[IAS] Case 00 - Never Trespass

Case Name:  Never Trespass

Location: Prague, Czech Republic

Case Description: 
A group of five (5) American tourists embarked on an urban exploration gone wrong, which took place in an abandoned factory in the heart of the Czech Republic. The tourists began their exploration at sundown to avoid being seen trespassing and having split up to add to the thrill of their exploration, they only had a short-distance walkie-talkie to maintain communications between them. Three of them have gone off on their own while the remaining two decided to explore the east complex of the factory. Within 20 minutes of their exploring, the group of two suddenly radioed in to the rest of the team, urgently telling them to leave the factory immediately before their voices were replaced with static. Further communication with the isolated duo was impossible at this point, leading the trio to regroup and try to locate their missing friends. Upon approaching the area where the missing two were last seen,  inhuman screeching spread through their walkie-talkie, mixed with what they believed was the voices of their friends. They did not wish to meet the same fate and ran for it, deciding to seek help online right as they got to their hotel, where they waited for the next two days hoping the other two group members would return. They did not return to the factory and looked very shaken by the event during the appointment. Its now your task to find out what happened to the missing tourists and if possible, try recover them if you can. 


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Scenes:

1 - Recreating the situation.
Despite having read the case file on the way to Prague as well as a quick look through the myths and legends of the city, August decided to meet the three tourists at their hotel for a recap of their story, and maybe pick up on a few details that may have not been in the file. Much to his disappointment, there was nothing new about their story. He could have chalked the disappearance to an abduction, but the trio he met were constantly talking about the static and the screeching that came through their walkie-talkie, which meant there was electrical disturbances. It was difficult to determine whether it was supernatural or not simply from the stories of the frightened tourists, so August decided that he would begin his investigation by recreating what had happened on the day the two tourists had disappeared.

He was at the factory at sundown, and through his own carelessness had forgotten his flashlight, and the walkie-talkie he was going to use for the investigation (of all things). Being a human torch came in handy in times like these, as he didn't want to waste time backtracking to the hotel. If the whole situation was supernatural, there was a chance that the missing tourists were still in the factory, and being stuck in this kind of place for two days with no food and water would mean they would either be very weak, spirited away, or dead. At this point, August hoped they were just caught trespassing by police and that they were in jail waiting for a bail or something. It wouldn't explain the inhuman noises and the static, though.

All things considered, August's exploration was uneventful. Yes, there were sounds in the air, like old machinery running or doors being opened and closed, but they weren't important to his investigation of the missing tourists. His exploration eventually brought him to the east complex...

2 - Encounter.
At the east complex, August found that the air was heavier, colder. Something was definitely here. He would often hear the sound of clicking heels on the concrete floor, but he would be very sure that he was alone in the complex. There would be shadows at the corner of his eyes that looked vaguely like a young woman in a dress, and the farther he walked into the complex, he found himself at a wide open space that looked like some large machine used to sit there and had been removed quite some time ago. 

And floating in the middle of said space was the ghostly figure of a young woman, giggling at him. She seemed to be full of energy, having nearly completely manifested, as if she had just fed off another person's energy. Extending a hand to him impatiently, she gave the pyro a confident smirk, as if demanding August to take her hand and dance with her. To August, this was strange. What the ghost was doing fitted the bill for another ghost he'd read about on the plane, but the place was all wrong. Perhaps she wandered from where she usually haunted so she could find more people to feed from and dance with?

Giving the ghost an uncertain smile, August asked gently, "Are you the miller's daughter? I thought you were supposed to be at the palace, where you usually are," he chuckles, maintaining his distance as the ghost tilted her head at him. She looked mildly surprised that he would recognize her, but scowled when he didn't respond to her demands. Holding his hands up in defense, August sensed the quick shift in her mood, "Oh, don't worry! I'd be honored to dance with someone so famous!"

To be quite honest, he wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it was worth a shot. 

Pouting, the ghost put her hands on her hips and frowned. She was waiting for him to make a move, it seemed. 

"Before we dance, I'd like to make a few requests, if that's alright." August started, gulping a little when the bratty ghost looked far less than pleased, "Nooooo hear me out, please... ;;; I'd dance with you all night, but I'm busy at the moment so I can only be your partner for one dance--" A cold gust of wind slapped him in the face, and August continued, "Secondly, once we finish our dance, I'd like you to return the two guys you were dancing with for the past two days--" another cold gust of wind slapped him in the face as August stated his final request,

"Thirdly, I'd like you to return to the palace. An old factory like this is no place for a lady." he grinned brightly at the ghost, who looked decidedly pleased that August would see her as a lady. She nodded like a child who had been promised gifts if she behaved, and August extended his hand, "May I have this dance?"


3 - Waltzing.

It was bizarre, waltzing to a song he couldn't hear, and with a partner he can't even touch. All he knew was that his body tingled with static electricity where the miller's daughter 'touched' him, and he hoped against all hope that she would keep her end of the deal. On top of that, waltzing wasn't August's strong suit, and he was only waltzing according to some dance videos he'd watched a week or so ago. Here's hoping he could temporarily sate the miller's daughter...

Thankfully, fortune smiled upon August and at the end of their dance, the miller's daughter looked satisfied. She made a motion, as if inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly before grabbing August's hand with both of hers and 'pulling' him towards a corner of the space they were in.

August was met with a slightly ajar door, and upon opening it, found the two missing tourists unconscious on the floor. They looked weak from exhaustion, hunger and thirst, and thanking the ghost, August picked up the two tourists and hurried out of the complex so he could get help for the 'victims' and return them to their friends. Behind him, the miller's daughter smiled at August's retreating back, waved and phased out of sight, presumably returning to the palace where she belonged.

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Conclusion:

The encounter with the miller's daughter's ghost was purely coincidence, as she happened to be out and about looking for partners to dance with. To her, it was harmless fun, but not so much for her 'partners'. The initial static heard through the walkie-talkie was caused by the ghost's phasing to the tourist's sides, and it was concluded that the inhuman screeching was because the tourists tried to run from the ghost, which made her absolutely livid as she proceeded to throw a fit. With August's indulging her in at least one dance, and making her feel like nobility(which she had always wanted), the ghost was appeased for the night. With that, she could happily return to the palace and feel like the queen of the world.

August recommends people to not just explore potentially haunted places willy-nilly, especially if they have no prior knowledge of the lores of the place they are in to avoid further cases such as this. August also got exhausted after dancing with the ghost (she sapped his energy just by touching him), nearly missed his flight back to HQ, and slept the whole flight back.


Trivia:

The story of the miller's daughter can be read here:   prague-stay.com/lifestyle/revi…


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<gasp> <wheeze> Finally... done... I hope the report made sense;;;;

August Steinwald (c) TabooTengu