The looming shadow that bumps in the night

PART IX

Summary:

You arrive at Almoral's mansion after receiving an invitation for a Halloween party he is hosting. While you go to visit, another Halloween party is simultaneously being hosted by the famed Count Anastasius. In the meantime, the DPF moves along with their own missions as a peculiar forecast casts a shadow on the dream world…


NOTE: This event takes place on October 31, 2024.

[On the same day, senior meteorologists Cirrus and Neige are chatting while looking at data on their computers]


NEIGE: So how was your Halloween?


CIRRUS: Oh you know, the usual. I handed out candies again!


NEIGE: I just stayed home and watched those 1970’s horror flicks.


CIRRUS: Well we’re finally in November! Time to enjoy the last month of autumn that the season has to offer us.


[Neige looks over at some data on his monitor while Cirrus is writing away important information in a notebook]


NEIGE: Hmm…


CIRRUS: What is it?


NEIGE: When’s the last time that you checked the forecasts for November?


CIRRUS: I last checked them on the 27th if I recall correctly.


NEIGE: Mm…what did it look like?


CIRRUS: Well, the usual, you know? November is still autumn and everything looked normal.


NEIGE: What was the percentage probability for snow?


CIRRUS: Snow? In November? Well, I believe it was around ten percent. Why?


[Neige scrolls through the data and goes back and forth between tabs]


NEIGE: It wasn’t at eighty percent in the next two to three weeks?


CIRRUS: What? Eighty percent chance of snow in the near term? What are you looking at?


NEIGE: I ran the models this morning and this was the data I got.


[Neige shows Cirrus his monitor. Cirrus looks at it with confusion.]


CIRRUS: No… That can’t be right. Snow isn’t observed in the general dream world until at least December. It would be too soon for widespread snow now. Can you run them again?


NEIGE: I did and it’s still insisting on an unusual forecast for widespread snow in the coming weeks. The models are even indicating a worst case scenario with this. 


CIRRUS: Worst case scenario meaning…?


[Neige looks over to Cirrus with a concerned look.]


NEIGE: Freak snow storm of January 2022 level of worst case scenario.


[Cirrus shifts back to her side and reaches for the phone]


NEIGE: Who are you calling?


CIRRUS: I want the data collectors to verify this data and run their own forecasts. This… This isn’t right.


NEIGE: Should we alert the higher ups? The public?


CIRRUS: Not yet. We need to make sure this is correct. It’s a forecast after all, I mean, it’s bound to change with the days to come.


NEIGE: And… if it doesn’t?


[Cirrus dials a number and lets it ring.]


CIRRUS: Then we’re looking at a potentially serious and dangerous situation about to unfold in the dream world. Let’s verify this data first and then think about how we’re going to handle this. We can’t stay quiet about this, but we also can’t cause panic.


NEIGE: I just hope the forecasts are wrong.


CIRRUS: Let’s just hold our breaths and wait to see what happens…