The Mansion II [on hiatus]

[autolycus]

I'll go with team kitchen.

[Zain]

Discussion phase has ended! PM me your orders! You have 24 hours

[El Barto]

Just to clarify: are we allowed to include our supposed companions as recipients of our order PM?
And also, is any discussion allowed?

[Zain]

Only send orders to me, companions should know what to do via thread. And yes in-thread discussions allowed and even recommended.

[El Barto]

Only send orders to me, companions should know what to do via thread.

Oh… someone did, I hope they aren't punished.

And yes in-thread discussions allowed and even recommended.

Oh, goodie. You said ‘Discussion phase has ended’ so I thought we weren't allowed further discussion.

[Montmorency]

@Zain: It's still not clear to me whether the Sleep and Food values for our characters have changed since the game started. And what about the map?

[Zain]

It is called Discussion Phase because that's really all you do during that time. However, discussion is allowed throughout the entire game. Also, sleep and food values have dropped one unit since the game started. I have been traveling so I haven't had the time to send individual pms. But everyone has the same values, whatever was in your PM, minus one. Lastly, if I didn't mention it in the write-up post, I will have a map for you all very soon once I get home. Should be the day after tomorrow.

[Choxorn]

I'll go with team explore.

[Montmorency]

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.

OK, good basic format. The broad template here is what we should do each Discussion Phase as we outline what basically needs to be done, create hierarchies of objectives, etc.

Also, so it gets noted again:

Each cycle of Discussion/Order phases covers 4 in-game hours. Each cycle will deplete characters Sleep and Food levels by 1.

All characters have these default statistics.

Sleep - 5
Food - 4

Once a player hits 0, they will enter sleep deprivation or starvation and their character's ability to function will suffer greatly. Characters can die randomly once in one of these states.

Sleep - 4 and Food - 3: those should be our current counts. Food is clearly the highest priority, even beyond weapons and tools.

No one really needs to sleep ATM; a nice thing would be if we could find a good administrative default for getting inactives to sleep during a given round.

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

Below, I will provide an in-thread elaboration of team duties and dispositions to supplement individual orders and what has already been posted. Only a few people have offered solid commitments so far; bolded names are recommendations.


Team Kitchen (Myrddraal, Autolycus, Golden, Khaan, Bart): I won't involve myself with their planning and coordination, but we all seem to agree that they should get the hand mirror for looking around corners.

Team Study (Winston, Beskar): Thoroughly investigate the rest of the room, including the bathroom. Consolidate and organize all loot. Use the magnifying glass to aid in examining all the books and documents recovered. Test some alcohol on the blank book to see if any words appear. Inspect the revolver.

Team Explore (Choxorn, Greyblades, GH): Check out the two unexplored doors. Apply caution and trap-checking as per Round 1 (described in my long post that round). Find useful stuff. Once satisfied, check back on the library. Try not to get more than 2 rooms out from the hallway, if more doors are discovered.

Team Barricade (JHT, Jarema): Drag a bookshelf from the study and prop it on the wall adjacent to the stairwell, in case we need to block it off. Bring a couple of chairs from the study to sit on, and to use as weapons. Provide overwatch for the hallway and the stairs.

Team Search (Montmorency, Raith, Ironside): Go back to the first room explored on the right: the extensive master bedroom(s) and all connected rooms. Gather all items of use and bring them to the Study. Then move to the door across from the hall (opposite the study) and explore beyond it. Apply caution and trap-checking as per Round 1. Try not to get more than 2 rooms out from the hallway, if more doors are discovered.

[Winston Hughes]

[OOC: Okay, I'll go with that.]

[Myrddraal]

So, Team Kitchen:

Same structure as last time? I will submit orders with the following text, then if you could all submit a simple order saying that you will play your role in this plan?

I've underlined new things below.

The Kitchen team will head down the spiral staircase to attempt to find the kitchen. We will be particularly careful and quiet going down the stairs, listening for any signs of danger.

If, at the bottom of the stairs, we find ourselves in a basement / storage level, we will return up the spiral stair, and explore further afield on this level to attempt to find the kitchen - our architect will make the final decision about whether it is likely that the kitchen is on this floor.

We will explore following the roles set out below.

If we spot anything hostile, we abort and fall back.
If we spot the garden, make a detour to check if there is a shed. If there is, grab anything that could be used as a weapon.
If we find the kitchen, load up with as much food as possible and head back. Also check for knifes or other things that could make good weapons.
If, for whatever reason, our escape route gets cut off, we should try to find a room which we can barricade ourselves into.

1st Rear-guard: @autolycus
Keeping an eye out for anything behind us, and trailing slightly behind the main group (but always within sight) to try to make sure that we always have a clear escape route.

2nd Rear-guard: @El Barto
Staying with the main group, but looking back, keeping an eye on the 1st rear-guard and making sure they don't get separated from the group.

Door opener: @seireikhaan
Before we enter any room or corridor this person listens at the door for any suspect sounds (as suggested by Ironside), this person then loosens the catch, pushes the door gently and takes a step back (we don't want to run into any nasty surprises on the other side). After the point-men have gone through the door this person follows closely, always looking for anything suspect and ready to support the point-men.

When entering rooms, going down spiral stairs or when going around corners in corridors, the Door Opener will use the hand mirror to attempt to see around the corner for anything hostile.

Point-men (or women, as appropriate) x2: @Myrddraal, @Golden1Knight
After the door has been opened, these go through first (carefully, as always!). Once the room is deemed clear, they call back to the rear-guard to follow.

[Zain]

Also gentlemen, for the record, please do not refer me to the thread in your orders. If anything, quote it. Thank you much!

[GeneralHankerchief]

Team Explore checking in, orders noted.

[Beskar]

Deary me, looks like I am stuck with Cambridge.

[Ironside]

I've sent orders to search the cloth room and the bedroom. I'm not entirely sure if the cloth room is the one you meant as the second room Monty.

I've left the door in the library alone. It does feel to be more rooms behind that one, so we should have more coordination when opening that one I think.

[Jarema]

alright, I will go to the barricades

[seireikhaan]

Door opener reporting for duty.

[Zain]

A few hours past the 24 hour deadline! I've investigated and double-checked and sure enough I am missing some orders from a few players, two of which have posted very recently. If you are on this list, please pm immediately. You have 12 hours.
@Beskar
@Raith Kemmler
@GeneralHankerchief
@johnhughthom

[Beskar]

I pm'd you my orders at 19:36 GMT. (7 hours before your reply), it was the same as stated in thread with Winston.

[Raith Kemmler]

Sorry sorry, about checking in.

Roommate was very clueless downloading scripting programs. Wall to wall computer trouble the last week.

[Zain]

Just made the 10 hour drive home from the mountains, it's 4am now so going to get some sleep. Look forward to the write up in the "morning" whenever that may be haha let's hope we hear from @johnhughthom

[Zain]

Good news! Found some lost PMs! Sorry Beskar, it appears Tapatalk has it's flaws. Working on write-up, map, and some extra secret information you all may enjoy!

Also, now that my vacation is over and real life begins again, things should get much more consistent and a little bit quicker paced. Be excited!

[Zain]

First: Discussion was pitiful this turn, I have no choice but to punish you all.

Phase 2

Upon returning from their first searches, and inspecting their acquisitions, they determined a brand new plan. More knowledge leads to more questions, like the branches of a tree leading to more branches, leaves, and fruit. What they wanted was fruit, but they feared the thorns. Lola Richards (Myrddraal), continued feeling a sense of déjà vu she could not explain, "We have to be careful, I have a terrible feeling about this place... it's haunted. It's evil!"

Jake Kelly (Montmorency) continued with his planning, "We need four teams, one to find some food, I know I'm not the only person who's stomach is growling. Also a team to explore those other doors in the hallway, one to thoroughly check that bedroom complex, and another to check out that secret bathroom."

"Who has secret bathrooms, that's so odd." Bradley Palmer (El Barto) added plainly. Truly it is an interesting notion, privacy was clearly important to the original owner.

Lola spoke up again, "Okay, Charlie (Golden1Knight), you come with me, we're getting some food. Anybody else want to come?"

Bradley and Hayden Hicks (autolycus), who had woken up shortly after the original teams left, also volunteered.

Hollie Daniels (Winston Hughes) also had an idea, "We can try using the alcohol on the blank books to see if we can reveal the invisible ink too."

"Great, see what you can find!" Jake responded.

"Use the mirror to look around corners and under doors, if there's anything dangerous out there, we want to see them first!" Kyle Bevan (Ironside) added. He handed it to Leon Cartwright (seireikhaan), the designated "door opener" for the Kitchen Team.

Once they had convened, they departed once more, in hopes of learning more, escaping this mansion, and surviving. A tall order.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Team Bedroom

The team of 3, Corey, Jake, and Kyle chose to more thoroughly search the bedroom, closet, and bathroom that was discovered earlier. Upon entering the room, still using caution of course, they thoroughly checked the room again for useful items, clues, anything that could help them.

"Guys, look over here!" Corey said as he found a small tear in the carpet next to the bed. He folded it back as the others watched to reveal a small secret compartment. The wooden door opened to a small cache of .38 caliber ammunition and a small key.

"Goes to that revolver from the library?" Asked Jake.

"Maybe." Kyle answered, his knowledge in mechanics leaning him toward the obvious choice to handle the ammo.

"What about the key?" He asked as she stood up holding it.

The other two shrugged, and He pocketed it for later.

Upon further searching, they found nothing of note, the closet was just a closet, and the bathroom. Standard.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Team Explore

At the same time the three entered the bedroom, three others determined to search the doors opposite them. Faith Faulkner (GeneralHankerchief), Kieran Hurst (Greyblades), and Callum Simmons (Choxorn) composed this group.

Being the medical extraordinaire by comparison to the rest of the strangers, Faith remained in between the other two, and Kieran opened the door as Callum waited in the rear.

Using caution after hearing silence, Kieran snuck into the dark room and flipped on the light. Inside revealed a fairly decent sized room consisting of primarily similar padded leather chairs and small tables. At the end of the room, a small fireplace.

"A sitting room!" Faith said once she entered, followed by Callum. They fanned out, looking for oddities and anything of interest. Some lighter fluid sit in a blue bottle next to the fireplace, and some matches on the mantle. Disappointed after searching for several hours, they determined the room was just a bare shell used by the owner to rest and perhaps socialize.

"Let's go into the door on the end now, this place has nothing for us." Concluded Callum and the other two followed, one carrying the lighter fluid and matches. They approached the end of the hallway, hearing the team in the bedroom as they passed the door. "Okay, last door!" Callum whispered looking back at the other two. He opened the door, and the light from the hallway revealed a small broom closet. Inside lie an old broom, dust pan, strange patterned wallpaper uncharacteristic to the rest of the rooms, and the smell of dust compiling for years, maybe even decades.

They glanced in, saw nothing, looked at each other and grabbed the broom. Possible weapon? They made their way back down the hall...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

TeamStudy

Left behind to investigate the books, notes, etcetera were Leo Webb (Beskar), Hollie, and Jack Foster (Jarema). Also left behind was Elizabeth Banks (johnhughthom) who had fallen unconscious at the thought of there being monsters downstairs (inactive - no PM ).

Firstly, Jack drug a bookshelf outside the door with the help of Leo and set it near the staircase in case of a pursuit. He also set himself up a chair to act as a watch for the groups.

Secondly, Leo and Hollie went to work on the oddities they had found.

"So, we have three books with no words, a note with some symbols on it, and these notes written backwards. Also interesting stuff, this reddish magnifying glass and that alcohol they found in the bathroom." Hollie analyzed.

Leo responded, "Easiest thing to start with is the backwards writing, let's go to the bathroom."

They stepped in with the notes and held them in front of the mirror. Suddenly the backwards writing was legible, "It's just notes for a business. Profit and loss, marketing schemes." Leo said. He shifted through the pages staring into the mirror, "Strange it would be backw.... wait."

He stopped, Hollie grew more attentive, "What?"

He started to read, "Finally a v.. vi... damn! Can't read this, it's smudged..."

Continuing, he read, "It will be... chaos... a pandemic! And only I will hold the cure..."

Leo stopped, looked at Hollie, eyes wide. "P... pandemic?" She asked.

"This is bad, we have to tell the others!" Leo said frantically, "But while we wait, we might as well check out the other stuff..."

They investigated the books, tried pouring the alcohol on several pages, which revealed nothing. Tried using the magnifying glass with and without the alcohol, still nothing. They looked closely, it appeared to have raises of invisible ink, and if there was, they didn't have the knowledge or the tools to read it.

Finally the note with symbols on it, a series of 3 symbols. The first, a circle with a horizontal line through it. The second, an eagle's head with a lightning bolt over it, and third a triangle missing one of its corners.

"This is odd..." Hollie said after glancing at it, "any ideas?"

Leo looked too, "Of course, first the sun is gonna be split in half, then a giant lightning bird is gonna come out of it and bite off the top of an Egyptian pyramid." he said with a smirk.

The sarcastic response was just what Hollie needed, her nerves were fried...

They chose to wait and see what the group thought, and continued searching the Study and Secret Bathroom. Hollie yelled for Leo, "Come quick!"

He came into the bathroom where she was searching and she revealed a slit in the wall that they had not seen before. Feeling around, he felt a keyhole beneath the wallpaper and ripped it off.

They had revealed a full sized door nearly invisible, locked and held only by a keyhole. "Guess we need to find a key..." Leo said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Team Kitchen

The five designated to find the food determined the kitchen must be downstairs, but fear of what Corey said he had heard before filled them with fear. As a team of unarmed men and women, they felt the need to be on their guard and use stealth as best as a team of 5 could.

"Charlie and I will lead, Leon will be the door opener. Bradley have our backs and Hayden hang back." Lola ordered, the office machine operator exercising her people skills.

They crept down the stairs, each step popping and cracking as most old stairways do. They attempted to be as quiet as they could, but five sets of feet on old wood can hardly travel silently.

Once they reached the bottom, they waited for sounds of movement. They heard light activity of the teams upstairs, and also the light buzz wings. They smelt something rancid, but also faint. The house was also unnaturally dark. They reached over and found a light switch. Holding their breath, on their guard, they flipped on the light. Only a brief moment of light existed before the bulb popped and burnt out, but what they saw terrified them.

About a dozen bodies lie on the floor in what appeared to be a very large room. The end of the room looked like a foyer for coats and hats and a large door. Also several smaller doors dotted each side of what appeared to be the Great Room. But the bodies were what caught their attention.

Not sure if what they saw were dead bodies or living, they waited for sounds once again. Five... ten... fifteen seconds went by, and still nothing. In near perfect darkness, Lola whispered, "Let's head back." They started creeping back up the stairs when a strong hand grabbed Leon's ankle causing him to trip.

He started yelling for help, attempting to get up. The others looked, unable to see his attacker in the darkness, and went to help him when he started screaming louder.

"It's biting me!!!" He screeched. The others frantically ripped him up and out of the hostile's grasp and they hurried up the stairs.

"Jack! Jack! Get ready!" Lola yelled, and once they had gotten up onto the floor Jack tipped the bookshelf over to barricade the stairwell. Without waiting to see if anything was pursuing, they all ran back into the Study, luckily the other teams had returned as well...

"Quick check his leg!" Lola barked, and Faith inspected the bite. "Bandages now! He's bleeding a lot, but I don't think the Achilles was severed!" They banded together as a team in hopes to save Leon's leg.

Lola stopped as Faith worked and stepped back, muttering something.

Leo and Hollie understood what she said, "The virus..."

Discussion Phase 3 has begun! And will end on Monday, January 11th at 23:59GMT



Notes:
All players have these stats.
Sleep - 3
Food - 2

These items added.
.38 ammo (box of 50)
Small key
Broom
Lighter Fluid

Also seireikhaan has been injured but can walk. His mobility is limited, though no other impediment will exist this next phase.

Expected Discussion equals at least 2-3 posts per day per player. More is recommended.

Here is the map of what has been currently discovered on the Study floor (also added to OP).


Get creative, critical thinking is now required in order for survival.

[Montmorency]

Quick notes: One room on the floor remains to be explored?; Library not yet re-explored; documents indecipherable as of now.

So, key on the secret door in the secret bathroom, load up the revolver, kill Leon before he turns. That better be a passage to the pantry, or else starvation will set in soon enough. Also, we're gonna need a light source to explore further.

[El Barto]

We should consider restraining Leon somehow, but we should speak to him.

I say we freaking torch the place and use the furniture to batter our way out through one of the bricked-up windows.

What's this light we're seeing by? Electric? Fire? With either we can burn the bloody place.

[El Barto]

Hey, there's lighter fluid -that and the gunpowder from the cartridges should be enough.

(Or maybe we could try to burn the wound in Auto's foot Rambo-style, see if we can cleanse it)

[Beskar]

Heat would be good for invisible ink, it usually causes it to show.

[El Barto]

Yes, if we had a candle… @Zain: what's the point of having a dark, apparently Gothic-style creepy haunted house with corpses and no candles? Seriously, man.

I'm still for burning everything, btw. Beavis and Butthead be my guides.

[Zain]

Yes, if we had a candle… @Zain: what's the point of having a dark, apparently Gothic-style creepy haunted house with corpses and no candles? Seriously, man.

I'm still for burning everything, btw. Beavis and Butthead be my guides.

More fun for me.

[El Barto]

Well, I've already made my three posts. :D