Dear Eliza [for Clara, Aradia, Liam, and Mab]

[necromancynow]

[This is the placeholder post for Faust's search for a way to communicate with his dead wife. Prompts inside!

Warning: probably contains mental torture and/or physical harm]

Comments

The Search (for Clara and Aradia)

[necromancynow]

Faust had asked that Clara meet him at a familiar place: somewhere quiet where there was not much chance of them being interrupted. And what better place to carry a thing like that out but a cemetery?

He waited in the early morning at a corner of the same cemetery at which they'd first met, hopefully avoiding any confrontations with Enrique in the process.

[warmheartedly]

Explaining this situation to Aradia was a little bit difficult. Finding Aradia to explain it in the first place was even more difficult since it's been a while but she managed both, able to track her fellow ghost down at long last to tell her what's going on.

"There he is!" Of course he'll be nearish to the grave where they had first met here. That makes the most sense to do.

Clara turned to face Aradia and thinks perhaps it was best to make some introductions first before they go any further. "Um! Doctor Faust, this is my friend Aradia. She'll be helping us.

Aradia, this is Doctor Faust. The one I spoke of and who needs a hand or two pairs."

[megidoomed]

Aradia hadn't minded offering her spare time when Clara finally tracked her down. Only knowing the basics of the situation wasn't really a deal breaker - finding things was fun and makes for decent manifesting practice, and she could always try to pry further details out of Clara's mysterious friend if things start looking shady. And if Clara trusted them, then they clearly couldn't be that bad.

Right? Right. Flawless logic.

"Hope you don't mind that I came with. She thought I could help out a little." Meeting in a graveyard at an absurdly early hour doesn't even rate as surprising anymore, though she does note that maybe Clara didn't tell the stranger beforehand that Aradia'd be joining them. Oops. "At least as far as a ghost can, anyway. But I can go if that's a problem."

Might as well offer a way for her to leave, even if she's oddly curious about where this could head. It's only polite.

[necromancynow]

Faust smiled at Aradia. What a nice young ghost. He was sure he could trust Clara despite only meeting her a few days ago, this sounded like an excellent idea and not like questionable judgment at all.

"Aradia. Pleased to meet you. As Clara mentioned, I'm Faust. And I'm trying to track down the spirit of my late wife. I... someone suggested to me recently that I might not know her real name. Her true name. I can't imagine why she would have kept something like that from me. But the truth of the matter is she's the only ghost I haven't been able to contact."

The hand at his side tightened slightly with emotion as he spoke. "I may have a lead. Eliza had an uncle living in London -- Meinke Heinemann. He may know her name, even if I don't. I'd like to ask for your help in tracking him down."

[warmheartedly]

Clara thinks she did tell beforehand but she isn't too sure now thanks to all the whirlwind activities of late. So it doesn't hurt to be sure and it's a good thing too. She smiles at the introductions, relieved to see it's going well and then her smile is replaced by a look of surprise to hear that's there a lead.

If Aradia looks over her, she'll see that she didn't have a clue about this. It's a good thing of course. Makes their searching much more easier to do.

"Mr. Me- Mine- Mr. Mi-- Mr. Eliza's uncle. Of course." Fingers crossed that neither noticed her flubbing the last name. Her English has improved over the years but not that much, sadly. She hopes Aradia is able to pronounce that name properly. It could prove crucial if they want the full proper name. "We'll be more than to happy to help since you're open to the idea. Did you know him personally? If we knew what he was like, it'll be easier to find him. If not, well, we can always improvise."

Surely nothing will go wrong if they do that. Besides possible angry/scared uncles.

[megidoomed]

No questionable decisions here. Clearly everything happening today could accurately be called Good Life Choices without any lies ever.

Aradia listens politely through the explanation - odd circumstances aside, the plan seems normal enough and not that different then the medium favours she did while alive. And she's always a sucker for helping people's relatives find peace, though the lead's name could end up being a problem with both of them being jittery over the pronunciation.

"Mr. Heinemann--" she's not even going to try that first name unless she has to, "--can't be that hard to find between the two of us. Someone's bound to know him. Though it would help if you've got an idea of where to start."

She steals a glance at Clara, wanting to gauge how her friend was feeling about the situation. Seeing the normally wiser ghost visibly clueless was... not reassuring. Welp.

[necromancynow]

"Not very well," said Faust. "Actually, though he and Eliza were fairly close, he never really took a liking to me. Odd, isn't it?" Maybe this actually was a little odd, as back then, Faust hadn't been such a trainwreck. He wondered if Meinke would recognize him. Probably not.

"In any case, I haven't been in contact with him since before my wife's death. He may even have moved. But I hope not." For his benefit, as well as theirs. "When I knew him, he was a man of medium height. Receding hair, blond. Light blue eyes. I remember he showed up to one Christmas wearing a terrible sweater. Just terrible. Green, with little prancing reindeer..."

Faust was getting a little off topic. GOOD LUCK GUYS.

[warmheartedly]

Clara relaxed enough. Now and then she'll look around to make sure the groundskeeper isn't making his rounds just yet. Otherwise? She looks a little worried which could be chalked up to nerves and Aradia can probably bet on that is isn't the case. At all.

It-- It's not like she wants to seem clueless of all times now but it's either to look clueless or look petrified for what may happen next and Clara decided clueless isn't that alarming to show compared to petrified. She hadn't gone out of her way to explain the full version of events that lead up to this. Maybe when everything has settled down there'll be time to explain it more in-depth. She's sure Aradia will find the story of her meeting the skeletal remains of Faust's beloved wife interesting at best.

That only happens when it is all said and done which may take a little while. That's not a lot to go on and she wrinkles her nose in deep thought, trying to rack her brain on where a man of that description may go to.

She looked at Aradia now, a few ideas in mind, knowing they'll have to do this on their own if Faust had no personal connection with the man. "Do you think we can hedge our bets and look around bars and taverns and listen to gossip over a M-Mine- Oh! Listen to gossip over him or hear his name being yelled? It's rather unique, I have to say."

The Search (for Liam)

[necromancynow]

Clara and Aradia had their own special means of looking for fellow ghosts. Faust, on the other hand, had at least one earthly lead open to him: the name of one of Eliza's uncles, now living in London. The question was whether he'd be willing to cooperate. And whether he could be found, of course.

"Haven't seen the man in years," muttered Faust darkly. But if he knew some secret about his wife that Faust did not...

The Find (anyone who wants to see some torture...?)

[necromancynow]

Earlier that morning, Faust had flipped open his small, outdated phone and laboriously typed out a message to the number of the woman he knew only as Ms. Sommerset:

It seems that I owe you some thanks. I've found a man that can tell me about my wife.

He'd included an address and time.

Now, whistling low, Faust locked the door behind him and descended to the basement of a small suburban home, slipping on some rubber gloves as he went. "How is our patient?" he asked quietly as he descended.

Meinke Heinemann, an elderly man in his late 50s, was seated in a chair at the center of the room. His wrists and ankles were bound with silver duct tape, tying him to the heavy wood. His mouth was taped firmly shut. His eyes, wide and bloodshot, followed Faust as the doctor approached.

The walls and floors were covered with arcane symbols. There were candles, magical ingredients, a lone lightbulb hanging from the center of the ceiling.

It was time.

[rules_winter]

Mab arrived some time later as her phone did not actually work in the Other Realm. That would have to be dealt with. Fortunately she'd had business in his realm and so found herself curious enough about what Faust had found to end up here on the doorstep of a house. She looked out over the street it sat on and then back at the house. She didn't sense any spirits about but they could easily hide behind a threshold.

Lifting her hand she pressed the bell and then slid her phone into her pocketbook.

[necromancynow]

It was Faust who answered the door. "Ah, I was beginning to wonder. Come in, please. I've already finished with the necessary preparations."

What preparations, though?

The house was fairly ordinary inside -- small wooden coffee table, a few simple rugs, chairs. Nothing to indicate that it belonged to anyone supernatural in any way.

[rules_winter]

He answered the door as though it was his home. Which by all appearances, it wasn't. It didn't have the feel of him at all and in general looked far too normal and... well clean. She got the distinct impression unless it was important to him, Faust probably let things like dusting slide. She moved to step inside and she felt the threshold press back, an almost physical wall. Pausing she cleared her throat.

"Perhaps you might ask the owner to extend an invitation?" Really she could go in if she wanted to force things but it would mean leaving the majority of her power outside. And she didn't trust Faust's sanity in those circumstances.

[necromancynow]

"Of course. Just a moment." He disappeared back into the house. A few minutes passed. There were a few thumping noises from down below, maybe a sort of dragging of heavy wood. Faust returned, looking only slightly more mussed than before.

"Invitation extended."

[rules_winter]

Mab waited, her eyes not straying to take in the sights. She listened to some thumps before she felt the threshold give and finally stepped into the house passing the threshold as though it was a curtain now. Walking in to the main room it looked generally as mundane as her first impression. She took it in with a sweep of her eyes before returning her gaze to the doctor.

"You wish for me to be present while you ask your questions?" She asked taking in the slightly mussier look.

[necromancynow]

"If you have some time on your hands. After all, you're the one who made the suggestion." Finish what you start, Mab, and don't look away from what it takes to get there.

"This way." He opened a door and descended down the steps to the basement, where Elsa's uncle was waiting. The man looked terrified; his eyes darted from Faust to Mab, but it was clearly the former he was worried about.

"Herr Heinemann," he said softly, amiably. "I'm sorry about that interruption. But now that my guest is here, we can begin in earnest, hmm? You can tell me what I want to know."

[rules_winter]

"Very well." She tried to decide if he meant it as some kind of reward. She certainly doesn't shy away from horrific things so he'll have no worries there at the very least. Not that he was the type to worry.

She followed him through the house, and down into the basement. Her eyes fell on the unfortunate soul. If she was tied down, she'd be concerned to have the necromancer around as well.

There was an open space to the side of the chair and Mab moved there with a fluid grace. The room's temperature dropped just a little as she moved but no frost formed on anything. "He does not wish to speak I take it?" She took in the bindings and it made her voice a little wry. From here on she would leave most of the speaking to Faust. It was his wife and her soul that he was after. Mab's part came later.

The Summoning (similarly, anyone who wants to hang around to see the summoning)

[necromancynow]

Armed with his new knowledge, Faust waited a few days after the interrogation of good Mr. Heinemann before making his next move. The circle of those he invited to attend this particular summoning was small; he had no desire to be caught by the police before he had the opportunity to use this knowledge.

This evening, the sign in front of the clinic was turned firmly to the side that said CLOSED. His assistant, however, still answered the door, ushering any expected visitors to the back room where Faust had set up his summoning pentacle.

"Thank you for coming," he said in a quiet voice. The lines of the pentacle were glowing with an eerie light.

"I've waited a long time for this... I... thank you. It's because of you that I'll be able to talk to my wife again."

/dives in first

[megidoomed]

"Wouldn't miss it." Truth be told, she'd been skulking around after helping find the dear old uncle who clearly did nothing wrong anyway, as curiosity quickly drove her to wonder what came next. So when an offer came to watch the spectacle, Aradia practically lept at the chance.

The pentacle makes her freeze, however - and confirms a shaky first guess about what type of existence Faust leads. She remembers enough to know what those are used for on a general basis, after all.

But then he thanks her - well, the group, but she's aware that she contributed - and all that gets is clear embarrassment and Aradia fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, attempting to play it cool in front of the other visitors. "I just hope you two have a happy conversation. It must be nice to get the chance."

[rules_winter]

Mab entered the room in a cold breeze, stopping to observe the setup Faust had put in place. It was cleanly done and she circled the pentacle to his other side, before looking at the other's gathered either those already there, or those still trickling in. It wasn't surprising a necromancer had ghosts and the undead as his audience. They all seemed to be moving about of their own free will though.

She glances at Faust as he thanks them all. And this one does imply his obligation. One which will only increase when she assists him with getting her soul into a new body. "Yes." She replies, but her attention moves to the shy ghost who wishes the madman well.

[necromancynow]

"Yes... and after all these years." Of course, why his wife had never told him her full name escaped him, but surely he could ask once she was here. He didn't think she'd moved on. Or rather, he believed that she hadn't, just as he'd believed all these years that they would one day be reunited.

"I don't know if you've ever been married, Miss Aradia. But she was the one person I cared about most in the entire world." He turned to Clara and smiled; surely she of all the people present must understand.

[warmheartedly]

She smiles back at him from where she stands next to Aradia, nodding confidently with a little wistful expression on her face.

She admits: There were times that she missed Francisco and wished he had lingered for a little bit at least. He didn't have to stay with her. Oh no, that'll be rude. Clara just-- Had a little hope there would be a chance to to catch up with him. Chat with him for a little bit and really know that everything is okay.

It didn't happen though. Knowing that she and the others were able to help Faust get the opportunity warms where her heart should be. Everyone should be able to spend time with their loved ones if given the chance and a little helping hands. "I'm sure it'll go well for you two both! This is such an exciting occasion for you and her."

[necromancynow]

"Thank you," he said, smiling warmly back at her. But now it was time to see his wife at last. He turned to the pentacle, began intoning the words of the spell. The summoning circle began to glow brightly, almost blinding in its brilliance. The shape of a woman appeared: tall, dressed in a pale pink nurse's uniform, with blonde hair that fell in long waves past her waist. She was lovely, just as lovely as Faust remembered.

"Johann?" she asked in disbelief. He moved forward to touch her arm, obut of course his hand simply went right through her. "Is it really you?"

It had been worth it. All those years of research all that torturing her name out of her uncle had all been worth it. He had hypotheses, of course; ghosts in distress had trouble controlling their powers. Perhaps his wife had remained in Germany while he'd been doing his preliminary studies. Back then he wouldn't have been able to see her. Back then -- but oh, what did that matter?

"Eliza," he said, his face lit with joy, "Don't worry. I've been working all these years. I'll bring you back! We can be together again!"

"Bring me back...?" She seemed taken aback for a moment. "You mean with the Fausts'... Johann, you musn't! It's unnatural!"

Then she looked around at the others assembled in the room. And at the room itself. "Where is this? What's happened?"

[megidoomed]

She'd been about to reply, attention split between Faust's cheerful comment and Mab's curious staring - but then the ritual begins, and the pieces began to fall into place.

Aradia didn't know a lot about being a ghost, admittedly. She was still testing her boundaries and learning just how far her new existence could stretch, especially when compared to older ghosts like Clara or anyone who'd done more intense study into the subject matter. But she liked to think she knew quite a lot about the living side of being a medium from sheer immersion and practice, as far as a teenaged girl could be counted to have experience in anything.

So whatever innocent joy she'd had at the start faded when Eliza's ghost started to panic. That... probably wasn't a good sign, and she has no qualms about edging back and quietly whispering to the other two observers to rule out ideas. "M-maybe she doesn't know she's dead? I know some ghosts don't realize it at first, but..."

[rules_winter]

Mab is pretty sure Eliza is aware she is dead. The reaction tells her that she also knows what Faust's plans are and doesn't approve. Of course, she doesn't need to approve if he can summon her and force her into a body. With Clara nearby she's certainly not going to mention that aloud. This is Faust's show, he gets to decide what is explained to his friends and what isn't.

She touched Aradia's wrist just momentarily in a soothing gesture and murmured, "I believe she is aware of the implications."