NIGHT 017: SECOND HOUSE

[allthekeys]

|| FIRST FLOOR || SECOND FLOOR || BASEMENT || THREAT DOWN
|| GENERAL The house-guests will find themselves waking in the Chapel, piled on top of each other almost carelessly. The altar is red with fresh blood, the smell of it hanging in the air as though someone has just recently removed a corpse from the room. A fire, too, has been just put out -- embers still glowing red on the small hearth. They can be coaxed back to life with a little work, and someone has laid up a small store of fuel, though not enough to last the night. The low murmur of voices fills the hall, and the house-guests that linger here will find themselves occasionally speaking to someone who vanishes when they are directly addressed -- eyes wide with alarm and fear, but seemingly normal otherwise. The Locked Door in the Chapel is moving, rattling as though something is trying to open it from the other side. There is the softest sound of something falling on the other side, and the door swings open. A horde of the undead pour into the Chapel, rotting flesh and other fetid smells filling the area around them. There are hundreds of them, men women and children, all dressed in the tattered remains of clothing. Each and every one of them is starving, and the living seem to be their choice of a meal. Though easily dispatched by the guests, they move in such mass that they are difficult to avoid forever -- though there seems one thing that offers the house-guests a bit of luck, they are not contagious. Any bite from them might become infected, but only from the encounter with dead flesh and parasites. They run no risk of become part of the mindless horde if bitten. Still, the creatures are hungry, and any person lingering for long alone will find themselves quickly overwhelmed by the seething mass in the halls. The unwary will be quick to die. The dead, while slow and seemingly ineffective alone, are of a large enough numbers that even with their speed they can easily overtake even a powered character if they are foolish enough strike out on their. They are also not the only threat the residents of the Second House will face tonight. A lone Wallcrawler stalks the halls of this house tonight, apparently confused and disoriented. It has been separated, it seems, from its fellows, and seems lost among the hoards of monsters that flood the halls in their place. It seems to be searching, and seems particularly attracted to those who were friends with the Eighth Doctor, as if it can find them now by scent. It remains possessive of these few, and always on the verge of violence. It is weak and sluggish, seeming almost ill-- perhaps from the weather?-- but no less hungry than anyone else in the house. In the Second House, the guests trapped within will find themselves constantly feeling hungry, no matter how much they eat. The hunger gnaws at them, never fading for long, urging them to take great risks to find something to eat. It is as though whatever they eat is somehow not making it into their system. [ Back to top ] || FIRST FLOOR The rope to the bell in the Bell Tower seems to have come loose, and the mournful toll of the single bell makes itself known as the wind catches it. Any attempts to retie the rope will find the bell starting up again the moment the door closes behind the helpful house-guest. Some kind soul has made a path through the snow in the Open Hall, piling the drifts so high that it is impossible to see over them. The Rose Garden has been almost completely blocked off, the entry inaccessible to anyone larger than a child. The path is narrow, only wide enough for a single person to go at a time, and the outside is bitterly cold. Still, it allows the guests to traverse between the two parts of the house. Something skitters above them on the high shelves of snow, though it lingers out of sight. The occasional movement disturbs the snow, sometimes displacing it onto the unwary travelling beneath it in the darkness. Long strands of nearly translucent material hang over the path, easily brushed aside as the house-guests move. These strands seem to grow thicker as the night goes on, though never thick enough to cause the house-guests much of a pause. The noises continue, whatever moves light enough to traverse the snow without collapsing the tunnel in on them. The well in the Plain Kitchen is overflowing, frigid water rushing over the feet of anyone who steps into the room. Large chunks of ice float like small icebergs in the mess, bumping against furniture and feet alike. Within this slushy mass of stale water is a familiar face, the Needle Woman sits on the floor near the counter. Her body rocks with the surging of the water, and she seems completely unaware of anything in the room. Her mouth opens, wordless noises filing the room in a dreadful din of guttural chanting, head rocking back against the cabinets behind her -- thudding softly against the wood in time with her groans. Ruined hands drag through the water, needle tipped fingers leaving dark trails of pollution in their wake. The water is toxic, and anyone daring to wade into it will find themselves falling ill very shortly. Chills, shakes, inability to keep food down or swallow. It’s very uncomfortable, but will not result in their deaths. In the Dining Room the Wax Family has begun to move again. At first some of the differences are subtle, small shifts in the way they are sat and posed, but they most certainly have changed. One of them has gone missing. The Son remains in place, but rests his head against the table, eyes peering down at the wood. It seems as though someone has pushed him over, bent unnaturally and with his face almost hidden from view. Whoever pushed him did not have the grace to help him rise, leaving him like a discarded toy amongst the remaining family. His knife has been hard at work, and the word 'want' can now be read-- but only if one peers below his fallen head to see the word obscured by him. The knife is clutched ever tightly in his hand, the blood now smeared against his fingers. The Mother has not moved, but seems to be having more difficulty smiling now. Her eyes are filled with terror and anguish, and her cheeks marred by something like burns-- as if hot tears were enough to melt malleable wax features, though surely they could not have been. She keeps her hands on the table and her eyes on the door, trying hard to ignore the sudden rage of the Father, who has grabbed her wrist in what looks to be a too-tight grip. His face is twisted in anger and betrayal, his expression scathing and accusing. Perhaps it is because of the absence of the Daughter, her chair pushed back and tipped over. Something seems to be moving within the parishioner's side of the Confession Booth, writhing almost unnaturally in the darkness, though any attempt to get a better look at whatever hides within will reveal that the space is empty of anything but shadows. The seat on the priest's side is wet with blood, and it seems as though here a corpse has only recently been removed. Here the Daughter of the Wax Family can be found, hidden in the priest's side of the Confession Booth, the door slightly ajar, closed in a hurry and not quite successfully. She is curled tightly into a ball in the midst of the mess of blood, wrapped around whatever object it is that she continues to protect. Whatever was recently vacated may have frightened her, but she pays no mind to the sticky pools left behind. In the Rough Kitchen there is an unnatural and eerie light that immediately sweeps over any who enter the room. The source appears to be an Orb, glowing softly. It seems to be embedded in the table, and is so delicate that removing it might cause its power to fade-- or perhaps break the orb altogether. The room is Safe tonight, though it seems tenuous at best. In spite of its safety, however, this kitchen is hardly pleasant to visit. The feast from the day has not yet been cleared from the Pantry, though some of it seems to be missing, either used or eaten. The smell of the birds is quickly becoming foul, though fortunately the damp coolness of the room has prevented them from rotting too quickly. Curiously, all of the organs that had been set aside are now missing. The Frozen Woman sits almost casually in the Wall Papered Parlor, her hands rest on her lap. Her cloak is drawn around her face, obscuring her features from view. She whispers constantly, words flowing together into an almost pleasant sounding hum. The area around her is bone chilling cold, but she is a passive threat, remaining unmoving. The chant is an almost siren song, luring people to the quiet chill. A quiet death awaits those who linger in her presence, perhaps welcome amid the threats of the night. In the ??? Room the baths have been covered with a thin sheet of glass. The hot water within them fogs the glass, though not so much that anyone entering the room cannot see what rests inside. Each of the baths holds a person, though the two closest to the door masked so that they cannot be identified.One of the figures is small, the other tall, and the water conceals all other identifying features. In the last bath Estella sleeps, eyes closed and unresponsive. No amount of noise will cause any of them to wake, and nothing will break the glass. In the Blank Library the walls are covered in words. It is as though someone has spent a great deal of time writing on the walls, or perhaps that the words missing from the books have appeared all at once. The text is impossible to read, outside of a few isolated words, overlaid on top of themselves until they are little more than smears of dark ink on the walls. It moves constantly, words shifting, entire sentences vanishing from sight even as the house-guests watch, making attempts to isolate the words even more headache inducing. Though interesting, the occurrence is ultimately harmless, and the words will spin their ways across the walls without halt through the long night. Their source will not reveal itself, but a single word seems to be repeated often throughout the spinning text. It is a simple word, harmless in its intent, but no less striking for the absence of any framing. "Live." [ Back to top ] || SECOND FLOOR Emerging from the Photography Bedroom and beginning a patrol around the Straight Hall, the Photographer seems particularly restless. He is decidedly hostile this night, and stalks the hall in an agitated manner. While he will not necessarily attack any who come through, he will charge those who step too close to him, violating an invisible bubble of personal space. The only way to pass through the hall tonight is to wait until he pauses at the Viewing Bedroom, staring out the window darkened by the night. Of course, getting back the other way may prove challenging. In the Shelter Bedroom the ghost children remain, sitting in a circle around a bowl full of raisins and brandy. The brandy is on fire and the flames fill the room with a comfortable warmth and a pleasant smell. The children are all smiling, and occasionally one will dart a hand into the flames to snatch a raisin, to the delight of all the other children. The Mute Ghost Girl seems to have relaxed, though she still doesn’t speak to any of the other children. In her lap, hiding the battered state of her dress, is the stuffed bunny from the Yellow Bedroom. The Girl Twin pats her hand from time to time, as though to wipe away the fear she dealt the group the night before. It seems they have all relaxed around her, and are more concerned about her than anything she might do. The Crawling Boy seems to have relaxed enough to tease with the other children, though his whispers are too low for anyone else to hear without joining the game-- at which point he becomes considerably quieter. He continues to be marked by nervous agitation and worry, though the presence of friends seems to have finally calmed him. He chews absently on pieces of bread, little fingers always occupied. The Boy Twin seems more reticent than his sister, and occasionally seems to become overwhelmed by the brightness of the flames and the constant chatter that fills the room. He is even quieter than the Mute Girl, curling up near his sister and remaining there for much of the night. The 13th Child remains with the children, happily chattering and quick to dare the flames to burn him. He seems bolder than the other children, and much more willing to chat with anyone that enters the room. Another child has joined the small circle of children, slightly older than the rest. He has dark skin and eyes, and seems rather bemused by the gathering, one arm draped over his knees. He and the girl twin speak quietly from time to time, clearly exchanging some sort of information, but he seems hesitant to address any adults that might enter the room. Instead, the entire group seems willing to allow the girl twin to be their mouthpiece. Any Child Character, a character of the age ten or younger, will find themselves waking within this room, rather than in any of the other places the adults have been placed. The children will find themselves welcome to the game, and feel the desire to stay, though they are capable of leaving to face the challenges of the night. This room is safe for the night, and though adults can duck in to catch their breaths for a few moment they will find that they feel unwelcome to stay for long. Outside of the room there are several frogs, seemingly standing guard. The creatures make soft ribbit noises as they hop down the hall, quick and frantic and rarely staying in the same place for long. They never go further than the end of the hall, and always return to the door in a hurry. One of them sits just inside, at the feet of the children, occasionally weaving between them but apparently always unseen or unnoticed. Anyone in the Upper Halls may from time to time see a man walk from the Floating Hallway to the Shelter Bedroom. Throughout the night he holds a tray of food, delivering it to the children within the room. His apron is covered entirely in blood, and he seems rather horrific, but he will make no move to harm anyone as he walks pass them. [ Back to top ] || BASEMENT SECTION [ Back to top ] || THREAT DOWN 1. Straight Hall 2. Public Restroom 3. Glass Half Empty 4. Fake Bedroom 5. Model Bedroom 6. Locked Door 7. Viewing Bedroom 8. Memory Bedroom 9. Photography Bedroom 10. Dark Room 11. Shelter Bedroom 1. Stairwell Room 2. Wallpapered Parlor 3. The Open Door 4. Plain Kitchen 5. Pantry 6. Dining Room 7. Hallway 8. Half Sized Bath 9. The Blank Library 10. ??? Room 11. Open Hall 12. Rose Garden 13. Chapel 14. Priest's Room 15. Priest's Bedroom 16. Hallway 17. Locked Door 18. Rough Kitchen 19. Junior Dormitory 20. Bell Tower 21. Courtyard 1. Catacombs	|| LOCATION SPECIFICS NIGHT 17 MAIN FLOOR ONE: Stairwell Room, Wallpapered Parlor, The Open Door, Plain Kitchen, Pantry, Dining Room, Hallway, Half Sized Bath, Blank Library, ??? Room, Open Hallway, Rose Garden, Chapel, Priest's Room, Stone Hallway, Locked Door, Rough Kitchen, Junior Dormitory, Bell Tower FLOOR TWO: Stairwell Room, Wallpapered Parlor, The Open Door, Plain Kitchen, Pantry, Dining Room, Hallway, Half Sized Bath, Blank Library, ??? Room, Open Hallway, Rose Garden, Chapel, Priest's Room, Stone Hallway, Locked Door, Rough Kitchen, Junior Dormitory, Bell Tower BASEMENT: Catacombs [ Back to top ]