Reality Loop 1 (4/4 Players: FULL)

"Y-yes! It wa- was a ghost, I swear! I- I watched it walk through a wall! I was-" At this point, the man realized what he was doing, his eyes flicking from side to side, checking if there was anyone at all about, clutching onto Cederick, he hastily let go, and tumbled backward onto the ground, scrabbling away for a second. He took a second to look all around him before taking a couple seconds to stop his sobbing for breath, to calm down. He breathed in, slowly, in and out, giving the others time to notice his appearance. He was one of those- guards in the scenes, one of the only extras, as they were going to use CG to put in the other ones, and only needed one for real close-ups. Well, they had heard him complaining throughout most of the scenes, causing the director to need to retake some of the scenes. His name was Moritake or something. Black hair, kinda an ass. He looked up with eyes that still seemed slightly jittery, but that seemed to be normal. He looked around at everyone for a second.

"So, uh, I went down to that mine. That old gold mine. Thought it might be fun. I came here to relax, after all, right? You guys too, right? heheh... Well.. I- I saw this dude. He just walked through- HE LOOKED at ME. Then- Then- Th-then he turned around and walked THROUGH. THROUGH one of the boarded up sections. I'm not kidding. He walked th-through one of the boarded up sections of that mine-" He ceased talking and clutched his legs, shivering more than slightly.

Lynwen suddenly remembered the man, gasping as she heard his story. "Ah, that's right. Moritake! I remember him now," she muttered aloud, not really directing it toward Tsutae but wanting her to hear all the same. "That's strange... I didn't do any research or anything, but is there any reason to think that this island would be haunted?" Lynwen thought to herself. "It seems like there would be some tourist aspect if that were the case, but this is the first time I've heard anything about it."

Still not really wishing to get close, but driven by curiousity, Lynwen looked back to Tsutae. "Do you have any idea as to what the man might have seen? It couldn't have been a ghost, could it have?" she asked, staring at Tsutae from the corner of her eyes and fiddling with the chord that held her camera around her neck antsily.

"Hmm... I see," Ced mused, quietly. "I get creeped out too when I'm in strange places alone, especially if I hear some kind of rumor about them. Sometimes I see things that aren't really there." You still haven'th forgotten The Banshee after all, have you? "Heh, well, I suppose it's nice to know I'm not the only one at least." He smiled and shrugged, trying to seem comforting. "There could have been someone else down there too, maybe even the film crew trying out some new techniques. You're that extra, Moritake, right? I heard they were going to be using computers to create extras in some of the roles, that might have been them down there preparing for a future scene." He paused and chuckled. "I certainly hope not though. The only thing I can think of that would do something like that is a projector, and I certainly hope we're not using outdated technology like that."

Cederick nodded and looked at the man. "That sounds about right." I wonder if I look like that when I imagine I see that creature? Bah, what am I thinking. This guy looks pretty serious, I hope I haven't taken this too lightly... He took on a kinder look, a concerned one, as he met the man eye to eye. "You don't look well, have you been overexerting yourself? It is rather hot out here, you might be ill. You might want to see a doctor."

"In any case, you should avoid places like that. The old mine, I really haven't heard anything about it myself, but it sounds like it was abandoned, right? The supports could be old or who knows what else. And even if it's not abandoned, you could be charged with tresspassing for going over there. If you're really interested in exploring it..." Cederick thought a moment and then smiled. "Hey, there you go, you could ask around. I'm sure the locals would be more than happy to explain the situation. Besides, who knows, with this kind of location," he joked, "there might very well be a ghost down there!" What was it about out of the way towns and ghost stories anyway?

"Hah," said Lance, walking over to the rest. "I can go through most walls as well...wait, you mean without breaking them, don't you?"

That reminds me...the REAL reason they ask for me on movie shoots like this. I don't freak out for something so little as so-called ghosts.

"Y-yeah... No, it was a ghost, I swear! It was wearing this really old-type suit thing, and was holding a pickaxe over its shoulder! Then- Then it went through the wall! Didn't break it, didn't leave a mark on it or anything! Nothing! hehehhahah! Nothing!" The man's condition rapidly degraded to despairing and hysterical, looking about with that same wild look in his eyes.

"No, no, no, the mine is fine, fine, perfectly safe, except for ghosts! Hehahah!"

"I somehow doubt that," Lance grumbled. "Ghosts, seriously. No offense, but you're starting to look like you have a rather weak grasp on your sanity. I'll be back after I've seen your so-called 'ghost', if it even exists." Saying this, Lance wandered off, consulting a map so he could actually find the gold mine. After what seemed like a long time, but was really only about 20-30 minutes, Lance found the mine. He took a look in side, but saw nothing for several minutes. Not bothering to find out if it was safe or not, he started walking inside. "Hah, he saw a ghost in here? There's nothing but boarded up passageways and a track for a boarded up mine cart. What does he think he's playing at?"

Suddenly, something caught his eye, and he whirled around to look.

Tsutae watched the scene silently, then said to Lynwen, "They want us back for dinner in about an hour, so maybe we should go." She sincerely hoped that Lynwen would agree. "I don't want to be anywhere near that guy. He makes me uncomfortable."

Lynwen decided that the situation wasn't as simple as staying with her new friend and required some rather complex thought. She knew that she couldn't stay here; she was definitely not comfortable around this trembling, haunted man who spoke consistently of phantasms. "I-I'm heading to the mine. To... To take photographs! If it's really that interesting, I ought to be there, d-don't you think?" she commented to Tsutae, hoping that perhaps she would understand and want to come along. The worst case scenario at this point was being left alone; she would honestly rather risk hanging out with the brutish stranger than ending up left by herself on an unfamiliar island, despite her dislike of being in groups. Besides that, she didn't even remember the way back to the hotel. This way was definitely for the best.

Gulping and straightening her hat once more, Lynwen made her way to the mine at a slow hiking pace, regretting that she hadn't dressed lighter. The camera bounced against her chest as she moved slowly, hoping for the support of her friend.

It took her quite a while to arrive, but as she moved in quietly, she found nothing. The darkness was very unsettling, and she could have sworn their were strange noises coming from inside. The biggest problem, however, was that she couldn't find the man who had entered earlier. She didn't want to go in so far that she got lost in the dark, so she didn't move in any further than the entrance. After a short period of time, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, still somewhat quietly, after the man who had gone in. "Excuse me? Are you alright in there? Answer if you can hear me!" she shouted, listening to the echo and waiting for a response.

Suddenly, something caught his eye, and he whirled around to look.

It was one of the people from earlier. The camerawoman, Lynwen. "Oh, it's you," Lance said, wandering back towards the entrance, holding a flashlight. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" He turned back towards the inside of the mine, pointing the flashlight all around. "Bah, nothing," he muttered, starting to wander back inside.

"Okay!" Said Tsutae unhappily, standing with Lynwen and following her at a distance. Her instincts were conflicted: One part of her wanted to turn and walk straight back to civilization, whereas the other part refused to walk the considerable distance through the woods in the setting sun alone.

Her fear of being alone in the woods won by a landslide; just looking at the space she would have to traverse made Tsutae shiver. She didn't like being in close proximity to the one who had intimidated her before, but his presence was reassuring: He really had that much presence. "I'm sure it's nothing," said Tsutae, trying to coax him into leaving-- coaxing being something she was fairly good at. "Come on, Mr. Murray. We'll have plenty of time to come down here later."

Cederick watched his companions leave with a slight shake of his head and a sigh. "Well, I suppose it's all right..." Now noticably more alone than before, he was left only with the individual that started the unsightly episode. There really did appear to be something wrong with him. Well, I suppose it'll be up to me to clean up this mess. Someone's got to do it.

He cautiously offered a hand to the individual. "Hey, c'mon. They're going to check it out so there's nothing to worry about, okay? C'mon, let's head back to the inn, I'm fairly sure I remember where it is. We'll just relax until they get back, alright?" What a pain in the ass though. To make such a big deal out of such a little thing. It's not like ghosts were real, right? The guy was more like a frightened child than anything else. He just saw one little thing after all, to make such a big deal out of it was...

"So, what do you say?"

Hm... what to do? Should I follow him? I did say I was coming to take pictures, and it will seem odd if I just stand out here the whole time, Lynwen thought to herself, taking cautious steps into the mine after the man. As she realized he was moving too fast for her to keep up with, she sped her pace, trying hard not to be left behind. "You can come too if you like, Tsutae! I'm going to take some photographs for my publishers," she called back, moving quickly but not watching the way in front of herself.

"Yeah, all right, I'll come on..." the man muttered, finally seeming to cool down a bit but still panting in heavy breaths and drenched in sweat. "The-the inn, right, that's the ticket. But, m-man... I'm not going back to that place for a while. A long, looong time, let me tell ya... I wouldn't be caught near it, dead, living, or otherwise!" he ranted on, grabbing Cederick's hand so tightly it almost pulled him to the ground. Jerking himself up, the man brushed the dirt off of himself as though he were having fits, chuckling periodically in the same distant tone. He gave Cederick a strange glance, raising an eyebrow at him finally minutes after they began walking. "Say, whatt're ya givin' me that look for? What's with that face, buddy? Is there some reason you're volunteering to take a guy like me back to his bed? You some kinda robber, thief?" The man roared with laughter at his own jest, slapping Cederick on the back as they continued to walk. "Hehaha! A joke, you know. But, you know... a guy could take it the wrong way," he said, taking a colder tone as he glanced off in another direction. "You have any reason to be back at the hotel at this time? You'd have time to check out that mine with your friends and make it to the dinner with moments to spare... Got a hot date waiting...?" he muttered, glancing at Cederick out of the corner of his eye, which appeared to have taken on its rather crazed look. This time, however, it seemed to be focused on Cederick with arch of the man's eyebrows anchoring it.

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The darkness of the cave was the only thing that greeted Lance and his companions, as it appeared the cave wasn't even well lit. A pallid glow was visible part way in, however, ensuring that there were at least some torches. No people, or ghosts for that matter, inside. The only noise was the occasional wailing of a gust in the hollow cave, though a lot of imagination would have been necessary to make it into a ghoulish moan.

"Why am I taking you back?" He broke eye contact with the guy for a second and then looked up at the sky. Because in your state, you don't look like you could go much of anywhere and leaving you alone could be dangerous for your health. "Well, I suppose it's because I really didn't have anything else to do, y'know?" Cederick chuckled nervously. "And I guess I'd rather avoid the mine because, well... I kind of had a bad experience with ghosts when I was a kid." Honesty? Now that's a refreshing change of pace. He smiled and shook his head. "There was this legend in my neighborhood, about this old woman who died because her family let her leave the house when she was deathly ill. Something like she insisted on it. Well, she wandered around town all night in the freezing cold and died. It was right by this old bend in the road next to an abandoned farm, and I used to live near it to boot. I always felt kind of creeped out when I was there, but after I heard the story, I started to see her." The Banshee. He shivered unconciously, caught himself, and then smiled back at his companion. "Scary stuff, huh?" Not that ghosts are real, of course.

Do you really believe that?

"So I guess I'd just rather stay away from that kind of stuff, y'know?" He shrugged it off. "Anyway, sorry to bog you down with some weird story like that. My name's Cederick, Cederick Via." He chuckled. "Or Ced or Ricky or Ricky or however else you'd like to say it. I've heard 'em all." And this guy... So what is with this guy? "Your name was... Moritake? Right? At least he's calmed down a bit. But what's with that look?