[AUTO EXAM] The House of Horrors (Cearney)

[Seiana_ZI]

THE EXAM: HOUSE OF HORRORS (Y1 > Y2)


Each student ready to move from the first year to the second would find a nice, neatly printed letter taped to their door inviting them to participate in a "Non-Mandatory-But-Highly-Recommended-Anyway Test" (or NMBHRAT for short). A location was provided at the bottom of the note (a section of the grounds, just near the forest), and beneath that the words "Come at anytime."

Upon arrival, you would first notice that a peculiar house has been erected. It's not large enough to overshadow any of the dorms by any means; in fact, it seems rather tiny and shabby in comparison, with the door half stripped of its paint, the windows cracked and smeared with dust, and everything looks as though the merest touch will make it collapse.

At first you wonder if you're in the right place at all, but then you notice a little box sitting just outside of the house. Closer examination would reveal a note, written in a loopy handwriting perhaps familiar to some:

Welcome welcome to the House
Please be quiet as a mouse
The House will tell if you are good
The House will tell if you are bad

Think you're up to face the thing?
If you pass it, all will sing
Do your best, oh fair student
I hope your deaths you do circumvent

THE EXAM

THE HOUSE OF HORRORS

The smell is what gets your attention first; like smoke and old wood, it wafts across the air towards you, enticing you onward, pulling you forward, and you reach the little shabby house and the door half hanging off its hinges, practically begging you to come inside.

A sign posted outside reads "Welcome to the House."

At first, you're mildly concerned but upon knocking stepping inside, you realize that the house in question appears deserted.

Well, that's just creepy. But trying to go backwards only results in failure - the door has locked behind you. You're trapped inside, and now you must figure out how to get through the house in order to continue on your quest.


--------------------------------------------


TO GET THROUGH THE HOUSE:

There are THREE MAJOR ROOMS to the House of Horrors. In order to successfully pass through the House and receive your exam credit, you must navigate through all three rooms until you reach the exit, located after the very last room:

• Cutthroat Kitchen
  
  To get through the Cutthroat Kitchen, you need 10 steps. Roll 1d4 and add up the amount of steps you take (i.e. you roll a 3, that's 3 steps forward). You must get at least 10 steps. If you go over ten, that's fine, as long as it's at least 10.
  
  Each number of steps rolled has it's own consequence:
  1 - You open a door in the kitchen looking for the exit and promptly find yourself dunked by a bucket of icy water. Who left that there?
  2 - You trip and fall into a vat of what looks like melted chocolate.
  3 - You step in a pile of what looks like sticky glue on the floor and therefore get it stuck on the bottom of your foot/shoe for the rest of your trek through the House.
  4 - For some reason, there is an entire bin of tiny bones that you somehow manage to knock over, which, of course, makes a terribly loud sound.
  
  
  
• Lurking Library
  
  In order to get through the Library, you'll have to find the right combination of books in order to find the combination. Roll 3d6, and follow the guidelines below:
  
  - 1,1 OR 2,2 as two of the numbers - Looks like you've found some sort of...oops better put that back quickly before a certain cranky Librarian sees you looking at por - (try again)
  - 3,3 OR 4,4 OR 5,5 OR 6,6 as two of the numbers - You pull out a book, and then another, and to your relief you see that the door beyond swings open for you to slip through! (success)
  - 1,2,3 (doesn't have to be in order) - Somehow you get entangled in what looks like a long rope made of paper and spend several moments trying to break your way free, when you notice that in the process you've actually fallen out the door into the next room. How convenient! (success)
  - 6,6,6 Is that a giant spi - quick run for it - (start back in the first room)
  - 1,1,1 You try climbing a bookshelf, rather than pull books trying to find the secret switch, and wind up tumbling over the side rather ungracefully. But hey, look, the...nope, just a shadow (try again)
  
  
  
• Bloodcurdling Bedroom
  
  The Bloodcurdling Bedroom requires only one thing - picking the lock successfully to get through the door on the other side. Roll 1d100. You must get above a 65 to have successfully picked the lock. If you roll below, then your attempts were unsuccessful and you have to keep on truckin'.

Upon their exit from the house, a certain mischievous Trick or Treater can be found lounging in a tree on the other side, looking as happy as a pig in mud. He smiles down at you, his grin terribly self-satisfied, and tosses you a rolled up piece of parchment. Opening it, you see a certificate of Exam Completion.

"Congratulations," he says brightly, and flashes you a wink. "You're now a Knob."  

[Seiana_ZI]

When Cearney arrived back at his room, he was surprised to find that he had apparently missed someone. A note?

Getting up on his tip-toes (why was it placed so high?) Cearney snatched the note off his door and brought it to his face. NMBHRAT? He didn't want to take a NMBHRAT. He wanted to just sit in his room and maybe get some rest. At the same time, though, there was something else on the page that caught his attention.

Year Two.

After what was definitely longer than a year, Amityville was finally ready to admit that Cearney should be a second year. A second year! More power, closer to graduation, more acknowledgment, and maybe less getting embarrassed by jacking enchanting reapers--

After dropping off his belongings in his room, Cearney headed off towards the location that was noted in the notice. Now was as good as anytime to get this taken care of, right?  

[Seiana_ZI]

This house was awful. And shabby. And in disrepair. Who owned this? Certainly not a fey...

There was no doubt in Cearney's mind that this was likely the right place, considering some of the other things he had seen during his time at Amityville. The little box and the containing note only confirmed it, and Cearney sighed and shrugged. Alright. So he just needed to get through this house then, and then he would be a second year?

Easy.

The house was deserted when he entered, which was fine. At least there wouldn't be any more battles.

The first room he entered appeared to be a kitchen. Not a very large kitchen. He could see the exit, he thought. Cearney headed towards it.

Unfortunately, he first tripped over a bin of tiny bones, which spilled out and made a horrific noise. He cringed. Everything seemed so much louder when it was quiet.

Steps: 4/10  

[Seiana_ZI]

It seemed that Cearney was not very attentive, or whoever previously lived in this decrepit house had an obsession with bins of tiny bones. Either way, Cearney ended up tripping over another one, stumbling forward while the bones loudly clanged against the floor again.

Great.

Steps: 8/10  

[Seiana_ZI]

The exit! Perfect! Cearney threw the door open--

And quickly found himself drenched with icy water.

Shivering, Cearney backed away from the door, holding himself. Who did that?! Why would someone plant an ice bath trap in the house? Was this part of the exam? And where was the actual door, now he needed to dry off, the nerve of ruining this suit--

Steps: 9/10  

[Seiana_ZI]

Of course, before he found the actual door, he had to take the time to trip right over another bin of noisy, tiny bones, which of course had to collapse upon the ground and frustrate him further.

Cearney shook his feet out of the little bones.

When he arrived at the door, he threw it open and jumped back from it in case it was another trap. When it wasn't, he breathed a sigh of relief and headed out into the next room.

Steps: 13/10  

[Seiana_ZI]

A library? Who connected their kitchen to their library?

No matter. He needed to get through here to get the acknowledgment he desired. Cearney cleared his throat, straightened himself out, and headed into the room. He didn't see anything of interest so far. How was he supposed to get out of here, exactly?  

[Seiana_ZI]

Were there hidden doors in here, perhaps?

Considering there were other traps in this house, it didn't seem unlikely. Cearney shivered as he moved towards the shelves of books. Could it be these?

Pulling books off the shelves was something out of a scareling movie, but it was the best thing he could think of considering there wasn't a whole lot in here but books. Cearney yanked a few one off the shelf and found nothing happened, but he kept going, yanking out another two that were next to the first.

And the hidden door clicked open.

Well, that was fast. He shrugged, strolling through the door.  

[Seiana_ZI]

In comparison to the other rooms, this seemed decidedly boring.

Cearney shrugged, walking to the other end of the room and attempting to turn the doorknob. When it didn't move, he laughed. Ah. That was why it seemed decidedly boring. More tricks.

So he needed to pick the door. He could do that. Honestly, it would not have been the first time. He did have a few lockpicks in his pockets...

His cold, damp pockets...

Grumbling to himself, Cearney plucked a lockpick out of his pocket, shivered once again, and bent down slightly to get better leverage at the lock. It was not too difficult for Cearney to pick the lock considering he had picked locks of other doors before, and within a few moments, the familiar pop of the lock coming undone was music to his ears.

He strolled out the door, finding himself face-to-face with a roll of parchment tossed at his head. Cearney glared, but he took it anyway and unraveled it.

"Congratulations. You're now a Knob."

Cearney opened his mouth to protest the ice bath he received inside of the house, but quickly decided it wasn't worth it. He was a Knobgoblin now. That was the important part.

Though he was going to need to get to a dry cleaner.