirements | Effects | Notes | |||||
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| Ask Lord Langley why he is here
He sits at the piano. There are remnants of a picnic scattered at his feet. He does not look well.
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Lost somewhere far away
He looks up at you, with eyes red like flawed rubies. His handsome features are vulpine from hunger. As he speaks, he continues to play, one-handed.
"We were to meet here in Eleutheria, where the star allows freedom. But he didnt't arrive. I searched for him – exhausted my old network; ascertained that almost all he had been was lost. Something remained. Enough to hope." He pauses, plays a long diminuendo. "I thought, perhaps he would come for me. If I showed him the way. If I just wanted him enough." His eyes are spent of tears. "Why are you here? If not to return to me the man I love?"
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| To bring him home
Langley Hall has attracted many who love him. They want him back.
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Hope flickers
He smiles weakly but sincerely. "I know. I miss my friends dearly. But the more time I spent in company, the more I felt him slipping away." He shakes his head. "I thought that, if I were lost, he would come for me." His hand stumbles, misses a note. "I won't go back alone. I won't forget him. I have left enough behind." He stops playing and stares at the keyboard..
"If you were to find him, I would return. But I fear he is utterly lost, his soul fractured. Finding him is an impossible task. Please – only accept if you believe I am wrong. I couldn't bear to—" He returns to playing.
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| To return to him his love
You believe it is still worth looking.
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Passion stirred
Lord Langley's eyes narrow. "Be careful what you promise. Do not give your word lightly. This is not an easy task: his soul was fractured. His mind lost. I would not know him in a hundred, and for a time he was my breath, my blood, my soul."
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| To find him
You wanted to look on the face of the lost Lord of Langley Hall. Perhaps you merely wished the accolade of having found him.
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An explorer's desire
Lord Langley ceases to play his miserable dirge and nods his head in acknowledgement. "I can respect the desire. I intended to chart Eleutheria, and then this house. I can scarcely believe my arrogance."
He plays a C minor arpeggio. "You look upon an empty vase, explorer. Another holds my heart, and he is lost. If you want to find me, find him."
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| Ask Lord Langley about the Hall
Did he build it or find it? Why do so few ever leave?
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The price of liberty
Lord Langley shakes his head. "I found the remains of an old library, I think. Long ruined and all tumbled down. I did what I could."
He smiles his half-smile. "As for why people do not leave—" He unbuttons part of his dress shirt, revealing a lean torso scored by the signed language of the heavens. Correspondence has been seared into his flesh like a tree had taken root in his chest and been set aflame. "I was tasked by the prince who was halved to build a sanctuary here, long ago." |
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| Accept
You will find Lord Langley's lost love.
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A brief candle flickers
Lord Langley's expression is carefully blank. "A romantic then? So be it. I'll tell you what I know to still be true, and you can work from there.
"He was uncommonly driven and uncommonly stubborn. He was arrogant and charismatic. He was, naturally, uncommonly handsome too." He smiles at some secret memory. "Even if all else about him had changed, I believe those traits would not. "If you find him – and if you bring him back – I will reward you with all I plundered from heaven's vaults." His expression is one of desperate yearning.
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| Decline
Some things are not possible, even in the heavens.
Game note: This will bring the story of Lord Langley to a conclusion. |
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Found and lost
Lord Langley's smile is vulpine. He closes the piano lid. The sound echoes through the empty ballroom, raising clouds of dust from the mirrored floor.
"You can tell the rest that you found the lost Lord of Langley Hall. Tale enough for anyone, I'd imagine." His eyes are bright. He turns away from you and walks into the gloom of the cavernous ballroom. Soon, all that is left are the backs of his reflections, retreating.
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| Offer yourself
You searched the heavens and found no one. But you followed the trail Langley left behind. The shoes even fit.
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A captive heart
Lord Langley looks at you with frank astonishment. "But you— That is to say are— Well, not wishing to be impolite but—" He trails off and stares at his feet. Is he blushing?
You stand by the piano, in reach – but not so close as to risk discomfort. At last, Lord Langley raises his head, a dark fall of hair covering his eyes. "I did not think to find you again." He stands from the piano and takes your hand. Matters progress. Later, he tells you three things: the location of a treasure inside Langley Hall; that he understands you are a captain with obligations, but he will always be here, waiting for you to visit; and that he loves you, totally, unquestioningly, entirely.
The Hallowed Hallway
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| Introduce the Amenable Host
Perhaps he is Langley's lost love.
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Hope?
Lord Langley looks up from his piano. His fingers tremble over the keys. His mouth drops open. "But he's perfect."
The Amenable Host steps forward, his cloak swishing through the dust. He surveys his surroundings with an expression of distaste. That expression does not extend to Lord Langley himself. "So. You're my long lost love, the toff." The Amenable Host moves to stand over the piano. "What separated us? An accident at the Forge of Souls? The spite of the Traitor Empress? The very wrath of heaven? I'll settle for nothing less than that." Lord Langley forces himself to look away from the Host. "Are you sure?" he asks you, his eyes imploring you to say 'Yes'.
The Hallowed Hallway
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Yes
There is a connection here that cannot be denied.
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Lord Langley smiles genuinely for the first time. He extends a shaking hand to the Amenable Host, who presses it to his lips. "My love," Langley whispers, "why have you stayed away so long?"
The Host leans in to whisper something in his ear. Perhaps they'll come downstairs, in time. For now, Lord Langley leaves you with directions to an upper landing where valuable token of his gratitude awaits.
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| No
You have no proof other than their mutual attraction, which is not the exclusive domain of star-crossed lovers.
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Lord Langley gazes into the Amenable Host's eyes, which smoulder like an ifrit's heart. He lets out a long sigh. "I'm sorry. You've come all this way, but I— I do not remember you."
The Host draws back as though stung. He attempts a smile. "I understand. Though, should you ever wish to pretend otherwise, I am happy to offer my services." He turns on his heel and away. Lord Langley clenches his hand. "Please. Keep looking."
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| Introduce the Illuminated Archivist
Perhaps he is Langley's lost love.
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The lover?
Lord Langley looks up from the piano and gives the Illuminated Archivist an appraising look. "I suppose I can fill in much of the story without having to ask him anything," he says, running his eyes over the Archivist's tattoos.
The two men circle each other like cats claiming territory. The Archivist's eyes blaze like a well-stoked boiler; though from attraction or dislike you can't tell. "So," the Archivist says at last, his voice halting and nervous. "I'm told you tried to rebuild London too." Lord Langley begins to laugh. Finally, he recovers himself to tear his gaze from the Archivist. His eyes meet yours. "Tell me. Are you sure it's him?"
The Hallowed Hallway
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Yes
They share a goal: the same they shared when they fled London long ago.
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Lord Langley smiles genuinely for the first time. He opens his arms to clasp the Illuminated Archivist. "At last. At long, long last. We'll remake London together. We'll find the best of what it was and could yet be." For his part, the Illuminated Archivist looks on the verge of tears.
Perhaps they'll come downstairs, in time. For now, Lord Langley leaves you with directions to an upper landing where valuable token of his gratitude awaits.
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| No
They share a commonality of purpose, but that proves nothing.
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Lord Langley gives one last approving look at the Archivist's tattoos. "I'm sorry, my dear. I do not think you are what I'm looking for."
The Archivist smiles brightly. "No. I know that. I've taken the liberty of wandering here. This is London as it never was. It is not my London." Lord Langley briefly embraces the Archivist before turning to you. "Please. Keep looking."
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| Leave the Ballroom
There are other rooms in Langley Hall.
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The Hallowed Hallway
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Links[]
Links In[]
The Hallowed Hallway, Traversing the Staircases
Links Out[]
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