Spooky Story Contest (EU) - Entry thread

[Mjuffsan]

Character: L'oneya Mjuff
Server: Moogle
Prize: Bluebird Earrings
Note: Entry heavily inspired by 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe.
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Once upon a midnight dreary, after dungeon runs, tired and weary,
Drawn many a quaint and curious volume tomes of Lore-
Getting sleepy, tired of duty, questing hard for loot of beauty,
I intended to brew tea, brew tea which spilled on the mansion floor.
"'Tis some pity," I muttered, "brewed tea on my mansion floor -

"Only this and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak November;
And light from each separate ember revealed dolls spread on the floor.
A fit I had earlier thrown;-across the mansion my plushes flown.
Now there suddenly was a groan-groan from other side the door
A voiceless sound spoken by someone on the other side the door

Nameless here for evermore.

And I gazed 'hind the curtain, albeit reasons remain uncertain
Thrill filled me, the voice was closer than before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
"Let not be a marlboro entreating entrance at my mansion door-
'Tis just some lalafell entreating entrance at my mansion door;-

This is it and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Hydaelyn" said I, "your blessings I now implore;
protect your children whom are weak, let no monster havoc wreak.
Remove the voices I hear from beyond my mansion door,
That I scarce was sure I heard."-and here I slam open the door;-

Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered creaking floor,
The whispers of an ancient mansion, and its echoes of yore.

Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me churning,
Soon my ears picked up a cry somewhere other than before;
'Come day I would not give fright, but this was in the deepest night.
I steeled myself with might, with this I thereby swore;
"No mystery outside my window too eerie not to explore;-

'Tis the wind and nothing more!"

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately demon, purple wings he bore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
A wild mess made he; knocking down all I care for-
But, with some demeanour, flew up above my chamber door—

Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this white devil beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
With its fancy whiskers, and bright pom-poms it wore,
"Though thy have dismayed me in my haven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
I am no devil maven, but alas thine fluffy fur I do adore-
Pray tell me what thy lordly name is, oh creature I now adore!"

Quoth the Moogle "Kupopo!"

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[Maedyel]

(No prize preference because... let's face it :P)

Maedyel L’monn of Phoenix in…
The Chilling Tale of the Mysterious Linkpearl

It was the night before All Saint’s Wake and all was quiet in the Mist.
But in the basement of a particularly cosy cottage, a duskwight by the name of Maedyel was decorating.
She stood back and admired the room she’d been working on all day.
‘Something’s missing…’ she mused, tapping her chin.
After a few moments of consideration, Maedyel was struck by an idea.
‘I know,’ her eyes lit up, ‘if I can get a sofa from Haukke Manor, this whole room will come together!’
But it was late, and Maedyel didn’t want to venture out alone, especially not to Haukke Manor.
So she grabbed her free company linkpearl, hoping someone would still be awake.
‘Hello, is anyone there?’
There was a moment of silence before an unfamiliar voice slowly answered.
‘Greetings Maedyel.’
‘Oh, I didn’t think anyone would be awake.’ Maedyel laughed. ‘Would you like to help me get something from Haukke Manor?’
‘I would be delighted.’
‘Thanks! I’ll meet you there.’ Maedyel beamed.
‘I’m there already. Waiting for you.’ The voice replied.
‘Even better. I’ll be there are soon as I can.’
After a teleport and a quick ride, Maedyel left her chocobo at the Haukke Manor fence.
She walked through the garden and then past the inexplicably open and inviting doors.
‘Greetings again Maedyel,’ said a voice.
Maedyel looked around, only to see a terrifying ogre standing at the top of the stairs.
Her eyes widened as the ogre advanced down the stairs towards her.
‘Oh my… That is an impressive glamour!’ Maedyel looked him up and down.
‘Glamour? This is my true form, mortal; you have fallen for our trap.’ The ogre gave a toothy smile.
At this, an entire flock of voidsent materialized out of the air around them.
‘Wow, you guys have really put in an effort.’ Maedyel observed. ‘Your glamours are all flawless, and your acting is great too.’
‘Will you not run from us, puny mortal?’ the ogre said menacingly. ‘Or will you stand there and act coy in the face of your impending doom?’
‘Ohh, so I’m supposed to run?’ Maedyel realized. ‘I’m sorry, I’m terrible at this roleplaying stuff. Okay, I’ll run. Sorry!’
With a smile, Maedyel took off, running back past the manor doors and through the garden, the voidsent right behind her.
When she reached the fence, Maedyel mounted her chocobo and took off into the Shroud.
The chocobo leapt and bounded through the brush, and the rough movements soon dislodged the free company linkpearl from Maedyel’s pocket, making her curse.
‘I’ll have to get a new one tomorrow,’ she frowned.
The chase continued, but after toying with the voidsent for nearly an hour, Maedyel grew bored.
So she lost the voidsent and returned home, but when she did, she saw something that made her blood freeze.
Her free company linkpearl was sitting on the table.
Where it had been the entire night.

[Wyvrex]

A mysterious thief and saboteur had been terrorising the merchants of Ul’dah. For weeks now, I’d heard complaints of stolen items, of people being spooked by eerie shadow puppets and even of locals being poked and tickled by an unknown force. Understandably, these encounters had the local people upset, and it wasn’t long before wild rumours of ghosts began to fly around.


However, I speculated something less ethereal was to blame. Thus, I sought out the one and only detective extraordinaire to help me capture the culprit.


“Hildebrand, my good man, will you lend your keen eyes and sharp mind to my cause?” I asked him, careful to groom his ego just enough to persuade.
“Why, of course, Lady! Nashu and I would only be too glad to help solve these mysterious hauntings - in fact I already have the perfect plan to catch this phantom of the night!” He grinned excitedly.
“You do…? Already…?” While I was not one to question the inspector’s methods, I thought it best to at least impart some of my knowledge, “Mayhap I could tell you of what I’ve learned so far? I believe it may be a ninja -”,
“Shh! I hear something” he interrupted.
We went silent and heard a faint scratching. The three of us looked towards the sound, but it stopped. I felt something grab my ankle and spun round in alarm - there was no one there.
“You too?” said Nashu, looking terrified. I nodded.
“The phantom was here!” Hildebrand exclaimed.
“That’s odd. I’d heard it mostly came out at night...mostly” indeed, it was only the afternoon.
“We must be near to it’s lair and it overheard my cunning plan!” said Hildebrand.
“You haven’t even told ME your cunning plan,” I pointed out,
“How else could I make sure it wouldn’t be overheard by ghoulish ears!”
“Brilliant idea, inspector!” Nashu crooned. I rolled my eyes.
“Right, we’re going to need some paint...” Hildebrand explained his plan to lay a trap for the invisible culprit. We knew it enjoyed shadow puppets and stealing, so we laid a table of knick-knacks against a wall and set up a torch not too far away so good shadows could be cast. This, the inspector theorised, would tempt our prey. We ran trip wires around the area, with cans of red paint attached. Thus, the phantom would be covered in paint and we would discover their identity.


Night came and we waited. It wasn’t long before the plan actually worked.


The paint can rolled onto the floor and we peered over the wall to see a severed arm.
“Hey, I know that arm,” I whispered “it’s Raubahn’s!” I had heard tales of creatures and people becoming possessed, but never limbs.
“Caught you red handed!” Hildebrand cried. The arm, perched on its fingers froze and scuttled away.


We never did find it, but the reports stopped coming in. Yet, it irks me to know that somewhere in the lairs of Ul’Dah, Raubahn’s zombie arm lies waiting...

Character Name: Lady Deathstryke
Server: Lich
Prize: Chocobo Noble Barding