The Mansion II [on hiatus]

[El Barto]

Frack it! I mixed up the time-zones. Sorry, everyone.

[Zain]

Just made it home after having to make a stop, I can accept any late orders for the next few minutes. Hope everyone got their order in!

[Zain]

Actually received some orders late so good thing I was lenient

Order Phase is complete! Please allow a little time for the write-up, I would like to make it very clear, concise, and detailed but am traveling again early tomorrow morning. We leave in 7 hours and still have to sleep/pack.

Not going to rush, once this week is over it'll be very consistent.

That all being said, I'll be working on it for a bit before I sleep, maybe with a touch of luck I can get it to you all sooner than I expect.

edit:

Furthermore, I have not received orders from @johnhughthom or @autolycus, if either of you are alive please make it clear. PM me your orders as I will be working on the write-up and would gladly accept your input. You have a few hours.

[El Barto]

jht's still alive, he posted ~48 hours ago in Visor's game.

[Zain]

Disclosure: All orders sent via PM have been carefully examined and details were taken into account as best as possible, mind you there was some confusion (multiple PM's, group Pm's, etc) that may have confused your host. If your character goes against your will in the write-up, be more clear and concise in your orders. Recommendation: Give exploration teams unique names (Team Alpha, Team Gold, etc) that way the leader can send the details and the followers can say they are following the orders of Team Alpha. That is all, did my best to follow orders, hopes, and dreams within reason. Enjoy the write-up.

Phase 1

Introduction:
The murmur of discontent grew until the final word had been presented. Jake Kelly (Montmorency) a simple office worker began to make the most sense, presenting a calculated plan to explore their surroundings. Other plans were rejected, others adopted in.

"Jack (Jarema), Leo (Beskar), and Hollie (Winston Hughes) should stay here and search this room. It appears to be a study, make sure and check out behind the books and maybe even the bookshelves. We need to explore what's out there, Callum (Choxorn) and Kyle (Ironside) take point. Faith (GeneralHankerchief) and I will take center. She is in the medical field so she can help if one of us gets hurt. And Corey (Raith Kemmler) and Kieran (Greyblades) will take rear."

Another group had developed as well, Charlie (Golden1Knight) was an architect and believed he could tell where the kitchen and possible food supply would be based upon the layout. Leon (seireikhaan), Lola (Myrddraal), and Bradley (El Barto) volunteered to accompany him.

"What should I do?" Elizabeth (johnhughthom) asked. Eventually she agreed to stay in the study to search, in the event any technology was discovered, she would have time to investigate it.

"What about him?" the group's attention fell on Hayden (autolycus) who had yet to wake up ( No PM ). He would have to stay there and be protected by the group staying behind to search the Study.

Growing impatient, Leo spoke up. "I'm going with Charlie, not staying. If I don't do something I'm going to go mad.

After a small argument between him and Jake who had volunteered him to stay, they agreed to disagree. The group of 11 left the room leaving Jack, Hollie, and Elizabeth to search the Study while looking after the unconscious Hayden.

The door closed behind them, and the three began searching...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Search
The Study was a rather small room, it seemed impossible that all fifteen of them had been lying unconscious in there at once. The decorations appeared old but not colonial, smelled of old leather and books, a thin layer of dust covered everything. Bookshelves covered every inch of wall space, and a few padded wooden chairs dotted the room next to small tables and electric lamps. It was cool but not cold, and no light shined in. The two windows in the room had been bricked, only the light bulbs illuminated the room.

Hollie spoke first, "I do declare that if some ninny is watching us, I will be very perturbed. I will look for cameras."

Jack and Elizabeth search the walls beginning at the door and going in opposite directions, pulling books out of their shelves, checking the shelves themselves. Nothing unusual until a small note was found on top of the one of the books from the top shelve. The note read, "Straight from the opening."

"What could that mean?" Elizabeth asked as Jack and Hollie read over her shoulder. Jack stated his theory tentatively, "Well, there's three openings. The door and two windows. Let's check in front of them."

So they searched in front of the door, the floor and ceiling, as well as by the windows. Nothing, then Hollie spoke up once more, "It is indubitably opposite the opening. Check the walls."

So they searched once more, and sure enough opposite door on the far wall the shelf opened up. A secret door! They elected Elizabeth to stay in back and Jack to be point as they slowly opened the door and peeped inside.

Flipping the light on timidly, they realized they discovered a small bathroom. "Coast is clear!" Jack said breathing a sigh of relief. The three walked in, a simple toilet and sink, mirror in front, small shower. Quite quaint. "Huh... didn't expect that!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Explorations

Outside the Study door the groups discovered a thin hallway, dim from a bulb hanging by a wire from the ceiling. To the immediate right, a spiral staircase going down, to the immediate left a series of 3 doors. One near them, the other two near the center of the hallway. At the end of the hallway, another door, and to it's right after the staircase, a final door.

The group led by Jake chose to go right while the other group who seemed to have no apparent leader, aside from some special knowledge from Charlie, chose to go left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Right
The group of 6, led in the front by Callum and Kyle slowly crept past the creepy staircase and saw the two doors to their left. Avoiding them, they all agreed they would explore the first room on the right, which was near the end of the hallway. As they passed the rotunda and staircase, Corey thought he heard something from down below, and in fear pressed closer to the rest of the group. Pressing an ear to the door and hearing nothing, Kyle check the door for anything suspicious. After deducing it was just a simple door, he opened it and they crept in. Flipping on the light, they saw a large room with a bed. Another bookshelf and sitting place, and a cabinet. Two doors on the end indicated possibly a bathroom and a closet, as this was obviously a bedroom.

After determining no harm was to come of them in there, they split up to search the room looking for anything useful including clues as to where they were and what they were doing there.

They found some old clothing in the cabinet, appearing to have belonged to an older gentlemen of modest stature. Some scribbled notes in a notebook, and a book with no words in it were also some oddities found. The notes were extensive and also written in backwards script and would take some time to decipher. A hand mirror and brush made of what appeared to be silver, and some old-style makeup and powder were also found, possibly belonging to the gentleman's wife.

They chose to search the right once more and opened the door on the end of the room using the same method, ear to the door, no sound, checking the door for traps, and opening it slowly. Flipping the light on, seeing no hostiles, they analyzed the room. It was a wardrobe, men and women's clothing in two rows covered all four walls, as well as shoes and coats, even a cabinet full of undergarments. A door to their left indicated a second entrance into the possible bathroom. They chose to wait on exploring this room as the clothes were so vast and cluttered that it would take hours to sift through them all. They peeped into the other door and discovered a master bathroom with clawfoot tub, sink and mirror, and even medicine cabinet which unfortunately only contained some alcohol for sleeping and some bandages.

They returned to the Study before the other group grasping the cryptic notes, mysterious book, hand mirror, brush, bedding and warm clothing, alcohol and bandages, and more questions as to where they were...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Left
This group of five, with Charlie and Leon on point, entered the door on the left of the Study, using similar caution as the other group. They entered the room, flipped on the light, and after realizing no threat lie within, they looked around.

More books, book books everywhere! They were in another library, an expansion of the vast collection they had left in the Study. The library had two entrances, the one they came through and another further down the hall. Determined to explore they began searching the books and shelves, no chairs in this room. Not finding a secret room, they pulled together their oddities. Two books both missing titles and words on the pages, one small note with a series of symbols on it, and a magnifying glass with an interesting shade of red.

Furthermore they found an old revolver in the corner behind a few books, but no ammunition. "Curious...these finds..."

They returned to the Study as well, all relieved there were no incidents, but confused by their strange discoveries.

...

Lola stood aside the group as they looked over their findings, feeling as if she had been there before, feeling as if she had heard of such a story... she searched her body for needle marks... and found nothing.

Discussion Phase 2 has begun! And will end on Wednesday, January 6th at 23:59GMT



Recommendations:
1. Discuss possibilities, uses, and reasons behind the objects you found and brought back. Some may be linked, others may have no use.
2. Never assume you have found everything in a room, some objects, clues, etc MAY require multiple turns to find.
3. Visualize the layout until I get home from skiing, then I will be able to upload a map.
4. Ask questions, I can answer some and will never lie (though half-truths can sometimes be misleading)
5. Be very clear when PMing orders (next phase), a mistype could end your life.

Good luck, remember bountiful discussion curbs the evils of the Mansion

[GeneralHankerchief]

I've added a timer to the above post in order to provide clarity on when exactly the phase ends. I probably won't do this every time, but if you want to do so in the future, the instructions for such are here.

Any questions, please feel free to PM me.

[Zain]

I've added a timer to the above post in order to provide clarity on when exactly the phase ends. I probably won't do this every time, but if you want to do so in the future, the instructions for such are here.

Any questions, please feel free to PM me.

Thank you GH, I will include it on all official updates from now on.

[Jarema]

Needles?

Are we in a story involving Feys and changelings?

As for further course of action...
can we wake Autolycus? Maybe using some alcohol?
I think that newfound bathroom needs to be examined. Also, check the windows of the Study. Third thing here, we examined borders of the Study (walls, doors, and so on) but not its middle - chairs and tables.

[Beskar]

Are there individual results, or just the big one?

[Jarema]

I would forgot: I want to examine my body for any strange things. Maybe someone can help me?

[Montmorency]

"Alcohol for sleeping"?

Zain, can you clarify that?

I suppose the General (Donald? Hollie?) should examine the documents with the magnifying glass, as well as inspect the revolver. Clothes and bedding can obviously be laid out for makeshift sleeping areas.

We should be getting individual PMs, as those contain our stats for Sleep and Food. Probably no one needs to sleep yet, but we definitely need to find a kitchen or pantry soon.

We seem to be on a higher floor/story, and most of the rooms up here are still to be explored. Pantries and kitchens would usually be found on the ground floor or in the basement, meaning someone needs to follow that spiral staircase. Broadly speaking, we can follow the division set up for the first round, with my team continuing the search of the starting floor, and Ironside's team

I would be curious if Beskar could use his experience as a realtor or whatever to assess the furniture around here for incidental details, such as style, provenance, construction, etc. Maybe in conjunction with the document analysis we can figure out more about the building.

Good luck, remember bountiful discussion curbs the evils of the Mansion

So can someone just filibuster the Mansion while everyone else breaks out?

[Montmorency]

Broadly speaking, we can follow the division set up for the first round, with my team continuing the search of the starting floor, and Ironside's team

I meant the group with GK and Myrddraal - they can continue looking for foodstuffs, downstairs.

[Golden1Knight]

Well, next turn I will lead an expedition downstairs in search of the kitchen. Since our goal is probably distant, a group of larger size would be better.

Also I think it's a good idea to investigate again the room where we found the revolver, maybe there is some ammo hidden somewhere.

[El Barto]

So can someone just filibuster the Mansion while everyone else breaks out?

If you want me to make thirty posts, just tell me when to start.

[Ironside]

I'm curious about the sound Cory heard, if it's there for flair or is an indication that something is below close to the staircase. And if Cory got better hearing than the rest of us. The staircase is a nice chokepoint for now, so we might consider making it into a potential barrier.

The book with no words might be using invisible ink.

The hand mirror is useful looking around corners.

I'm not sure about the silver brush, do we have that sort of supernaturals in this game, or is it simply to sterilize water or something equally mundane?

[Ironside]

If you want me to make thirty posts, just tell me when to start.

Have you heard about Cox's Bazar Beach is located at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, the longest unbroken sea beach in the world? At 125 km, it is...

Filibustering is easy with Wikipedia random.

[Jarema]

Silver brush, needles...
we have to be careful, especially when going to sleep

[Choxorn]

We could try to sleep in shifts, make sure there's always someone awake to make sure nothing attacks us while we're all asleep.

[Raith Kemmler]

I'm curious about the sound Cory heard, if it's there for flair or is an indication that something is below close to the staircase. And if Cory got better hearing than the rest of us. The staircase is a nice chokepoint for now, so we might consider making it into a potential barrier.

Sounds like foreshadowing. And getting a little breathing room before shit hits the fan. I don't have a perception bonus listed, but maybe? I was rear guard, so prolly just closest.

[Winston Hughes]

I suppose the General (Donald? Hollie?) should examine the documents with the magnifying glass, as well as inspect the revolver.

Eh, what's that? Holly, Polly, Molly: nobody of that name here...

*adjusts fake moustache*

As for the revolver, you're right: it's best I look after it. Not safe in civilian hands.

[OOC: Busy time right now, very little spare for games. I'll be back before the phase ends, but maybe not for long. To help with planning: my skills are focused on the mechanical and technological.)

[Golden1Knight]

About searching the kitchen, I think we can keep the same team, but with some additions. For now we have:

-Golden1Knight
-seireikhaan
-Myrddraal
-El Barto
-?
-?

You guys agree? Who else volunteers to go downstairs?

[Greyblades]

Bricked up windows... any idea what nationalities we all are?

The bricked up windows might indicate the building's age. In England there was a practice of manor houses having bricked up windows to avoid a windows tax. If this is England that would indicate the house was built at least before 1851, though if it's France it could be newer

Not sure what knowing the house's age adds to our situation.

[El Barto]

I'm curious about the sound Cory heard, if it's there for flair or is an indication that something is below close to the staircase. And if Cory got better hearing than the rest of us. The staircase is a nice chokepoint for now, so we might consider making it into a potential barrier.

The book with no words might be using invisible ink.

The hand mirror is useful looking around corners.

I'm not sure about the silver brush, do we have that sort of supernaturals in this game, or is it simply to sterilize water or something equally mundane?

Maybe we could use some of the furniture laying around as a makeshift barricade. One weak enough for us to pull apart if we need to, but enough of a bother to make a racket if anyone comes, especially if we're sleeping and the watchers have to go around waking the rest up.

Have you heard about Cox's Bazar Beach is located at Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, the longest unbroken sea beach in the world? At 125 km, it is...

Filibustering is easy with Wikipedia random.

And a kilometre is one thousand metres, one after the other. Laid end-to-end, so to speak.

We could try to sleep in shifts, make sure there's always someone awake to make sure nothing attacks us while we're all asleep.

I heavily recommend this post.

Eh, what's that? Holly, Polly, Molly: nobody of that name here...

*adjusts fake moustache*

As for the revolver, you're right: it's best I look after it. Not safe in civilian hands.

[OOC: Busy time right now, very little spare for games. I'll be back before the phase ends, but maybe not for long. To help with planning: my skills are focused on the mechanical and technological.)

Coudl you check the wiring then, Miss Oliver? Or perhaps check the book with apparently nothing written on it?

About searching the kitchen, I think we can keep the same team, but with some additions. For now we have:

-Golden1Knight
-seireikhaan
-Myrddraal
-El Barto
-?
-?

You guys agree? Who else volunteers to go downstairs?

Bricked up windows... any idea what nationalities we all are?

The bricked up windows might indicate the building's age. In England there was a practice of manor houses having bricked up windows to avoid a windows tax. If this is England that would indicate the house was built at least before 1851, though if it's France it could be newer

Not sure what knowing the house's age adds to our situation.

Or maybe someone really wants to keep us inside, given that our arrival here is a bit of an ontological mystery.

[autolycus]

Sorry, I was traveling and thought I'd have more continuous access to internet than I did.

[El Barto]

We can use the revolver to club people to death, but we'd get better reach by disassembling one chair and leaving the nails in one end sticking out.

How's the food situation then?

About searching the kitchen, I think we can keep the same team, but with some additions. For now we have:

-Golden1Knight
-seireikhaan
-Myrddraal
-El Barto
-?
-?

You guys agree? Who else volunteers to go downstairs?

What are we expecting to find downstairs? If it's a camera or similar equipment I'm game for it.

[Beskar]

I would be curious if Beskar could use his experience as a realtor or whatever to assess the furniture around here for incidental details, such as style, provenance, construction, etc. Maybe in conjunction with the document analysis we can figure out more about the building.

No no, I am no realtor! I am a financial consultant, old boy, I am not a simple plebeian who bows to measly details such as that, I pay people to do that kind of work for me.

[Raith Kemmler]

I suppose the General (Donald? Hollie?) should examine the documents with the magnifying glass, as well as inspect the revolver.

Looking at all the items with the glass seems good. Especially the book with nothing written on it.

I want to check the back of the wardrobe. Maybe Narnia or something like it is hiding behind the coats.

[Myrddraal]

The book with no words might be using invisible ink.

"Alcohol for sleeping"?

Apparently there are four types of invisible ink - those revealed by heat, those revealed by chemical reaction, those visible under ultraviolet light and those which alter the surface of the paper (most of them do in some way).

I might be worth trying those things? A close examination of the pages should reveal the type of bulging left by ink. I don't know if there are any radiators in this room, but we could leave a book on one if there is. We might also want to try putting a drop of the alcohol on one page?

I'm curious about the sound Cory heard, if it's there for flair or is an indication that something is below close to the staircase. And if Cory got better hearing than the rest of us. The staircase is a nice chokepoint for now, so we might consider making it into a potential barrier.

I'm also concerned by that. If/when we go down those stairs we need to be ultra careful, and perhaps have a chair to push down at anything that might try to come up behind us.

The hand mirror is useful looking around corners.

I assumed that the brush was a hair brush.

About searching the kitchen, I think we can keep the same team, but with some additions. For now we have:

-Golden1Knight
-seireikhaan
-Myrddraal
-El Barto
-?
-?

I'm in. To be honest, I'm a bit confused. I thought we were going for the kitchen this round... I certainly thought I submitted orders to that effect. Whatever the case, I'm keen to find food (and any garden shed, whilst we're at it...)

Lola stood aside the group as they looked over their findings, feeling as if she had been there before, feeling as if she had heard of such a story... she searched her body for needle marks... and found nothing.

I can explain this. No need to freak out, this isn't a message from our host. I specifically submitted orders to check for needle marks. (ooc: The Mansion I ended with all surviving players discovering that they had been injected with a drug that transformed them into monsters)

Bricked up windows... any idea what nationalities we all are?

In the last mansion, all the windows other than those overlooking the garden were bricked up as well. I think it is more a case of preventing us from exiting out of a window than anything else.

What are we expecting to find downstairs? If it's a camera or similar equipment I'm game for it.

What's up with the camera? I'm curious to know what you're thinking of.

[Ironside]

So what do we have? Team kitchen goes down. I say they get the mirror to be able to check more carefully.
Team explore scouts the remaining rooms on this floor.
Team study does the final exploring in the study, like the bathroom and starts deciphering what we got. There's a mirror in the bathroom here, so that mirror can be used to see if the coding is containing mirror-turned text.
Team search searches the rooms we already explored. The library probably contains more notes and possibly bullets for the gun for example.
Team barricade? Makes a makeshift barrier at the stairs. Nothing big, but enough to give some time and a defensive point if something moves up.
Team sleep. 1-2 members could get some sleep in the study.

[Myrddraal]

That sounds like a good plan @Ironside. We definitely need to think about some people sleeping now.