The mansion is lively when the group enters, candelabras burning bright on the walls and chandeliers glittering overhead. It is, perhaps, the most welcoming place in Other Ashdown that any of them has ever seen. The music is a jaunty little jazz tune, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. If they didn’t know any better, it would almost seem like the group is here for a party.
Then the music cuts, and the lights die out. The house is plunged into darkness. Before any overbearing fear can set into the people there, some of the flames return. One by one they light up, guiding everyone’s gaze to the door beyond the spiral staircase.
“You’re here,” comes a voice, quiet still against the overbearing silence. Autumn appears before the group in a ghostly visage, floating before them in an ethereal glow. She does not smile, but casts her gaze over those assembled.
“I didn’t think you’d find me,” she continues, frowning slightly. “But something terrible has happened. I… there’s an evil spirit. She ripped my spirit from my body, and left me stuck like this.” Her voice is mournful, sad. Distant. She casts her eyes to the ground.
“I need your help. It’s… it’s going to be hard, but I believe in all of you. If you follow the rules this spirit set up, I think you’ll be okay.”
She raises her hand and points off to the left.
“Down the corridor that way, there’s a master bedroom. The spirit took my body there, and locked it away. There’s no way to get past the doors until you undo the locks.” She sighed, shoulders drooping.
“It’s horrifying. Worse still is that the keys have been hidden. I can’t leave this area, but I think the keys are guarded by… monsters.” Autumn shuddered in horror.
“You’re going to have to find them and kill them. Then you’ll get their keys, and help me unlock these doors.” She turned her attention back to the group, and offered them a weak smile.
“I can’t help you find them, but I’m going to do my best to keep the house from hurting you. I’ll be in guest room across from the master bedroom, but please… I don’t know how much the house will harm you if you disturb me. I’m going to have to focus everything on keeping it at bay.”
She clasped her hands before her, tears welling in her eyes.
“Please. We’re not going to have much time, so we have to act quickly. Don’t let the house get to you- I’ll do my best to protect you. The first key should be in that door beyond the stairs, but after that, you’re on your own.”
The image of Autumn flickered, and she called- little more than a whisper.
“Good luck, all of you! I know that you can do it!”
((You may now begin investigating the house! Your character does not know the layout, as none is provided. There is a MAIN FLOOR, a BASEMENT, and an UPSTAIRS. Only the UPSTAIRS and MAIN FLOOR are accessible until the way down is discovered. In order to interact with DOORWAYS or STAIRCASES, quote me and I'll respond ASAP.
The main event is now OPEN. Investigate to your heart's desire!))
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 4:36 pm
Considering how welcoming the whole veneer of the place is, Alexis really isn't surprised when it all dissolves into darkness -- they don't grip the knife handle. They don't. It's not threatening yet, really, and if anything they certainly won't do it when Jeremiah is in view -- god knows the scorn they feel is reflected back.
Ah, mutual hatred. It's like young love, but without any of the good parts of it at all.
"So," Alexis mutters, squinting in the low light, "we gonna make groups or what?"
Concerned but not that concerned with the state of their group just then, Thorne decided to move forward. Which meant moving into the goddamn creepy-a** mansion and potentially inviting death.
It didn't help that it had a light show. It didn't help that there was a spirit inside talking to them - a girl he'd never met before. Her claim to having her spirit stolen made gooseflesh ripple across Thorne's skin. Was all of this some sort of nightmare? He almost missed the realism of his own. But no - there was a familiarity to this entire place, like stepping into somewhere he'd visited before while asleep.
And there was something in his veins that sang - not that this was right, no, not at all. But that there was something real about it all. Something that made the sound of monsters and spirits and dangerous things sound real enough for him to have to swallow down fear.
"To be completely and utterly stereotypical," he responded when he heard someone else speak, someone he'd never met before, "maybe we shouldn't make it easier for the malevolent spirits to eat us alive by splitting up entirely."
He walked forward, into the foyer, and looked around. Keys, the spirit-girl had said. Well, where the hell should they start?
Daekie
what up
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 5:54 pm
Ominous - that was a damn good word for it. Even with the lights on and the music playing it was eerie to be inside. Not -right-, not ...he thought quite what he'd experienced in his tour, but then... then the lights cut out, the music died. A thick blanket of nothingness that made his heart stutter in his chest, his ears strait to hear the rain, wondering if it had stopped.
The though, like a sigh of relief the candles flickered, one by one dancing to life.
Her voice, His eyes turned towards her and then widened in horror to see her, ghostly and translucent. Yes, there were questions. WAS it her, was it something that was imitating her? Could he, reasonably, take a chance that it might not be her and she might not need their help to reclaim her -body.
"... Autumn." He said full of anxiety. Monsters, of course monsters, monsters keeping the princess in the high tower. Damn he wished that Lucas was like them in that moment, it was a horribly selfish thought but...
He glanced at Temperance worried about her as well.
"This...this is really not how I hoped you'd find out how dangerous this place could be." He admitted to her.
He glanced at Jerimiah next. Yes, they did need to talk but, now he got to worry again, about them all making it out of this alive.
Damn.
The Semblance of Unity
azuredreams
iloveyouDIE
endejester Crew
Feral Cat
Offline
cibarium Crew
Noob
Offline
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 6:28 pm
As of recently, Leila was a bit less of a stranger to spooky houses than present company. She even had a living souvenir-slash-companion from the one she'd been to. This wasn't really much of an advantage past enabling her to hesitate a nanosecond less to enter than she may have otherwise, though, and the message from the alleged-spirit of Autumn quickly ramped her mood up from cautiously intrigued to... contemplatively anxious. Other Ashdown always had some sort of situation for humans to play part in whenever they showed up. When was it going to stop being a terrifying surprise?
She saw Jeremiah, Zac, and some other familiar faces from the last group gathering, and trotted up to them once she had her bearings halfway in check. "Well, this is awful," she quipped. "How many ways does this world have to kidnap people, anyway?"
azuredreams
endejester
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 6:37 pm
Jeremiah's expression had smoothed back to something neutral, even if his eye twitched. His stomach roiled uncomfortably and he kept in step with Algie, even while Autumn laid down ...
... bloody hell.
This entire situation.
Leila got a snort, a near sardonic laugh. "I'm sure we'll find out as time goes." The detective was not exactly pleased to hear that there would be killing. This entire thing was odd and he was not even sure that ...
For now he kept his thoughts to himself. "No one on their own. Go in pairs, if not larger. She stated the first key is in the door past the stairs and that is likely where to start."
Asiya almost smiled as she walked in to the house filled with the upbeat music. It was a nice, refreshing change of pace from what they were normally used to in Other Ashdown. But just as quickly as it came, the jazz was gone, and with that came a frown from the hijabi. Leave it to the house to lead them all into a false sense of security.
When a ghostly Autumn appeared before them, she couldn't help but perk up. While, yes, it was horrible that something had ripped her spirit from her body, it was still good that they could hear from Autumn in some way. She wasn't totally gone, and there was even a way to rescue her! Unlike the others, Asiya couldn't help but feel the slightest bit optimistic. If there was anyone that could save the young girl, then the group of all the different visitors was her best chance.
"We'll do our best to save you, Autumn," she told the spirit, wishing she would have got in contact with her after their first trip to the Other Realm. Even if the house wanted to hurt them, she wasn't going to let that try and stop her. One of their own was in trouble, and Asiya was going to help in any way that she could.
Where to begin? Shrugging her shoulders, Asiya figured exploring the main room would be as good of a start as any. Maybe they'd find some clues that way, or potentially even a key. "We have to start somewhere, " she told the group, not speaking to any one person in particular. "I'm going to look around the main room first. I figure once it's been thoroughly searched, then I'd move on to the next location after that." With her plan of action in mind, Asiya then stepped from the entry way that they were in, and moved through to where the main room of the house would be.
Hopefully, there would be some more clues in there, somewhere.
Quote:
Asiya is going to look around the Main Room. Feel free to tag along or help out!
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 6:43 pm
As Asiya investigates, the main room is dark, but not unmanageable. Directly ahead of her is a grand spiral staircase, spinning upwards into the abyss. There is a door behind it- the candles to it are, oddly, still lit, despite the darkness of the rest of the house. If the door is checked, it is unlocked and free to enter. Two massive hallways extend down the way from either side of the staircase. What goes off that way is unknown.
Thorne glanced at everyone assembled, considered their rag-tag group. His mind was still fresh out of hell, and he didn't feel the need for friendly chat at the moment, but rather the hunger to save the spirit-girl and get out. And keep everyone alive. If he could.
"I'll see if I can find anything leading down. Maybe there's another floor below us too - or a basement." He shrugged, palms up, gesturing to the right of the hall they were in and the gloomy looking darkness beyond. "Let's go find some keys."
everyone around
thorne is going to go explore the right of the house and try to find the basement and he'd love some company yo
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 7:03 pm
"If this house is evil and doesn't want to give Autumn back --" ******** hell, she said that with a straight face without even thinking about it -- "then I'll bet money it's going to be trying its best to hide s**t too. I'm with you, if that's cool." Leila nodded at Thorne, striding over to follow him to the right side of the house. "I have, um. Light magic. Kinda. So shoving me in the darkest corner of this place we can find is the best idea, if you're looking for the basement."
elkbones
cibarium Crew
Noob
Offline
endejester Crew
Feral Cat
Offline
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 7:04 pm
... Attractive well muscled older apparent artist declaring that he was going right.
Attention received. Zac cleared his throat and glancing between Temprence, who's arm he squeezed carefully, Jer who, got a look that just -dared- him to say anything, and then to the Painter Zac raised his hand.
"Um...I'll go with you. T..Temperance you want to follow us too?" He blinked at her, she was, his responsibility after all. If he went with them they'd have someone with experience in Other Ashdown, logical really.
elkbones
The Semblance of Unity
azuredreams
iloveyouDIE
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 7:09 pm
"We'll check out the place where the first key is." Supposedly. Jeremiah tilted his head towards the way the way past the stairs, waiting to move with Algie.
"Go ahead, larger groups are best. See if there's any other paths." Still, the entire place felt off to Jeremiah but then again ... Algie and himself were probably the only ones who were any decent when it came to magic. Zac was just given an eyebrow raise at his decision but Jeremiah wasn't going to question it.
Giving a nod to the others, Jeremiah and Algie would head towards the room past the stairs.
Thorne cocked his head at Leila, blinking when she mentioned magic. Magic, huh? That was new too. He ran a tattooed hand through his hair and nodded. "Sounds better than me stumbling in the dark." He grinned at her, and the expression was more sure than he felt. "I'm Thorne, if there are to be introductions before we start this horror story."
He glanced up at another shuffle of motion. The other man didn't look like he could be that old, and Lucas felt a flare of protective want in him towards both of them - Leila and Zac. His jaw worked, and he said, "Sure. Mind if I steal a name?"
He inclined his head at Temperance as well before turning to start towards the gloomy right corridor. The shadows were hungry enough when they bit at him, and he felt his sight and his nerves falter as he stepped away from the light.
Turning to look back at the two - three? - of them, he smiled. "Let's try and stay close. And if something happens - run. Or get behind me. I don't know about monsters, but I'm a damn good hand at landing a punch."
And then he turned and stepped towards the unknown.
endejester
cibarium
Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 7:15 pm
When Algie and Jeremiah enter the door behind the staircase, it reveals a grand library. Shelves of books tower above them, disappearing into the looming darkness. The immediate area is illuminated by flickering firelight, and seems… cozy, despite everything. Several chairs are posed around the warmth of the fire, making the room a good place to take a rest. Anyone waiting in the library will be safe from outside harm.
Above the fireplace is a grand old portrait. It seems unfamiliar at first, but when you look closer, the painting is more obviously of Autumn. She is dressed in a fine plum gown with gold trimmings, face painted simply rather than her typical dramatic makeup. When you look at her, she seems… sad. From the corner of your eye, it almost seems like the painting is crying? But no, it’s just a trick of the light.
Hanging under her watchful gaze, just above the fireplace, is a key. It must be one of the five to unlock the master bedroom!
Temperance took everything in with a rather dazed look on her face. The logical side of her mind kicked in, telling her she would majorly freak out later, but for now it felt kind of like a video game. Were there save points right before entering the other Ashdown?She blinked rapidly at Zac bringing her back down to earth and smiled, making a murmuring sound of assent.
And, as he began to move off, following the beefcake, she turned. Temperance had sure Zac oogling those buns and she wasn't going to get in the way of it. Besides... what was up the stairs? She grasped the railing and leaned forward, peering up.
Reply
