allthekeys | Day 028

|| DAY 028: GENERAL

The snowfall outside has risen to a height that presses against the window. As dawn grows closer, the guests will notice that the lights are slowly fading from the house. Candles mysteriously go out, flash-lights flicker and die.

In the moments before dawn, the only light left hangs suspended in the Husk Bedroom.

Lock kneels on the floor, staring at the light with a look of incomprehension on his face. The Lantern holds its position, never moving from where it has been frozen. The room has continued to recover, and now the stately bed is covered with thick blankets -- the room itself is full of whispers.

The clock begins to chime, and the light vanishes from its place in the middle of the room.

Lock shudders once, and fades from view as well.

The house-guests will find themselves sleeping, briefly, though they will wake to find that someone has wrapped their sleeping forms in blankets -- almost as though they have been tucked into bed.

They remember dreaming but not the dream itself, only the soft sound of a voice humming to them.

Those who were invited to Rose's Game will find themselves waking on the floor in the Chapel. Their injuries remain, though they have been tended somewhat, and each is wrapped in a blanket. Those that were killed in the game will awaken in the Attic at dawn.

For those that waken in the Chapel, each will awaken to the black dog that had been sleeping in the Stables enthusiastically licking their faces, his tail thumping against the floor. He seems concerned, and will remain until they make their way fully to consciousness. He will accept any attempts to pet him and leave those who do not wish to be touched alone.

After they have all finished waking up, he leaves the room in the direction of the Third House.

The Chapel has changed, the room is now pristine. The blood has been scrubbed from the altar and everything that was out of order has now been repaired and tidied.

The mesh in the Confession Booth has been repaired, and much of the trash and assorted litter that hid beneath the pews has vanished. Fires have been stoked in large metal braziers around the room, keeping it warm and comfortable. The dim light of the outside has made its way into the room, and the room appears for the first time entirely welcoming to anyone who enters it.

Lily sleeps in a cradle near the head of the room, tucked into a handmade dress and wrapped in a delicate white lace blanket.

There is no sign of the Shadow Man and the pews sit empty of any of the former congregation. The stones around the altar are undamaged, and nothing seems to be amiss at all.

Food has been laid out in the Rough Kitchen, though whoever thought to provide something for those who were so traumatized in the night does not appear. Wine and ale have also been left out, as though their mysterious caretaker knew they faced more than they might wish.

The Open Hall is full of snow, though some considerate soul has carved a pathway through the cold mess. Snow still falls from the dim grey sky.

It is impossible to get to the Rose Garden.

The Wallpapered Parlour remains stained by blood, though the scent has disappeared completely.

The houses seem unusually empty today, though one of the Grey Maids moves slowly between the fireplaces in the houses, adding new wood and encouraging the fire to continue to burn.

The Seedy Bar itself is more sombre than usual, quiet out of respect for the suffering and the dead. Dave still stands at his bar, slowly cleaning the counter. While he, too, is quiet, he has set out some of his finest selection of drinks in plain sight behind the counter. One rather prominent table in the room is set out with a number of treats and desserts, plenty of chairs set around it. He is willing to serve any who come to him for help, but seems to be thinking about something he shows no real interest in sharing.

In the First House Parlor someone is playing the piano, the songs range from classic, familiar tunes, to what seem like variations on a theme. There is no one sitting on the bench that any of the house-guestz can see, but the occasional whisper of laughter seems to imply that someone is sitting there.

The music doesn't stop, and anyone trying to play around the player will begin to feel as though someone is glaring at them.

The Planetarium begins to spin as dawn approaches, the whole room seeming to orbit counter to the universe it holds. The disorienting effect stays with anyone in the room as they fall to sleep, but the Ballroom has returned when they wake. For the first several hours after daybreak the room is almost dizzying, as if it still spins.

The Red Bedroom remains strangely empty and untended, though it no longer disturbs the guests. Instead, there is simply the sense that someone here must have lost something. There is no way to determine how anyone could know this, but the knowledge is there. The rose on the pillow is still missing, but a faint misting of blood has stained the top of the black, gauzy veil.

The dog from the Chapel can be found in the Silk Room, his head resting on Hana's Lap. The woman pets him dotingly, smiling though her eyes are red from recent tears. The dog occasionally laps at her hand in comfort and she whispers fondly in a foreign language.

The Velvet Room is empty and dark, and unlike many of the other rooms in the third house, is very cold. There is no sign of the former occupant.

The wall outside what was one the Wax Bedroom has been further damaged, huge chunks of plaster gouged out of the wall. The fury has not lessened, and someone has written scathing notes all over the wall. Repeated over and over is the phrase "I see you."

On the floor of the Red Hallway below this carnage, where the door would have been on any other day, someone has left a folded piece of paper. On the inside is a small painting of two children: a blonde boy no more than ten years of age and a little brunette girl just his junior. Both cling to each other with broad, warm smiles. Just below the image someone has added the words, 'I love you and I am proud of you.' There is no form of address, and no one has signed any name.

The nooses and corpses of The Hanging Tree shudder and sway in the cold winter air, only the barest amount of snow gathering on the bodies and branches. The branches creak and cry under the strain, but never break. Below the low-hanging, empty noose the stool has been tipped over. Whole once more, Don sits there instead, snow gathering in his hair and on his shoulders, slumped enough to protect much of the rest of him but soaked through nonetheless. At first it is unclear if he has returned to life, but soon enough he starts to shiver as he regains consciousness.

The Three Boys are once again playing in the Orchard though they seem to have given up on snowballs and are instead sliding where ice has made the ground slick. A barrel has been put to use as a makeshift sled and though they are quiet in play, they seem to be having fun. They have been joined by the Mute Ghost Girl, who seems slightly more adept at rolling snowballs and throwing them at the people sledding.

Only the Boy Twin seems to be not entirely in the game, his gaze constantly shifting around as though looking for someone.

The dangers of the night seem to have passed, but there is undoubtedly something strange in the air. The Clocks tick by ever so slowly, the minutes dragging on further than they have before. Time struggles, but has not yet died.

[ OOC: Comment here if you have any character actions you'd like to note for the sake of plotting with other characters! You can also comment here if you would like to request an NPC that is mentioned on this post or those of any of the individual houses.

The results of our poll are that we will be extending day and night for two cycles. This means that days and nights will be three weeks, ICly and OOCly, starting from this update until February 7th, the end of Night 029.

Everyone in plot, you'll get a reply on the sign up post one more time: telling you the general fate of your character as currently foreseen. Feel free to ask questions as necessary! The comments for your fates can be considered guidelines, to an extent. You can decide, for example, specific injuries. ]

Day 028

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