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[color=LightSkyBlue]“Then, a really nice tourist took our picture, and [i]then[/i] we went to the Sherlock Holmes museum!”[/color] Olivia told Xolys, as she prepared for the upcoming sleepover, the eldritch beast listening to the blonde beauty’s happy ramblings in polite silence.

[color=MediumBlue]“It sounds like the two of you had a very enjoyable day,”[/color] Xolys noted.

[color=LightSkyBlue]“We really did!”[/color] Olivia agreed, her eyes sparkling with delight. [color=LightSkyBlue]“And I’m so very glad we didn’t have any surprise rainstorms,”[/color] she added, picking up her umbrella, which had now become an elegant parasol. [color=LightSkyBlue]“We only had a single umbrella, and it would have been rather awkward for both of us to try and squeeze under… Oh my gosh!”[/color] Olivia gasped as a small white rectangle fell out of the umbrella. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Another letter!”[/color] she exclaimed excitedly. [color=LightSkyBlue]“And it’s addressed to [i]you[/i], darling!”[/color] 

[color=MediumBlue]“Curious…”[/color] Xolys replied as he took the envelop and sliced it open with a scythed appendage. [color=MediumBlue]“Ah! It’s from Master Xozooth, my old instructor, and the original Master of Xhar’doth!”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“[i]Your[/i] instructor?”[/color] Olivia asked, frowning in puzzlement.

[color=MediumBlue]“Why yes, my sweet,”[/color] Xolys replied. [color=MediumBlue]“We [i]all[/i] have much to learn in our youths, and I was no exception. In fact, I would not be Master of Xhar’doth today, if it were not for Master Xozooth's exemplary tutelage. Still, he [i]was[/i] a rather mischievous and unorthodox teacher,”[/color] the gentleman horror reflected. [color=MediumBlue]“Not unlike some of Marrywell’s [i]own[/i] faculty. We were actually quite good friends, although we haven’t spoken in several millennia,”[/color] the eldritch beast added as he unfolded the letter. [color=MediumBlue]“I wonder what he has to say…”[/color]

After a few moments of silence as he read the letter, Xolys’s imposing form began to slightly quiver, which soon turned into far more pronounced shuddering, as the monstrous horror unleashed a hearty laugh. 

[color=MediumBlue]“Oh, that devious rascal!”[/color] he declared, once his laughter had finally subsided. [color=MediumBlue]“I see his sense of humor is still very much intact!”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“What did he say?”[/color] Olivia inquired as she leaned over to take a look at the letter, only to find that she couldn’t make an ounce of sense out of the strange symbols inscribed upon the piece of parchment.

[color=MediumBlue]“Roughly speaking, he said, ‘You are stupid!’,”[/color] Xolys replied, incinerating the letter in a burst of blue eldritch flame.

[color=LightSkyBlue]“T-That’s it?”[/color] Olivia asked, not at all comprehending how such an insult could in any way be considered funny. [color=LightSkyBlue]“But that’s so horribly rude!”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“Now, now, my sweet,”[/color] Xolys reassured her. [color=MediumBlue]“It isn’t [i]nearly[/i] as offensive as it seems. Much of the humor and hidden meaning is lost in translation, and very hard to explain to anyone not versed in the intricacies of Non-Euclidean geometry.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“I see… Well, I suppose I shall have to take your word for it… But wait! How do you suppose the letter got in my umbrella in the first place?”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“You mentioned leaving it behind in the restaurant,”[/color] Xolys pointed out. [color=MediumBlue]“Perhaps the letter was inserted then?”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh my gosh!”[/color] Olivia gasped, placing her delicate hands over her mouth. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Do you think Kate could have done it?!”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“It is a distinct possibility,”[/color] Xolys noted. [color=MediumBlue]“But I wouldn’t fret, my sweet”[/color] he added, placing a consoling appendage on her shoulder. [color=MediumBlue]“Xozooth would often employ all sorts of people to carry out his various pranks, most of whom were almost entirely unaware of what he was actually having them do. So even if Miss Kate [i]did[/i] convey this message, I doubt her intentions were in any way malicious.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“I suppose you’re right…”[/color] Olivia conceded, her demeanor brightening up once again. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Um, darling…?”[/color] she asked as she watched Xolys produce a large white sheet with two black circles colored on it and drape it over his sizable form. [color=LightSkyBlue]“What are you doing?”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“So as not to intimidate any ghosts that may appear, I thought it prudent to wear a disguise,”[/color] Xolys explained. [color=MediumBlue]“This way, they shall be lulled into a false sense of security, allowing you more time to observe them.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh, you’re just so [i]clever[/i], darling!”[/color] Olivia gushed, while giving her consort a brilliant smile. 

[color=MediumBlue]“Thank you, my sweet,”[/color] Xolys replied, the eldritch beast not having the heart to tell the endearingly naive beauty that the [i]real[/i] reason he had chosen to wear a disguise was to keep from unnerving the other girls with his monstrous appearance. [color=MediumBlue]“Now, then, let us be on our way.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Yes, let’s!”[/color] Olivia agreed, wrapping her free arm around one of Xolys’s tentacles, while the other held a comfy pillow. 

…

…

…

[color=LightSkyBlue]“You know, it’s too bad Helmi probably won’t be joining us tonight…”[/color] the [url=https://imgur.com/PKVyRQd]azure robe-clad maiden[/url] noted in a sullen tone as they walked along, her mouth drooping into a frown. [color=LightSkyBlue]“I haven’t really talked with her in quite some time, and she was the one who told me about the possibly-haunted classrooms in the first place!”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“As much as I hate to say this, I think that it may be for the best that Miss Wilhelmina refrains from joining us tonight,”[/color] Xolys replied. [color=MediumBlue]“From what little I know of her, I do not believe she is particularly enamored with the idea of possibly encountering ghosts, or any supernatural phenomena in general.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh, don’t be [i]silly[/i], darling!”[/color] Olivia playfully admonished, while giving voice to a melodious giggle. [color=LightSkyBlue]“She summons all those spectral sailors during battle! How could she [i]possibly[/i] be afraid of ghosts?”[/color]

…

…

…

After careful consideration, Olivia and Bonnie had decided upon the music room as the venue for their slumber party, in large part because the rumors surrounding it were the most long-standing and well-defined. It also didn’t hurt that Olivia was particularly fascinated by the idea of being transported to a fantastic world and exploring it with Xolys and her other friends. However, when the incongruous pair reached the location where the door to the music room [i]should[/i] have been, they were instead greeted with a drawbridge, leading to the open gates of a gothic castle…

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh my goodness!”[/color] Olivia exclaimed in utter astonishment. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Wherever could this enchanting structure have come from?! It certainly wasn’t here yesterday! Unless…!”[/color] she gasped as in idea occurred to her. [color=LightSkyBlue]“That’s it! The haunted piano! Instead of bringing [i]us[/i] to another world, it brought part of another world [i]here![/i] Oh, this is just so incredibly exciting!”[/color] she gushed as she practically dragged Xolys along after her, the fair maiden’s eyes sparkling with jubilant anticipation of what wondrous discoveries lay in store…